Thank You! November 29, 2008

Thank you Ishita, Rahul, Divya, Shivani, Mom, Karan, Swedyl, Shagun, Anshika, Garima, Bakir, Chinky, Nupur, Shikha, Bhakti Fui, Nickydi, Annesha for your frantic calls and texts to make sure I’m alright.

Thank you Shoa, Nayaab, Dad for calling at regular intervals to check on me.

Thank you Vahed for making sure the mood at All Stir Fry didn’t get too tense.

Thank you Rishi for telling me it’s gonna be okay when I really needed to hear that.

Thank you to the girl who gave us her UNO cards to keep us entertained!

Thank you to the staff at All Stir Fry for giving us coffee, blankets, pillows, phone chargers. For keeping the TVs running through the night. For taking such good care of us.

Thank you Adit, Smita, Aparna, Vinifer for staying calm while all of us were holed up at Gordon House.

Thank you Amit for dropping me home.

Thank you Sargamdi for replying to my blog post and providing the inspiration to do something.

Thank you to Srinivasan Jain, Barkha Dutt for keeping us up to date while sacrificing your own sleep and putting your lives on the line. For being responsible journalists.

Thank you Mr. Karkare, Mr. Salaskar, Mr. Unnikrishnan, Mr. Kamte and all the other officers who died fighting for us.

Thank you Mr. V.D. Zende and the other announcers at CST station who with their amazing presence of mind saved many lives.

Thank you to the NSG commandos for being so brave.

Thank you to all our men in uniform who fought so valiantly to finally bring the terrorists down.

Thank you to all the citizens of Bombay who are joining hands for a better tomorrow. Please don’t let this die.

The “spirit” of Bombay be damned!

I am honestly sick and tired of listening to people harp on about the “spirit” of Bombay. I really wish people would just stop. The so-called “spirit” of Bombay is nothing but the sheer need of the common man to get up each morning and get to work come hell or high water to be able to keep alive in the city. It’s nothing but a fight for survival. The “spirit” of Bombay thus, is not out of choice but rather the lack of it.

I, for one, am sick of being taken for granted in the name of our “spirit”. The “spirit” of Bombay has been used and abused so much that it holds no value anymore. It is nothing but a cliche. It is nothing but an excuse for the appalling failure on the part of the intelligence, the Government time and time again.

I’m sick of my city, my country being constantly under attack. It’s time for change. It’s time for our politicians to give us answers. We cannot, should not and will not remain silent as our security blanket continues to be torn away bit by bit. The authorities have been lackadaisical for way too long. We’ve watched on silently from the sidelines for way too long. It’s time for us – the citizens- to come together and fight this injustice. United we can and we will make a change, a difference. The “spirit” of Bombay be damned!

P.S. I’ve created an event on facebook to hold a peace rally or candlelight vigil perhaps to protest against the . Do join in. The time is NOW! Here’s the link-http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/event.php?eid=41080875973. if it doesn’t open just go search for the event called ‘Citizens for Peace’ and you should find it. Spread the word. The larger the number, the stronger the message.