Mumbai - driven by panic!

Just a few days back I had written a blog post mentioning how proud I am of being an Indian.  I still stand by my words & I am still proud of being an Indian but there are certain things I don’t agree with or rather say don’t believe in.

A few years back when the terrorists attacked Mumbai on 26-11-2008. The city went quiet & there was panic everywhere. Everyone was praying for those trapped at various places due to the terrorists attacks & for their own lives. The city was so full of panic that even if a door bell rang people were scared to check who it was & predicted it to be a terrorist.

All the people came together to support each other, help each other & made sure everyone reached home safe, but in spite of having caught the terrorist its been years & all we do is wait for justice. Where is it ?

I salute the spirit of Mumbai’s citizen’s! When there were floods a few years back and this year as well everyone helped each other.  I remember when the 26^th July floods happened back in that year, It took me good 45 minutes to reach home from college, when my college was not even at 5 mins distance. On the way back home, I and a girl (stranger) held each other’s hand and walked towards our home (she stayed nearby) as the water on the roads were almost upto our chest & we didn't want to end up in a pothole.  I can never forget that day.

I just happened to remember all of this today as the atmosphere out in Mumbai was filled with panic.  As soon as the news of Bal Thackeray's demise came up, everyone started running here & there as if someone had exploded a bomb. I didn’t really think it would fill the city with so much of tension and panic because he died a natural death. 

I was out with a friend at CCD & we decided we’ll grab something to eat & chit chat for a while then leave. When we went to place an order, the guy at the counter says, “Sorry we can’t take your order we’re closing”, I didn’t blame him as I was already expecting this to happen after the news of the demise of Bal Thackeray.

We finally ended up going to Burgs & grabbed a coke & some fries but we couldn’t stick around there for long as we could literally see people running on the road. The streets were going empty in a matter of seconds, people running to find a transport option to get to their home as soon as possible. My friends flooding my phone with texts and whatsapp msgs as they saw my check-in & were concerned about me as well. 

The worst part was people in jeeps & on bikes roaming around with lathis abusing & threatening people to shut their shops & restaurants off. This is something I witnessed for the first time.  The kind of atmosphere created by these people gave a sense of tension & created panic within people. 

I don’t understand why did everything come to a halt, why were people running here & there. Why were the shops forced to close down? Why were people filled with panic & fear instilled within each and everyone ? Can we ever answer these questions rightly?  Will we ever have an answer to this question WHY?

This experience for sure wasn’t a pleasant one. I just hope & pray such a thing doesn’t happen again. Hope everyone out there is safe :)