Funda about Anda (Egregiously Eggy)

At the rate that eggs are being chucked around these days, “deem” or “anda” sellers are not complaining. Have sales gone up? I asked a vendor. “Ki je bolen, Madam,” (Oh come on, Madam) he grinned sheepishly. I didn’t really get a clear picture. I genuinely do want to know though.

I mean where are all these eggs coming from? In at least one news video which is playing out daily these evenings, I spotted an elderly man in a crowd holding onto the two eggs in his hand but not throwing them. He was shouting some slogans and brandishing his fist with the eggs gingerly held in the palms, but not throwing them. I suppose he decided not to waste fourteen/fifteen rupees. Each egg, after all, costs between seven and eight rupees. Throwing rotten eggs, tomatoes and other vegetables to show public disapproval is not a new concept of course. The practice dates back to hundreds of years.

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It was considered a more innocuous form of protest, which did not physically harm the person being attacked. However, its psychological impact on the subject has long been debated with some societies and cultures calling it “mobocracy”. There are instances of some states, like the US state of Kentucky, legally banning such acts. Be that as it may, if you Google it, a range of precedents pop up. Let’s look at some. According to AI its ancient origins are traced back to centuries ago, with “the earliest recorded incident dating back to A.D. 63, when Roman Emperor Vespasian was struck with turnips”.

Interestingly, West Bengal has made it to the dubious list of recent examples of egg throwing. To quote Wiki: “The practice shifted into a genuine form of political and social protest during the 18th and 19th centuries. Figures like Frederick Douglass and persecuted religious groups documented having bad eggs thrown at them during public speeches. Even in recent times, politicians facing public outrage in India (such as protests involving former leaders in West Bengal) have been targeted with eggs, tomatoes, and other waste”.

Whether fresh or not (and rotten eggs smell terrible), eggs have their benefits. I read that eggs, even when rotten, if applied to the roots of hair, can provide good protein to the follicles. Full of protein, delicious and preferred by even vegetarians who are averse to cruelty to animals, I wonder why eggs were singled out for this dubious distinction of delivering humiliation to discredited personalities? Truly egregious that.

(The writer is Editor, Features)