Mumbai logo doesn’t go with city’s identity,say Mumbaikars

Tweeting about the logo,actor Riteish Deshmukh,said: “Disappointed. Please change the logo”.

Similarly,musician Vishal Dadlani tweeted,“It is awful. I hope someone is listening. Let Mumbaikars vote for their favourite logo.”

Explaining the logic behind the theme,Bhupal Ramnathkar,founder and president of Umbrella Design,which has been appointed for the branding exercise,said: “Mumbai is a combination of Mumba Devi,a popular local goddess,and aai,which is the Marathi word for mother. ‘Majhi Mumbai’ denotes the feeling of motherhood that the city has towards those who live here.”

The logo,which is a combination of black,orange and blue,has an enclosed oval motif denoting a mother’s arm carrying a child. It has been created by communication designer Ashok Parab of Umbrella Design.

“The symbol is a sad representation of the city. The city symbolises dreams,youth and vibrance,which are missing in the symbol. Like the New York logo,the symbol has to be simpler and must touch the hearts of everyone,” said Gaurav Gupta,a 33-year-old banking professional.

However,some like 28-year-old Esha Singh said,“One must respect that Mumbai logo can be in Marathi considering that it is a language of the state. If you go to any other city,for example Chennai,it has a logo in the local language. Why do we need to make it global?” The logo ,which is expected to be used for all BMC stationery,signs and boards,along with the official logo,was recently finalised by the civic body.

“It is a product of profound research that revealed the thoughts and opinions of its residents. It answered the question: what Mumbai means to me,” said Ramnathkar.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com