Gerald D'Cunha

E arly in the morning, today, I had a very delightful – rather painful - sight from my kitchen window…  A family of monkeys – small ones and big ones - was busy climbing down (slipping through the drainage pipes) from the terrace of one of the buildings in the next compound. Visibly, they wanted food… So, they stretched their hands inside the kitchens (through the windows) and took whatever they could get… Obviously, till the people inside the houses came with sticks and shooed the monkeys away. But, the monkeys, being monkeys, kept hopping from one building to another… All that they needed was some food to eat! Some twenty years ago, when our family came to live in this area, it was a virgin place. There was nothing around here…Some locals grew vegetables, and, for miles and miles, one could see only the lush-green trees and hills. Our builder had first invaded this place and built our five buildings… We had difficulty even to reach this place. In a few years...

“W hat was your reaction to the Bangaluru molestation incident?” asked someone, yesterday. I did not answer. “You have not answered my question,” he reminded me. I did not answer. In a few seconds, I moved away from this person. My reaction was my reaction. It was not something for public debate… I did not want to say anything for effect, for attention… There was a strong, intense feeling inside… and I knew that if I expressed it before some people, it would lead us nowhere… except a useless debate! No one seems to remember a Nirbhaya or a Shakti Mill compound, today? In fact, when I was talking to someone this morning, he was blissfully unaware of both these imageries! Not his problem, you see… Public memory is exactly like that: It is short! So, now on the New-year night, we have this new imagery to fuel our minds… the Bangaluru Molestation in public! Just a few days – perhaps a few weeks or months from now… this too shall be forgotten! But, the que...