It has been a few decades since I visited the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo in Byculla. My first and last trip was managed by my school (in what feels like another life) and the idea of stopping by that beautiful venue has never crossed my mind in all the years since, presumably because it didn’t make much of an impact on me. It’s probably a great place, but I don’t foresee purchasing a ticket to it any time soon. My opinion on zoos in general has also changed since I was a child, because I think that the idea of animals trapped for our viewing pleasure is morally repugnant, but that’s just me. If that’s what makes some people happy, who am I to judge?

The reason why that zoo popped into my mind this week, however, was a report about the city’s new mayor formally requesting the Chief Minister of Gujarat to send across two pairs of Asiatic lions. I didn’t know that the procurement of wild animals was part of the job but, then again, I have never been able to explain what the mayor does so it could well be an important duty. There are probably all kinds of tasks associated with the role, such as choosing what colours are to light up the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and for how long. It may sound as if I am being preposterous, but this is a city where lines between the absurd and official government policy can blur rather quickly.