Saalam Bombay...Showed me the way

In the past one week I have witnessed so much carnage,carnage by nature and some man made,that sometimes I really feel that I am becoming numb, that my feelings are getting senseless and that I have stopped caring for others. I have really feared about that situation when I remain untouched while somebody beside me is in visible trouble and I would mourn that day when people would stop responding to pains of fellow ones.
But, thank god that I saw mumbai yesterday, the day of Mumbai's tryst with terror. I saw a city full of courage, a city with unflinching resilience and a city which would put even the safest and best city in the world to utter shame. I have never been out of India, but can safely claim that there can never be a better city than this one as far as resilience and camaraderie in the troubled time is concerend. We all saw how New York reacted to 9/11, we saw how Madrid gripped in fear after it was bombed and I saw Mumbai after it was shattered with serial blasts. The sheer attitude of these people should make any coward terrorist die in its bed.
For the statistics, almost 200 people died and 800 injured in a serial blast of 7 bombs on the western subarban railway line during the most peak and rush hours. But it hide the other side of the story. The story of inimitable courage, of a never say die attitude, of a city which when hit by a calamity, stopped and gathered itself and then again started running. I salute mumbai and all its people from the core of my heart for what I have seen in the past week.

But, during a freewheeling chat with one of my friend and even after that I was thinking an even more basic question. A question which I must answer for myself to come out of the grief, a question which I shouldn't dodge for a better and safe life, a question which transforms the basis of our life. It is this question with which I started off this writing. With no contribution to the fight (we went to donate blood but by that time it was too late and the requirement was met), with no contribution to the good work what we can claim to be a part of? I am still in trouble to find out about the apathy that we show towards these happenings. We would forget everything about this after a week and attribute it towards resilience. Is it so? Think of those who has lost their near and dear ones in this massacare. For them life will never be the same, for them there is no consolation and there is no word or praise. We would forget them also and probably like some celebrity or political leader would say that - "the show must go on". But is that so easy to happen for everybody? This is where I fear we have become senseless. We are living a so short and selfish life that till the time we are not affected by something we don't care.
We need to change our short sightedness. Can we all do something for those who have been really affected by yesterday's blast? The show should go on, but with everybody playing a part for every other person. We should not suddenly jump the gun of humanitism one fine day due to a terrorist attack, but should carry this caring attitude throughout our life. We all can contribute towards a better and caring India, an India where everybody can depend on others and where everybody is ready to help others on all occassion.
I put to rest my small rufflings by again saluting the common man (mumbai kar) of this city who has showed me what potential lies ahead of us if and only if we care for each other throughout our life.