Few years later, I was in Bangalore when I saw a post on facebook from a friend in the US about Dandi March 2.0 . I curiously checked the link and to my surprise it was happening again and this time there was a plea to do it across as many cities as possible in request to raise awareness about the Jan Lokpal bill. I instantly checked if it was happening in Bangalore, it wasn't. Disappointed I wandered away from the website for a bit. I pondered if I should initiate to organize it in Bangalore. A zillion thoughts ran across my mind. I was new to Bangalore, barely knew anyone in the city, would I be able to pull it off? I decided I will.
When I came back to submit my name for Bangalore I saw some else had in the mean time taken that responsibility (Sumit Gupta). I emailed him about my interest in volunteering for the event and offered to help in any way I could. Soon there was a meeting and we started to plan for one of the most prized memories of my life. People I remember from the first meeting: Sumit Gupta, Deepak Nagaraj, Rajashekhar Maram and my friend Manaswini. We decided on the time and date such that it didn't collide with any major events in the city or any cricket match. My first task was to come up with the route for the march in Bangalore. I researched a bit online and looked for places that were historically significant in our freedom struggle. I picked stopping points where previously freedom protests used to happen or where freedom fighters used to hold their meetings.
We barely had few weeks to organize for the event. Sumit and I were soon on top of things, doings all that we could think of to make this event successful. I designed t-shirts, made posters and did other tit-bits that were required. The following weeks were hectic but I enjoyed every minute of it. Deepak and Rajashekhar worked on getting city permissions. I also quickly concocted a webpage for information related to Dandi March in Bangalore: http://pickafight.in/dandimarch . Sumit drafted a letter for the press and then we went from one press to another, hoping that they would hear us and publish about the upcoming Dandi march. At the end of the day I remember stopping by Khadi Bhandar and making my very first purchase from there - A white khadi kurta and a large khadi Indian flag. I was ready for the march.
On the day of the of the march by the time I got to the event quite a few Lok Satta members and IAC supporters had already gathered. The march commenced after a speech by one of Bangalor's senior freedom fighters. The weather wasn't very friendly that day. It was sunny and we all got thirsty every few minutes. But that somehow only added to the determination to finish the march. The sight of the few coconut-water sellers we found on our way were sheer delight. During our stops we would try to sell our t-shirts to gather donations and make up for the expenses. Manaswini, along with few others did a great job in handling that department. In all we had about 350-450 people show up for the march, which was better than what we had estimated. I was very happy to see my manager and friends from work show up as well.
We had planned to end the march at the Mahatma Gandhi Statue at M.G. road but were disappointed once we got there as the Congress party had taken up that spot for their event with police protection around it. We ended our march in a park near the statue. There I was struck by another moment when a 94yr old freedom fighter slowly entered the gathering, supported by his grand daughter. I got goosebumps. He reminded me of my own grand parents who were freedom fighters too. He was wearing a Nehru topi, dhoti-kurta, a khadi jacket with an Indian map/flag nicely tucked on it. We invited him to give a speech. I didn't understand a word of it since it was in Kannada but nonetheless I was humbled to see him. We ended the march with the national anthem.
During the preparation of the event I got to know many people and made some good friends. Some of the people who left an impression on me: Prithvy Reddy, Srinivas Alavilli, Dr. Meenakshi Ramo Bharath, Deepak Nagaraj, Ashwin Mahesh, Raja Shekhar and few others. Each of them selflessly committed to the betterment of our society. Deepak Nagaraj is the silent worker. I always found him working very very hard and not once in front of the camera or talking to the reporters. Srinivas Alavilli, used to work in the US and then went back to Bangalore to bring a change. He has now joined politics and is working his way out. At my very first glance at Ashwin Mahesh, I sensed he was some one very knowledgable. After knowing more about him, I'll say he is the epitome of knowledgeable and to our delight he has chosen to solve social problems and is now running for MLC candidate in Bangalore. Prithvi, is like the strong pillar you know you can rely on. I was in awe of the way he handled the mob, the cops and the entire march in general. I could write another blog just about the goodness of these people. Dandi march in Bangalore was a success because of the hands of such people behind it. There was great team work done by all the volunteers.
If you ever think that people have stopped caring for our country or even the local community, I am very happy to tell you that you are wrong. Each and every person who came for the march or stands up for protest, even if for few minutes, cares. There are people who are willing to stand up for what is right. There are people who have already made their society, their country their family, their personal life and not for any ulterior motives. There is hope that things will change for better and over time they certainly will. They already are.
The best thing I got out of Dandi March was Sumit Gupta. Right after Dandi March was over we met and started thinking on what next we could work on. He joined PickaFight and has been its backbone since then. He makes a remarkable leader at a very young age and has been the driving force behind PickaFight's success. Looking back, helping organize the march and involving Sumit as a co-founder for PickaFight were two things I did right. Dandi march was a memorable experience and I am glad that not only did I not miss it this time, I also helped organize it.
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