There seems to be a new international trend. 2011 saw the Arab Spring, the Occupy Wall Street movement, Anna Hazare’s campaign for the Lokpal bill. Everyone is so anti-this or anti-that, that protesting has become a movement of its own. Even in this quiet corner of suburban India, there have been small rumbles of unrest. Gurgaonites are no longer content with mild complaining. Some youths had protested when they were not let into a pub, the bouncers had protested when the fellows attempted to enter the place. After the ensuring brawl, the surrounding villagers had protested against the manhandling of the youths and had blocked off the malls. Shop owners protested against the loss of business. Regular pub goers and mall hoppers protested when their favorite haunts were inaccessible. Everyone got a chance to show their displeasure.
I remember some time ago that the roads were blocked due to some protests at the Toll Plaza. The Expressways which had been designed to ease traffic congestion was not doing its job. There were long queues and irate commuters at the Tolls everyday. To protest against traffic jams, people jammed the booths and preventing vehicles from passing through. For three whole hours, there was no traffic on the highway. The traffic moved to the MG road where clever commuters who had thought to take the alternate route were stuck for three hours. Luckily, they did not protest again.
After witnessing the national trend and being inspired by other protesters, I felt that I too should add my voice to the protesting chorus.
Life has become one long chore
The daily routine is bit of a bore
Maybe I should let it all out
Raise my hand and loudly shout
Against all the things that I detest
I will rave and rant and protest
I could protest against poverty or crime
But somehow I can’t make the time
I could join the one on corruption
now even that is facing disruption
Female infanticide and child abuse
Won’t make it to the national news
Bad roads and poor sanitation
Won’t get anyone’s attention
Pollution, congestion, traffic woes
Of these, we’ve had on overdose
I could stand up and preach
About the freedom of speech
Or even rise up in defense
Of those who’ve taken offence
But no one would hear my voice
At the current decibel level of noise
To stand out in the protesting sea
I need a novel way to disagree
When I hear a contrary view
I could hurl my high heeled shoe
If some leaders get me in a flap
I could give them a tight hard slap
Rave and rant through a blog or tweet
Shout and march down the street
I could start on an indefinite fast
Though I’m not sure if I would last
Protesting doesn’t seem to be fun
If you can’t get anything done
The solution that I think is the best
Is to protest against more protests
I think I’ll leave that one to all of you
And get on with the chores I have to do
