As people swarmed towards Gujarat University's (GU) convention centre for chief minister, Narendra Modi's three-day fast, danseuse and activist, Mallika Sarabhai, was at Gujari Bazaar, distributing food items to the anaemic and malnourished people.
Mallika's 'food act' was done on a small stage, with a few young guns playing musical instruments and singing desh bhakti songs to attract the crowd. Sarabhai told the gathering, which swelled and decreased at different stages of her food fest, "CM of Gujarat is spending cores of rupees while you don't have enough money to buy a decent meal. People in western Ahmedabad are being imprisoned in their homes owing to CM's fasting programme. Do you really think that this is the right way to maintain peace in our state or is it just a farce?"
Scores of half dressed children scurried around the place, and some people spoke their mind about Sarabhai's and Modi's endeavours. To flower vendor Dinesh Danta, Sarabhai means the daughter of Vikram Sarabhai and the one who feeds the poor. "She comes here many times to provide us with food, and today is no different. "
However, Natwar Girdher, a labourer working at the Sabarmati riverfront, was rather miffed with Modi's fast. Girdher said, "Modi does not have the capacity to stay hungry for long. If leaders or celebrities really want to experience hunger, then they should come here at Gujari Bazaar. Modi's is merely a political show, which will come to an end very soon."
He added: "Leaders of our city want to edge us out of urban areas. They want us to live in the jungles. Leaders come here, speak, distribute a few goodies to our people, and leave. Nothing changes for anyone here."
During the course of the day Mallika fed around 250 people at Gujari Bazaar. The danseuse, who had stood for the last Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar as an Independent candidate, is a vocal critic of Narendra Modi.
The food-for-poor campaign at Gujari is an act of defiance against the CM's fast and was planned to coincide with the big event at the GU convention centre.
