Once Again Bombay Is in the News for the Wrong Reasons

It happened again. Bombay was named after a ship loaded with ammunition blew up in its harbour (this was when Bombay was a minor port used by the British to trade with India.). Disclaimer: this is apocryphal; not real. Many claim the city was named after Mumbadevi, the goddess of the seas. However, this Wikipedia article has a good summary of the bombs that have gone off in Bombay in the past nearly twenty years causing much anxiety to people who are residents of this megalopolis. Dilip D'souza has an interesting report of yesterday's blast here.

Yesterday was no different. As I set out to work, I never imagined there would be another bomb attack on the city. It was raining heavily in the morning and the trains were late. I watched men scurrying like rats to get inside a train. Then I knew what the "rat race" was all about. The blasts occurred in crowded areas, the more the better. We were packed as wet rats in a compartment, doing the usual lazy things before we reached our place of work. We did our work as many of those killed out have, then we left for home. Hearing that a bomb had gone off in "Khau Galli" I was surprised because I had left it only a few minutes ago. That added to my confusion.

However, son does phone and tells me of the blast when I am in V.T. He says to get home as soon as possible as more bombs may go off. So I rush to my train and catch the first one I can board comfortably. I think of the day of this attack when I had passed around a hour ago before it took place. In the train the talk is about the carelessness of the authorities. How nothing changes and it's greed that drives the city.

It's sad. I have been in the city for around 46 years and I am saddened to see that my city is becoming popular for its bomb blasts.

As usual actors were called to comment. Priyanka Chopra said, "A request please do not cause panic by tweeting and spreading rumours." Guess people depend on tweets to know the truth these days. I was wondering why my tweets stopped coming. Have you noticed? When you need your mobile phone it stops working. It's jammed to let not any messages pass at times when we need communication like the last straw we can hang on to.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.