I had gone to Siri Fort to watch a play yesterday evening. Generally at Siri Fort, to prevent bomb blasts they ask you to deposit the mobile phones at the gate. But they are quite inefficient about it. So I had decided to leave my phone at home. But in the show I found people happily blaring away on their mobile phone (in the usual discourteous Delhi style) during the play. But it was in one of these irritating conversations that I managed to learn of the bomb blast at GK. At that moment there was no way for me to know the extent of the damage and the chaos in the city.
(Un)Fortunately, the play was not good at all (Ramkali: Good Woman of Delhi). The acting was filmy and pedantic. It made a lot of song and dance but did not even attampt to achive any of the alienation of Brechtian Epic-Theatre. So after about an hour I left the show and called home from a phone booth. I learnt that live-bombs were still being discovered around the city and that the Metro had suspended operations. So I decided to travel back by road and hopped on to a bus. I had to change several busses. Once on the bus I realised that it is possible that there may be a bomb on the bus. I hesistated a bit - should I raise an alarm what would people think - on the other hand I could not search the entire bus myself, people would suspect me. So I decided to raise and alarm and get everyone to check their part of the bus. Surprisingly, there was a general feeling of appreciation for my concern and everyone took the alarm seriously. But there was no panic. People of India have come know how to live with terror. A pointer to the government's inability to handle terror. Also, if the aim of the terrorists were to create panic and fear among the people - they have surely failed miserably.
Yesterady, there was another play being performed by the Jana Natya Manch - ulte hor zamaaney aaye - a farce in which a preparatory drill is carried out in an hospital for a bomb blast. The doctors are shown to be corrupt and attention hungry. They shift out all patients from the ICU for the bomb blast victims and the media. But they realise it was merely a drill they forsake the injured worker for the sake of wealthier patients. Ironically, yesterday was the premier show of the play. I wondered how would the group carry on such a play after almost all of its audience has fresh in its memories images of blood and gore and traumatic hospital wards. But I called up the actors this morning and was informed that this evening's show is on.
