1984 - THROUGH MY EYES

I was just watching this documentaryon NDTV 24x7, on the riots of 1984 and the story of an australian lady married to a sikh and their life thereafter.When everyone is reminescing those gory days in the silver jublee year of the mishap, I can't help but reflect on the same time in my life.

I was practically brought up in Delhi, my father having moved in there in 1978, following his transfer.We moved into a house in West Delhi, an area called Janak Puri and I still remember the house in every detail. Green and blue walls in the two rooms that we had and a small kitchen which my mother, who is passionate about neatness and order, had arranged  in the most user friendly way possible.We were admitted into a popular school nearby and life just seemed the way it should be with four of us in the family playing our roles to perfection.

It was October 31,1984, and doordarshan was the only channel available.We came back from school and there was a rumour that something had happened to Mrs.Indira Gandhi.She was killed - "assasinated" was not a term very popular then because the only assasination that we knew till then was of the Mahatma.I was 10 years old and only thing on my mind was -hopefully I wont have to attend school the next day.My parents had been trying to know more  by catching the news on the radio but all that they could gather was that Mrs.Gandhi was shot at and critical.

At 6 pm, my father switched on the the black and white "Crown" tv we had with us and we all were gazing at the now very famous logo of doordarshan beginning to roll on the screen.And then the news began and the news reader finally confirmed the death of Mrs.Gandhi.We kids were glad that the holiday was confirmed.But how long the holiday would extend and that it would be embedded in the memory as the worst nightmare was not something we knew.
As the night approached, the mood got darker.The rumour got thicker that Hindus were angry at the happening and the Sikhs were in danger of being attacked. But the mind always thinks that such news and violence are not something that you would become a victim of.And so we thought this would be something we would read in the newspaper the next day and everything would pass off.But it was not to be.
It was a bright sunny day but we had no clue of the dark clouds that would hover on us later that day. I think, it was around 10:30 am when we started hearing the shouts and a cacaphony of voices with a lot of anger in it.I remember my mother immediately making efforts to check that all the latches were secure. We were in a locality where we had bungalows in a circle and a park inbetween where we used to play. It was an area dominated by Sikhs and there were lots of Sikh families in the houses around us.I still remember vividly a group of people attacking the first house in the row opposite to ours on the right............ they broke open the gates and men started running away with VCRs and TVs , making the most of the oppurtunity in hand.And then the angry mob pulled out the Sikhs in the house holding them by their turbans and started beating them mercilessly.A mob has no mind of its own and so they were guided by the heat of the situation and in moments,the victims were bleeding from every part of the body.
In some time, the mob became uncontrollable and started searching for every house which had a sardar inside.Unfortunately, with the symbol of Sikhism adoring every house which they occupied, the task was only made easy for these rogues.In some time, we suddenly started seeing flames rising from the houses .......the houses were just mercilessly being burnt.........and suddenly there were blasts .....loud and ear shattering.......the mob had resorted to an easy way to set things on fire......they were opening the gas cylinders and setting fire.The number of houses in flames just kept increasing......the shrieks and cries for help and mercy were ringing in the air.......even as i write this, I can clearly hear those voices of pain and agony.Also, the sound of bursting cylinders became more and more frequent and we were told later that the Sikhs were being tied to the cylinder to make sure that they were killed along with the blasting cylinders.How true was this..is something I never came to know .......and would never like to know because the devil is not what I want to remember any human being as.
One particular sight I clearly remember, is that of the house of the Handas which was close to the market area being attacked.The lady of the house was on the terrace with a cordless phone in her hand and kids of my age with her and shouting "bachao... humein maaf kar do..in bachchon ko maaf kar do" while the mob with no feelings set the house and curtains in flames........while her wails of pain and fear kept growing with the flames which wrapped their once beautiful house.
We were now experiencing real fear.My father asked my mother to pack all the money,jewellery and valuables in a small bag and all of us were holding each other fearing the worst to happen.We had suddenly and unknowingly become a part of one of the worst violence to hit Delhi.God had mercy and we realised it that day when the mob moved away after 12 long hours but somehow we were left untouched.
We faced fear and violence in the bare naked form........and believe me its not something anyone wants to face or recall.
Time has passed and 25 years down the memory lane .....I see that many wounds have healed......the houses have been reconstructed with no evidence of the damage done.........but the scars of the wound remain hidden deep inside ............forever!

Where is world heading to?????

Today is different and so will be everyday from now on. I just woke up in the morning and went through the regular routine of picking up the paper from the balcony expecting to see the now routine headlines of sensex crashing and people being served pink slips in a few more sectors. But the sleep just vanished when I saw the headlines stating "WAR ON MUMBAI". I had slept a bit early and missed the main news of terrorist strike on the financial hub of India.
Just a bunch of 25 teenagers have created havoc and mayhem in the lives of all Indians. I don't know what is acheived by all this. Just more hatred, blodbath, sorrow and tears. Who gains???? The lives of these youth will be lost sooner or later, there are hundreds of families left in despair and the word "peace" has vanished from the lives of everyone in this country and fear looms large everywhere. Is this what we are born for? Isn't it more worthwhile to be born as an innocent animal who carries no hatred or weapons and the only thought on its mind is to get its share of food so that it can sleep in peace.
I guess the world was better in the stone ages....... at least, there was less hatred and fear then!
All that I can do for the innocents who perished in the last 2 days is pray that their souls rest in peace and their families get the courage to live through this unfortunate tragedy.

