A moment from our lives to remember those innocents who lost their lives in the Mumbai blasts. India, having been a victim of violence for a while now, is used to these kinds of situations. So much so that we don't even cringe at the news. Desensitised, i guess. As usual, all this will soon be forgotten and life will continue as usual. There will be no concentrated results to beef up internal security. Bribary, lapse and the 'chalta hai' attitude will continue. Correct me if I am wrong, but cities like Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata are sitting ducks w.r.t security, high alert or not. One shudders to think what the effects of a similar attack would be, in these areas. In the meanwhile the 'mumbaikar' will steel himself, pick up the threads of his life, mourn the loss of his loved ones in unision and move on. The world will forget soon enough.
A tribute to the great city of Mumbai.
Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke,
Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Kahin building kahin traame, kahin motor kahin mill
Milta hai yahan sab kuchh ik milta nahin dil
Insaan ka nahin kahin naam-o-nishaan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Kahin satta, kahin patta kahin chori kahin race
Kahin daaka, kahin phaaka kahin thokar kahin thes
Bekaaro ke hain kai kaam yahan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Beghar ko aawara yahan kehte has has
Khud kaate gale sabke kahe isko business
Ik cheez ke hain kai naam yahan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Bura duniya woh hai kehta aisa bhola tu na ban
Jo hai karta woh hai bharta hai yahan ka yeh chalan
Tadbeer nahin chalne ki yahan
Yeh hai Bombay, yeh hai Bombay, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Aye dil hai aasaa jeena yahan
Suno mister, suno bandhu, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Duniya mein nahin dekha tune aise yeh nagar,
Aasoon ki nadiyan hai, par kisko hai fikar?
Bombay ko hai salaam mera,
Yeh hai Bombay, yeh hai Bombay, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
PS: My apologies to Majrooh Sultanpuri for adding my vile words to his sublime creation!
Cheers!
Abhishek.
13 comments:
ya..it's so sad that we just sympathise / empathise for just a few days (if at all), and do nothing more than that. tsunami happened, but what changed? except lives gone?!
it's so unfortunate that the Most Precious thing "Life" is just so taken for granted by all, including us.......such instances jerk you back to reality that nothing matters more than life. so sad that we all run after money, power, position......not realising that tomorrow we may have no Use of any of it, if God forbid, we are victims of any of these heart-rending incidents.
Wish we could do Something........Anything, to make up, if only fractionally, for the loss the Mumbaikars (and others who have been victimised by similar unfortunate episodes) have suffered!!
stuti - hear hear!
Interesting that you chose this song which delves into the dark side of the metropolis. Doubt that much has changed in the manner of people of this mega city over the years since the song.
However, this moment is yet another instance where we as citizens can look to the other side of Mumbai, and celebrate the 'spirit' of ordinary Mumbaikars in dealing with calamities.
Media may sing peans about the great Mumbai spirit, but the sad fact is that aam aadmi ko pet ki khatir roz mara-mari karni padti hai. Hence the life resumes its normal pace very next day after the blasts. By talking about the never-say-die spirit of ordinary people, politicians can assuage their wounded spirit & allay their genuine fears. Fact is, no one is foolish enough to welcome death that comes in such manner. Ministers will come, do some lip-service, announce a pittance as compensation and then go away. What have they lost? Nothing. Neither a dear one nor the money (which eventually comes from tax-payers). These bums enjoy Z-category security when lives of crores are at stake.
btw, B'lore & Kolkatta had their share of terrorist attacks in past. In B'lore, the IISc was the target of terror on December 28, 2005. And in Kolkata, the American Centre was the target of terror on January 22, 2003. I'm not sure if there has been any terrorist attack by Kashmiri militants in Chennai.
tanmoy - apologies..this is the song that bet describes the city...hence added some lines towards the end...kudos to the residents.
gaurav - about bangalore and kolkata..this is my point. these attacks were miniscule in comparison and even then the security situation was exposed as abyssmal(?). have the governments woken up after those attacks?
arko - buy poperty on mars! yup...its crazy and its omnipresent. we must be doing something wrong as a society.
Nice post!
Ur song got me nostalgic abt bomnay...
anand - havent actually lived there..but yea..theres something very inviting about mumbai...would love to be part of its teeming, steely, street smart millions..
:-(
see what uv done with that song...got me thinking and missing home in bbay!:-(
Btw we are coming to singapore next weekend!
ekta - hehe/// left u my no. on ur blog..do call..would be great to catch up with u and anand.
what a city that is. lived there for three months and am profoundly glad i got back just before the floods last year. this song just about sums up the attitude of bombay-ites.
ron - i meant the post as a kind of tribute to the hard nature of the city, its ability to move on immediately..couldnt find a suitable song...i identify this one with the city the most so...
Very apt post at an apt time
twisted dna - thanks very much..keep visiting.
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