Anna Hazare – And the Art of Serial Fasting.
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The stage at Ramlila grounds was at least 12 feet above the ground therefore the crowds from far away could also cach a glimpse of the fasting Anna Hazare.
Is it really possible to go without food for 13 long days? Anna Hazare demonstrated this amply by his indefinite fast at the Ramlila Grounds in New Delhi, fighting for the tabling of the Jan Lokpal Bill. What amazed everyone was how this 74 year old man managed to fast for that long when Yoga Guru Ramdev had to be admitted to a hospital after barely seven days without food? Ramdev for all his `yoga- cures- all’ posturing was diagnosed with bad liver and blood pressure and was quickly put on a drip.
But Anna Hazare showed how it is not just possible to live without eating for a fortnight but that one can increase ones crescendo of demands with each fasting day. “We should find out how he did it for so long. Maybe we can learn something from him’’, said Laloo Prasad Yadav in the Parliament. When asked, Anna Hazare said it was because of celibacy. This is what perhaps a Gandhi would say too but I am not entirely convinced by this line of reasoning.
Is Anna Hazare really a shrewd old bargainer or an empty vessel?
I went to the grounds twice to photograph him and the crowds. Once on the 7th day of the fast when there was a heavy downpour and on the 11th day of the fast. Both times Anna Hazare sat there waving systematically at the crowds whenever his name was chanted and when the steady stream of speakers addressed him. Had it been someone else, the hand would have been sore with all the waving. But not Anna’s.
The day at Ramlila began with the singing of Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram– a devotional Hindu song, amidst a sea of people that had a fair share of Muslims and Christian. And then Anna Hazare would take the mike and hold forth for 20 minutes. His voice had not lost its fire. The power of his voice remained till the last day. And there were Anna chants all around.
However not everyone was cheering. There are skeptics and the questions abound. Is Anna Hazare really a shrewd old bargainer that he turned out to be or is he an ’empty vessel’ as writer Arundhati Roy called him, who could be ‘filled with anything they liked’ ? Is Anna driving the Jan Lokpal Movement or is he just the face while the others in his team ( Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan etc ) are the ones who are pushing their agenda in his name?
Kiran Bedi was the most persistant flag-waver at the Ramlila grounds. She was also the most vicious with her attack on politicians. Her enactment of the politician’s double dealings was hilarious.
Whatever be the truth Anna Hazare is now synonymous with the anti-corruption movement and he certainly knows how to keep his fast. So what kept him going for so long in this steely steady fashion? I guess it has to be a life lead by commitment, resolve, sacrifice and lots of practice- remember Hazare had been a serial faster against the Maharashtra Government much before he trained his guns at the center. I think it also has something to do with his Gandhian disdain for food. ” Many people just live to eat . What they eat where they eat is important’’, he said scornfully holding out against the gourmets of the world.
Hazare has far more strong words to say about drinking but that’s for another day.
Social Activist Arvind Kejriwal who is largely credited with forcing the government to bring in the Right to Information act ( RTI) called himself Anna’s `Hanuman’. Many believe he was behind the hardline stand Anna often took against the government.