AVATARS OF BandH (07-Dec-2020)

Ever a futile attempt to do a logical search to find a rationale for our BandH! Today it is the pro-outfits and tomorrow it is the anti-outfits. Politically motivated or otherwise, the common man goes through a host of inconveniences. Another Bharat BandH is in the offing tomorrow (Tuesday – 08-Dec-2020) called for by the farmers. A quick rewind to 2016 – the Cauvery river-water dispute escalated into a spate of BandHs in Bangalore. A relatively large-scale damage was inflicted which dented the pride of this city.

A BandH forces people to be confined within the four walls, either out of compulsion or fear. We have experienced an overdose of homestay in this pandemic-inflicted lockdown. Even now, high on my priority list is to spend quality time with family. This enforcement though is an opportunity to forge connect time through recreation activities and indoor games. As our family sifted through Netflix, etc. and various TV channels for content to keep us entertained, we dabbled around various avatars of ‘B’ and ‘H’. It is neither an anagram nor an acronym, but our own spin of some avatars of BandH.

Benson & Hedges cricket tournament in Australia in the 80s came to the fore. Another charged atmosphere in a game against Pakistan, India played a superlative game to add another feather to their coveted World Cup title. My wife remembered that Ravi Shastri won the Player of the tournament, who with fellow players flaunted the Audi car that he won as he took it for a spin around the grounds. Then the dream boy of Indian cricket, we started to tease the mother of the house for her impeccable memory as we jogged through 35+-year-old incredible moments of that tournament. Mom blushed and hid her face.

Bountiful and Hearty is what our minds slipped into as we paused at another channel that discussed spirituality and philosophy. A religious discourse that delved into areas of inner peace and engineering enlightened us and tranquilized our emotions. A surplus of concepts were discussed provided tools and resources to train the mind to feel rich and appreciate the bountiful existence of the Supreme God. This wholesome diet acted as fodder to be increasingly inward focused provided a hearty experience. The children had started to feel the overdose of this esoteric drive.

Beautiful and Haughty is what came to mind as we flipped to the next channel that played Bollywood videos. Men and women flaunted their flat abs and grooved to the latest rap with titillating lyrics that did not show our culture in good stead. The entire ensemble gyrated in an animated fashion and in perfect synchronization with the lead pair in the forefront was a classic example of new-age music and video that has infected the young minds like the Corona virus, with a brash and explicit exhibit on the screen. Our family started to discuss the need or the lack of such exhibitionism on screen, the parents view juxtaposed with perspective of the young minds.

As we Babbled and Heckled to build further on the avatars of BandH, I silently thanked the politicians who play vote-bank politics. The able administration of our Bureaucrats and the Hegemony of attitudinal politics laced with nepotism of one-upmanship over the other derived from an archaic system from the British times is laudable.

The sheer pleasure of the avatars and flavors of BandH with excited involvement from family was a joy to behold. Thank you ever for the instigators of BandH in our country!