The midnight happenings

Many things happen at midnight. We achieved independence at this hour. Shahenshah walked the streets at this hour. The cops with the breathalyzers go home at this hour. Some Bengali households cook dinner at this hour. In Mumbai, back in the mid 80s, the dhows used to come in at this hour. Then, in the shadows, things used to be transferred to small cabs and trucks. It's how many friends got their Rolexes back then. Or their Henessy VSOPs. In Calcutta of then, the wall writing or graffiti work would start at this hour. The colours would be brought to the local party office by the evening. The brushes would be steeped in turpentine. The artist would come and inspect what he had to. And then, sleep for a bit. 11.30 pm, he would be shrugged awake. Then, at midnight, he and an assistant with a ladder would trudge out. The usual light was a hurricane lamp. That would be held by the assistant as the artist would work on the wall. If it was CPM, then lots of red and black would be there. If it was Congress, then lots of Green, saffron and blue would be there. The other saffron had still not been in cogue there then. And the other blue wasn't in existence. Of course, a lot has changed since then. The BPOs even have a shift that starts at 12 am. It caters to God knows which nation from then. But the IT parks are lit through the night. The mini buses ferry groggy kids through the night. They call it the graveyard shift. Earlier, only the press used to do such stuff. And land up at all night coffee shops for a beer and a late meal. The press was awake through the night and the early morning today. Call it landmark or whatever, today is the day that we will refer to, when we look back at a changed India of the near future. A constitutional change. For better or worse, we are at the inflection point. Caused by moral and material corruption.