Cities lit by Candlelight. :)

There are times when one knows exactly what to write. From a marvelous opening sentence to a dramatic beginning paragraph, a hooking body and the parting last words. Conditioned to being a student, I tend to ascertain how many marks a discerning English teacher would have given me for my piece of writing. Now, one can argue that I have always been an English teacher favourite, but that is irrelevant, because I do not think of one particular evaluator. I think of how many marks The English Teacher would give me. It's more of an idea, really.

While it leads to some passable writing on the off chance, there are times that it severely constricts thought and the natural fluidity of the language.
So, as I write this post, The English Teacher remains but an illusion at the back of my mind that I do not care one bit about. I would not want to be evaluated on this one.

Had you asked me what the Jan Lokpal Bill was a month ago, I would have done one of the following.
1) Honestly said I don't have a clue and frantically Googled it.
2) Lied somewhat believably that I've heard about it somewhere but don't exactly know what it is.

Well, I hadn't a clue about it till I watched an impassioned debate on Times Now a little over a week ago. The very idea that corruption could be tackled in such a systematic, effective manner was incredible. An organisation independent of all judicial and political pressure, that could bite corruption at all levels excited even the most politically uninterested. Anna Hazare's commitment to all ideas liberal, has been an eye-opener.

( I first heard about him in a rather dreary Political Science lecture over 6 months ago, where Professor Bhagwath informed us of his role in getting the Right to Information Act passed in the country. While I admit that I was listening to the Sir's droning voice with half a ear, the name stuck in my head somehow.)

 To witness the bespectacled, simple, stoic and perpetually smiling 73 year old man, who has spent most of his years working for the benefit of the others, undertaking a fast unto death to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed, was a sight never before witnessed by the nation's youth. It united the country in the way that cricket frenzy, religious ceremonies and Friday releases are known to unite. :)

On 8th April, I participated in a demonstration at Azad Maidan. As soon as college ended, I jumped into a local train (that was so empty at 4 p.m., it was surreal) with Kshitij, Vishant and Prajakta (my awesome possum friends). A man was on stage speaking with great passion about Anna and getting the crowd to scream 'Bharat Mata ki JAIIII!'. Since his identity is unknown, it may be debated whether he really believed his words or was just a minor politician out to gain mileage out of the movement. However, he did get the crowd to shout slogans against 'chors' in the government with great passion. Shabana Azmi, Dia Mirza and Urmila joined in too. A Nehru-like topi with "I am Anna Hazare" printed was being sold for 10 bucks, which we all bought without a thought and squarely placed on our heads. Postcards addressed to the Prime Minister were distributed, in which we all wrote bold statements urging the current government to move change. Kshitij went on to write, "The people are going to win this one". His words seem prophetic in retrospect. :)

From there, we took a taxi to Gateway, where our (surprisingly) politically aware taxi driver pleaded to us saying "Aap is movement ka saath mat chodna. Hum bhi aapke saath judenge." We nodded assent with great passion, which he topped off by saying "Kya mast topi hai". :P

Hundreds gathered in front of the Gatway of India, that served as a magnificent back-drop to the peaceful protest that was shaking the country to its bones. India Against Corruption(IAC) volunteers distributed badges, stickers and white ribbons to every person in the crowd. One by one, the candles, complete with colourful chart paper to protect our hands from the falling wax, were lit, every person sharing their flame with the next. There must have been close to 600 people in the crowd that day, 596 of whom were complete strangers to me. Yet, when we sang the national anthem in our loudest voices, something had dramatically changed. With the moon right above us, and the Taj, the survivor of a brutal terrorist attack, our neighbour, we were all one in wanting the stringent anti-corruption mechanism. All of us. I had never seen, let alone felt, anything like it. It was brilliant. 

We came home dog-tired, just in time to watch the headlines. The government had accepted Anna's demands, and that he would break his fast the next morning. 

I turned 18 just a few months ago. And I have never had much of an interest in politics before. Not until that night, when I witnessed hundreds of candles light up the city, in an effort to drive change. 

It truly was the single most satisfying moment of the year. In a nutshell, that was the day I think I really turned 18.