He actually shouted out, “From one PM to another.” At first, I thought it was a silly passer-by trying to pull a stunt, but when I saw the car with the red beacon halt right near my pedestal, I knew it came from the right man,” beamed Sir PM, as he boasted about his recent brush with the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Lady Flora was smiling at the spring in her friend’s stride. “He commented on my contribution to the city’s civic laws, and for playing a key role in its development. Later, I even joined him for a cuppa; that is when he addressed the elephant in the room,” Sir PM’s voice went softer, despite the pin-drop silence within the Cathedral, their night-out haunt.
“Don’t tell me he wanted you to give him one of those typical ‘slum tours’ of Dharavi, that the West seem mighty obsessed with?” exclaimed Lady Flora.
“That would have been better, My Lady. Instead, he asked me about these giant flex banners of his that he spotted plastered throughout his drives in the city. He seemed a shade embarrassed at the over-the-top signage, and wanted to know if it was just for him, or for any visiting world leader. I took a deep, long breath, because I had to sound politically correct, no?” Sir PM shared, tucking into the madeleines that Lady Flora brought along for their tea session.
“I kept it simple; I told him that we do this kind of signage welcoming all dignitaries; he seemed convinced, though suggested that we go easy on the waste post each leader’s visit. ‘Keep an eye out on that,’ he advised.”
Lady Flora did an eyeroll. “How shameful that a world leader has to tell us about this! Imagine, if he learnt of the real reason for these endless signboards, and saw the aftermath of the same area post his visit? I am tired of these cover-up jobs that seem to have become an industry of sorts overnight, where each time a big, world leader visits the city, the signboards come out, and voila! The real deal is swept right under, adding to more junk and filth behind it.
Look at the stretch at Bandra Kurla Complex itself. It’s all very well to boast about the newly-functional Aqua Line but the areas near the multiple entrance/exit points of the Metro station are appalling. The residue of construction material remains, as is the mess from other parallel infrastructure projects in the same vicinity. And so, each time a world leader’s motorcade falls along this route, the flex sign boards miraculously show up on either side of the main road.”
Sir PM looked glum. “Hmmm. This is true. Why can’t a job be done fully, from start to finish? I hope the many commuter woes around the functioning of this key mode of transport, as reported extensively in mid-day, will be ironed out soon.”
Lady Flora had more to say. “Pheroze, while all this fervour to greet world leaders and open projects caught most of the attention, I read right here in this newspaper, the disturbing news of the incessant hammering into the façades of the hallowed railway terminus building. Several man-made interventions, too, have been undertaken with gross disrespect to FW Stevens’ original plan, and the UNESCO guidelines.
No wonder gargoyle was complaining of endless migraine attacks that had come to plague him. The poor thing. What in God’s name needs to be ‘drilled’ into these culprits’ heads to make them understand the extent of damage of their irreversible acts,” thundered Lady Flora.
Sir PM’s jaw had dropped because he didn’t imagine the sounds that he was also privy to had their roots in this bit of news that his friend had shared.
“This is shocking, really. It is a World Heritage Site, and they have altered so much within, I am told. I hang my head in shame at this disgraceful behaviour towards a city landmark. Who will come out and make amends? What is the point of those garish light shows, when this is happening in the same space!”
“On the one hand, we proudly open new means of transport, and continue to hail ours as a world-class city but look at these recent acts, be it the cover-up flex signage con jobs and the shocking acts within our historic rail terminus! It reiterates that we are woefully way behind when it comes to going the full distance with all that is good and important as far as our infrastructure goes,” Lady Flora reminded Sir PM, who nodded in agreement.
“Sadly, few or none are made accountable, and that is where the problem lies, in my humble opinion. As we enter the last quarter of this year, I hope the powers that be get their act together and respect the city that they are supposed to be responsible for.”
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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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https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/hammers-tongs-and-lasting-impressions-23598404