BMC- (Break My city)

Ours is the World's largest democracy (i think)
many religions, many languages, many sky rises, many slums, many political parties, many belief systems, many Gods, and above all many people.
It's all good.
In this many splendoured country is the commercial capital Mumbai. (formerly known as Bombay).
The name was changed by some Political entity to prove a point. (i think.)
personally i like the sound of Bombay anyday.
Just like Victoria Terminus has changed to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
well it was constructed by the British.
(excerpts from various sites on the world wide web:-
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as Victoria Terminus Station, in Mumbai, is an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with themes deriving from Indian traditional architecture. The building, designed by the British architect F. W. Stevens, became the symbol of Bombay as the ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India. The terminal was built over 10 years, starting in 1878, according to a High Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models. Its remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan are close to traditional Indian palace architecture. It is an outstanding example of the meeting of two cultures, as British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian architectural tradition and idioms thus forging a new style unique to Bombay. )
and then many years later:-
In 1996, in response to demands by the Shiv Sena and in keeping with the policy of renaming locations with Indian names, the station was renamed by the state government after Chatrapati Shivaji, a famed 17th century Maratha king. On 2 July 2004 the station was nominated a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.)
So i find this quite convenient. Instead of putting our energy into building something that we can be proud of....we simply name the things that have already been built.
Future generations will probably get the wrong impression ...don't you think?

But obviously i have no say in the matter. Inspite of it being a Democracy, there is no platform where any decision can be taken by a vote. It's all just happening and we watch. And learn to live with it. And adjust. Adjusting seems to be our greatest strength.
You might be wondering why i talk about something that has happened so long ago.
Well coz something else recently happened to make me wanna write. coz after all thats all i can do.
It's nothing too big that can make headlines....it'll all be forgotten in a couple of years or even months! Cos no one has the time or the patience to fight against the corrupt government bodies.
I am talking about the recent "noble" drive by the BMC to widen roads at Napean Sea road.
Their reasoning is to ease traffic congestion caused by the worli bandra sea link. hmmm i don't get that. they are quoted as saying that cars moving towards nariman point from haji ali will have to pass through napean sea road??? How and why would that happen?
What actually happened is that the BMC has let 5 new Towers come up in a narrow stretch.
The reason why those new constructions are untouched is obvious. (i think)
Instead more than 100 year old compound walls have been brought down. in a matter of hours the entire road was changed to rubble.
it's so sad to see such a beautiful stretch lined with trees on either side of the road is now nothing more than a concrete jungle.
But hey what can one say.....but......
i'll adjust.





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