Wednesday, July 12, 2006

" Mumbai Spirit, my foot !! "

The above words were uttered by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Mr. M.N. Singh in a talk show yesterday in a private TV channel in defence of his views that people in Mumbai have become insensitive to such atrocious incidents. So have Mumbaikars really become apathetic ?

My answer is a resounding yes .

I would say that if not " Insensitive " the Mumbaikars have " Resigned " their faith on the Government machinery . The response from Mumbaikars have shown us that despite the failure of the government machinery the common man on the street took the onus on himself
rescuing and helping scores of innocent people. But then their is another hidden picture perhaps which I realized when I talked to people. Some people were sensing an opportunity to invest in stocks as the News Channels all over were beaming the ominous reports of the blasts . Some were very casual in the approach saying that one day everyone one has to die and all that crap . Others said that they had no option but to carry on with their routine life as such incidents take place every now and then. I agree but then does the action of carrying on with regular life due to compulsions speak about the Mumbai Spirit.

For me the Mumbai spirit is about the Hotel owner opposite Churchgate station who served tea and snacks free of cost to to people, its about people who queued all along the roads offering water and snacks , tempo wallas offering transportation to people,blogs set up instantly offering to contact relatives, people queuing up outside hospitals the very next day to donate blood and of course people who were part of the initial rescue operation .But then if you let out your emotions you know such people exist in minority and the fact of the matter is that people ( including me ) have no choice but go back to work in the same old train hoping that they would never become a target . Hope that the city which we all love so dearly never ever faces such incidents in the future so as to question its spirit !!!!

7 Comments:

At 2:26 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A city we love and the city loves us . We all know that we are One , United. No one , no soul can take the soul out of this city. Every morning we are strangers on the same train , no Rakshabandhan , there are sisters to tie us raakhi here, but then when it comes to getting united and work or fight for a cause , WE ALL ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS

 
At 10:38 pm, Blogger Krishnakumar Chirakkal said...

@anon - good observation, agree completely.

 
At 3:14 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mumbaikars are somewhat pathetic. They can't even get the civic administration to fix their storm water drains. Every monsoon season it's the same story and the monsoons are far more predictable than terrorist attacks.

If Mumbaikars are hoping there would be no more terrorism they are soundly mistaken. Like a battered wife who'd rather commit suicide than stand up for her rights, they are the perfect victim.

 
At 3:48 am, Blogger Krishnakumar Chirakkal said...

@Sorrystate - What do you expect Mumbaikars to do ?? Carry out a Bandh, burn buses , pelt stones at police stations , get beaten oustide mantralaya. And from whichever city or area you belong to do you think much can be achieved without the co-operation of the local adminstration. FYI, the BMC has carried out a tremendous operation in improving /maintaining the civic infra. of the city. Yes, there have been failures but their has been a remarkable improvement.

About terrorists attacks its virtually impossible to check each and avery person who is entering the railway stations. What is required is better use of technology for intelligence gathering . Its also the responsibility of Political parties to stand as one and united in such crisis. Haven't you heard of Mulayam trying to defend the not so Mulayam SIMI ? Mumbaikars are now more cautious and as for me, I ensure that whenever I find a Bag being placed on the train rack I validate who's bag it is.

By the way its the terrorists who would rather commit suicide for being brainwashed in the name of GOD and they are the ones who are the perfect victims of organisations such as ISI, Lashkar and SIMI.

 
At 9:39 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is how a literary figure described Mumbai.

"Its single-minded pursuit of money. It understands and respects commerce, time and priorities. It’s a city of survivors and opportunists: step over that inconveniently placed body and get on with your life."


Shobhaa De

Quite a few points I agree while I disagree with some others. For e.g. while I agree the city respects time and commerce I disagree about it's priorities. Ofcourse, that depends on whether things such as quality of life or R&R mean anything to you.

It is definitely a city of opportunists but calling Mumbai people survivors is somewhat stretching it. After all, everyone who died in the blasts were survivors until that moment.

 
At 10:08 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The mythical spirit:

1991-It is a vibrant city, the economic growth starts

1993- We have seen the worst this year, we will survive

1999- Mumbai can take up everything thrown at it.

2003- The spirit of Mumbai is undaunting, steely, determined

26/7/2005- Mumbai spirit and hopes can float on high water..it wont sink...

11/7/2006- That sinking feeling

 
At 5:00 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

best regards, nice info » »

 

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