The Dark Night

-Written By Swetha Amit
It was the usual routine towards the end of a rather long day that brought us to the gym tonight. Little did we realize that an unexpected jolt of news would completely cast a dark shadow on the entire spirited city of Mumbai within a span of five hours? It seemed like a night that would never see daylight with the severe recurring attacks of masked faces.

It was the voice of a frantic man reporting an appalling incident of having witnessed a shooting outside Leopold’s in Colaba Causeway that made many sit up and take notice of. The instant reaction of logging on to the news channels followed hoping for more insights on this bizarre occurrence. The initial reports of it being a fiasco between two warring gangs led to a casual dismissal as just one of those incidents when a couple of more atrocities were announced. Before anyone could say ‘Jack Robinson’, a couple of blasts were reported and from then on it became the reign of terror in the maximum city.

Millions were caught of their guard by this ‘surprise’ visit which apparently was out to destroy everything that the city was proud of. It seemed that maligning the prestigious monuments topped the to-do list of these miscreants. The affluent joints were rebuked in such a callous manner that would instigate psychologists to label this as an extremist’s streak of sadism against the prosperity of the entire nation. It seemed that the quest for revenge against innocent civilians had also spread to architectural exhibitions which were a manifestation of the creative human mind.

It was a shocking sight to see the iconic symbol of the city being used as the hostage hub for these terrorists only to go up in fumes later. The entire city was a victim of havoc, hue and cry. Police jeeps, ambulances, gun shots and the media swarmed the streets of South Mumbai along with the entry of commandos and the rest of the support system. Several were left sleepless and helpless as they watched the turmoil and panic stricken fellow mates undergo anguish and misery. Petrol Bunks, stations, cinema halls, hotels, and couple of areas in North Mumbai were not spared. Not to mention the causalities included the Chief of the Anti terrorist squad as well.

True that Mumbai has been a terror target before. Yet this one seemed to have completely made the vivacious city go haywire and shaken up completely. The ‘spirit’ of the city is much talked about which is depicted in its quick recovery after a calamity-man made or natural. It appears that the city which never sleeps has lived up to its meaning including the defense and its simple folks who were probably up praying for the safety of their near and dear ones.

Will Mumbai recover and be on its tracks again? Or is this a blow that it will not forget very easily leaving behind a few scars. Time will tell.

However it made me wonder about the precautionary methods adopted by the government. Several serial blasts have occurred all over the country in the past one year. Yet it appears that our country has failed to fight this disease. The mindsets of terrorists also prove to be a mystery here. Why use innocent civilians as pawns in this battle between politics and them? Don’t they understand the value of lives and families? Is it cowardice or a method to convey some sort of supremacy? Would the politicians have learnt their lesson? Or would there be more cases of doom over dome, such as the case of the Taj Mahal hotel? And leave millions of us to only hope and clasp our hands in humble prayer hoping that such an untoward incident will never occur again. Yet the veil of doubt spreads like a shadow with a tinge of gloom like the twilight zone bringing in darkness.

This dark night would never be forgotten easily as one can foresee the innumerable sleepless ones to come by. Certainly where it is bound to leave them feeling restless and incomplete.
Written for www.msn.co.in

Comments

Whirlwind said…
Comments on MSN:
ayesha parveen - kolkata on 11/27/2008 1:54:30 PM
Yes, Swetha, yet another terrorist attack! As Indians, we wonder when all this will stop, if at all. Sad, but true.
Whirlwind said…
sharmishtha - kolkata on 11/27/2008 7:49:27 PM
its simply horrible, heavens only know when this mutual hatred will stop.

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