Bheema Koregaon from my Window

Every morning, when my house help walks into the house, we have a little chat. Her first question to me is did the kids go to school properly. I nod and ask about her two boys. Then the conversation veers towards her relatives and what she is dealing with them. Sometimes she tells me how she has to go to for a funeral or a wedding and how she plans to manage her jobs. This year we were at home on New Year's eve. On 1st January, she told me she did not clean her house on 31st December which is a ritual as they have prayers on the New Year. She said the boys were making the decorations for that. It is a creative bunch of boys in the Chawl.They are good in sports, music, dance and creativity. Our issues are so similar. We worry about our children. We feel bad by weird behaviour of our relatives and neighbours. We worry about what to cook for lunch and dinner. We think alike and empathise with each other. I speak less and she understands more. She is always upset when my other support staff  don't do their work properly or bunk work. 

The 1st January celebration in the Kasalrwadi chawl was very elegant this year. The decor was not garish. They have a program for the community. Money is collected from each house for the decoration, for inviting their political leaders and for gifting the invitees. The food is charged extra. All my maids feel bad that the money is spent on the outsiders to invite and give them gifts. This year there was a sound and light show. I could hear some words like war, Maratha, Peshwa etc. This was followed by the speech by some leader. He sounded like a young sensible guy. He did not rave and rant on the mike. Usually they have an anti Hindu tirade going on. This guy said that we are getting admissions and jobs but our community is still backward because we lack communication skills. He encouraged the youth to move with times. I was very impressed with the way the guy tone and the tenor of his speech. It was so unlike the past leaders' fiery speeches and there is absolutely no gratitude for the reservations. 

On 2nd January, it was a different woman who walked into my house. Her language had changed. It had become 'Amche Manus' (Our people) and 'Tumi loka' (You guys). She said our people were beaten to death in Pune. She watches TV and then her leaders from the chawl give her another picture. I explained that only one man was killed and he was a Maratha not a Dalit. Babasaheb was a good man and had all the good intentions. She talked about his grandson. She did not know the history of Bheema Koregaon. She just knew they have to pray.By this time, I had read up on Bheema Koregaon. Next day, she was okay about the violence and mayhem in Mumbai. She kept saying we have to stand up against you guys. Her leaders had said they had to go for the procession. I tried dissuading her from letting her family go for it. She said the local Chawl leaders will boycott us from the community if we do not go. She has grown up in a lovely house by the sea in Mumbai. She has not gone through any discrimination. She is enjoying all the perks and so is her family with a government  jobs and houses. Her son looses a cell phone every year. But she has been taught by her community leaders to hate others. It was a quiet day in Mumbai. Cop vans were stationed in all the areas where processions would start. By afternoon, the woman leaders were calling them out of their houses. The men all dressed in white started coming out of the Chawls. Lots of new blue flags materialised from inside the chawl. Some of them went to heckle the lone cop. He called for help and another police van came in. The 'Narebaazi' or sloganeering started. Anti Maratha, Anti Shivaji, Anti Hindu, Anti everything. All maids of the Chawl joined in. I could recognise some of them. The atmosphere did not feel good. 

They came back in an hour. I heaved a sigh of relief. In the Evening, I saw one lady from the Chawl, shouting some boys who were on a couple of bikes. She was telling them not to create ruckus in this area. Next day, our lady walked in a bit calmer. She said that they were having a peaceful march and were asking everyone to shut their business or shops when some unknown bikers joined them and started threatening the shopkeepers. The Chawl people told the cops that these bikers are not with us. The bikers sped off. These bikers had come back to check on the area. They did not look like Dalits or people from the Chawl opposite our house. They did look like rogues. They looked like outsiders by their language and dressing. Riots don't happen so easily. They are instigated by certain elements. I saw all of this at play from my window.