Small canister that can make a big difference

The 'Nirbheek' revolver

Earlier this week, a news headline really grabbed my attention. The announcement of ‘Nirbheek’- India’s first gun designed especially for women, was met with a lot appreciation all over. The .32 bore light weight revolver would help women protect themselves from an unexpected assault. After reading the news my first reaction was of appreciation. I was happy that finally something can be provided to women which will help them feel safe and can help them counter any untoward incident. 

However, when I scrolled down the page of the article, my eyes fell on the price of the gun. Priced at Rs 1, 22,360, ‘Nirbheek’ might have noble intentions but I doubt it would essentially serve the purpose it has been invented for. The price is way too much for any middle-class Indian woman to be able to afford it. The ones who would be able to do so would I think constitute barely 5% of India’s total female population. Hence, in my view, Nirbheek would not exactly make any significant difference in women being able to protect themselves.

So what is the solution then? The reason for this post comes from the fact that after the Delhi gang-rape incident I had been trying to find out some ‘weapon’ or similar alternatives that can protect women from being brutalized. I tried to do this out of genuine fear of my loved ones.

In the aftermath of the Delhi incident, the newspapers and online media were brimming with possible measures that women can take to protect themselves. From joining self-defense classes, to buying stun guns, they had it all. Among these however, I found the picture of a little can the most interesting. The Pepper Spray also known as OC spray is a potent weapon if used effectively and can cause severe damage, albeit momentarily, to the eyes of the person it is sprayed on. Easy to carry and simple to use, the pepper spray is quite commonly used by women traveling alone in the West. Its use in this part of the world though, is quite limited. The reasons? Lack of proper information and availability.

It took me quite some time to track down the place from where I could buy it in my city. However, I took the effort and purchased it a few months back to gift it to a female friend of mine. In my view, it is perhaps the most important gift I have given anyone, although I seriously pray that my friend never comes into the situation where she has to ever use it. Nevertheless, when I did my research on the authenticity and benefits of a pepper spray can, I found it to be much more useful than going for some of the other options for the self-protection of women, which is unlikely to find many takers in the long-run.

After giving that pepper spray can to my friend, the next question in my mind was that how many other women know about this thing? Over the last few months, I have spoken to many women I know regarding this little can; from female colleagues, to friends to acquaintances. Many of them knew about it, especially after the Delhi rape incident, but none knew about its effectiveness in details or its availability. And that I feel is the case with innumerable other women in the country as well. Thus, I felt it was my responsibility as a concerned citizen to let as many women know about the pepper spray can as possible.

Let me discuss about this little canister in brief here.

Usage: This small can of about 60 ml has immense strength and can take down any assailant(s) for more than an hour. The person on whom it is sprayed will be partially blind and his eyes are sure to ‘burn like hell’. It can spray up to a range of 8-10 feet and can take out close to half a dozen people if sprayed properly. Although it won’t cause any permanent damage to the eyes, I assure you, the person or persons, who feel the spray’s effects once, will regret their action and will surely think twice before even attempting to attack any woman in the future.

More importantly, you do not need any license to carry these cans. Under the Arms Act in India, a license is only required for firearms and hence you can easily carry these little things in your bags without any fear.

(The contents of these cans usually stay effective for three years; if it lasts for that long. After which you can either refill them or buy a new one.)

Availability: The most pertinent question that remains is where to get these pepper spray bottles. In the West these are easily available over the chemist shops, drug stores and even supermarkets. Sadly, that is not the case in our country. In my lookout for this spray, I asked for it in drugstores and even supermarkets. Leave alone keeping it, they hadn’t even heard of such a thing. Luckily though, my intense search brought me to a person from whom I eventually purchased the can.  Avijit Sengupta (Ph: 09432103005, 0728454074), supplies pepper spray cans to anyone who might need it in West Bengal. You can either visit his office in Lake Town, or he would ensure that you get your product by delivering it to you personally (for a little extra cost).

Alternatively, Kolkatans can also find it in a few shops in New Market (the old one). Just ask around for a pepper spray when you enter the market, and you will be directed to the shops offering it. There might be other shops as well who keep these sprays, but for now these are the only options I can present to you. For non-Kolkatans, I would suggest that you make an effort to search around in your respective cities to find out where you can get them. If I can find it, surely you can as well. You can also contact Mr. Avijit and he would, I am sure, guide you on where you can get it in your city.

Other than this, you can always buy it online. A simple Google search would do the job for you. If even still you need some assistance, you can browse through these two websites: http://bit.ly/1kJQUnY and http://bit.ly/1b9VfXH. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of these websites, but there are several more similar ones like these out there. Try them out.

