Salaam Bombay

City of Dreams

The 'National Geographic' defines the city of Mumbai in the following words :

"Home to the razzle-dazzle world of Bollywood—India’s answer to Hollywood—rambunctious Mumbai (Bombay) is an utterly mind-bending assault on all the senses. A veritable melting pot of religions, customs, and culinary traditions, this is India’s economic powerhouse and its most cosmopolitan metropolis. Said to have more millionaires per square mile than Manhattan, Mumbai also has the dubious distinction of housing Asia’s largest slum. Indeed, the “City of Dreams,” as it’s affectionately dubbed, is a city of sharp contrasts: business tycoons drive past scantily clad street urchins; swanky bars overlook rickety chai stalls, and women wrapped in chiffon saris shop alongside college girls flaunting the latest Western designer wear. Yes, if there’s a city that stirs the soul and fires the imagination like no other, it’s Mumbai. "

Welcome to 'The Taj Hotel' : 'Diamond by the sea'

All of us need to know a little bit about Taj:

• A Mumbai landmark and architectural marvel, the Taj Hotel opened in 1903.
• The beautiful hotel brings together Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles of architecture and provides sweeping views of the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India.
• The hotel was built by Jamshedji Tata, as a reaction to the "White' dominated Luxury Hotel, who did not alloow him to enter because he was an indian. The Building itself is a monument to the "Racists" mindsets of early 1900's.
• This was the first building to be lit by electricity in Mumbai.
• This is older than Gateway of India, built 20 years before gatway of India, Taj was the first sioght for the ships sailing to Mumbai.
• During the World War I, the hotel served as a 600 bed hospital.
• Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Sophia Lauren, Prince Charles...guest list is who is who in the History.

'Mumbai Meri Jaan'

I was 6 years old when I first visited Mumbai with my parents and those 'unclicked' memories remained with me as I grew up , the charm of the city remained intact in some remote corner of my heart...giving its special appearance in the many stories that I wrote as I graduated from a child to a man...the city grew bigger in my heart ...and after 20 years I made a brief trip to this city.The memories are still afresh.

Getting clicked with my friends ...with the Taj hotel in the background (October 2006)

Me standing outside the entrance of Taj hotel , with Gateway of India in the background.


Me with my friends on the Chowpatty beach with the beautiful Mumbai Skyline.

A Wednesday

It was another day in the life of Mumbai. However, nobody would have guessed what this day was bringing for them. Far from the sunrise and the din of an everyday life, 'terror' was to author a new chapter in Mumbai's story so far. The Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai was one of the places attacked by terrorists on Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

I could not believe that this was the same place I had took pride to stand and smile...it was up in flames....and not before a deadly trail of ruthless bloodshed had stained up the streets and places of Mumbai...



It was just the beginning...the night of terror would culminate into one of the deadliest and bloodiest attacks on the city of Mumbai....the city literally burned for two days....a city under seige ...
and why ?
Because of some freaks ...what else can you call these guys...just look at them :

Dressed in a black half T-shirt and jeans with a blue rucksack hung over his left shoulder and red sacred thread tied on his right wrist, one might just mistake him to be just another regular college-going student.
Is this the new Face of terror?
Is the new trigger happy generation breeding around us ...tech savvy, intelligent, meticulous, YOUNG!

And what devastation !

This is the scene of CST Station where the terrorists fired indiscriminataly at innocent people....
I remember boarding a local train to Thane from this very platform 2 years ago...this very station...I WAS HERE.
Formerly Victoria Terminus, and better known by its abbreviation CST or Bombay VT) is a historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. It is one of the busiest railway stations in India, and serves Central Railway trains terminating in Mumbai as well as the Mumbai suburban railway.



On 2 July 2004 the station was nominated a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. On 26 November 2008, armed with AK-47 rifles, two terrorists entered the passenger hall of the CST, opened fire and threw grenades, killing at least 40 people.



I was disturbed, surprised, anxious, angry, bewildered, confused....and I was thinking...thinking...collecting my thoughts...what I wanted to say ...write..... I just wrote a one liner from Rabbi shergill's song on my official 'News and Views' forum :

"Jiney naaz hai Hind par woh kahan they....Jiney Naaz hai Hind par woh kahan hai?"

Our so called 'Leaders' or politicians were busy in closed door meetings and interviews while the innocents were being killed heinously ...
It was a complete administration failure...yet our brave commandos and police officials reacted to the situation and went into what now was just not a terror attack...it was a WAR.

MORTAL COMBAT

and now there are just images....striking images....some disturbing, some chilling, some horrifying ....and some relieving..

A Few Good Men.

The nation mourns its heroes...its the times like these...that we really cry...even just for a while....for those men who lost their lives to keep us safe....the real bravehearts who died in the line of fire....a few good men.

As the hours pass, and Mumbai gears to wake up to a new morning, the loss of these brave officers becomes a reason- a glaring reason that makes us remember time and again how Mumbai came out of the gruesome 60 hours of the threat of death and doom.

THE REMAINS OF THE DAY

The experience will remain unforgettable. But the question that repeats itself is- what for? For everyone who lost another- this will be a question that will remain unanswered. For isn't the blood I spill of another, the same that flows in me? What makes us different? What is the meaning of such a hatred that becomes so heinous?

There will be a lot of such quotes, statements, harrowing tales, eyewitness accounts, heartbreaking stories, chilling details, numb images in days to come ....and many more debates, clarifications, conspiracy theories, buck passing, resignations, protests, meetings and so and so forth....but for now , its time to pause and salute the Spirit of Mumbai.

The Spirit of Mumbai

Terror attacks have come with depressing regularity to Mumbai -- and each time the city, brought to its knees, has dusted itself and forged on.

It did so in March 1993 when more than 250 were killed in a series of bombings on the stock exchange, on trains and at hotels.

It did so in August 2003 when two taxicabs loaded with explosives blew up outside a crowded market, killing 50.

And again in July 2006, when bombs that ripped through packed commuter trains and platforms during rush hour and took 209 lives.

This time, residents say, is no different.

"Am I being more careful when I go out? No, not at all. Why would I change my habits?" said resident Netra Parikh Saturday. "I'm a proud citizen and I'll face and fight for anything that comes my way."

Watching the century-old iconic structure in flames was one of the hardest parts for many Mumbaikers, said Dina Mehta.

"There's a lot of sentiment associated with that structure," she said. "It's part of our cultural heritage. People can't get past those kinds of visuals."

After almost 60 tense hours, the reign of terror appeared to be over Saturday after security forces overtook the Taj -- the terrorists' last stand.

Now, residents said, a dispirited city will need to re-channel its feelings of helplessness and frustration into a can-do attitude.

"We can't let this get to us. Life has to go on," she said. "Most us haven't ever met each other but when you go through something like this, you want a big hug."

Words fail. The heart's torn with tears. Pride at having fought the terrorists contradicts a feeling of a disturbed loss. These last few days have been more than like an unending nightmare. And now, that it's finally over- the mind is restless, still, caressed only by togetherness.

Here, the Taj stands- alone, as if. Under the night sky, as the dusk falls, and the din and bustle of the city of dreams returns to what it was, one moves on....with an unending hope- that can never be defeated. Never.

Lets just stand up and salute to this Maximum City.....

SALAAM BOMBAY !