Spoils of the Red Bastion

Last week I had visited Kolkata on an official trip. In fact, a week before that I was in Kolkata for vacation. Nothing unusual in it. But what made me think of this post was my experience last week and the Rajdhani hijacking incident by the Maoists.

The Communists are supposedly a believer of equality and grass root growth / elevation. They are also the one who bandied about with the term "bourgeois" from the late 60's onwards (when they were not in power). They took over the reigns of Bengal in 1977 and continue to rule Bengal. But it appears that their days are now numbered. You talk to any Bengal / Kolkata resident, and in majority cases, you will see the disgust glaring. I carry the notion that they are a group of utter hypocrites and having no connection to the reality of the 21st century. Over the years, they have decimated the industrial prowess that Bengal had and they have broken the backbone of the famed Bengal education system.

The Rajdhani hijacking incident 2 weeks back is a testimony to the fact that they have "lost it". The Maoists in the 60's were part of the Communist movement and broke away only in the late 60's. The current rebellion of the Maoist is against the years of neglect and deprivation of the most common facilities due to a human being, from a democratically elected government. The fact that the protests have turned violent and barbaric is a testimony to the utter disregard of the people in power to pay heed to the common man. This coming from the Communists is much more surprising.

The other incident is far more interesting and a personal experience. During my official trip last week, I had to visit a large Govt PSU organization. When I first visited this organization more than a year back, my colleagues cautioned me about the work culture and the pathetic status of utilities. Initially I brushed them off as overzealous criticism but was proven wrong. During the lunch hour, my host asked me if I would prefer a working lunch. He then went to the pantry and told the “old, scrawny” pantry man to give a lunch. The scornful look and the cornier reply can be only displayed and not described! The Bengali readers would understand when I draw an analogy to Manoj Mitra in one of his scornful looks and one liners in any of his shows. The working lunch part was more interesting – 4 slices of bread, a mango cut into cubes, a cucumber and 2 rasogollas. I remember my working lunches whilst serving in the Indian Navy – a 4 course affair, all miniaturized to make it convenient to eat. In my current organization, we generally go for pizzas / sandwiches with a coke. Hence, it is definitely nice to know some more variety! But what was a shocker was not the menu, but the way a pantry guy can have the audacity to reply back / question a senior staff member. This was early 2008. Cut to 2009 Oct and I was visiting another office of this largely spread organisation. During my visit, I had to wait for some meeting scheduled post lunch. Unfortunately, the coordinating officer was away and could not arrange for lunch. So I took the chance and requested the pantry guy in this office (expecting it to be different) for some lunch. It was the most blunt and rude refusal that I had ever heard. On trying to be more cajoling (remembering all the tactics of subordinate management!!), I was met with the blunt explanation that there is no helping hand and he does not have time. And I backed off. It was then that me and the driver set out for our quest for some decent place to have food and it ended after travelling almost 10 kms. Many of you may be thinking why I am making such brouhaha over some lunch. The point is ATTITUDE. When you have a location immediately surrounded by ghettos and shops selling beef, and you invite people from distant places, the minimum one can do is arrange for some basic utilities of food and drinking water. The apathy and boredom is distinct. When one has to tell “No”, one can do it in a nicer way than to give a rude reply. Years of immense clout and power of trade unions has led to a situation where a person today has no positional authority when it comes to disciplinary issues. So what have we ended up with? Have we made the working class “heard” or have we created a vortex of indiscipline? 
The red bastion continues its run. God knows how long we have to continue on the "bungee jumping" drop to inefficiency and apathy!