Thats definitely a sadistic approach to the entire thing, but thats unfortunately the way i feel about it… and since i am the only citizen journalist on this blog, i need to be the one to express it this way..
From what i notice, the government and everyone else involved definitely have a machinery and a process in place for this kind of stuff.. exactly 2 minutes after the first incident, there will be a PR person somewhere busily setting the trend and in effect saying ‘Let the blames begin’… this will of course be followed by ’eminent’ personalities like Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi doing a song and dance about it… and then comes, as if on cue, the fitting rejoinders from the people affected… the media, all the while, is having a field day, because finally there is actual news to capture, from theories on who pressed the button to graphic visuals of the dead and injured to preventive action to astrologers who had predicted this… of course, towards the end, you will have tales of heroes… we will salute them and honour them, we will play the blame game and fix on a commonly acceptable target.. and we will do what irritates me most, Mumbai will bask in the glory of a city that can spring back to action irrespective of what happens to it… well, damn it, the reason is because Mumbai has so many people that even a few lakhs lost wouldnt make a dent onthe rest who have not been affected….
and its not just for the blasts, its the same for the floods too.. in fact, the floods are an annual event now, like ganesh chaturthi or something.. i propose that mumbai should celebrate ganesh chaturthi when the flood happens, so they dont have to go the sea for immersion, it could be done in their houses.. so you dont waste time at all.. and someone like a makemytrip should arrange boat cruises, after all does mumbai ever let a moneymaking opportunity go by..
why am i not happy on mumbai springing back? i would be much happier if it was declared a holiday and people were encouraged to help those affected by the tragedy.. that wouldnt be a money making proposition, but it will inculcate what used to be called compassion, and if that were around more, maybe we wouldnt have blasts, and the floods would become a bit more tolerable… no amount of money can bring back the dead, no, compassion cant either, but it definitely can help heal the wound faster…so, is the spirit of mumbai such a great thing? of course, because, the spirit is money, and the spirit costs a bomb!!
until next time, it isnt just an alternate train of thought…
Me too feel the same 🙁
Things are going terribly wrong as of now
yeah it sure does!
well in a way ur right!
yes maybe the spirit of mumbai is nothing but a sugary coat for its coldness…
and Yes ia gree with u..compassion now needs to be forced and taught to people…its not really about bouncing back..sometimes we need to bask in sadness to really feel it in our hearts!
The way people helped the stranded, wounded and the dead too by throwing bedhseets to carry their mortal remains is the spirit of Mumbai.It happens only in Mumbai.
Manu, True, the PR dept. will always do what they do. but its also true that people do go on with their lives whether someone else likes it or not and whether it happens to be Mumbai or some other city in the world. While one must not ignore the loss of those who passed away, at the same time having a bandh or sitting at home in the fear of what-might-happen will only make things worse. Bad things happen and one must just accept that and move on.
Ekta, you should check out the first hand accounts of people who were there during the blasts (here and here) and during the floods.
sandy: for some of us, yes..
SwB: and hope the costs dont increase..
ekta: and also feel responsible in some way for whats happening around..
silverine: i wish that were the case.. then this post wouldnt exist.. whats being propagated as the spirit of mumbai is the fact that mumbaikars go to work on the next day.. fact being that 80% are afraid that they would lose their pay or even their jobs if they didnt do it.. hence the point of money driving the place and not kindness..
satchit: agree, i dont advocate that either.. but then why do a propaganda of ‘the spirit of mumbai’ when that animal doesnt exist?