Mad As hell

At 6 pm today, Mumbai's youth intend to stage a 'non-cooperation' movement of sorts at the Gateway of India.

Because everyone is "mad as hell and won't take it anymore"

Because everyone is "mad as hell and won't take it anymore", as Suparn Verma, filmmaker and former rediff staffer, declared on his blog last week.

Verma, director of the forthcoming thriller Acid Factory, has spearheaded the protest to be staged opposite the Taj Hotel on Wednesday evening, inviting everyone to join him and the word has spread like wildfire -- the city's youngsters are preparing to show up and take a stand for what they believe in.

"All I did was decide to take a stand and it's heartening to see how people decided to join in," he says. "Ours is a very motivated generation. Everyone is angry and rather than just light a candle and express sympathy, we need to channel a real effort into showing our collective strength. Our politicians have left our country in a state of disarray and we need to get together and move this mountain."

So how did one statement on one blog become a movement and what exactly is planned at the Gateway today? "People who read the blog have spread the word through SMSes and the Internet, they've turned it into a united agenda," explains Verma. "We're hoping to have a good turnout, hopefully a few thousand -- I've had positive responses from people across all walks of walk, MBAs, bankers, actors, journos... And it's not just in Mumbai, there will also be protests held at the same time this evening in Delhi (Connaught Place), Bangalore (Cubbon Park), Hyderabad (Tank Bund) and other cities."

SO BLOGGERS LET US DO OUR OWN BIT & EXPRESS SOLIDARITY GAINST THIS GLOBAL ENEMY OF TERRORISM