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Saffron all the way from metro to suburb

January 13, 2011 4:57:14 AM

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Sutapa Mukerjee | Howrah/Kolkata/Hooghly

Kolkata-Kashmir yatra launched by BJYM

About half a kilometre from Netaji’s statue at the famous Shyambazar crossing, Kolkata, the colour on Wednesday was Saffron. The occasion marked the flagging-off of the ‘Rashtriya Ekta Yatra’ launched by the BJP Janata Yuva Morcha.



In the presence of senior BJP leaders, thousands of BJP supporters gathered to lend their emotional support to national president of the BJYM, Anurag Thakur, before he set out on the two-week yatra that will cover 3037 km and culminate with hoisting of the Indian Tricolour on January 26 in Kashmir.



Present on the occasion were BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, general secretary Ananth Kumar; Chandan Mitra, MP (BJP) and prabhari of West Bengal, State party president Rahul Sinha and Smriti Irani.



A huge chrysanthemum garland with some flowers dyed in green and orange to capture the Tricolour shades, was put around all leaders. The 21-kg garland seemed to symbolise the ekta (unity) as it held all the leaders together. Later the garland was placed atop the rath.



The rath is an improvised Tata 709 bus, which has a special connectivity system, an air-conditioner, berths for sleeping and a sliding roof that makes enough space for the leaders to stand on a pedestal that is raised with the help of a hydraulic machine. Painted in saffron, it has a portrait of Syama Prasad Mookerjee besides other BJP leaders and a map of Kashmir with the Indian Flag.



The backdrop of the dais at Shyambazar flaunted portraits of Netaji, Swami Vivekananda and Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Bangla sentiments began to flow when the leaders hailed freedom fighters from Bengal who laid down their lives for the sake of the country. Rahul Sinha expounded on the chosen spot to flag off the yatra.



“This is the place where the body of Shri Syama Prasad Mookerjee was placed after it was brought back from prison in Kashmir and that’s why this is the best place to start the Rashtriya Ekta Yatra. The entire gathering resonated with chants of ‘Jahan huye balidaan Mookerjee, woh Kashmir hamara hai’ (The place where (Syama Prasad) Mookerjee sacrificed his life, that Kashmir belongs to us).



Smriti Irani, famous soap actor and BJP leader, urged everyone to take the name of mother Goddess Durga as is the custom in Bengal when someone leaves home. “Say, Durga Durga and bless Anurag, your son and brother in his endeavour,” she said.



When the yatra set off, Anurag Thakur stood atop the chariot holding the Tricolour. There were loud chants of “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata ki jai”. Eager supporters repeated after the leaders, “Kashmir jayenge, Tiranga ferayenge” (We shall go to Kashmir, we shall hoist the flag).



All supporters did their bit in helping the morning look saffron. Saffron pullovers, woollen caps, mufflers or shawls dominated the scene. At 1.45 pm, the yatra headed towards the busy Mahatma Gandhi Road and Burra Bazaar, Kolkata’s oldest and largest business centre. Supporters flanked the streets as the Rath inched its way through the busy afternoon street. It stopped at a ‘Manch’ here where the local BJP leader and councillor garlanded Anurag. Flowers were showered, and once again, they were all orange marigolds which bloom in abundance during this time of the year!



From Burra Bazar to Howrah and Salkia, at each stop the welcoming was truly grand. At Salkia, a shining long talwar (scabbard), the kinds the royals carried during any special ceremony was handed to Anurag Thakur. Local bands played patriotic songs, and instead of wearing the usual flashy maroon and gold, the band members too donned saffron, keeping to the mood of the journey.



A little before dusk the Rath reached Belur and waited awhile outside the famous Belur Math - a temple built under Swami Vivekananda’s guidance for his guru Ramakrishna, Netaji and then Swamiji: the path taken by the Rath could not have been more in consonance with the day chosen - birthday of Vivekananda.



Soon after sunset, neon lights lit up the Rath while spot-lights from below lit up the leaders, as they ceaselessly greeted the crowd in each locality and humbly asked for their blessings. They reiterated the cause of the Yatra and hailed freedom fighters from Bengal. The path taken beyond Kolkata was along the River Hooghly. Neither the cold river breeze nor the dark hour proved any hurdle to the visiting locals. The roads were choc-a-bloc with people who had turned up to catch a glimpse of the Rath. Some turned up out of sheer curiosity, others as staunch followers of the BJP.



It took a good five hours for the Rath to reach Chinsurah which is a small town in Hoogly district, 50-odd kilometers from Kolkata. The procession tried to catch speed between little towns. At certain places the leaders atop the Rath had to plead with the people to make way as they were to hold a meeting at Burdwan.



With the Yatra, the BJP undoubtedly is determined to march ahead with a new sense of purpose. With the Congress-led UPA mired in plethora of corruption charges, the BJP now is all set to stir up nationalistic emotions. And the party has chosen its favoured mode of public contact, a pan-India Rath yatra, with a meaningful national agenda.