Go fish. And stay out.

It took a lot of restraint to avoid "fishy" jokes when I wrote this.

I'll be honest. I don't like the smell of fish. It stinks. Worse than a rotting piece of vermin on the streets. And I was one of the many that rejoiced when the move was made by the corporation to displace the big, fat meen market from the main road (which contributed to traffic congestions, apart from nasal ones...) and relocate it to one end of the beach, earlier this year. All that joy seems short lived now, with the erection of a training depot that is going to double as a sales point. Right in the middle of the Besant Nagar residential area. Right on my street, to be precise. They started out with promises that it would only be for training the fisherfolk. A day later, they said they might sell fish once in a while. The next day, they said they had orders from above that it would be a full fledged outlet for sale as well. All this, and more, approved by the Tamil Nadu fisheries development board, apparently. Overseen by none other than her glorious highness Kanimozhi.

Understandably, the residents of the two streets that the 'fishery' oozes its dead offspring into, caused a stir today. A gathering of about 20-strong decided to meet the heads of the setup (which now sits on the remains of the horticulture department's shop that served the locality for years) and ask them to move. Politely. Or so was the plan. It should be noted that a similar gathering had, 3 months back, lobbied for the closure of a new CCD outlet that had opened a street away. But then, that was a private enterprise; neither endorsed nor promoted by the loving, secular government. The meeting did not go too well. Among cries of religious oppression (unnecessary, but somewhat justified given the history of the road I live on) and calls for a dharna, some information was obtained. It was not going to end with a sales outlet; they would build a restaurant with a bar attached. Come now, the people need their fix, don't they? Where better to have the next TASMAC than the middle of a nice little housing society? Who cares about the people that live there? They're just brahmins, after all. The noble, higher caste. They trod on us a gazillion years back. Its our turn.

If you think I'm being a bit too caste-ist, look up papers and reports roughly 40 years back. The comments that were received when the allocation of the houses here was complete should shed some light on exactly how pleased the governement was to see a large population of Iyers take the houses. Disappointment, to say the least, was not concealed.

Getting back to the situation at hand, it looks like a dharna is looming in the horizon. The initial response was only from those that live right next to the building. With word of a bar popping up (despite my interest in alcohol, I must say I was terribly upset at having one in a residential area), there are bound to be more protesters joining the fray. It looks like an eventful week I have ahead. Oh, and if you agree with the ideals in question, turn up for the demonstration. Hold your nose, though.