Public Promenade, Marine Drive, Mumbai
Under a colourful Umbrella,
Queens Necklace, Marine Drive
She sat under a colourful umbrella
that brightened up the gloomy day on Marine Drive. Perhaps in anticipation of the abrupt showers, or to shunt out the noise behind her, Or, could it be something more…?
I sat a few feet away, along the edge, listening to the sound of the waves
crashing against the promenade with the others –
lovers, tourists, families, policemen, the have’s and the have-nots. A sense of calmness fills us all and even after 15 years since I had last been here, it still remains the city’s best public space. It manages to switch one to a different tempo, away from hustle and bustle of Mumbai.
The sound of the ocean relieves you from the in-your-face realities- humongous crowds, luxurious high rise apartments, disparity and poverty, all coexisting side-by-side in this space crammed metropolis. Many proposals were made in the past to improve the lives of hawkers, reconfigure the social housings and rehouse slum dwellers. Those plans have been washed away and new subtle signs of ‘Don’t Encourage Hawkers’ hang in the air. On the other hand, one can identify the bold moves, where plot after plot of public land gives way to yet another unimaginative high-rise, price per square-foot package. Its a trajectory that gives a glimpse of the city’s drive to remain the financial capital of a nation. In an oceanic perspective, it doesn't matter if few more towers emerged as these boxed urbanism add little or no iconic value to one of the densest cities on earth. And, in- between all this, one finds the goodness in the city’s constant effort to keep this prime promenade neat and tidy , with its well-proportioned tree lines, which is made available for use round the clock. It feels like a Sacred space that the city is dearly holding onto in its last hour, balancing to be in peace with itself.
The natural and the Un-Natural, Mumbai
The Marine drive was conceived in 1915, a brainchild of Sir Phiroze
Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, who was no urban planner or politician, but a
businessman. One wonders how he managed to get through the political system, whilst the best of other public realm ideas remain unrealised. There is a fundamental
need for more spaces such as this and less of vertically-stacked square
footage, however the poor and the homeless are hoping for the opposite – a roof over
their heads, a place to sleep at night.
Within five minutes of an abrupt shower, so typical of Mumbai where good things are expected in no more than small packages, the granite edge is dry again for people to gather back. With its slick drain details and questionable construction tidiness of the curved edges, suggests that time and again efforts are being made to upgrade it.
Gateway for India (left), Mutton Chap Masala, Olympyia(right)
A gush of strong land and sea breeze provides the necessary fresh air to drive away the smell of fish cultivation in the nearby harbour. How can one ever forget the 5 am clean up trucks operating the Fort area that have the power to wake up the city gasping for oxygen. However, the very same harbour provides for the local food joints such as Mahesh Lunch Home, Bade Miya and Olympia, that offer delightful delicacies.
These look the same as before and are run with the typical
half-polite-but-professional ‘Mumbaikar’ attitude. Should these have changed? Why should they? They are set apart from the luxurious
five-star ,the Taj Palace , around the corner and have equally participated in resurrecting Mumbai back to life after the ghastly shootings of 2008. Could they have spruced up the place with new seats and tables?
Perhaps, yes. Should they have changed the menu? Absolutely not! Serving to welcome all levels of society, they hold on to their invention without giving
into corporate franchising. They bring to us the true essence of Mumbai - honest and tirelessly working individuals who serve the city with quality and reasonable pricing.
Mumbai beats …. with a different pulse.
After all these years, the waves of technology haven’t stolen the charm of its
people. They refuse to change their way of living, perhaps for their own good. Numerous urban legends can be heard in the busy local trains or the watering holes of Gokul, Leopolds & Mondegar. On a lucky day, if you bumped into a Mumbaikar with rare time in hand, they would speak proudly of the people moving into the city, whom they embrace as their own without prejudice. They would tell the tale on how these people arrived with no place to live, slept on the railway platforms and with grit, hard work and determination, rose to become great stars in its thriving film, financial and other
industries. Thus, the dream to come here from far-off villages with the hope to find success, remains very real in the heart of every citizen.
Under this Colourful Umbrella of Hope, they soon realise that the path to such success in contemporary society involves professional hustling,
cutthroat competition and ruthless efficiency – moving them further away from the calm of humanity.
So, perhaps it could be that she's here on Marine drive looking far into the distant ocean
in contemplation of another land. A land where quintessential are met more easily and where one can find more time to love and be loved as humans
again….
Lovers at Bay, Marine Drive
Subharthi Guha
27 Aug 2023
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