My journey to the Gateway of Peace..

I think most of my trips end up by having a pinch of spice and excitement in them and this trip was no exception!! A few colleagues and me decided to join the Peace March at Gateway of India to show our support for the "Enough is Enough" campaign and we headed of towards Goregaon station. After purchasing our tickets, we ran to catch a fast train to Churchgate. As we neared Bandra, we got a call from one of the boys (who were in another compartment) that there had been some bomb and RDX found at the CST station and to get down at Bandra. While we digested and discussed this news, Bandra station came upon us and we were too late to get down but not to late to see the guys of our group looking forlorn on the station! We decided to get down at the next station – Dadar and wait for the guys. When the guys approached us at Dadar we realised that we were one colleague short!! We realised that he was still on the first train that we had left! I tried calling his cell phone but received no answer. I tried again and suddenly felt a slight vibration in the camera case that I was carrying – his cell and wallet were in the camera case that he had given me to hold!! On discovering this we all got a little hysterical because our colleague was not a Mumbaite and he had no money on him and would not know where to go!! We immediately got onto the next fast train and made our way to Churchgate. Upon arriving there, we found our "lost colleague" and we were reunited once again.

Our journey had had an eventful start and hoping that there would not be any more hiccups, we made our way towards Regal cinema. Getting a cab was out of the question and we started walking towards Oval maidan. As we walked, we saw small groups of individuals returning from the Gateway of India with printed t-shirts, banners and posters. As we neared Regal cinema, the traffic on the roads was at a standstill. Groups of individuals were walking every where – on the footpaths, on the roads, on the road dividers – anywhere that there was space! Cars stopped and drivers got out watching and clicking pictures on their mobile phones.

As we walked on the road leading to the Gateway of India we saw throngs and throngs of people. People of all ages, all religions, all backgrounds had come together to take part in the Peace Rally. The atmosphere suddenly changed and the air around me had magic floating in it, there were people all around me. What amazed me was the number of people that turned up!! I felt a gush of pride inside me and I let myself get immersed in the activities around me. All around us, we heard slogans and yells of "Vande Mahataram", "Indiaaaa, India! (like at cricket matches)", “India hamara desh hai, Mumbai meri jaan hai”, anti-Pakistan slogans, anti-Indian politician slogans etc. We joined in the chanting and almost lost our voices!


While all this was happening we were walking towards the Gateway of India when suddenly the crowd became quiet in front of us and we head the first lines of our National Anthem being sung. The crowds stood still and all of us sang our National Anthem loudly and proudly – this was the first time that singing the National Anthem brought a tear to my eye and goose bumps on my skin! The atmosphere was full of electricity and love – love for our city, Mumbai, love for our country, India, love for the people who had lost a loved one, love for everyone and everything around us. It was amazing to see the different types and kinds of people who had turned up for the Rally – there were college students, young married couples – some with kids, young professionals, few middle aged ladies and gents, the youth of the city walked side by side on this glorious evening.


I was caught up in the excitement of the evening and declared loudly that “I am really happy – really happy to have come here and be part of this rally” Suddenly a gentleman next to me turned to me and asked me why I was so happy? And as I answered him I noticed a lady with a mike recording my answers! After that I was asked a few more questions – yes I was being interviewed!! I answered 4-5 questions which revolved around the reason for the rally to the prevailing government to Pakistan’s hand in the terror attacks at Mumbai. As I bade goodbye I was told that I had been interviewed by the National Broadcasting Radio, USA.



As we approached the barricade near the Taj, a hush fell over us, as we remembered the lives lost to the terror last week. There were commandos in their uniforms standing smartly making sure the crowds did not spill over the barricades. As I passed the police I looked at them and thanked them for all they had done and I received a big smile in return. :-) We then made our way to Leopold to see the café where it all started and were greeted with more crowds that had the same idea as us!


This ended our Peace Rally at Gateway of India and I went home proud that I had been part of this wonderful initiative and I hope that Mumbai and India now take a stand and say “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!”