A few weeks back I had posted the first in the Gari baranda series. Over the course of the documentation I hope to find certain patterns in the kinds of activities that go on underneath their shades: the ones around the Hazra Road crossing, as the photographs attest, are dominated by lottery-ticket sellers, padlock and hair-comb traders, cobblers, badaam-bhaja men, so on. Little did I know then that I would have occasion to include in this blog certain incidents that I am much more personally involved with, under a similar heading. With this post I will break hoped-for rigour of the Gari baranda series, and make an exception.
On 11 March 1922 the foundation stone was laid and the building was completed in 1924. Aurobindo Bhavan, which serves today as the administrative building of Jadavpur University, has had an interesting history, let's say. The gari baranda is not quite what I am looking for, but as I said, I'll make an exception.
About a month back a group of peaceful protestors demanding a just investigation into an unfortunate case of sexual and physical violence on campus were beaten up by the police and some unrecognised not-so-happy-looking men. Since then the student protest has taken on a different dimension and has seen significant support from colleges and universities around the globe and from the general body of citizens. The assault on the students took place under the Gari baranda. A number of videos that are circulating on the internet can be found quite easily. I wasn't in Kolkata then and returned only about a week later. The protests continued even after the Pujas, and day before yesterday (16-17 October) we took to the same Gari baranda to commemorate the incidents of the previous month. There was art, there was music, there was laughter, as there had been on the interrupted night. There was a 24-hour hunger strike. I believe that the students did successfully manage to 'take back' the space.
"In the functional sense of the word, the Antigones of the world will always admit defeat in the hands of the Creons", as Sri Gautam Bhadra puts it. But I share with him the hope that the cries have penetrated some walls at least and stirred a few indifferent minds. Small victories, yes, but to me, the administrative building Gari baranda has never looked this beautiful.
P.S. Thanks, Anushka, for suggesting that this could be part of the Gari baranda series.
On 11 March 1922 the foundation stone was laid and the building was completed in 1924. Aurobindo Bhavan, which serves today as the administrative building of Jadavpur University, has had an interesting history, let's say. The gari baranda is not quite what I am looking for, but as I said, I'll make an exception.
About a month back a group of peaceful protestors demanding a just investigation into an unfortunate case of sexual and physical violence on campus were beaten up by the police and some unrecognised not-so-happy-looking men. Since then the student protest has taken on a different dimension and has seen significant support from colleges and universities around the globe and from the general body of citizens. The assault on the students took place under the Gari baranda. A number of videos that are circulating on the internet can be found quite easily. I wasn't in Kolkata then and returned only about a week later. The protests continued even after the Pujas, and day before yesterday (16-17 October) we took to the same Gari baranda to commemorate the incidents of the previous month. There was art, there was music, there was laughter, as there had been on the interrupted night. There was a 24-hour hunger strike. I believe that the students did successfully manage to 'take back' the space.
"In the functional sense of the word, the Antigones of the world will always admit defeat in the hands of the Creons", as Sri Gautam Bhadra puts it. But I share with him the hope that the cries have penetrated some walls at least and stirred a few indifferent minds. Small victories, yes, but to me, the administrative building Gari baranda has never looked this beautiful.
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| Photo from the October 16/17th night courtesy: "International Student Movement - Asia (ISM-Asia)" on Facebook |
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