ONE SMALL VOICE

Missing the voices!

2011-05-28T17:57:00.002+08:00

I have been so busy with work lately, that it feels that I have been completely cut off from the world, which is weird because my job is to keep a tab on practically everything that goes on in the world. But then there is a world that I have been cut off from, which is my inner world. The voices within my head seem to have vanished, and I miss them.

Yes, I hear voices in my head, and I believe everyone does. I miss them, for most of the times these voices have been the voice of reason and some sanity in my life. When I don’t hear them, I seem to fall into an abyss from where it can take too much of an effort to pull myself out.

I think I am half way there inside the abyss; it is a stage where nothing matters anymore. To everything I start asking the same question--what difference would it make? And to each of them the answer is standard and slightly frightening – none whatsoever.

Right now I am trying hard to not fall further, but it seems a losing battle. This post is also part of an effort on my part to keep myself from falling further. Last week I bought myself a netbook, which I am using to write this post, under the unproven theory that shopping or indulging in something can make you snap out of depression and sadness.

Though, I don’t believe that I am sad or depressed, but one could argue the symptoms are similar. But alas, the shopping excursion didn’t work. This week I wanted to go out and buy myself a new blackberry, in the same hope. But even that thought was countered with the same response—what difference would it make?

So here I sit, writing this piece. There has never been a set formula for me to snap out of this phase. I am certain everyone goes through this, but this time mine has lasted a tad longer than the earlier ones. I wonder how long! I wonder!

A Large Erection

2010-12-07T12:47:00.000+08:00

Now, now, all you erotic stories fans out there please turn away now, because this post is not going to be about that. Although, I admit, it would have been far more interesting to write one of those.

But what this is about is the fascination that some of the smaller, though richer, countries have about show of strength, show of capabilities and in most cases show of ego by erecting large structures on their lands.

Well I moved to this Southeast Asian country recently, which already boasts of one of the tallest constructions in the world, which are the tallest twin buildings in the world still. Yes I am talking about -- Petronas Twin Towers.

From 1998 to 2004, they were the world’s tallest buildings, only to be overtaken by Taipei 101, in Taiwan, another smallish nation in East Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean. Well, Taipei 101 was surpassed by Burj Khalifa in Dubai earlier this year.

Now, it is worth mentioning that I moved to this country as a journalist, and in my close to 3 months here I have realized that the fascination with these large structures travels far and wide.

As I sit across from the twin towers on certain days, it is really amazing to watch people from all parts of the world do weird things in front of them. Taking weird pictures, sometimes arms wide open trying to engulf the whole structure, sometimes literally leaning in front of the structure, at times lying on the ground, so that he/she can get that perfect angle which will have his/her loved one and the entire structure in one frame.

It’s not an easy feat, I must tell you. Unless of course you have one of those really fancy cameras with wide and large lenses, although I am not quite sure if that works. But what I don’t get is why do people want to take these pictures? And then of course they go on and upload them on the numerous social networking sites, for their friends and loved ones to reply with futile stupidities like “Aweeeessooommme” or “amaaaaaaazing” et al.

I apologize I digress. What I wanted to say was there is more cheer in store for all these aficionados. The prime minister of the country I now live in has another one of these in store for them. In his last budget speech, believe it or not, apart from scraping taxes on lingerie and shampoo! He also announced that they will construct another one of those 100-storey buildings not too far from the twin towers. Why? That is something that I missed, may be because the speech was in the local language, although I had an English translated copy in my hands. The why part still eluded me somehow.

The next day, one of those investment banks with brokerage houses said it best I think (I don’t remember which one) – “Malaysia foregoes fiscal prudence for A Large Erection.”- But what I was more fascinated about was the general cheer it generated in the common public of the country.

At least five different people, including 3 taxi drivers, who I spoke to about the development, were practically over the moon. When coaxed further, they all basically said that these things add to the country’s honor. (How? Is again beyond me)

And mind you, these were not any ignorant people, because before the discussions got to the erection, there was always a quite elaborate and seemingly intelligent political debate, in which 3 of the 5 people denounced the current government, while two were skeptical about its chances of winning in the impending federal elections. (That is a larger discussion, and deserves a separate post I feel)

The fact of the matter is that there is a general feeling among most people that federal elections are imminent in the not so distant future. We were all expecting a populist budget, which is the norm in all the so called democratic countries (pseudo or otherwise), including tax breaks, may be more subsidies, but all we got was news of the Large Erection, and of course the tax cuts on lingerie.

