The clock ticked, the connection was made, RDX was activated and the spirit of Mumbai was challenged; once again. 140 people dead, 250 injured with the numbers threatening to increase. The blasts in the Local Trains were an attack at the heart of Mumbai. For an average Mumbaikar, the local train is a lifeline, a home away from home. And that is why this attack on local trains is a blow to the very spirit of Mumbai. Mumbai has braved the fury of nature, the mindless vandalism, even the serial blasts of 1993 and riots that ensured. Each of the events held Mumbai to siege. And yet the city fought back, it regained its urgency, the never-say-die spirit. But this attack is a blow to the heart of Mumbai. This was the same route which I took many times. I too traveled in first class. And I have no shame in confessing that every time I board the local, there will be an anxiety in my heart. The innocence, the child like joy which I experienced in locals will, in all probability, never come back. Locals will never be the same again. Every bag will be suspicious, every stranger a potential terrorist. Will the local spirit, which inspires a commuter to extend a helping hand to a stranger, be the same? Can people shrug of the fear?
This is the real test of Mumbai. And I am sure, like in past, this great city will bounce back and the Mumbai spirit will live on.
