Gripped By Terror - Part 5

Did you listen to the Prime Minister’s address? Sonia Gandhi made her address even before his. I had been waiting eagerly for it. When he finally made it, I didn’t know what to think.

'Strongly condemns.' These are the 2 words everybody used (Barack Obama included.).

I’d like to know what exactly they mean by it.

Just how much is their condemnation worth (Or us swearing for that matter. Everybody’s swearing at the terrorists.)?

If words of displeasure could end this, I’d have enough to say for you and me, and we would be in a happier place now. These are not little boys with genteel natures, to be insulted by our contempt.

Manmohan Singh said, “We are using the strongest possible measures to ensure that this is not repeated.” Then he said something about how confident he is that the people of India will maintain their unity and integrity.

Wasn’t this what he said last time? That this wont be repeated?

Why all this airy talk?

If the law can’t protect us, who will?

At this point, I’d like to tell you of some very strong things that Shobha De had to say.

“Enough is enough. I want to tell all politicians not to use this as an opportunity for their political agenda. Do not come to Mumbai. We pay millions to give these politicians Z level security (I am yet to find out what this is.). Remove security from them and give it to us. Let even a hair on these politicians be touched by this crisis.”

Too true.

With regards to politicians.

The virtual world is ablaze with arguments frustration and emotions you may never have thought could be emoted through the www.

Young people today do 2 things- party and have fun. Or stay indoors and online.

And pretty much everybody is bashing up the politicians.

Whose side am I on? Certainly not the khadi-clads. But this is addressed to all the youth who have been lamenting. I’ve heard “India is never going to change its so corrupt” a lot in my little life. And I hate it.

Did you go out and vote? Because if you didn’t, then you are in no position to hold by the collar the man you had no part in putting into office. If you did vote, you have every right and responsibility to do so. But if you did not, you are not in the right place for bad mouthing.

So don’t whine. Don’t complain. Bite your tongue and stay put till the next elections.

Either vote. Or contest.

Its not called a democracy for nothing.

Some more questions, for anybody who can answer them.

So far only big cities have been targeted. Why? What if they decide to target less popular cities, where they can easily cause the same number of casualties, and things will be much easier for them since no one was expecting it? Is anybody thinking about this?

Where are these weapons being manufactured?

Who supplies them?

How are they smuggled?

Who is sponsoring this?

Why wasn’t our intelligence able to pick up on this?

How did the terrorists get into the hotels, with all their weaponry?

Gripped By Terror - Part 6

Remember when I said that I had thought that my friend’s friend’s friend was the closest I had come to being affected by terrorism?

Listen to this. I have another friend who has all her family in Mumbai, living opposite and behind one of the 11 sites of attack. They saw the place nearby catch on fire. They saw everything. The lights were off in their buildings. The force of the impact shook the entire structure causing the windows to shatter. One of their neighbors, a young married couple, panicked that their building wasn’t strong enough. So they decided to make a quick dash to the next building. They were shot dead. Both of them. Their bodies were lying in the street for around 2 hours. Nobody could leave their homes to drag the bodies to safety. And the ambulances were busy with all the chaos. She also had 2 other incidents that had happier endings- another family friend of hers was supposed to be working at the Taj on That Night. His shift was changed at the last minute. Further, one of her relatives was to arrive at CST That Day. Her trip was cancelled.

This is what is termed as ‘mindless killing.’ This is why I asked why terrorists not just killed innocent people, but also randomly.

I’m still trying to imagine what kind of doctrines these people are fed, in order to become this numb. Visualize this: the terrorists see a target in front of them. They take aim. They shoot. They watch the person fall dead. They shoot people on their left and right. They see dead bodies all around them. They walk through blood, step over bodies. Yet they kill some more. And they have peace in their minds, that they are doing the right thing.

I can only say that they see these things, but they don’t really see these things.

So how exactly do we root out terrorism?

In spite of all the hope and faith I have, some practical fibre in me tells me that this is something that will never leave us completely. Its like these microorganisms that are said to be immortal, because nothing can kill them.

Its like a horror movie, where you slice it once in the head, and 2 new ones appear.

As long as there is one left, there will be another.

So lets meet over coffee sometime.

And talk about how we are going to deal with this

On religion once again.

Its times like these that disillusion a lot of people, with regards to religion and faith. They ask where God is in all this.

Allow me to tell you what Mahesh Bhatt said.

“Don’t expect your gods and goddesses to come down and sort this out for us. We are the architects of this destruction.”

Doesn’t that make sense?

A far cry from ‘heaven being a place on earth’, like the Bangles felt it was.

