Mumbai - one month later

My Mumbai trip is just a month after the ghastly attack by terrorists. Coming to the city for the first time since March, I have been on the lookout for changes in the city and its people. Sitting right now in the lobby of The Trident, I am probably best positioned, in more ways than one, to jot down my thoughts.

First - the obvious. Security is much stronger and is evident. I had to enter the hotel through the only gate currently open. Just like several other places in the city, and indeed in the country, temporary stations for armed police have been set up outside the entrance. My bag was checked diligently, and while the customary greeting from the staff was as smiling as ever, I can sense a general feeling of "differentness". As I sit on the sofa overlooking the Arabian Sea, I see a plainclothes policeman in black pacing the floor. Several others are roaming, keeping an eye on people around. Does it help being in plainclothes when it is obvious they are from the police? Maybe to identify themselves in case another shootout starts. And it does help in making guests feel a bit more secure without making the lobby look like a police station. There are foreign tourists around, and I can see a few strolling on Marine Drive as well. Hopefully, things will get back to normal soon. Hopefully, this time it will be different in that people remember the lives lost, and the hundreds wounded, and everyone does their bit in making this city a better, safer place.

Speaking of the police, one of these guys in black just approached me and requested me to move to the cafe area since I am not meeting any hotel guest. Which means I need to get going. I am impressed by the polite and helpful nature of the police and security personnel in the last 2 days. How refreshingly different from those from some other arms of the State. More on that in my next post.

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On the 4:46pm slow local to Andheri, I can't help throwing a glance at the luggage racks to see if there is any suspicious package. The faces in the second class compartment don't seem to have changed in the last few years, but I guess the fear and suspicion among people have increased manifold. As a commentator mentioned in the aftermath of the terrorist attack, it is striking how the appearance of the terrorists was "ordinary". It is the ability of such "ordinary" people to have a devastatingly extraordinary impact that should bother the common man and, indeed, our lawmakers and law-enforcers.

In contrast with the Oberoi, security at the Churchgate station was highly "leaky", if I may use the word. Not a thread of khaki to be seen at the entrance to the subway, and the metal detectors at the entrance to the platform happily glowed "WALK" in green all along. A few policemen were loitering nearby, but their ability to act quickly and decisively, should the situation demand, could be seriously questioned. So much for protecting a place which is way more vulnerable than the Tridents and the Tajs of the world, with potentially huge threat to human lives should a tragedy similar to 26/11 occur.

Not much seems to have changed so far as the Mumbai local trains are concerned. The train did leave Churhcgate at 4:46pm, with several young and not-so-young individuals geting their daily exercise through the 50-metre sprint from the station entrance to the nearest compartment. Standees competed for space as usual, with noses close to others' armpits creating a perfect setting for the next deodorant ad.
Earlier at the station, I could see a couple of relatively new First Class Ticket Validating Machines announcing they were "Out of Service". Isn't it inhuman to expect machines to work 24x7 when their creators and users are enjoying their Xmas break? The monitors next to the ticket windows, though, seem to have caught the city's workaholic mood, and tirelessly relay stock market news to millions. First class or second, Mumbaikars do seem to love the stock market. So what if once in a while it makes them lose money?

As I look up, I can see the train approaching Dadar station. A few square feet of the coach get new occupants. This will go on till we reach Andheri. And then another horde of people will board the train for a journey in the opposite direction. It is as if the train swallows a mass of people at each station, spitting out a few at the same time to ensure it doesn't choke. This seems to be working fine for years. In and out, out and in. I wonder what amazing source of information and stories the seats and windows of Mumbai local trains must be. If only we could listen! But then, we are either too tired, or in great hurry to reach home or workplace. Maybe we should all listen to the phone of the guy in front of me. Right now, it is announcing an incoming call with a rather shrill rendition of the Bollywood number - "Just chill, chill ... Just chill"