When ‘geri’ is scary…

Ishrat S Banwait

Like any other evening, Honey and Gary, MBA students, are out for their ‘geri’. What’s it? Ask them. “It’s all about good music and Chandigarh's beauty.”

‘Good music’ is the latest Punjabi hip-pop where alcohol, parties, cars, guns and, of course, girls are essential subject matters.

Nidhi and Muskan, on the other hand, work in an IT company and return from work around 10 pm. They love to watch movies at late nights. They also catch up with their friends at a club. They recall a February night when they were returning from a mall. A car full of boys started following them.

Nidhi was driving and slowed down to allow the boys to pass, but they started driving parallel to her car. She tried to speed away, but in vain.

They got home. “But minutes later, we heard knocks on the door.” Before they could call up the police, the knocking subsided. “The boys decided to go away.”

There are many such instances. “But good men never have stalking on their list of plans,” boasts Gary. 

Working men do have their opinion on what women must and must not do at night. Amolak Grewal, a young IT professional, would like certain dos and don’ts for girls, though he wishes there was no need of them.

“If those who stalk know that policemen will show zero tolerance towards them, no one would dare pester a woman,” says Prabhlochan Singh, a young social activist. He also wants people not to remain a mute spectator when someone shouts for help.