The siege in South Mumbai continues….A tribute to the lesser known

I am sick of watching the television coverage and waiting for all that’s happening in Mumbai to get over. The number has increased to 125 dead and 327 injured. The seething anger of the common man was evident when late at night as the army chief came out to talk to the press he was welcomed to a loud applause, giving a clear message that Mumbai would not tolerate an attack on its freedom.

As the long haul continues... I can’t stop praying …for the safety of the innocent hostages; the army and security personnel who have been braving this situation; and for the families who are anxiously awaiting some information about their near and dear ones.

As this Mumbai mayhem continues it is heartening to see the human side…. The real stories… some brave, some miraculous and some thoughtful. Insignificant, unknown people who came to the rescue and will remain etched in the minds of many who went through the ordeal.

Lauding them and their spirit that makes Mumbai what it is, a vibrant, resilient city.

Sarita, the senior executive at Taj who after being held hostage for hours with other guests in the lounge was the last one to leave the place once the fire brigade reached them. The fire brigade put up a ladder and asked everyone to come down one by one, but this lady stood up to the occasion, organized the rescue and left the premises only after ensuring everyone else was safe… A brazen approach by an unknown face in the Mumbai crowd.

Even after many of their colleagues were killed in the initial hours the staff at Taj acted quick and clever. Acts that might have costed them their lives! Counselage Taj's staff immediately sent our SMS to their guests asking them not to return to the hotel. They closed the doors of rooms they could get access to and called all the rooms that had been occupied to latch themselves in to minimize damage.

The maid and home servant of the Rabbi at Nariman House who secured the rabbi’s child, locked themselves in the kitchen and braved an attempt to escape and alert the police about the hostage situation in Nariman house with the exact number of militants present.

A citizen journalist Sharma, a resident of Colaba appeals to the public at large

He requested people to remain indoors, to provide space and freedom for the army and commandoes to carry on their operations.

Keep the phone lines free for people to contact their near and dear ones in this time of distress.

Volunteer at hospitals; Donate blood

While sharing critical information act judiciously and responsibly as it might put many other lives in danger.

Finally let’s fight it out and show that Mumbai is resilient, by not letting this fear settle in our minds.

These people rose to the occasion and did their bit to support this ongoing crusade. It is people like these who instill faith in the fight against terrorism. Who make us realize that though it’s a long way to go… we can make it. It’s up to us to stand up against these lunatics who want to take charge of our lives and tell them firmly … We were born free and will remain so.

26/11- Another horrifying day in the life of Mumbai

The mundane life of a common Mumbaikar is disrupted yet again. 100 dead around 250 injured while two hotels are still under siege with people taken as hostages by some unknown, average looking youngsters. Some strangers just walk into the lives and hold them at ransom, making us feel agitated….. Helpless and leave us with a feeling of loss.

This time the militants (Deccan Mujahideen) have actually ventured out and shot at people, holding many at ransom even now. Is this because they are considering themselves so powerful that they are confident of getting away with this one? Or is it a wake up call to the security measures in place? It’s a war like situation in some parts of Mumbai… What is Mumbai heading to… How can anybody just pop-in and ruin our lives?

Whatever said and done, the only real sufferer in this is a common man. He is at a loss both in life and death! He doesn’t know what to believe in, whom to trust and if he would come back home alive the next day.

I don’t believe these terrorists have any religious sentiments or are avenging some cause or the other. They cannot be. These are just flimsy covers to their real motives. The 1992 Bombay bomb blast proved it, when finally it all boiled down to Mafia and the external power houses that were sponsoring these attacks. They know no religion or cause. The common man is at loss every single time.

And what is he suffering for? Cause he believed that once he has elected a government they would take care of his security and prosperity? Cause he believed that he has empowered the police and judicial system enough to take care of his fate?

After this is over the politicians will go back to mud slinging on each other, some officials would be suspended and some would be honored awards. They might book the nine people who have been caught on some x,y,z charges and the case would continue for years to come. The next generation… would remember sketchy details about the incident and when the verdict finally comes… if it ever comes would bring little solace to the families of the people dead! And till then… the common man might continue enduring some more blasts… Isn’t there anything that we can do?

You can’t be fine till you spend a bomb!

I had the misfortune of visiting a BIG hospital for a trivial thing. The fact is that as we don’t know many small clinics around my place we resort to the one that’s closest.
Well when we went there we just needed an appointment to come in later and meet the doc, however these multistory, multi-specialty hospitals don’t seem to work that way.

The moment we asked if there was an appointment available for today the lady at the enquiry desk promptly asked us to fill in a form! I thought she didn’t hear me and I said I would do all that however I am in a rush right now and it would be great if she could tell me if I could have an appointment. She said “ The doctor's in from 9 to 7.30pm”

Oh what the heck, a form might not take a long time, so I filled it and gave it to her. Cling goes the printer and I am asked to shell out Rs 400! I always thought I pay the doc after he’s checked me! Apparently this is another of those things that these BIG hospitals don’t seem to follow!

She said I could see the doc on the second floor. Well now that I had paid, I thought it wouldn’t do much harm if I visited him immediately. Check-up’s don’t take more than 10-15 min isn’t it! However the moment we reached the said place I realized this was A BIG mistake and before I could overcome the claustrophobic feeling and take to my heels I had been sucked into the whirlpool!

There were swarms of people waiting for a check-up. The waiting people, the harried receptionist and the nurses running in and out gave me an impression of a wedding! The receptionists looked like the frenzied parents of the girl who were not sure if they should be welcoming the guests, taking care of them, looking after their daughter, listening to the pundit or shouting at the caterer!

The patients seemed as clueless as me. I knew I still had time to run away when the receptionist asked me to hand over my file. I hadn’t spent 10 minutes in that hospital and I already had a file! My doctor for many years who has a clinic just down the road in Pune doesn’t seem to have a shred of paper with my name on it and yet knows my complete history which he magically seems to recall whenever I visit him! Well I gave the file and she obediently handed it over to some other person. Then someone came and asked me to enter a room on the right.

Oh fine, lets just get done with this. This isn’t much of an ordeal… Tch Tch… too much too soon...I was about to realize. There was a junior doc there, who fired me with rapid fire questions, with no option to think or ask questions. Hmm...and I always thought docs were there to resolve our queries and calm our fears! Then she asked me to go to the room on the left ‘we need to check your weight’. Obediently I entered and found nobody there, but a sad looking weighing scale as if in its last few days pleading that it can’t handle anymore weight! I assumed we were to weigh ourselves and inform the doctor but the weighing scale didn’t seem to be working.

Just them a nurse rushed in and did something to get it working and fired the next round of instructions! Had I been really sick, by now I would have fainted! But as might hearted as I am, I continued to undergo the ordeal while telling myself and trying to tell the docs that there is nothing so serious to be worrying about!

While we were awaiting in the corridor for the next round of instructions the harried receptionist asked a nurse in the next room ‘Could you jab quicker?’ there are many more to go! Weren’t hospitals supposed to be different than assembly line, especially if the tagline read ‘Inspired by Life’!

Finally I was asked to enter the room in the center where the elusive doctor existed. She saw (not checkup) me, my FILE and gave some vitamin tablet and off I go out! After about 2 hours of running around the doctors were finally convinced that it was nothing but a trivial allergic symptom. Oh well, wasn’t it that what I had been trying to tell from the moment I entered the damn hospital! Apparently it is not acceptable till it comes from the horse’s mouth!