26th-29th Mumbai Attacks

The poem(THE SONG OF THE SENSIBLE) has been written by poet Gorakh Pandey and is my very inept translation.
The poet was a troubled human. Intelligent and anguished by the state of the nation. He had wanted to inspire with his writing and the strength of his thinking. When he failed he committed suicide. He was a brilliant student from the Benares Hindu University and later was with JNU - Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
The entire day has been spent in front of the TV and watching in anguish and in anger the proceedings on the streets of Mumbai. I have been riveted to Times Now and to the incredible anchoring of Arnab. He has been at it non stop for almost 24 hrs; reporting, discussing, interviewing, taking opinion, tirelessly.
My pain has been the sight and plight of my innocent and vulnerable and completely insecure countrymen, facing the wrath of this terror attack. And my anger has been at the ineptitude of the authorities that have been ordained to look after us. I have simply loved and endorsed the sentiments expressed by one of those that came on for comments on the Arnab reportage, Suhel Seth. They were strong, precise and most apt. And of course I have had the greatest pride in those from the forces that have and continue to fight for our freedom. Brilliant officers and police personnel have laid down their lives for us. I can only but salute them and respect their sincerity in the call of duty.
And for God’s sake, let us stop reiterating that cliched ”Sprit of Mumbai” retort. Yes Mumbai is strong and resilient and shall not be cowed down by any such occurrence. But let us not conveniently use it as our cover sheet, pull it over our heads and go off to sleep. Because that is what has been happening every time. Incidents of grave disaster have continued to be camouflaged with ‘oh, this is Mumbai, we have a great spirit, we will spring back’. Fine, we will, of course. But who is assuring us that the disaster will not !!

As an Indian, I need to live in my own land, on my own soil with dignity and without fear. And I need an assurance on that.