TRYST WITH TERROR ACROSS FOUR DECADES

"THE blast at Chandni Chowk last week tore through the heart of old Delhi, however, for many of us who have lived in Delhi long enough, it wasn't just another news headline. It was déja vu. A cold gust from the past. That evening, I was driving home, taking the Mahatma Gandhi Marg (Ring Road), parallel to Subhash Road, when my phone began to ring incessantly.

- SIDHARTH MISHRA Author and president, Centre for Reforms, Development & Justice

Within minutes of the explosion, family members were calling, their voices laced with fear, saying, "Are you safe?" The natural anxiety that follows every such incident in Delhi has become part of our daily grind.

This wasn't the first time that phone calls, panic, and prayer filled Delhi's air. I remember the 1980s, when I lived in the Kirori Mal College Hostel. Back then, the only way for worried parents to reach their children was the common hostel telephone.

After every shootout or explosion, that phone would ring incessantly. The 1980s were when Punjab militancy cast its first dark shadow over Delhi. The city changed overnight with sandbag bunkers appeared at intersections, police pickets sprouted like mushrooms, and iron pillboxes guarded key installations. Yet, the fear never really left. When gunfire became too risky for the militants, they turned to something far deadlier, using explosives.