Hi, all...
First of all, I hope you are all OK.
It was a sad week for humanity. Trigger-happy murderers gunned down innocent lives and set out to destroy the spirit and reputation of Mumbai, my city. This city, which I call my home and love most dearly, has been the target of several such attacks in the recent past, that too with alarming frequency. The sequence of events is almost always the same... terror attack, loss of lives, destruction of property, slight upswing in vigilance, life back to normal, someone somewhere concocting another attack... and the vicious cycle continues.
This time, one was struck by the radical sight of the commandos dealing with the situation. It was somewhat reassuring to see that they were able to implement their rigourous training so appreciably. Politicians also got to show off their ample mud-slinging talents. It is a sad fact that incompetence and corruption are deeply entrenched in our political system and this is clearly why that vicious cycle of death and destruction will never see an end.
While this despicable series of events was playing itself out, my friend Reema (who lives in Vancouver) and I were hooked onto the news and despite the distance, strangely together, going through the same emotions of outrage and sadness for our city. She reminded me of some lines we'd read together and the more I absorb them, the more fitting they seem in the circumstances:
"The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible. Your defences must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the Arts you seek to undo."
- as said by the character of Severus Snape in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
"It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated."
- as said by the character of Albus Dumbledore in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Despite all the pessimism I have expressed about the safety of my city and my country, I would like to end on a positive note and tell myself that no matter what, one can still imagine...
Imagine (John Lennon)
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one.
1 comment:
A very beautiful and touching message indeed. We are all part of this country and it hurts to see such gruesome attacks happening on innocent people, who even in the remotest part of their mind had never imagined that they city that they love to be in and live in, some of whom would have come to unwind from their stressful life, had actually been their last day to live. Its heartbreaking and devastating to even think that there are people in this world, who would take lives so ruthlessly. I just hope and pray that our country is kept safe from further attacks and that all our people live happily secured lives.
-Eva.
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