When 9/11 happened in the States I was in Texas and Texas is a long way from New York. I had friends that lost relatives but it wasn't such a personal thing for me. It was a sad tragedy to wake up to and to mourn for. When the bombs went off in London I hadn't lived there yet so it was not real for me. Last night though, while I was having dinner in Andheri, terrorism became a real experience. I was eating in a western style restaurant because it felt more like home to me. I thought the sudden emptying of the restaurant was strange and when a friend told me something was happening I was dismissive. In fact, I ordered a dessert to go. I thought that maybe it was another riot that Raj Thackeray had incited by being arrested again. The riot was scary but exaggerated immensely by the media but it shut this city down. That was a month ago. Then I found out the gravity of the situation. Mumbai was attacked, military assault style and the targets were American and English foreign nationals and tourists. The casualties were the masses. I have had dinner at the Taj. I have been to VT station. That target was me. I just happened to be in the suburbs instead of downtown.

What kind of madness would drive a man to be ok with murdering the masses with cold calculation? There is no understanding that kind of madness. Especially when those indoctrinated with such madness are so very young. A man in his early twenties should be looking forward to living life, not training for suicide missions. The only conclusion that is rational is that fanaticism is the ugliest part of the human experience. One so ugly that it baffles the wildest of imaginings of grotesque. Fanaticism is the enemy that must be rooted out of the hearts of men before the hearts of men are rooted out by fanatics. That is not meant to be poetry but fact. And that fact asks the question, how do you fight a war with the hearts of men. Guns won't do it. Guns can win the battle but the war will still rage on because guns cause loss and loss causes broken hearts and broken hearts feed fanaticism and there in lies the vicious cycle and the birth of the skewed cause.

Every time a people endure such violence, it leaves a gaping wound in the fabric of society that can either heal with a scar that is stronger than before, or it can fester and spread infection. That is war. Mumbai will heal just like New York and London. But how much different is the world going to be now? How is India going to react? Like the United States acted by striking out? Like Britain acted by tightening up? Or like Spain acted by changing political direction? Or will India be complacent like she has been before? All I can say is I am glad that I am not a politician in these days.

If you are in Mumbai and reading this, then know that we will be rescheduling the gig, hopefully sooner than later. I will be looking forward to it. I'm not afraid.