Once Again

Once again we are exposed. Once again we are shattered and tattered. Once again, we are angry.
There have been quite a few observations I have made this time around though, which I'l list down in no particular but make an attempt in the end to connect them through one single thread.
1. The so called "Mumbaikaars" thronged the Television Channels. The so called "elite" found a new hangout apart from their Page 3 parties and king-size lives - the news channels. 1,2, 10, 100 .. no matter which key you pressed on the remote, all you found was the furious elite hurling abuses at one and all for how unsafe, how irresponsible, how unprepared this country is. We were at war, they said. Our children are afraid they said. Do these feelings arise only when someone hurls bullets at you in your fav 5-star joint? When "small" bombs blow up "street" kids in "inconsequential" places on "rickety" cyles, it really doesnt matter. Hmm. Afterall there has to be some solution to this burgeoning population, isn't it??

2. An SMS hurled at the beloved gunda-mawalis of Maharaqshtra which said " Where were your Marathis when the terrorists struck? It was NSG commandos from the South and North who made it possible that you sleep peacefully in your homes these past nights". I wonder if this was at all read by "you know who". And if it was, I hope it has left him sleepless for the rest of the nights he has left.

3. Our "amazing" reporters "risked" their lives to bring live coverage of "the war that had struck us". They hadn't slept for 50 hrs, they mentioned. "They worked tirelessly to keep us informed" they said. I ask them: was it they did something free of charge? was it something they did out of their own prerogative? Or was it a single line sleep-disturbing SMS from their supervisor? Or was it the chance of "making a mark" in this mad age of journalism where there are only limited ways to rise up the ladder when thousands are waiting to fill up your position, waiting for you to take just a short 5-minute nap when they can sneek in and have you thrown out.

4. The blame game has begun as always. While political parties get back to the business of abusing each other and communalising the issue, we keep wondering as to what were the loopholes in our system? Was it the politicians? Was it the policemen?Was it the bureaucrats or the intelligence agencies? Why can't someone once and for all , explain the whole procedure that we go through in such a situation? We focus on only finding the terrorist or the source. Why not find out exactly where the fault lied? Why not look deeply in to this system of collective responsibility with zero accountability?

5. We usually blame our army or police for being what they are. Fat goonies surviving on bribes, hiding away from terrorists, partying with criminals and torturing innocents. Have we ever thought why does one join the army or police thses days? Is it because they have this heightened sense of "patriotism", the desire to "serve the country"? Have a long hard look at ourselves. Barring a small fraction among us, we join these services (especially the police if not the army) today because either we dont have anything to eat or we have not been able to achieve what we wanted in life or because our fathers and forefathers have done it and we are expected to do it. Do we expect someone in that frame of mind, to be something else from what they are?

6. How many times have we now heard about the cliched "Spirit of Mumbai"? What spirit do we talk about?? The morning after a blast we find each one of us back at our bus stands waiting to catch the blue line to reach our destination (except ofcourse the poor souls who reached their final destinatipon thanks to the blasts). And we call it the indomitable spirit. Is it spirit or is it pure helplessness? We have families to feed. How many of us can just sit at home and keep our families well fed?

Each one of these observations induces such strong emotions that it becomes tough to write of more. But when I look at these again and again, the only thought that crosses my mind is the immensely selfish lives that we lead these days. We may give global 'gyaan' to each other, but the fact is that we can't look beyond our own benefits. It's how successful 'I' can be, its how happy 'I' can be, its how important 'I' can be, that matters to us.
Its the "I" we somehow need to replace with "We".