Our lives in the aftermath

Mumbai strikes are in the final stages of clean up. The final rites of brave soldiers who gave up their lives have been done. Even in my mind, any words to describe the emotions being felt by people sound fake, deliberate. Things you would expect to hear at such a time. I won't write them. I am very angry. And I need this anger to consume my mind and body for a long time. I won't shout it out and forget about it. I will not give a vent to these feelings. Not this time.

Very important realizations have come out of these attacks. The realization that we are in the middle of a war now. The attacks are to be part of our lives now. There is no scope of denial left. Nobody is safe and there is no use pretending otherwise. If not today, then tomorrow. If not here, then somewhere else. I have had enough of scuttling around like frightened mice. I wrote in my previous post that the need is to come out of the bubble that we create around us. To quit guarding our precious selves so fiercely that we forget to care about the people we live with.

I was ashamed on watching news reports about the 31-yer old Major who died because he did not want to leave his injured colleague behind. I was ashamed when I saw his father on the news- calm and without a hint of tears in his eyes. Pride oozing from his broken heart.
I was ashamed because I had felt the same anger at several incidents in the past. I had been angry during Gujrat, during Mumbai train blasts, during 9/11 and during Delhi blasts. But then I forgot about them and went back to my work, to my life.

This time we won't forget. We will write about it and talk about it everyday so we don't forget. We will paste pictures, print posters, relate songs with this incidence and upload videos so that it is firmly embedded in our mind.

The terrorists in the Mumbai attacks were between ages 21-25. Maybe I shouldn't say this but I am impressed. However barbaric, however insanely devastating their plot was, they showed the sheer power of and havoc that can be caused by an inspired young mind. Learn from this- not to go around bombing the world and killing people. But learn the essence: the sheer power of an inspired young mind. The kind of havoc we can wreak on those who have unwittingly shown us our strengths in trying to break us.

Don't forget. Don't forgive. And most importantly, don't live with it. I won't.