Leaving few hours in between, I have been more or less glued to the television since Wednesday late night. It has been beyond 48 hours, and a bizzare drama is still going on in front of my eyes - almost the likes of hollywood thrillers - with fire blazing out of one of the most magnificent structures of the country, random explosions, gunshots and security forces- NSG, MARCO, RAF, and others.... the financial capital of the country, Mumbai, was attacked by terrorists, who by now we know are in all probability backed by a militant group from Pakistan. It was another Wednesday night for Mumbaikars and all Indians as well, which suddenly became a scenario just out of the horror tragedies. They are saying 150 people are dead, I am fearing the number will increase in leaps. Fearlerss top cops have been killed in the direct encounters, young commandoes have been killed. A two year old Israeli kid has lost his full family....the General Manager of Taj hotel saw his wife and kids burnt alive inside the hotel room...fathers lost their sons and daughters...husbands lost wives...friends lost friends...colleagues lost colleagues...I had a lump in my throat when they showed the photo of Commando Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a bright young boy who was killed by the terrorists while in action.- he was exactly my brother's age !!Why do people have to do this? Why all the killing and bloodshed? For what? A week from now, things will try to fall back in place....the hoteliers will rebuild their property.....we will start forgetting details...it is said that India's collective memory is short-staying...I sincerely wish this time Indians remember everything they have witnessed...lives gone will never come back, the time gone will never come back...Amidst all this, today morning, the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi took the opportunity to visit the seized hotel areas and gave a lecture in which he condemned the central government. He also declared Rs 1 crore from the Gujarat Government for the families of the martyr cops. A few hours later, Maharashtra Chief Minsiter Vilasrao Deshmukh appeared on scene and criticised Modi of taking advantages of the situation....the actual nightmare is not over, and the other nightmare has already started....that of political backbiting and dramas that are yet to be unfolded !! His Highness Bal Thakre and his north-south hating nephew were no where in the scene to comment about anything....L K Advani and Manmohan Singh declared to visit Mumbai together and then came seperately......wait until they open the folds of their gnawing power monging wings one by one....these political vultures are worse than terrorists at times!!The real heroes are, as the newschannels are saying, the security forces- the NSGs, the MARCOS, and others, who have been fighting relelntlessly with the remorseless attackers. I know none of them, I don't even know how many of them have been present there, - my salute goes out to each and every one of those bravehearts. I also heard many stories from those rescued, of the bravery of hotel staffs who tried to safeguard their guests till the very end. Perhaps it is these troubled times that takes the test of human grit and courage...I also have a few lines of praise for the television reporters.....the way they constantly kept base and provided updates......yes, there were moments when some of them exhibited the byte-hungry faces of theirs which we are often bitterly aware of...but overall they have done a great job...I have been following Star Ananda for Bengali news and NDTV Live , and I must say the members from both have done great job in their own signatory ways. Only I would like to request NDTV to not use the term "India's 9/11 ".....this has been an attack on India, it has hit every Indian straight into the heart...we may be alive by God's grace, but each and every Indian's hearts are bleeding, each one of us are severely injured..... it is nothing but "India's 26/11".
