My friend asked me today while watching the Raj sabha and lok sabha ||ly with Ramlila ground live on TV... that who is funding this Ramlila Activities...
Here is a true inspiring and very well written experience from colnel Shivraj. A big salute to the team...
>> Hi,
>>
>> Yesterday I went to the Ramlila grounds. Like you, me too have been glued
>> to the TV from the day the drama started. So, I wanted to get a "feel" of
>> the happenings on the ground. More specifically I wanted to make some
>> contribution (financially) to the cause.
>>
>> I'd like to share with you what I experienced. First the donation part.
>>
>> I approached the vounteer at the counter (there are two/three huge counters
>> and help desks set up by the India Against Corruption volunteers.). "But
>> Sir, we are not taking any donations." Shocked; I informed him that I am not
>> paying by cash, I have brought my cheque book. (They are extremely
>> meticulous in maintaining their accounts. I had experienced this when I had
>> visited their fast site at Jantar Mantar in April. Even if somebody gave
>> them 10 Rupees, they would insist on giving a receipt with details of
>> address, phone no. etc. This had caused long queues. They know that the
>> scoundrels in the Govt. are just waiting to pounce on them with allegations
>> of irregularities in accounts). "Sir, we are not accepting even cheques now.
>> We have stopped collecting donations."
>>
>> I pulled out my copy of the Times of India of the day and showed them the
>> report where it said they had a special cell for collecting donations. "We
>> know it Sir, but thanks to generous people like you, we have collected
>> enough money for our needs for the time being and since last night, we have
>> stopped taking any more money."
>>
>> In more than 65 years of my existence, this was the first time I was
>> coming across an NGO/ Institution/ Movement which was not taking money. I am
>> more used to their pestering.
>>
>> Just to double check, I approached a few other volunteers at different
>> desks. Same response. But doesn't an ongoing movement like this constantly
>> need funds ? The response was that they will restart the collection drive in
>> that situation. But for the time being, they had enough for their needs !
>> "Besides Sir, most of the activities that you see here on a large scale,
>> e.g. water, tea, food distribution etc. are being organised by individuals /
>> organisations. We are not doing anything on that front."
>>
>> (OK, I have made my main point and you may stop reading any further. I am
>> just wanting to put down on paper other tit-bits that I saw, but you may
>> not have the time to go through the same. I am not making any effort to
>> "condense it"!)
>>
>> Talking of volunteers, they are so young and well educated. Replace their
>> "India Against Corruption" T shirts with normal office attire and you will
>> see they fit into finest of the companies. A large no. of them indeed are
>> from very professional organisations. Clearly overworked, they presented
>> such a dedicated face. Not a single case of losing temper, at least as long
>> as I was there. Some achievement, considering that a huge no. of
>> not-so-educated people surround them at any given point of time. Some were
>> not even getting time to sip a cup of tea. The relief on getting a chance to
>> do so was so palpable on their face. There must have been more than a
>> hundred of them there. The true heroes and heroines of India.
>>
>> Every few minutes, a trailer van would be leaving the grounds after
>> collecting all the litter that was filling up the large bins kept all over
>> the ground. These bins kept getting filled up so fast because there was an
>> enormous amount of food being distributed free by individuals and private
>> organisations. There were long queues at the counters distributing full meal
>> (not just snacks). The food, served in clean thermocole type trays and with
>> plastic spoons was wholesome. Rice, Puri, Subji etc. They reminded one of
>> Bhandaras or Langars ! Snacks (Parle G biscuits, Grams (chana), some bananas
>> and sundries), water pouches, tea etc. were being so enthusiastially
>> distributed . They were literally catching anyone passing by and handing
>> over the same ! One such person (a Sardarji) was distributing biscuits; so I
>> asked him if he had come all the way from Punjab. "Nahinji, I am from
>> Faridabad". My chest swelled with pride; people from my town were also doing
>> their bit. Shook hands warmly, but couldn't talk much; he was so busy.
>>
>> The irony of it all was not lost on me. Here were these multitudes who had
>> come in support of a fasting man and were being filled to the brim by rest
>> of the society !
>>
>> Reverting to the topic of litter and bins, the ground, slushy and muddy as
>> it was, was full of litter. Despite the best efforts of the volunteers.
>> After all, we are Indians. How can we live in cleanliness ? Then I saw a
>> very well off, middle aged lady, the kind you will see in your (posh)
>> neighbourhood; pick up a cane basket and get down to the task of picking up
>> littered plates, trays, plastic pouches etc. and transfer them to the bins.
>> It was a strange phenomena. A high caste lady cleaning up the muck thrown
>> around by (metaphorically speaking) Dalits and lower castes ! This was the
>> new, emerging India. For the first time, during my stay at the Ramlila
>> grounds, I felt so ashamed of myself. Instinctively, I too bent down to
>> pick up a few of these. But within 3/4 minutes, realised that my back won't
>> support me. The hardest thing to remove were the plastic spoons that had got
>> embedded in the mud all around.
>>
>> That was not the only place where our sense of hygiene was on full display.
>> An artist had put up a very large no. of thoroughly enjoyable Poster
>> Cartoons on a wall. High quality. I believe they are also on Facebook and
>> Twitter. (For example, there was one showing one politician telling another,
>> "How can they call us all corrupt ? When half of us haven't even got the
>> ministries where we can make money !"). Yet it was so difficult to stand and
>> read all the cartoons. The Pee stink was so strong. My countrymen were
>> merrily peeing on the adjoining wall (at right angles to the Cartoon wall),
>> despite authorities having provided toilets just outside the gates. If that
>> was not enough, consider this : The wall on which they were peeing was the
>> side wall of a temple !
