The spirit that everyone is talking about

After the 13/7 blasts in Mumbai, I was left more numb than I have felt ever in my life. The memories of the 1993 blasts and riots were too old for me to remember. But the recent blasts that rocked Mumbai, including the ones in local train, which I missed by 15 minutes while coming back from college, left quite a dent in my memory.

The deeper gash left was, however, not by the blasts, but by the drill that followed. The politicians giving incrementally stupid statements, channels fighting for the vital piece of "exclusive" info, people helping out each other, and not to forget, everyone saluting the "spirit of Mumbai". And after the precisely same drill followed after the attacks that happened not even a week ago, I was left dumbstruck.

I really want to ask each and every one of the people who saluted the spirit of Mumbai, what is it exactly you are saluting to? To the inability of the Mumbaikar to do anything but clear the bodies of the dead and live on like nothing happened? Or supporting each other in the struggle of life, that never stops in Mumbai?

It is not the spirit of Mumbai that makes everyone here to move on from what happened, it is the loss of any other option. Spirit of Mumbai is not in the expressionless faces that drag there feet to office on the next day of the blast, not knowing if they will return home safely in the evening. The true spirit of Mumbai reflects in the rush in the local trains, in the too-familiar gaalis given and taken, in the pigeons flying about the Gateway, in the puddles of muddy water that splash water on walkers, in the tall buildings that sprain ones neck when he or she attempts to count the floors, in the couples sketching their future on the canvas of the marine-drive sunset, in the sea of hawkers to hookers selling everything from food to bodies to their customers, in the huddle of card players who forget all their worries while returning home, and the families that see each other only at the dinner table and share their day.

So to all the people that are saluting the "spirit of Mumbai" I urge, rather pleade, not to appreciate the brave face put by Mumbaikar's after terror strikes back to back, but to salute the smiles and joy of Mumbai and take steps to preserve them.