One of my friends had on her Facebook status, that she is hoping for justice.

Justice? That word has lost all its meaning. This is not a fair fight. When innocent civilians have guns held to their heads, as a barter, that is not a fair fight.

According to the traditions of warfare, one never attacks an unarmed opponent. And one never attacks when the opponent is sleeping. Those were the good old days of chivalry and honor.. and justice.

Unless you are willing to wait for judgment day, there will be no justice. So, hold your peace.

Why is this happening to us?

This is not the kind of philosophy I would like to give a grieving person, or probably receive when I am grieving. But here’s what I think:

Know how they say ‘when you smile the world smiles with you, but when you frown, you frown alone’? Apparently this is not so. In fact the world doesn’t always smile with you when you are smiling, because the sight of someone else happy and successful burns them up. On the other hand, it is during times of grief that our hearts melt for each other. We make chicken soup for a person we don’t like just because we are good people deep down inside.

There’s a particular medical condition that some people are born with, in which, they cannot feel pain. You can put staples in their hand, or pluck out each strand of hair from their head, but they won’t feel a thing. Lucky for them you say? Not so. These people are at the disadvantage of not knowing if their body is burning or if they have lost a limb, because of this very same wolf in sheep’s clothing. And by the time they do realize it, it might be too late.

Pain is a necessary evil.

Times of happiness do not make humanity come together. Times of sadness do. Laughs, cries and music have no language just like terrorism has no religion.

To end, I want to say this.

Please love your neighbors more. He might just be a terrorist, in need of some love, and in need of someone to tell him the world’s not such a bad place.

I am praying for the terrorists. I’m praying for the world tonight.

Free Hugs!

Here's another thing I had always wanted to do (along with becoming the 1st female president of my country), but somebody got there before me.
Not that I'm grudging him.

Check this, this and this.

I was disillusioned for a while. Maybe I'm returning.

I know theres lots of people who are going to think this is sappy..
There's a lot of people who are going to remark about how One Man is making money and getting fame and what not from this.
It did enter my mind too.

But hey we could all do with free hugs!
So come here come here you! Shut up and hug me!

Nargis

Written on- 20th May 2008

Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar earlier this year. Of Cyclones, there are many. They will be forgotten. But the way in which the military junta in Myanmar acted, for reasons only they can live with, was more memorable.

So sweet a name.
So vicious a temper
Like a schizophrenic possessor.
When a gentle breeze,
Turned into an all overpowering storm.
Nargis. Oh Nargis.
Why do we name you?
Why do we call you a name
So dear and soft.
As if with pride,
Like new parents,
Would call their future?

Because you came.
And because you went.
Because you are now,
A part of our fragile lives.
Because we can never deny,
That we did not know you.
That our paths didn’t cross.
And that you were stronger than I.
I know you Nargis.
And I'm humbled by your acquaintance.

Honking Cows

If I was a cow or a buffalo, they wouldn’t honk at me as much, to make me get out of the way, as they do now, when I’m not a cow but a daughter of the soil. Why won’t they just let me cross the road? And appreciate local beauty while they do. To think- They choose a cow over me.

Trip On My Pride

I hope you trip on your way out,
Over my pride.
Its so big.
You know I want you to stay.
Or maybe you don’t.
Because my pride’s so big.

No Offence

“No offence”
What’s that?

Its this really stupid thing doing its rounds off late.. when you say a mean thing or pass a hurtful comment, but then say “No offence” to make it all right.

1stly, I think what they mean is “No offence intended. Please take none.”

But what’s the logic behind that! Once the harsh statement has been passed, hurt is obviously going to be felt. For example, if you say, “Paul so fat he can’t see Saul, because Saul so short, he stands in Paul’s shadow.”, and everybody laughs, the Paul and Saul in question know that the comment was not directed towards them, and they weren’t out right told that they were short, fat or ugly, but the fact is everybody laughed- at their shortness, fatness and…

I’ve always greatly detested people who make their jokes by pulling someone else down. They make smart comments and get everybody to laugh, usually at another person’s shortcomings. When the jokes are actually nasty, in the guise of hilarity, its just not nice. Plain unkindness. I’ve been at the receiving end of these comments a lot, so I know how it feels. And also having made these types of comments occasionally myself, I’d say, that people who make them are truly insecure about themselves. They would like to exhibit other people’s shortcomings, in order to think that they are really not all that badly disposed, and also to draw attention away from their flaws, to others’.

Have I offended you now, if you’re one of these types mentioned above? Too bad. No offence, really.