Category: Diaries

Controversy of the year

Vasant Dhoble played Bad Cop to the hilt this year, riling Mumbai citizens but gaining popularity with the anti-pub brigade.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 9 of the Yearender Diaries

As policing went, this was a strange year for Mumbai. Crimes against women went through the roof in 2012, but while the police showed ineptitude in preventing these crimes, there were a few notable and quick arrests within days of most of these crimes occurring. Similarly, the police had some success in nabbing certain chain-snatching gangs, house-breaking units, Nigerian drug peddlers, and Bangladeshi immigrants living in Mumbai without valid paperwork.

On the other hand, there was Vasant Dhoble.

Dhoble (57), heading the Social Service Branch (SSB) of the Mumbai Police, made a terrific noise this year, armed with his ‘special’ brand of discipline using a hockey stick and video cameras. He conducted raids at several city hotspots this year, Cafe Zoe and Shiro being the most notable examples, while also allegedly attacking the manager of Amar Juice Centre at Juhu with a hockey stick for conducting his business after midnight.

As far as logic went, Dhoble’s was simple – “We are only enforcing the law. We have not told anybody not to enjoy the nightlife. But nobody, citizens or establishment owners, must break the law,” he said, when we spoke to him earlier this year. “And if I am to be blamed for enforcing archaic laws, what can I do? As a member of the police force, I have to lay down the laws that are framed, I cannot change the laws on my own.”

So the city’s popular night spots witnessed raids on grounds of playing loud music and disturbing the peace, DJs playing music without the licence to do so, establishments admitting more patrons than allowed to, patrons consuming alcohol without valid liquor permits, and so on. On some occasions, patrons were rounded up for questioning, and in one case, two women who were rounded up with several others after a Dhoble raid, later pressed charges for defamation. “The women were soliciting customers at the bar,” Dhoble said, even as protests erupted about the women being wrongly detained and defamed as being prostitutes.

The cop’s seemingly high moral compass – he famously said early this year that it was the police’s job to protect the young from corrupt influences such as drink and drugs – would even have been grudgingly appreciated save for the glaring blemishes on Dhoble’s career. He was suspended from service in 1989 for accepting a bribe while on a posting in Pune. Five years later, his role in a custodial death landed him with seven years in prison and a Rs 1,00,000 fine, but he got away without serving the jail sentence. Dismissed from the force that year, he was reinstated two years later. A few months later, he was also accused of being lax with an important file related with a Dawood Ibrahim investigation.

Most officers in the police force did not agree with Dhoble’s methods, especially the hockey stick he carried on most raids. When asked why he kept a hockey stick in his office, he shrugged and said, “I like to play hockey.” However, then Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik was a staunch supporter of Dhoble, who is also said to be extremely well-connected in political circles. Which was why, despite Mumbai outraging over every successive Dhoble raid, there was no reactive response from the Police or the State Government.

Before the city woke up to the cop’s antics in earnest, Dhoble even gave a few interviews in which he spoke against the youth adopting lifestyles that were against Indian culture, wearing clothes that demeaned their parents and took up habits that corrupted society, and that he would not allow the young to be “influenced” and that they must be “saved”. However, following the backlash to these comments, he quickly adopted a man-of-few-words stance, replying to reporters’ questions in practiced one-liners, not revealing details of raids conducted, and explaining in detail only the laws and sections of the law that he and his team tried to uphold.

Even as protests against him grew, especially on social media, there emerged an equally strong lobby for Dhoble. This largely comprised members of housing associations that have been campaigning for years against the nuisance caused by pubs and bars in residential areas of the city.

Then Patnaik was shunted out following the Azad Maidan riot this year, and the new Police Commissioner, Dr Satyapal Singh, wasted no time in getting Dhoble out of his SSB posting. Dhoble is now ACP of the Vakola Division.

(Picture courtesy mid-day.c0m)

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Look out for Trend of the Year tomorrow.

Tags Arup Patnaik, cafe zoe, diaries, Dr Satyapal Singh, mumbai, Shiro, SSB, Vakola division, Vasant Dhoble

Diaries

Heartbreak of the year

Sachin Tendulkar retired from ODI cricket. And the big hole he leaves behind proves that in cricket, Sach is life.

by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

Part 8 of the Yearender Diaries

I was not a cricket fan when Sachin Tendulkar started playing international one day cricket. I wasn’t even in the country when he first started receiving a respectable amount of newspaper coverage – we stayed in the Middle East and my parents would read about his exploits in the day’s Maharashtra Times that would arrive on our doorstep later that afternoon. My early impressions of the diminutive, curly-haired boy were ‘Okay, so he plays a bit of cricket, doesn’t everybody?’

