Holding our heads high

This saturday Nikhil and I finally managed to drag ourselves out of our abode and ventured into a part of Mumbai that never ceases to amaze me. In fact, everytime I've been to Colaba or Marine drive(and I've been there maybe 4 to 5 times) I cant stop myself from wondering if this really was the way Mumbai used to be maybe a 100 years back!! The beauty in the buildings and roads command a silent respect for itself and I'm sure no other part of this great city can ever be tis way.

Well we went to the Gateway of India and although I'm not too appreciative of the reason for it was built (no one really cares about my appreciation now, do they?!?!?!?!)I have to admit that it was really nice. The statue to Shivaji ( The Maratha Warrior) standing right opposite the Gateway made me think of the resistance he would have provided against the so called mighty British.

But what struck me and maybe everyone who was there was the new fight that the Indians are up against. The terrorists who brought this brave city to a standstill. The way we look at 'The Taj' has changed forever. Its resilience stood out among everything else. Those working at the gates of the Taj certainly had a cautious look about them. Every vagrant was looked with suspicion, so were the well dressed ones and who can blame them for feeling this way. Their personal territory was invaded, friends were killed and there is nothing that anyone can do to change their memory of 26/11 and we shouldn't expect that either. I looked at with awe and pride. My thoughts went to the people who were there that ill fated day. Why did any of this happen? Questions shall never cease to go through our minds and the solutions may never be satisfying. But we've come out of it, not entirely unscathed but with dignity.

This was my country, a country that many thought were weak, but we proved them all wrong, didnt we? We've been hit so many times but we refuse to fall and we'll never fall. The power of a billion is still unexplored and the day we all feel the inner implosion, we'll all see the change. No one will be able to come anywhere close to us. The world shall look in awe and we'll walk away with our heads held aloft!!!

Breach of Trust

Lots of fervour about the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers and why not? Its not everyday that sportpersons face the brunt of extremists. In fact, the faith that sports unites people of different races, cultures, countries, languages etc. has just been disturbed. One may wonder, whats so special about cricketers that an attack on them is generating as much noise as it has been over the past 3 days. To me its just one thing, trust has been breached, the trust that Sri Lankan players had. I guess for them its a similar emotion too, after all Australia was willing to forego its points in the '96 World Cup and just refused to travel to the island.

Sri Lanka is a country that has seen many wars and strifes and there are many who have survived to share their tales with us. I guess thats why they understood how Pakistan felt...... isolated!! When many other countries, India included, put their foot down and have refused to travel to Pakistan, Sri Lanka made a brave decision and a heartfelt decision and embarked on their journey. This is what they get in bargain? The authorities could certainly have done more to prevent such an event, no excuses can be accepted, however apologetic or genuine they may seem.

Various footages that have been released show the gunmen wandering as if it were a walk in the park. Could have this been possible without prior information? Muthiah Muralidharan and umpire Taufel have mentioned in the papers today their doubts, why did the Pakistan bus leave later than usual? These are things that have to be certainly looked into. It may all seem easy sitting in the comfort of our rooms and sympathising with all or even talk of action to be taken, but thats the least that we can do. We can voice an opinion and thats where our story of concern ends!!!