Goa, Sept. 13 -- Where is Goa's Bapat? Aamche Bapat kuthe aahet?

The question has lingered persistently in my mind after encountering the seriously delightful, lucid and eloquent (mostly Marathi) interviews of Vidyanand Bapat that have convulsed Pune, Maharashtra, and clear-thinking rationalists over the past few weeks.

The 37-year-old rocketed into the spotlight on August 24th, when he spoke up at Pune Municipal Corporation's annual preparatory meeting for Ganesh Chaturthi. The sole dissident amongst hundreds of mandal workers refused to back down, saying "the festival has nothing to do with DJs [high-volume electronic sound systems] or dhol [huge drums]. It raises noise pollution, and the immersion processions create traffic problems ...