Column | Window Seat

Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 15.12.19

Justice and Revenge

After the encounter-death of all the four accused of the rape and murder suspect of the Hyderabad case on the seventh day of the heinous incident- there have been a huge debate over the question of ‘instant justice’. As scores of people showered flower petals on the police men involved in the encounter and social media erupted with congratulatory messages the concept of justice got blurred. One can understand the public sentiment. As court cases drag for years (the much publicized Nirvaya case is going on for 6 years now) and often the accused get bail and try to obfuscate the case (in Unnao the convicts burnt the complainant girl alive), getting justice through legal means seems like an impossible task. In this situation instant justice like what happened in Hyderabad seems not only right but probably the only way.

But there is a difference. The difference between civilized society and a society run by a mob. In a civilized society there has to be a credible justice dispensing system. If the system in mal functioning (as in India), it needs to be corrected. Dispensing off the system for instant justice, which might with time convert into a cangaroo court or khap panchayat – is dangerous for the society. I entirely agree with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, there is a difference between justice and revenge.

Clean River

Rivers are the cradles of civilization. It have had sustained humanity for hundreds of centuries. It has given us water and food, our cattle fodder. It has taught us to travel and explore. But rivers in India are in danger. Pollution, over-drawing of water, wanton sand mining and several other factors- mostly man-made are killing the rivers. Survival of almost half of our rivers are threatened. With that stand threatened tens of thousands of species of fish, bird, insects and other fauna and flora.

The situation is grim. Real grim.  The only silver lining is that some people have started doing something to salvage the situation and if possible correct it.

One of them is my former student Dahey Dahey Sangno. His organisation has launched  #CleanRiverMission programme on 11 December 2019 to clean the rivers of Arunachal Pradesh.

This is what he has written in his social media platform:

The first five districts of Arunachal Pradesh were named after the mighty rivers majestically flowing through them. Rivers provide us. In return what do we give back? Nothing but we maul them ravenously with our filths and other dangerous industrial wastes. For people like us who grew up in river banks, it is quite painful to see a river, once fresh and turquoise, turning into a stinking, filthy former shadow of itself. Kameng River is one of them. Pacha, Kuchi, Macha and Pagia, the rivers and nallahs where we used to fish and swim have been chocked by plastics, old clothes and shoes. Toilet wastes are directly flushed into these rivers/nallahs. Our people have lost sense!
The #CleanRiverMission which we launched on 11 December 2019 is one small step to a tough battle ahead— a battle against the littering mindset and a battle against our apathy towards rivers. Before the launch, we knew that it would be a colossal task to clean up in one stroke the waste we created every day for last many years. This is just the beginning.

Dahey and his organization and and East Kameng District Administration have roped in the support of different colony associations, consumer right activists, students and youth associations, widow and market associations, government departments, environment protection bodies, women, community, social organisations and people from all walks of life who took part in the programme. It was an unprecedented effort in terms of inter-organisational cooperation and synchronisation.

May his tribe grow. May our rivers get back to its older purer self.

Pricey Onion

As onion prices crossed Hundred Fifty mark my wife stopped buying it. She kept few in a glass bottle. Places the bottle on dining table during lunch and dinner- lid tightly shut. We are only allowed to have a darshan of the onion and eat our food without even touching it.

Watered rice and onion are the favourite food of the people of Odisha. Without onion- they are finding it real tough to eat rice. So they are drowning their sorrow in bottles of liquor, which is available in any village across the State.

There is a growing demand that the banks must provide locker facilities to keep onion in safe custody. Some banks should consider offering loans to buy onions..

Tailpiece: Prayer accepted

Boy prayed: Oh God, give me 1 bag full of money, job, one big vehicle & many girls!

GOD: Ur wish is fulfilled. Prayer accepted....

Later, he became a CONDUCTOR in LADIES special BUS.

Do not Shampoo in the Shower 

I don't know why I didn't figure this out sooner. I used shampoo in the shower and when we wash our hair the shampoo runs down our whole body. Printed clearly on the shampoo label is the warning, "for volume and fullness." No wonder I have been gaining weight.

I should get rid of shampoos and start using dish washing liquid. Its label reads "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove." Follow this and stay slim and trim forever.

(Courtesy: Social Media)

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The author, a journalist turned media academician lives in Central Odisha town of Dhenkanal. An anthology of his weekly column Window Seat, published in 2019 will be published as a book. Should you want a copy with introductory discounted price, write to him at: mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com

This column is published every Sunday in Gangtok based English daily Sikkim Express and www.orissadiary.com