Reclaim the night with rides on last bus today

As a response to the December gangrape and other similar incidents, people in the city will come together on the evening of February 7 to “reclaim public transport, reclaim the night and reclaim the city” by boarding the last buses at 9.30pm from Shivaji bus terminus and filling them with poetry, songs and art. Shalini Singh reports.

The outrage continues to simmer.

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As a response to the December gangrape and other similar incidents, people in the city will come together on the evening of February 7 to “reclaim public transport, reclaim the night and reclaim the city” by boarding the last buses at 9.30pm from Shivaji bus terminus and filling them with poetry, songs and art.

“Following our discussions, we decided to look at the issue of safety for all citizens. For example, why did the gang rape victim board a private bus? Simply because DTC buses don’t run frequently or ply late in the evening.

"The idea came to board the last bus, and as artistes turn it into a performative element,” says Sudhanva Deshpande of Jan Natya Manch, a Hindi street theatre group that’s one of the organisers of the initiative.

Other groups participating are socio-cultural organisations Jan Sanskriti and Bangla Manch, theatre group Act One and Janwadi Lekhak Sangh — an all-India association of Hindi and Urdu writers.

“We want to protest against regressive ideas that say women shouldn’t travel at night or wear a certain kind of clothes. That culture has to change,” added PK Mohandas of Jan Sanskriti.