TERROR STRIKES

Its one of the coldest mornings most of us have woken up to. It is the coldness due by the numbness caused to the senses on what is seen and heard on the news channels. This is what Terror really causes. shock and awe. Why is this not run of the mill is to be noted.

It is not new to strike Mumbai but this is a brave attack on the people of the country by probably people from within. This is not a cowardly act of timing off loaded cycles or tiffen carriers, This is real war. Ak-47 wielding gross shooting at people all round. This is more like the parliament attack though one which is much more than symbolic. Target is not only general people but people who would impact the country. The posh hotels where the foriegn tourists , government officials and dignitaries of the state stay, aiming to spread not terror among indians watching and being affected but sending a message to the world.

How do we respond? This is most definitely Indias version of 9/11 if not more daring and tactfully because there are 25-26 people armed with mere guns waging a war but not prepared to commit suicide in doing so. They want to escape and strike again at a later time. How will an average mumbaikar roam the roads from today if many of these men escape. When will they replenish their ammunation and strike again? and where?

The problem with a response to the crisis is this. We are mostly under attack not from a different country , not from a community that is alien to the make up of the country, this time we are facing misguided individuals without a face from our own land and who make up the very fabric of the country. Its easy to remain a stain from the fabric but not a wrong thread thats woven into it.

What is the intelligence doing? Surely these people didnt get AK-47s made from the bylanes of bhendi bazaar. This is funded by the most corrupt of minds within and outside and a lot of material is provided from somewhere which is definitely trackable. I hope that there isnt the usual blame on Pak intelligence, then develop , release a few sketches. capture a few whoevers and blame them for not this but also a hundred previous blasts across the country and forget all about it. TV channels will hold discussions for ten more days about it all and later move on to more important issues like rakhi sawants kiss and big boss winner ashutoshs dog's fever.

It is easy to blame a community but the long term solution to this maynot be to shift blame but to clear the alienation, definitely not in the way "secular parties" are doing it, but by providing oppurtunities in education and making them a general part of the mainstream. But first weed out the fundamentalists and find out how they got armed and developed the hide to kill civilians. These people dont deserve to live.

Part 2

Kirtan stepped into Mysore with the same golden dreams in his mind as did every one of us. He though had unfulfilled potential that he had to live up to as well. Though from the same college as us, Kirtan prefers to stay aloof and never was one of us. Actually a good dancer and a below average singer, Kirtan considers himself a rocking dancer and a splendid singer, No wonder he idolizes Himesh and Govinda.

There is some charm about Kirtan and he knows bloody well how to use it. The secret of Kirtan’s life is this- He has proposed to every girl that he has befriended, but none of them has responded in the affirmative. That is one truth he intends to change. He is the wannabe. Even fails tests to take time out to supposedly learn salsa in his attempt to befriend as many of the female population as he possibly can. The Salsa lessons are so exciting that it has the concept of revolving partners. The girls move in a clockwise direction moving in a circle. Its a bloody exciting concept and trust Kirtan to make maximum mistakes and learn about it from the girls. Kirtan manages to start flirting with at least 4-5 girls and lavishly takes them out for treats. It is doubly exciting for us to have Kirtan and Vikram in our group.

Well yes Vikram is the happiest person around. He has even managed to get a smile out of the "dream". But he realises he is running out of time. There have been enough near misses, enough times spent finding out about her, even gymming hasn’t helped too much, now all he needs now is to befriend her, know her and tell her how he feels. All he needs is an opportunity. While this is going on, we witness the madness in Vikram.

He lives on milkshakes that too after waiting all the time for Richa to leave her class, following her all the way. But it so happens that Richa is in her group all the time and Vikram just follows and admires from a distance. And gets to caught up in the mind and timeclocks don’t allow for more time than for a quick juice center dash.

His grades also drop alarmingly. He manages only a B+ in his final two exams including the Main Compre Exam; the entire batch manages A. Squash isn’t too much of a spectator friendly sport. But trust Vikram to make it entertaining. He plays Sid, loses 10-0. Nothing about the result, that was expected, But the value came when he managed to trip all over himself thrice and still emerged out entertaining us. The high point of it all was in the ILI sessions (Personality Development Skills) where we all sing "Mere Saamne wale kidki mein, ek chaand ka tukda rehta hai" for Vikram. He was blushing all over.

Finally realising enough water has flown under the bridge, Vikram decides its time. He hasn’t managed to even speak to Richa after that ravishing smile. Its early in the morning and Vikram is ready and has decided to try to walk to the class today with Richa and is waiting for her. He eggs all of us to leave early so that he can have his time alone under the sun. Here it goes, The Gods are smiling, Richa is down from her room and she starts walking towards the GEC. He quickly sorts himself up and walks up beside her. He says ‘Hi’, Richa replies back with a smile and a ‘Good Morning’. Wow. That’s the start.

But hey who is that behind? Someone prods and hangs on to Vikram from behind, Says ‘Hello’ to Richa. Richa smiles back and says hello. Vikram is stunned. He doesn’t know how to react. Thats Kirtan and Minish in tow. Vikram just stops and Richa continues walking. It is heartbreaking. Vikram slowly picks himself up and starts walking. Kirtan and Minish start walking with him, just two steps behind Richa. Kirtan starts giving catcalls and teasing Vikram all the way to the GEC. Vikram lands up to our class almost in tears. This is not what he had hoped for. He doesn’t know how Richa would have felt walking just two steps ahead of all banter going on, seemingly about her. He is crestfallen.

The first session goes off very slowly for Vikram. Finally the break arrives. He needs to see how Richa has taken it. Richa emerges out of her class with her group. She sees Vikram over the corner and says something to her friends, everyone in her group glare at Vikram. The look says it all, Vikram knows , Its OVER. From now on, she is now always surrounded by people of her group, wherever she goes. Its not the same anymore. Vikram has lost it. He knew that this was his biggest challenge in life, But it was over before it started looking achievable. Vikram then somehow manages to explain it all to me and Vaibhav.

Its time for revenge, We were planning it, But didn’t know destiny had an opportunity just to do that.