Journos accompanying Mamata Banerjee stealing silverware in London is as embarrassing as it gets
In Indian popular culture, a dominant trope is the bumbling idiot who embarrasses himself and the people of his nation in an exotic foreign land. In films and TV shows, this is often because of their ignorance about western culture. In real life, however, it seems it is because of something else altogether – their Indianness.
An Outlook report from January 9, states that the security staff at the luxury hotel in London fined multiple guests 50 pounds for stealing silverware. As it turns out, these guests were senior Indian journalists who were accompanying West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to London on an official tour.
The report suggests that the senior scribes got caught on a live CCTV feed trying to nick silver cutlery. While the Outlook story names no no one, a short report from the Bengali news portal Aaj Bangla TV does mention the names of a couple of journalists from Anandabazar Patrika and AajKal (both Bengali newspapers), who were part of this embarrassing incident.
Confirming this incident to Outlook, however, a senior journalist, the editor of another publication, who was also part of the delegation, said that the particular reporter (guilty of nicking spoons) was a regular on Banerjee’s foreign tours.
The Outlook report also mentions that after the first journalist stole some silverware, the others were encouraged to go ahead with this “grand” loot, unaware that there were hidden cameras all over the place.
Both reports add that once they were caught by the hotel security staff, the journalists in question were discreetly informed that they were under surveillance, with a request to return the stolen items. While most of them, now mortified, returned the silver, one particular gentleman refused to admit to the crime, even daring the staff to search his pockets.
To his chagrin, however, it turned out that the CCTV cameras had caught him depositing his loot into the bag of another fellow journalist, no doubt looking for an easy way out.
The hotel security staff consequently informed him that unless he cooperated, he would be handed over to the cops. It did not take him long after that to blurt a confession and pay the fine worth 50 pounds.
It is awfully ironic and decidedly sad that Indians who have been whining about how the British stole the Kohinoor diamond from us were caught stealing something as paltry as a couple of silver spoons.
In 1905, Rabindranath Tagore wrote a song called “Amar Shonar Bangla (My golden Bengal)”. One can only imagine him rolling in his grave at the thought of fellow Bengalis embarrassing the country, trying to lift a couple of silver spoons.
Amar Rupor Bangla (My silver Bengal) it is.