We returned to India for good after the Gulf War broke out in 1989, and I began watching cricket when cable TV was installed in my house and the general hysteria over cricket in the country got to me as well. From being somebody who played a bit of cricket to somebody who got cuter the more you saw him and who batted like a dream and actually kept you interested the entire time he was on the field, Sachin Tendulkar absolutely did it for me. I was completely and absolutely in love with Sachin Tendulkar, and as the years passed and his form plummeted, then peaked, as he took long injury layoffs and came back and played with even greater genius, my love for him only deepened. It’s like never forgetting your first love, especially if that first love continues to reside in your neighbourhood though both of you are now married to other people and have children, but as you watch him leave for work every morning, you feel a rising respect for his poise, the first grey hair on his temples, the way he keeps his temper even when his kids are pummeling him with his fists in the throes of a mega tantrum…

But I digress.

Sachin Tendulkar also did it for me because of the absolute class he exhibited, especially off the field. There was no pushy trophy wife tailing him all over the world as he toured and played, there were no hints of inappropriate dalliances with film actresses. No politically incorrect, flippant comments. No comments at all in the face of unrelenting criticism. No sign of his phenomenal success going to his head, no sign of his frequent failures pulling him down. In time, Sachin became the gold standard for all that was expected of role models around the world – so much so, that when the world crashed all around Tiger Woods, I heard several people remark, “Not everyone can handle success. Not everyone is Sachin Tendulkar.”

I never realised how strong my attraction for Sachin Tendulkar was, till I got the chance to see him in person at a book release event. I am still disconcerted by the fact that Sachin is not as portly as he appears on screen or in pictures. And while everybody chased him at the end of the event for an autograph or a picture, my awe of the great man prevented me from doing more than shoot a video and click several pictures from afar; I didn’t have the courage to ask him for an autograph. It even pained me a little to see how patient the guy was with the swarms of reporters around him, smiling at all those he made eye contact with, never refusing to sign the notepads brought to him by shy, wide-eyed little boys and girls who could only stare.

It took me very long to realise that Sachin Tendulkar had always been a role model for me, long before I had vocalised the thought that I didn’t have any role models who were also celebrities. I probably thought my only sporting role model was Roger Federer, but as I clapped till I couldn’t feel my hands any more every time Federer won another Grand Slam, I dimly recalled losing the feeling in my hands in similar fashion every time Sachin gave us a century.

What links me for eternity to somebody like Sachin Tendulkar is the confidence that he will never let me down. That if he does, I will still forgive him because he’s been such a definitive part of my growing up years. For being a standout role model in a land otherwise littered with Bollywood types, whose sole claim to any fame is that they make extraordinary amounts of money for not much work or talent. For being the reason why noobs such as I began watching cricket in earnest, and learnt the various tricks of the game while he delighted the nation.

Sachin Tendulkar finally called it quits last week. An expected end, but this may have been the first time he’s let anyone down with his timing. Call me selfish, but I would have liked to see him hang about for the Pakistan tour, and yet, I felt a quiet pride over a career that was beyond sterling. Despite all the respect I feel for him, I’m not a sycophantic, blind believer – I felt his new hairstyle was the stupidest thing I saw all year, and he shouldn’t have postponed his retirement despite a dip in form, occupying space that was precious to those waiting impatiently in the wings – so I truly believe that he should have gone in happier circumstances.

And yet, though I knew this was coming, this was truly the heartbreak of the year. And my heart will remain broken all through this lifetime.

Now if only I can do something about getting that autograph…

Tags diaries, Heartbreak of the Year, retirement from ODI cricket, sachin tendulkar

Diaries

Idea of the year

Two Mumbai men on a mission to plant trees across the country, and involve the nation’s young while doing so. This was the best green idea this year.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 7 of the Yearender Diaries

On October 10, two Mumbai men started out on a cross-country tour, armed with basic essentials and a simple idea – travel the length and breadth of the country, visit educational institutions and plant trees with a lot of youngsters watching and participating.

