Other States - Orissa   

Season of barats

Perhaps late sun set in summer season has made Commissionerate of Police here forget its own written guideline that no procession will be allowed after 10 pm. With marriage season coming to an end this week, barats (marriage processions) have flooded capital city like never before.

Barats are taken usually taken around 9 pm in evening and they go on beyond the stipulated time of 10 pm. The marriage processions are hardly interrupted by law enforcing agencies.

General public appears to be at receiving end. No restriction on sound limit and never-ending firing of crackers make their lives hell. Police become more complacent with citizens preferring to discuss violation of this guideline among them rather than bringing to the notice of appropriate authority.

It was a workshop on ‘Right to Information Act’ in the city. But no one seemed to be interested in gathering any information. The experts were busy speaking out the history and theory of the Act rather than its practical applications and problems. The participants were more interested to make their presence felt. They wanted to vent out a speech whether the others were interested in hearing it or not. They also spent more time in introductions rather than taking up practical issues related to the Act. The interesting fact was that after speaking out very few participants had the interest to sit back and listen to what others had to say. With each new speaker the number of participants became less and less. Ultimately there were a few in the room apart from the experts and the organisers of the workshop. When the quorum became too low the organisers also felt it was time to pull down the curtains. Along with a proper thanks giving the participants were invited for the lunch. And suddenly everyone realised that persons attending the lunch were more than the number of persons who sat through the workshop inside the auditorium.

(Satyasundar Barik and Sib Kumar Das)

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Season of barats

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