The Great Ganesha

Seven bombs on seven different commuter trains on the Western Railways went off within minutes of each other on Tuesday (7/11) evening. Apparently all in first-class compartments. Officially, there are hundreds of casualties. Unofficially, there are probably thousands – each compartment holds somewhere in the range of at least two hundred people when full. And it was rush hour, so the compartments were full. These bombers were no fools. No one has taken credit and the government and has once again shown its incompetence with crisis management.

Bombayites are rallying in this time of crisis to help each other and it is their tight social fabric that has saved the day. We are no strangers to bomb blasts. We are at our best in our darkest hour. Life will move on despite this. We WILL prevail.

It’s hard to know what to say or do sitting thousands of miles away. Should I skip my workout? It seems frivolous to be exercising for recreation when people are dying. I’ve been on those trains countless times. Even during the evening rush hour. For all you know, I may even have been standing next to one of those who died in the blasts, at some point. Scary as it sounds though, life must go on. Yes, I should workout. My life was not directly affected. And even in Bombay, everyone not directly affected by the blasts (and even some who were directly affected) will be going on with their usual lives as far as is possible. Some have no choice – it’s their livelhood at stake. Others have a choice and still go on. In ’93, after the Stock Exchange was bombed, it reopened two days later and over the two days following that, stocks gained ten percent. That’s the indomitable Bombay spirit.

And then the usual non-resident Indian identity issues start to surface. I haven’t lived in the city for over a decade. My friends consider me “Americanized.” I am guilty of eating breakfast on the go, of attending (and enjoying) barbeques and even attending a yoga class taught by an American (that was a weird experience). Am I entitled to call myself a Bombayite? Well, this one’s easy. The answer’s yes. As trite as it may sound, you can take the man out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the man. It’s a cliche, I agree, but it is one only because it’s true. The city lives inside me and despite the geographical distance, I like to think that a piece travels around with me. A Western suburb of Bombay exists in a one-foot diameter around me. Call it Lower GreatGanesha-pokli. Ahhh, humor. The ultimate refuge in a time of crisis. It never lets you down.

Keep laughing, fellow Bombayites! No bomb blast is going to stop us.

Take a look here at Pajamas Media for a constantly updated collection of links on the media coverage. DesiPundit has done a good job of compiling peoples’ blog-posts on the subject. And click here at the Mumbai Help blog if you can help in any way. Go there anyway to see how Bombayites support each other in times of need. It never ceases to amaze me.

[Note: This was cross-posted on another blog I write for. Apologies if you already read it.]

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