In Mumbai, it’s Anna all the way
Even as there is more than an hour to go for the fast to begin, Anna has captured the city's imagination -- and the country's.
Anna Hazare has captured the attention of the city – not always for the right reasons.James Crabtree of Financial Times, for example, tweets that Anna is running late as he, with a crowd, waits for Anna Hazare at the ‘gandi’ (sic) statue at Juhu.Earlier, Crabtree had managed to misspell Gandhi differently. “Anna-in-Mumbai Factoid (1): He begins his day at 9.30am in Juhu, for a photo-op in front of a statue of Ghandi,” Crabtree had tweeted. @calamur tweets to say “on WE highway. Stuck at malad for the past 20 min.”“Mumbai: #Anna Hazare leaves for Juhu Chowpatty, shown black flags on the way", tweeted Star News. “Give me Test Cricket Down Under between Australia and India any day over the tamasha at MMRDA ground in Mumbai and Ramlila maidan in Delhi,” says @nitingokhale, who would clearly have wished Anna stayed in Delhi.@chachiChaudhary talks about another kind of cold reception. “Uhhh why is it 15 degrees outside? Mumbai is supposed to be hot, remember?,” she tweets.@akashbanerjee has an open mind. “Large crowds still to assemble at MMRDA. Would be interesting to see if Mumbai responds with as much gusto as Delhi, he tweets.” “Some idiots out there think it's a rock concert.RT @ndtv Anna leaves guest house: Hazare shown black flags en route to Juhu in Mumbai,” says @ArvindVJMohan, who is clearly not an Anna fan.The war between the Congress and Anna’s supporters is out in the open.[caption id="attachment_166315" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Pig'Vijay Singh poster at #AnnaHazare's protest venue in Mumbai :),” says @ShivAroor, as he uploads this image."]
[/caption]“'Pig'Vijay Singh poster at #AnnaHazare's protest venue in Mumbai :),” says @ShivAroor, as he uploads this image.@manicmande rues, “and journalists :-) RT @RooneyKhosla: So #annahazare has successfully spoilt the new year plans of members of parliament.”The cynic in @ShivAroor comes to the fore when he tweets, “#AnnaHazare will arrive at the fast venue tomorrow in a cavalcade led by 150 Enfield motorcycles. (So yes, this isn't made for TV.)”And to think the fast hasn’t begun yet…
Anant Rangaswami was, until recently, the editor of Campaign India magazine, of which Anant was also the founding editor. Campaign India is now arguably India's most respected publication in the advertising and media space. Anant has over 20 years experience in media and advertising. He began in Madras, for STAR TV, moving on as Regional Manager, South for Sony’s SET and finally as Chief Manager at BCCL’s Times Television and Times FM. He then moved to advertising, rising to the post of Associate Vice President at TBWA India. Anant then made the leap into journalism, taking over as editor of what is now Campaign India's competitive publication, Impact. Anant teaches regularly and is a prolific blogger and author of Watching from the sidelines.
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