BOMBAY DYING !!!
This has nothing to do with the dead company. The pun is intended.
This has nothing to do with the dead company. The pun is intended.
I am a staunch Bombayiite (note - not Mumbaiite) sheltering myself inthe "town" part of good ol' Bombay, often ridiculed for wanting tostay back in town and not "shift" to the 'burbs, come what may. Andinspite of the residentialization of the rest of B'bay and withClass I amenities being provided to the rest of the Mumbaiites, Irefrain myself from even looking down upon them.
Anyway, I fail to comprehend why B'bay is being bombarded withsudden rules and regulations by the same politicians for whom wecast our votes. The "khaas" are turning against the "aam janta".It all started with the re-naming of Bombay to Mumbai, which led toeven more confusion in my teenage years. There were various otherthings to keep me occupied at that time, but this renaming ceremonyby some "religious" fanatics grabbed the attention of the teenagemind, which had, at that time, vowed to rename it back to Bombay,juvenile that it was. I still harbour those thoughts of somehowconvincing our dear members of the State Parliament to "re-rename"my city.I entered JaiHind college and thoughts of conquesting the Parliamenttook a convincing and convenient backseat. I focused my attentionelsewhere with the thoughts, for instance - "Charity begins at Home"and many more. Not that i surpassed myself in education (I stillcall myself an above-average student) during those formative years,but I fell into some really bad company, which pitfalled my secondambition of becoming a "healer" (I jus love that word, sounds somuch more cooler than doctor). I cannot really blame my pals thattime, because I got a little carried away. But Good ol' God was watching me and inferred I deserved another chance.MH-CET - for many it might be an evil, but for me, (and people like me)it was a Godsend. This was another variation, which shook thepillars of the education system of our State. HSC results took anosedive and students and colleges now looked forward to the CETresults. Little did they know (they includes ME too), how costlythis decision by the Governance would be, in terms of not onlymoney, but also time. HSC lost its power. Students were no more inawe of the State Toppers, but were more in awe of the CET Toppers,because thats what mattered now. One more dent to the spirit ofBombay. One more nail on the coffin. The current crop of teachersand students are rooting to revert back to the old system. Afterall, a student who slogs throughout the year studying forthe HSC, but unfortunately, cannot score in the CET (since themuggers haven’t been taught to apply what they have been taught), isbound to suffer from the fallacies of the system.That apart, I managed to get admission into one of the premierinstitutes in our country, and probably our continent, thanks tothat guy who gave up his seat only to secure admission into amedical college (that too by political pressure). I doff my hat tohim. Thank you again stranger. (It's not Salil I am talkingabout).
Since then, not much has changed, except for the beautification ofour vibrant city. 55 flyovers in a span of 5 years and at least 10multiplexes (with 23 more expected in New Bombay alone - would youbelieve that ??????) adorning the cityscape. There was a period ofconfusion within the government, because they were doing good work.There was a cleanliness drive inititated by our Famous Cultureminister, Pramod Navalkar, of that time. BMC had gone berserk,giving permission to every Tommy, Dick and Hariharan to buildflyovers along the arteries of the city. Protest galore by theresidents fell on deaf ears, and the city was witness to the zeal ofthe contruction powerhouses. Not only flyovers, new buildings, newtownships, new entertainment complexes and so on mushroomedthoughout the city. Suddenly, Crossroads was the "IN" place to "BE".I had attended one of the days during the month-long openingceremony of the First Mall of Mumbai. I was surprised to find myschool principal , Mrs. Shirley D'Silva in Ofran, with her husbandin tow. Poor guy, I felt kinda Bad for him. Audi or Toyota se petnahi bhara, Madam shopped for more than 2 lacs that nite. Wot afield day she must have had. The point I am trying to make is "therich bourgeouis class was slowly opening upto the commoners". Thosewho were considered "out of reach" were now withing spittingdistance. In fact, on that nite, I had the opportunity to ogle atsome of the best bodies in show-biz (Basu, Dino morea, ArjunRampal, Mehr Jessia, my principal(hehehe) and many more).
Enough of the past, now Back to The Future.Bombay (I will always call it that- let them stone my house orblacken my Maharaj's face) hadn't seen so many activities since the17th century when the whole island of Bombay was gifted by the Kingof Portugal, as a wedding gift to his daughter (I swear).Young politicians are now on the mantle manning the posts once heldby their fathers, in fact they were voted into power by the citizens.Now, these very guardians of our interests are turning their back tothe culture of this city, for which it has been renowned since timeimmemorial.
Let me unfold some recent events :-
- Deadlines for pubs and bars and lounges (not beyond 1...thoughsome maal-pani could ensure beyond)
- Closure of dance bars by government (which led to protests, noneby social activists though- those girls have actually startedoperating sex bars on the outskirts of the city)
- Rape of a teenage girl by a police hawaldar at marine drive chowky(the legal eagles- the direct result of the above mentionedregulations)
- Hawkers removed from the sea facing promenade at Nariman Point(where will all us kids go yaar ?)
- Nana-Nani Park planning to be used as a storage ground for statuesof national (irrational) leaders
- The last one which i am mentioning, which actually prompted me towrite this blog, was the removal of the book-sellers along thefootpath leading from VT (not CST) station to Churchgate. CAN UBELIEVE THE GALL THESE GUYS HAVE ???????? I mean, that’s the limit.All the above would have been unnoticed or even shooed away as aresult of bad governance. But THIS....This is absolutelyunpardonable. The books these guys sell will probably not bavailable anywhere else in the world, at unmentionably low prices.The bargains we struck were what dreams were made of.
