Black November at Darden! Is it really that bad?

As we sat together like a family at the Thanksgiving Dinner for international students, Marsh Pattie urged us to savor the moment and enjoy the much needed 5 day break from Darden and from Black November.

Novembers at Darden are called Black November as a seemingly constant and unmanageable deluge of academic work, networking events, resume and cover-letters overwhelm students each year. So, heeding to the advice, I decided to forget about cases, the worsening economy and the next steps in my pursuit for the dream internship and set-off for DC the next evening.

Once I got there, we went out to see the critically acclaimed movie Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches story of an orphan from the slums of Mumbai. It was a pretty realistic movie that captured every facet of the city that I’ve loved all my life. There is no city like Mumbai, the city that never sleeps; the financial capital of India which also hosts the largest slum in Asia; a remarkable mosaic of cultures and religions and yet, this city of 20 million struggles as one and triumphs as one. The city has given me more Ahaa Moments than I can remember. The movie had great cinematography and ended with a joyous song at the historic Victoria Terminus railway station.

When I got out of the theatre, I was inundated with phone calls asking me whether all was well with my family in Mumbai. It took me a moment to realize that Mumbai was under attack, again! Terrorists had targeted different sites across the city with grenades and automatic weapons killing more than 100 people. My first reaction was to call my folks to find out that they’re doing fine, and then I rushed home to find out the details. Mumbai has been the victim of random bomb blasts in the past year and a half but this was outrageous. The elegant Taj Mahal hotel at the Gateway of India, the background of many fond childhood memories, was on fire with hostages held up inside. So was the Oberoi Trident, the landmark at Nariman Point. Mumbai’s top three cops had been gunned down. Over 1 million people who travel daily through the Victoria Terminus railway station had been sprayed with bullets from AK47s.

The thought of innocent people already struggling through their daily battles now having to face bullets on their way to work is outrageous and dismaying at the same time. I know that the city will bounce back as it always has. People will turn out in huge numbers to heal each other emotionally, spiritually and financially. My heart goes out to these men and women. At the same time, I once again stand reminded of the triviality of my individual professional pursuits. It is truly a Black November.