Sab Chalta Hai !

(Written during early December)

It was a day full of assignments and homework. I hardly had the time to complete any of my daily chores. I was neck deep in assignments to even know what is going around. I decided to take a little break. I turned on to NDTV for some news.

The 26/11 trial was still looming large. Processions. NGO's going ahead with candlelight vigil. Lot of support for the victims in the days that followed 26/11. The media were playing some statements by Pranab Mukherjee. My friend (from Mumbai) came online. I pinged him to ask if people were still up on their toes over the latest Mumbai attacks. He replied ( in a manner which characterises us) " Kuch nahi yar...yeh baar awaaz zyada der tak hai ...but thanda ho jaega.."

Suddenly I heard lot of action going around my apartment. There was a fire brigade outside my building. With its flashy lights and honking sirens, it got me outside the apartment. After enquiring, I come to know that my neighbor had barbequed her chicken inside her house, without the chimney on.(Trivial reason for such a commotion!!).The fire brigade went about their work and sorted the situation in minutes. This showed up one more facet of America - A superb system around.But more important than that, a system that cares for its people.

Now, I can understand the confidence an American reposes in his system. I remember after an Indian airlines flight was hijacked in Kabul - news channels went about asking world citizens how their country would have reacted. An American proudly said “ If the terrorists had hijacked even one US citizen, US would have declared a war on that nation…” I understand that its an over statement.But just think, citizens from how many countries would have mustered a confidence even to say that!

But that’s not the end of the story. After that incident my neighbor personally apologized to each and everyone. This goes to show the amount of responsibility that people take on to themselves. Not shirk it.

I am back to my apartment. Barkha Dutt runs a special show praising the resilience of Mumbai and its people. All I can remember is what Naseerudin Shah said - " We are resilient by force, not by choice".