They call it ‘Project 35 Trees’.

We interviewed Hari Chakyar (26) – one half of the duo, the other is freelance filmmaker Anthony Karbhari – a few days before they started out from Mumbai, and till date, they’ve been to several places, from Chandigarh to Puri, from Jamshedpur to Bhilai; the tour is planned for all the States and Union Territories and will be complete in four months. When we spoke to Hari last, the duo was packing to leave and was tremendously excited to be going.

Since then, the duo has met with several youngsters in the places they’ve been to, held interactive sessions to illustrate their point, and yes, planted trees wherever they’ve been. “Project 35 Trees is about planting trees in all 35 states and union territories of India. It is also about educating students about the need to plant trees and other environmental problems that the world faces,” Hari said, and he’d been quick to point out that though Anthony and he were the initiators of the idea, “…this is a community project that belongs to everybody.”

A typical session starts with a documentary screening about degradation of natural resources, a talk about Project 35 Trees and a Q & A session where students can ask questions. This is followed by a tree planting programme.

Prior to leaving, Hari and Anthony had drawn up a list of schools and colleges where they would be visiting, a list that would grow as the trip progressed. Such a trip also necessitated finding hosts to stay with in almost all the places they would visit. “We are and will be collecting funds for the trip. People can contribute via the Wishberry.in page,” said Hari.

What is the duo’s expectation of the Project? “I would love it if even a few students I speak to decide to take up initiatives to know more and act for the conservation of the environment. We will be ready to help these schools set up a nature club in their schools or colleges, like for a class assignment. It’ll also be awesome if people could plant trees on their own,” Hari said. “For us, Project 35 Trees is also about understanding what environmental problems the country faces. Meeting people who are doing good work in conservation will also help.

Awareness programmes must be included in the scholastic syllabus. Students must be encouraged to participate in awareness and conservation programmes. This will help them make informed, sensitive choices as adults.

A lot of simple human actions affect the environment adversely. When you purchase shells and conches from Kanyakumari, you don’t realise that those creatures are caught live in the waters and boiled in the hundreds to ‘clean’ and beautify them for your showcase. Some women want ivory jewellery made from the tusks of painfully-slaughtered elephants. Did you know that sharks will soon join the ranks of endangered creatures because some of us want shark fin soup for dinner? It’s time to stop taking the world around for granted and finding out which of our actions are causing great distress elsewhere.”

The duo aims to collect Rs 5,00,000 via donations. Till date, they’ve got close to Rs 1,45,000 through 80 donors.

Follow the duo’s progress through the country on www.facebook.com/35trees. You can contribute to the cause at http://www.wishberry.in/Support-Project-35-Trees–14320

Tags anthony karbhari, diaries, hari chakyar, Idea of the year, project 35 trees

Diaries

Issue of the year

There was a dramatic increase in crimes against women this year. Jatin Sharma explores the psyche behind these terrible crimes.

Part 6 of the Yearender Diaries

Did you ever hear a man say, “Kya maal hai,” and he was not referring to some object that he saw?

Did you ever hear a man say, “Kya item hai, boss!” and both were missing, the item and the boss?

Were you ever a part of a discussion where people talked about bosoms and butts?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, I would like to congratulate you, as you have just become a member of the ICBART. For the uninitiated, ICBART stands for I Can Be A Rapist Too.

The main problem with the whole rape issue is that most of the rapists have not done it because of a sexual urge. It’s mainly because they wanted to punish someone or humiliate them. Rape is an attitude of a mind that says that girls are not worth anything. And they have seen girls always as an object, or someone who doesn’t have a right to even walk on the road freely. Most rapists have had an upbringing that mainly speaks about girls as victims. They have been brought up in an atmosphere that has given them to understand that boys can do whatever they want, because ‘Ladka hai na,’ and that girls can do only a few things in life, because ‘Ladki hai, zyaada mat udd’.

But the main question is, why do we as a society fail to respect women? I think it’s because of something called ‘raw power’.

This raw power makes a man feel that women are inferior to them. And stop right there before you think that this is just a rural mindset. Wherever we may be, in cities or in villages, directly or indirectly, we are all guilty of passing on these messages to our generation. Even the learned have set different behavioural mores for their sons and daughters.

Ladka hai, night out maar sakta hai.

Ladki hai, dus baje tak ghar pe aa jaana.

