I'm a student. A pseudo-bong. I know nothing about Bengal. I wonder and ponder like an average human and more often than not ,see the humorous part of it.
Was in Midnapore last week. This town is surrounded by Maoist infested areas. At my Uncles's place, I met his mooriwala (moori = puffed rice). My younger uncle, an NRI who like an NRI finds the entire system corrupt and disfunctional ( and they are right most of the times too) asked him about the Maoists in his village.
Q : What are you scared of more, the CPM cadres or maoists?
A: Babu, CPM and Maoists are both alright. I am scared of elephants instead.
Q: So do the maoists rob you often?
A: Yes they do. And they try to take away our money. More often than not, we dont have any, so they return empty handed. I think , our poverty is affecting their livelihood.
Q: Would you support the Police for getting maoists arrested?
A: Only if they too stop taking money forcibly from us.
Q: Buddha babu's (CM ,WB) visit changed anything in your village?
A: Yes. Our village has a new cemented stage now.
Q: And Miss Mamta Banerjee's visit..DID that change anything?
A: She said we'll have a train station soon. may be it would be constructed close to the area earmarked for the railway station she promised the last time she came to the village as the Railway Minister
Q: Are you scared of the Maoists?
A: I am scared of anyone who can take my life. eg. Police, political cadres and ofcourse maoists. Not to forget the elephants too.
Beneath the humor of that daily wager, is the harsh reality. The losers in this clash, the villagers, are so used to being exploited , that it no longer matters ,who the good guys and the bad guys are. The only difference between the insurgents and the Police ,is the uniform. Food is a luxury. How long can the system rot? And most importantly, who is the GOOD GUY in th political broil.
This is what this blog is about.
Signing off
Cholche na Cholbe na.....
