Even as the logjam between the government and Team Anna continued,people continued to pour into Ramlila Maidan to show their support for the anti-corruption campaign. A significant number of the attendees were women,who came from various parts of the city as well as the country with their children in tow. I finished my household chores and then came here, said Sudha Sharma,a housewife from Shahadara. Accompanied by her husband as well as daughters,Priyanshi (6) and Vaishnavi (3),she bought small flags from a vendor outside the venue. She also painted her cheeks in Tricolour. He (Anna Hazare) is doing it for the country. I came here for him, she said,holding Vaishnavis hand. Even as the crowds swelled as the day progressed,more women could be seen in an enclosure at the Maidan,leaning onto barricades and shouting slogans in support of Hazare. Priya Tiwari was another housewife who came to the Maidan with her husband,Subhash,and two-month-old son,Chahat. The couple could be seen craning their necks to catch a glimpse of their beloved leader Anna. Desh ko bachana hai. School admission ke liye bhi paisa dena padta hai. Hamare pass itna paisa nahi hai. (We have to save the country. These days,even schools ask for donations to grant admission. We dont have that much money), she said. Her husband,a businessman by profession,holds Chahat in his arms and says: From now,she will be called Anna. That will be her pet name from this day on. We will call her Anna at home. Yeh Anna hojayengi. Many of the women at the protest site hailed from places outside Delhi. A case in point was Meera,who had come from Rajasthan with her six-year-old daughter,Pooja. Both of them were seen outside the Maidan,selling miniature flags and Anna caps with Main Anna Hoon printed on them. I decided to come here when I heard about the movement. I am living here with my relatives in Seelampur. I will go back in a couple of days. Vijaita Thakur,who is pursuing her B Tech from IMS Noida,was seen distributing water packets to the public. I am volunteering. This is my contribution to the struggle, she says. Has she read the draft Bill? Of course, she says. Brace yourself for a wet weekend Supporters of Anna Hazare at Ramlila Maidan may face further hardships,with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting rainfall for the next two days. An official said,There are favourable conditions for rain during the weekend. The maximum and minimum temperatures will stand at 33 and 27 degrees Celsius respectively. After a brief hiatus,it had started raining in the city on Tuesday,recording 5.1 mm precipitation between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. On Thursday,the maximum temperature stood at at 34.4 degrees Celsius.
