KOLKATA: There were no buses or trucks to ferry them. No political party to marshal the traffic-choking march. There were no party flags. But they came by the thousands-professionals who bunked office, homemakers for whom this was the first rally, the elderly who just couldn't stay away. The city's civil society took centrestage in a rare show of assertion not seen since the 2007 rally after the Nandigram killings. They all came out to shake the government awake on the string of rapes that have shamed Bengal.

What triggered the huge turnout was not just the people's disgust at the rising crimes against women but also their anger at the government's insensitive handling of it. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee's angry rejection of the Kamduni women-branding them CPM cadres and Maoists-and her outrageous reaction to criticism-claiming a murder plot by CPM-Congress-BJP combine and accusing TV talk-show guests of being involved in pornography-triggered sharp reactions among all sections of society.

Many of the intellectuals who gave the call for Friday's rally were the same people who had marched in 2007, stoking the fire of resistance that brought poribartan in Bengal in the 2011 election. Poet Shankha Ghosh-once one of the strongest voices of poribartan-virtually flagged off Friday's march that turned out to be more massive than anyone imagined. It was also more spontaneous.

Among those who had marched in 2007 and also on Friday were Samir Aich and Rudraprasad Sengupta. There were also those who had stayed away from the Nandigram rally but walked for women safety-poet Subodh Sarkar, former minister Ashok Mitra and actor Sabyasachi Chakrabarty. Aparna Sen, Kaushik Sen and theatre personality Bibhas Chakrabarty, who had criticized the government at a rally on Thursday, stayed away on Friday.

Filmmaker Mrinal Sen, who had courted controversy by joining the Nandigram protest six years ago, only to take part in a CPM-sponsored rally later, slammed the Mamata government. Though the 91-year-old couldn't join the march because of ill health, he said he was "deeply involved with it". "This is the outburst of a latent anger within the society. Add to it the government's abusive behavior to everyone who dares speak against it. This is just the beginning. If the government doesn't take a lesson from this, such protests will continue," he said.

"It is time to come together and protest violence against women. I felt I should take part in it, just as I had six years ago," said Shankha Ghosh. "How can we deny that law and order is non-existent in the state and that the administration has failed to provide security to the people? Worse, our chief minister seems to have lost her mental balance," said painter Wasim Kapoor.

Unlike the numerous rallies that choke the streets every other day in Kolkata, this was a spontaneous show of anger, cutting across political allegiances, said actor and filmmaker Suman Mukhopadhyay. "This has gone beyond politics and reflects the people's mood. I share the general angst," he said. Ghosh's presence was inspiring for the youth. "When someone like him leads a protest, it's incentive enough to join it," said Mrinmoy, a Jadavpur University student.

About a hundred villagers from Kamduni - where a college girl was raped, mutilated and murdered - joined the march. "We are proud to have protested. From now on, we shall visit every place where a rape happens," said Bhaskar, who came with his neighbours.

Poet Subodh Sarkar agreed. "The most significant thing about this rally is the common people's participation. This is certainly not a political rally but an outburst against the general lawlessness in the state," he said. The rallyists shouted slogans like "stop rape" and "don't look at women as commodities". Some were directed against the government. But there was no overtly political slogan - unprecedented in a Kolkata rally.

"We want our women to be safe. They shouldn't leave home every morning with the fear of being raped," said Bhagabati, a member of the Shramajibi Mahila Samity. It's this fear that brought people out on the streets, said 79-year-old social worker Prabir Sen, who sat on a stool by the roadside. "I wish I could join the walk but I can't. But I could at least come this far," said Sen: "I have never seen a protest like this."

Some, like filmmaker Anik Datta, preferred to walk alone, away from the spotlight. "I felt compelled to join the march, though I usually stay away from these protests. But we have reached a point where protests through other media will not work. The only option is to take to the streets," he said.