These biases are so strongly instilled in us, our ideas of what a boy should be like and what a girl should be like are so entrenched, that even when we are proud of our girl child, we appreciate her by saying, “Yeh toh mera beta hi hai!” It speaks volumes of us a society if our pride in our women is measured in terms of success parameters that are defined by men.

Isn’t it the very foundation of the whole debate that speaks about the superiority of men over women?

The entire nation is boiling with shame, and everybody’s blaming the rapists. But all of us are responsible for this rape, and many more that are happening around the country. We have clapped when Duryodhan molested Draupadi in front of everyone, and we listen, thrilled, when a colleague comes to us and tells us about what kind of an butt or bosom a girl in the office has.

All of us are rapists. It cannot be stressed enough that if we want to stop crimes against women, then we should stop demeaning them, even if we’re doing it in our minds. The next time you hear people discussing women as objects, stop them from doing so. It’s all about becoming more responsible for the women who give you love and respect in your life.

Start respecting the womb that bore you for nine months. Start respecting the womb that will let you prove your manhood by giving you a child. Start respecting women.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional.

(Picture courtesy futurity.org)

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Watch out for Idea of the Year tomorrow.

Tags crimes against women, delhi rape case, diaries, Issue of the year, jatin sharma

Diaries

Politician of the year

Prithviraj Chavan learnt the ropes very quickly in Maharashtra. He was a key player in the State’s politics this year.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 5 of the Yearender Diaries

Prithviraj Chavan took over as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister at a really tumultuous time in the State’s political scene. The other Chavan – Ashok, of the Adarsh Housing Scam – had just been removed as CM, several names in the Government were tumbling out of the closet for their complicity in the Scam, and the Congress urgently needed to appoint a new, squeaky clean CM.

The question was: who was non-controversial enough to take over the CM’s post?

Reportedly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was upset over the idea of sending his trusted lieutenant, Prithviraj Chavan, to head Maharashtra. Chavan had been Singh’s main troubleshooter for the longest time in Delhi, but the decision was finally made and Chavan left for Maharashtra.

Says a Government official who worked with Chavan when he first assumed the CM’s office, “He actually wasn’t well-versed with Maharashtra and its ways. He didn’t know most of the State’s politicians, apart from the very prominent ones. It took him a while to match the faces to the names.”

Satish Lalit, the CM’s chief PRO says, “He came from a very structured working background in Delhi, where everybody met him only after prior appointment. Over here, people just barge into ministers’ offices, and any appointments happen by sending a visiting card to the CM five minutes earlier. He (Chavan) found this really strange.” Adds another official, “He still does not like to meet people all the time, but he has made his peace with it.”

Those in the know will testify that Chavan works very late nights – Satish says his staff works till 10.30 pm daily – and that he watches the news on TV till the wee hours of the morning, before sleeping awhile and waking up for a game of badminton before starting work. “I have not seen too many politicians in his position keep abreast of the latest happenings the way he does,” Satish says. “He is always reading and researching; I think this comes from his BITS Pilani background, but there is no denying that he is uncommonly astute and a very quick learner.”

There is no doubt that Chavan has not only learnt the ropes of a gigantic State quickly enough, but he has also become a dependable face in Maharashtra politics at a very testing time – the Congress in the State is increasingly at loggerheads with its ally, the NCP (despite Chavan’s good ties with NCP chief Sharad Pawar), the irrigation scam is still an unresolved issue that Chavan will have to answer for sooner than later, and he is said to have several enemies within his own party. There are also rumblings, on and off, about him being recalled to Delhi.

Overall, this year belonged to Chavan, with a number of important decisions and incidents to his credit. He took a couple of tough decisions that impacted the builder lobby in Mumbai, but overall, showed remarkable keenness to drive foreign investment to the State. Another development that can be credited to him was the long-pending Indu Mill land transfer early this month. But his biggest achievement this year was the total secrecy he and his office maintained over the hanging of 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab till it actually happened; this made Chavan an instant celebrity all over the country, with the media marvelling at the two-week silence over the operation. His Government was also credited for its efficiency during the mammoth funeral for Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray in November.

Observers say that Chavan has mastered the trick of being highly visible while at work, without appearing to do so, and that he knows how to capitalise on an issue and muzzle his detractors.

