Tags:
Journalism of Courage
AUGUST 1: It takes precisely three hours for the “fastest-growing city in Asia” and the “Silicon Valley of India” to shut down. Three hours and one man who has so brazenly thumbed his nose at the law for years. This time his target was the state’s “cultural icon” and so the city promptly shut itself down to express its “outrage.”
By 9.30 am, everyone here knew what had happened and within two hours, shops and schools were closed. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce has also suspended all activities, including screening of movies till Rajkumar is released. Phones were dead all over town, that included mobile phones. Police had cordoned off several roads. Petrol stations declared “no stock” and closed up, a move which had been anticipated by some people who rushed as fast as they could to stock up. Although, by afternoon, it was clear they had nowhere to go.
By 4.00 pm, Bangalore’s streets revealed a desolation never seen before, except for a bunch of young men enjoying their 15 minutes of fame on TV. At Richmond Circle, large crowds were stopping anything on wheels that came along: vans, trucks, bikes. Anything with women inside were let off, but otherwise, a 20-strong crowd would press against the vehicle and ask, “Which direction?” Anyone looking out at the sea of faces would have said “Any direction you like”, because the end result was that a number of people always got in. The crowd was polite, but very clear they wanted a lift and that’s exactly what they were going to get.
