BBSR MUTE CANDLE MARCH : AS IT HAPPENED.

There’s no such thing as an event going smoothly as planned. A trouble-free event is fast becoming a myth. After countless meetings with the volunteers, the day arrived.

4:20 – A raging Ankita calls me up – “ I told you to be punctual ! Its 4:30 nearly and no-one is here yet!”
The same Ankita who came up with the lines “Girls – Neither safe in wombs nor in streets”.
4:45 - The Police Permit issue was turning into a real head scratcher. Pratik, Aditya,Sanket Bhai, Ranjan, Sworoop and me were all over BBSR, hunting down commissionerate offices.
5:15 – The rally is about to begin and the crowd management team led by Anurag & Sidhant were doing an excellent job.
5:40 – The Mute March starts, led beautifully by Smita didi, just as we arrive with the Police Permit License. Phew !!

6:30 – Reached Master Canteen. Goutam, Anuvav , Sayan and co working furiously to distribute all leaflets that had a clear message to spread awareness with Amresh & Ajay providing water.
The contents of the leaflets in summary – WHAT CAN A GIRL DO -
# Don’t let rape become a taboo at home. Open up to your parents & have discussions regarding rapes. Awareness, Alertness & Education is the only way we can defeat this.
# Keep a pepper spray handy. Available at all chemists. Costs around 300. Can save lives.
# Stay alert while travelling in autos & buses. Inform your family & friends beforehand whilst travelling.
# Have the police helpline 100 as a speed dial contact.

 6:50 – There was a power cut along the PMG line. You can make out all the candle-shining-in-dark stuff.
7:10 – Candles were planted and the banner was signed by all participants.
7:30 – A 2 minute mourning & last message from Sanket Mishra.
7:40 – Autos were arranged for return-transport.

The world may not have ended, as many had predicted on 21^st Dec, but the humanity sure is on the path of destruction.

And how this will march help? No it won’t stop rapes, because there are people who still don’t believe rapes can be stopped. Some are just a part of a large group of people,  that just can’t think of anything to do, so they rant and shout. Please next time someone is getting abused in front of you, take a stand. And maybe then we will believe you. Until then, let people believe in things. To all those non-believers, I truly believe that if we had met in a different place, at a different place, under different circumstances you’d still be an asshole.

Like Sanket Mishra said, “We are saying we have been made mute. And yes, the hope is that this muteness is not something we are happy with. And yes, your reaction is exactly what we want from people once the mute rally is over. Once the rally is over, the actual work begins. We want to spread the awareness of what women, can do to break out of the mute pain!”

Rapes & Mugging incidents are fast becoming some sort of a trend here at Bhubaneswar as well. It’s high time we gave a fuck. I know these rapists are pure evil.  But here’s a message to all those who just keep on ranting non-believers – You guys should have been just a blowjob, let alone being born. Its guys like you, that should remind people to take birth controls and use condoms. If you’re not going to get off of your lazy ass & fix a problem, then shut the fuck up and get over it.

We all have personal issues that trouble us in our daily life. But it was really over-whelming when 400 people turned up to join hands with us, leaving all their personal troubles at home. Guys like Smikash and his friends had even turned up from Cuttack. This is just the beginning. We are working hard for newer ideas and intend to implement them as quickly as possible.

The job isn’t done here. This rally is just a baby step. Spread awareness and stay safe. We are here to help. Cheers.

Being a Chandler Bing fan, I am urged to finish this amateurish piece (written in 20mins) on a comic note.
“Whoever had predicted the world to end on 21^st December, had gotten it wrong. The world is supposed to end on 21.12.2112. Getting the pattern? We still have a 100 years !"