Besides all of this, there’s something about the man that inspires confidence. He is tremendously fit at age 65, he is a sharp dresser, he is extremely articulate (he switches easily between Marathi, Hindi and English, unlike most State politicians) and he is not known to pass flippant comments or be anything but politically correct. “You have to read between the lines when you’re speaking to him,” says an official. “He is not given to verbosity at all. And if something false or derogatory is written about him in the papers or shown on the channels, he doesn’t get rattled by it.”

One thing people do fault him for, however, is that he almost always reaches late for any event. “He is always late,” chuckles a journalist. “But it seems that he is constantly working, always travelling, sometimes covering two or three places in a day.”

(Picture courtesy jaimaharashtranews.com)

Tags BITS Pilani, diaries, Maharashtra, NCP, Politician of the year, prithviraj chavan, sharad pawar

Diaries

Personality of the year

Sailesh Mishra, senior citizen activist, went to the UN, participated in Satyameva Jayate, and helped lost elders find their homes.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 4 of the Yearender Diaries

A disclaimer: at The Metrognome, we don’t subscribe to the idea that year-ending lists must comprise only the famous and the newsy. The man we chose as Personality of the Year was a walk-in for the title, anyway. Incidentally, Sailesh Mishra, elder care activist based in Mira Road, Mumbai, is both famous in his circle, and this year has certainly been a newsy one for him.

We featured Sailesh in October this year, days after he was back from a fruitful stint at the United Nations’ Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Ageing Convention. The interview with him took place at a suburban cafe, and Sailesh bubbled over with enthusiasm about the Convention, and the chance he’d been given to speak on the floor of the House – a lucky chance indeed, because Sailesh got the opportunity to refute the Indian ambassador’s remarks. “The Ambassador had said, ‘Why do the elderly need rights? Their development is the responsibility of the society and their families. What can the government do?’ When I got the chance to speak, I gently refuted what the gentleman had said, and I stressed the need for the government to be more proactive in implementing several schemes for the elderly in India,” Sailesh grinned.

We’ve met several activists over the years, and have been repeatedly disappointed when so many of them have lost their way after being involved with some truly marvellous initiatives. However, Sailesh continues to hold steady in his work, mostly because he does not ever speak of himself or his NGO. “It is the cause of elder care in the country, and how the present policies are unfriendly for our elders, that is important. I don’t ever talk about my NGO, even when invited to address conferences, because I don’t want to focus the spotlight on myself or on Silver Innings,” he says.

Sailesh’s philosophy is to look at senior citizens in a positive, happy vein. “Why do we treat our elders like they are useless, or like they need to be protected? We make no effort to integrate older people in our daily activities, we keep them away from most things. I am against this isolation that is imposed on our elders,” he says. His NGO, hence, organises events where senior citizens can register to dance, sing or participate in other social activities, while also mingling with others like themselves.

Last year, a woman from the creative team that put together Aamir Khan’s TV show Satyameva Jayate, contacted Sailesh for inputs on an episode dedicated to senior citizens. “After I heard the brief and what they were looking to discuss, I flatly said to the lady that she could tell Mr Khan on my behalf, that I was not interested in doing a show that would become a sob story about senior citizens. If they wanted to discuss the positive aspects of ageing and tell some inspiring stories, I could help them,” Sailesh says, adding that not only did the team tweak its narrative to include his idea, they also took his inputs on the rest of the episode as well.

He is also a part of the think tank that is pushing the Government of Maharashtra for a legislation that will give elders in the State a set of rights. “What you must understand is that whatever we push for at the present moment, is not about to benefit the current crop of senior citizens. Unfortunately, their time is gone. When I reach out to youngsters, I emphasise that all our present efforts towards securing elders’ rights will actually help when we become senior citizens ourselves.”

With life expectancies rising in India every year, naturally, the numbers of its senior citizens are also dramatically rising. “We must push for employment opportunities for able senior citizens, architecture and infrastructure that is easy to use for them, better communication with the police and support groups, and of course, activities that help keep them occupied and in touch with their peers,” Sailesh says. When he’s not touring the country delivering lectures and helping like-minded individuals and NGOs set up elder care facilities, his NGO runs an elder care counselling centre, organises activities, and most recently, helps in the search for senior citizens who have inadvertently wandered out of their homes.

Tags diaries, mumbai, personality of the year, sailesh mishra, silver innings, UN