Price:  These pepper spray cans usually cost around Rs. 500-600 per bottle. Yes, it’s true that many women from the villages and the suburbs will not be able to afford buying these and I sincerely hope that the makers of these products consider bringing down the price further so as to make it easily affordable for every woman. But even so, a majority of the females surely can invest in these cans if they want to. And I genuinely hope that they do.

                                                                                                                 **

Ideally, it should be the job of the government to make as many of these products available freely across the country as possible. Nevertheless, the reason I am pressing so much for these pepper spray cans is because of the reality of the times we live in. The fact that women today are unsafe in the country is an understatement. I do not wish to analyze the situation further. The need of the hour today for you is to be alert and prepared. With ‘you’ I of course mean women. I want women in my country to be safe and having a pepper spray can along with you when you venture out from home, might just make the difference. True, there might be several other ways for women to defend themselves with. But I am clamoring for what I find the most effective one out there today.

I do not want you to ‘like’ this post and praise me for my ‘nobility’.  I want you to make an effort and buy one pepper spray can right away. Whenever a major rape case is highlighted in the media, we begin shouting for actions and measures. The first measure, I say, is to be prepared for self-defense. Thus, go out, and buy this thing. And don’t just buy it; make sure that you carry it every single day in your bag or in your pockets. Keep it in such a place where it can be easily accessed in times of an emergency. Do it. I implore you.

The pepper spray might not stop rapes or molestation of women, but it might save them; as it already has done for several of them. I believe if used effectively and continuously by women, it can make a huge difference eventually.

I hope and pray that you take my words seriously and buy this can. I also hope and pray that you never ever have to use it.

The Darjeeling Adventure (Part - 1)

(A journey which will always be very special to me for varied reasons. It was fun revisiting the memorable parts of my trip to Darjeeling, about two years back, and penning it down. Hope I did justice to it. I would be presenting the experience of my trip in two separate posts. Here is the first one.) 

The commencement of the journey

It was only the second time that I had been inside the Sealdah station in Kolkata. Having travelled all my life from the bustling Howrah station, it took me some time to adjust to the ‘alien’ surroundings here. For me, a railway station in Kolkata simply meant the Howrah station. Thus, adjusting to the look and feel of the Sealdah wasn’t quite easy. Added to it was the fact that the crowd, even at 6 in the evening, was quite moderate. I was waiting for my train, which would take me to New Jalpaiguri (a place near Siliguri in North Bengal).  I was accompanied by my friend, who was also my colleague at my workplace, and together we were to take an official trip to the hills of Darjeeling. 

The words ‘official trip’ and Darjeeling rarely go together, but fortunately for us, it was true. We were to cover the Darjeeling Zoo for a story I was to write and my friend, as the videographer, was assigned the task of making a short documentary on it. We were to reach Darjeeling the next day; get our work done and leave the day after. Since the day the trip had been approved by our bosses, we had been the objects of much envy at our workplace and which quite frankly, really pleased me to no end.

The last few days had been expectedly quite exciting, as the lead up to any unknown place usually is for me. This was the first time I would be travelling to Darjeeling. I had only heard of its stunning beauty and serenity from my kith and kin. It was rather strange; residing in Bengal I never really got the opportunity to visit Darjeeling before this despite hearing so much about it. However, all of this was about to come to an end as I would finally be reaching Darjeeling the next day. Me and my friend, who like me would be visiting the place for the first time, had excitedly munched down some heavy food from a station restaurant a few minutes ago and were now eagerly awaiting the train’s arrival at the platform.

After some minutes of impatient waiting, where I strolled around the platform innumerable times, we finally saw the train chugging into the platform at around 6.20 pm. There was the usual mad scurry to get into train compartments by the people but before we got suffocated by the crowd, we quickly settled into our seats and patiently waited for the journey to begin.

                                                                                                                          **

Ratatat chhahh…Ratatat chhahh… The train sped across the Bengal terrain and brought with it cold and bitter wind.  Despite it being only late October, I snuggled under my warm blanket and stared blankly at the train ceiling.  It seemed as if I could hear the simultaneous breathing of everyone in the bogie. It was past midnight now and lying down on the upper berth, I found it hard to go to sleep. First there was the tension of my luggage which lay under the lower berth and made me look down every other minute and second there was the anxiety of the trip itself. There was the usual thrill associated with discovering a new place which was so renowned and then there was the nervousness if I would get the task assigned to me done efficiently.

