Being late in office, there was a post-it note, glued to my desktop that I need to meet my line manager ASAP. Another **** up, it had to be me.
So, Sachin, the Manager said that me along with 6 colleagues are selected for the Ban the Bulb campaign (www.banthebulb.in) in Delhi and need to leave immediately, no brief, nothing, just that it will be a energy efficiency campaign.
The traveling part thrilled me and the secrecy about the campaign was intriguing. It was like getting into a thriller novel, Robert Ludlum style. We got the tatkal reservation (no, strictly no air travel because of high carbon emission) and we are on our way. Sachin, our Territory Manager, in train, told us that actually we are going a little bit away from Delhi, near Nainital. The plot was unfolding.
24 hours later we reached Delhi and checked in prearranged hotels. Greenpeace guys from all over India assembled in the hotel and we were instructed in the train itself that we are not to wear GP tee shirts or bandanas or bands or badges, try to be as inconspicuous as possible. This is my first action campaign, and I was religiously following all the instructions, well, everybody was so disciplined that I had to be.
We got the schedule for next two days. Starting early morning, the instructor, (main campaigner) told us about the greater implication of banning the bulb. That was kind of redundant for some of us, nevertheless, he made it interesting giving us the onus of the action, that we are the real agents of change and carrying the esteem of the organization. Then the campaign strategy unfolded, gradually captivating us, that we will hand and leg cuff ourselves, arm lock and then sit in two main gates for two days protesting the bulb manufacturers apathy towards the issue and make them feel responsible for their insensitive attitude.
Then the practice session started. We all got our kits, the chains, the cuffs, the locks and their keys. And we got the formations and then a real life simulation of the big day through interactive AV presentation. Everything was taken care of, so very detailed, total GP style, nothing was left untouched. That we will be sitting in longer hours, we got diapers too!!
The second day was actual field training. We were following every instruction, clockwork precision even in boarding the bus, we were getting the feel of the actual action. We need to practice the approach for several times, we hop in the bus, get down, got ourselves arm and leg locked in half a minute and stay cross-legged. The whole day we practiced. And we perfected. There are sessions from the lawyer about the consequences of this non violent direct action. The main campaigner repeatedly asked us if we wished to move out, but there is this kind of passion already ignited, that nobody backed out.
It is five hours from Delhi and we started at 2 am. The countdown started, we have our gears ready, water bottle tied in the waist with a pipe, adult diapers hand and leg cuffs and sheer determination to stay cross legged for two days in scorching Uttranchal Sun. We all visualized, felt that we are actually there, sitting, in the formation with our limbs immobilized. We were counting times and we reached at around 10.30 AM.
After that it was totally a precise movement of mind and the mechanics. The bus stopped, 2 seconds we were in formation, 2 more seconds, our arms linked and hands were cuffed we sat cross legged and there we are, in front of the gates, the blue and yellow gates!
Then the wait began, there were press photographers, labor unions shouting at us as they seen us as a threat their livelihood, the cops refused to arrest us as we are non violent and was not creating any chaos. The sun was burning our skins, and we can’t move our hands to wipe our sweats, we were dripping sweats, eyes half closed, and the heat was dehydrating us. Two hours later, the first guy fainted, the support teams were sprinkling water on us, the negotiators were with the management, talking and trying to put sense in them. The public outreach guys were trying to pacify the mob of workers who misunderstood us.
And us volunteers were the mute witness to all these mayhem surrounding us. More guys got heat strokes, we were 80, 12 were down and taken away in ambulances. At 8 PM, after 10 hours of our protests, the company agreed to negotiate with us for phasing out of yellow bulbs.
WWWWOOOOOOOWWWOOOOOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOWO
