Super Friday
There couldn't have been a better day to celebrate secularism; Friday (March 21)happened to be Fateha Doaz Daham (the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad),Good Friday (the day on which Jesus was crucified) and Holi. With the threecommunities celebrating their respective festivals with éclat, many--includinglocal clubs and organizations--took advantage of the day to organize commoncelebrations. The club in my Ballygung para held a day-long jamboree in whichMuslim, Christian and Hindu priests spoke on the respective festivals and thetenets of their religion. A painting competition--the theme was secularism--washeld and this witnessed enthusiastic participation by many. The club'soffice-bearers made a special effort to reach out to and ensure the presence ofMuslims, Christians and people belonging to other minority faiths in theprogrammes, especially the cultural programme at the end of the day. It washeartening to see Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists recitingprayers after the maulana, the padre and the pundit, celebrating the daytogether and smearing colours on each other. On Friday, I was proud to be acitizen of Kolkata. Because, I'm sure, no other city in the country celebratedthe day in such a secular fashion. There may not be any more super Fridays inour lifetimes, but it would be nice if one day of the year is marked out forcelebrating secularism.
Ban The Bandh
Our worst fears have been confirmed: two mid-sized call centres are planning toshift away from Kolkata. The reason: disruptions due to frequent bandhs inBengal. Captains of industry, at a seminar held here recently, have said bluntlythat these bandhs reinforce the negative image of Bengal among investors andother states, competing for investments, have been citing Bengal's culture ofshutdowns to woo investors successfully. It's learnt that many industrialistsand heads of chambers of commerce and industries have spoken to leaders ofpolitical parties and issued appeals against calling bandhs. But such appealshave cut no ice.