Author: The Metrognome

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Guest writer

Shiv Sena at the crossroads

Prakash Bal Joshi analyses Bal Thackeray’s recent speech, and if Uddhav and Raj will combine forces for the next elections.

For the first time in the last 46 years, Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray addressed the Shiv Sena rally at Shivaji Park through a pre-recorded video of his speech, indicating clear sings of ageing. His absence may have disappointed the Sainiks, but his speech, which lacked the usual Tiger roar, touched an emotional cord. Not only Sainiks present at Shivaji Park, but also those who heard him speak were moved. It was one of the most effective speeches he has ever delivered.

A cartoonist who mesmerised generation after generation, and kept addressing them from Shivaji Park without fail, the Shiv Sena chief today stands at a crossroads. He clearly indicated who the heir apparent is, and made an emotive appeal to his followers to take care of his son and acting president of Shiv Sena, Uddhav, and his grandson Aditya, who leads the youth brigade of the party. He made the appeal with folded hands, and showed how deeply wounded he was due to split in the party when Raj Thackeray left the Sena camp a few years ago.

It was not a speech but a dialogue in his typically aggressive, derisive and most graphic style – as if he is talking to his followers in person. Anybody who listened to him was convinced that the Sena is currently down but not out –  there is still hope if his supporters keep their faith in the organisation and the leadership of his son, who is leading it from the front.

The demographic profile of Mumbai has changed drastically during the last four decades, but Thackeray is not willing give up his Marathi domination over the metropolis. He lashed out against his pet object – NCP president Sharad Pawar – for eulogising the multilingual culture of Mumbai, warning him that the Sena will not allow political power to slip out of Marathi hands in the state capital. His next target was the Gandhi family leading the Congress Party – Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka, Robert and their political advisor Ahmed Patel.

Though it was basically an emotional appeal where Thackeray Sr talked about becoming an 85-year-old and described his physical condition, he also talked about some hard facts of politics. He reiterated that the Sena would continue its Sons of the Soil agenda, but at the same time, it will pursue politics of hard Hindutva – a strategy which helped catapult the party to power in Maharashtra in 1995.

He touched the most crucial and dominating issue of corruption by attacking Sharad Pawar on Lavasa, lambasting the Manmohan Singh government for Coalgate and other scams, and describing the situation by talking of India as a ‘country of cheats’. In his inimitable style, he also criticised people for ‘taking notes for giving votes’ and later joining anti-corruption agitations.

Thackeray has been adjusting his strategy from time to time to take note of the changing socio-political climate in the State, though his focus always remained the Marathi manoos and militant Hindutva. His concern appears to be an anxiety about whether Uddhav would be equally quick and sharp to navigate the Sena, since he is now almost out of action due to his age.

The coming elections will be test by fire for Uddhav’s leadership, who proved his mettle by reasserting the Sena’s position in the last Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, where his detractors tried their best to upstage him. Will he be able to capture power with the help of the BJP, which is facing its own crisis of leadership?

Aspirations and needs of the Marathi manoos in Mumbai have drastically changed since Thackeray launched the Shiv Sena way back in the late 1960s. Much will depend on how Uddhav fine-tunes the Sena apparatus before the coming elections. He may well have to compete with, as well as compromise with his cousin Raj, if he wants to take Balasaheb’s legacy forward.

Prakash Bal Joshi is a senior political journalist, who last worked with The Times of India, Mumbai. He is also an acclaimed artist and painter.

 

 

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Big story

No speed limits this year

Maharashtra sees over 70,000 road accidents every year. However, government may not enforce speed limits on vehicles this year.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Given that speeding is a major cause for several road accidents in the city and the state, it is becoming increasingly necessary to have a speed-control mechanism installed on vehicles that speed. The state government, too, wishes to introduce speed governors in heavy vehicles to check rising incidents of road accidents. However, a government-appointed panel set up to recommend speed limits for various vehicles needs another two months to finalise its recommendations.

In the light of this development, it is obvious that speed limits will probably not be imposed this year.

