today i realised how flawed our entire method of voicing protest is,in this state.and if there is anyone to blame,it is us.it is us who have acted indifferent to the most idiotic forms of protest in the city.
we are the ones who took a detour when a politician decided to lie down at Hazra More to voice only one of her thousand and one problems with our government.we sighed and shook our heads when the same politician lay prostrate in some other busy junction.
what we never realised that each time we walked past something as stupid as this,we contributed generously into legitimising such foolery.
today it came biting right back at our asses when few local groups decided to stall traffic,in order to voice their anger at not having electricity for several hours on end.they just decided to block any road at any time they wanted to-forcing people to get off buses or autos and walk miles to get to their destination.the funny part is that,also caught in that maze of traffic was the crane that was supposed to pick up the fallen tree that had been uprooted resulting in the snapping of the electricity lines.
you might say that it's all easy for me to say because my house had its electric supply intact.let me tell you i spent my day working in a 250 years old building for seven hours without electricity.
we have to realise that the cyclone is no one's fault and no government,i repeat NO government in the world has quick fix measures lined up for such events.if you can recall,New York City collapsed following a massive powercut a few years back and Japan,which has been affected by earthquakes throughout, collapses under each new earthquake.
i know it is difficult to live without electricity but it is hardly a reason to let go of one's civility.because no matter how much it is hard to believe,it is a fact that no government-Left,Right,Centre or Diagonal-asked for the Aila.
in a city which thrives on its intellectual prowess,it is sad to see people lose their civility and become just thoughtless beings who are so frustrated that they cant keep their frustration to their own filthy bodies!
Calcutta,civilisation deludes you.
24 comments:
very true..its just that we are very impatient and demanding..and moreover we just need a situation to create an issue out of it and blame it to the government!!!
Had i been one of those victims of the long power cuts or something like that may be even i wud hav been joining them in the protest if not physically but verbally..but at the end of the day i wud realize that it was an aimless protest!! hurling abuses at the govt wont help us to retrieve the power back any faster as it may if we show a lil faith and support to our own government!!!
nice post bdc!!! u pointed out something which people need to realize!!! Sigh!!! people here are so insensible!!
I can't get over the irony of the crane that was supposed to pick up the tree being stuck in the traffic!!! It's hilarious! (I know that wasn't what the post was about, but I tend to focus on the comic relief bits at times...)
the 'cholbe na, cholbe na' knee-jerk reaction is an indelible part of the great Bong culture we so proudly proclaim. after all when we see the illustrious leaders being leading proponents of Protest (against anything under the sun) . . . we follow. quite logical really.
unlike most other places even a fatal calamity cannot change our ways. i wonder why.
i can only say it's sad, and our mindsets won't change for a long time to come... we're quite a herd that way...
no man, you got this all wrong. The aila was engineered by the left front to show how massively powerful they are.
sheesh. uneducated rascals.
I walked back home as well, though not because of of protests and all that jazz, 'twas because all cabs were going to sealdah and no one wanted to go towards my side of town and once I started walking, i just kept walking.
p.s. - nice post. well written but I can't help but wonder if ur using ur blog as a punching bag of late.
Obviously a very emotional post and it's easy to see why : the more we strive to incorporate education into our everyday lives, the more we appear to end up using it as a weapon of revolution rather than of enlightenment. Sad, of course, if you happen to view it objectively. Especially, when we pause to reflect that the govt is not just an 'it' (an inanimate institution) it is composed of ppl just like us, and they and their methods have limitations, as much as we do,if not more. It is because we are not perfect that we strive to attain perfection; indeed that's why we vote for fresh faces each election or re-elect those whose records seem to demonstrate greater administrative versatility.
But then, nature is a great leveller. She has the power of forcing our darker, uncivilised sides to surface. We bring our domestic quarrels out on the road, treating the govt as an irresponsible parent.And hence, the show goes on.
@tgm:thanks for understanding what i meant to say.
@k:yes,that sort of perspective always helps :)
@a,s:yes,it is very sad.
