Identity

" The whole city was tense and there was heavy security at the train stations.We were shit scared until we got home. Man, Life is so unpredictable!!!" These were the precise words of one of my collegues at work who travels frequently to New York City. He was in the city when the red alert was sounded and was in the train when he heard of the news. I understand the palpitation and pumping heartbeats but coming from a country like India, i just could not help laughing. I agreed with him on one thing though i.e The only thing predictable about Life is it's unpredictability.

September 11 was an eye opener to not just United States but to the world. But i always fail to understand why weren't the March'93 blasts in bombay an eye opener to the world about global terrorism? In the US, any petty security threat gets hyped to such an extent that the whole country goes berserk as if all hell has broken loose! i really wonder how would these pople or their leaders survive in a country like India. The day after the March'93 bomb blasts, all schools and offices reported full attendance. i rememeber an article in the Times of India after the blasts that took place near the gateway of india. They displayed photographs of gruesome bodies lying around near a burnt taxi (on the day of the blast) and the next day the same venue had the hawkers and other petty shop keeprs doing usual business as if nothing had happened!!!

I surrender to this very spirit of Bombay and it is not jsut restricted ot the financial capital of India. it is an attitude and spirit highly contagious all over the country. If thats the case, what prevents us from being a show stopper!! I am aware of the problems like population,corruption,poverty etc but I feel if we have 50 million people creating issues for us, we have the remaining half who can provide us with a solution. If not a solution, at least an appropriate alternative. Each day before i go to work, i question myself, why am I here? wha tis the driving force that makes me stick her? why do i prefer being an SSN number in the US instead of being myself with an individual identity in my home country. The most common answer would be a sophisticated lifestlye, money and the usual materialistic things. But are we so weak that we have given in to a few green pieces of paper with the photographs of dead US presidents on them? I am sure each one of us realizes and thinks like this at least at some point of time. It just about holding to those thoughts and realizations and going all the way. Kudos to all those who have made the transition. I really wish to get inspired from them and undergo the transition.

The most ironical part is that I am of this view and opinion especially when I am working in this country myself. I am not writing this to convince anyone to get back but probably trying to convince myself and realize with each thought that in life, there is really no place like home!!!