Kicking Boredom

Saturday, 29 November 2008

Is this true???

“Fight Terror. Vote B.J.P.”

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/world/asia/29india.html?_r=1&hp

Thanks Galdo

That's what exactly the mood of the city is.

1. Let's not immortalise our bravehearts by putting up political hoardings on the streets. Let's immortalise them by making their families feel proud of their sacrifice and living by their ideals of honesty and bravery, not humiliate them by politicising their deaths.

2. Let's have a system that makes me feel safe. A system that activates the moment terror strikes my city. A system that keeps my life secure and gives my children a better childhood and a safe future.

3. Let's have a government which comes together in times of crisis rather that making differences obvious even in grave times.

4. Let's have leaders with vision.

5. Let's have better equipments and pay for the police force, the army, the navy and the fire brigade.

6. Let's stop using our Black Cats for providing security to good-for-nothing politicians. Mayawaiti, Mulayam Singh Yadav and their ilk do not deserve Z-plus security; it's the man on the street who does.

7. Let's stop taking human life for granted.

8. Let's not make a mockery of the 'right to vote'. It's a privilege, so give us good electoral candidates for whom we get that indelible ink on our fingers with pride.

9. Let's raise more officers like Karkare, Salaskar, Unnikrishnan and Kamthe and let's ensure that we don't lose them to callouness.

10. Let's have a regulatory body for the media. It's sick to see some news channels boasting about exclusive reporting, only making things easy for the predators.

11. Let's have a system that keeps me informed at all times.

12. Let's live a normal, secure, happy life in this beautiful city called BOMBAY. The city died the day it was renamed.

Hoping against hopes

When I started this blog I was very certain that it’s going to be an account of an ordinary day in my ordinary life. I was certain that it’s just going to be ramblings and musings that turn my ordinary day into a note of retrospection. And that’s the reason why my blog has never discussed serious issues that required attention. I always believed and still do, that life is beautiful and that I’m lucky to be born as a human in this wonderful world that we live in. And this terrorist attack has not brought about any change in my beliefs. I’ll continue to love life and that too life in this city the same way as I used to. I am not scared to loiter on the narrow lanes of this city because some preachers of barbarism decided to stain it with blood. I breathe in this city and this city runs in my blood. I know that there are better places in this world to survive and I can afford to migrate. But I love this city too much to bid adieu to it. My eyes have refused to dry up in the last sixty hours...something or the other that I watch or read well up my eyes.

I will never forget the image of a burning Taj ever in my life. For me, the Taj is Mumbai, it’s me, it’s the splendour that represents my city.

I will never forget that a little alertness from the intelligence services would have saved my city.

I will never forget that had my city’s police force been equipped with modern weapons, the heroes of my city would have come back alive.

I will never forget that the scene where the ATS Chief Hemant Karkare got into action after wearing a helmet and assuring his colleagues that they don’t have to fear as he’s with them.

I will never forget that Ashok Kamthe spoke to his wife before setting out for the mission and assured his dad that it’s just one of those things and that he’ll reach home victorious.

I will never forget the picture on Mumbai Mirror – a distraught Mrs। Salaskar on the feet of her husband when they brought her warrior dead.

I will never forget the scene that I am witnessing on TV now, a mother of an enterprising NSG Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan trying to get a glimpse of her martyr son who was supposed to visit her this December। A mother who was waiting with the menu for the month – her son’s favourite dishes. What does it take for a father to call up a news channel and say that his only child died a martyr’s death?

I will never forget Karambir Kang, the General Manager of Taj who spent time rescuing guests while his own family – his wife and two kids – were burnt to death in the fire set by the terrorists। I cannot even begin to imagine the plight of the mother who must have found herself so helpless to see her children writhing in pain.

I will never forget the tremor in the voice of a father from Haryana whose son Gautam called him up in the middle of the night and said, “Dad are you sleeping? Please put on the TV and let me speak to mom and my younger brother।” Gautam was an intern with one of the hotels and was killed in the terrorist attack.

I will never forget the way the fire-men rescued the guests moving from room to room, standing tall on their ladders, risking their own lives.

I will never forget the father at CST who kept running for help carrying his five-year old daughter। She was shot by the terrorists and was bleeding profusely. A little bruise on my son’s knee is enough to make me paranoid....

I will never forget the tremor in the voice of an Oberoi staf as he spoke on FM about a 20-something girl who was shot by the terrorist. She kept pleading that she doesn’t want to die when they shot her again.

I will never forget the two year-old who was rescued from Nariman House while his parents were still trapped inside. His birthday will always cast a gloom in his life as that was the very day his parents and grandparents were shot down by terrorists. His grandparents had flown in from Israel to celebrate his special day.

I will never forget Chef Emanuele Lattanzi who helped around 30 guests to get out safely from The Vetro in Oberoi and later rushed to resue his family comprising his wife and six-month old daughter.

I will never forget the death of Havaldar Gajendra Singh, a jawan whose life Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan was tring to serve.

I will never forget the brave front put up by the staff of The Taj and The Oberoi in providing physical and moral support to the guests and hostages.

I will never forget the funeral scenes of the matryrs who put up a brave front and fought a valiant battle before laying their lives for the nation.

I will never forget the grief on those faces who had either lost a loved one or was hunting for information on a love one.

....and I hope that we all get strength to come to terms with this enormous loss of lives, some young...some old!

Friday, 28 November 2008

A few stories...

"Don't worry...the first bullet will go through me."
A powerful line that lay fears to rest...

