Terror & Traffic....

This morning, I spent a couple of interesting hours at the Indian Institute of Science at Bengaluru. As we crossed the, gate and stopped at a security check post to sign in, I was puzzled to see, sparse security.
About five years ago,the institute, India's premier scientific research place was subject of a LeT sponsored, terrorist attack.The lone terrorist, firing indiscriminately killed one scientist and injured a handful. The attack was inept & poorly executed, though brilliantly conceptualized.
Just imagine a nation crippled with its top scientists in rocketry,physics, space and chemistry gone in a single attack!
I asked, the professor that I met, as to why, security was so poor & and he said, that the scientists were against having tight security on a educational campus. A true academician and contrast this with the way a terrorist thinks, in killing indiscriminately, with the larger goal of destroying our intellectual capital!
While the plan to attack the IISC was brilliant why was the execution, on the appointed day, so poor? It is well known fact that, in this part of the world, we plan brilliantly but execute poorly. Apparently, there was a second terrorist involved, but did not turn up with weapons at the appointed hour!!!!!!!!!!
How did this come about? Did the terrorist turn yellow & decide not to go through with the strike? In fact what saved, IISC that fateful day was, the Bengaluru traffic! The second terrorist was caught in a traffic snarl putting the entire operation into jeopardy...........
These days when I'm in bumper to bumper traffic, crawling, I don't curse, but just sigh, turn the AC up and listen to Selena Gomez crooning on the radio, with benign patience. After all the traffic jams did us some good!

To live and work at the Institute is a special privilege. In reflection, an exchange between Morris Travers, the first Director, and Lord Willingdon, the then Viceroy, is worth recounting. Willingdon went around the Institute in June 1914 and said: "I had no idea that there was anything like this in India". Travers responded: "There is nothing like it in India; and nothing better in Great Britain".

However as a lay Bangalorean, I would sleep better, if our places of higher education were protected better from gun toting thugs!!!!!!!!!!!