The last
three days have been marking the 29th anniversary of the gas
explosion disaster. Many of the staff of Sambhavna have been involved in the
preparation and the planning and will be attending all the events.
About a week
ago, Mahindra, the pathologist, asked me to create a poster and gave me two
sheets of an article about the fermentation and distillation of sugar and
molasses to create industrial alcohol. It also included some details of the
effluent(waste) produced and, in India at least, disposed of in the water
courses. She was organising the poster exhibition which was to be mounted in a ‘tent’
in one of the main squares of Bhopal, Iqbal Maidan.
The display
was not solely about the disasters, gas and water, but they wanted it to be
wider than that and cover other industrial pollution and also chemicals in
regular household products. I did a little extra research on the fermentation
of sugar and managed to sketch, in pencil, a very simple idea for a poster. I
am not an artist!
Then one
afternoon, after the patients had left, she had a crowd of people in the
meeting room repairing old posters and finishing new ones. I went along in some
trepidation with my pencil sketch and spoke with Ritesh (research) who
suggested that I finish itb with the pens and paint ‘over there’. This became a
major challenge for me. However, my guardian artisitic angel must have been
watching over me at that point as several young women walked along the path and
stood to see what was happening. These were newly arrived students from
America. “Is anyone a bit of an artist”, I enquired and there were some
shrugged shoulders so I dragged them into the room (not physically I have to
say) and they happily squatted down with pens to start. Others came in and set
to helping to mend old posters. “Like being back in junior school”, I quipped, “using
pens and glue – it doesn’t have to be done with a computer to be effective,
does it?”
The girls
made a total transformation of my design into something that could, loosely, be
called an artwork – Nicole, Leah, Emma, Amy, you came to my rescue.
Here is the
poster, in association with others in the display.
The display
was there for two days, manned by Sambhavna staff – and even slept in overnight
by our Indian volunteers, Deven and Harshit. There was also a film shown each
evening as it got dark.
On the eve of
the anniversary, there was a candle-light vigil in the same square quite near
the poster exhibition. Even the fire brigade was in attendance. There was
a large press attendance for both events
which has to be good.
After the
vigil we took an auto-rickshaw part way home to join a torchlight procession.
We arrived just in time to collect a couple of torches (Thorsten was with me)
and joined the walk for a kilometre or two to the gates of the factory site. I
was appropriated by a TV reporter with his sound man and gave a brief impromptu
interview.
 |
| Not the best of pictures, but it gives an idea. |
Tuesday
dawned, anniversary day itself and many of us assembled much further away for a
longer walk. Again ,many of the Sambhavna staff were there, it was almost like
a day at work! Snack food was provided before we began and water on the way
although it was a slightly overcast day most of the time, none the less both
were very welcome. We were lead by a huge effigy of Warren Anderson, CEO of
Union Carbide at the time and still living in a mansion in the US, I think on
Manhatton Island, where he continues to avoid extradition with the complicity
of the US government and courts.
There was
much interest along the way, with smiles, acknowledgements, handshakes and
waves from the watching crowds – an of course many, many pictures of the white
walkers. There were several of us around that day though most were taking pictures
for their various organisations.
Sathyu
managed a few impromptu meetings on the way, spreading the word
The effigy
was burned, somewhat unceremoniously at the end of the walk by the factory
gates and the monument.
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