Tragedy Post Disaster?

It is the world's worst industrial catastrophe, with more than 15000 deaths, and an appalling figure of 500,000 suffering due to exposure to MIC. Generations of people have been affected. Handicapped for life. It’s a process still going on, with no visible ending in the near future. All due to outrageously in-your-face human negligence and a shockingly irresponsible mass murderer, in the form of chairman Warren Anderson. It can be partly contributed to under-development and illiteracy in this regard, but a lot of things could've been avoided. Tons of lives could've been saved if the safety regulations were in place. Investigations are still on, but to no avail. Greenpeace is confident that Anderson knew about 30 safety hazards in the unit, which were not fixed in the Bhopal plant, but were patched up in the US plant, which led to the disaster. Sabotage, anyone?

Recently, the 25th anniversary occurred, providing a voice to those affected again, a loudspeaker to shout it out. It pained to actually realize the impact of this "accident", and was nowhere close to a rosy picture. It was barbaric, and definitely shook even the strongest of hearts. Thousands of people, of all ages, disabled and blemished for life. And the suffering continues.

More recently, the Bhopal Gas tragedy verdict was out. It was like adding insult to injury. Flinging insult after insult. Rubbing salt into raw wounds. Only 8 people convicted, and the punishment, makes one think it was a joke. Two years of imprisonment and $2000 fine. Wow! I mean, that's peanuts even for a guy who's attempted murder. And we are looking murder of over 15000 Indians, and attempted murder of over many a lakh. Talk about injustice! And Anderson not even among those convicted. Now its definitely a joke, and the government doesn’t seem to sense the humour. Anderson still heartlessly living the life of a sinner, and was supposedly helped by Indian officials to flee the country. This just is outrageous. Makes my heart cringe and at the same time burn with anger.

In the other half of this earth, the recent oil spill due to a undersea pipeline of BP explosion made headlines, for almost a month. The affected ones? Marine life in and around the oil spill, and a few thousands of people in and around the Gulf of Mexico. US President Barack Obama might have let a few of us down in what he achieved after promising the moon, but my opinion of his shot up like no other after what he achieved. He looked into the matter, followed it up brilliantly, and brought some respite. Well lots of it. Atleast monetarily. BP has vowed to pay up. Twenty Billion US dollars. That's right. All for dying dolphins! OK am not scaling down the oil spill, but in similar view, the victims of the oil spill have hit a jackpot. And victims of the Gas Tragedy? Still waiting compensation and relief. Time periods may have been a couple of decades apart, but that is no reason to give outrageous decisions and blaming the constitution for lack of a provision in case of natural disasters!

 The memorial at Bhopal aptly sums it up

 

Talk about contrasting judicial systems. We still have a long way to go! And I'm surprised no one else in India has done anything noteworthy. Its time we raised a voice, and do something to bring some form of justice to all those affected. Its time, well past it actually, that these victims and their families got justice.

Once Upon a time..Part Two

Continuing Bombay tales, another aspect is the cleanliness and pollution. Every time I step in, its the same, open drains, awaiting whose fall no one knows. I mean, the ones near my house have been open, with "Under construction" written for the past 4-5 years!! And the atmosphere! Well fact is that breathing the air in Mumbai for just one day is equivalent to smoking 2.5 packs of cigarettes. Well in that case, all of us are big fat chimneys!.Even the once visibly lovely beaches have been turned into godowns of grime and filth. Blessed are we at NITK to have our private beach, which seems spotlessly clean compared to Bombay's beaches!

Advertisements have eaten into every free square inch possible, and all boards according to some government rule (which came in after a protest by you-ob-know-whom!)  have to have the name written in Marathi/Hindi, which at times makes it an entry for the Sunday Times "Signs of the times"!! Tonnes of them. Which isn't a treat to the eye exactly. But it is fun deciphering the English words written in Hindi.

 

A shop with A to Z..in Hindi - notice the top part - in Hindi!!

