Just a couple of days ago, Saakshi wrote about a disturbing trend in Mumbai. Women are groped and molested in public and this all in Mumbai, one of the safest cities in India.

Since that day there have been more incidents and more people have come forward. The police have gone on the defensive and are scrambling to get their act together and arrest the people that committed the crime.

However my question to you all readers is…

If you are in the crowd and see this happening….what would you do ?

Would you stick your neck out and try to protect the woman ? This at the risk of losing limb and life at the hands of an irate mob ?

Or would you try to record the incident on your cell and hope that it can be used to nab the culprits ?

And finally, if the culprits are nabbed, what is the proper punishment for them.

I personally think that the few in the crowd who resort to such antics should be beaten up by the majority of the bystanders. Public beating and breaking a few bones will do them good for a lifetime.

And if the public does not do its duty, then medically castrate them. That would solve a problem for a lifetime.

OK, the last suggestion is off the top, but that’s just because I am so f#$%ing angry at the series of incidents happening in my own city.

I came across an article in the Mid-Day today informing about one particular motorman on the Western Railway, who was so busy talking to his pals, that he forgot to stop at a station.

This one incident brings about a whole lot of issues that can become catastrophic if left to fester.

Firstly, why should railway employees ride in the motorman’s cabin. Can they not like all other human beings ride like sardines in regular compartment, or even in first class. But not in the motorman’s cabin.

Secondly, the motorman has no excuse to say that he was distracted and hence forgot to stop. What if there was a train ahead and he had led his rake into a rear-end or headlong collission ?

And lastly, why did the Automatic Warning System not work and stop the train immediately ??

Finally a thought for the poor hapless passengers. What if I was on that train and had a ticket to Kandivili. And now since the train didn’t stop, and I land up at Borivili. And the TC catches me and fines me for ticketless travel ? Who is to blame.

Damn u motorman, you spoilt my day. Therefore I don’t travel by train. Motorbike it is.

And I digress before I conclude.

Disclaimer: I remember travelling once in the engine room of a train. But that was on long distance trains. From Karjat to Lonavala. And believe me it was one of the best experiences of train travel. If you don’t believe me ask my pal Homiar who was with me !

You can call me a hypocrite for this but the fact remains that you can’t hide from reality, atleast not from yourself. There is always an age-old argument between my out-of-town friends, namely Delhi that Mumbai is a much better city to live in than any other in the country.

The one point I brag upon, time and time again is that “Mumbai is a safer city for women to breathe in”. We can travel alone in public transport without many worries, we can party till wee-hours of the morning without being escorted with brigade of men around us, the Mumbai public is ever-ready to vent their frustrations on perverted souls, Mumbaikars are generally very helpful so if lost or confused someone will surely come forward to help.

But but but if you ask me to swear on the above mentioned Pro-Mumbai statements, I would be a bit hesitant. I have been living in this city for the past 27 years basically my entire life up till now and never have I faced a situation where I have felt totally let down by the city that I so very much cherish. Then again our city, just like any other Indian city is inhibited by the regular junta - so we too are exposed to the good, the bad, the ugly and at times the very ugly in our day-to-day life.

And here is one such very ugly incident.

Mid-Day Correspondent reports:

A young woman was groped by some 60 perverts in plain public view, while her male friend, who tried to protect her, was pushed aside violently.

The 10 harrowing minutes the helpless woman cried for help as the perverts abused her, shook my faith in the city I have lived in all my life.

I was at the place at 11.35 pm with my camera, taking pictures that captured the mood of the New Year celebrations. I was atop the temporary watchtowers erected by the cops.

After a few minutes, as the crowd grew larger, I could vaguely make out a youth aged around 25, surrounded by a mob of around 60 to 70 people.

When I zoomed in, I saw the girl of about the same age being groped by the crowd.

The girl was screaming for help but her voice was drowned in the commotion. Her companion tried to shield her but found himself helpless.

The presence of 50-odd policemen at the site did not deter them. Even as she cried pitifully, I saw them pull at her dress, leaving it torn from below the waist.

In the middle of this pushing and shoving, the girl fell down. The wild men, taking advantage of her, pounced on her with even more venom. After an agonising 10 minutes, the two managed to extricate themselves from the crowd and leave the venue.

A few metres away I saw a middle-aged saree-clad woman being groped. Mercifully, police escorted her away before the situation got worse.

(more…)

Have you seen the cute advertisement of KBC? The launch communication showcases a cute kid ( supposedly little Shahrukh) from Delhi, who always keeps asking questions. He keeps asking questions till he reaches a point where he realizes that he is not getting answers for the questions which really matter to him.

He then packs his bags and leaves town with a bag full of unanswered questions and lands up in Mumbai. To his surprise it is the city of Mumbai, which is now asking him the questions.

The promo picks pace from here and goes on to show - how having answered some of these questions, the young lad’s life now comes a full circle, where he is again in a place where he is doing all the asking.

The rest of the film shows that the young boy has grown up as Shah Rukh Khan and is on the hot seat asking questions.

Am sure that It would be totally unfair to even compare Sharukh with Big B… People say that Sharukh always tries to get into BIG B’s shoes… Maybe yeah but Sharukh does go about things in his own style and rather than copy Big B… Although he may be a fan of Big B’s success story. One of the best example I can point here is the song of DON “Kaike Paan”… Big B had made this song a super hit back in the days and today Sharukh has made it even more popular with his own unique dance and style… Even with KBC the promotions are a bit more lighter, and the focus has been shifted from the money to a different angle.. (Atleast the initial ones which are on air now)

Am eagerly looking forward to the new KBC which will be hosted by King Khan. The show goes on air from January 22 from Monday to Thursday at 2100 hrs.

While traffic jams stop at a standstill at this exact moment..
while a large part of the crowd party on.. sloshed or on their way to being sloshed..
while people pause to chant the countdown..
While another part of the crowd that forms Mumbai sits on the beach and welcome the waves crashing in..
While a small part sit at home.. playing cards..
While Nelly Furtado grooves to her tune..and makes the rest of the crowd at Andheri Sports Complex groove too..

While the sky takes on a deep hue of a dark maroon at the edges and a deep blue-black spreading from the center.. while the horizon erupts with a riot of lights and colors…

I would like to welcome 2007 at Mumbai Metblogs!!