The day Mumbai rocked

The gruesome deadly attacks of July 11, 2006 will for ever be etched in the minds of Indians, especially the regular Mumbaikar.

Even miles away, I was affected in a way. The tension of not getting through to your loved ones, thanks to jammed phone network , got on to me. The relief of hearing that familiar voice at the other end broke me down. My Dad was at Santacruz, the site of one of the blasts, in the morning of the fateful day. The very thought shook me to the ground. My brother's classmate lost a loved one. And so did some others in my locality. I was so thankful to God to have spared my loved ones the fate that others had. But I am so sorry to see so many of my city fall victims to such a cowardly act of terrorism. My heart reaches out to them. God will ensure they have a peaceful afterlife.

The gory images that I saw ached my heart. They keep coming back and I am so filled with deep sorrow. So angry...

I have been questioned many a times about the integrity of the city and how scary it is. Well, this incident serves a good example of the nature of the average Mumbaikar.

No sooner did the blasts occur, rescue mission started promptly. It was no formally trained rescue mission, but fellow passengers, passers by and residents. God bless them , for its due to these unsung heroes that the death toll is where it is at.

The role didn't end there. For those stranded due to the railways being shutdown , residents thrusted water bottles and biscuit packs into vehicles. How would you feel when you are in the middle of nowhere, hungry, scared, stranded in the middle of night and someone offers to wipe your hunger away? Isnt that somone an angel? A reminder of how concerned a Mumbaikar is about his fellow Mumbaikar!

Will you witness this happenning in NY? London? or tht sweetest place on earth? And you have the nerve to brand Mumbai as the rudest city??? People might not say 'Thank you' or 'Please' Its the actions that count. What kind of a survey did Reader's Digest conduct? Well, I am in a city in US and ppl say a lot of those 'magic' words, but how many mean them??? It just comes naturally to them like breathing, but they simply lack the invincible spirit that the city of Mumbai has.

The way the city has sprung back , time and again, is surprising to many. To get into the same 5:54 local, in the same compartment, it requires nerve. To be back in school and colleges, to show up for work, is no easy thing. Life goes on and whatever the terrorists/maniacs wanted to achieve, they got back 'thenga'. Our curse is with them.

But we need to do more than just curse and get back to our normal lives. People say we will go on, come another attack. But we need to make a stand, people. And not let another attack butcher our brothers and sisters. We need to go to war with these messengers from hell! We have to declare war! There is no other option!

-- A proud Mumbaikar, away from home , who is ever so thankful for all the dreams she made come true.