I bid aterribly sad farewell to the dear hawkers, who in spite of beingnasty to most, were doing for a good cause.
Is this the beginning of THE END ?
Is Bombay Dying ?
I would like toend with this rhetoric....think about it.
Let me know ur comments.
The Wall
Anyway, I fail to comprehend why B'bay is being bombarded withsudden rules and regulations by the same politicians for whom wecast our votes. The "khaas" are turning against the "aam janta".It all started with the re-naming of Bombay to Mumbai, which led toeven more confusion in my teenage years. There were various otherthings to keep me occupied at that time, but this renaming ceremonyby some "religious" fanatics grabbed the attention of the teenagemind, which had, at that time, vowed to rename it back to Bombay,juvenile that it was. I still harbour those thoughts of somehowconvincing our dear members of the State Parliament to "re-rename"my city.I entered JaiHind college and thoughts of conquesting the Parliamenttook a convincing and convenient backseat. I focused my attentionelsewhere with the thoughts, for instance - "Charity begins at Home"and many more. Not that i surpassed myself in education (I stillcall myself an above-average student) during those formative years,but I fell into some really bad company, which pitfalled my secondambition of becoming a "healer" (I jus love that word, sounds somuch more cooler than doctor). I cannot really blame my pals thattime, because I got a little carried away. But Good ol' God was watching me and inferred I deserved another chance.MH-CET - for many it might be an evil, but for me, (and people like me)it was a Godsend. This was another variation, which shook thepillars of the education system of our State. HSC results took anosedive and students and colleges now looked forward to the CETresults. Little did they know (they includes ME too), how costlythis decision by the Governance would be, in terms of not onlymoney, but also time. HSC lost its power. Students were no more inawe of the State Toppers, but were more in awe of the CET Toppers,because thats what mattered now. One more dent to the spirit ofBombay. One more nail on the coffin. The current crop of teachersand students are rooting to revert back to the old system. Afterall, a student who slogs throughout the year studying forthe HSC, but unfortunately, cannot score in the CET (since themuggers haven’t been taught to apply what they have been taught), isbound to suffer from the fallacies of the system.That apart, I managed to get admission into one of the premierinstitutes in our country, and probably our continent, thanks tothat guy who gave up his seat only to secure admission into amedical college (that too by political pressure). I doff my hat tohim. Thank you again stranger. (It's not Salil I am talkingabout).
Since then, not much has changed, except for the beautification ofour vibrant city. 55 flyovers in a span of 5 years and at least 10multiplexes (with 23 more expected in New Bombay alone - would youbelieve that ??????) adorning the cityscape. There was a period ofconfusion within the government, because they were doing good work.There was a cleanliness drive inititated by our Famous Cultureminister, Pramod Navalkar, of that time. BMC had gone berserk,giving permission to every Tommy, Dick and Hariharan to buildflyovers along the arteries of the city. Protest galore by theresidents fell on deaf ears, and the city was witness to the zeal ofthe contruction powerhouses. Not only flyovers, new buildings, newtownships, new entertainment complexes and so on mushroomedthoughout the city. Suddenly, Crossroads was the "IN" place to "BE".I had attended one of the days during the month-long openingceremony of the First Mall of Mumbai. I was surprised to find myschool principal , Mrs. Shirley D'Silva in Ofran, with her husbandin tow. Poor guy, I felt kinda Bad for him. Audi or Toyota se petnahi bhara, Madam shopped for more than 2 lacs that nite. Wot afield day she must have had. The point I am trying to make is "therich bourgeouis class was slowly opening upto the commoners". Thosewho were considered "out of reach" were now withing spittingdistance. In fact, on that nite, I had the opportunity to ogle atsome of the best bodies in show-biz (Basu, Dino morea, ArjunRampal, Mehr Jessia, my principal(hehehe) and many more).
Enough of the past, now Back to The Future.Bombay (I will always call it that- let them stone my house orblacken my Maharaj's face) hadn't seen so many activities since the17th century when the whole island of Bombay was gifted by the Kingof Portugal, as a wedding gift to his daughter (I swear).Young politicians are now on the mantle manning the posts once heldby their fathers, in fact they were voted into power by the citizens.Now, these very guardians of our interests are turning their back tothe culture of this city, for which it has been renowned since timeimmemorial.
Let me unfold some recent events :-
- Deadlines for pubs and bars and lounges (not beyond 1...thoughsome maal-pani could ensure beyond)
- Closure of dance bars by government (which led to protests, noneby social activists though- those girls have actually startedoperating sex bars on the outskirts of the city)
- Rape of a teenage girl by a police hawaldar at marine drive chowky(the legal eagles- the direct result of the above mentionedregulations)
- Hawkers removed from the sea facing promenade at Nariman Point(where will all us kids go yaar ?)
- Nana-Nani Park planning to be used as a storage ground for statuesof national (irrational) leaders
- The last one which i am mentioning, which actually prompted me towrite this blog, was the removal of the book-sellers along thefootpath leading from VT (not CST) station to Churchgate. CAN UBELIEVE THE GALL THESE GUYS HAVE ???????? I mean, that’s the limit.All the above would have been unnoticed or even shooed away as aresult of bad governance. But THIS....This is absolutelyunpardonable. The books these guys sell will probably not bavailable anywhere else in the world, at unmentionably low prices.The bargains we struck were what dreams were made of.
I bid aterribly sad farewell to the dear hawkers, who in spite of beingnasty to most, were doing for a good cause.
Is this the beginning of THE END ?
Is Bombay Dying ?
I would like toend with this rhetoric....think about it.
Let me know ur comments.
The Wall
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