Confessions of a Social Activist and Fashion Designer

I am broke, I am bored and I am lost. Life was in full glory till January this year. Although the schedule was hectic, but I liked it as money was also flowing in. But after that came the lull as if to sympathize with the recession that followed with the global meltdown. It has been almost a year I am without any job, not exactly, there are freak shows here and there, but I miss the monolithic movements that pumped up my adrenalin.
The suppliers, whom I have shown the gates of Utopia, are now after my blood. They have invested on expansion based on my assumptions that one incident is not enough and things will definitely be repeated if not in Mumbai but elsewhere in the country. The “movements” will be the best and most grandiose in Mumbai, after all Mumbai rocks.

The designs I have crafted are in a state of putrefaction. I really wonder why the color of peace is white. It restricts my creativity in terms of choosing colors to go with it. All other movements allow my creativity to fly like a butterfly. I still remember the T shirt I designed for the “gay” movement. It was awesome and I received appreciation from all quarters. Mr. Mutalik still rates my designed pink lingerie as the best gift he ever received and wears it to all the rave parties he attends.

I am a full time social activist and a part time fashion designer. Being a fashion designer I pretend to be gay as this gives me more credibility in my line of profession. It also allows me to hug and take in my arms all the beautiful models; I love the feeling of warmth in their bosom.
Being a social activist is not an easy job, you need to keep tract of all local events, and you have to have your contacts, liaison with the ruling party and also the opposition.
Unlike Medha Patkar I have no particular choice, whether it is against forceful grabbing of land, death of farmers, construction of a dam, atrocities to workers in industries, I attend all where they pay me well.
Nowadays trade unions have lost their respect with common people and so they rely on neutral activists to get through their demands. The money is good, the job is safe, police are told not to treat us badly (today who is in power maybe in opposition tomorrow and we are friends with all), if the situations gets out of hand we are escorted out safely. Have you ever seen Medha Patkar ever shed a drop of blood in any of her “movements” or lose weight after the innumerable “fasts” she conducts? Magic and social movements are all slight of hand, you are there to be deceived, and however intelligent you are.
We have to maintain a team who will follow you through the movement. We take extreme care in script writing and keep it minimalistic, so that there is no error or confusion among the team. Have a look at any of Medha Patkar’s “movements” you will see the same people with her, whether she is in Narmada or in Akola or in Singur.

My favourite is “movement” for peace, its hassle free, well coordinated; you do not have to travel to godforsaken villages where you do not have a decent toilet facility or the warmth of an air conditioner or even a proper bed to rest after staging “fast” or shouting slogans.
Taking out peace processions, arranging loads of candles for the candle light procession to Gate Way of India, getting signatures of thousands of people (I am still using the back sheets for my rough sketches), appearing in television channels, blaming the politicians (off course we all had a nice round of drinks afterwards), writing posters, hugging live coverage. This is what gets me going in life.

After the 26/11 terror attacks there seems to be a recession also in terrorist activities. The prime time news is so boring nowadays. The new channels are losing their TRP’s to “Balika Badhu”.
Who is interested in India’s foreign policy, increase in rise of onions and potatoes, Madhu Koda swindling thousands of crores, or Manu Sharma (poor sweet guy) trying to enjoy a life after serving such a hard jail sentence?
I want news with action, real life reflection of what we see in movies, blood and blood galore. The 26/11 incident was a big hit in our circle, so many people lying in a pool of blood, AK47’s, grandees, firing – it was a real blockbuster and we knew that it will create a demand for us or we have to generate the demand.

Peace and all this nonsense are good in lectures and in political meetings. It is terror, crime, rape, vandalism, oppression, caste fights, debilitating democratic rights, social injustice which earns bread for us, the media and thousands who are in the ancillary support system including the police, judiciary and the political system.

So please rise and assert your rights, fight for injustice, create a fuss and we will be there to support you.
We can give PEACE a chance tomorrow.