Bombay, my city!

I have been following NDTV online since Wednesday night and to watch Bombay under attack is beyond shocking! I was in total and complete shock, even broke down once when someone inquired about the situation. It's another thing that my family and friends are safe, but there are hundreds of people who have been killed and injured, and with the Taj, an icon of the city, being destroyed that way! It is unreal. These are places I have frequented so often, both to meet friends and for work! How many times did I visit Leo's, or the Taj and the Oberoi! This thought passed my mind often in the past 3 days.

It is unacceptable what has happened! I am shocked, angry, disappointed and sad. Shocked at the audacity of the terrorists in attacking my city; sad that they were so young and obviously brainwashed into committing this heinous act, without pausing to think of the sorrow they would cause; angry and disappointed in our politicians and at the way this unfolded because of their inability to take a call on the situation. As I woke up this morning, I was relieved to hear they finally got the last terrorist and the madness has stopped after more than 60 hours of terror. Now starts the recovery...

Enough has been said about the city's spirit. All that can last only so long... The citizens of Bombay have put up with so little for so long; but we are constantly being let down by our government. What are our taxes being utilised for? Do we have access to the basic facilities befitting a city of this stature? Are Bombay's citizens safe? So many questions which need to be answered. And I hope that this terrible incident has shaken our government enough to start putting a plan into action on how to improve the city's lot and ensure something like this does not happen again. What happened over the last 3 days could have ended sooner had we had basic civic facilities which functioned as they should have.

I salute the brave men - the commandos, firemen, police and the so called 'ordinary men / women' who were hotel staff, who all did their part to ensure that this tragedy was not worse than what transpired.

What remains to be seen now is what this means for Indo-Pak relations. I am hoping and praying for the best. The last thing needed now is war!

I just signed an urgent message calling for unity following the attacks in Mumbai. http://www.avaaz.org/en/india_undivided/98.php/?cl_tf_sign=1

As someone who loves my city but who is unable to do as much as I would like to, due to geographical restrictions, I truly hope and pray that Bombay will be able to recover from this.