A speed governor is a device that is attached to the vehicle’s gearbox. Sensors capture the speed of the vehicle, and the governor automatically slows down the vehicle if it overshoots its pre-set speed limit. The government wants buses, trucks and other heavy vehicles to have speed governors  installed – the original plan was to have this decision implemented this year, however, with the panel requiring more time, it is likely that the move will not be final before next year.

When the decision to impose speed restrictions on heavy vehicles was first announced, transporters and bus owners had strongly objected to the idea. Accordingly, the government set up a panel early this year to study the objections raised, and which was expected to submit its report by September 1 this year. However, the panel did not meet this deadline and has now asked for two more months.

If all had gone to plan, the transport department could have introduced speed limits and speed governors from September 2012 onwards.

Accidental state

As per a Government Resolution (GR) from the state’s Home Department issued last week, Maharashtra’s state and national highway see a high 70,000 vehicular accidents every year. “Arising from these accidents, at least 12,000 people lose their lives, while 40,000-45,000 people are injured every year. The rising numbers of accidents and the resultant loss to life has made it necessary to bring about preventive measures at the earliest,” the GR says.

Additionally, in order to monitor the successful implementation of all the state government decisions taken to reduce the numbers of accidents, a committee comprising Minister of State for Home, Satej Patil, Minister of State for Transport, Gulabrao Deokar, Minister of State for Public Works Department, Ranjit Kamble, and Minister of State for Health, Fauzia Khan, has been set up.

(Picture courtesy flickrhivemind.net) 

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Hum log

The shoe stopper

Chondamma Cariappa’s blog, The Sole Sisters, lets you find and drool over the prettiest shoes in the country and abroad.
by Ritika Bhandari

This shoe blog will have you go ‘One, two, buckle my shoe…three, four, preen and post’. Adding a fun twist to the old nursery rhyme is a unique blog for the sole which loves shoes, and is aptly titled ‘The Sole Sisters’.

Advertisers are always in search of inspiration, and Chondamma Cariappa was no different. But instead of a commercial, she started a blog titled ‘The Sole Sisters’. The 32-year old Creative Director with Bates Advertising, Mumbai, took a cue from her personal Facebook album ‘Fetish’ and decided to give women all over the world a new pair of shoes to drool on every day.

Chondamma says, “Each time I travelled, I put up pictures of shoes I had bought from various parts of the world. This led to discussions and comments from friends. So I thought, ‘Why not start a blog for women who are passionate about shoes?’ That’s how the idea for The Sole Sisters was born.”

A shoe lover, the Bandra resident talks about how the space constraint in Mumbai doesn’t allow her to keep too many pairs of shoes. Originally from Bangalore, she moved to Mumbai six years ago and owns 50 pairs of shoes.

Her blog prologue reads, “You walk in wearing a nice pair of shoes and somewhere in the room a woman wonders, ‘Where did she get them from?’ and ‘Is she thinner than me?’  Sole Sisters is a blog dedicated to answering one of those two questions.” And Chondamma answers them with pictures of shoes sent in by readers and contributors from across the globe.

From wedges to high heels to knitted ballerinas, the blog features all kinds of lovely shoes. Till date, more than 400 contributors have sent in their photographs and 70 per cent of these are from India. But she says that the international demographic, as well as posts from small Indian towns intrigue her. “Initially, it started with friends and colleagues sharing their pictures. Soon, the word spread and we started getting emails from women all over asking us to feature their shoes,” she says.

Despite the overwhelming response, she only has herself and her friend Parveez Shaikh handling the blog – Parveez handles the PR and marketing for her. But how does one get an entry into the featured posts? Chondamma says, “We give high points to pictures which are shot interestingly or artistically. Having said that, sometimes a great or funky pair of shoes shot in a simple way also makes for a great picture.”

The Sole Sisters blog is definitely growing in popularity with the presence of a Facebook page, and the tags ensure that contributors help to spread the word. “Also, while travelling in India or abroad, when we come across anyone wearing nice shoes, we take pictures right then and there, or just give them our visiting card,” says Chondamma.

There is a website in the pipeline, which will feature sections like shoe reviews, discussions and online shopping, among other things. The first step in this direction has taken place with the launch of the Neon footwear collection by a local designer through The Sole Sisters blog.

