Sir PM knew this was his chance to shine. “Very, very far. I needed an entire day to recover. But I attended some wonderful discussions on the city’s welfare, thanks to cousin Sohrab who invited me to meet the Godrej family. We are possibly related; they have this massive industrial hub in the outskirts where a conclave was underway. Sohrab is aware of my keenness about the city’s welfare, so he promptly thought of me. The experts were extremely vocal in their concerns about the current state of the metropolis. One of them, a globally acclaimed Indian architect, went all the way to say that the current civic administration reacts only to problems, and wasn’t thinking long-term. This was in reaction to Bombay’s multiple issues from poorly-planned, hasty infrastructure, to flooding that is directly related to the biggest worry—climate change. He recalled how New Bombay designed by the great Charles Correa was the last avant-garde gesture when it came to citizen-friendly, sensitive urban planning. Sharing several examples of mindless infrastructural ventures, he highlighted how increasingly, permanent solutions were being developed for temporary problems making them inflexible and useless after a point in time. His biggest fear was that if this mindset continued, by 2050, Bombay might actually return to being seven islands mainly because areas that are likely to submerge were being densified,” sighed Sir PM.

Lady Flora was silently upset that she had missed this insightful session. She egged her friend on to continue. “What else was discussed?” Sir PM gladly continued, “The same gent spoke about how planning and basic facilities can be tackled even in the most challenging circumstances, and cited the example of the Kumbh Mela to drive home his point. Here detailed plans ensured that world’s biggest gathering began and ended without a glitch. Sanitation at the site was obviously a Herculean task. But it was managed keeping the highest hygiene standards, he said.”  Lady Flora’s pet peeve had been raised, “Sanitation. It remains a mega issue even in cities like Bombay, so why isn’t it being tackled?” Sir PM replied instantly, “Absolutely. He even said that the Hindi film industry was doing a better, competent job to highlight sanitation issues and spread awareness than his own ilk.”

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Lady Flora wasn’t done yet. “Tell me, Pheroze, what else did you manage to catch on your adventure to this faraway land?” Sir PM resumed his monologue, “In another discussion, two concerned speakers—a respected environmentalist and a visionary architect—spoke about the health of the city from both aspects: development and urban ecology. Expectedly, the current scenario isn’t bright on both fronts. But they left us with plenty to think about. The architect said that the next time your local corporator comes seeking your vote–and this I applauded out loud for—ask them if their election manifesto includes increased visibility with allocation of budgets and allowing the public to have a say in infrastructural projects. He reminded the hooked audience that in a democracy, a participatory effort was necessary. In similar vein, the environmentalist felt that social media is a major tool that today’s generation must use wisely to increase transparency and accountability from the powers that be. He used the term—‘hopeful pessimism’ which I thought was the perfect way to leave us with an open-ended realisation. This fantastic orator wanted today’s youth to be aware of the reality of their threatened world, and that it they had to stay positive, act and speak up instead of leaving it to someone else. ‘I am in the departure lounge while all of you are in the arrival lounge’, he thundered, amidst peals of laughter but I think he had driven home the point. I hope the penny had dropped at least for some youngsters,” Sir PM hoped; he was quite pleased that he could share such key observations with his Bombayphile friend.  

Listening to all this made Lady Flora feel a tad concerned, the permanent city-worrier that she was. “This is a lot to expect from our people especially the authorities, Pheroze. Will they act upon these suggestions?” Sir PM smiled, “I’d like to believe that the same hopeful pessimism will see us through.”

mid-day’s Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city’s sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana
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