Ratatat chhahh…Ratatat chhahh…

I looked over at my friend, who was sound asleep with his mouth half open. “What must he be dreaming of? Is he as nervous and excited as I am?”  I wondered.  There were so many things that could have gone wrong in the trip, I suddenly reflected. We could get no hotels, the zoo could be closed, and this train could meet with an accident even as we all slept.

I shuddered and forced myself out of the negative thoughts and concentrated on the ceiling fan above me which made a light buzzing sound. The blades were hardly visible in the darkness and yet I lost myself in its constant revolutions. Ratatat chhahh…Ratatat chhahh… The hum of the wheels now seemed like a cradle and I was finally lulled into sleep.

Arrival at NJP

The vibration of the phone in my pocket woke me up from my slumber. It was the buzzing of my cell phone’s alarm which was set for 6 in the morning. I took out the phone and realizing that it was 6 I muttered a “shit” under my breath. The New Jalpaiguri station was hardly 15 minutes away and the train would halt for just 10 minutes there. We hence didn’t have much time left to get ready. I turned to my friend who was now lying face down and fast asleep, even as his own mobile alarm kept on buzzing repeatedly. I shook him a couple of times, but it seemed that he was determined to sleep till the end of the journey. Not wanting to waste anymore time, I kicked him on his shin. That thankfully worked. 

He woke up with a start and frowned at me; as if accusing me of committing a heinous crime. “NJP is hardly 10 minutes away. Get your ass off,” I informed him. He checked his watch and realized the truth in my statement. We got down and immediately set about unlocking our luggage from underneath the seats. It seemed then that all the passengers of the train had woken up now and were excitedly chattering away. Hardly had we brushed our teeth and settled into our seats again that we felt the train slowing down; we were entering the NJP station. I checked my watch: 6.20 am. Right on time!

There was the usual mad rush of the crowd getting out of the train as we got down at the platform. It appeared as if almost more than half of the passengers of the train had emptied at NJP, whose final destination was Guwahati.

We scampered out of the station and began looking for cars outside. A lot of our friends and relatives, who had been to this place, had informed us that we would find innumerable cars and buses outside the station which would be willing to take us to Darjeeling. And sure enough, right outside the station gates we found an array of vehicles, mostly Sumos, clamouring loudly to get our attention. The idea of a two hour bus ride didn’t quite thrill me and hence I was determined to get a Sumo, which was ideal for a tall person like me.

After speaking to a few drivers we finally zeroed in on one who offered a reasonable rate: 200 bucks per person for a two hour journey. The Sumo, which would have 6-7 more passengers apart from the two of us, looked decent and we gave our luggage to a guy who packed it firmly at the top of the car along with that of the others. The journey to Darjeeling would start at 7.30 am which meant we had an hour to while around.

We suddenly realized how hungry we were and hence went about scavenging for some food to eat. With some cakes and biscuits in hands, we sat on a vacant seat outside the station premises. As I waited for the hour to get over I glanced around at the surroundings. New Jalpaiguri didn’t really seem that different from Kolkata, neither the people nor the ambience; except for the fact that there were a lot more tourists here for obvious reasons. NJP is the perfect and the most well-known connector for anyone who wishes to get into Darjeeling.

My friend was lost in his own thoughts as he munched at the biscuits mechanically. I meanwhile looked at the people everywhere who were madly scurrying around to get into vehicles which would take them to the famous hill station. I wondered how many of them would be visiting the place the first time like us. Would they have the same excitement as me? Would they be as nervous as I was? I would never know.

Towards Darjeeling

The cool wind slapped my face as I gazed outside the window of the moving car. We had just begun our journey towards Darjeeling and the streets were rapidly getting vacant as we surged ahead. I, along with my friend, was sitting on the front seat with the driver. There was bubbling anticipation in my heart as to what lay ahead.

However, what I hadn’t anticipated was having to face the steep, hilly terrain that the car had to pass through in order to get into Darjeeling. Now, I am one of those people who are quite apprehensive of heights. I have had horrible experiences in my past of riding through some really high mountains and getting scared shit of looking down the ravines. A similar experience awaited me now.

The car, after having left Siliguri, was now entering into what seemed like a never ending hilly roadway. My insides squirmed as I couldn’t help but look down. What didn’t help was that my friend was even worse than I was in handling these steep hills. “God, look at how deep those ravines are,” he said in utter fear. “What if the car skids and we all fall down,” he mumbled again. “I don’t want to die now. I don’t want to die now,” he kept adding after every few seconds. The driver, who by now had sensed our fear, reassured us in his typical North-eastern accent, “Kuss ni hogaa. Saant rakko.” (Nothing will happen. Be calm.) He had apparently made hundreds of trips like this and never ever had had an accident. I had just started feeling a little relaxed when I saw an overturned car lying down in the bushes. I immediately lost all faith in the driver.