Chondamma says that the best part about running the blog are the mails of appreciation she receives from women she has not even met. And yet they connect, not over coffee or clothes but shoes.

Simply put, her blog underlines the fact that a combination of a good pair of boots and a nicely shot, clear picture, can get your favourite pair envious likes, shares and comments. After all, isn’t Cinderella proof enough that a pair of shoes can change a person’s life?

The blog is at http://thesolesisters.blogspot.in

Categories
Read

The most-read magazine in Maharashtra

…is a government publication! Lokrajya, over 60 years old, is the country’s only government magazine with a 3,05,000 print run.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

A magazine prepared and printed in Mumbai, finds resonance all over the state. It is sold out within a few days of hitting the stands, and has a staggering on-stands sale of about 50,000, higher than the glossiest magazines devoted to other topics. It has a stunning subscriber base of 3,05,000 people all over Maharashtra, apart from a strong online presence. And despite its huge popularity, it is priced at a modest Rs 10 per issue, and is produced on a non-profit basis.

The magazine is titled ‘Lokrajya’, and is a Government of Maharashtra Information and Public Relations (PR) production. The entire team working on the magazine, however, mention at the start of the interview that none of their names are to be made public. “We are only doing our jobs,” they say, before an official launches into an explanation of the magazine and how it came to be so popular.

“It was started 64 years ago, as a weekly, to cater to the strong reading culture of the state,” he explains. “Three generations have come up reading Lokrajya; it is not a gazette but it is a government mouthpiece. However, we maintain the highest editorial and production qualities for each issue. The cover is very scrupulously done, and we are very meticulous about minimising errors.” The magazine is backed by a team of in-house editors, and there are edit meetings held before production of each issue begins. “We try and gauge what people would be interested in reading, what is most current at the moment. We also bring out special issues that have always been well-received – our special issue on Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth centenary even went into a reprint!”

He mentions that the magazine’s readers, and indeed its targeted niche, are not based in Mumbai. “A very small percentage of people in Mumbai are reading it. Our base is in the other cities and towns, and especially in the villages. Our most ardent readers are UPSC students, government servants, gram and zilla panchayat workers, rural schools and colleges, tribal students and economically backward students. We feature stories and interviews that are of especial interest to these groups.”

Lokrajya is printed in Marathi, Hindi, Urdu and English, though it used to be printed in Sindhi also. “It was too taxing to print it as a weekly, so it was later made a monthly,” the official explains. “Since the periodicity is monthly, we can pack more news and features in each issue.” says Director General Pramod Nalavade. He adds, “You should see our distribution process. With such huge bundles of magazines going out to distributors and to post offices all over the state, the magazine is almost a small industry in itself!”

 

Categories
Overdose

Fooling the Gods

Jatin Sharma wonders why people are taking the convenient route to celebrating festivals. After all, our rituals mean something, right?

So did you dance to Aye Ganpat, Chal Daru La while getting your Ganesha idol home?

Or did you re-tune Beedi jalaile to Agarbatti jalaile during Mata ki Chowki in Navratri?

Or were you the one who made the rule that during Shravan , you wouldn’t eat non-vegetarian food ONLY at home? Having non-vegetarian food outside was fine.

If you belong to one or more of the above categories, or know someone who belongs to one, welcome to this column.

I was recently at an arti during the recent Ganpati festival, when I heard this exchange of thoughts.  “Mera Ganpati dekh, poore gyarah hazaar ka hai,” boasted a man. “Kanjoos, paap lagega! Mera Ganpati dekh, maine Siddhivinayak se banvaaye hai, poore pachchees hazaar ek ka hai,” replied the other. Listening to them and seeing that price tags were being attached to a God, was quite amusing, and at the same time an eye-opener for me. People are not interested in devotion but are only interested in the promotion of how good their arti was, or how their idol was more expensive than others.

Convenience is this generation’s favourite word. ‘If it is inconvenient, it does not stay with me,’ is what we believe. And the poor Gods have to bear the brunt of this thinking, too!

We are the i-generation. We feel deeply only about ‘i’, and mend and break rules laid by the society and the Gods according to our own ‘i-book’. Take the example of the Ganeshotsav. People are supposed to bring the Ganesha idol home, and do seva of Lord Ganesha for 11 days, but now they have shortened the duration of his stay as per their convenience. The stipulated 11 days first turned to one and a half days, and now we see variants of three days, five days, seven days and nine days.