Large Hearted Americans!

I was just reading the other day in the papers about the First Black President-elect.... in fact there was hardly anything else positive in the papers which I can say was worth reading. To be very truthful, we need to hand it over to the Americans for their support to this lean man in whom they have put their trust. People might say a thousand things about the racial difference and ill treatment in the west but this election definitely makes one thing clear which we badly lack - Americans give the person a chance if he/she has the potential. Not that it is a bed of roses for anyone, anywhere and neither should it be that way. But then the thumping majority definitely proves that Americans are more secular than us.
Except Sonia Gandhi, I really can't think of any other foreigner who has been elected to the Parliament of independent India and the world knows the opposition that she faces being the odd one out (Well,well, I am not a Congress supporter in anyway! In fact I strongly believe that all parties take the country to the dogs, its just the speed at which they do is different :)). But there is a long of politicians from other races who have been having their say in the American senate.I guess its one of the reasons which puts us in the developing nation category and not in the developed one as yet. We just don't let the person with the ability to make a difference to raise his head.
Why talk of others, lets just analyse ourselves. How many of us look at the new colleagues entering our workplace as someone capable of doing some good to the organisation. He/she is always a threat and we dig to find the mistakes rather than let the person settle and get comfortable with us . Have I said anything wrong?
I guess there lies our fault. We, Indians, have a pseudo-superiority and when we can't really achieve what someone else has, we either become their psycophants or oppose them with "religion and culture" as our shields.And if the person who has done something exclusive has even a remote connection with India, we don't stop at anything to establish the connection irrespective of whether that person has any knowledge of where India is, forget the patriotism part.I don't say US is perfect..... but actually I am, for once, just trying not to find their fault but trying to learn why they excel in a lot of things. What do you say?

Delhi........ no more the same!

The weather in Delhi is getting chillier by the day and the warmth of the sun is more craved for and appreciated now. I hope the cooler temperature also cools down the temperature of the people residing in the capital who are always on the edge. I have seen Delhi change in front of my eyes and this has not been only with respect to the development of the city with the metro and flyovers pouring in but also the behaviour of the people.
In my last stay here which was almost 6 years ago, this city was really a different place. Not just was it less crowded, it was also more tolerant. People were more friendly and life here seemed more livable.I guess time and times have both taken their toll on this city. In fact, its just the reflection of the state that we are in........ financially, socially and mentally!
I just hope that the people and the times iron out the pain and stress........a wish I guess is too much to fathom for the capital!

Humans.....God's mistake for sure!

Yesterday, my wife and daughter visited the Mysore zoo and more than anything else I was extremely excited about my 2 year old seeing a variety of fauna for the first time in her life. It all went well till the time I was driving back to collect them from the zoo. Suddenly a thought occurred to me that what if we humans were not so lucky and the animals were lucky enough to get us caged and keep in the zoo! It just sounded so cruel..........I realised that how selfish we humans are! Just for the pleasure of our eyes, we shamelessly execute our superiority on the other species!
I think this concept of zoo is wrong and cruel to say the least. We need to respect the other not-so-lucky creations of God and give them their due. After all their only fault is that they were not the chosen ones to be born as a human being .... probably a creation which even God must be regretting after having created it!
I think my 2 year toddler seems to more intelligent than I thought her to be because the whole tour did nothing to amuse her ...... and it took me 33 years of my life to realise that it was really nothing to be amused about.... rather it is a mistake which we should correct...and the earlier the better!

Tourism in ruins!

I am just about to wrap up my stint of stay in Karnataka, the place that boasts of having the "silicon valley" of India, Bangalore. Just before I leave this place for good, I , like all Indians, am in the process of marking my attendance in the places of interest around Mysore. So yesterday, we planned to go to the nearby tourist spot of Thalakad, around 75 kms away from Mysore.However the trip turned out to test my driving skills to the hilt and I guess we will land up remembering the trip for the horrifying journey than the beauty of the place.
Its so saddening to see the state of tourism in Karnataka. Our last journey to Ooty gave me a hands on experience of how it must be to drive through roads after an earthquake rips it off. To come to think of it, I guess, the orthopedicians in this state should pay some commission to the government for getting them patients with low backaches,as the bad travel must be contributing to a significant number of victims turning to the doctors for relief.
On a more serious note, I don't know why a bad and sorry experience is required to awaken the government. I bet only after a major accident claims the life of poor tourists that the headlines would be grabbed and the government would land up doing "too little too late" to improve the pathetic state of the roads in Karnataka.
Our politicians are so busy grabbing the gaddi from each other that miss out opputunities to increase the revenue for the government.God has been so kind and bestowed so much to us in the form of heritage and scenic beauty that its a crime and unpardonable offence not to recognise it and use it to promote tourism. A small country like Maldives which thrives and survives on tourism would have been enough to make a responsible government make best of the beauty in the country.
I don't understand why do these netas make big issues about the Indian culture when they really have done nothing to preserve the past. I guess, politics is all about just talks relating to POLL- TIC king in the mind of the dirty politicians of this country and they fail to see beyond it...........!