Bengal

I had been travelling in some of the districts of north Bengal (Murshidabad, Dakshin Dinajpur and Koch Bihar). That was a most humbling, educative and inspiring experience. Living in Calcutta, life can be bleak. But my travels through rural Bengal filled me with cheer and hope, as I witnessed the promise of a new dawn for the people in the land of Bengal. A watershed in my life, self-discovery, roots, renewal...

Here are some images from my travels. See the complete set of images here.

Shan sines again in Bengal

It took 32 years for the ghost of Siddhartha Shankar Roy to be buried, and for the self-destructive negativism underlying much of life in Bengal to be set aside. Bengal has rejoined the national mainstream. It has been part of a national wave, and played a significant part in enabling the formation of a stable federal govt committed to good governance, economic growth and social inclusion. Bengal had played a significant role in India's anti-colonial and freedom movement. Now, through its electoral behaviour, it has once again found its place under the Indian sun. The people of Bengal have to give flesh and bones to that promise and potential.

It is unlikely that any future govt will last for 30 years - or for that matter, whether "Bengal" as we know it today, will have any meaning in 30 years time, given the pace at which changes and transformations are taking place in the world. Any new dispensation in Bengal has only a short time within which it can carry out the work of repairing, rebuilding and renewing Bengal. It is not a question of pragmatism, or expediency or opportunism. Of erstwhile CPM-supported auto, bus-transport and union mafias, and real estate dons now doing business as usual with new rulers. It is a question of overturning and transforming the way life is lived in Bengal, of how people breathe, and what they are.

Bengal needs vision, inspiration and example; people need counselling and instruction and encouragement; and chastening and chiding and punishment and reward. In short, Bengal needs leadership. Bengalis are habitually averse to all these things. But the same Bengalis can do as much and more when they are inspired, and believe and trust. Netaji is long gone, and is not about to return. Even Prabhakaran, the mass murderer, who claimed Netaji's inspiration, is now dead. The people of Bengal have to find leadership within themselves, individually and collectively. Yes, Bengal needs a new Swaraj party.

With that, no one or nothing can stop Bengal from realising its place of destiny in this planet. A beautiful land, a peaceful and prosperous place, of gifted and quirky people, a different place, which is also a beacon for others.

Painting: The Sun Makers Free Your Mind, by Eric Singleton.

This lady does not vanish

I had the following discussion with a friend, let us call him D.

D: This was a good result. They, i.e. CPI(M), have got their comeuppance at last. I can only hope the lessons will be well-learnt because if this is repeated 2 years later, in West Bengal we will go from frying pan to fire. But indications are that the college ideologues in Delhi are unwilling to learn anything. On the other hand, will the victorious lady learn anything now? Both sides need merciless whipping.

Me: I am not cynical and anxious about life in Bengal after the lady comes to office. Things cannot get any worse, they can only get better. And the people of Bengal, once awakened, cannot be taken for granted. And being able to fight against state power, on and on, for almost 20 years now, despite all the abuse, reviling, vilification, pillorying and beating, and finally vanquish the oppressor, does surely indicate some capability. If that capability, that sense of challenge, that fighting spirit, is focused on good governance, then surely some good will come out of that.

D: I'm not sure about the lady coming to office here and indeed things can get much much worse. The people of Bengal lack stamina anyway. Can't expect any deliverance as it's difficult to say which is the greater evil. In any case, as a bad Bong I have never been a political animal and have limited interest in social issues. Not keen on spoiling the party but am certainly cynical about our state, though feeling optimistic about Bharat at his point.

Me: There is no such thing as Bharat, every place in Bharat is another place like Bengal or Kolkata or whichever village. Bengalis have stamina - to be so badly raped repeatedly for 32 years and more and survive, and though they are down, they are definitely not out. The Bengali cannot be wiped out or effaced. His sense of self is indestructible. And indestructible is his desire to find joy and self-satisfaction, even amidst the most hellish circumstances and deprivation.

D: I meant sarkar. Getting raped for 32 years doesn't indicate stamina but such a populous community can't be wiped out unless there is a deadly fish flu! Effacement has occurred over the years but hubris is indestructible. You are right about the joy and satisfaction and above all, humour. Also, talent is still there aplenty.

Deliverance will come if we can throw out governments every 5 years. If the lady manages to come, with the penchant for shooting herself in the foot, she isn't capable of staying put like the Left, thankfully! Nor should any future Left be allowed to stay for long again. There may be some danger of Gujarat getting stuck with Modi and BJP.

Left out

After 32 years, the wheel has finally turned for the CPI(M). The results of the parliamentary elections are a resounding slap in the face of the party, which has been routed in Calcutta and across much of West Bengal. Those living outside West Bengal cannot imagine how unimaginable this is. One cannot help smiling!

The dark, dark night of CPI(M) rule has finally begun to come to an end. But so much damage has been done! Can it ever be rectified? Where would one begin?

Elections for the Calcutta Municipal Corporation in 2010, and for the state assembly in 2011. The CPI(M) can only sit and watch its own annihilation. Notwithstanding the hogwash of its gerontocrat apologists about making amends, the party is in an unstoppable self-destruct mode now, and I have no doubt that we are going to see some more spectacular performances by the party that is now nothing other than a mafia, gorged on the blood of the people.

Many people still think of the CPI(M) as "the Left". Left toe! A new politics is waiting to be born, something other than parties, of grassroots movements, of deepening democracy. The sooner people bury the CPI(M) - in their minds - the sooner such alternatives can emerge.