BOMBay!

The name says it all. Even renaming it to Mumbai did not help, it seems.

Mumbai is a dream city for many Indians. And Bollywood just adds to it. It is a city of contrasts. The city has, on one hand, glamour and riches and on the other poverty. There are high rise buildings very next to the slums. The local trains bring together the educated and also the uneducated. There are the hard working individuals, who work long hours. Then there are those who know how to make some easy money. The Mumbaikars can kill each other in riots and also join hands when in need.

One example of this was seen on November 26, 2008. A date, which will go down in history. There was enough praise for the commandos for the rescue acts. Even the people of the city deserve appreciation for the support they have lent.

But, for how long will the rest of the world shower praises for Mumbai and its people?

What Mumbaikars need is not words but some action. The city has to be protected from such future incidents. And the only ones who can make this possible are Mumbaikars themselves.

I wish from now on the people of this wonderful city stay alert. They cannot trust anyone to safeguard the city. The responsibility is solely their own. Mumbai can become a lot better place to live in if the people take some time to look around their surroundings, report anything that evokes suspicion and any individual who breaks any law.

We cannot take law into our hands but we can certainly make sure everyone else follows them. Each citizen should now on monitor his and his neighbour's actions.

Let Mumbaikar not only join hands to reestablish the peace of the city, but also in building a protective wall around it.