We've been bandhed!
Those of you who've spent time immersed in the wildness of Kolkata have been bandhed, I'm sure. And for those of you who haven't made it to the capital of West Bengal, a state with a communist party that's been in power for many moons, imagine a city of almost 15 million people brought to an almost absolute halt, with the exception of kids playing cricket in the streets and men camped out on sidewalks listening to the radio and drinking gallons of chai. A bandh is a strike and can be called by any party at any time for pretty much any reason--right now the cause is the struggle of a group of small farmers trying to hold onto their land under pressure from an auto company and certain political groups, although of course, perspectives on this cause run a huge gamut--with varying results, depending on how the political winds are blowing. Sometimes a few small shops close up for the day. Other times, NOTHING operates--not taxis, not banks, not restaurants, not the IT industry--an almost complete economic shutdown.
Most of the Indians we've met so far--small shopowners, rickshaw drivers, teachers, bankers, etc etc--are frustrated with these bandhs, especially since FOUR have been called this month, not counting the opposition party's demand yesterday for a 48 hour bandh that they quickly withdrew when it became clear no one would hold to it. Parties may call bandhs on "behalf of the oppressed" but in our conversations with people, they see political manipulation for votes, and as a consequence of that manipulation, loss of income that they and their families depend on. They acknowledge the value of strikes as a tool against the power-hungry, but don't have much faith in how current strikes are utilized.
In this case, the auto company says it paid the farmers fair and square. Some seem satisfied. Others are not. Now various political parties are clamoring to be on the side of big business bringing invaluable economic opportunities to a growing state, while others clamor to be on the side of the farmers, taking a stand against big business and unchecked development. Some farmers seem happy with this development. Others are not. Then two days ago, a young woman (the daughter of one of the protesting farmers) turned up dead on the disputed land--burned, possibly raped and strangled. The leader of the opposition party, on day 17 of a hunger strike, demanded the two day strike and sent party members to lay down in front of traffic on main streets. The leading party called on the public to ignore the demand and denounced "the manipulation of public sentiment," although they seemed happy to urge the public on for their own strike which shut down much of the state on December 14th.
The general view on the streets of all of this is that chances are the politicians will soon choose another cause, big business will keep trying to make as much money as possible, and the poor and marginalized will remain poor and marginalized.
On a less cynical note, we went man-shawl shopping for Josh the other day and ended up having tea and biscuits with the Kashmiri owner, whose nickname is Zaam (how awesome is that?) and trading stories and questions for over an hour. He speaks Kashmiri, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, English, and ïf God permits" Punjabi in another year or two. He offered us two booklets on Islam and was so excited when we accepted them, he sent his cousin to get chai and coconut biscuits. He sat cross-legged on a low platform with shawls all around him. Josh and I sat on low plastic stools and sipped out of lovely blue and white china cups. He told us about coming to Kolkata for his "love affair." Eighteen years later, married to the woman of that love affair, he runs a shawl business with various brothers and cousins, and returns to Kashmir once a year to visit his wife and three daughters. The eldest wants to be an aerospace engineer and his "greatest dream"is to hear her give a lecture in the U.S.
Josh asked him about the role of music in Islam, and he told us that in his limited knowlege it's forbidden. But he admitted that he thinks there is good music and that priests can sometimes mislead the people. I asked him about poetry and he said that when he was a young man, he and and his friends wrote love letters filled with poetry about beauty and romance. He asked us if we were married and seemed quite pleased that we are. He spoke lovingly of Allah and Mohammed and fondly of "the Jesus Christ"and "the Moses." Then he walked us back to our hotel, introducing us to his younger brother along the way who looked like a Bollywood star, apologized for "disturbing"us and extended an open-ended invitation to his shop. It was a sweet, open, somtimes startling, honest and good-natured sharing. Not a huge theological or cultural debate, but a small trading of details, based on kindless and a desire to know more about one another. What more can you ask for?
Paz y Amor,
J&J
Most of the Indians we've met so far--small shopowners, rickshaw drivers, teachers, bankers, etc etc--are frustrated with these bandhs, especially since FOUR have been called this month, not counting the opposition party's demand yesterday for a 48 hour bandh that they quickly withdrew when it became clear no one would hold to it. Parties may call bandhs on "behalf of the oppressed" but in our conversations with people, they see political manipulation for votes, and as a consequence of that manipulation, loss of income that they and their families depend on. They acknowledge the value of strikes as a tool against the power-hungry, but don't have much faith in how current strikes are utilized.
In this case, the auto company says it paid the farmers fair and square. Some seem satisfied. Others are not. Now various political parties are clamoring to be on the side of big business bringing invaluable economic opportunities to a growing state, while others clamor to be on the side of the farmers, taking a stand against big business and unchecked development. Some farmers seem happy with this development. Others are not. Then two days ago, a young woman (the daughter of one of the protesting farmers) turned up dead on the disputed land--burned, possibly raped and strangled. The leader of the opposition party, on day 17 of a hunger strike, demanded the two day strike and sent party members to lay down in front of traffic on main streets. The leading party called on the public to ignore the demand and denounced "the manipulation of public sentiment," although they seemed happy to urge the public on for their own strike which shut down much of the state on December 14th.
The general view on the streets of all of this is that chances are the politicians will soon choose another cause, big business will keep trying to make as much money as possible, and the poor and marginalized will remain poor and marginalized.
On a less cynical note, we went man-shawl shopping for Josh the other day and ended up having tea and biscuits with the Kashmiri owner, whose nickname is Zaam (how awesome is that?) and trading stories and questions for over an hour. He speaks Kashmiri, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, English, and ïf God permits" Punjabi in another year or two. He offered us two booklets on Islam and was so excited when we accepted them, he sent his cousin to get chai and coconut biscuits. He sat cross-legged on a low platform with shawls all around him. Josh and I sat on low plastic stools and sipped out of lovely blue and white china cups. He told us about coming to Kolkata for his "love affair." Eighteen years later, married to the woman of that love affair, he runs a shawl business with various brothers and cousins, and returns to Kashmir once a year to visit his wife and three daughters. The eldest wants to be an aerospace engineer and his "greatest dream"is to hear her give a lecture in the U.S.
Josh asked him about the role of music in Islam, and he told us that in his limited knowlege it's forbidden. But he admitted that he thinks there is good music and that priests can sometimes mislead the people. I asked him about poetry and he said that when he was a young man, he and and his friends wrote love letters filled with poetry about beauty and romance. He asked us if we were married and seemed quite pleased that we are. He spoke lovingly of Allah and Mohammed and fondly of "the Jesus Christ"and "the Moses." Then he walked us back to our hotel, introducing us to his younger brother along the way who looked like a Bollywood star, apologized for "disturbing"us and extended an open-ended invitation to his shop. It was a sweet, open, somtimes startling, honest and good-natured sharing. Not a huge theological or cultural debate, but a small trading of details, based on kindless and a desire to know more about one another. What more can you ask for?
Paz y Amor,
J&J
posted by Jessica Pierce at 1:29 AM
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