And on top of that, a mere two months after the budget, the government cut subsidy on sugar and fuel, raising prices of two of the most essential commodities for the common man.

May be I need to learn and know more about the country that is my current home; may be tall buildings work better for general morale of a country before an election, or may be I just don’t understand politics at all. Any suggestions, or reasons, please feel free. What am I missing?

Surprise...Surprise!

2010-05-07T17:57:00.002+08:00

After more than a year of deliberations, arguments, counter arguments, innumerable witnesses and apparently (read hopefully) other proof (most important according to media reports remained the confession, by the way!), a special court in India has decided to put Ajmal Amir Kasab to death, a conclusion that was foregone on November 30, 2008, probably earlier.

Kasab, one of the ten gunmen who visited Mumbai in November 2008 and killed scores of people in cold blood, has been sentenced to death on four counts, one of them being waging a war against India.

Now, I don't want to get into whether he should or should not have been given the sentence, primarily because I, despite living and working in the same city, wasn't really affected too much by the incident, at least not in the same way that many others were. So, basically I don't intend to hurt any person's, living or otherwise, feelings.

Although, I should say that the all prevailing sentiment, at least going by what media has been telling us during the last couple of days, has been catered to.

What I intend to talk about in this post is the farce we all have witnessed over the last 17 months or so preceding the judgement.

I am sure when the judge pronounced the sentence -- "To be hanged by the neck till death." -- there was much cheer in many a quarters in the country. But, was it really that unexpected.

Our home minister says, "We are satisfied that the trial of Kasab has ended in conviction. I compliment the investigating agencies and the prosecution for marshalling evidence that Kasab and his associates were guilty..."

Would he have had it any other way. The minister says the trial of Kasab underlined that India was a "country governed by rule of law." Really?

Let's go back to Mohammed Afzal Guru, who along with three others, was charged with planning the attack on the Indian parliament in 2001. Supreme Court, the highest court in India, said in its judgement: "The incident which resulted in heavy casualty, has shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment will be awarded to the offender."

This, even as the court acknowledged that Afzal Guru was not a terrorist and they had no direct evidence against him. So, are we to gather that this is our rule of law, that it caters to "the collective conscience of the society."

The court, basically, said that since the parliament attack resulted in heavy casualty, it is not unfair to blame someone, even when we are not sure if he/she did it or not. "Nine persons including eight security personnel and one gardener succumbed to the bullets of the terrorists and 16 persons including 13 security men received injuries. The five terrorists were ultimately killed...," the supreme court judgement said.

So my point is, if a death toll of nine at that time was enough for the highest court in our country to overlook the "rule of law" and go by "the collective conscience of the society,"; how could we have it differently in the case of Mumbai attacks that claimed 166 lives.

...of round glasses, sandals, pocket watch...and of bad roads, governance...

2009-03-16T19:44:00.003+08:00

This one is about how extremely petty things make big headlines in our country. For instance take the recent ruckus about some of Mr. Gandhi's personal belongings, which were being auctioned in the US.
What I don't understand is why should this become a matter of national importance, or pride, which somehow it became, and took significant air time and newspaper space.
So much so that the prime minister of our country, who has been away from the political scene due to some illness, was making calls to make sure that the belongings don't end up anywhere else other than India.
I am pretty sure that among many things that require his attention, this cannot, or rather should not be, on the top of his priority list. But then, I am in no position to decide or gauge what is priority for Mr. Singh.
The other thing being, the fact that whatever values Mr. Gandhi stood for are no longer practiced in the country, neither are they understood, and of course nor are they relevant anymore.
Disclosure: I don't think I ever subscribed to his values, his views or his way of life. I never accepted what he preached, or stood for. In brief, I am not a fan. But, I agree, that he deserves a mention in the history, if not for anything else, just for having an impact on such a large number of people.

Good Use of Taxpayer's Money?

