Bombed, Not Bowed.

That's what today's banner on the Economic Times says.
Absolutely, man.

Bombay is a relatively new city, only coming into prominence towards the middle of the 19th century. I'm no expert in history, but that's the way it seems to untutored eyes.
Since then it's growth has been phenomenal. The island city has grown, metamorphosed, mutated, into a thriving, bursting-at-the-seams mega-metropolis, where your dreams are your reality-to-be.

It acts as a human magnet, drawing close to three hundred new migrants a day, fitting them effortlessly into every nook and corner of its it's widely spread out area.
Year on year, the city has grown, and grown wiser. It has seen itself change from a bustling trade centre to a hub of the freedom struggle, to the undisputed Queen of the Arabian Sea, to finally, one of the biggest, and most important, cities in the world.

And it's people, over the years, have helped, aided and willingly abetted in it's change.There is something wonderfully admirable about the Mumbaikar's spirit. Come rain or shine, come tempests or politician's cavalcades, the average Mumbaikar takes it all in his stride, fights his way to work, and fights his way back. Sleeps for as long as his planned destiny allows him, and repeats the process day in and day out. This is not the place for a sociological, or anthropological, or any other gical discourse, and don't you worry, I'm not about to dish one out.

All I'm about to do is sit and admire all those people who came out today morning, climbed into those very same trains that just a day back were mobile coffins, and made their way to work.
All of them, every single one, while climbing into those trains must have felt a flash of fear. All the vendors on the platforms, the shoe-shine boys, the cops manning the stations, the drivers of those trains, the mass of people that makes Western Railways what it is, all of them must have wondered about reporting to work today.

But true to what we've come to expect from the city of dreams, no change in the story, thank you very much. All of them, every single one, is on the job, and doing their stuff. They might have a queasy feeling in their tummy, and they may jump at sudden noises, but they're going to go to work, because today, that's what Mumbai is all about. The only noticeable difference is, apparently, that the Western line is running about 10 to 15 minutes late. And if Western Lines is what it used to be, that's not going to last for long either.

If the aim of those idiots, whoever they are, was to paralyse the life of the Mumbaikar, sorry and all, but they're going to have to scratch their head and get a loud red F on their report card. FO, come to think of it.
Mumbai lives, ladies and gentlemen, and it's taken this too, in it's stride.

I might be infringing on her copyright here, but I'm sure good old Mira wouldn't mind.
Salaam Bombay!