Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

A moment of quiet

A past memorial held at the Gateway of India. Pic/Getty Images

Yesterday, Friday 26/11 was a day of quiet reflection, sobriety and sadness. In the whirl of a city coming back to its regular pace, memories of Mumbai’s 26/11 terror attack swirled around. WhatsApp messages saluting heroes, condolences for those who lost their loved ones and acknowledging the tireless community service of some did the rounds, assuring heroes that they are not forgotten. A nurse who was on duty tending to the injured that day posted a message which saluted her, and said she receives this one annually adding it is nice to know that people still remember. Meanwhile Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), not in existence then since it was formed in 2012, four years after the terror attacks, wound its way from the western suburbs to South Mumbai with a Tiranga rally. This was not about politics though; it was about pain. The city was catapulted in the vortex of global terror. From that time, some global terror attacks across the world were described by commentators and writers as, “Mumbai-style terror attacks…” In the current climate of very worthy COVID-19 frontline warriors, let us not forget everybody who was a warrior back then.

Mind your language

With the World Atlas of Languages, UNESCO has embarked on a project that recognises the need to preserve lesser-known linguistic traditions. They are calling on people involved in language preservation to notify them about languages that can be included in the atlas. Coincidentally, closer to home, an online platform called Adivasi Lives Matter (ALM) is also working on a project to preserve endangered languages, which involves an atlas of their own. “A language only dies when it’s not in use. So, we have to protect them by creating avenues where they can be used,” shared ALM editor Hamari Jamatia.

A level playing field

In a bid to promote an accessibility mindset in the city, Project Mumbai, an NGO, has decided to use sports as a medium. In that, they’ve adopted a wheelchair basketball team named Mumbai Wheelers. The idea is for this team to travel to different venues across the city, to raise awareness about the need for accessible infrastructure. The NGO is also sponsoring sports wheelchairs, conducting coaching, offering physiotherapy and spine treatment, and securing financial security for disabled players. 

Aarey’s green, fruity heart

Mission Green Mumbai, an environmentally-oriented movement, has announced an innovative vertical fruit and vegetable forest, in the heart of the city. They’ve cleared a 25-acre-plot in Aarey as the intended site. “A vertical forest is a technique in which tall trees, smaller plants and creepers coexist. It accommodates all types of plantation, unlike monoculture plots. We will invite citizens to visit the forest, which will be ready in six months, so that they can explore the idea and even create forests of their own,” said Subhajit Mukherjee, its founder. He added that the site was chosen because of the abundance of cow manure since their concept eliminates the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

For dignity and justice

Despite manual scavenging being declared inhuman and banned by law, the practice continues in major Indian cities such as Mumbai. This is what the activist group Muse Foundation hopes to draw attention to, through their #stopmanualscavenging initiative. “Manual scavenging was legally banned in 1993, and the act was amended in 2013 to make it even stronger. However, due to shoddy implementation by the authorities, the practice continues. We are urging citizens to email the Manual Scavenging Law, 2013, to the CM of Maharashtra and Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment so that they can finally implement the measures, which include prohibiting manual scavenging, compensating workers and mechanising the cleaning of sewers,” shared Shreyas Poddar, its organiser. Further, the initiative highlights that 95 per cent of manual scavengers are Dalits. “Although the caste angle is often overlooked, it certainly exists,” added Poddar. The petition will be live on their social media channels until December 6 (Dr BR Ambedkar’s death anniversary) and will culminate in a tweet storm. You can log on to 
@musefoundationwts on Instagram and join the cause.

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