Salaam Bombay

Salaam BombayBecause...Call it Mumbai if you want, but you can't take out the spirit of Bombay from it. No, I am not speaking rather mouthing the cliché of the "great resilience" but the sense of propriety that Bombay displayed through the three nights. Over 150 people have been killed, many of them from the city. A large number of working class people who laid their lives down in the line of duty in hotels, a large number of professionals and some top-notch businessmen

Cut back to the three nights of macabre madness. At any given time, there were over 300 lives at stake between CST and Nariman House, but not once did you hear of "politicization of the tragedy". No, there were no dharnas outside the Chief Minister's house, no petitions to the prime minister, no flagellation. Just rewind to the Kandahar tragedy to remember the spectacle of politics as a nation's honour was being negotiated. None of that was witnessed in Bombay. Yes, there were tears in many eyes as the dome of the Taj was aflame, there was sorrow that so many lives were lost, and there was grief that the tragedy foretold many times had visited them again

Salaam BombayBecause the city has not allowed the politicians to harvest this grief because the man on the street is no longer buying theories of "our nationalism" vs "their nationalism". If there is one emotion in evidence it was anger spelt in capitals. As you drive down from the airport, there is an eerie sense of calm on the roads. The traffic is thin through the distance to the city. If there is a hold up, it is at Shivaji Park, as ordinary people who walked with the cortege to pay homage to the courage of Hemant Karkare, an extraordinary police officer.

Narendra Modi may feel triumphant at having beaten both Advani and Manmohan by getting to the trouble spot. There may be many who admire the way he runs Gujarat but this visit and the "reward of Rs one crore" has only triggered anger among people. "Can Karkare's courage be weighed against cash?" asks a beat constable. It is a sentiment politicians may want to understand. This city is simply on hold, it is waiting to grieve before it erupts

Salaam BombayBecause...this time the city will seek its due. You may call it the tipping point, the turning point, the break point. Whatever you call it, the city seems to be coming together. They may be saying it in Marathi in Mazgaon, in Gujarati in Ghatkopar, in Konkani in Colaba Machimar Nagar, in English on Altamount Road… in the quaint East Indian dialect… whatever the language they have just one message. Across class and the very peculiar geography of the city people are saying just one thing. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. The time for empty promises and platitudes is over. Those in "know-who" city, otherwise called Delhi had better watch out because Bombay is nothing if not the know-how country. Watch this space, the city will seek redemption.And SOFor this spirit this native of the know-who city says Salaam Bombay.

indian paper