A ship-sized hole in the landscape

When reports last came in, box office queues for the movie of the decade are still serpentine. Several weeks running and people are still fl...

When reports last came in, box office queues for the movie of the decade are still serpentine. Several weeks running and people are still flocking to the cinema halls and prints are reported to be in short supply. With Titanic fever raging all around I was reminded of our own little shipwreck. Not so dramatic and certainly nowhere near as glamorous, it was, in its own way, a pretty exciting event in our lives. Remember the storm a couple of years ago? The one that shattered window panes, felled trees and sent ships off course. That was the night it happened. A massive ship looming out of nowhere, veering dangerously close to land. Tossed by the winds it circled drunkenly for hours in slow aimless loops that always led back to the same place before running aground.

And there it lay, like a beached whale, off Bandra’s Bandstand-Carter Road stretch. The stories spread instantly. There was gold on the ship, bars and bars of it, and a whole panoply of arms. None of it was true of course, but it didn’t hurt themystique. People arrived from distant places to see the ship. Schools arranged picnic excursions. And at any given time there was a crowd of about fifty gaping and gawking at the sight. Was it the incongruity – a ship on shore, or the sheer size that attracted people? Was it the evidence of man’s ingenuity or of nature’s unpredictability that drew them there? I think it was probably a combination of all these factors. The bottom line was that it was something out of the ordinary. And it was free.

There is little that answers that description in the city these days. Just look at the crowds that turned up for the recent air show! Hordes and hordes of people who had travelled miles in the blazing sun. I, like other late starters was stuck in traffic on that day. And all that was visible to us was a slice of sky between rows of dilapidated rooftops. Yet every head was craned upwards. The Indian flag fluttered from a window and children clutching their water bottles and tiffin boxes cheered as the planes wentby. There was a wonderful feeling of camaraderie that underscored just how much we need public events that are accessible to all.

Story continues below this ad

But returning to the ship. For a while there was talk of turning it into a floatel, a swanky seaborne hotel, or so the rumours went. Residents in the neighbourhood, concerned about the noise and the traffic congestion among other things were dismayed. Nothing appeared to have come of the proposal though and the ship or a view of it, at least, remained in the public domain. To be enjoyed by merrymakers on a holiday. To be watched by visitors from the air as they swooped into the city. To be used by Bollywood as a backdrop for its endless fantasies.

But nobody said it was to stay.And now it is being broken up. Already a bit of it has been cut away. Ten trucks rumble up and down a rocky path every day carrying away more for scrap. When the tide comes in, the sea floods the path and work has to stop.

It will be months before they manage to break it up completely.I went up to itthe other day trudging over the path that had been specially laid over the sea. Behind me were the glittering lights on a stretch of seaface not visible from any other point. Up close the ship looked even more impressive than it did from afar. Massive, as tall as a five storey building perhaps, it seemed indestructible. The chain that lay all around it could not even be budged by a strong man. And yet, inside the hold, men were working with blow torches. Carriers ferried cans of water strung up on poles. And workers, swinging from ropes to get from one point to another slowly hacked away at it. Soon, it will cease to be.

Which, in some ways is a pity. I used to notice how the autorickshaw drivers would slow down every time they went past it and heads would swing towards the sea. They had got used to it, I guess and so had I.

(The author is the former editor of Elle)

Singer Zubeen Garg passes away in Singapore

Entertainment2 hr ago

Popular singer Zubeen Garg passes away after scuba diving accident in Singapore. He was participating in the 4th North East India Festival and had shared a video on Instagram inviting people to attend. He was rushed to the hospital but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. More details to follow.

View all shorts

Live Blog