And then there was this 50- something ‘uncle’ sitting behind who had been to Darjeeling plentiful times and had never been scared of these hills. “Arre you are so young. What’s to be scared?” he said with a super confident chuckle. “When I was your age, I had easily walked my way up these very mountains once,” he declared pompously and looked on at the other people in the car; waiting for them to probably burst out in applause at his achievement. However, no one it seemed was remotely interested in his remark. While many were fast asleep, the others looked out the window. You will always find these highly annoying ‘uncles’ everywhere; who are know-it-alls and have been there done that. I merely smiled weakly at him and then looked out again. Those gorges just looked so precipitous. I kept having flashes where I was tumbling down with the car in those deep ravines. My head lay crushed by hitting one of the rocks, while a particularly sharp one had gorged through my chest and blood oozed all over my body.

I closed my eyes to stop these horrifying visions and turned away from the window. Lowering my head and closing my eyes, I tried my best to fight the impending sickness which was overflowing in me. “I will not die here,” I silently prayed. “I will die a writer... I will die a writer...”

                                                                                                                          **

I breathed in the fresh air standing at the edge of a small cliff overlooking the beautiful town of Mirik. We were in an area called Krishnanagar, which was known as being the entrance to Mirik.

The car had stopped for a few minutes here as the driver needed to get some water for the car. All the inhabitants of the car were now strolling outside the vehicle and stretching their bodies after the hour long journey we had made thus far. My friend, like me, was standing beside me and was stunned at the sight which lay in front of us. This was unlike anything I had ever seen in Bengal. The pine-clad hillsides made for such an extraordinary view that all my sickness from a few minutes ago seemed to have vanished. The fragrance of the fresh grass had rejuvenated me and I was now eagerly looking forward to what lay ahead for us.

It was at this point I realized how different this place was from Kolkata. Be it the structure of people’s homes or their looks. While most of the cottages and huts were similarly shaped and looked quite clean, the people bore the distinctive North-eastern looks. 

   

As I turned, I suddenly caught a little girl staring at me from the window of her small hut which stood nearby. She looked like one of those cute characters in the Japanese anime films, and was probably fascinated by the tall ‘alien’ creature standing in front of her house. I smiled at her. The girl seemed unsure on how to react for a few seconds and then finally smiled back.

“All right, get into the car everyone,” hollered the driver all of a sudden and brought me back to reality. We quickly settled into our seats and prepared for the final leg of the journey. As I slammed the car door shut, I looked back at the window of the hut. The girl was gone.

                                                                                                                      **

I had always seen tea-plantation workers in pictures and documentaries. Hence, it was quite a sight to see a group of these workers going about their business casually, as our car passed through a tea-plantation site. Clad in their characteristic dress; the scarves neatly tied over their head and baskets hanging from their backs, they worked in a very orderly manner without even bothering to glance at us. I however, wanted to sit and observe them some more, but was denied that opportunity as we had to move towards our destination.

                                                                                                                       **

After riding for another half an hour through the hilly terrain, we entered what seemed like another small yet lovely looking town. The driver informed us that this was Ghoom, a tiny locality in the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, which was famous for its scenic beauty.  The road we were passing through was the Hill Cart Road, which was the common route taken by cars and buses travelling from Siliguri to Darjeeling. For some reason, I noted, the road was glistening with moist water and the air was misty. The driver cleared my confusion when he said, “It has been raining since the last few days in this part of the hills.”

In the little time I got to observe the area, I noticed that it was bubbling with life. People were busy chatting, shopping for vegetables and doing other stuff. I then noticed that there was quite a crowd outside a store selling woolen garments. I was quite tempted to join them and try out some of the fancy looking jackets they were selling, but had to curb my feelings.

Some of the people in the car then informed us that Darjeeling is hardly 6 kms away now. Feeling elated at the news, I tried to look beyond the marketplace we were passing through. I could see mountains, resplendent in verdant grass, in the background. My heart pounded in excitement at the prospect of what awaited me ahead.

Entering the Queen of hills

There was a real chill in the air as we noticed our surroundings changing slowly. The rain over the last few days coupled with the place’s general location, resulted in bitterly cold winds smothering our faces. Even inhaling the cold air was causing me much discomfort, but I faced it all quite happily. The car turned over another bend in the road and then I finally saw it.

