New Delhi: The crowd simply loved Nitin, the lead singer, who flew in from Nashik, Maharashtra. They were up on their feet, chanting, clapping and cheering him on, like fans at a rock concert.
Supporters of social activist Anna Hazare, who has become the fulcrum of popular anti-corruption demonstrations, were kept busy the whole of Wednesday to ensure that those who have volunteered to fast for a day do not lose steam.
Hazare is on a day-long hunger strike at Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi against the action meted out against Ramdev and his followers on early Sunday.
Middleaged men, children and housewives donning triangular Nehru caps, were up on their feet dancing as Nitin and his band doled out patriotic songs from Hindi cinema. As the crowd reacted to fiery oratory from its leaders, every break between speeches was filled with preppy tracks to keep the hungry supporters engaged.
There were repeated requests for 'O mitwa' from the film Lagaan and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal even requested Nitin to play tracks the crowds asked for.
Playwright Arvind Gaur staged a street play 'Buniyad Hilni Chahiye' (the foundation should shake) spoofing money squandering by political leaders with subtle references to the number of scams to have hit the United Progressive Alliance government.
The crowd held a minute of silence to condole the death of spiritual leader Ravi Shankar’s father. It jeered Congress leaders and demanded that money illegally expatriated to foreign tax havens be brought back.
Anti-government sentiments ran high with a supporter even suggesting that the government tampered with the microphones when they stopped working.
Preachers from all faiths led prayers at the venue. The Delhi Archbishop, Sikh, Jain, Viashnav and Muslim religious leaders addressed the crowd and Hazare asked his supporters to maintain peace when things got a little heated up.
Comments
0 comment