These past 4 days, I was (and still am), angry, frustrated, pissed or any other term which you would associate with sheer fury when I learnt about the attacks in Mumbai. But today after an extremely tiring day, as I sat down to read the newspaper, a small story of courage shown by one of the terror victims moved me so much that I cried inconsolably and my eyes are moist still.
This is the extraordinary story of Ameena Begum:
Shanu Begum, her husband Abdul Rehman, thier daughter Ameena Begum and her niece were waiting for for the Devgiri Express at the CST station in Mumbai to return to their hometown of Nizamabad, here in AP.
At around 10:15 in the night 2 armed terrorists entered the CST station and open fired at all those unsuspecting people. Instinctively everyone ducked to the ground for safety. But Ameena got up, to bring her father who had suffered bullet injuries to his knees. She was hit by the bullets but was still alive.
Suddenly, she realized that her niece was missing, and then she lifted herself up to bring her niece to safety. She was hit by the bullets again, this time she did not get up again. She suffered injuries to her head, chest, stomach and her teeth fell on the platform when one of the bullets hit her in the jaw.
"Ameena asked for water and breathed her last in my arms within a few seconds after consuming water." the wailing mother cried.
Ameena Begum was 20 years old. She was not trained in mortal combat. I'm sure her job description, if she did have one,had nothing about facing adversities like death. She was not a NSG commando, she was not an army jawan or a police officer, many of who carried out their esteeemed duty in sacrificing their lives. What made Ameena different, was that she was an ordinary citizen like you and me.
Her story has filled me with emotions that I can't fathom. I don't consider myself competent enough to pay a homage, that she rightfully deserves. But I shall try:
Today, I write with all my soul
With tears flowing down my cheeks
like never before..
A heart wrenching cry comes out
from deep within my core,
to salute a woman so pure..
She took in as much pain as she could endure..
had fallen once but got up again,
despite her frail body screaming- no more..
Now her death is a number,
in the many facts and figures around those who lay slain..
This humble poem is a tribute to her indomitable spirit,
her sacrifice wont go in vain..
Because,
the world may never know her,
but her courage will always be remembered by me..
For, I know, being the same age as her,
I am not as brave as she..
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
A View From Outside...
Its been more than 60 hours now and the siege over the Taj seems to have ended. I did not want to blog about anything but this certainly made me change my mind. To say that it did not affect me would be an outright lie. But to also claim that I can understand what an ordinary Mumbaikar is going through, would again be a lie.
For most of us outside Mumbai, it was three days of television drama which even the perverse show like Big Boss cannot match. I'm talking about my friends and many of the people I know here. Everybody condemned it and made some politically correct statements. But none admitted that it did not make any difference to their lives. Which for a fact, is true.
The conversation was something like this..
Me: "Did you hear about the attacks??"
Friend: "Haan..In Mumbai."
Me: "I was shocked!!"
Friend: "Yeah, me too( makes a sad face)."
Another Friend: "What attacks?"
Me:(flabbergasted) "You don't know!?"
AF: " No, I did not watch the news, nor did I read the paper."
Me:(trying to control my anger-I don't know why I was angry) " There were terror attacks in Mumbai"
Af:(Totally aghast)" Omg! Really?!"
By this time the lecturer had entered and the conversation could not proceed any further. The lecturer came in and went on with the lecture like a zombie and we just sat and stared. All the while I was thinking about the latest developments in Mumbai but my friends did not share the same anxiety. After a while I forgot about it too. We went about making fun of the lecturers, smsing funny msgs, singing and pulling each others legs.
It was so easy to forget about it.
"How do you motivate people to agitate when they have no personal connection to the atrocity?" Another question which I asked myself after letting go a bit of the anger, " Who am I to question people's ability to move on despite such heinous acts of terror?" I'll share a bit of the mail that my project guide wrote to me from Mumbai
"you are dot right, about indifference and "spirit". most of us are complete cowards (myself included). there is no dignity in such deaths; the only commendable thing people do is not abstain from their work but forge right ahead the very next day. whether out of necessity or defiance, the motives can be different."
