Dear Bhopal,

I know I have not been around but I have heard your story. I have seen it umpteen times in print and on TV. I have known the figures (15000 plus) dead and I have known that at least two generations of children born in and around Bhopal suffer from congenital diseases. I have known that the water in the bore wells outside Bhopal is contaminated. I have read books on Bhopal.  There is a lot more but I can’t recount.

I am after all an average bloke trying to earn a livelihood. After all no one from my direct family suffered the gas leak on the night of Dec 2, 1984. I empathize with the victims but try to avoid them when they protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. They carry posters and banners. The cry hoarse. Their voices choke. Here there are mothers who have lost their children. There are daughters who have lost their fathers. There is someone there who has lost something. I am trying to build my life, I do not want to loose my chance at it. I take care of myself. I eat well, exercise, swim, work hard, and so on. After all if I have good health and some wealth, I will have a long life. But how will i protect myself from the air? The Gas leaked out and people died. As simple as that.