Whenever I travel to India, I am forced to take a break in Delhi or Mumbai for a few hours before catching the connecting flight to my hometown Bhubaneswar. On my return journey I spend some time in those cities. Never ever I fail to take the opportunity to talk to the cabbies and commoners to gauge the pulse of our nation at the time.
In Mumbai the outsiders are often branded as GUJJU (Gujuratis), GULTI (Telugus), MALLU (Malayalis) and so on depending on their states of origin. Not sure what they call Odias behind their back - probably the people from Odisha are not numerous or influential enough to earn a specific tag. The South Indians as a whole are packaged as "YENDU GENDU WALLE", poked fun of their accent, often put under the same bucket as Behenc**d (sister slammer) Madrasis as they are called in Delhi.
The worst in Mumbai is reserved for the Biharis (any one from the cow belt is considered as a Bihari including those from UP) who is regarded as betel chewing, foul mouthed, smelly, dirty ones living in squalors. They are accused of having a criminal bent of mind compared to the cultured, broadminded, brave heart Marathis.
The Bihari cab drivers reciprocate by accusing the Marathis of being arrogant, snobbish and intolerant to outsiders. Folks lose no opportunity to backbite each other community, often in a deregatory way. So much about the much boasted cosmopolitan fabric of Mumbai where every community speaks ill of each other behind their back.
But a notable difference was a decade and half ago when I was travelling through Mumbai barely a week after the 26th of November, 2008. The patriotic fervor was high on the aftermath of the infamous 26/11 incident when terrorists from Pakistan caused multiple casualties inside the city. My brother-in-law, my wife's cousin Saurav Mishra was one of the victims who took a bullet but fortunately survived. I didn't come across any community specific character assassination by anyone in an apparent show of unity which overrode the all pervading parochial feelings.
It is said that crisis can be the best leveller - tiger and goat are known to live in peaceful coexistence and collaboration when cornered inside a boat during flood. No wonder Cricket and Pakistan, especially when both juxtaposed together brings the best Indian out of us.
It also didn't go unnoticed to me the lack security in the Airport inside and out barely a week after this heinous crime. You would expect a Fort Knox at the Airport and it was far from it. Have we learnt any lessons from this attack ? Are we better off more than a dozen years after this incident. Your guess is as good as mine.
These lines from my friend Ambika Prasad Mahapatra aptly reminds of this fateful day.
A Blood thirsty nation
A dozen rotten souls
An incompetent State
A few brave hearts
Hundreds of innocent victims
Thousands of devastated families
Millions of vulnerable commoners.
And the line - "We salute the Mumbai spirit"..
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