At Jantar Mantar, the stage under the stage: Not-so-popular faces propping up a popular protest

Should one hunch down to poke around these remnants, their eyes would catch a glimpse of the world underneath the platform that has propped up Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and activist Sonam Wangchuk over the last few weeks. Veritably abuzz with life, this stage beneath the stage is its own mini-nerve centre. And yet, it is so much more than that.

Volunteers under the main stage at the protest site in Jantar Mantar. (Express photo)

Late on Tuesday afternoon, actor Sudhir Sangwan (most recently starring in Maamla Legal Hai) ducked down to enjoy a break under the stage, animatedly chatting with four others lounging around.

Sangwan had been present at the protest since the morning and alternated between conversations with the media and the political figures in attendance. All around him was the din of the crowd, punctuated by raucous peals of laughter emanating from the pocket under the stage.

This is not an exclusive, members-only retreat but the closest thing to a safe haven from the chaos outside that the volunteers have. A pit-stop is, by definition, temporary. In this case, however, that might not be a negative. It functions as a temporary oasis helping deepen the high-trust network in which the volunteers seem to be operating.

“I am not a volunteer, I’ve just been here long enough that people know I care enough to help them do what is needed,” said Shilpa, a 28-year-old from Chhattisgarh. “Just because I didn’t sign up through the online form, I am not necessarily excluded. Not everyone might know my name and vice versa but it’s the willingness to step up and participate. I was supposed to leave last week but I simply don’t want to head back home halfway [through the agitation],” she said.

By early evening, a number of bags lay in one corner of the stage under the stage. Students and working professionals keen to offer their services to the cause would hunker down to grab a bottle of water, give some respite to their aching legs, or simply indulge in conversation, exchanging their various personal experiences throughout the day.

“I am from IIT-Patna,” said the volunteer on duty regulating the points of entry to the main Jantar Mantar stage enclosure. “I came here intending to stay for a day or two but realised I wanted to see this through to the end,” he said. To him, this movement was not just a protest or a hunger strike but the development of a platform of expression.

Predominantly, the logistical burden of maintaining a protest of this scale seems to be shouldered almost entirely by individuals flocking to Delhi from outside the capital.

“My wife and I came to Delhi five days back,” said Mohammad Thwaeb, a 42-year-old from Bengaluru helping out with the protest. “We are staying at a hotel near CP, but so many of us just don’t have that luxury. It’s easy for our volunteers to duck inside, have a meal, maybe catch some sleep without removing themselves from the site,” he said.

A 17-year-old from Kanpur said, “I told my parents I was coming here. But yesterday, I met two 15-year-olds from my city who were helping out here without telling their parents. Had I been older, I might have insisted they inform their parents, but for now, the best I can do is make sure their efforts don’t feel wasted.”

Indeed, from the students arriving from various geographies interlinking hands to form a Lakshman Rekha, to those helping out like Suraj, Shilpa and Dr Pathan, the protest space is humming with the sounds of dissent.

“I am 20 years old. I’ve never been to school and it is highly unlikely I will go now. Yet, that doesn’t mean I can’t distinguish right from wrong; I just want fewer people younger than me to live my life in the future,” said Suraj.