According to an Indo Asian New Service report that saw itself prominently displayed on Yahoo.com, Mumbai did not come to a standstill today, the 26th of November 2009, the day that marks a year's anniversary of the terrorist attacks in South Mumbai and the subsequent questions it raised about Mumbai's security. Instead, the report says, everything was just as usual. The trains were overcrowded and so were the buses. The traffic slowed down at the usual places and it was quite evident people meant to get to work.
I am really fed up of such reports. They make it sound as if Mumbai is programmed to work irrespective of any massacre that comes it way. Fact of the matter is Mumbaiites have no other option.
Consider the train blasts. After they blew open compartments of local trains on the Western line, the very next day, the ones that were not ripped apart went about their business carrying people like sardines packed in a can. Why? Why did people not abandon this mode of transport? It's simple, really. It's because it's the only choice they have. They have to get to work come what may and so, they cannot stop for a bomb blast that sent several hundreds up to Heaven or down to Hell.
Now consider the fact that millions come here to work. Ask them and they'll say they are here to earn more: That - almost unanimously - is the only intention they have in mind when they set foot in Mumbai. Many of them do not have a bank balance to fall back on. Worst is the fact that some take loans and arrive here. Others are on a perpetual loan-taking spree: home loans, car loans, personal loans, etc etc. So, with all this worrying them no end, and with the way things are these days - with the recession of course to add to the melee - it shouldn't surprise you that Mumbaiites will not sit back and enter into a deep reverie of what went by.
Let's face it: At the end of the day, one has a burden to bear and deal with. And none here in this city will want that burden to expand. It's this very thought that drives the city to just let its gears keep working irrespective of the explosive rough patches that come its way.
So, rather than saying that this is a strong signal about the fact that Mumbai is undeterred, it's better to say that Mumbai - though bleeding at its guts, unsettled, and weeping for the people that have fallen victims in heinous acts of terrorism - cannot for the life of it stop breathing for even a second. For if it does, it stands to lose a lot that has been placed on line to make this city what it is and what it will be.
I am really fed up of such reports. They make it sound as if Mumbai is programmed to work irrespective of any massacre that comes it way. Fact of the matter is Mumbaiites have no other option.
Consider the train blasts. After they blew open compartments of local trains on the Western line, the very next day, the ones that were not ripped apart went about their business carrying people like sardines packed in a can. Why? Why did people not abandon this mode of transport? It's simple, really. It's because it's the only choice they have. They have to get to work come what may and so, they cannot stop for a bomb blast that sent several hundreds up to Heaven or down to Hell.
Now consider the fact that millions come here to work. Ask them and they'll say they are here to earn more: That - almost unanimously - is the only intention they have in mind when they set foot in Mumbai. Many of them do not have a bank balance to fall back on. Worst is the fact that some take loans and arrive here. Others are on a perpetual loan-taking spree: home loans, car loans, personal loans, etc etc. So, with all this worrying them no end, and with the way things are these days - with the recession of course to add to the melee - it shouldn't surprise you that Mumbaiites will not sit back and enter into a deep reverie of what went by.
Let's face it: At the end of the day, one has a burden to bear and deal with. And none here in this city will want that burden to expand. It's this very thought that drives the city to just let its gears keep working irrespective of the explosive rough patches that come its way.
So, rather than saying that this is a strong signal about the fact that Mumbai is undeterred, it's better to say that Mumbai - though bleeding at its guts, unsettled, and weeping for the people that have fallen victims in heinous acts of terrorism - cannot for the life of it stop breathing for even a second. For if it does, it stands to lose a lot that has been placed on line to make this city what it is and what it will be.
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