India, Sept. 2 -- As the Maratha quota protestors continued to lay siege to parts of South Mumbai, Nandkumar Bahir, 45, from Beed, perhaps summed up their mood best when he remarked, "Jarange is like God to us now. We will stay here as long as he wants us to. Arrangements will keep coming from our villages."

As the protestors continued to take over CSMT; squat on railway tracks; dance and chant in local trains; cook, eat and toss garbage everywhere; and use public spaces to relieve themselves, they were being remembered fondly back home.

Family, friends and well-wishers dispatched truckloads of cooked food to Mumbai from the rural heartland. Every household contributed to the effort, sending bhakris, pickles and other cooked edibles for...