Lock Down Part Two

So, we are now in the first full day of the Bangalore lock-down! Since the death yesterday of actor Dr. Rajkumar, the city has been in turmoil. News reports say that five people have died in conflicts, cars have been burned, buildings stoned, people attacked, and the police have resorted to 'lathi charge' (basically, thrashing people with a big bamboo stick!)

Tom arrived home around midnight last night and admitted that their building had indeed been stoned (although security gates were locked). Word on the street was that if you were seen driving a vehicle that did not display either pictures of Dr. Rajkumar, a Karnataka flag, or if you didn't speak Kannada, you would be taken out of the vehicle and beaten up!!! Ever diligent, Tom and our driver, Veeru, taped pictures of the demised to both the front and back of our lovely shiny new Hyundai Getz! And even the taxis taking home other workers from Tom's company did the same. Very scary - glad I didn't know this last night!!!

Today has been a quiet day with most TV stations blacked out, apart from local channels showing loops of the actor's movies, and some news channels reporting on the Bangalore situation. Stores are closed, along with cinemas and most businesses. It is such a sad state of affairs that this first official day of mourning is over-shadowed by violence and loss of life. Yes, I said 'first' as I believe that tomorrow may also be a day of mourning.... we are waiting for a call from Veeru to tell us whether it is safe to hit the streets and go back to work. Ironically, tomorrow (Good Friday) is a holiday for many companies here, but given lost work over the last day or so, most people will end up having to work it, or over the weekend, to catch up. Let's hope we can reach Easter Sunday peacefully and have the city back to some semblance of normality.