Slinging scribbles

A series of low intensity blasts on August 1 left the residents of Pune in a tizzy. For a city that is still reeling under the after-effects of the German Bakery Blasts, the minor explosions at Jangali Maharaj Road, Balgandharva Theatre and Garware Chowk were a perfect demonstration of how the terror could strike at any moment to ruin a place that is touted as the Pensioner’s Paradise and the Oxford of the East amongst other eminent titles . On February 13, 2010, a bomb carefully wrapped in a knapsack, went off at the city’s crowded place, Koregaon, an iconic area which left 17 dead and 64 others injured. Post the blasts, as always, the police swung into action and ordered for 300 CCTV cameras to be put up across Pune’s strategic locations. The state Anti-terrorism squad (ATS), in one of its prompt replies arrested Mirza Baig, a suspected Hizbul Mujahideen member, in the same year and a case was registered against him in the District and Sessions Court of Pune. However, till date,...

Its 3 am in the morning. The whispers of wind are apparent enough. Nothing unusual about them. For the past two years at Symbiosis, they have been passing through my hostel gates, along the roads, classrooms and our hostel rooms. But, this was the air of melancholy. Today was the last day I would be living as the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communications student. What was it that was missing? Placed, yes; going back home happy, true; then what the hell was missing? I stepped out of the room, wearing my track suit, the one which I earned following my selection in the cricket team of Symbiosis. I decided to take the journey to my campus, the one that I had walked endlessly on for various reasons. It was wistful reminder of the silent, stupid, happy nostalgic moments that I had shared along the roads. As I passed the cricket ground, it brought memories of the injuries that I shared on the ground and the subsequent limping towards the medical center for relisprays and pai...