If not you, who ?

During lunch on last Saturday, I saw the horror unfold. The images on TV of my home town, being torn apart, the images of blood on the stairways of Lumbini park, the same area I’ve driven past innumerous times, I just couldn’t swallow the fact that my home is attacked. I know there has always been some communal tension, but to this elevated level didn’t seem real. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing the images of NY WTC, or the subway in London, all I knew is it was a place I call HOME in my heart and soul. Hyderabad, being attacked so horribly, seems unbelievable.

We stand with each and every family affected by these horrifying acts in these difficult times.

The story of a sister, the tears of a father in law, the cries of a mother in Maharastra, the silent moans of an ambitious son’s father, all in Hyderabad, sharing a moment in Lumbini Park / Koti…are united by the love offered by hyd but struck tragically. My eyes swelled with tears……feeling helpless. Feeling anger that someone touched my home.

From the unique blend of cultures, the incomparable accent, to the irrefutable biryani and the laid back attitude, we are like no other and yet we are the same in this moment of truth.

You be a New Yorker, Londoner, Iraqi, or a Hyderabadi, we cant escape, with all the attention and growth we’ve been having, a fumble of human lives wasn’t what I expected. Will my fears be translated in the same way by anyone traveling to hyde, forget people from other countries, what about our own fellow Indians, will they think twice before heading to Hyde.

One Hyderabadi said, this is not about religion or anything else, these people are against humanity, “ek ek ko sadak pey lakey, suli pey chada doh” (bring each one of the convicted and hang them in public), I couldn’t agree more, my sense of anger, fear for my loved ones and friends, definitely makes anyone squirm and go find a peaceful place. But we need to remind ourselves that this search for that special place doesn’t go beyond where we live.

Though the mood of Hyderabadi’s seems somber NOW, I know we’ll bounce back, I know we HAVE to bounce back, locking ourselves in the “so called comfort” of our homes, is not the answer. I know we want to protect our families, our friends, but don’t forget the fear of people we are instilling in them by not going beyond the bounds of our home.

Don’t forget that by doing so, we are giving the terrorist outfits just what they want, fear for them. Don’t let yourself be bullied. Be strong, have faith in yourself.

Questions, our ancestors, our grandparents, our parents, asked themselves are the same ones we are faced to find answers. It is now or never.

In the quite moments, not understanding and judging everyone by their appearance, we ask these questions:

What do we do, what, we are not terrorists, we didn’t die, we have enough money to save our ourselves if this even touches us remotely?

What we can do is stop, just stop blaming the govt, the state, the country. Just stop it.

What we can do is volunteer help at the hospitals, to the cops, to the families of victims.

What we can do is stop spreading rumors. You know I saw this, I saw that…no…just stop it. Don’t spread fear.

What we can do is talk to our kids, talk to people who are confused, talk to people who don’t understand how to deal with this.

Just watching inspirational movies and talking principles doesn’t do a thing to our country.

You might wonder, “But I’m only one person what can I do ?”

You can talk, you can talk to people, spread the word of love, send sms’s, collect money for clean up efforts at these places, you don’t trust govt, hire your own service orgs and give them money to do this. Show your face, show strength. We are no less than a newyorker or a Londoner, we have what it takes to beat it.

You don’t have to be a hero, you have to be yourself.

If not you, who, if not now, when? Just ask yourself this ….

I love you, Hyderabad, and always will.