Another thing is the witty comments all over the city. Some of them, enumerated here

• At one of the bus stop shelters, a plain green board saying  - "What will Bollywood heroes and heroines run around in the future?", and below that, "Plant more trees. An initiative by Leela Group"
• IndiGo Air has decked a lot of their buses, BEST(Bombay Electric Supply and Transport) with ads overflowing with puns – "Fly the BEST bus, Airbus A320" and lots more. 
• On the airplane, stewardesses as usual kept wishing each passenger on their way out – "Thank you for flying with Air India". I couldn't hold it – just burst out laughing, when a passenger (guy) in front of me actually told the stewardess "Thank you ma'am for flying with Air India".
  
  

I also happened to see the Shiv Sena National headquarters. Just a small building, but the potential storm it can brew up in no time. Big things come in small packages. The guy who said it wasn’t wrong.

 

And it was a rather silent ending, save a quick trip to Fashion Street (with no problems in reaching there, unlike our NITK junta!) , The majestic Taj, Gateway of India, Siddhivinayak  and a few other iconic locations. Otherwise, the weather prevented any other activities, as the sun was laughing in glee, sadistically. Its cruel weather. Really c-r-u-e-l.

And special mention to Ayush Nanda here. While I was in Bombay, got to know that he'd cracked the CLAT. A national rank of 46. Massacre. Congrats man. NLSIU is waiting!

And thus ended my trip to Mumbai. The reclaimed piece of land is today India's economic capital and is growing at an exponential speed. Some decentralization is needed. One can't keep stuffing a plastic bag beyond a limit. A pressure reliever is required. And that too soon.

The Pencil Parable

The pencil parable is something which I found very interesting to read, and more so, very inspiring and apt. In five simple steps, it breaks down life, well explains a lot of things!

Its basically five which I can say to a pencil, and the same five things apply to us as well. Here it goes!

 

First,
You will be able to do many great things,but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand, give them your access.

Second,
You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time.Its just to ensure you become a better pencil.

Third,
You always have the opportunity and ability to correct your mistakes

Fourth,
The most important part of you is what's inside. Preserve it well.

Fifth,
No matter what the condition, you must continue to write. You must always leave a clear, legible imprint no matter what the situation

Well, thanks for reading, and if you found it interesting, or not, just write in a couple of lines..Thanks!

Once Upon a time..Part One

Well recently I had been to Mumbai..Bombay..for about 10 days. One, at this part of the year, it was quite foolish, maybe I was about a week early, or the monsoons were a week late, because the weather that said hello, wasn’t very pleasant. The hello was rather sadistic, complete with an evil, perilous smile. I had flown Air India both ways, which seemed quite foolish given the recent trend of events! But yes, with a couple of mute prayers myself, and literal, loud prayers of a couple of Tam co-passengers, all was well. Save a minor wobble on landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport. (Yes, Air India can mess it up. Anytime. Anywhere.) 

 

 @the Gateway of India 

 

The sight that greeted me, right outside the domestic airport, spoke a thousand words. I'm not too sure if its like that everyday, but here it is-behind me, a posh GVK managed state of the art airport, to my right a horde of 100+ taxis, of black and blue (a.k.a. "Cool Cabs") behind which were 200 or more autos. But even before you could get past this part, rather think of reaching this part, a minimum of 10 drivers mill around you.  

"Kahaan jaana hai?? Bhaiyya.. Kahaan jaana hai??"  

Fending them off, a big task in itself, oh by the way, I forgot my left side. The defining side. There were a row of colourful hawkers, couple of travel agent shops, an open drain, and a Dabbawallah walking past, managing an amazing balancing act, and clusters of people hustling and bustling. It sort of captured Bombay, at a glance.

                

(The crowd..the double decker)

The drive home was equally "scenic", and The essence of this marvelous city, which never ceases to amaze me. About how life goes by, unaffected by an environment so unique to this city. The characteristic elements that can be identified with this city are innumerable. The moment one of these terms come up, Mumbai it is! Be it the local train system, the Dabbawallahs, the perennial crowd, BEST buses, double-deckers that too, the beaches, the Gateway, The Taj Hotel, BSE, Bollywood, the Shiv Sena, temples and tonnes more, clearly define this wondrous city. And to top it all, half the land is reclaimed from the sea.  

I shall continue my actual travails of wonder-city in the next post. Keep reading! And commenting?...!