Panaji, Feb 5 (IANS) — Pink teddy bears may well have a justified a slot on the altar of participatory democracy.
According to the state's top poll official, Kunal, a unique experiment conducted during the February 4 state assembly elections, which involved giving away 600 teddy bears to first-time women voters across Goa, had paid dividends.
The snuggly teddy bears were given to the early-visiting first-time voters in over 40 model polling booths, one in each of the 40 assembly constituencies in Goa, which went to poll on Saturday.
"As a trend, our pink polling stations got two per cent more voting than the average polling rate in all the other regular polling booths. People received the idea well," Kunal said.
In the elections conducted on Saturday, voting was conducted in 1,642 polling stations across the state.
According to provisional figures released by the Chief Electoral Officer late on Saturday, Goa saw around 83 per cent voting.
The pink polling booths, in which the teddy bears were given away, appeared to come straight out of a birthday party with a pink pastel theme, with its pink walls, pink balloons, pink table cloths, even with most of the women poll officials wearing pink clothes.
Some women writers had however criticised the giving away of teddy bears and the pink polling booths, claiming it pandered to gender stereotypes. But for most debutant woman voters, receiving a teddy bear from poll officials was a touching gesture.
"We felt good. It was in a way encouraging us to vote," Ameena Alam, a voter from the Colvale legislative assembly constituency in North Goa, who received a teddy bear, told IANS.
Incidentally, first-time male voters also received a gift of appreciation, although much less snuggly, in form of a pen.
Goa's Flea Markets Captured On Instagram
(01 of22)
Open Image ModalTrusty Ray-Bans make the determined armour for an energetic shopping day... (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(02 of22)
Open Image ModalSleepy, inviting hammocks at the start of the market. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(03 of22)
Open Image ModalTurns out you can buy a rainbow...from a grumpy lady (see below). I pay her the VERY fair price of Rs 10 (not in her opinion) per cheap, rainbow-y ankle thread. They last for precisely three hours on my ankle before being washed away in the sea. But till then I am happy, as fascinated by them as a to-be-Indian bride in a fancy jewellery store. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(04 of22)
Open Image ModalAfore-mentioned grumpy rainbow-thread selling lady. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(05 of22)
Open Image ModalIt's not a proper flea market visit without a mug of foamy, golden beer. The food's more of a sustenance affair - carbs to keep your legs walking through the market. The beer's a welcome respite - be in in the hot sunshine or breezy evenings. And the fuzziness that sets in later to hamper your bargaining skills is never minded. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(06 of22)
Open Image ModalLittle colour bombs of wool to be threaded into your hair. Though God knows how you get them out later. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(07 of22)
Open Image ModalThrongs of colour! Brazilian-origin feather earrings that are OUTRAGEOUSLY priced - enough to offend thrifty Indian sensibilities (y'know the kinds that kick into action when you have to dole out an extra Rs 10 to the parking lot chappie). (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(08 of22)
Open Image ModalExquisite fish locks that sit as serene as the sea at dawn (it's only at afternoon that all noisy-touristy hell breaks loose on the beach). (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(09 of22)
Open Image ModalJewellery-selling locals are bound to treat you with disdain unless you sport blond hair or speak to them in Goan... a friendly smile, NOT calling them 'Bhaiya' or 'Boss' goes a long way. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(10 of22)
Open Image ModalIn retrospect, this ice cream looks like toxic waste. Back then it fit right into the Goan psychedelic scheme of things. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(11 of22)
Open Image ModalA quiet moment behind iridescent curtains in a cacophonous market. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(12 of22)
Open Image ModalBefore giving in to giant feathery earrings, consider that even a drop of sweat can spoil their giant, fluffy appearances. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(13 of22)
Open Image ModalIt sits through the sands of time. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(14 of22)
Open Image ModalA perfect opportunity to buy something I'm never going to use! (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(15 of22)
Open Image ModalSinking your toes into sun-warmed sand is therapeutic only at the beach - not at the flea market! (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(16 of22)
Open Image ModalCannot resist quoting spice is the variety of life, followed by a quick whack by friends for terrible pun. These spices bring back memories of accompanying mom on shopping trips inside musty stores with fat sellers in mustard-stained pyjamas. Even now as I dip my fingers into their powdery interiors (on the pretext of examining quality), I can almost hear my mom admonishing me not to. Something about their crumbly structure boxed up neatly makes me want to rip open the bags and watch them colour the air. Eventually after enough rummaging.... atchoo! (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(17 of22)
Open Image ModalDangling at home alone, these stars take on a forlorn, cheesy persona. But here, clustered together in the bright Goan markets, they add some lustre to the term 'star-struck'. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(18 of22)
Open Image ModalThese 'exotic' teas dot different corners of the bustling market like inky punctuation marks - a welcome break from the expanse of screaming colours blurring your vision. (Must ask: who has a palate for banana tea, anyway?) (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(19 of22)
Open Image ModalThere's a certain 'je ne sais quoi' about these tawdry plastic candle hangers, bad as an investment they are. Kind of like the playboy dance trainer your mother warned you to stay away from. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(20 of22)
Open Image ModalMezmersing swirls of brightly-tinted cane work... the ideal prop for any children's room, these don't spoil easy. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(21 of22)
Open Image ModalMore stars! (credit:Aashmita Nayar)
(22 of22)
Open Image ModalThe final curtain: gently waving hammocks bid adieu to a golden day of flea-marketing. (credit:Aashmita Nayar)