Stark Dark Reality.....

A month ago there was a notice in the Kolkata newspapers saying that the Election Commission was falling short of 20,000 people to help out during the Lok Sabha elections. And so the Durbal Mahila Samawayana Committee which has 70,000 registered sex workers working primarily in the Sonargachi area of Kolkata offered to help by sending out 5,000 of their registsred sex workers to help out during the polls. And in turn all they wanted was a certificate to say that these girls had helped during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

But as it turns out, only Government officials can help out during the elections. So instead of 5000 sex workers, only 6 would be involved by being the contact persons at 6 booths in Sonargachi and informing the Election Commission in case there is any violence or for instance if the electronic voting machines donnot work.

At the end of the day, these sex workers are also citizens of the country who want to do their bit for society. But apart from a chord that touches the heart for a brief moment, what are the thoughts that come to a person's mind when they think about sex workers helping out during the poll process? Does it really go down well with them? If these sex workers had not just helped at the 6 booths in Sonargachi but helped in the other booths acroos the city, what would your reaction be?

One could be of apprehension and shock. But could one also be of empathy beyond just hearing of them helping during the elections? One might argue that these sex workers will not be all that professional and get carried away and solicit clients. But could they also be seen as responsible and know their priorities? Isn't there more to sex workers than selling their bodies?

Many become sex workers out of compulsion for need of money while some are thrown into the dark world of the flesh trade. They don't command respect as a lawyer, teacher or a marketing professional and they have to live with that. It pinches them somewhere, sometimes. And when it comes to them going an extra mile to lend a helping hand, beyond a great story for a journalist, does it help them earn a little respect?

Perhaps just for a moment. And while there are some outspoken sex workers, they are just a needle in the haystack who are still at the end of the day SEX WORKERS ostracized in society. And it's not just in India alone. Their community is looked down upon all over the world even if they were to be philantrophic and perform endless good deeds just like any other human being.

The Farmers In The Bull Fight(Written In Dec 2006)

What do you call an ailing political leader, who appears to be on the death bed but the truth as most question is a far cry from the scene on the stage.....There might be a no. of examples to cite, but currently one could only think of Mamata Banerjee, a lady like a sheet of steel(Tata steel?) going through the hotest fire. But alas, it's not the State Government's sympathy she is getting, but the Left's ire.....The reality of the situation is not one sided. Looking at the two plates of the balance, the futuristic CPM wants to encourage industrialisation, the key to the State's betterment where seems to lie. On the other side of the balance lady Mamata sits on her throne fasting(?) voicing the predicament of the poor landless farmers who will soon have to wonder where their next meal will come from.So who is right and who is wrong?Is the State Government all that heartless as the Trinamul Congress Chief puts it?The land norms say that as long as the land to be accquired is in the public interest, all is ok. So the real question really is, do the farmers know and believe that what is happenning is in the public's best interest?Has anyone really made an effort to tell them about the plus points of industrailisation and perhaps cite the example of the Tata's transforming Tatanagar with the emergence of their steel plant years ago?A steel plant which not only is successful in it's own right but also has transformed the town and the lives of the people, a story of rags to riches?If not rich as a King, but atleast the certainty of knowing they will eat their next meal and don't have to look skyward to know if the rain Gods will oblige.Nobody, absolutely nobody seems to have educated these people about the situation.Also has anyone tried to tell them that the compensation package they have received is one of the best in the country?Of course no one would want to waste their time telling the farmes this.They only know how to plough the fields,so what would they understand about the positives of industrialisation.So farmers like good children just quitely give up your land,don't ask too many questions.Maybe those who believe in the Singur project should sit up and do something before the voice of the opposition silences the bosses what with the farmers being told about the wrong doing.The bottomline of course is reaching a consensus as the Left is hoping to do since quite awhile.And maybe, just maybe intsead of making the poor farmers scapegoats in the battle of the stubborn bulls, enlightening them would help the confused souls think for themselves, should they support industrialisation or remain complacent and plough away till death. But of course a debate would not be a debate without different facets to an issue nor would a coin be uniquely what it really is without two polar sides to it.

No Man's Land

In the vast expanse of the State of Bengal is a small hamlet called Charjatrasidhi which for many is not even a farmiliar name forget about even a few people knowing about it or giving you the directions. Probably a few Government officials would know. Perhaps the District Magistrate who visited the place once. And a few journalists who jumped with joy as they've found a new story.

And the story unfolds when the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer or CEO Debasis Sen hears the voices of around 3000 people in this village striving to have an identity of it's own. And where the villagers strived to establish themselves as Indian citizens.

All because the river Hoogly changed it's course making Charjatrasidhi fight for it's identity as the the village which was once a part of Hoogly district fell under Nadia district thereafter. And so ration cards were invalid and voter IDs lost their value for the past 30 years. And though the ration card still helped them get home provisions, the voter ID card did now allow them to vote or prove they were citizens iof India.

And finally a sense of euphoria erupts when 1260 people see their names on the voter list thanks to a kind CEO who heard their pleas. So now they have something to prove they belong to India, the land of diverse cultures. And now they have a chance to vote for a someone who will give them basic amenities like electricity and water which they been deprived of all along.

For these villagers who can easily count on their fingers the number of outsiders who have set foot in their domain, they greet each person with a smile filled with enthusiasm. An enthusiasm which make you ponder when you look into their eyes which tell a different story and opens the window to their lives beyond the hospitality.

For those like us settled in urban places, a voter ID might not hold even an iota of value for many. Many youngsters especially. And standing in a serpentile line to cast a vote in the scortching summer heat is a waste of time. But when you hear the story of 3000 people who feel a voter ID is a God sent, you might want to question your reasoning when you juxtapose the land of belonging somewhere to languishing in the land of nowhere.