There it was; the ‘Queen of Hills’ as it is renowned for. The hills of Darjeeling looked so picturesquely perfect that I felt like floating around those mountains and remain there for my entire life. White, fluffy clouds hovered around the hills which were covered with lush green trees. For a second it seemed time had come to an absolute standstill as everyone in the car feasted their eyes on the stunning beauty in front of them. All my friend could mutter was a “Wow” as he admired the surroundings with wide-eyes. It was a scene straight out of a romantic song from a Bollywood movie. It was something which would turn dull people into romantics. I for one, wanted to write some poetic lines which would do justice to the scene ahead of me. Unfortunately though, I wasn’t particularly good in that department and chose instead to relish the spectacular landscape.

Beyond the hills we could now clearly see the city of Darjeeling towards which we were heading. The myriad buildings of different colours and shapes slowly started to grow bigger with each passing minute as we hurtled closer to the city.

Finally, the hilly pathway now gave way to normal city roads and I knew that we had arrived at our destination. As if just to approve of my thoughts, a Toy Train, the celebrated symbol of Darjeeling, slowly whistled by at a little distance from us.  My heart gladdened with joy and I desperately yearned to get a seat in that train. However, now was not the time for that.

A few minutes later, in which I had managed to catch a glimpse of the local market and a mall, the car stopped at what was apparently the main city junction. I got down from the car and stretched my long legs. We were surrounded by hotels, small restaurants and guest houses. I wanted to explore some more and look at what lay beyond those small lanes leading ahead. But my friend then thumped me on my back and said, “Let’s get going. We have a long day ahead.”

Indeed. We had a long day lying ahead of us. As we walked towards a hotel, I checked my watch; it was 9.30 am. I found it a little hard to believe that only two hours had passed since the time we had boarded the Sumo from NJP. It really seemed like several hours had passed in between the various happenings of the journey. 

Something however told me that the adventure had just begun.

To be concluded

(To read the second and final part of this post, click here.)

Interview with Meenakshi Lekhi (National Spokesperson-BJP)

Politics is something which forms the crux of our country. Like it or hate it, there is no ignoring it. Over the past few years, since I took up to writing seriously, the urge to write something related to politics has passed my mind on multifarious occasions. I did attempt a few write-ups related to this genre, but they were more of light opinion pieces. To be honest, I wasn’t much into politics in my growing up years and even now it isn’t really one of my favourite subjects. However, there is no denying that as a citizen of the country, it is imperative that I keep a tab on the politics of our country as much as possible. After all, it is us, the people, who make the country, choose the politicians to power and demand better services.

It was somewhere after 2002, that my real interest in politics took birth. When a certain individual called Narendra Modi had earned the ire of the media, it made me curious. I wanted to search for answers and what I learnt over the years, and am still learning, is that he is one of those rare breed of politicians with whom I really have some genuine hope from. However, this post is not about him. Someday, soon enough, I shall be elaborating further on my views on him; when I have deserved the credit for that.

Meenakshi Lekhi

The time I began searching the answers for my questions, I keenly followed television news. The debate shows on these programmes would present spokespersons from different national parties. For some reason, I would feel genuinely irritated by listening to the drawl of many of them; especially the ones from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). I supported the party’s ideology, but seeing some weak party spokesperson carrying on with their indolent discussions made me want to shake them up. The years following those, I used to switch the channels each time I saw a BJP spokesperson speaking on TV; purely to avoid feeling annoyed. It all changed when I came across Meenakshi Lekhi – the current national spokesperson of the BJP.

The 46-year old Supreme Court advocate from Delhi is a firebrand spokesperson and has taken to her job like fish to water. Rarely have I seen someone from the BJP (apart from Narendra Modi) taking on the hounding, biased media cronies word for word. Eloquent, clear in her thoughts, well-versed on the current affairs, and not one to take things lying down, Mrs. Lekhi is everything and more that I had hoped to see in a political personality. It hence comes as no surprise that today, Meenakshi Lekhi is considered one of the most popular BJP leaders only after Narendra Modi.

I thus consider myself privileged enough to have got the chance to interview her. It was the first time that I had interviewed a political figure and surprisingly speaking to her was quite easy and refreshing. Over the course of the interview, Mrs. Lekhi elaborates on the roles of a spokesperson, the biased media debates, her views on the Congress party and of course Narendra Modi. Read on. 

Excerpts from the interview:

Q. Tell me a little bit about your career. How and where did you begin?

Meenakshi Lekhi (ML): I am basically born and bred in Delhi. I did my graduation from Hindu College, Delhi and then went on to study law from the Delhi University. A few years after that, I began practicing law from 1990 onwards from the various courts in the country.