One more thing, India was prepared to do "whatever it takes" to get the belongings to India, even if it meant participating in the auction and bidding.
The collection had a reserve price of $20,000 to $30,000 (which is quite a lot of Indian rupees). This was just the reserve price; the final price at which they were sold was $1.80 million, mind you.
My question is, where would have the money for such purchases come from? Would it have been the taxpayers', i.e. yours and my money, to fund the purchase of Mr. Gandhi's belongings?
Who gives them this right to spend our money on it? I, for one, and millions of others like me I am sure, just don't care whether those things come to India or not.
I work my *** off for 12-13 hours a day to earn whatever I earn, out of which a major part goes to the coffers of the exchequer. I have a right to that money, as much as the other guy.
What I do care about is that this government, or whichever government is in power, gives me a decent living standard. I live in Mumbai, and I can assure you that the standard of living for the common man in this city is not acceptable. And I have lived in three other cities in the past, and the situation is not better there either.
If you are traveling by the celebrated local trains of this place (Mumbai), you can be rest assured that your journey is not going to be something you will be able to enjoy. Rather it will in most cases be a torture.
And, if you are someone who uses his/her car to travel, it can take you 2 hours to travel a distance of 20 kms or so (but you do have to pay a hefty amount to the government as road tax when you buy a car, and there are many places in the country, where no road has ever been built). I feel, that the government should look to better the quality of life in our country.
I think, the government needs to act on it now, and act on it fast, otherwise things are only going to get worse. And it won't be long (I hope) that the common man of this country will take matters into their own hands.
We have been an independent nation for more than 60 years now, and I agree that development takes time, but I am sure that things could have been much better, had our government(s) of today and yesteryears worked more effectively and not be involved in petty politics, or unimportant issues like the one mentioned above.

I have nothing personal against Mr. Gandhi, and I do not intend to offend anyone with this post (I apologize if someone has got offended). All I want is a better standard of living, which is the duty of a government to provide to the citizens of a country. I love my country, and I think India has great potential to become one of the greatest nations in the world.
But till such time the common man of a country is not happy, any greatness is out of the question. A country is great in the eyes of its own citizens first.

War, Terrorism and the economy

2009-01-24T00:27:00.005+08:00

Everyone knows how spending is important to the health of an economy. So what does one do when the global economy is reeling under a severe liquidity crunch. Well, you bomb a country, kill thousands of people, destroy billions of dollars worth of property, and then start the rebuilding process.

But you must make sure that the country that you choose to bomb, is not close to any of your allies, but has to source most of the supplies from your country, or at least from your allies. And even if it does not, you really don't have to worry, the ripple effect of any spending in any part of the world can be beneficial in a today's truly "global economy".

It really does not matter if you have to bomb universities, colleges, hospitals. Just bomb whatever you can, destroy as much as possible. Coz, unless you destroy, you cannot rebuild. And please do not even bother to think even once about the loss of human life, be it "civilians", children, women, and rather do not even spare that dog, if it comes in the way. No one is bigger than the noble cause of saving the world's economy. After all if the economy goes to the dogs, many people would want to be killed anyway.

So, that is exactly what an ally of the world's biggest and most powerful country did. Israel bombed Gaza, and it did so with a vengeance. Israel bomber Gaza continuously for three weeks, through ground and air strikes, be it night or day, Israel kept bombing Gaza. People kept dying, buildings and homes kept getting destroyed, innocents kept screaming, hurting, dying, but Israel kept bombing Gaza relentlessly.

Even after so many voices from across the world, kept asking, sometimes warning Gaza, people from Gaza kept screaming. I guess they should have known better.

And finally the news everyone was waiting for -- courtesy the British Broadcasting Corporation -- "Rebuilding the Gaza Strip after Israel's three-week offensive will cost billions of dollars, the UN has warned. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been left homeless and 400,000 people still have no running water, it says. Palestinian medical sources say at least 1,300 Palestinians were killed and 5,500 injured during the conflict. Thirteen Israelis were killed."

And yes, I forgot to say in the beginning, please make sure that for every 100 people killed in the country you attack, at least one should die from your own, and of course you are allowed to bloat the figures if the need arises.

And this guy just does not make sense, I am not sure what has gone into him -- quoted in NY Times I think -- "They hit my future with a rocket," said Muhammad Baroud, one of the students at the Islamic University in Gaza City. "This is a university. What does it have to do with war?"

But please do not pay attention to what he says, coz it does not really matter what he says, anyways. He just thinks that he has a right to education, a right to live peacefully, a right to live without fear of being bombed while studying in a college. These are mere pigments of his imagination; and for sure he will soon have to realize that he has no right to an imagination as well.

And what war were we talking about anyways. "On Monday, the first full day of a mutual cease-fire, Gaza City almost appeared back to its chaotic normalcy, with cars backed up behind slow-moving donkey carts and Hamas police whistling and gesturing to keep traffic flowing across major intersections." -- reported by AP.

