Tags:
Journalism of Courage
It was on a holiday last year that I visited Bastar 8212; the densely forested ecological haven which is slowly inching its way on to the tourist map. The verdant greenery, the breath-taking waterfalls, the feeling of somehow being transported back into time, all this left us fascinated. The Chitrakoot falls are the most humbling of sights. You are reminded of the immense power of nature and its incredible beauty. The Tirathgarh falls, in contrast, are calm and soothing. They fall not all at once but in a thousand rippling steps 8212; evoking peace more than any other emotion.
If this has begun to sound like a tract for Chhattisgarh Tourism don8217;t blame me. I was just a tourist in a newly-born state. What came as a real revelation were the people of Bastar. While we anticipated their spartan lifestyles, what we did not expect was their bright spark of understanding of commerce and the outside world! So while I was thrilled to buy unusually crafted artifacts at more reasonable prices than I could have in a city, I was also heartened to know that these people have begun to understand the value of their craft and taken their first tentative steps towards commerce.
A chill ran down my spine when I was told that most of the jail8217;s inmates were Naxalites. But the smiling faces I saw all around calmed me. For the place bore the air of an industrious and contented township, self-sufficient and secure. The uneasy feeling at the back of my mind was that the inmates seemed happy to be in jail. Then the cruel realisation dawned on me that for these people, life is a constant struggle. In the jungle, which is their home, it is one of survival. They then get swept into the Naxal movement which they understand little about. Perhaps, life in jail then comes almost as a relief. What an irony 8212; to be free these people must live in a jail.
