How world
famous India has become for both of these colloquial usages! One brings us
fame, the other shame…
The sartorial elegance and grandeur of the
former stands out most when a group of world leaders gather for a photo-op, whether
worn on the diminutive frame of Lal Bahadur Shastri or the broad chest of
Narendra Modi, a tall turbanned Manmohan Singh or a sharp featured Jawaharlal
Nehru who inserted a red rose within a buttonhole for greater glamour. In a
sleeveless avatar it has come to be termed the ‘Nehru Jacket’ and popularly
used in the current era by TV anchors, politicians, the aam aadmi and aurat
from villages right upto high society haute couture types, who may need to
satisfy casual warmth or a look of swank. This ubiquitous attire is created
from materials ranging from khadi to elegant silk, carrying with it a touch of
comfort cum class. The fashion is lasting mind you; long after the Panditji’s
time…
Notorious on
the other hand, sad to say, are the bandhs that are now grabbing galore not
only universal attention, but importantly, India’s daily abilities to learn and
earn across the country, while they afford a gala time to ‘goondas’ who’ve no
better occupation than to destroy, loot and intimidate anyone who defies their
mandate from the leaders of these agitations. Never mind that these persons who
roam free and rule the street on ‘bandh’ days, most often do not have the faintest notion what their
cause is all about.
For me who
lives in Bengaluru, hailed as Silicon Valley of our nation, It is distressing
that two Fridays in a row recently, our renowned city had come to a standstill
on account of protests for matters that cannot be resolved by bringing the day’s
activities to a ‘bandh’! Later it was literally on fire when all hell and
hooliganism broke loose regarding the Supreme Court order on the Cauvery water
sharing issue. Absoutely no way can this be tolerated, I say! While the
authorities proclaim likewise, they don’t seem to overtly contain the situation
except make some pathetic overtures of enforcement of law and order which time
after time does not work. So much so, those who’ve braved out such occasions
before by keeping their establishments open, only to be hit hard by ire of
protestors, loss of property, stocks in trade etc. have now just decided to
quit the fight, lose a day’s livelihood instead and stay off the streets and
shun risk. Never mind that additionallly, poverty forces lakhs of our folk to eke out an existence by
living as street vendors or daily wage workers and bandhs cause them to starve
even more, but who cares about them. No one, no way...
Seems both
bandh galas for better and gala bandhs for worse are here to stay!
No comments:
Post a Comment