I love my city….I do But sometimes things happen which disgust me. The people I’m so proud of, who are the bearers of our rich tradition and heritage make me loathe them. Very recently a friend of mine, a north eastern friend, went marketing at Jadavpur. And there she faced probably the most harrowing experience ever. On deciding to walk away from a vendor where the cost of fruits was higher than she expected, she was verbally abused by the vendor. Still trying to remain calm she choose not to argue yet was humiliated further. She was then surrounded by people who were hurling abuses at her because the vendor claimed she was mad and had thrown fruits at him. Helpless as she was she couldn’t even walk away as she was at the centre of a mob. And who would she have turned to for help???
The vendor understandable must have been illiterate but how can one excuse the behaviour of the passersby??? Aren’t we supposed to be educated and civilized?? Haven’t we had endless discussions on equality and discrimination????? Where did all that knowledge go when this helpless girl stood crying? No one, I repeat, NOONE came to her aid. People stood by and watched…..
It makes me sick. And if you think the law is going to stand up for what is right……for what is humane….. that’s a laugh. If the law cannot rather chooses not to make things right, where do we turn in times of need? Who do we look to? Maybe I’m being naïve and not understanding why these things happen but it’s so wrong………it could happen to any of us elsewhere in the world. So shouldn’t we prevent it when we can???