Also during the Ganeshotsav, people are supposed to not eat non-vegetarian food and not drink alcohol. But people have referred to their i-book again, and now they eat non-vegetarian food and drink alcohol if they are not doing so in their house where the Ganesha idol is kept.

Also, visarjan. Earlier, people danced to Ganpati songs  and would take the beloved God to the immersion site singing songs about his valour and bravery, but now Ganpati is bid adieu in the midst of a cacophony of Sheilas and Munnis and Jalebi bais.

Hindu culture also has myriad rituals to help people prosper and garner wealth. And such rituals are a sight, too. Pandits with their proficiency in Sanskrit, but an apathy towards explaining what they are saying, have successfully managed to change all these rituals into a good business. They have shortened the rituals in order to let businessmen feel good about conducting the poojas, while being able to attend their business meetings on time, too. Also, several artis these days are performed thus: the arti plays out from a music player, and then a septuagenarian ambles along to say a few words that make some religious sense.

The Navratri festival sees many people organising Mata ki chowki. Nine days of celebration have, these days, just turned into one big round of dress up. No one reaches for the arti on time, in fact, no one even knows where the idol of the Goddess is during the Navratri. And the songs are more about someone’s jawaani and someone else’s dil that has been broken, rather than the goddess who saved the world.

The plot is being lost. I am not talking about religion. But I feel that there is a purpose behind these rituals, and I think we are losing the purpose somewhere. We talk about making our festivals more entertaining and thus, more acceptable, but are we doing that by doing all this? We have become far more superior than our ancestors, but does that mean that we mock at everything that has been created by them?

I am not questioning people and their choices. They are free to do whatever they want. But I do feel for these festivals. I do feel that when we are not honest with the world around us, even when God is in our midst, it just pollutes and corrupts the future for everybody.

Jatin Sharma is 26, works in the media, and doesn’t ever want to grow up, because he feels that growing up will make him like everybody else. 

(Picture courtesy goindia.about.com) 

 

Categories
Big story

The Mayor’s not happy with Wadia Hospital

After an infant was stolen from Nowrosjee Wadia Hospital, the Mayor says the BMC might reconsider the hospital’s lease conditions.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It’s been five days since Jasmine Naik’s day-old son was stolen from the Parel-based Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital, allegedly by a woman who had been hovering near the ward for two whole days before she made away with the baby, but there has been no breakthrough in the case. While the distraught mother has refused to vacate her bed till her son is found, the hospital received a sharp rebuke from the city’s Mayor, Sunil Prabhu.

Prabhu, who visited the hospital on Saturday to meet with Jasmine and her family, spoke with the media after the meeting and said, “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has leased out the plot of land on which the Hospital stands, subject to certain rules and conditions. However, the Hospital has repeatedly gone back on these, and if this continues, the BMC will be forced to rethink about the land that has been given to the Hospital.”

The BMC and The Wadia Trust jointly run the maternity hospital and the Bai Jerbai Wadia Children’s Hospital since the year 1928, but in recent times, the two have been locked in a bitter dispute over allocation of funds for the repairs of the Children’s Hospital. The building has been closed for repairs after being certified unsafe. It was built over 80 years ago.

The Mayor added, “Time and time again, the BMC has asked the Trust to install an adequate number of CCTV cameras all over the premises, but they have not installed a single device till date. Every year, the BMC grants a certain amount to the Hospital’s trustees for the smooth running of the hospital. But what we find is very different.

On the pretext of repairs, the Hospital management has kept a large part of the premises closed for a long time now. Residents and patients have often complained of the space constraint here. Besides, the Hospital is not providing the best medical care and services to patients. We (BMC) have often asked them to employ more security guards, but there are only four men guarding the entire premises. It is unfortunate that a little child was stolen so easily from a packed ward, all due to negligence on the part of the Hospital.”

How should civic and government hospitals step up security to prevent infants being stolen? Send us your ideas to editor@themetrognome and we will take them to Mayor Sunil Prabhu on your behalf.

 

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