Don’t move my katta, please?

A streetie rests on the parapet at Shivaji Park, while a fitness enthusiast exercises in the background. pic courtesy/ROHAN MUKHERJEE FOR THE WELFARE OF STRAY DOGS CALENDAR

Last week, on Independence Day, the Mayor of Mumbai, Ritu Tawde, threw open the gates of her home in Byculla's verdant Rani Baug, inviting Mumbaikars to avail of the space for their morning walks. Under the arrangement, residents can access the premises between 6 am and 9 am every day, where they get to use the footpath adjoining the bungalow before entering the sprawling grounds of the official residence within the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan & Zoo complex.

It was a welcome move, going by the enthusiasm that it elicited from space-starved city folks. Given the area's natural heritage, green organisations also gave it a thumbs-up, since it enabled walkers to marvel at the rich tree cover that exists in these green lungs.

While this idea seems to have brought cheer within the neighbourhood, it also put the spotlight on the lack of open spaces in the city. Be it open grounds, or parapets and pavements, the obvious facilities that came as part and parcel of most large housing societies in the conventional mould are no longer available. Readers of a certain vintage, yours truly included, will recall this building plan around which they grew up, where they would spend hours playing with friends in open safe spaces within the compound without the fear of speeding traffic, or the limitations of endless parked cars. It also meant hanging out with ‘building' friends [does that term exist anymore?] after homework was done, where post-dinner walks along leafy pavements made for the calming way to end a day. Jogging the memory to recall and write these nostalgic moments down, is also a reminder of how much our city-scapes have changed. With alarming rapidity, one must add.

No longer are these sites part of newer building plans; oops! I meant township plans, where clubhouses and aircon jogging tracks, Bali-style bungalows and ‘activity' areas come part of the glossy package. The simple basics seemed to have gotten lost amidst the fanfare and overkill of amenities. Beyond housing plans, even public playgrounds and gardens that once boasted of broad parapets, ‘kattas' in local lingo, and safe, evenly-laid footpaths that lined these playgrounds, have all but disappeared from Mumbai's streetscape.

From my experience, I recall many eventful moments along the long and buzzing katta that faced the Ruia College and Podar College in Matunga. From Rose Day group photos to Antakshari sessions, it was an extension of college life. This katta was positioned between the cricket maidans on one side, and the charms and quirks of college life on the other. Over time, I noticed that this integral part of our college frame got increasingly compromised, thanks to a host of factors. From the increasing number of kiosks and vendors that sprang up in record time [legally or otherwise, we'll never know], I was shocked to spot how this growing army had usurped the once-cherished space. Soon enough, other elements crept in. The broad katta was re-built as a lower, narrower version, in the name of an ‘upgrade' [how often has that word cheated our sensibilities in this city!]. Even the pavement, the scene for many cherished truth-or-dare moments, or impromptu gigs, was an aberration of the original. Overall, what emerged was a terrible redrawing of a popular landmark opposite the two colleges. In the larger picture, such redrawings were being simultaneously charted out across the city. The Ruia-Podar College katta was one example where a public open space was heavily compromised within a decade or the like.

Speaking of colleges, a related fallout of this crunch of open spaces is the scant regard for creating playgrounds within schools and colleges. International accreditations they might boast of, yet many of these educational institutions still don't have an operational playground, let alone a basketball or badminton court, for kids to engage in activities. In newly-built colleges, the scenario is far worse. Then again, we could be wrong - perhaps, they do have a ‘clubhouse' inside!

The problem seems to be a deep-set one. The necessity to incorporate open spaces, playgrounds and safe walking pavements for Mumbai's general junta, is on the way to being entirely phased out of new urban development plans when it comes to public facilities. The need ceases to exist in the planners' mindsets, is our guess. Other ‘amenities' like ugly, ginormous art installations take precedence in the name of benefit [read: art]. And if these modern museum pieces aren't around, the hawker mafia will ensure no square foot is spared.

The need of the hour is to re-evaluate the importance that public open spaces have traditionally had in Mumbaikars' lives, and the ecosystem that thrived around them. Until this realisation occurs, citizens and streeties like this cutie in the photo might find the ground beneath their feet shifting quickly, and uncomfortably, in the near future. And as this plays out, we'll have to witness the redefining of a distinct urban character once and for all.

mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana
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The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper.