Madness.

Been quietly riveted by the goings on in Mumbai. Even though increasingly common in our post 9/11 world - these things are always shocking. And slightly more so when they take place in locations you visited and enjoyed. The Taj Hotel was the most amazing hotel I’ve ever stayed at, and to see it burning, to imagine the horror happening in those decadent rooms and hallways I recall so vividly, is incomprehensible. To think of Dave’s regular trips there and the implied specific targeting is unnerving. To read the emails from Dave's associates of literal bullet-dodging and life-saving decisions is incomprehensible. To think of the repercussions for the poor Indian families and the wider community involved is heartbreaking. It absolutely bewilders me what these people hope to achieve, for they do nothing but harm. They simply widen and prolong these cycles of hate and extremism. What sort of world am I bringing children into? It’s distressing. Especially when you remember incidents like Belsen and see images today of a father carrying out what looked like his six month old son from the Oberoi Hotel, 40+ hours after the sieges started (what did he eat!?? How did they stop him crying?? The absolute terror that father must have felt).