Market business....

Finally, it happened. Crawford Market, once (and perhaps still) the heart of Mumbai’s shopping needs, where generations of Mumbaikars would trek to buy the precious mangoes of summer and the sweet grapes of winter, will go under the scalpel of the developer. While it is true that something needed to be done to salvage the Market from the morass it had fallen into, my worry is whether this was what the doctor had in mind?

Crawford Market and its precincts isn’t some far-flung suburban area, which could be played around with (and this is a rather strong usage here…) and then forgotten. Why, I say, such cavalier behaviour should not be tolerable for any area.

Imagine, the ‘honourable’ corporator proposing the redevelopment had no idea of the proposal. His excuse: The market’s name, post-independence, is Mahatma Jotirao Phule Market, and he respects the Mahatma a lot, hence his support for the proposal. One could hand him a decree, under similar conditions, sentencing the entire Corporation to death, and the chap would probably announce it with equal aplomb and glee.

The Mayor of the Corporation refused to permit any debate on the proposal, stating that the Corporation had debated the same ‘last’ year and doing so again would be a ‘wastage’ of public time and money. I say, madam, how considerate of you! I couldn’t have imagined that politicians gave a damn about saving public resources; I always was under the impression that politicians are like leeches, sucking away at the health of the people. But just a query from a naïve layman: wouldn’t a debate at this juncture assist the Corporation in evaluating the proposal with a fresh perspective? Maybe, a better scheme could have been thrashed out. But then, you are the ‘best’ judge of how things ‘should’ be done.

It is reported that the bureaucracy was keen on redevelopment, but not along the lines of the current proposal. It seems they wanted the precinct to be redeveloped as a heritage quarter, sort of like the Leadenhall Market in London. I say, aren’t bureaucrats a thick bunch? Do they really think the ‘people’ of Mumbai really give a damn about heritage? Hell, demolish all the fine buildings in South Mumbai and make towering skyscrapers! After all, we aren’t modelling our city on cities like London, Prague, Paris, Vienna, San Francisco, or even New York; we have Shanghai to catch up with. Who cares about history anyways?

What? You say that I am too harsh on the people of Mumbai? Well, if I am wrong in analysing my people, let me see some strong reactions from someplace, and not just reactions which seek to caution, but reactions which change the course of events. Then, I will take back my casks of vinegar; till then, suffer its acidic taste in the mouth!