Wednesday, July 12, 2006

190

At least 190 Indian people died because of seven deadly train blasts. Train cars packed with commuters were blown apart and television images showed ghastly footage of bloodied limbs and dead bodies in the wreckage. It was one of the worst such attacks in India in recent years.

My heart goes out to the families of the victims.

This post I wrote in January after visiting Mumbay:

"Several months ago I was invited to go on a business trip to Mumbay, India. It was the most impressive trip that I had in years. Yesterday, a blogfriend asked me about this trip and my feelings about it. I’d like to share my answer to her question with you because it evoked a lot of emotions again. You might know better than me that India is a country of contradictions between the majority living in extreme poverty and the ultra rich happy few. It’s also a country of beautiful and wonderful people as I’ve experienced.

One night we were invited by the Dutch ambassador to have diner in one of Bollywoods best restaurants named “Khyber”. We had diner being surrounded by various famous film-stars and well known locals. We quickly forgot about world’s misery and had a great time.

When we left the restaurant we were guided towards the bus when all of a sudden a litte beggar girl dressed in rags appeared in front of me. She had to be about five or six years old and had the most beautiful big brown eyes that laughed at me like little shining stars. The policemen yelled at her to get lost but I couldn’t resist to kneel down and look her straight into her almost hypnotizing eyes.

I asked her her name and she started to jabber words to me that I couldn’t understand. I opend my hands to her and she put her’s in mine. We then looked eachother in the eyes as if we were talking without words. All of a sudden she pulled back her hands and gave me a heartwarming hug that seemed to last forever. At that time I felt a feeling of compassion I have never felt before. It felt like both of us were at the centre of the universe. As tears rolled down my eyes, she all of a sudden stopped embracing me, looked me straight into my blurry eyes for a while and laughed at me with the same intensity as she did before.

In a split second she then dissapeared jumping across the street like a puppet on a string. I suddenly realized I wasn’t alone in this world and looked up at the rest of the group to find everyone crying. The ride back to the hotel was a quiet one with people snuffling and passing handkerchiefs. I looked out the window somewhat confused and watched Mumbay pass by, wondering what happened back there. I felt humble and man I felt alive.

Alive like I have never felt before…"


Please share some moments of silence with me..

14 comments:

Zee said...

I'll be back soon - life is a bit chaotic right now.

pissed off patricia said...

When I began to read your post I was upset and scared by the heavy storm we're having here now. Having been hit by three hurricanes in two years, weather like this brings on heavy anxiety attacks.

So in the middle of this attack I began reading what you wrote and as your words grabbed my heart I forgot all about the anxiety and began to wonder what did happen to you that night. I think two hearts met and it seems it was so wonderful that it streamed right out of your post and into my heart. I too began to cry and wonder if that little girl is okay today.

Now the storm is easing up. Thank you for sharing that beautiful sad story with me and thank you for seeing me through the storm.

glasshill said...

I remember that post. It was remarkable.

I normally don't do this, but I recently came across a poem called
Moment of Silence

and it really struck a cord with me, at the end you can click a link to hear the poet read it.

all of this reminds me how blessed my little life is.

Lisa said...

Being silent, with you, DA.

Ingrid said...

I remember the first time I was faced with really poor people and people begging in the street after I moved away from Holland. It is most shocking and your sense of communal responsibility cannot accept it. This little girl was a gift of sorts and how lucky were you to have met her...goosebumps DA!
Ingrid

White Square said...

Hi DA,
its really sad what happened in Mumbai. My heart cries for the families whose bread winners were taken away by the terrorists.
The remarkable thing is the resilience of the people of Mumbai who have defeated the terrorists by resuming their life as usual within 24hours of such a ghastly attack. The infrastructure is in place as well sending the terrorists a very clear message they can not defeat India by their shameful and cowardly acts.

Anonymous said...

This is a genuinly touching story. Having lived in similar countries where unfortunately wealth is also not equally distributed, it reminded me of my encounters there. But never as touching as this one. These people did learn me however that while a lot of them where very poor they had very happy lives. Maybe even happier than some of us will ever be in the 'rich world'. Shame on us to nag about the dent our car...The food in the restaurant not living up to our expectations...

EarthCitizen #23 said...

DA!!
The silence is deafening. The Mother shows up in the face of a child, laughing. She loves us Unconditionally, we should so love her and all her children.

Sothis said...

Silence is all I can offer. I can't comprehend why anyone would want to kill innocent civilians to make a political or religious point. Then again, I guess some people believe hate justifies any means.

lindsaylobe said...

Child of the Dust

The dream of the child from a mother’s rich dust
The dust of her dreaming to cry for one she can trust
Inspires deep within in us a mind to be kind
A reverent mind for a child of mankind

The earth’s agony is hot winds like our sun
A human dominion but no freedom has won
The power and terror is not what to seek
Anger and violence rather than to speak

A truth is the eyes of the heart of a stone
To see the life cycle and leave it alone
Awaken a new dreaming to come in our mind
Consciousness gathers a new thinking to find

To trust one another, a new progress to make
To love one another for that child sake

Gary said...

This was moving the first time you posted it DA. It's even more poignant now.

I spent some months in India once (not Mumbai) and was moved by the resilience and beauty of the people I was with. They will rise.

celestialmtn said...

Your meeting with the little angel was remarkable and touching, and your writing of it is so eloquent.

I was very upset when I had first heard of the attacks last week, and I will now bow my head down in silence again.

Eirin said...

I'll share more than silent moments...
I'll share more than slient prayers...
I'll share love, and light and affection
To this crazy world of ours...

-E

DA said...

Dear friends,

I have been sailing the last week and read your comments today. Also I just discovered half the middle east in war and Java flouded It's a strange world.

Thank you all for your kind and heartwarming words. They mean a lot. Take care where ever you are!