In 1992 I got married to Aman Lekhi (renowned senior advocate). Over a period of time, I began working with him. Gradually, life took its course and now I am the national spokesperson of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and greatly relishing my role.

Q. From law to the spokesperson of a national party? Isn’t that a rather different field to choose?

ML: Yes and no. The Lekhis are always known to be rather argumentative (laughs). Our entire family has very strong opinions on all the issues going around; from mundane to the serious ones. Ever since I got married, my life has been around books, courts, the vision of India and similar things. I haven’t known any other way of living really. So you can imagine I did not really need any training in my professional field. Being a spokesperson I guess, came naturally to me.

Q. So when exactly did you start considering being a spokesperson as a serious career option?

ML: I have been active on the fringes since 1996-97 by being closely associated with various social NGOs and by giving my legal inputs to these. From there I began working for the ‘Swadeshi Jagran Manch’ (an economic wing of the Sangh Parivar). When Nitin Gadkiri became the party president of the BJP a few years back, I was called on to join the party and become the Vice-President of the ‘Mahila Morcha’.

My career profile was such that even while I was into law, I had to address the media on various cases. Hence, they were quite familiar with me. The seniors of the party then gradually felt that I would do well as a spokesperson and hence I was taken up as one this year.

Q. How different is the job of a spokesperson to that of a normal 10-7 one per se?

ML: It is completely different. It is a 24/7 job. Even as I speak to you, there are calls coming in from various media channels to attend their TV shows. A spokesperson doesn’t really have a social life to speak of. There is no time to attend parties, weddings or anniversaries. It has happened on many an occasion where I had a family event planned and had to cancel it because of some urgent press meet I had to attend. You have to be there for your party all the time.

Q. Doesn’t that affect you mentally? How do you motivate yourself?

ML: It does of course. After all I am human and there is a need to have a social life. But then, I motivate myself thinking that I am doing my bit for my country. That in itself is the biggest boost. And then again, if I am not there when needed, my party might get affected. I cannot allow that to happen.

Q. Can you please elaborate as to what does the job of a spokesperson constitute of?

ML: See, firstly, a spokesperson has to be aware of everything happening in the country; political or non-political. The awareness level has to be absolutely profound. Then you are reading about 10-12 newspapers thoroughly; English and Hindi both. You also have to actively keep watch on the social media. But most importantly, you have to keep a sharp eye on where the media is taking the debate to on certain issues. The media, especially the TV media, more often than not, moulds the issues according to their convenience and presents it in a different way to the public. A spokesperson thus has to carefully interpret on what agenda is the media setting. However, the most important thing for a spokesperson I believe is to be instinctive. You should know how to react to many tense and adverse situations on the spot. And for that you cannot be trained. Either you have it or you don’t. 

Q. So if I wish to be a spokesperson today, and have the above mentioned qualities in me, would that be enough?

ML: Those and a few other things as well. To be a good spokesperson, you have to be academically sound as well. You should have a good knowledge of history, politics, geography, art and culture, and economics. You should also keep studying on more subjects as much as possible. Other than that, learning on the job actively should serve you well.

Q. Being a party spokesperson, you attend a lot of TV debate shows. Many of these debate shows, as we all very well know, are quite biased towards a particular party or an agenda. Don’t you feel angry or infuriated while attending such shows?

ML: It’s true that certain debate shows by some media channels are biased and they always try and set their own agenda. However, if they have their agenda, I have my own. If I feel infuriated and refuse to go to these shows, then somebody else will turn up and say certain things that would create a mess for my party. I cannot allow that to happen. My simple thought is that I should present my point of view in such a manner that the audience should be able to gauge as to who is correct and who isn’t. They should be able to connect with me and my party’s views. The audience today is pretty intelligent; they very well know the biasness of these media houses. But like I said, if I connect my views to my audience, my job is done.

Q. Have you ever felt any amount of nervousness while attending any of these TV shows or while addressing the media on any particular issue?

ML: No. Never. One becomes a pro at it pretty soon. Moreover, I am not made like that. I can safely claim that no one from the media can ever say that they have got the better of me on any occasion. And it’s bound to stay like that. (Chuckles)

Q. As a spokesperson, you go to a lot of TV shows. However, how many people watch these shows? There is only a certain percentage in the country who actually watch them. What about the people in the country who do not have access to television sets? Doesn’t your role adhere to them as well?

