I have recd a couple of comments this week which are visible as comments on the blog. The general trend the readers have talked about is how I may hate Gujarat and its people due to my comments in one of my recent blogs about them spreading the "dokla-patra " culture instead of playing a role in politics and I should remember that Gujarat has given us leaders like Gandhiji and Sardar Patel.

I replied that I agree with them a 100% and Gujarat has a glorious past as far as leaders are concerned. This is a fact which no one can deny but in recent years we can all agree that Gujarat's image as producers of leaders has steadily been replaced with an image of home to a state filled with Satish Shah "30 years of experience" and Ketki Dave "Daksha ben" kind of people.

The problem that lies at the heart of this change of image all is not based on just Gujarat or Gujaratis. The problem is pan Indian.

We Indians as a whole have forgotten how to be philanthropic. In the earlier days people who were rich and  prospered generally massaged their egos by making great institutions for the general public wherever they felt the need existed.

Whether it was the open lands at "Charni road" by Sir Jeejeebhoy for the poor farmers who could not afford to pay grazing tax or even the main causeway built between Mahim and Bandra by Lady Avabai Jeejeebhoy at a cost of Rs. 1,57,000/- completely out of her pocket with the provisio that there would never be a toll charged on it.

(The picture on the right is a photo of the market at Matheran a small hill station near Mumbai, which shows the donor of a whole market given to the common man to sell his wares purely in memory of his wife, click on picture to see larger image )

In return for the person being so magnimous, in the olden days we built statues at street corners and named buildings after them. Gave them a lot of respect and recognition for their generosity and they had great standing at public occasions and gatherings. We made them feel like great men and it was a win win for everyone.

Today our culture has gone from one of benevolence to one of greed and selfishness. Take the case of Lilavati Hospital, a hospital which was ostensibly made to cater to the needs of western Suburb residents of Mumbai in memory of the matriach and patriach of the family, as a legacy to their good name. Over a period of time it has changed into a temple to Mammon and has been embroiled in a dirty family battle to take control of its money making assets. 

Every single project which should be of a philanthropic nature is now converted to one of greed. Roads are built in names of public private partnership so that people can make money unlike the olden days where grand people like lady Avabai did it for the sheer joy of giving something back. If she too had insisted on "public - private " partnership can you seriously even count the zeros her heirs would be raking in.

The problem lies in us not making enough statues of recent people who dig into their own pockets ( like the donors of these benches on the left just to give some people somewhere to sit on a hot day) and making too many of dead leaders who even if they gave something did it from the public kitty. 

We do not name enough roads after the the philanthropists. Today everyone knows that if you wish for a road named after your father, all you need is a friendly politician who will find some excuse to get your fathers name put on the road.

We don't make the laws donation friendly. We put every hurdle possible in the way of a person who just wishes to maintain an open space in his area but we make very implicit and easy to follow rules to allow sharing of open spaces for commercial exploitation just so gardens are maintained and not encroached upon.

SHAME ON US! Instead of booing the utter failure of our Municipal Council to upkeep these places which is a part of their job description or the failure of the common man to improve these spaces without expecting something back from a city which gave him so much , we clap our hands and participate fully in these cockamamie schemes. The same schemes which are soon twisted and turned to blatant commercial exploitation exploit with the help of the local politician ala Khar Gym or MIG club.

What we do instead is write tomes about people who make money out of the same projects. We publish their photos on page three and everyone looks to them as demi gods. We write about what they buy their wives on her birthday and what their girlfriends wore to the party last night and everyone looks to it as a fairytale they would like to be a part of. 

Wake up I say, wake up and make it socially acceptable to think of the common good before its too late. Honour the few people who still hold philanthropy close to their hearts. All it takes is a few god men ( and women) to make a great city.

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New York New York

Folks , I was in splits this week. I don't know how this happens, perhaps its my twisted mind but I couldn't help but notice two absolutely separate articles a couple of days apart which had so much in common.

The first was about how International consultant Wally Ollins who has changed the image of organisations like Scotland Yard, Volkwagen and Orange will soon be working with people like Secreatry, Special projects and Bombay First to make the image of Mumbai more attractive.

The excuse the Mumbai First Chairman had for this massive waste of time and money was that cities like New York, Johannesburg and Sydney were distinguishable internationally by their brand images, citing the "I love New York" slogan.

Since Mr. Ollins is not very familiar with Mumbai and its nuances I thought perhaps we can help Mr. Ollins et al in their quest. 

I'm going to list the top 10 things that come to my mind when I think Mumbai. I would like it if my readers email me more on theindipatriot@yahoo.co.in and we can compile a list to send him.

1) Mumbai - a mix of different ethnicity which offers a complete variety of easy targets for every politician who wants to create racial tension under any guise.

2) Mumbai - where you don't need to pay EMIs or even buy a piece of land to get 1.5 Cr for your house

3) Mumbai - where cars costing over 7 lakhs (cost of a large house in a smaller city) outnumber cars costing less than 7 lakhs

4) Mumbai - where you pay for the air around your flat when you pay for salable area instead of carpet area at the time of buying a flat ( assuming you are not under item 2)

5) Mumbai - where every local 2 bit nogoodnik who has a birthday has 10 local politicians plastering his face on illegal hoardings on street corners wishing him.

6) Mumbai - A dream city where even the slums are duplexes. ( I've now heard of some triplexes in slums, and here we are still fighting about whether or not we should increase FSI for legal builders / societies who have actually paid for their lands)

7) Mumbai - A city where you pay as much for your parking space as you do for your car

8) Mumbai - where the traffic cop's stomach girth is only exceeded by his greed

9) Mumbai - where every single service provider under the sun makes money but you still cant complete a single decent phonecall either on landline or mobile

10) Mumbai - where lovers risk being washed away just for the few minutes of privacy.

The second item which caught my attention is the way branding should actually be done. Its New York. In order  to fight aids they have gone all the way out and even put the NY brand on condoms.

The letters “NYC CONDOM” were printed in white or black letters against colorful circles, evoking the letter symbols the Metropolitan Transportation Authority uses to represent subway lines.

Now thats what I call memorable branding. Try doing that in India and people will cry blue murder and sacrilege against our culture. ( These self righteous people forget that in the Kama Sutra , a part of the true Indian culture theres a whole section on contraception).

The closest we have reached to a realistic Mumbai branding today ( rather India branding) is the Tantra Tshirts. Check them out on www.tantrauniverse.com 

Don't forget to mail in your list of Mumbai symbols, yours may be the next "I love NY".

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Poetic Justice

I havent read this article but someone told me about it and I couldn't help but double up in laughter.

I believe a week or so ago Mid-day ran an article which said that the Kolis are now telling Raj Thakeray that hes talking rubbish.

It seems that the Kolis and the Agaris are the actual Mumbaiites and as per what they say the Maharashtrian families like the Thakerays did not even come close to Mumbai till the mid 1300s or so. Even then they were in a minority. The only reason why they are claiming right to it is because the seven islands which initially made up Mumbai were given in Dowry to the English instead of being retained by the Portugese.

If the islands were not given as dowry, today we would be having a union territory status just like Daman & Diu and Mumbaiites may even have been eligible for Portugese passports like the residents of Goa.

Anywhich way, the Maharashtrians and jhonny come latelys like Raj Thakerays who are calling the kettle black should look at their own pots.

I have enclosed a small time line alongside to show the development of Mumbai in stages and the important roles the different diverse cultures played to make it the great cosmopolis it is today. (click on image to see in full size) 

A cigar to the person who tells me which non Mumbaiites (notice I didnt say non Maharashtrian) communities should leave Mumbai first.