Bring back the beacon

I grew up in a very conservative Muslim home but my parents encouraged us to study, read books, understand the world and respect human life and dignity. My father was deeply committed to secularism and our home was a hub for the intellectuals of the day. But I wore long braids and churidar kurtas till I went to college and rebelled against these traditions-only to recover them years later, when I lived in America and grew nostalgic for home and country.

I studied Fine Arts at the Sir JJ School of Art and hung out at the St Xavier’s College canteen with friends. As students, we were deeply interested in theatre, poetry readings, musical concerts and movies. We never thought of ourselves as Hindu or Muslim or Christian though, of course, we were aware of each other’s identity. We were just friends.

We took buses to college and walked everywhere because it was safe and easy to do so. The streets had not been encroached, the pavements were hospitable, and the BEST service was impeccable then. If you woke up early you might see the bhistiwallah watering the streets to keep it clean and in the evening I remember the lamp lighter turning on the street lights. Marine Drive at sunset was a lover’s paradise and Chowpatty beach would be full of coy couples holding hands and sitting together. No one shooed them away or booked them for obscenity. Bombay was tolerant and safe then. It prided itself on being a professional, no-nonsense city.

We live in a very different world today and the values that made Bombay safe and easy to negotiate are fast eroding. The politics of hatred and divisiveness, inefficiency, greed and corruption have overcome the city’s most hallowed institutions, destroyed its beautiful streetscape, and poisoned the hearts of many. We cannot return to those good-old days but we can try to make the city safe for its inhabitants both rich and poor.

This is the city where people first rallied around Gandhiji’s Quit India call, a city that has given the country many great leaders. We need to rally again and act together to overcome the destructive forces overwhelming us from both within and without. If we want to change things then for starters we must participate in the political process and vote, and demand good governance.

If we could throw out the British surely we can throw out the corrupt politicians and officials whose neglect and inefficiency, greed and corruption and sheer disdain for the law, threaten our loved ones, our life, our values, our property and our dignity.

If we come together we can still be “The City on the Hill”- a beacon for other cities in India.