Terror attacks and our public spaces

We blame the intelligence, the politicians, the police, the bureaucrats - all and sundry. Life in the city moves at such a fast pace that we have no option but to go on with our lives, almost as though the death-fest never took place. Some call it the spirit of the city; for most, it is a necessity. The media covers it 24x7,feeds on every minute detail and, at times, even goes on to exaggerate. The same news is broadcast-ed simultaneously on almost every channel 24/7 and yet they label it "exclusive". 

But that is not what my thoughts are at this moment. I too have been bombarded with all the above, and my brain was numb from the assault. Have a pause and a take a look at our cities and our surrounding everyday life. What do we see? We see shops which are not treated more than a box, the goods jut out every morning strewn and stretched, and footpath space becomes extension of shops. What little is left is occupied by hawkers. The taxis are parked everywhere, so are cars, trucks , Hand-carts, bikes, Pull-carts, Autos, buses. Families live, ambulate on any available space. As if everyone is on lookout for a niche and grabs it as soon as it appears. Cows, Dogs, Bulls, Goats, at times monkeys, and roosters also vie for space. Our markets, stations, parks, buses, trains, and even some airports are too crowded for comfort. Are we too populated, over populated? Why we always under-plan. Our shops are inadequate. We do not like to buy another shop and expand. Our natural tendency is to expand the goods and cover surrounding areas. We do not have adequate buses or trains forcing people to travel like cattle. Everywhere utter chaos rules. Nothing seems to be out of place. No person, no vehicle, no goods. 

For the terrorist, a perfect place, to quietly leave a bag or an umbrella or a pressure cooker or a radio or a Tiffin-carrier and still not be noticed by anyone in the crowd. Nothing ever seems out of place. Nothing looks odd. Not even a bomb. 

We take our civil liberties too seriously. We treat the public spaces as an extension of our living spaces. We stretch ourselves everywhere. As long as our public spaces look inviting to jingle and mingle, we should be prepared to such acts being perpetuated upon us. Not that an organised civic space will be any less prone to such attacks. But to some extent it will make the perpetrators task a little difficult, if not impossible. Let’s get a little organised and show some respect for civic discipline and respect for rules. We should not lower our guards ever. Always remember - We have to be successful in saving our lives all the time and the terrorist has to succeed just once.