BULL!

I am twenty years old, and in my twenty years of life, this is what I have seen:-

December 1992-January 1993: Riots all over the country because of Babri Masjid.

12th March, 1993: Blasts in Bombay

24th December, 1999: Hijacking of IC-814

May and July 1999: Kargil War

September 11, 2001: Planes crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
Begining of the American war on Terror

September 27, 2008 - Bomb blasts in Delhi flower market

September 13, 2008 - Bomb blasts in Delhi markets

July 26, 2008 - Serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad…

March 7, 2006 - Terrorist attacks in Varanasi

July 25, 2008 - Bomb blasts in Bangalore

May 13, 2008 - Bomb blasts in Jaipur

August 25, 2007 - Blasts in Hyderabad

May 18, 2007 - Bombing at Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad

September 8, 2006 - Bomb blasts in Malegaon, Maharashtra.

July 11, 2006 - series of 7 train bombing during the evening rush hour near Mumbai.

2002: Riots in Gujarat

November 27, 2008: Attacks in Bombay

There are countless more which have not made this list, only because I cant remember them.But they happened. Twenty years, innumerable murders. Because that is what they are. Not 'random acts of terror', not 'jihad', but plain ole murder. And I realised this today, after staying fixed to the NEWS all day, that I've actually got used to the fact that every morning when I wake up and read the paper, there will be news of a Blast some where, or a war somewhere else. People dying doesn't shock me any more, simply because that is what i grew up with. What I feel right now is not fear, or terror or sympathy, I feel anger. I am angry at the fact that 20 people weilding guns can hold a country of 1.1 billion to ransom. I am angry at the fact that the cops are underprepared to deal with a crisis. I am angry at the fact that politicians are now demanding police reforms. I am angry at the country that I have inherited, at it's tendency to live from crisis to crisis. I am just plain angry.
My TV is switched off. I'll not turn it on at night. I, quite frankly, have had enough. I'll have dinner, say a prayer for the victims and go to sleep. I hope to find peace there.

EXAM BLUES

Exams are on. I look at my books and wonder what on earth did I do to deserve this. Every day I wake up feeling like I have just tripped over my neighbor’s dog and fallen in the garbage vat. All of a sudden, past misdemeanors have caught up with me, it seems as if all the classes that I missed have pounced on me with vengeance.

Meanwhile, in another part of town…

The weather is pleasant, altering between hot and cold, perfect for going out and staying out. Movies run to packed houses. There are TWO Daniel Craig movies currently in cinemas…a rarity for Calcutta. There are rock concerts every alternate week end, Jethrotull is coming to town, along with Anoushka Shankar, the Kolkata Film Festival will start tomorrow and BOTH Star Movies and HBO have an amazing line up of movies.

Am I supposed to sing ‘Joy To The World”?