Skip to main content

Visting South Bombay

Yesterday, Gordon and I met near Regal Cinema (South Bombay). This was first chance to go to south Bombay after 26/11. My walk from CST station to Regal cinema did not feel any different. The same old crowded streets with people running around, street peddlers trying to sell their wares, cars honking, it felt like my same old Bombay to me. One change that i saw, was the metal detectors at CST station and more police presence. But, i did not feel any tension in the air. It seemed business as usual in south Bombay.

Gordon suggested we have our lunch at Leopold Cafe. This is where all the mayhem started on the 26/11. I had never been to this cafe before. At first look, the place seemed like any other cafe in Bombay except there were more foreign customers than Indians. The bullet holes have not been repaired and apparently they wont be. I saw many people come to the cafe just to see these bullet holes. We were sitting next to a pillar which had a mark indicating that a bullet had brushed past it. The food was actually pretty good albiet expensive.
Again, i did not feel unsafe or threatened. The people around me also seemed to be relaxed and enjoying their food. So much for the people who have tried to strike fear in our hearts.

We then walked towards the gateway of India around the Taj. I could see the renovation work going on on the Taj. It is very comendable of the TATA group to get the Taj Hotel, a symbol of Bombay, up running again in no time. As for the Gateway of India itself, it just the seemed the same old to me. We sat on the ledge near the water. From there i could see the people - tourists, couples, peddlers, friends and even the pigeons. Everyone was back and having a good time there. So did I.

I do not know if this is Bombay's resilience or apathy. Being the person I am, i hope it is Bombay's never say die attitude that was on display. I did not feel unsafe in south Bombay even for a milli second. Thanks to all the people - the police, the commandos, the doctors, the media - everyone who helped Bombay and its people on the 26/11 and days ensuing it. God bless them all and their families.

It is nice to back in Bombay and experience the things I love about my city - the food, the people, the train, the sea and everthing that makes Bombay the maximum city. No one person or group can change that.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A piece of my mind on India's security solution

The solution to our internal security is not simple. The responsibility of this situation is just not on the politicians and bureaucrats, but on the whole of India. - The people of India. I think we are as much responsible as the politicians and bureaucrats are for this current pathetic situation. The following are the things that are the needs of the hour : Politicians Create a separate portfolio for Internal/Homeland Security. Have a really strong minister fo r it. Make a division in CBI, RAW etc solely for the purpose of the internal security. They will brief the union minister for homeland security. Each state has its own state minister for internal security. They are responsible for the security of the state s. Have highly trained commandos in all the major cities including tier 1 cities. Train the police to handle such terrorist attacks in the absence of the commandos. Also, train them to work under the commando when they are present. Provide all the equipment required to do the

My First Motorcycle Roadtrip

I went on my first road on my motorcycle( Kawasaki Ninja 500R) to a place called Kingman in the north of Arizona. This was 22nd of June 2007. It is around 200 miles from Phoenix, Arizona. A fun ride it was and was not very tiring as i assumed it would be. I left early around 6am and reached Kingman around 9.30am with 2 stops in the middle at Wickenberg and a some other place just before Kingman. The trip was very uneventful except that my gear lever came off few miles outside Kingman. Stopping at a gas station nearby, I found that I could put it back myself using the tools I had in my bike. Thank God! After finishing my work, I had short lunch break at Denny's in Kingman. For my friends back home, Denny's is nice diner chain where you get bottomless coffee :-). I left back early around 11.30am, so I can reach Phoenix before the temperature rises. On my way back, I stopped at a bridge and took a small video. My first personal video taken on my new Moto Rizr. First thing, I real

Do you support IPL moving outside the country or do you think that BCCI is being selfish at the cost of the country?

NO IPL should stay in India! Will the English FA allow EPL to move outside the country if a similar situation arises??? Its a tough situation because of the elections at the same time. Fear has been created amongst the players by the terrorism propaganda. I think we should reschedule it with lesser games and still play it in India.. - Arunshankar Its a sad thing that IPL had to be moved but its better to have it moved rather than cancel altogether. - Chinmay BCCI is an extremely selfish organization. At some point it called the Indian Cricket team - Team BCCI. but it is shamelessly registered as a charitable trust and it bailed on the country even though the home minister personally asked them to reschedule...because some of the glitz would be lost due to non-availability of players. - Chakkravarthy Before I start, let me make my stance clear - I am fine with the IPL moving overseas. My reasons, firstly, the games should not stop because our Government cannot provide prot