Thursday, November 27, 2008

To the city of mine - WOMBAY

Intro: THE PAST

We are a family of five. My father came to Bombay in the early 60s and so did my mother. They have seen bombay grow and grow and grow. They grew with the city too. On the 9th of July 1978 at around 4:50 am i was born. Out of my mother's womb into another mother's womb - WOMBAY...My childhood i spent with her. She gave me an entire playground to play the game of life. i remember my christian and muslim neighbours celebrating diwali and holi with us. i remember waiting in anticipation for the goodies during christmas and id. i remember travelling alone in local trains and BEST buses late in the nights, being accompanied by wearied sabjiwalis and machchiwalis. we would sit down near the exit in EMPTY local trains, ignoring the seats, letting the wind chill our faces and share a companionable silence. i remember rejoicing the first rains and then alternately cursing it because it would gather strength at the beginning of the academic year. new uniform, newly plastic covered books all a soddy mess. when i left the city and moved to bangalore, i acted as though i was unaffected. well...

Outro: AND NOW

Today the five of us - my family, we sit in front of the television. we watch what is happening in bombay. there are tears in my mother's eyes, in my father's eyes. they are watching the city where they built their dreams and their lives, burn and fight. i wonder why one needs to kill... to state one's case. and whats the point in killing innocent people? and the 100 odd who died - what about their families? what happens to them now? what about children who have lost their fathers and mothers? what about parents who have lost their sons and daughters? what about all those people living in the city unsure about their neighbours, about friends, unsure about their own safety?
and me...i feel sad. i know that loved ones are safe. yet i feel the way a child feels when her mother is not doing too good. this is a city that took care of me and kept me safe. i love her tremendously and i know she will bounce back to her old, raunchy, metrosexual, speed demonish self. but till then...

16 comments:

Lucifer said...

this is without doubt d worst to hit the city...its not d face we know...its not that similar face of terrorism...this time its young...d same age which builds its dreams in this city...its ppl of d same age grp now who r destroyin d city

Chintan Padhya said...

I could not do anything. There have been lots of instances like this in Mumbai, but this one has my blood boiling on the verge of eruption. I never felt helpless like this in my life. Never! I hope i can do something to get back at them.

Sameera Ansari said...

Though I have only been there a few times,I love that place.Let's hope this mess gets sorted out soon.

May those terrorists rot in hell!

shnkrnryn said...

this is the beginning of the end first it will be the major cities then it will be the world so i am prepared for the worst now

Phoenix said...

i can totaly understand your pain and grief at the recent terror attacks.. i know how hard it must be to see a city you so love turn into a terror spot...

take heart... this too shall pass :)

rantravereflect/ jane said...

the indian 9/11..
n yeah the womabay seems to be teh softest target for terror..
sad.. eyes filled with tears.. shocked..disturbed..agonised..what is life when you know you can lose it at the hands of a mad terrorist whi ya have never even dreamt of in ya worst nightmares..
we ned to root for change..
it's gotta STOP!

rantravereflect/ jane said...

the indian 9/11..
n yeah the womabay seems to be teh softest target for terror..
sad.. eyes filled with tears.. shocked..disturbed..agonised..what is life when you know you can lose it at the hands of a mad terrorist whi ya have never even dreamt of in ya worst nightmares..
we ned to root for change..
it's gotta STOP!

Che said...

Nothing will change.

Preeti said...

MAYZ

yeah...thats scary. i saw footages of those youths. they might have been hardly 22-23 years.

KURT

Dont worry. as always things will return to what they were. scars will remain. but life has to progress not regress, right?

Preeti said...

SAMEERA

I wish they rot in hell too.

and yeah...there is something about bombay.

Preeti said...

SHANKS

you think there is something worse than this...?

Preeti said...

PHOENIX

:-)
i was simply venting. i have my complaints against bombay but somewhere there is that 'womb' connection...

:D

and thanks for the sentiments and for dropping by...

Preeti said...

JANE

yeah... well if you notice, india has been at the receiving end quite frequently in the past few months...i wonder why this attempt at destabilization...?

Preeti said...

CHE

Hmmnn...
Why?

Sparkling said...

This is the problem. Ppl have taken for granted that b'bay can bounce back come what may, bombayites are resilient and so on and so forth. But one should not take solace in this anymore; the govt needs to seriously take stock of these situations. I'd my family and friends going back to work the very next day and I'm going crazy calling them up and asking them to stay home, I know it's crazy but the feeling of insecurity just ain't going away.
The govt is friggin shit at crisis management. This has been going on for the last whole decade and more, when will it stop? Btw, where the fuck is Raj Thackarey now?

Preeti said...

STILL

hmnnn...resilience and bouncing back is an inevitability in a cleansing process. in a 'putting the past behind' process. so i personally feel that bombayites are by now pretty much pros at this...
BUT the bang on point as you have rightly targeted is that the government needs to get its act together which is an inevitable impossibility. so there...

Oh didnt you know...i quote a friend - "Raj Thackeray was hiding under his bed"