Welcome to The First Metro. I am Manasi Phadke, a thoroughbred Mumbaikar, and once every fortnight, I try to bring you a glimpse of India through Mumbai-tinted glasses. Trust me, the hues seem different.
Last Diwali, I had tried to paint a picture for all of my esteemed readers of how the festival feels so special in multi-cultural Mumbai, with a motley of traditions from different states and cultures blending into one distinct celebratory feeling.
I’m recalling last year’s newsletter, with a tinge of sadness. At the core, I still like to believe that not much has changed. Festivities, Diwali or otherwise, still hit different in Mumbai. But I fear that the shiny thick golden celebratory cocktail of different cultures put through a blender, is getting a tad bitter. The colours are increasingly immiscible.
Last month, a day after Dussehra, a few hours into the morning, I started having this not altogether unfamiliar sensation of persistent manic itching in my eyes, triggering a fit of sneezes and making my eyes look like I had caught a bad bout of conjunctivitis. It’s usually my body’s way of informing me about poor AQI even before I can see the stats in print. Right on cue. It turned out to be one of Mumbai’s worst days in terms of air quality. The city ranked as the fourth most polluted city that day as per IQAir. Even Delhi fared much better than Mumbai that day.
A few days later, I read about the BMC tying up with public personalities such as cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, and actors Madhuri Dixit, Dia Mirza, Swapnil Joshi and so on to issue public appeals to do our bit to contain air pollution this festive season. I rolled my eyes. It will fall on deaf ears, I thought to myself. People will indiscriminately burst colourful crackers full of smoke and toxic particles, our windows will vibrate, one or two of the rockets may even land in our balcony, and our 12-year-old Indie dog will crawl into the farthest corner of our bedroom and roll herself into a ball, palpitating through the evening.
What happened was uglier.
Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam took offence to Dia Mirza’s video appeal that the BMC had shared. In impeccable, decorative Hindi delivered with a gentle and polite voice, Dia Mirza said exactly this: “Namaskar Mumbaikars, it’s the season of festivals. While celebrating the joys of Diwali, we have to pay attention to the environment and health. The noise and air pollution caused by firecrackers is harmful to all of us. I have a request to all. Let’s celebrate Diwali not with noise but with happiness. A very happy Diwali to all of you.”
Satam took on Mirza, who has had a multi-faith upbringing. “We” don’t need coaching on how to celebrate Diwali from Dia Mirza and “our traditions are deeply rooted in our culture,” he said. Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde also jumped in, labelling Dia Mirza “anti Hindu”.
The BMC took her video appeal down despite the fact that it actually wanted Mirza to deliver the exact message that she did. The Bombay High Court had in September imposed a total ban on firecrackers at all public places, and the BMC was simply looking to spread awareness about the court’s orders to enforce adherence.
Rahane, Dixit and others who the BMC had roped in recorded video appeals along the same lines, reminding people about the High Court’s total ban on bursting firecrackers on public streets and footpaths, and talking about the air and noise pollution that fireworks cause. Neither were attacked by Satam or Tawde or anyone else for any “anti-Hindu” stance, nor were their video appeals taken down.
Mayor Tawde especially went on a tirade against Mirza. She accused the actor of making statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and being consistently against Hindutva. She even questioned the administration about roping Mirza in without the explicit consent of the political class.
Fortunately, the Bombay High Court has intervened and directed the BMC to re-upload Mirza’s video appeal (which it is yet to do), calling the whole incident “unfortunate”.
Mumbai, the two-judge bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Dr Neela Gokhale said, survives on this “feeling of togetherness”.
Mirza has found support from some political quarters, mainly opposition parties, but also from BMC Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena; though several other leaders from the party struck the same chord as the BJP. Her own fraternity, however, has been largely silent, including those who the BMC roped in for the campaign and who recorded the exact same public appeal as her.
It’s hardly surprising. Actors have faced ample backlash from our politicians for saying the right things. And in this context, it’s not just the BJP they’re afraid of. All parties have in some way or the other terrorised celebrities for making statements against the stated agenda of these political parties. Some celebrities still do stand up for the right thing, and they do speak out, but there aren’t many of them. And they most certainly face the brunt of sticking their necks out.
Bollywood’s tryst with the formerly undivided Bal Thackeray-led Shiv Sena can make for a blockbuster story in itself. Dilip Kumar was once Bal Thackeray’s friend. Author Vaibhav Purandare records that the two were known to enjoy a beer, snacks and conversations every once in a while. Dilip Kumar, however, became a rival after being conferred with the Nishan-e-Pakistan award, which Thackeray demanded that he return. It’s just one of several such stories.
In 2015, amid a major controversy over the BMC’s decision to keep abattoirs shut for four days during the Jain festival of Paryushan, actor Sonakshi Sinha had faced a lot of political criticism for speaking out against the ban.
Anushka Sharma has often found herself at the receiving end of such criticism for speaking out against pollution. Politicians had also brought into question her patriotism when she decided to escape to Tuscany to get married instead of replicating a similar ceremony in perhaps a Mussourie or Shimla.
In 2015, the ruling dispensation took personal offence when actor Aamir Khan spoke of “growing intolerance” in India. He was speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards ceremony in Delhi. Khan had to face multiple sedition cases as hurt BJP supporters went on a warpath.
This year, his nephew Imran Khan got into trouble for pretty much the same reason. He showed up at the protest in Mumbai against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and had to tender a written apology. Imran has an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) status, which apparently doesn’t grant him the right to protest.
Hollywood is much spunkier in comparison. Personalities such as Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, among others, have openly taken stands against US President Donald Trump.
What’s funnier is that our Bollywood personalities find it easier to express their opinions on international politics than domestic. Actors Priyanka Chopra and Sonam Kapoor had expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Both have been largely silent on issues that dominate the discourse back home.
In any case, Dia Mirza was well qualified to deliver the message that she did. She’s the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Goodwill Ambassador & the UN Secretary-General Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals. She has consistently raised her voice on issues related to the environment and wildlife.
I was initially skeptical about whether appeals by celebrities the BMC had roped in were even reaching the general public. Were people paying any heed to them? We should thank the BJP for ensuring at least the first part. By taking such strong offence, these politicians created intrigue, amplifying anti-pollution appeals.
On whether people pay any heed to them, we can only hope for the best.
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