Did Faiz Ahmad Faiz ever visit Varanasi? And if he did, was Pappu’s Adi was an inspiration behind his immortal lines, ‘Bol, ke lab azad hain tere’? For this tea stall near Assi Ghat has earned legendary status as a forum for free speech and opinion. The lemon or milk tea served here is just a corollary.
On a pleasant March evening as owner Vishwanath Singh’s son is about to dim the burner of his stoves to pack up for the day, it’s time for the debate on the adjacent benches to hot up. Pop up a question, “What’s the trend?” And it triggers a flurry of points and counter-points. Each one of them is allowed to speak and nobody shouts down the other. There, however, is consensus on one point: “There is no challenge to Modi, at least in Varanasi.”
Then a die-hard Banarasi, Arvind Yogi, can declare that he has cursed Modi and he would never take oath again as PM. In TV channel debates, it could have invited mayhem. But here, it just evokes friendly banter from ‘Modi bhakts’ surrounding him.
So the person sitting next to him on the wooden bench quips: “Yeh bina tapsya ke yogi hain (he is a yogi without penance).” There is no rancour, and of course Yogi doesn’t mind. Next time, he would give it back, in the same Banarsi style. Visiting this tea stall is daily chores for the people of this city—politicians of all hues, university teachers, students, local businessmen and even strangers. It is the throbbing pulse of the city in election times.
As the verbal tug of war between Modi supporters and baiters continues till 11 pm, they are unanimous on one question: “Who will face him to lose?” And throw a question as an afterthought: “Do you have any idea? You journalists must have.”
“Who will defeat him here, and how will he lose?” asks Prof KK Mishra of Banaras Hindu University’s political science department. “Last time, he was an outsider. Now, he is as much a Banarasi as any son of this soil. And forget the fact that the city has the privilege to elect the PM, even as an MP, his contribution is unmatched. Not since the time of Kamlapati Tripathi’s (of the Congress) tenure as an MP in the early 80s, people of this ancient city had experienced an organised development. For them, it was repairing a road here and extending a stretch there. In the past five years, they have seen the changing face of their city on the Kyoto model,” says Mishra.
Lawyer Shankar Chaurasiya agrees. “Apart from huge development works, Modi has also brought about a change in the psychology of the people of Varanasi, especially, when it comes to cleanliness. As we are sitting at Assi Ghat and the citizens take a careless stroll so late in the night, it’s not just about the efforts of the civic authorities, it also reflects the changed mindset of a common Banarasi,” he says, listening to an impromptu medley of songs performed by a group youngsters on the stairs at the historic ghat.
Prof VN Mishra of IIT-BHU, however, points to the flipside. “Banaras is quiet. Banarasis are in pain. What kind of development model is this which is destroying its cultural existence? They want to turn it into a Gurgaon,” says Mishra, who is also the mahant of Sankat Mochan Temple Trust.
The Fort Modi, however, has no dearth of baiters. Big power-loom owners of Madanpura or small weavers and handloom workers of Pili Kothi belt out their grievances as one pokes them. Some of it, of course, is what they have got from the media—promise of `15 lakh per account, two crore jobs, achhe din. Some of their concerns, however, are genuine.
“There has been nothing for weavers for the past five years. There is no use of facilitation centre for us. One trip from here costs Rs 200. Four or five visits to the centre for a deal virtually consume whatever margins we get. So, we are back to services of middlemen, whatever it takes,” says Parvez engrossed in emblazoning the design on a golden brocade.
His neighbour Moin mentions that there was a power subsidy scheme started for weavers during Akhilesh Yadav’s regime, but it has been withdrawn now. Most of them had supported Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal in 2014, but this time the Opposition is yet to declare their candidate. The seat has gone to the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the alliance. The SP’s local MLC Shatrudh Prakash accepts that the challenge is formidable as Varanasi has been the BJP’s stronghold since early 80s with an exception in 2004 when a Congress candidate had won. “If the election is free and fare, there is some fight, else...,” he summarises the scenario.
Rajesh Mishra of the Congress regained the seat for the party in 2004 after a gap of 24 years, but was replaced by Ajay Rai in 2014. Rai, who had been a BJP MLA in the past from a city seat, finished a distant third behind Kejriwal. This time, both Rai and Mishra are hopeful of a green signal from the party high command. “Banaras is suffering day in, day out. People are craving potable water. Nothing has been done on ground. Schemes are on papers and in media only,” says Rai and asks, where is the ‘mini PMO’ promised five years ago? “Not even a single promise of the special Varanasi manifesto, which was launched by Modi in 2014, has been fulfilled,” he claims.
Writer Amitabh Bhattacharya, who has seen the transformation of the city in the past several decades, quotes Jigar Moradabadi: “Yeh kah kah ke hum dil bahla rahe hain, woh ab chal chuke hai, wo ab aa rahe hain (I try to convince myself that if she has started, she would definitely arrive).” He explains: “People of this city have their own pace of life. Now, they are overwhelmed by the promises and are willing to believe they would be fulfilled. Anyway, it takes at least 10 years to get disillusioned by an idea or a leader.”
“So, this time at least, it’s Modi.”