The
idea of writing this is not to provoke, but to spark a debate. Awaken what is
dormant and recognise the real virtue.
All
of us Mumbaikars feel a pat in the back when we hear or read phrases like –
‘the indomitable spirit of Mumbai’, ‘Mumbai bounces back’, ‘Mumbai’s spirit
cannot be cowed down by terrorism’…and so on. Each more flowery than the other,
each richer than the other in terms of play of words.
Is
this a spirit of bouncing back, or is it stemming from a sense of stoicism?
Stoicism not in the sense – Who cares, but more of – What can I do? There lies
the subtle difference.
The
day after the deluge, for majority of Mumbaikars will be a normal day, to talk
the subject, read in details what one failed to catch on TV, and feel sad for
those who were stranded, drenched, took shelter in churches and gurudwaras and
those who never reached home for the night. But somewhere in a corner of the
heart we will feel good that we are back on our feet, back to work the very
moment the public transport was available, over the stinking and dirty roads;
send children to school to make them look like us, call relatives and tell them
that we are safe and have even resumed work, and behave as if nothing had
happened, and yesterday was just a bad dream. This is not the indomitable
spirit of Mumbaikar, but a concrete evidence of stoicism. It’s our hardened
sense of empathy, or the lack of it.
‘What
can I do when the whole government machinery couldn’t do anything?’, ‘What can
I do when I have so many other responsibilities?’, ‘What can I do when nobody
is doing anything?’, ‘What can I do all by myself?’ There is a list of
What-can-I-do questions, all leading us to do nothing, except watch the graphic
apathy of the system, its meticulous breaking down on TV, read all about them
on our way to work and get taken in by the ubiquitous feeling of the great ‘spirit
of Mumbai’.
To
all the What-can-I-do questions, I have only one answer – ask Why? Protest till
the powers-to-be are compelled to give answers. Protest does not mean take to
streets and resort to acts of vandalism and communalism. Protest can be in any
form that the civilised society permits us. If someone dumps garbage in front
of our house, don’t we protest? Why can’t we do now? Garbage is now being
dumped in the society, shouldn’t we protest?
Mumbaikars
need to realise that it is this infamous spirit of Mumbai which is going
against us. As individuals we are being taken for granted. The powers-to-be are
aware that as citizens we are only prone to raise our voices within the four
walls of our homes and workplaces. They are aware that they can get away with
inefficiency, irresponsibility and corruption. Haven’t we pardoned them for the
2005 deluge, the annual drama of potholes, the lack of preparation every monsoons,
the regular photo-op-charade of de-silting, and so on?
These
are not the times to bear in silence or turn a blind eye. It’s time to speak
up. Stop the wheels. Raise a voice. As the famous John Galt of ‘Atlas Shrugged’
did, ‘stop the motor of the world’ and let the inefficient and ineffective make
way for the efficient.
Ask
questions. Who is responsible for such inefficiency? When is the Government going
to rise about its compulsion of coalition-politics? When will heads roll for efficient
heads and not replace with another set of inefficient morons? Will the culprits
be arrested, and if so, how soon can they be booked, tried and punished? Will
we have to wait for another deluge to remind us of the last one? Will it take
about 12 years to fix blames? Will this go down in history as another piece of
statistics?
As
a sincere law-abiding citizen of Mumbai I protest and I ask these questions. Do
not hide behind the poetic excellence of the politicians and media alike. Do
not get taken in by the blame-game about to begin. My sincere request to all –
do not resist from asking questions, just because you might not get answers.
Ask nonetheless.
I
end with my favourite quote from Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand in the iconic
speech, ‘This is John Galt speaking’ –
“To those of you who retain
some remnant of dignity and the will to live your lives for yourselves, you
have the chance to make the same choice. Examine your values and understand
that you must choose one side or the other. Any compromise between good and evil
only hurts the good and helps the evil.
If you've understood what I've said, stop
supporting your destroyers. Don't accept their philosophy. Your destroyers hold
you by means of your endurance, your generosity, your innocence, and your love.
Don't exhaust yourself to help build the kind of world that you see around you
now. In the name of the best within you, don't sacrifice the world to those who
will take away your happiness for it.
The world will change when you are ready to
pronounce the oath….”
I
decide to stop this display of Mumbaikar’s spirit. Stop the motor of the world!
This is my way of protesting - however insignificant it seems to anybody.
