[Reader-list] Enough --- A letter from mumbaikar

[Anurag Tyagi]

There's so much been written on the 'spirit' of Bombay after the 11th July
blasts. Similar kinds of emotional oupourings were witnessed after the 26th
july deluge last year.

Interestingly, on both occasions i was in Bombay...i've been here for 2
years now, so i don't think i can call myself a mumbaikar! On both
occasions, i was unscathed, like many others i know. Last year, it was the
first time i saw something like that happen to a city and i was quite
overwhelmed by it. By the event itself, by what people had to go through, by
the fact that a mega-city like this can just collapse in a few hours,
communication can come to a stand-still, etc...the spirit of Mumbai was at
it's best! and so was the media...despite everything around coming to a
halt, the news channels just went on and on and on....

I work with a news channel now and i can imagine that it must have been both
heroic and hellish for those reporters who went out in that crazy situation,
just so that the rest of the country could witness what really was
happening. But i guess situations like these have a strange kind of
addictive quality about them. You may be a little apprehensive to go on the
site of calamity, but once you get there, there's no stopping you. There's
so much enthusiasm, there's so  much heroism, there's such a sense of
responsibility, there's competition, there's self-righteousness, there's
patriotism, there's emotion, there's crowds to fight, there's a sense of
journalism, there's a hint of self-pity and above all there's performance!
Despite the gravity of the event and the location, you have to get your PTC
(piece-to-camera) right. Unless you go live, there's time for you to go for
a second or a third take, until you get it right.

There's somrthing about the whole business of this 'spirit' of Mumbai that's
also disturbing. At one level, it's amazing the way people can come out and
help each other and literally go out and take charge of things without
waiting for the bureaucratic structures to show up. At another level, it's
just baffling! Within a few hours of the 7 blasts, the city is back to being
'normal'! How? Is it the spirit, is it the necessity to get to work at the
stake of your life or is it just another performance!
Sometimes i wonder how anyone would get to know of this spirit if there were
no video cameras...would this spirit still be the same, if people who are
part of generating it would know that there are no cameras around,
religiously recording their actions? I'm not sure.

I have no right to condemn what people do to help each other in times of a
calamity like this....afterall i did nothing much myself except look at the
frenzy and yet another collapse of the city (I was stuck at the Hilton, on a
shoot), but maybe i'm just a cynic.

hopefully, the governement of this city and the powers to be will not,
not do anything for this city just becauise they think, nothing can ever
crush its spirit...so let things be the way they are...people will cope and
move on...



On 7/17/06, kaiwan mehta <kaiwanmehta at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: kaiwan mehta <kaiwanmehta at gmail.com>
> Date: Jul 17, 2006 4:33 PM
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] A letter from mumbaikar
> To: Aaditya Dar <aadityadar at gmail.com>
> Cc: "reader-list at sarai.net " <reader-list at sarai.net>,
> united_students at yahoogroups.com, kaiwanmehta at gmail.com
>
> Hi   This is the second time I have received this highly 'spirited' and
> emotional mail.   The other version of this letter conviniently assumes that
> the terrorist essentially sits in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iraq.   The front
> page of Indian Express, on 14 July, 2006... has a story on how the Courts in
> India doubted that the Blasts at the RSS head quarters and another city in
> Maharashtra were doctored from 'within'.   And about the 'spirit of mumbai'
> the 'spirit' has now reached nauseating levels!! One day all of us will die
> in the assumed/presumed garb of 'spirit' of the city.... and what will be
> left is only 'spirit'..... yes read the Times of India, Times Review page in
> the Sunday 16 July, 2006 edition.   Accept the fact... the city was
> jostled... the city was literally out of steam at least for two days after
> the blast.   Where does our spirit go when tonnes of families and kids are
> thrown homeless brutally when the slums were demolished in Bombay/Mumbai
> itself?   Where does ourr spirit go when people are thrown homeless,
> landless and jobless when they are evacuated for Dam constructions?   Was my
> spirit sleeping when farmers are commiting suicides?   Maybe I never had a
> spirit till the media gave me one, a week ago!!   warm spirits... Kaiwan
>
>   On 7/16/06, Aaditya Dar < aadityadar at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > just wanted to share this mail forward i got:
>
>
>
> We don't know whether you are Hindu / Muslim / Christian / Indian /
> pakistani/ Afghanistani / Iraqi / American or from any part of the
> world
> but
> only name we can give you is terrorist.
>
> Even if you are not reading this we don't care. Time and again you
> tried to
> disturb us and disrupt our life - killing innocent civilians by
> planting
> bombs in trains, buses and cars. You have tried hard to bring death and
> destruction, cause panic and fear and create communal disharmony but
> everytime you were disgustingly unsuccessful. Do you know how we pass
> our
> life in Mumbai? How much it takes for us to earn that single rupee? If
> you
> wanted to give us a shock then we are sorry to say that you failed
> miserably in your ulterior motives. Better look elsewere, not here.
>
> We are not Hindus and Muslims or Gujaratis and Marathis or Punjabis and
> Bengaliies. Nor do we distinguish ourselves as owners or workers, govt.
> employees or private employees. WE ARE MUMBAIKERS (Bombay-ites, if you
> like). We will not allow you to disrupt our life like this. On the last
> few
> occassions when you struck (including the 7 deadly blasts in a single
> day
> killing over 250 people and injuring 500+ in 1993), we went to work
> next
> day in full strength. This time we cleared everything within a few
> hours
> and were back to normal - the vendors placing their next order,
> businessmen
> finalizing the next deals and the office workers rushing to catch the
> next
> train. (Yes the same train you targetted)
>
> Fathom this: Within 3 hours of the blasts, long queues of blood
> donating
> volunteers were seen outside various hospital, where most of the
> injured
> were admitted. By 12 midnight, the hospital had to issue a notification
> that blood banks were full and they didn't require any more blood. The
> next
> day, attendance at schools and office was close to 100%, trains & buses
> were packed to the brim, the crowds were back.
> The city has simply dusted itself off and moved one - perhaps with
> greater
> vigour.
>
> We are Mumbaikers and we live like brothers in times like this. So, do
> not
> dare to threaten us with your crackers. The spirit of Mumbai is very
> strong
> and can not be harmed.
>
> Please forward this to others. U never know, by chance it may come to
> hands
> of a terrorist & He / She can then read this message which is specially
> meant for him / her !!!
>
> With Love,
> From the people of Mumbai (Bombay)
> _________________________________________
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>
>
>
> --
> Kaiwan Mehta
> Architect and Urban Researcher
>
> 11/4, Kassinath Bldg. No. 2, Kassinath St., Tardeo, Mumbai 400034
> 022-2-494 3259 / 91-98205 56436
>
> --
> Kaiwan Mehta
> Architect and Urban Researcher
>
> 11/4, Kassinath Bldg. No. 2, Kassinath St., Tardeo, Mumbai 400034
> 022-2-494 3259 / 91-98205 56436
>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
> subscribe in the subject header.
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