It was normal Saturday evening. Had just come back from office and was busy channel surfing when the news caught my attention.
“Serial blasts rock Ahmedabad.”
Ahmedabad is the city where I had started my career and having spent 5 lovely years there, any news about the city grabs my attention. Being a practical person I don’t get attached to a city but Ahmedabad is an exception.
My immediate concern was my friends who stay in Maninagar area (one of the blasts site). Fortunately I was able to get through them and the news that they were safe relieved me. My next step was to try calling other ex-colleagues & friends but then I decided upon sending messages to all of them. When I started adding numbers I realised that the 25% of my phone comprises of people from Ahmedabad. I was scared.
But then upon receiving the messages all my friends started replying they are safe. But then I received a call Mr. Rajendra’s phone. There was a lady on the other end.
Lady: hello, who’s there?
Me: hi, this is S, am Mr. R’s colleague, just wanted to know he is safe.
Lady: where are you calling from? I’m his wife speaking.
Me: I am calling from Mumbai, I used to work with him, Is he ok?
Lady: I don’t know, he hasn’t reached home, his number is not reachable and he comes from the same route where the blasts are happening.
I was dumbstruck; I didn’t know what to say.
Me: Oh! I hope he is ok, take care.
Lady: Ok.
I was surprised by my reaction. I knew that when I had sent a message to my friends I was not only praying but also expecting to hear only the news of their safety.
I wasn’t prepared to hear a bad news.
Why? May be am not brave enough or may be I was in a denial mode. I was hoping that if terrorist acts happen somewhere then even I can not be affected.
As they say you’ll never know until it falls on you, .
My mobile beeped there was a message which said, a blast has happened just 50 meters from our home, at LG hospital. Palm trees near are place are all burned but we are safe.
I slept late that day, messages were pouring in late night too that people were safe. I was happy & relieved but there was a niggling fear which I was unable to put rest to. I had not received any call or message from Mr. Rajendra. Could he be the part of the statistics? Could he be the part of those numbers?
Sunday morning was dull for me. Somewhere deep down I was shocked. Ahmedabad is a peaceful & the safest city for me and the people there the most gentle of the lot.
Why should this happen to them & for that matter why anyone? And then my mobile buzzed of, it was a new number. But when I took the call & heard the voice on the other side I was relieved.
It was Rajendraji it took him time to remember who I was but I was thankful that he was safe.
In the later part of the day while watching news I was shocked to know that they were still discovering live bombs. This literally means that no place is safe. You never know where a blast awaits you. How does it feel to live in such terror? How does it feel to live in a country where the main priority of the politicians is to stay in power? Safety of its junta comes last.How does it feel to see that it was so easy for the terrorists to strike so many locations at a time. And the next location can be the one where you are standingHow does it feel to amongst terrorists for whom targeting innocent people & hospital is a kind of revenge?
I have no answers to these questions but I know that I don’t feel safe. I don’t feel safe for my family, friends, neighbors & myself.
And after hearing about so many blasts this is the first time that I am not feeling safe because this time it has affected the people I know.
I just shudder to think how people are who are directly affected must be feeling.
