Dog-eater of Kolkata

Dog-eater of Kolkata

                 

                                       Nidhu Bhusan Das

            When Mr. Bidesh Bhattacharyya, Prof.Sushil Sarkar et al had a sumptuous feast of beef on the street of Kolkata, the moving statue of the Queen atop the Victoria Memorial could have an occasion to snigger. So what! It’s the demonstration of their being secularists par excellence. They’re so concerned about the Intolerance in India today! Being tired after organizing and participating in the media-oriented show, they’re so tired that their eyes cannot but be under lids for rest in a convenient slumber.So, they’re really unaware that some suspected ISI agents have been arrested in the City of Culture. We must think secularism could be safe and protected only under the guardianship of these wonderful people.

       Mr. Bhattacharyya might have heard from a journalist friend the stock definition of news: “When a dog bites a man, it is not news, when man bites a dog, it is news.” So, after the histrionics of beef-feast and encouraged by the wide media coverage of the great event, he said he would even eat the meat of dog. Mr. Bhattacharyya is known for his sobriety and humility. The definition is a cliché but to the erudite gentleman it is a novelty which he should not fail to use to grab headlines.

        A gang of naughty boys once found it a great fun to hurl stones at the frogs in a pond. The sport of the boys was the cause of peril for the amphibians. So, it is said, what is fun to the boys is death to the frogs. Maybe, Mr. Bhattacharyya did not know about the plight of the insignificant creatures. But the street dogs of the City of Joy who knew it , were upset and looking for new shelter beyond the reach of the potential dog-eater. We do not know how Mr. Jim Corbett would react had he been there to learn about the desire of the secular omnivore.We,perhaps, need to have people like Mr. Bhattacharyya to safeguard secularism and secure ecological balance.