Isn't it amazing how a place can return to normalcy even after being bomber for 13 days. But then you should understand that what AP is trying to say. Gaza is so used to being bombed that it does not really matter.

Well, and just one more point at the end, no matter what happens in India, she can never do any such a thing. For reasons, both known and unknown. Not that I would want my country to do it, but still.

I just wish that at least the world economy gets back on its feet.

A Local To Hell

2009-01-06T13:46:00.007+08:00

This cannot be just a coincidence, he thought. The train was moving fast but somehow he felt that it was not going anywhere.

It was late in the night, and he was alone in the compartment. He did not know it then, but later he was to find out that he was all alone in the train, as he would desperately search for a living soul to get some life back in his own.
As it fast approached midnight the uneasy feeling inside him grew. He sat back and tried to look back at the day just gone by.

It was a futile attempt; his mind would give him nothing. He tried harder, but again only a blank. He got up, went to the door, and leant out of the moving train.

It was a comparatively chilly night, his hair flowing back in the wind, shirt clinging to his body and the I-pod playing ‘Dream On’ by Aerosmith, he looked around. There was nothing but a thick blanket of dark. He looked in front at other compartments of the train, it was pitch dark; he trembled; he looked back, dark again.

He jumped back inside the train. Shivering, he held hard to the back of the seat, not knowing what to feel or how to react. He looked at his watch, eight minutes to midnight; suddenly he murmured, remembering, “eight minutes to 2009.”

“Am I dead,” he shouted. No response! He could not think; his mind was blank. He was very aware of his body at that moment, the rapid movement of the train was threatening. The only sound he could hear was of the train’s wheels pounding on the iron tracks. The I-pod was dead. The sound, which earlier could give him a sense of peace, alienating him from everything near him, was today like a hammer being banged on his head. He started running, trying to get away, but he was trapped.

He wanted to jump, but he hesitated when he got to the door, and he knew that the moment was over and that he would not jump. It was too dark, and the speed was too fast. He went back inside, sat hunched in a corner, between two seats. He was not crying, he was trying to think, trying to calm himself, talking to himself. He kept telling himself that something is not right, but there was also a feeling within that it was, more than ever.

Then suddenly the train started slowing, he shot up, grabbed his bag, and ran for the door. It was still a little too fast, but it was definitely slowing. He prepared himself to jump; to run like he had never run before. He wanted to get to a place where he could look at other people, where he could stand among a sea of people just moving haphazardly around. He had always tried to run away from the crowd, he had always hated them, he had always wanted to get away to a place where he could see as little of other people as possible, perhaps none at all.

The train continued to slow; he leant out to look if he could see anything. He could see a light in the distance approaching. Sighing with relief, he decided to wait for the light. May be, he thought, the train will stop there. It looked like it, definitely.

The train stopped, he rushed out to the platform. There was one light lit there, the one that he had seen before. But no people, not a soul! He started running towards the engine of the train, hoping to find the driver. As soon as he reached there, the train started moving. He managed to get a glance in; and shock! He looked around and saw a stairway. He moved quickly towards it. Reaching it he started descending and suddenly saw three big, bold and extraordinarily black letters to his right.

At that very moment, his cell phone rang; it was a message from an unknown number. He looked at the message and looked at the wall, and realized what was happening.

And he just sat down at the stairs, smiling gleefully for the first time ever, really happy and content…remembering “May be tomorrow good lord will take you away”

Cell Phone said – “HAPPY NEW YEAR”

Wall said -- “HELL IS HERE”

Thank God 2008 is Over -- May God Bless 2009

2008-12-31T22:47:00.005+08:00

This was written on a banner in South Mumbai, and is perhaps the true sentiment shared by the common man in the city. Personally, I always feel depressed as a new year approaches, and this time too it is not different. It is always a time for me to reflect back on the year passing by, and think of all the things that I did not do, or did not accomplish, or probably could have done differently.
I have never planned in advance, neither have I ever made any 'new year resolutions.' I have always looked at the past and then hoped to do things differently in the future, if I feel something has not worked out. Making resolutions, I feel, is a sure shot way of treading a path that is most likely to lead to disappointments and sometimes even disgust with oneself.
This time, however, it is different. I am not sure about other cities, but in Mumbai people are kind of relieved and hopeful at the same time that the new year will be 'newer' (of course) but better as well. The financial capital of the India, indeed did not have a good 2008.
From the beginning itself, when the stock market tanked. If you have ever been to Mumbai, or live in the city, you would know that stock market is the lifeline of the city.
So many people depend on it to make a living. Just like you can see a tech company in every nook and corner of Bangalore (IT Capital of India), in Mumbai you can see a stock broking company (known or unknown). So, a falling market is never good for the city.
What is also contributing to the mood is the recent terror attack. Since they are just about a month old, it is still very fresh in the hearts and minds of the people here and is bound to play right up when they try to rate 2008.

