The story I refer to in this column occupied our collective attention for a couple of hours before fizzling out, the way all such stories do in countries where rules are only meant for those who can’t afford to break them. Apparently, the leader of a political party in Mulund was accused of selling part of a public footpath to the owner of a fast-food stall. What complicated this otherwise smooth transaction was the fact that the space had already been rented out to someone else. The vendor was angry, which is the only reason this got out. The reason it didn’t capture everyone’s attention the way more important issues — the renaming of a railway station, for instance — usually do, was the absence of surprise.

Everyone knows footpaths aren’t meant for the common man. In fact, there is very little meant for the common man, despite everything advertised by the government. Sure, there are new roads and metros, but the intent with which they are constructed should tell us everything we need to know. When something is done with the benefit of citizens in mind, it tends to last because of good intentions. It’s why that photograph of steps built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj outside the Raigad Fort in 1656 went viral a couple of years ago. They were juxtaposed against steps built by the government of Maharashtra in 2013, and the difference was revelatory.