For the past three or four hours, this has been the scene on the street outside my childhood home. These are vehicles carrying ballot boxes along with the polling personnel (including armed guards). They are arriving from different parts of the state and are going to deposit their cargo at a college nearby. I’m told this traffic will continue for hours. Then, counting will begin and the results will become available three days later. There are nearly 970 million voters in the country. The turnout here in my home constituency hasn’t been high, with the hot weather being a major obstacle. Also, economic need. One nineteen-year-old named Chhotu told me he had voted with his eyes closed. But why did you vote then, I asked. He said it was the first time he had become eligible to vote in the national elections and he didn’t want to waste the opportunity. No politician, he told me, really cared for the poor. He was happy giving his vote away to whoever had it in their destiny.
I went to a couple of polling stations earlier today; both were in schools. Workers from the education department were sitting in the shade with the voter lists. Within a few minutes, I felt my head begin to crumble in the heat. I felt dutybound to speak to one or two people. I saw two young brothers taking selfies and a disabled young female whose picture was being taken by an older man. Bringing my sweating self to them, I proceeded to make polite inquiries about what had motivated them to vote. They gave solemn replies about exercising their democratic right and choosing their representatives. I didn’t linger long. Over the past couple of days, I have been able to carry out some interviews here in Patna, like this one.
But my work has stalled. The flesh is weak. I have fallen sick. My throat is raw and my body hurts. My elder sister, whom you can see in the picture below, is a doctor, and she has given me medicine. I hope to be better tomorrow when I’m meeting my schoolmates from more than forty years ago for dinner. I have questions for them.
You seem to be the "elder" brother. Is this the result of being a writer?😊 Does Mumbai figure on your itinerary?
So glad to see you came to India knowing it would be terribly hot, bracing yourself to conduct interviews like a reporter or nonfiction writer. From your comfortable life in the U.S., you came to your hometown ready for legwork. Glad also to hear you are meeting your classmates after 40 years as I did in 2022. Be ready for surprises: Many of your ex-classmates may be taken by the religious majoritarianism sweeping India.