Bandh

Today the Trinamool Congress, Congress and BJP in a rare moment of consensus have called for a Bandh. Essentially what it means is that no one would be allowed to work today from 6 in the morning till 6 in the evening.

This is the second bandh that I am witnessing in Calcutta in the last two and a half months I have been here. During the first bandh, the impact was only on me - my wife was in Bangalore. But this time around, I had some work. I went shopping yesterday.

I have never seen a market so empty at 7 in the evening - I have not seen many markets on 7 in the evening but still. The fish market was a misnomer. My wife got some fish in 10 mins flat. Next stop - vegetables - more crowd here but still done within 15 mins. Finally the milk booth. Got a liter of milk and we are back.

While shopping for vegetables a group of CPM party workers passed shouting down with Mamata and urging all the shop owners to open shops during the bandh. I could make out that they were saying that Mamata is making a big thing out of this and that she would not be paying these shopkeepers for the day - does the CPM give when they call a bandh. Yes they do. W. Bengal is a quaint place because the trade union backed by the ruling party also calls a bandh against the policies of the government!!!

Just like me, offices have also made provisions so that the effect of the bandh is minimal. Call centers have asked the employees not to go home and have provided free beds and food to the employees. IT companies too have booked rooms in the hotels nearby so that the workers can come to office and the business is unaffected. Many of my colleagues had stayed to with relatives near the office yesterday so that they can come to work today. CBSE has rescheduled class X exams in Bengal only so that the students are not put under extra pressure.

When I got up in the morning today, the roads were empty and my dogs loved because it seems that the street dogs too have participated in the bandh. There were many more people in the park than one usually sees on weekdays and the children had got up early to play.

Now to office - I was surprised to see autos plying - no taxis of course. It seem the auto driver's union is with CPM while the taxi drivers are with Mamata. Folks who drive to work wanted a bandh everyday as they came to office in record time. I walked to office today - four cigarettes and I am there :). I passed the post office on the way. The office was closed (of course - there is no way we would let go of an opportunity for not working even though my family has voted CPM for the last 30 years). But I could hear the sound of 'Kaise Katega har pal har pal har pal' ('How would this moment pass') playing loudly inside the building. Some poor chap had showed up for work today and was stuck with nothing else to do.

So who is affected by the bandh the most? Its mainly the daily wage earners, the shop keepers, the auto, taxi and rickshaw drivers who are the most affected. They don't get anything out of this. The last time I took a cab early in the morning. The cab driver told me what it is like in a bandh. Even if you do not agree to the reason for the bandh, you cannot ply on the roads as the mobs would damage the vehicle or worse even kill you. The police does not provide protection against the mob and most of the vehicles are off the road just as a preventive measure - so much for a free country.

The only saving grace is that tomorrow is a weekend so we are having and extended weekend today :)