Issues

A personal Reckoning – In the Sunderbans

A rewind to the past – 9 years ago and my tryst with Sunderbans and Amphan now!

A rerun? Of pain and suffering, relentlessly…

The fundamental principle in Taoism – Wu Wei or action through inaction – may be manifested in myriad ways.

I embarked on my tryst with Wu Wei. Debasmita, a long standing friend – actively associated with social causes – had made many references to the plight of the rural gentry. This trip to Kakdwip, situated 90kms from Kolkata, was our destination. It was a sunny, winter morning. There was low tide and the banks were slushy. We gingerly made our way across wooden planks to the ferry to take us across to Patharpratima. …

We reached Addy Bazaar, a sleepy town with some shops selling packaged food, a tailor, a hardware store and a single road, at the end of which Pabitra da, the local contact person stood by an interesting contraption. …

The only brick building in the vicinity awaited us, the local office of SRTDC, housing a primary school and a training centre, a haven of sorts for the people living in this area….

Kajal, a resident of one of these villages is a bright eyed, 14 year old girl. She stood out in the group of girls we met at the community center. She carried a mobile phone and wore urban clothes. In this incongruity what stands out is the muted realization of her sordid tale. Kajal was sold by her mother to a pimp in Delhi for 10,000 rupees. What began as a forced “trade-off” has now evolved into a lifestyle choice Not only for Kajal, but also for the numerous Kajals in creation.

I want to charter a road-ahead to make tiny needle movements to this group. I want to be able to go to bed with the assurance that there is “work in progress”. I want to be able to wake up to action. This is the Wu Wei of the new millennium. Action through action.