ML: It most definitely does. See besides attending TV shows, as a spokesperson, I have a lot of other things to do. My job is not just limited to airing my views on television, but to connect to people; wherever they might be. I have to go to a lot of places like Kerala and Chennai, whose language I do not speak. In such places, I speak in English; but my views are aired by the local media in the regional language. Through TV news, newspapers and even radio, my views reach to vast corners of the country. So there is a deep people to people connect. Furthermore, on many occasions, I also have to speak on the stage on varied places; thus the connect with the people comes into effect there. That is my primary job; to put my party’s views in front of the public and make sure I connect with them.

Q. If I were to ask your views on the Congress; not as a BJP spokesperson, but as a normal citizen of the country, what would they be?

ML: As a normal citizen of the country, I feel enraged to what has been going on for the past many years. In fact, it was my apathy towards the Congress’ misgovernance that made me join the BJP. The last nine years (2004-2013) has undoubtedly been pathetic from them, but I am looking much beyond that. They have given us absolutely noting since independence. I don’t want to go into names, but many of these people have completely destroyed our country from the core. You think of people before the independence era like Subash Chandra Bose. If he would have been there with us after independence, do you think our country’s situation would have come to this? Those heroes from the pre-independence era never got to rule the country. And what we have today is downright disgraceful.

Q. On the same vein, what so you feel of Narendra Modi; as a normal citizen of the country and not as a BJP spokesperson? 

ML: As a person having average intelligence and being a rational citizen of the country, I feel that the man has delivered; and delivered big time. I can easily see through the media in cahoots with a certain party trying to malign him desperately. But that is not going to work. People today are clever enough to understand all this. The speeches nowadays are easily available on the internet for people to gauge as to what really is the truth. Moreover, my question is, if not Modi then who? The answer is no one; zilch, nada. Nobody matches up to the delivery, the charisma, the confidence and wherewithal to handle any situation like Modi does. And this is a rational person saying all this.

However, I must also credit the media for making me pro Modi. I am a person with reasonable intelligence and when I saw the media propaganda against him, I could easily make out that he was being unfairly targeted. I did my research and study on the facts and understood that what was being presented by the media is completely opposite to the truth. And hence came in my genuine support for Modi. I am quite certain there are many more like me with the same theory.

Q. You must have met him a few times. What are your views on him as a person?

ML: I have met him a couple of times and whatever little interaction I have had with him has been very good. I find him to be a very pleasant and down to earth person. He is someone who will ask you “Ghar me sab thik hai?” Despite all the name he has made, he is still very warm and grounded.

Q. I read a report in a newspaper that Meenakshi Lekhi is the second most popular BJP personality after Narendra Modi. What do you feel on that?

ML: Oh I feel really embarrassed on hearing this. I really do. However, at the same time I feel honoured and proud too. I feel I must have done something right to get that label.

Q. Lastly, your tiff with Arnab Goswami on a television debate has become quite a hit online. The way you took him on has made many people your fan. Your views.

ML: I think a lot has been made out of it unnecessarily. I had gone there to speak on a certain issue and some things were said which I didn’t like. When you push me to the wall, I will retaliate. That’s it. These are professional hazards and we have to take it with us in our stride. It happens. I am humbled that people appreciate my personality. But let’s not get carried away with it. Whatever happened was in the past and let it be there. 

Aroma of leather and a flavour of Indo-China fusion in Kolkata’s nostalgic lane

Being tall has its privileges. However, it has myriad disadvantages as well. Having unusually tall feet is one of them. I come from that breed of people who have suffered throughout their lives for being ‘extraordinarily’ tall. As I touched my teens, getting a good pair of shoes was such a massive hassle that it’s difficult to explain in words. Shoe shops in my city generally tend to keep shoes that have sizes ranging from 2 to a maximum of 10. Blessed as I am with my wonderful height, my feet, unfortunately, had reached the 11 plus mark by my late teens. And thus, finding shoes of my size was next to impossible in my city.

I have endured terrible embarrassments because of this. Whenever I would enter a shoe shop, the staff there would just look at my feet and give me a smirk which would denote to them saying something like this: “We keep shoes for humans sir, not ogres.” I have also tortured my poor feet by forcibly putting on shoes of size 10 on them for a fair period of time in my life; as it was the maximum size that is available in most shoe shops. It resulted in me coming back home with terrible feet pain. There have been times where I felt like rushing back home just because of the uncomfortable pain the shoes would cause and would really envy my friends who easily brought swanky shoes and showed them off pompously. I had lost all hope. I thought that I am destined to a life of feet misery.

And then I found Sen-Fo.

