SALAAM INDIA..

If words can portray my anguish and helpless feeling then that is not why I am writing.. today I feel one with every other Indian who has a burning feeling inside to say that now we need to fight..but how?

Not only are we divided by land, language, culture , religion... there are always the politicians and their vices. When an adversity like the Mumbai terror attack on 26/11 knock our doors.. we awaken.. but how do we open ourselves?? How do we liberate ourselves from the shackles that bind us? These questions I am sure alarm you and me..

As I kept hearing more and more stories from the people rescued at the Taj and the Oberoi.. I can almost feel the sense of relief as well as an awakening from their voices.. they have literally been out of the jaw of death..been through the ordeal for more than a day..only praying ( to which ever God they chose to ) for peace..If we all put ourselves in that last second of our lives.. would we pray for wealth or prosperity ??!.. end of the day we would only want peace ..

As much as we salute to the cammandos and the brave men who laid their lives.. would we still send our family men to fight..we are still cowards and selfish deep down.. I kept watching the face of the wife of a slain martyr today.. she kept her face still.. I was proud of her, my heart went out to her..but I could not help feeling ashamed to have cried for so many occassions when I thought I can never pass that moment and felt utterly helpless..and here was a woman who had lost her husband to the hands of some despicable men but kept her face still . She did not want to dramatise the real bravery , she refused to accept any compensation from a poltician who wanted to take a stake in a state funeral..Maa thujhe salaam..

I as an Indian hindu who has best friends who are muslims and christians , jains and buddhists. I dont understand how can young people like us be trained to be so fanatic and irrational. The only way we can pull out of this mess we have landed ourselves into is by being together..at no point should we see each other as any different.. lets unite, lets say we are one and show the world that nobody can divide the unity that we have built.. I heard kids in my apartment aged betweed 5 and 10 discussing about the fate of the jewish kid rescued from Chabba house in mumbai. I was moved when i heard a kid (about 6-7 yrs ) saying she would love to bring the kid home ..she said.".he would be safe in bangalore na.. he can live with us"..salaam little one.!

Shifting focus to my brother's maid in chennai.. her house has been completely drowned in the rains following the cyclone in chennai , her family has been relocated to a local school and my brother was so sad when he heard about it , we were ready to lend any support for her. However he was overwhelmed with her spirit, she was unnerved and was all smiles. All she had to say was " Everybody lost their homes sir..we are all safe in a school now.. they give us food once in a day . However during elections we used to get biryani and money sir .. that is the way life is sir.. ". We were astounded..when people with nothing lose it all they still smile because they still have their resilience intact. When people with wealth lose their precious possesions they value it more than even their lives... that is how India is today.. we are losing ourselves searching for happiness when we fail to seek it from within..

Time for us to sit back introspect and take action. We share the same spirit to fight like our ancestors did when they fought the invaders and the britishers. Wherever we may be across the globe we should never lose the spirit that Indians have from birth that of equality and brotherhood , unity in diversity.

I look forward to the day when my kids will not know what it is to be stuck to a particular religion or a region but feel that the country and the world is a safe open place to live and experience the goodness of people and nature around with peace . Where they can laugh and play without being scared of what can burn or blast in the vicinity.....


I pray all gods of all the religions to open eyes..for the sake of the innocent childeren of the world to make this a safer place to dwell.

Salaam India... we are a nation that carries this spirit -"to survive the odds" we will continue to do so.