At Patna Kiran K. did a brave solo show! This was the first Blank Noise intervention in Patna. All it took was 1 committed person. This is to say , where ever you are, you can.
Kiran shares her experience before and during the event. Here are some of the responses she received when she tried to get peers involved-
"This kinda thing won't work in Patna"
"Patna is not ready for it as of now"
"How would this stop eve - teasing??"
"How would just 6 of us make a difference??"
A variety of reactions when I proposed starting a BlankNoise chapter in Patna.People attended the first meeting and backed out a couple of days before the intervention. The first positive response was...one of those people who had backed out initially joining me just minutes before the intervention started off.
In Patna, a walk round the Gandhi Maidan or a 50 mts. walk down any road is enough for you to decide "never to come out alone again."...Even if u wanted to...people would keep telling u please "not to do it"
Basically, I was damn nervous on one hand..people around me were telling me "in case anything goes wrong" and on d other i wanted to prove people wrong!Wearing a loosely fit tee[comments,stares,brushing...d tee sw it all],with my fingers crossed, we walked towards Maurya Lok!!!
The first half-an-hour saw totally negative responses...ppl did take the pamphlets...but read and went!They were people who sounded interested in knowing what Blank Noise was all about...and thats all!And then..finally towards the end of the hour,this girl came up,read and did not walk away - but stood with us till the end!
To me,that one girl standing with us was indeed a BIG step forward.And its "proven beyond any reasonable doubt" that Patna is ready,ready for a change!!
P.S : A BIG thanks to Ruchika[she joined me in d end],Nishant and the girl who stood with us!!!
To me,that one girl standing with us was indeed a BIG step forward.And its "proven beyond any reasonable doubt" that Patna is ready,ready for a change!!
P.S : A BIG thanks to Ruchika[she joined me in d end],Nishant and the girl who stood with us!!!
1 comment:
You really have some guts. Hats off to you! If I were in your place, I would have suffered a nervous breakdown.
By the way, isn't it ironical that Gandhi Maidaan, a place named after Mahatma Gandhi, is so notorious? Guess we are experts in paying lip service to the memory of the father of our nation.
Reminds me of the days when I used to stay in Hyderabad, where Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in a big way by installing idols of Ganesh publicly in many streets of the city. When these idols are finally taken for immersion, most of these "Ganesh devotees" get high on alcohol and all sorts of shady substances and indulge in eve-teasing girls or making vulgar gestures and comments at passersby. I wonder if this is the sort of Ganesh Chaturthi that was envisioned by Tilak.
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