Before and After

I was in German Bakery, Koregaon Park (popularly known as KP) just a couple of weeks before the fateful event of 13th Feb, killing 10 people and injuring several others.

Today, I recall my visit. It was my first. I had heard of the place and when suggested by my friend, I agreed to go there. I was waiting outside the Bakery while he parked his bike. I just observed the nature of people moving in and out of the place. You simply cannot categorize them to one age group or nationality or sex. The place was always crowded. Be it members of the Osho Ashram in their maroon gowns or foreigners or families or youngsters, you could see them all.

We entered the Bakery and placed our orders. We sat right opposite to the entrance. I remember my friend telling me- "Don't keep your expectations high. It is not a very hi-fi place, but yeah, quite a popular hangout." In spite of the noise coming from the street (the door was always open and there was no AC), I loved it. With the green walls around adorned with all kinds of posters, mostly advertisements, and the low tables with stools around them, the place had a crude and casual look. It was around 6 in the evening. Some people had gone there to have their evening snacks, others just to sit and chat. It was one of the liveliest places I had seen in Pune. We might have spent an hour there, enjoying our iced tea and snacks over a seemingly endless conversation.

I crossed the German Bakery yesterday, three days after the blast. It was totally covered and few policemen stood beside. Traffic resumed normally. Everything seemed normal. Why, then, did I feel a grip of depression, a lump in my throat? The place which had been swarming with people till few days back was now desolate. It was the same feeling I had when my mother called me up to inform me about the incident. I tried to come over it. Maybe I have. Like all other people in this country, I have convinced myself that this is something which will happen if it has to. But...why does it have to happen?