Alright.... I have to say that sitting in London it was not the first thing that came to my mind..... but as soon as opened up the Indian news websites I was reminded of the day two years when it seemed like the city I loved was under seige.... I still remember the car ride back home.... when the RJ on the radio asked people not to go to leopolds as there is 'some gang fight' happening.... as a typical Indian I changed the channels not really worried about such 'mundane' things..... by the time I reached home, Taj had been stormed and police officers had started running around like headless chickens.... and then the news flash that sent shivers down my spine was the death of Karkare.... as the red bold letters flashed on the screen I just could not help but feel scared and vulnerable.... i called up everyone I knew in mumbai.... and one of my friends who actually works close to Oberoi was so busy working that he was alerted to all the things happening because I called him up.... and then my sister called me frantically to check where I am..... and sounded relieved that I had come home instead of as she put it 'wandering somewhere'..... I could not bear to stay alone at home and hence I went over to a friends place to spend the night... it turned into 2 nights.... the friend and her parents and me wept on many occassions watching the happenings on tv.... for us it was an emotional time to see mumbai being attacked like this..... somewhere the pain went really deep.....

2 years on and I am not sure whether the pain is any less..... all I know is that Mumbai is now a city that really does not sleep.... who knows which guest comes with what across the seas....