Nothing Doing

And then Diwali shopping was taken hostage with our lives being the ransom.

I was in merry mode in the bustling Karol Bagh market with a friend when the Delhi triple blasts occured, and even at 6:45 pm the market did not seem to have any inkling of the mayhem that had happened a couple of kilometers away at Paharganj. Only after I received a couple of frantic calls from outstation friends asking if I was safe did I know that crowded spots in Delhi were the most dangerous places to be on earth at that time.

Our first reaction, naturally, was 'Vacate This Place'. Outside Karol Bagh too, things were pretty calm, even as the rush hour Delhi traffic grappled to remain stable in light of the city's fresh crisis. I must laud the Traffic Police for their management though, for despite the blasts and the accompanying chaos, traffic moved on smoothly on our entire way from Karol Bagh to Bengali Market via CP, all of which are at stone's throw from Paharganj. Before leaving Karol Bagh, we really doubted if my friend would be able to reach her home for the day.

My condolences towards the families left aggrieved by today's blasts. The blasts have occured at prime festive period of both the Hindu and Muslim community. Jaish-e-Mohammed is being said to have committed the ghastly act. I wonder how they justify their jehaad to themselves by ending people of their own community and disrupting a festival that celebrates the same Prophet that they cite to justify the jehaad. No it's not complicated, it's just plain sick.