Bridge over troubled water, Bridges of Madison County, Bridge on the River Kwai…” Lady Flora was surprised as she approached her friend Sir PM, and his voice became audible. “Why on earth are you rattling off the names of films that have the word ‘bridge’ in it?” she enquired. Sir PM turned around from his bench at Cooperage Bandstand, a bit startled, to realise that his friend had overheard his utterances.

“Well, my Lady, I was hoping to find a link with all these titles, and hopefully, coin a tune as a timely reminder for our beloved Bombaywallahs. The poor souls have become unwilling bystanders to yet another closure and demolition—this time, it’s that famous and historic Elphinstone Bridge. Good ole Elphinstone—bless his soul—must be wondering how and why things came to such a pass. That bridge is a critical connector between the central and western arms of the city as they converge towards the island city. Agreed, the time has come to demolish the bridge and create a more modern alternative, but why haven’t proper contingency plans been put into order, as exhaustively appeared in this newspaper?” Sir PM pulled out a copy of mid-day to show Lady Flora the coverage that he was referring to. She pored over it for the next few minutes and added, “Gosh, Pheroze. I was aware of the rumblings over this decision; I had overheard many below my pedestal worry about their commute in the aftermath of this decision, but I didn’t imagine things could come to such anguish,” she sighed, looking at the newspaper again. “And to think that only some time ago, the city had to deal with the news that the Sion bridge by its railway station had shut for work. Not sure why your former bosses have thought this through entirely, especially with regards to the inconvenience; in fact, add to it, given that they are already troubled enough. I’ve heard that residents of some adjacent buildings will be affected by the new plan. Such anti-common man disruptive practices!” she scowled.