08:00 hours
Tuesday morning was as calm as ever. Nothing out of the ordinary. After a hasty breakfast and a ten minute car ride, we found ourselves at a workplace that was slowly shaking off the Monday blues. People were still stirring themselves out of a lazy late summer morning. The routine was setting in.
09:00 hours
Full office. Not that it mattered, we were only about twenty. Work in full flow. There was some restlessness in the cubicle next to mine. I peered in and Sheriff was digging his nose deeper into CNN.com. A blast in New york? Confirmed reports? "No, not a blast, its an airline crash right in the middle of the city." If that didn't shake up the rest of us, the next piece of news did. "It is a suspected terrorist attack on the WTC..." What unfolded in the next few minutes will remain in memory for ever, although right from that minute till now, I have a strange feeling of detachment towards the whole thing. Two crashes and there was no TV to follow the news. We piled into a car and drove off to my friend's place. And most of the time, no one spoke. The newsman's voice resounded in the apartment.
10:00 hours
We drove home, me and my roomie. Mom was home alone. Ofcourse, she was blissful in her own world, having heard or seen nothing about the incidents on TV. We broke the news, called home to assure all is well. Enquired about friends and made sure they were not in the vicinity. There was confusion all around and we decided not to venture out in any case.
The rest of the day, and the next couple of days, were spent in relative silence. Still recovering from the news. A strange eerie silence loomed at the workplace. No one payed Foosball. No lunch room discussions. Then things slowly got back to normal.
15:00 hours, 7 years later.
Last year, I was in Hyderabad. Blasts ripped through a crowded chaat place and a park. Terrorism was showing its global presence. Yet again, what followed was very similar to what happened on 11th September 2001.
And today nothing was different. Bangalore was rocked by serial blasts. First reports came over phone. Then the Internet. Two blasts. No it was three according to someone else. The count slowly went up to seven. Blasts in the heart of the city. In areas where I was roaming around a day or two ago. One right next to where I was put up temporarily. People caught in two minds. "Should I go home?" many were still asking as I wrote this. Whats a safe route? Which way to go? Where were the blasts? Are friends alright? Moms calling their children, however grown up they were. Friends checking on friends. Disturbed minds were loitering around the corridors not knowing what to do next. Will there be more? Hope not! Then as the minutes ticked, people slipped out of office. The same eerie silence descended once again.
15:30 hours
The sun is already going down. There is a cloud cover, not just over the city, but in the hearts of its dwellers as well... what next?
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