@sphinx:i know,i feel very guilty about that :(
@c:that's one of the best comments my blog has ever received.thank you
Well, er....thanks !
what sucks is the fact that people have let go of all reason.
in some locality which faced the same power cut problem thanks to Aila, the CESC guys were beaten up by the local mob when they arrived.
in another place, the mob punctured the tyres of the car so that the CESC guys wouldn't leave.
and they are expected to work under those circumstances.
i can so connect with this post..for probashi bongs like who at some stage nd some extent face condescension nd ''left jokes''but vehemently stand up 2 it, it get disillusioning 2 see the city tht u wud die for dying
Good ol' Calcutta. And right said.
Well written. It's quite a sad reality.
two days without electricity!! that was us
when the power finally cam back it was with cheers of 'current aaila re' :-P
In one particular para, a man repairing the electrical lines died. He had been working for two nights without a break. Locals were apparently threatening him while he was working.
A friend of mine walked from Dunlop to Barrackpore. It was too late for him to return to some friend's place. He had to walk because all roads to his home were blocked.
All because of the 'protests'.
I do not know what has become of us. We have no clue about what we are protesting against!
Someday soon, we might hit the streets protesting against protests.
Had every one realized this, then not only our dear city, but the world itself would have been a better place to live in...
Very well written, you have pointed out something that people need to realise. Most of them just need an excuse to lie down in the middle of roads, or block traffic, or disrupt law and order. Anything works. It's sad. And when it comes to actual proactive measures, no one will do anything.
i have something to say about this...i have said, and always will maintain, India is a country constantly plagued by civil war. In its nittie gritties, it is not separate from maybe Africe. Though the politics is more subtle. The people you speak of, those who stalled transport in the city, are empowered by those who you don't wish to blame. And you can't really blame communism, look at China. It's the same policy that the British followed over a century back, "Divide and Rule", it has come back to haunt us again. Today as Calcuttans, we can't help but be divided on the lines of political flags. The interesting point to note is that one is in power while the other isn't, as soon as the tables are turned and all the desparate pleas to the citizen like lying down on roads end, the other party will become as corrupt as the first. It's dystopia we're living in
p.s. i have a new blog :)
On similar lines, the mindless torching of trains today at Patna just because the halt has been withdrawn... its insane!
amen.
Its true dat d govt. had nothng 2 do wid d cyclone,dats qte obvious,bt d govt. have 2 bear d responsibility of d frustration pervading betn d commoners n dats wot had given rise to an uproar at such an unavoidable issue.Dats d difference betn NW, Japan n Cal.There d ppl r provided a bit more reief at times when cyclones are not around.
Evn i personally hate blaming d govt. for each n every matter.Bt dats wot i can say living amidst all sorts of luxuries.U may say dat dere's no point in blocking roads n wasting other's time.Bt i dnt thnk u cn realy blame dem too.I've seen dese week long powercuts many a times.Dere hs bn nvr an uproar lik dis.Den y today?Dere MUST be SOME reason behind it!
I would disagree with you when you say that Calcutta is a city that thrives on its intellectual prowess.
Calcutta had a huge pool of talent and people with great foresight. All that was lost in the last two decades. You must have seen features and infrastructure coming up in Kolkata even before it did in other metro cities on India. But Kolkata failed to move on. The people failed to adapt to a new way of living, a new technological environment and a new government. Their ways remained the same, and it has hampered the progress of Bengal.
Having said that, I have nothing against Bengal or Bengalis, it is one of the best places to live in, but... there are things which must change sooner than later.
I wish you read http://blog.aditto.info/2009/03/30/241-when-his-sleep-was-more-important-than-someones-life/
I would fully agree that the blame of Kolkata's state of affairs is very much to do with its citizens than the government.
Regards.
I absolutely second you bedatri. Whatever be the Government's faults, the people go about protesting against it at the wrong time and in the wrong way.
It's time people learned to be responsible citizens and DO the right thing before pointing their fingers the other way.
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