Hello all gutfeel readers! Firstly i want to wish you all a very Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year 2009!! I wish all your dreams come true. Secondly just wanted to reflect on the year that went by and the havoc and scare it has created in people’s lives. The Mumbai firing and the hostage situation which lasted for about three days has made a scary impression on the minds of the people. Now the urban folks like us have it at the back of our mind that we are not safe anywhere. The Taj and Oberoi hotels which we and our friends frequently visit were subjected to so much destruction and violence by the Pakistani millitants that everyone will think twice before visiting any five star now…apart from those who really don’t have a choice…I have heard many people saying that whatever happened was a one of incident and we can die in any other simple situation also but in my opinion this is not an excuse for the lack of security that the city is facing. Something has to be done about it. CM Deshmukh lost his job just by the act of taking Ram Gopal Verma, the forgotten filmmaker and his son Ritesh Deshmukh to the crime site but now lets see what damage control and strategy the new CM Ashok Chauhan has to offer! Let’s hope it makes Mumbai a safer place to live. I am just overwhelmed by thinking about those people who have permanent residences in the city because they don’t have the option to shift anywhere else if war really breaks out between India and Pakistan. Mumbai and Delhi would be their first targets… Everyone i spoke to had lost some person known to them in the firings and that is pretty disappointing. Even we lost one of our friends in the same building as ours. It was heartbreaking to see my husband shed tears for him as he went to attend his funeral procession. Apart from the traffic and rainy season woes, now Mumbai has another feather on its cap, that of being a city most vulnerable to violent attacks! When i came to Bombay about four years ago, i always was amazed by the spirit of the city and always praised it for job opportunities and fast life. But now after this incident the charm of living in this metro is slowly fading away. And thank God i don’t have to travel in trains otherwise there would be a sustainability issue. Though i gave birth to my daughter in 2008, so it is special for me but i am so happy that we have finally bid goodbye to the year 2008!