Life after 7/11- THE BLACK TUESDAY

THE BLACK TUESDAY is still in my mind. As Pune is not so far from Mumbai, the after-effects of that fateful day was very much felt here. And as I used to travel by local train in Pune everyday, the incident came to me as a great shock. And on that very fateful evening, I travelled back to home from office in train with mixed feelings of fear and sadness. But soon everything settled down and it was again back to the old hustles and bustles of life. Every morning I am reminded of that Black Tuesday when I glance at the special column in "THE INDIAN EXPRESS" that is dedicated to the 187 lives that vanished with the blasts. But as the day progresses, I use to forget it as it never happened. And this was my way of life till another Tuesday, though this one cannot be termed as black by any means. I am talking about the incident of 29/8/2006, that mesmerized me and has now compelled me to be a more responsible citizen. I thought that I should blog this down as we Indians need to raise ourselves to that level where we can stand boldly against the shameful act of terror.

The Tuesday of which I am talking about was just another kind of day and I reached Office as usual. But as the day progressed my health was deteriorating and after lunch I was very much down with fever. This compelled me to do some revision in the usual 9-9 routine that I used to follow. And I made my mind to leave office early and take the 4.30 p.m Pune-Lonavla local train. The local train here in Pune has been my lifeline for the past six months and as it connected my office with my home in Pimpri. I reached the station before the train's arrival and as soon as the train arrived I managed to avoid the mad hustle of passengers to board the train and calmly made my way into the train. And despite of the mad rush, I found sitting space in the corner of a seat.

I was feeling quite dizzy and as usual I started to view my surroundings. As the train was about to depart, a man in his mid-forties who was calmly seated with a newspaper in his hand suddenly jumped up and out of the train as if he never wished to travel by this train. As soon as he left, I jumped into the vacant seat and made myself comfortable in the newly acquired space. The train began to move, and to my surprise an old man who was in the neighbouring seat anxiously started to inspect under the seats. For a moment, I thought that he might have felt something poking into his legs under the seat. And to make sure, I asked him the reason for his unexpected and anxious behavior. And the reply that he gave made my day as it was just an eye opener for me.

The old man replied in a very mature tone, "Beta, aajkal kisi par bhi bharosa nahin kar sakte. Kya pata woh koi aatankvadi hoga, aur shayad usne koi Bag yahan rakh choda hoga jo hamara kaam tamam kar de". Well, this reply made so much sense to me and I also joined him in the under seat inspection. To our satisfaction, there was nothing under the seats that could provoke suspicion. The train began talking to winds and so did my mind. The images of 7/11 blasts began to appear before me. I started ruminating about the individuals who lost their lives in those blasts. Many who lost their lives were returning from work, and so was I and that too so early unlike my usual routine. I was really so touched by the whole thing. I admired the old man's attentiveness in noticing these things that may seem very trifle for many of us.

If on 7/11 we had someone with similar kind of attentiveness, then surely we could have avoided the shameful mishap. Terrorism is not something that could be erased by the military or armed forces. We, as the responsible citizens should raise ourselves to that level where we can help ourselves. Hats off to that old man in the train, who made a strong point by being a responsible citizen. At least, from this point I would keep my eyes wide open so that we make sure that 7/11 is not repeated.