Great expectations from civil society

KOLKATA: After shouting themselves hoarse "Paribartan Chai" (vote for change), the civil society, which has now become a party to Mamata Banerjee's tirade against the 33-year-old Left government, has somewhat amended its maxim. And this one was directly aimed at the victor: Deliver, so we can recommend you in 2011.
The civil society is confident that the performance baby will be delivered soundly within this short but significant 10 months."Some may argue against expecting the unattainable in such a short span. But we are sure Mamata's super efficiency would make a world of difference to the civic boards especially KMC," artist Shuvaprasanna said on Wednesday, hours after Trinamool's ace performance in the crucial civic elections.
Shuvaprasanna was one of the first from the art world to back Mamata since she launched her crusade against the Singur landlosers. The high point of their support to Trinamool Congress was the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, when the intellectuals appeared on hoardings, asking people to "vote for change". The blatant solicitation for a particular political party was faithfully followed by the voters in Lok Sabha and, now, in the elections to the 81 municipalities. Ten months from now, and the "change wave" might come full circle in the May 2011 assembly elections.
"Mamata has proved herself as the railway minister. She won several panchayats in 2008, but couldn't work because the Left government pulls the strings from Writers'. But now, there is some scope for work. We're sure she'll make the most of it," Shuvaprasanna said.
The intellectuals' wishlist is ready. "Kolkata should turn into a modern city while maintaining its character," said Shuvaprasanna.
Mamata's apolitical friends have already visualised a well-defined riverfront and a proper green cover for the city. Planting trees should be number one on the Trinamool-run KMC board's agenda. "Kolkata should try to resemble London along the Thames," said Shuvaprasanna. It's a much cleaner and greener city that the intellectuals have in mind. "Only Mamata can do this for Bengal," said the artist.
Wasn't the expectation of the Trinamool supremo sky-high? Suvaprasanna shook his head, reminiscing the time when he had been rudely been awakened from his apathetic faith in the ruling party. "I realised that the Left wasn't delivering an inch. Health, education and other core sectors were in the pits. Having demolished the work culture, the government suddenly had a brainwave: fast-track to industrialisation by wresting land from farmers at gunpoint," he said.
"The creativity in me was crying to rise to the occasion and jolt people awake. Talking to some of my colleagues (thespians Shaonli Mitra and Bibhas Chakraborty), it was clear they felt the same way," the artist said, adding, "My friend Gunter Grass says an artist must be conscious of what is happening around him."
"Looking for a change agent, we realised that Mamata was the most credible figure among the rest. Her political actions made her the face of the proletariat while the Left was now exposed as the abuser." Poet Subhas Mukhopadhyay's prophesy that Mamata will be the leader of the masses' seemed to have come true. "Until then, Mamata didn't seem to have touched a chord with the so-called elite' society that preferred to be reclused in their own make-believe world."
The pro-change intellectuals gradually swelled in numbers, appearing in protest michchils with eminent thinkers like economist Amlan Dutta, writer Mahasweta Devi and poet Joy Goswami. "Paribartan Chai" soon became a gospel for the conscious citizen. "Naturally, a huge section loathed this newness in Bengal polity, where a juvenile party had questioned the existence of a 30-year-old establishment. We were constantly subjected to jibes and attacks at the hands of the ruling party and their mouthpieces," Shuvaprasanna rued.
They were even branded "pro-Maoists", as the CPM launched its Mamata-Maoist connection campaign. "We have been hobnobbing with the Trinamool Congress for the past many months. We can vouch for this allegation being totally baseless," said the artist.
"It's only the beginning the dawn of a new Bengal. It will be our constant endeavour to remind Mamata about the mammoth task ahead."