It was a motley crowd of artistes. They sang, played musical instruments, recited poems, gave talks on various topics and sometimes just listened to others. A few artists contributed in the form of paintings in another corner. The underlying message was to reclaim S.M. Street, the commercial hub of Kozhikode, for cultural activities and impromptu protests, thus defying the ban imposed by the district administration.
No leadership
‘Occupy S.M. Street,’ the protest meeting that recalls the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement in the U.S. in 2011 against capitalism, did not have a specific leadership or a banner, though the idea was mooted by the Kozhikode unit of the Revolutionary Marxist Party(RMP). Several other organisations such as the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) and the CPI-ML expressed willingness to join and the hence the banner was dropped.Ultimately all kinds of artistes from different parts of the district came together beneath the statue of S.K. Pottekkat (known as S.K. Square these days) on Friday morning to establish their right to perform on the street.
The movement was organised against the backdrop of a recent ban on get-togethers at the S.K. Square on grounds that the crowd formed during such programmes disrupted free movement of commuters on the street.
The matter took a new turn when Babu Bhai, a street singer, was denied permission to sing on the street, an activity which has been his livelihood for decades.
Unkept promise
“S.M. Street has been the venue of these small gatherings for decades. The authorities had promised while renovating the street that it will have corners for music, arts and cultural activities. We don’t know why they have not kept their word,” said Sunil Kumar, a participant in the protest.
Cultural activists of the district had defied the ban a few weeks ago demanding the administration to lift the ban. M.K. Muneer, MLA, had joined Babu Bhai in his protest concert recently. ‘Occupy S.M. Street’ is thus the third protest in the series. Babu Bhai too took part in the event, joining musicians who had been entertaining visitors since morning.
There were no serious attempts by the police or the district administration to dissuade the protesters, except for a few mild warnings.