>>
>> When you looked at eye level, you saw a sea of humanity, tricolours
>> fluttering, massive and un-co-ordintaed slogan shouting, but when you looked
>> down, you felt sick. Muddy and uneven grounds with pools of stagnant water
>> every few steps (it has been raining heavily here). So difficult to walk
>> around; often having to jump around. This was Ramlila ground, where every
>> year, Ramlila celebrations take place on a large scale and any no. of
>> political rallies take place every alternate week, so to speak. Could the
>> Municipal Corporation of Delhi not pave it all these years ? You
>> automaticlly turned your face down when you saw a foreigner try to negotiate
>> the grounds. Yet, you just had to turn your face 90 degrees to see a massive
>> (32 stories, I believe), super-modern, massive building just on the other
>> side of the road. I was convinced it belonged to a top notch MNC. Finally, I
>> caught hold of a smart, though grey haired Police Officer and asked him
>> whose building was that. He was surprised, but let me know it was the MCD HQ
>> building and has been there for a few years. What a contrast and what a
>> shame. The rascals (MCD is currently controlled by BJP) can't see the
>> pathetic condition of the Ramlila grounds from their windows every moment of
>> their working day ? And BJP is lecturing us how the entire mess in the
>> country is because of the Congress.
>>
>> Well, enough of the side-shows and tit-bits. Let's come to the main
>> picture. Simply amazing. Huge no. of people. I think the media is grossly
>> under-reporting the same. They talk of the crowd size at a given point of
>> time. A static measurement, if you please. When I was there (it was
>> afternoon; supposed to be at its thinnest), there were at least 20,000 at
>> any given point of time. Yet the actual crowd is far, far bigger. Probably 3
>> times the estimates. For, people are constantly streaming in and streaming
>> out. Just like me. Families, the rich and the poor, handicapped people, I
>> even saw an almost 100 year old villager, barely able to walk, just a loin
>> cloth around him, panting very badly, come up to the main tent with the help
>> of what I believe was his grandson. Whoever has been spreading the canard
>> that it is a "middle class" phenomena needs to have his/her eyesight
>> examined. I saw far greater no. of very poor Indians from all over the
>> country than the so-called "middle class". The enthusiasm is amazing.
>> Slogans, patriotic songs and Bhajans are the dominant theme. The crowd does
>> not fall silent even for a minute. When I was there, Manoj Tiwari, a popular
>> Bihari singer was belting one patriotic song after another. And the entire
>> crowd was singing with him and waving with their hands raised up (no space
>> for any horizontal movement of the hands). For full one hour. And that
>> dynamo of a 62 year old lady called Kiran Bedi. She was waving a large size
>> tricolour vigorously from one side to the other on the stage. For that full
>> one hour. Try doing it for 10 minutes ! Besides them, a quite old, dark
>> complexioned villager, looking just like your or mine grandpa was sitting
>> cross legged on a wooden cot, wearing a constant smile and often swinging
>> his head or clapping lightly with the music. The epicenter of it all : Anna
>> Hazare.
>>
>> While the main crowd keeps up with the Stage, there are a thousand side
>> shows of patriotic commitment going on. Every group, some very small, enter
>> the grounds shouting their own slogans and waving the national flag. So, in
>> a sense, you also have a sense of cacophony. I saw a family consisting of a
>> mother and 4 daughters (I presume) enter through a gate and immediately
>> launch into "Vande Mataram" and other slogans. Irrespective of what slogans
>> or songs were being sung from the stage. They had to let the world know how
>> charged up they were. Total commitment to the cause. Huge no. of (mostly
>> handwritten) placards and painted faces greet you.
>>
>> So, overall, did I feel happy ? Or, proud ? Yes, immensely. This can happen
>> only in India. It was an authentic Indian Mela. For a very serious cause.
>> Where else in the world will you find such lofty ideals existing peacefully
>> with physical filth; where else would you find feasting co-existing with
>> fasting ; where would you have such massive crowds with no leader, yet not a
>> single case of violence. First time that I saw so many policemen and
>> policewomen with not a single one carrying a lathi . Where would you find
>> thousands to keep standing on their feet for 24 hours, for there is so
>> little of dry space to sleep or sit. When I was on my way to the grounds, I
>> stopped at a petrol station to fill in. I heard one attendent telling
>> another that he had returned at 3.30 am. Presumably from the Ramlila
>> grounds. It seems people like him are on duty upto 11 p.m. or so; then take
>> the Metro or some other transport, go to site to support Anna and team; take
>> the first available Metro in the morning to reach home or place of work.
>> What commitment!!
>>
>> I never saw Mahatma Gandhi (seen Vinoba Bhave though). But I got a great
>> feel for what mass movements of those days were like. Let's all pray that
>> this semi-literate man's health remains good and the SOBs in Govt. and
>> political parties see reason. Maybe, just maybe, we might yet see within
>> our lifetime, India move up dramatically from the 87th rank amongst the most
>> corrupt nations in the world. And instead of Gods and Goddesses, start
>> worshipping Anna's team members. The likes of Arvind Kejriwal. Have brought
>> a lost cause to center stage. With their leadership, immense hard work over
>> the years, zeal, sacrifice in personal life and with an intelligence that
>> has completely outwitted the entire Govt. and political class.
>>
>>
>> Till then, enjoy your TV show !
>>
>> P.S. Just when I finished typing the above, I saw a news item in today's
>> TOI that indeed "India Against Corruption" folks have stopped accepting
>> donations, because they have already collected "60 Lacs". What a joke
>> compared to what the policians want to collect. I remember, when my state's
>> former Chief Minister Chauthala was charged with illegally amassing Rs. 1500
>> crores, his retort was "What is 1500 crores for a politician these days" !
>> And here are these folks saying a mere 60 lacs is enough to run this
>> countrywide movement. Long live the new India!!!
>>
>> Col Shivraj
