Today a nationwide 'Bandh' was declared.
Bandh is a Hindi word which means closed. The term is used to mean a protest or civil disobedience. Today's Bandh was called to protest last weeks hike in petrol prices, which was the steepest ever sanctioned by the national government. Karnataka's ruling party the BJP had supported the Bandh, so it was likely to be extensive in Bangalore.
The boys school was declared shut earlier in the week and events originally scheduled for today were pre/postponed. I'd never heard the term preponed before and am still not sure if it is part of the English language or an Indianism!
Infosys held out until this morning when it belatedly declared the day a holiday.
According to the news (I have not ventured out) protesters have burnt and vandalised some state run buses that were trying to run early this morning and persuaded those trying to open their shops to keep them closed. Other parts of the country seem to have been more active. Delhi, apparently had the most protesters and civil action but in Delhi they were also protesting against some tax, as well as the gas hike.
But what has it meant to us........Simon gets a day off, Ads who'd have been home revising for two exams (Geo and English) tomorrow anyway - not much, and Wills has a few friends here laughing and screaming happily as they play "rolling sausages" on Wills bed!!
The bandh lasts only 12 hours so by 6.00pm this evening all should be back to normal. We are off to Sweetie's sisters wedding so I hope all is returned to calm (now in India that's a relative term!!)
Bandh is a Hindi word which means closed. The term is used to mean a protest or civil disobedience. Today's Bandh was called to protest last weeks hike in petrol prices, which was the steepest ever sanctioned by the national government. Karnataka's ruling party the BJP had supported the Bandh, so it was likely to be extensive in Bangalore.
The boys school was declared shut earlier in the week and events originally scheduled for today were pre/postponed. I'd never heard the term preponed before and am still not sure if it is part of the English language or an Indianism!
Infosys held out until this morning when it belatedly declared the day a holiday.
According to the news (I have not ventured out) protesters have burnt and vandalised some state run buses that were trying to run early this morning and persuaded those trying to open their shops to keep them closed. Other parts of the country seem to have been more active. Delhi, apparently had the most protesters and civil action but in Delhi they were also protesting against some tax, as well as the gas hike.
But what has it meant to us........Simon gets a day off, Ads who'd have been home revising for two exams (Geo and English) tomorrow anyway - not much, and Wills has a few friends here laughing and screaming happily as they play "rolling sausages" on Wills bed!!
The bandh lasts only 12 hours so by 6.00pm this evening all should be back to normal. We are off to Sweetie's sisters wedding so I hope all is returned to calm (now in India that's a relative term!!)
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