It pays to know Leela .She’s a journalist. So she gets to meet up with the rich and famous. Or did circa March 1993.Her brief for the day was to meet Ian Anderson. Sometimes mistakenly called Jethro Tull. That was the name of the band, not the man.
He was on a pre concert tour of India. Staying at the Oberoi. Right next to the Air India building. Which only a few days earlier had been bombed. RDX ripping thru the lobby. Destroying things and people. The first question that Leela asked in her allotted fifteen minutes with the legend was whether he had any apprehensions about coming to Bombay so soon after the blasts. Going to India with warnings from the British Government that said do at your own risk ? Yes he did. But he was from England. He’s gone thru the antics of the IRA. Seen the damage terrorists could do first hand. If he didn’t come to Mubai the terrorists had won. Won what they set out to do. Which was to disrupt life. To dictate what you did and when. Dictated by fear. Terrorists , terrorise. But if we stay home, they win. So here he was in the lobby of the Oberoi. Posing for a picture with his flute. Balancing on one leg against the back drop of Marine Drive and the Arabian Sea. A million miles from home. On a trip nobody would have questioned him not making.
The interview went on , to musical influences, and defining moments in life. What he ate for dinner and what the next album was going to be about. And how his daughter was not a fan of his music. She wanted to know why he didn’t play some Bon Jovi covers.
That day with him, the terrorists did not win.
Our little village and some of the going ons that transpire within.
Nov 27, 2008
Bang Bang Boom.
Labels: Jethro Tull, Leela Jacinto, Mumbai, Terrorists
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12 comments:
They didn't win that day nor did they win when they planted bombs in train and stations two years ago and they surely will not win with the attacks on our city last night. But I wish our government and law enforcement agencies could stop it from happening.
so true clem, just got a cancellation for someone who had two industry meetings lined up by us early next week. they want to do business with us....but well, if they can't take the heat they should stay out of the kitchen!
There are two types of people - (1)will always have justifiable(?) reasons why things can't be done; and(2)the winners - those who make things happen - they don't need some one else to tell why things can be done.
sent by the Chanakya II
One week after the London bombings, I was there, traipsing all over the beautiful city and loving every minute of it. Everyone was kinder than usual, the smiles were warmer and you would never be able to tell the hell they had been through a short while earlier. And yes, I did not cancel my trip because I refused to let the terrorists win.
So my thanks to Ian Anderson for doing the same for the city of my birth. The place where I grew up and know and love. Thank you!
They did'nt win they did'nt win!!! Then who won? Then ones who won? The Israeli Baby who lost both his parents? The people whose families and friends were killed? Or the people that were blasted in the trains?
Are we in denial or kidding our selves....
Its great to be positive, but had this tragedy have happened in ur own home would u be so victorious or mourning!!!
And why not if fire burns u would u still be stupid enough to put ur hand in it?(that 1's 4 u smiling dolphin)
Maybe since the rumour goes the stock exchange is next on the list u guys Must haqng out there! and go to Delhi next!!! Cheers mates!!!!
No. We did'nt win. They did'nt win..
Terrorism is a lose lose situaton. If I had a meeting at the stock exchange and fear kept me away then the terrorist wins. If I went there to challenge fate or try and look death in the eye, thats stupidity. We all mourn. For the senselessness of it all. For the people who died. For their families. For the Israeli baby who will not have mother or father. And for the parents of the boys who lost their children many years ago. To an ideology that brought them to their deaths as terrorists.
Well put, the fact that we fear leaving our homes in the morning is unforgivable. Those responsible will get the shock of their lives when they reach heaven...you see, no one told them that the 72 virgins?, they're all men. There's a shortage of women!
clem just read your comment to all after i posted, gosh u are the only one i know thinking like me on this one, go read my post.
Me too had to add my Voice of Wisdom to the whole affair. Check my blog post, BB. And in your own little way, keep us smiling, men.
Wonderful commentary!
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