Fear of the Unknown

The effect of 7/7 is being felt more by High Street stores. The usually crowded Oxford Street these days wears a deserted look, writes Vijay Dutt.

The fear of the unknown bomber still haunts London. Police has deployed cocker spaniels to smell out bombs or other explosive material at Underground Tube stations. These cocker spaniels are said to be better at sniffing explosives than any detector. The police handlers regularly walk the dogs on platforms and entrances. They stop people to have their bags or baggage checked by the highly trained spaniels.

It was a sight seeing one dog in action. A bag would be placed in front and it would jump around it, sniff a few times and then return to the handler. I was told that if it sniffed an explosive, the dog would either lie down near the bag or just freeze. Luckily while I waited for my train, I did not see it freeze. But, the sight of these dogs and the police is a reassuring sight.

On buses too, I find, the staff keeps a sharp lookout. Yet the number of passengers is low and many people are either driving down or cycling. There was a report that the sale of cycles had gone up. But what is more noticeable is that commuters have become friendlier, they exchange glances and help each other keep alert.

The effect of 7/7 is being felt more by High Street stores. The usually crowded Oxford Street these days wears a deserted look. It seems tourists are shunning crowded places and the locals are in no mood to stroll around looking into shop windows. One told me that she goes to buy only the essentials.

Even in neighbourhood shopping areas, people are not venturing out in the evenings. Coffee joints like Starbuck or Café Nero are not jammed packed as they used to be before 7/7. The scare has forced stores to slash prices and offer discounts between 50 to 70 per cents. Usually summer sales used to start by the end of July but this year I find discounted prices for most items in high streets. The customer resistance should bring down prices in even more high-profile stores selling designer clothes.

Most people I talked to were unhappy and did not feel secure following the Downing Street meeting Tony Blair held with Muslim leaders. The reason is obvious. Radical clerics like Omar Bakri continue to blame Blair's Iraq policy and voters for re-electing him. This in a way will be taken as justification for the acts of young bombers. The people at large naturally do not feel safe with such pronouncements. There is an aura of fear with most unsure when and where they may be caught up in another sudden terror attack.

Riches are aphrodisiacs

The money may not make one happy, but it can certainly do wonders to one's sex life, according to a survey. Did this need a survey? A former Prime Minister in India had once remarked in desperation that power seemed to act like an aphrodisiac and even when he appointed an aged person as chief of a state committee, the man seemed to have gone crazy with desire. Money does bring power and the ability to please through patronage. Remember the good old days of feudal lords or the plot of 1993 film the Indecent Proposal.

So it is no wonder that the survey found that highest earners have the biggest appetites for passion. More than 250,000 respondents from 170 countries took part in the online survey for the BBC over the last 10 months. The respondents were split into four salary groups-- £10,000 a year and less, £10,000 to £25,000, £25,000 to £50,000 and above.

Researchers analysed the survey's first 30,000 responses and the result was announced on the BBC programme The Secrets of the Sexes. In both genders sex drive increased gradually along with salary regardless of which country the respondent came from.

Business as usual in Southall

Whatever be the trauma and fear following 7/7, it was nice to see people moving about in the Broadway shopping area of Southall. The Indipop and bhangra songs are being belted as usual and Chaat houses and Lahore Karahi like restaurants and cinema halls are full of customers. More than this, the pervading carefree atmosphere makes one forget the trauma and terror in central London area.

Most people in Southall believe the Islamists are targeting the "west" and Southall is not the "west" but the "East" for a long time. An irony, this is, but there is some truth in what they say. The Punjabi songs and aroma of Chaat and sarson ka sag wafting through in the air in Broadway and posters of Shah Rukh Khan in Paheli, make one do believe that one is in a pind, although far away from Punjab.