Tuesday evening, Mumbai met one of its worst expected nightmares ...The seven serial explosions in the local trains which killed many and critically injured many more....

Horror and panic struck one and all... The life for mumbaikars came to a standstill......especially those who were traveling by the same train....At that unnerving moment....when it was almost impossible for anyone to think straight ....when one would ideally be in a state of shock.... it was the Mumbaikar who rose to the occasion...it was the most common man who literally carried out the ‘rescue operations’ for all those who were injured ....Be it the poignant task of collecting all those lying dead or trying to save the one lying below a heap of debris....the Mumbaikar did it all....without batting an eyelid....without waiting for the authorities...without fearing the consequences.

It was the day when....Jute sacs and blankets were converted into stretchers... Handkerchiefs and ‘dupattas’ did the jobs of bandages...auto-rickshaws and taxis were transformed into ambulances...Finally,care and support from the mumbaikars did the job of a medicine... They cautiously scanned through the blood shed and the remains .. leaving no stone unturned to save and rescue anybody and everybody...

There was no space for distinctions and discriminations...Religion, caste creed was not not a barrier.....the rich the poor did not matter....At that time only two categories existed.... the injured and the rescuer...Only one religion prevailed.....HUMANITY

 ...Those hurt and wounded were moved to the nearest hospitals for treatment....those deceased were shifted to the morgues......Their belongings were taken care of...Their families were informed... All this was by and large carried out by the local citizens single-handedly .....without the aid of the police...the fire brigade or any such authority...

The helping spirit of the Mumbaikars was also seen in their gestures when people from all areas came out of their respective houses with drums full of drinking water and packets of biscuits for those who were stranded.....Aged and young....rich and poor all made their way to the main roads with a helping spirit in their hearts...

These explosions made an impact on the ‘backbone’ of Mumbai...the local trains.... The number of people stranded on railway platforms was humongous....There was chaos everywhere.... Life remained disrupted for a couple of hours....But that was it....The railway services resumed to some extent by midnight....Life was gradually coming back to normal....Within a day or two, everybody saw that Mumbai was steadily recuperating...

Such is the nature of Mumbai and Mumbaikars....It is the city with tremendous resilience...Here, people have always stood up to the occasion...be it after the blasts in March 1993....or the deluge in July last year......Whatever the calamity, the city assures that you are not left alone...

p.s: The lives lost in the explosions were priceless...The city experienced  immense pain and I am a part of it....I deeply mourn the demise of the  all innocent souls...And pray that the guilty be severely punished for their inhuman acts.....in this life only....

 I HOPE THAT  READER’S DIGEST HAS REALSIED WHAT A GRAVE MISTAKE IT HAS DONE BY CALLING MUMBAI ‘RUDE’.....