Let us all just hope and pray that God does bless the new year.

I wish all mankind a splendid new year and a wonderful life ahead!

The War That Never Was

2008-12-29T23:03:00.003+08:00

It is time for Indian politicians to introspect and perhaps hang their heads in shame. Pakistan, as it has done on numerous occasions in the past, has again managed to outwit India.
Not only did Pakistan take away the focus from Mumbai terror attacks and its alleged role in it (I have no authority to say whether it had a role or not), but it also made the rest of the world tell India that it needs to "calm down."
Although, I believe that no calming down was required on part of the Indians, but the whole episode has just left Indians more helpless than they already were.
It is a well documented and stated policy of our country that it will never initiate a war. India has always responded in a war, and Pakistan knows it too well.
So, if anyone was thinking that India was going to take the terror attack in Mumbai as a declaration of war on it, and it will reply befittingly, they were highly mistaken. Nothing of that sort was, is and perhaps is never going to happen.
"India is not the US, and Pakistan is not Afghanistan or Iraq." This statement could not be truer, for India can never emulate the US and armtwist the rest of the world to wage a war against any country. And Pakistan is certainly not going to take anything lying down, especially if it comes from the side of India.
I say, why not mobilize the army and take a stance. I am not in favor of a war, but how can our leaders let Pakistan get away with such a lousy trick.
But then, knowing India and our "democratically elected leaders", the only way I can see any kind of strong rhetoric coming from their side in the coming months is if Sonia Gandhi at some point thinks that it would be difficult for UPA (United Progressive Alliance) to come back to power. That will be the time, perhaps, the government will start talking tough (mind you only talking then also) in an effort to garner whatever mass support they can get, which might convert into a few extra votes.

But, India will continue to be a target of terror attacks in future and Indians will continue to lose their lives in the most derogatory fashion.

Triggers For Uneasy Life

2008-12-18T19:46:00.004+08:00

You know that uneasy feeling that you get, when it is not necessary that something is wrong, but when it is just that you feel something isn't right. These days I get that feeling while walking on the roads of Mumbai, while going to public places. And, no I am not paranoid, I know that the next terrorist strike will take a while, and I also know that the next terrorist strike will probably not be in Mumbai, but some other city.

But these days, as it should be in current circumstances, you can see Mumbai police armed with automatic rifles instead of just a stick earlier, and that too in groups manning a particular spot. I cannot help but wonder, how much training our city cops get in handling a weapon. I am not referring to the physical training or the weapon training only, although that is also a concern that if and when the time comes will they be able to make good use of their new possessions.

But, what concerns me more is the mental preparation and training part of it, I am more concerned about how much discretion they are capable of using before deciding to use their newly acquired weapons, I am more concerned about itchy fingers that these guys are likely to have after their top bosses were shot down in the recent attacks. Earlier, I could afford to make jokes with them, or have a normal conversation, sometimes ask for directions from these very cops, but I don't dare do that now.

Moreover, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack, the kind of criticism the city's police has come under, it will not be surprising that in haste they become trigger happy and lose sight of their better judgment. So, from now on while I am walking in the city, I will be on the lookout, not just for a possible terrorist, but also for a possible policeman, who might just lose it and panic over my north Indian punjabi looks with a red colored thread tied on my hand, and a bag slung across my shoulder.

Terror Courting Hotels In Mumbai

2008-12-12T20:30:00.009+08:00

I was wondering the other day, that how come no one has taken the hotel owners to court after the terror attacks in Mumbai. Why should not they be held responsible for not having enough security at their hotels. When we blame the government for not protecting the country and allowing the terrorists to enter the borders of the nation, the same should apply to the hotels as well.

We have reports of the terrorists having set up control rooms inside the two hotels -- Taj and Oberoi -- and had studied their targets well in advance. I want to ask the hotel owners where were their security checks. Should they not be responsible for running background checks on who is staying at their hotels.