Read more
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=2cd34789-c7ac-430e-848a-8326e0cc9fffMumbaiunderattack_Special&MatchID1=4858&TeamID1=1&TeamID2=5&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1224&PrimaryID=4858&Headline=

"I want to be in real combat situations."
- Ashok Kamte, ACP

Read more
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=49a968c1-2827-4af8-9757-89f2dcd14143Mumbaiunderattack_Special
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/He_took_on_criminals_irrespective_of_their_clout/articleshow/3766923.cms
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/27ashok-kamte-a-daring-officer-and-excellent-negotiator.htm

"My husband was a brave man."
- Wife of Martyr Vijay Salaskar

Read more
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=2a7bdcc4-a470-4258-b18a-25e4e09c8b33Mumbaiunderattack_Special&MatchID1=4858&TeamID1=1&TeamID2=5&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1224&PrimaryID=4858&Headline=The+gunslinger+with+a+heart
http://www.indiaabroad.com/news/1999/mar/05nandy.htm

His reply: just a smiley....

http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/27tps-pays-tribute-to-hemant-karkare.htm

A Night Out in Mumbai

http://www.indiauncut.com/iublog/article/a-night-out-in-mumbai/

Chef dies a hero's death.

href="http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1209880">http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1209880

We have begun to wonderwas it worth risking the lives of prominent officers and if so, why?

href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/A_sadness_envelops_the_force/articleshow/3766928.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/A_sadness_envelops_the_force/articleshow/3766928.cms

Thursday, 27 November 2008

Commendable

The best part of the Times Now presentation was the panel discussion they had with Alyque Padamsee, Farooque Sheikh, adman Suheil Seth and actor Shefali Chaya.

Suheil Seth was awesome when he very articulately spoke in his impeccable English bashing up the politicians verbally, taking names of each and everyone. He called them a bunch of wimps. Bravo! He didn't spare anyone. Not even the Prime-Minister.

"We are the biggest hypocrites when it comes to honesty and purpose."he said and appealed to everyone to boycott the elections till public woes are not solved. He even pointed at the way a shining India was lifting bodies without any dignity. Making a rightful observation, he touched upon our inefficiency to respect our heroes and to immortalise them. He even spoke of how it's difficult for a common man to reach Alibaug from Mumbai while we have these Johnnies coming on their Gemini dinghies landing on the shore of Mumbai.

Man! This guy spoke from his heart and hence it felt good listening to him.

The Splendour of Taj!

Pictures: Siddharth Nair

It just took one night...

...to kill a 100 and to injure another 200.

...to realise again that human life is not valuable anymore.

...to understand that terror can strike anytime, anywhere!

The terrorist attacks that took place yesterday once again proves that life isn't safe and secure as it used to be and terror today is not faceless.

At 22:10 p.m. we got an sms from a friend informing us about the alleged 'round of firing' at CST. We immediately switched on to news channels and saw police personnels scattered around the terminus and people walking here and there with their hands held up. Nothing was clear. At least not what lay in store for this beautiful city. Then information started pouring in about terrorist attacks in the Taj and Oberoi hotels. There were also reports of attack at Leopold Cafe. Every passing moment brought in more negative news. It was certain that a horde of terrorists had already made their presence felt in the city. As the country moved towards dawn, the more than 100 year old Taj was burning at it's dome. The Taj, the very structure that symbolises Mumbai stood there burning, with a good number of her guests trapped inside and a few taken hostage by the terrorists. So was the situation in the Oberoi Trident. The attack was so well planned that the police must have had a tough time analysing the situation as they were happening simultaneously at different places. CST, Leopold Cafe, Taj, Oberoi Trident, Vile Parle and Nariman House. And thanks to the Indian Government, the police were at least armed with outdated weapons as against the latest AK-47 that were in possession of the terrorists. It was sad to see the police force marching towards the target, most of them unarmed and without bulletproof jackets to shield them from the attack. It looked like the city had bathed in blood while several news channels flashed their 'exclusive footage', not respecting dignity of death of a human being.

And then came the moment of terrible loss. The death of ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, Encounter Specialist Vijay Salaskar and ACP Ashok Kamte It just took a few moments to extinguish these flames. A big loss for the people of this country. We are proud of you. You will always remain our heroes. As I type this, my mind races back to the image of a brave Hemant Karkare getting ready to confront those cowards who were targetting innocent lives to satiate their hunger for more blood. Minutes later a news flash - ATS Chief Hemant Karkare killed in the encounter.

Vijay Salaskar

Hemant Karkare

The police, the fire department, the NSG commandos, the army, the navy commandos and the common man are doing a great job to bring things under control. But a few questions still remain unanswered - Why such a drastic intelligence failure? And how did they enter the city by the sea? Is it plain coincidence that three top officials of the police force were killed in the attack?

While I am at it, the hostage drama still continues. But I'm certain that tomorrow the city will stand again, wake up a to new morrow and newspapers will carry slogans on the 'SPIRIT OF MUMBAI THAT NEVER DIES'. And life goes on....

Hai Dil hain mushkil jeena yahan...zara hatkey zara bachchkey...yeh hai "BOMBAY MERI JAAN"

Aye dil hai aasaa jeena yahan...Suno mister, suno bandhu....yeh hai Bombay meri jaan

Now is the time to act. If India doesn't wake up to actions against terror strikes now, it never will. It's high time we got out of the garb of tolerance that we have been donning for years now. Like America never forgot the image of a falling World Trade Centre, the image of a Burning Taj will forever stay in the hearts of an Indian.

P.S. A special thanks to Arnab (Or-knob) Goswami from Times Now, indeed a 'journalist on steroids'. This man has gone insane. If at all the terrorists were availing television coverage, his over-excitement would have been their information source.

Kudos to the Mumbai Police! We are indeed proud of you.

REST IN PEACE our Bravehearts. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!