Thursday, April 13, 2006

3-Day Mourning


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originally uploaded by Cerys Conner.
So it's day two of our forced three day mourning period. I wonder how forcibly shutting down businesses and insitutions means the city is in mourning? My university, however, insisted on opening its door today, forcing people out of their homes on a possibly dangerous pilgrimage through the city so that they wouldn't miss a class this close to finals. I arrived at my university this morning to avoid just such a travesty and found five other students lounging around in the air conditioned reception area while every few minutes the administration would confirm yet another teacher was unable or unwillimg to make it to their classes.

How do you bring a city to a standstill? Close off the petrol pumps for three days. By the end of the second day, you'll have lines as long as the roads at a tiny roadside petrol station hoping to get a decent price. I can't say I'm surprised, though, at the typically captalistic ventures the smaller fish are upto, since I've gotten several offers to get as much petrol as I want at Rs. 100 per litre, substantially higher than the going rates, but without the wait and hassle of going to a petrol station.

Three days of this, tomorrow being the third. Already there is a record number of users logging into the WorldCall hub to pass the time and complain about the lull the city has been forced into. I must admit after two days of entertaining myself mostly stuck at home due to the instability outside, I'm running out of ideas, too.

Misha at Thursday, April 13, 2006

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