I mean think about it, whoever came and set up these "control rooms" in the hotels, they would certainly not be someone famous and well known, that the hotel did not bother to check anything on them. It is most certain that their passports would have been fake at least. There were even reports that whoever came and set up these control rooms posed as students. They would need to be pretty seriously rich students to go and live in the Taj, by the latest estimate I would need to spend my entire year's salary to stay for a night in the Taj.

Anyways, my point is that is Mr Ratan Tata not responsible for the safety and security of the guests staying at his hotels. In their homes, people make whatever arrangements they deem necessary to avoid theft or break ins and whatever else need to be avoided. So, when a person checks into a hotel, he leaves it all to the hotel, believing that they would take care of these details.

Moreover, I have been to both these hotels on numerous occasions (no no, don't worry i still havent completed one year in the city, so i do not have a year's salary to throw away), the security is only a big joke. I mean the security personnel posted there would not recognize a bomb if it exploded 2 yards from them.

And then these hotel owners have the courage to criticize the government and the agencies, and even our media does not have the good sense to ask them about their security measures. The point is very simple, if I am staying at a hotel, and something happens to me because I am staying there, then the responsibility and the liability goes to the hotel.

For example, when a commercial aircraft crashes and the passengers die, it is the airline company that has to pay the damages. Similarly, in this case the hotel company should pay the damages, along with the government that is. It was the government's responsibility to keep the terrorists out of the country, but it was also the hotel's responsibility to keep them out of the hotel.

But everybody is sympathizing with the hotel owners, which is fine, but we should not forget that they have a responsibility as well.
We Indians should start using the courts more often, i feel, that is how we can change many things in the system.
See ya soon, and hopefully in a court! Happy Suing!!!

N'Joy

Mumbai Attacks Offer New Flavour, New Audience

2008-12-08T14:33:00.005+08:00

It is perhaps an apt occasion to start posting on the “One Small Voice,” as in the aftermath of the terror attacks on Mumbai; it is the small voice that has been downplayed and unheard.
Just over a week after the terror attacks on Mumbai, although we see a lot of big talking from all kinds of voices around, the truth that most of us almost know, but will not acknowledge, is that all this will be forgotten within a few weeks, until of course the next time.
We all have seen our cities pre and post terror attacks. But, somehow, this time it has left a different taste, and the flavor has lasted just a tad too long. Never before, at least as far as my memory goes, we saw such a strong reaction, such a strong public uproar. And the reason is that this time it was not just the common, normal man that you see everyday in trains, on roads, in buses, who was attacked.
This time, the victims included the elite, the prosperous, who live in south Mumbai, and perhaps have never seen the inside of a local train; who perhaps have never gone to the CST station. Some of them actually consider the Taj as their second home, as written in a supplement of a large daily publication by a former editor; while there are others who blatantly say that many in south Mumbai did not even know the existence of NSG before 26/11, and even go on to claim that “South Mumbai is an oasis in real India.”
Where were these voices when couple of years back, the terrorists had hit several moving trains, killing more than 200 common people, who perhaps do not live in south Mumbai, but travel to it everyday using the same trains to earn a living? We can safely assume, that most of these voices that we hear today, would have just made a passing comment at a party in south Mumbai on the day of those attacks. But, since this time the very places where these elite people used to go for the very parties have been hit, they are an angry lot.
Do these voices need a bang closer home to get upset over something that has been happening for a long time and taking so many Indian lives? We have heard so many stories of the great service that was provided by the staffers at the Taj, some of whom even gave their life while trying to save the elite guests at the hotel. But all we have heard from these people is criticism for NSG, who also put themselves in the line of the fire to save these very people, but I guess, since the NSG commandos did not serve the guests any champagne or wine, they don’t deserve a mention.
Even our great Mr Ratan Tata, while giving an interview to CNN, had to go an criticize the fire fighters for not doing anything to control the fire during the first three hours of attack, It does not matter to him that the terrorists were firing from inside the hotel, but the firefighters should have put their lives at risk to contain the damage to his property.
One can argue that the firefighters should have been more prepared, the state should have provided more equipment to them, but in absence all this, why and how can someone even expect any such thing. And then there is the fact that he had to go to the international media and demean India’s reputation. If you want to criticize, do it all you want in local media, but don’t tarnish the image of the country elsewhere.
Well, I am sure that I will have a lot more to say, but will come back later and do some more elitist bashing. Till then…"One Small Voice" will have a drink of normal water, or perhaps a cutting (half cup of tea) with a hot and spicy wada pav (the Indian burger) near the CST.

N’joy