Bandhs are so common in Bengal that people know Bandhs are just held to show the ruling party in bad light and not really for the welfare of common man. In fact its considered to be an irritant of the nth order. Still no one is bothered. Political benefit is the final word for the so called saviors of the common man.

Even if bandhs are such a common affair, I still remember one particular bandh day. I was only a kid of 4 years then, yet the memories of that particular day are so fresh because, we had to undergo a lot on that day.

We were in Darjeeling at that time. Uncle was posted there as a doctor. My aunt was expecting and hence could not make it to Kolkata, so we paid her a visit instead. It was a group of two families consisting of two pairs of grandma, grandpa's, aunts and their respective kids. We were about to leave next day.

Everything was packed, train tickets in place, schedules matched, we were ready. While having dinner we came to know that the GNLF had declared a three day bandh from next day. Shubhas Ghising, the GNLF leader blaring fiery speeches splashed across the television. The elders of the house looked quite worried. Our train to Kolkata was from New Jalpaiguri. And the descent from Darjeeling to NJ took at least 4 hours. Also since getting a reservation for so many people again would be next to impossible considering the rush season, cancelling our return was out of question. Anyone hardly had a wink of sleep that day apart from us kids.

Since we had never predicted such a situation previously we had thought of taking a taxi from the roadside car stand just adjacent to the quarters where we were staying. It was a grave mistake as when we came down the next day, there was not a single soul in the road, let alone taxi stand. The tension was increasing exponentially. A few locals got together and somehow managed to convince the driver of a dilapidated jeep to take us to NJ. As expected he charged an astronomical amount, with no other option, we bowed down.

Thus began our journey downhill.The usually busy market area bore a dead look, only a few goon type local guys were seen here and there. Within half an hour of driving we came across a procession of people carrying flags, festoons, placards mouthing slogans in the local dialect. Huge fires were lit up on all sides and effigy's burnt. Mob psychology was gathering pace. As we passed the area we also witnessed some violence between the leaders and a tourist group.Seeing the somber faces of the elders we could also feel the mounting tension. The elders had taken a great risk by deciding to travel along with kids on a day like this. We were badly praying to god, to see us through.

A short distance from there we faced another issue - Rasta roko (Road block). It seemed that we were not alone, there were tourists like us who had trains to catch and were forced to travel on a day like this. Two three jeeps were stranded before us. Our driver got out and engaged in conversation with the other divers and the protesters. They were all talking in Nepali and we could hardly figure out anything. After sometime the driver informed us that they were not ready to let us go at any cost, still he would try some more. Time was running out and so was our patience.

We had started early but with all these issues we were now having only 4 hours in hand to make it to NJ. Half an hour passed and still they didn't budge. Heated conversation followed between the frustrated tourists and the aggressive goons. We also saw some guys carrying arms among them. We kids were as much petrified as the elders. It was a moment of realization - life was more precious than catching a train. But we were already amidst the mess, and there was no wayout apart from praying. When the one hour margin had crossed, we left hope of making it to NJ, our only though was to get out of this. The elders had ordered the driver to turn back, when suddenly the unexpected happened.

We could hear sirens from a distance and soon we saw a convoy of white cars coming towards us. The political goons suddenly got busy clearing the way. It was then we got to know that GNLF leader Ghising himself was travelling to NJ and it was his convoy. It was a god sent opportunity. The road was narrow so in order to let his convoy pass, the vehicles in front had to be let off. Thus we were finally allowed to go! We couldn't believe our luck.

The driver also got charged and drove like Schumacher. By then we were so much drained with tension, that we hardly cared how he drove. We reached the station 10 minutes past the departure time of the scheduled train. We still had to cross a long over bridge to reach the platform. It was the run of a lifetime.

Grandpa ran before us to stop the train if there was a chance. My mom, granny, aunts ran behind him like there was no tomorrow with the kids dangling by their hands like rag dolls.

The coolis pulled the ladies in. Later we knew , considering the bandh they had delayed the departure of the train. By the time we took seats, the fatigue level was extreme. Mentally, physically we were absolutely derailed. We blessed our stars profusely that day which kept us safe amidst all the troubles.

Ours was just a one off case in which we got lucky. Most of the time it isn't. Bandhs like this might get all the attention for the opposition, but what does it offer to us - the janta? Only toll-full of miseries and harassment. Oh saviors of the common man, kindly take some time off from hogging the media light, ask us, do we want a bandh or do we want sanity? You protest against rising petrol prices, why don't you use fewer air-conditioned cars to decrease the load on nature and preserve the natural wealth yourself? Whom do you point fingers at when you are also one among the many responsible for depleting the natural resources thereby making them scarce and expensive. Promote awareness not bandhs!