Located in the nostalgic neighborhood of Kolkata’s Bentinck Street, Sen-Fo is one of those rare shoe shops (if not the only one) in the city which houses shoes and sandals that range from size 11-14, apart from the usual ones. The entire lane of Bentinck Street, in fact, has many shoe shops that have been there for several decades and are a vital part of Kolkata’s nostalgia. It is only Sen-Fo, however, that caters to the need of people like me.

I remember coming here with my father in my school days to get my school shoes. That was a long time back, but even then there was something about the shop that captivated me. The friendly ‘Chinese bhaiyas’ who worked here perhaps made me feel rather at ease. Over the years, I moved on in life and forgot about the shop. But perhaps it was fate that has made me rediscover Sen-Fo and its exclusive charm.

Myself in conversation with David Chen at his shop's back office

The shop, which has been in existence for more than 75 years, is quite small as compared to the other more renowned ones, but still keeps sufficient variety on its shelves that attracts customers from around the city. However, it is the large-sized shoes that really makes Sen Fo unique; at least for people like me. The shop’s owner, David Chen, is a happy-go-lucky and amiable person who elaborates further on why they keep these large sized shoes. “It was my father (the previous owner of the shop) who actually started keeping these shoes that ranged from size 11-12. When I took over, I too realized that there are people who are struggling to find large sized shoes. Hence, I continued the tradition to help the need of the ‘deprived section’,” says David with a smile.  There was also an instance a few years back where a backpacker from Germany had visited Kolkata and was in dire need of a size 14 shoe but could not find it anywhere. Having lost all hope, he tried his luck at Sen-Fo and David got his shoe specially made. “He was elated at getting the shoe and even though I wasn’t there when he received the shoe, he had promised to spread the good word about my shop in his country,” chuckles David.  

David got into the shoe business at an early age; after his father expired in the late 80s and he then took over the shop’s reigns. Since the shop had been operated by his family through generations, David didn’t take much time to excel at the business and establish goodwill. But didn’t he have any intentions to modify the business to something else? “Not really,” he says matter-of-factly, “Shoemaking is an art. It requires proper study and thankfully there have been many people in our community who are very skilled at it and hence it has passed on from generations. I thus thought of nurturing that skill and expanding it.” He further states, “If somebody comes with me with a special request for a shoe, I just can’t say no to him. I take it as my responsibility to serve him.”

Apart from the aroma of leather, there is another flavor that you can savour at Sen-Fo; the unique feel of Indo-China fusion. The 52-year-old David Chen is an Indian with Chinese descendants. Born and brought up in Kolkata, David’s family moved in from the Canton province in China to the city about eight decades back. He still has a few relatives in China whom he visits sometimes. However, he considers himself a true-blue Kolkatan or ‘Khaati Kalkatiya’ as he likes to say. “I might have Chinese looks, but I am as Indian at heart as anybody else from here,” says David simply. Incidentally, most of his staff- the friendly ‘Chinese Bhaiyas’- too are like him, Indians with Chinese descendants.

David claims that he has more Indian friends than Chinese and he likes it that way. He is one of those rare individuals who are privileged to enjoy the flavours of two vastly different cultures. He relishes Indian food like Butter Chicken and Sambhar-Dosa with as much gusto as he enjoys the Chinese delicacies like Noodles and Fried Rice. Today he has imbibed a lot of the Indian culture in him and wishes to take some of the finer things he has learned here to his own culture. “I wish people from my community looked at death differently. We tend to take it as a bad omen which is sad. We should learn to respect death. I wish I can change that,” adds David a little philosophically.

David Chen at his shop

It is these simple yet sensible traits in David that you will find striking.  He is at complete ease with his staff and the customers alike as he looks over their needs. The shop, however, is not a mean for him to mint money. It has provided for his and his family’s needs but David hasn’t let it become the focal point of his existence. He enjoys the smaller pleasures of life and hasn’t thought what the future holds for his shop. “Perhaps my daughter may close down the shoe shop and use this space for her own needs. I am open to it,” says David before getting into a deep conversation with one of his staff.

As I placed another gleaming black leather sandal on my feet from the shop’s racks, I pondered over David’s last words. What if he really closes down the shop? I wondered. For me, an honorary member of the ‘deprived section’, Sen-Fo is like a haven and heaven at the same time. It has given me the pleasure of shopping for and wearing trendy shoes and sandals when none other could provide for it. Coming out of my thoughts, I noticed that the sandal fit perfectly. Yet another of my prized collections from Sen-Fo!

As I bid David adieu, I wondered if I would ever find another shop that would house shoes catering to my size. Perhaps yes. But it would definitely not have the unique blend of Indo-Chinese flavour in it. And neither would it have those friendly Chinese Bhaiyas.