Raj Stone-mighty.

Of all the many ridiculous things that we in this country do, this one thing called dagadphek, pretty much tops it all. It somehow is not a national phenomenon, but just one that is peculiar to my region. And very strongly so. It has a sort of festive fervor. Often people complain about it, having been at the receiving end of the thing, but on having a bird's eye view of the proceedings, that is, remaining conveniently isolated from it all, i found the activity almost delightfully energetic,complete with an electric atmosphere and a passion with which marathi people only WORKED, the biharis would not avail any opportunities here, let alone steal the marathi peoples'. But that is another thing. Let us not go there. I mean, wishful thinking would include it as an occupation, an educational specialisation or heck, even an Olympic sport. But ah.. to the plight of the ordinary marathi senaman, that is not gonna happen.

The basic idea of dagadphek involves throwing stones at pretty much everyone and everything and thus causing a major ruckus in the area. It is quite unstructured and requires the least amount of planning. I mean if you need to make a plan for throwing random stones at random things in a random geographical location, I think you're hitting a new low here. It is supposed to e a form of protest. I'm not quite sure whether Gandhiji, our premier protestor, would approve, but in the the words of a major protagonist of it, existing systemists are worse than your average Brit Guv. And so they throw stones. At cars, buildings and other fixed assets. What still remains unclear is where they get all the stones from. I guess we miss all the little details while engrossed in the thick of the "real action".


But as random as this activity is, the point that people are trying to drive home is remarkably simple. "We Are Not Happy". It is vaguely the same reason why a baby cries. It's nappy is wet. So is the senamens'. Another striking similarity is how both their respective nappies get wet merely at the drop of a hat. Where was I? Ah yes.. Methodology. The deviously simple idea here is to throw stones at everyone and thing that doesn't belong to the party kith and kin. If you've seen movies that deal with civil wars in African Nations, you'll be reminded of something similar. Stupid, uneducated, young, destructive and gun happy men trying to control things by creating panic. Only difference is that, guns not being freely available in our country, we are left with very Neanderthal artillery. Stones.

So this ferocious pelting is carried on by the 'sena' that seems to consist primarily of thugs, goons and immature dolts trying to make the worst of a bad situation. Sometimes, when the thing gets out of hand, or the stones get exhausted, the more innovative sort start setting the shattered remains of the fixed assets on fire. Source of this fire is, yet again, anonymous. Perhaps it is the fire in their hearts. But inflamed with rage, the anti-social congregation set buses, cars, shops and at times, people on fire. This burning of property, arson is the word i believe, is more of a pan-India phenomenon and has quite a success record. I suppose that the deathtoll being considerably higher, attention to the wet nappy is easily got.

Sounds like a well-rounded, sound system doesn't it? Well believe it or not, there IS a snag! Let us take this Bihari vs Sena example forward.

Now the Senamen spanked the uscrupulous biharis' butts and sent them back. Funnily, instead of venting the anger on the marathi manoos who led to his desecration, the biharis ran home and killed and caused a general nuisance to their own publics. The marathi protagonist gets the slammer. Not to be outdone in the above stupidity of killing own people, the marathi manoos stoned HIS people mercilessly. The rebel protagonist gets out. Bihari flame is fanned again. They burn the first bus, train and pedestrian into their cities. But the message is the same from both parties. Just like the baby. If I'm not happy, the first person I'll trouble to death will be from my OWN FAMILY. And this perfectly wraps up the comparison

Our premier protestor was right. An eye for an eye does make the world blind. Especially when you're poking your own eyes..

(I have refrained from mentioning just WHICH sena is causing the ruckus. As of today, who is the primary, proactive torch bearer of the marathi flag is still in debate).