daily accounts- | by Saugat Datta - revised January 29, 2004 |

Day one: started early for us. Having to move the entire length of Mumbai to Goregaon Station during morning rush hour, began the early disruption last night’s rhythm. The queue in front of the WSF main gates, reminiscent of a sold out music concert, brought this rhythm to a halt. Flashing the media pass and getting past the gate security was easy compared to the challenge of street vendors and taxi drivers. ‘The sight of the main street’ - color spectrum of banners, graffiti, people handing out propagandas/ invitations to discussions made the common mass flow of another world overwhelming (especially since we had yet to receive our WSF bags in which to carry this free collection).

The WSF media center looked like the most secured installation with a narrow opening and girls guarding the doors (Did I thank the youth of Mumbai? Without your volunteering, there would be no Another World). Inside was separate air-conditioned rooms for Alternate media, laptops, photocopiers, telephone, video sat phones and numerous terminals with continuous and free net access and bottled water. I felt really pampered inside this cloud 9. We just trusted our instincts till we got our copy of the forum’s official guide. Nicole, a veteran of the Porto Alegre 2003 WSF, was initially delighted that everything was organized in the same location.

The first discussion we followed, including Maude Barlow a panelist from the PWWF, browsed us through the regular issues. Finally we heard a call out to everyone in the planet fighting for the common, to accelerate the networking exchange between us. The venue was one of the bigger ex-warehouses, a deja vu for any Bollywood fan. Artwork on the walls instantly took my attention. In spite of various Indian NGO delegates chanting their way in, there were more empty seats than filled. Although distracted by all that I saw through my camera, including a Photo exhibition on female infanticide, the cynical highlight for me was the obvious struggle of Indian translators and the general disinterest in Hindi translation, (despite it being the national language of the host country). Providing me a perspective on communication in WSF were two tiny toddlers, one blonde and the other south Indian and their silent antics demonstrating how easy it is to join hands.

There were hundreds of groups inside NESCO grounds chanting their slogans and protest cries, singing and creating rhythm, while others just marched silently carrying banners. Everybody with a WSF badge, trying to communicate his or her message, marched up and down the same street. In fact there were more number of people outside on the streets of NESCO Grounds, than in any of the venues set for mass discussion (honestly, I was not just shutter happy).