Somewhere, deep down, I know that this doesn't affect me much. But I refuse to accept it. I remember feeling like an idiot when I was walking down the streets of Hyderabad with a placard in my hands condemning the blasts, a year ago. I was constantly experiencing mixed emotions, emotions of pride, foolishness and hopelessness of it all. People had gathered there for different motives. Some were like me, others wanted to come on TV and claim their 15 minutes of fame. Some others had come because their friends were there and they did not want to look bad in front of them by their absence.
Yes,people are different and each has his or her own agenda. But what the situation demands, is to forge those differences and find a common platform.
Mumbai will bounce back for sure. But this time it has to make sure that this never ever happens again. The true spirit of any city does not lie in being able to get back to normalcy, it lies in being able to move on and annihilate those sources which caused so much agony.
A brave NSG commando said," Hamare liye kuch mushkil nahi hai.." with a smile on his face. It brought a tear to my eye. I salute all those bravehearts and I sing a silent prayer for Mumbai.
"Whether or not a terrorist should be forgiven, should be left to God but fixing their appointment with God is our responsiblity." -Indian Army. AMEN.
For most of us outside Mumbai, it was three days of television drama which even the perverse show like Big Boss cannot match. I'm talking about my friends and many of the people I know here. Everybody condemned it and made some politically correct statements. But none admitted that it did not make any difference to their lives. Which for a fact, is true.
The conversation was something like this..
Me: "Did you hear about the attacks??"
Friend: "Haan..In Mumbai."
Me: "I was shocked!!"
Friend: "Yeah, me too( makes a sad face)."
Another Friend: "What attacks?"
Me:(flabbergasted) "You don't know!?"
AF: " No, I did not watch the news, nor did I read the paper."
Me:(trying to control my anger-I don't know why I was angry) " There were terror attacks in Mumbai"
Af:(Totally aghast)" Omg! Really?!"
By this time the lecturer had entered and the conversation could not proceed any further. The lecturer came in and went on with the lecture like a zombie and we just sat and stared. All the while I was thinking about the latest developments in Mumbai but my friends did not share the same anxiety. After a while I forgot about it too. We went about making fun of the lecturers, smsing funny msgs, singing and pulling each others legs.
It was so easy to forget about it.
"How do you motivate people to agitate when they have no personal connection to the atrocity?" Another question which I asked myself after letting go a bit of the anger, " Who am I to question people's ability to move on despite such heinous acts of terror?" I'll share a bit of the mail that my project guide wrote to me from Mumbai
"you are dot right, about indifference and "spirit". most of us are complete cowards (myself included). there is no dignity in such deaths; the only commendable thing people do is not abstain from their work but forge right ahead the very next day. whether out of necessity or defiance, the motives can be different."
Somewhere, deep down, I know that this doesn't affect me much. But I refuse to accept it. I remember feeling like an idiot when I was walking down the streets of Hyderabad with a placard in my hands condemning the blasts, a year ago. I was constantly experiencing mixed emotions, emotions of pride, foolishness and hopelessness of it all. People had gathered there for different motives. Some were like me, others wanted to come on TV and claim their 15 minutes of fame. Some others had come because their friends were there and they did not want to look bad in front of them by their absence.
Yes,people are different and each has his or her own agenda. But what the situation demands, is to forge those differences and find a common platform.
Mumbai will bounce back for sure. But this time it has to make sure that this never ever happens again. The true spirit of any city does not lie in being able to get back to normalcy, it lies in being able to move on and annihilate those sources which caused so much agony.
A brave NSG commando said," Hamare liye kuch mushkil nahi hai.." with a smile on his face. It brought a tear to my eye. I salute all those bravehearts and I sing a silent prayer for Mumbai.
"Whether or not a terrorist should be forgiven, should be left to God but fixing their appointment with God is our responsiblity." -Indian Army. AMEN.
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