India: Blogging the Deluge

Rezwan had posted about the Mumbai Floods a while back. This is in continuation…

A free and democratic Press doesn't necessarily ensure events are covered as readers want them to be covered. The tragedy is glossed over, and real stories are hid beneath tales of celebrities surviving or theorizing. The Indian Blogosphere has responded to inadequate coverage of the Mumbai Floods with tales of courage from the street and daggers for the Main Stream Media and an unresponsive Government.

The unprecedented rains prompted Amit to write on the day when streets became rivers in the city. Kiruba links to a stark visual and csf vlog has a garage video . Animesh's blog has a detailed timeline of the events of the near shutdown of the city.

Ravikiran Rao provides a telling personal account of being stuck in the rains. Atheistbishop gives a piece of his mind to the government. A personal account by Sonia. Reflections on Mumbai as a political entity and its infrastructure at times like these. Thought and emotion provoking articles on Dilip's blog, ranging from personal accounts, issues of governance and notes on the spirit (or the lack of it sometimes) of the city. Links to photographs on Uma's blog and a post on the callous attitude of a leading Indian daily. More observations with celebrity-obsessed media here. There are photographs of Mumbai living and surving the deluge online on Flickr.

But the most incredible aspect has been the formation of two collaborative blogs. Collablogs such as these focus on sharing experiences, and drawing attention to specific issues, and getting heard over the din of Main Stream Media. Mumbai Help has been started with the aim of providing rescue, relief and safety information. Cloudburst Mumbai has personal accounts, and stories that are not being given attention by the Main Stream Media.

Start the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.