16th Augst 2011 the day that changed the us all

I couldn't sleep properly a night before.we the IAC-mira bhaynedr team consisting of hardly five or six people back then had decided to meet by 7am on mira road railway station.I was really worried as I was supposed to go to churchgate from mira road and had not travelled in local during rush hours ever.I tried to go to sleep after watching that people had been detaind already in chatrasal stadium in delhi,didn’t know what the day had in store for us.I got up as early as possible and started preparing something that my husband could have for the whole day,as he had his exams I didn’t want to disturb him.I was running a bit late but still decided to switch on the TV to get the latest update. I was really shocked to see that anna had been arrested. I could feel the rage inside of me,a man ,my grandfather’s age was arrested just because he wanted to say something, and that too for the society not for himself. Was this the country my forefathers died for.I could not control my anger, I knew something big was going to happen next. My husband made me promise that I would not get into trouble and would come back as soon as possible. I promised everything he asked for as I had to go out as soon as possible. I wore my spinal braces as I was still recovering for spinal injury and left.

When I reached the station one of us was already there on my side of the station. we started shouting slogans and distributing pamphlet ,urging people to gather at azad maidan.There were a couple of cops keenly observing us,their presence kept motivating us to shout even louder.I was really angry at people at that time, they didn’t listen to us at all, behaved as if we were beggars and asking them for their money. There were the very people anna was fighting for, it was the family he counts on, still they were too busy to care. But slowly and steadily people started joining us by 11am there were at least 10 people standing and shouting slogans with us. I decided its about the time I should myself go to azad maidan.One of the team left with me and the other stayed on the station. I was the only women in my team hence had to get to the ladies coach, by this time my fear of locals had gone ,I didn’t even remember that I was scared to get into locals. I got in with my banner and flag.

after reaching churchgate station I saw a sea of humanity. People with tringas in their hands were coming from all direction. Nobody knew the other but we were greeting each other as if we all knew each other since ages. People were shouting slogans everywhere ,people standing on the station or going to work were joining us instead. It was insane, it was feeling like I was it wasn’t even real. Huge groups of people were gathering at churchgate station and leaving for azad maidan in groups of hundreds every 20-25 minutes.It was a day in my life that I could never forget.

By the time we reached azad maidan it was already full, there was hardly any space to step in. Ruben in the mean time kept announcing how many more were coming. He kept telling the kids that we didn’t want the college students to go in as we were not sure if they were going to file any charge sheet against us. The girl standing in front of me was hardly 16,I knew her she was a student at Jai Hind.I told her not to stand in line to get arrested. The answer she gave me still thrills me “This is not just your country, and I know this is important for my own future “she did get arrested later. I asked them how on earth were more people going to fit in,he said we will make space here by starting jail bharo.Police did not arrest us at first, they said we cannot arrest you all without any reason so we went straight inside the vans. we were apologizing to people for disrupting the traffic in the meantime. The atmosphere was electrifying, I had only seen something like this in movies. I saw a sea of humanity with tirangas in their hands. I was very new at this, the lady in front of me was a social worker,it was the first time i had seen her. She told me to hold her hand tightly, and she steered us all through the crowd and told the boys to get down from the van and let the ladies go in first.the boys listened to her and all the ladies got in. We were still shouting slogans and we were then detain in grant road police station. The social worker told me to go and check the ladies toilet, “If the toilet is ok we can stay here for 2-3 days without any trouble “she said. By this time it was flashed in news all around, my aunt called me up asking me weather I watch the news that people were detained in azad maidan,”I have already been detained “I answered, still remember the silence on the other side of the line. She asked me if I wanted her to come down and bail her out, I just told her there was no need and just want to see for how long they are going to detain us all. I am the first female member of my family who has been detained by police.

Later I saw rakeshji,yogesh,manish and even mayankji were also detained at the same place. It was fun, we kept shouting slogans and singing patriotic songs. For the first time I felt that I had done something worth in my life, I was happy that now my forefathers would feel proud of me. That feeling changed my life for good. I know what are the things that really matter in life, standing up for what is right gives you a feeling of fulfillment .It’s better than the feeling of having a lot of money in your bank account or getting a fat paycheck.I got to know the power of truth,a 74 year old man with no money can make thousands of corrupt people dance to his tune just because he is honest. My whole aim in life changed from that very day.