mid-day Opinion: Mumbai misses its date with Mario

Lady Flora and Sir Pheroze console Mario Miranda. Illustration/Uday Mohite

Lady Flora had wound up for the day, and was freshening up near her pedestal when she heard a sound. Assuming it to be vandals, which was the usual case, she swiftly turned around and readied for action. To her shock, she saw a familiar face - one that she had spotted around the traffic island many decades ago. ‘Could he be who I think it is?' she wondered, but approached him in any case. Shoulders stooped, the artist was seated near her pedestal in the Fountain square. With some trepidation, she gently enquired, "Is that… is that you, Mr Miranda - the famous artist? Are you lost?" The man looked surprised, "I'm sorry, is this a dream? Yes, I am Mario Miranda, and I am not lost. I decided to revisit a few of my favourite spaces in the city. But aren't you supposed to be a statue?" he asked, suitably puzzled.

Lady Flora smiled, "Well, yes and no. I also consider myself an ‘active' custodian of this city, and don this avatar at nighttime, for obvious reasons. A dear friend and committed Bombay wallah joins me on this mission; you know him well - Sir Pherozeshah Mehta." Miranda managed a half-grin. "Is it? This is fascinating. And is Mr Mehta expected tonight?" he checked, politely. As if on cue, Sir PM's heavy footsteps emerged from the far corner of Somaiya Bhavan.

He looked shocked when he recognised Miranda. "This cannot be…no way this is real," he exclaimed loudly. The artist grinned, "Well, Mr Mehta, you and Lady Flora have already blurred the lines of reality and fantasy." Soon, the trio rolled back to the wonder years, when Miranda's cartoons were mainstays of India's leading dailies and news magazines. "I absolutely adore your characters - Miss Fonseca, Rajni Nimbupani, Shri Bundaldass and Moonswamy! You captured the spirit of the city's eclectic and eccentric junta like a true-blue Bombaywallah. Your work was seen everywhere, in the 1970s and 80s, from textbooks to calendars, murals and magazines. We owe you so much," Sir PM went on to recall his favourite cartoon strips and cityscapes by Miranda. But Lady Flora knew something was amiss, given his mood when she had spotted him. She cut in, "Mr Miranda, is anything the matter? You seem upset…"

Miranda shared, "Honestly, I was taken off guard. Close friends will tell you that I never chased fame and accolades. But on May 2, my 100th birthday, I felt that the city which I gave my time, ideation and creativity to, forgot me. Not an exhibition or a discussion about my canvases and artworks was on show. My student life, and a large part of my middle age was spent here, in this city - my karmabhoomi. My work seems to have slipped out of public memory," his voice lowered as the last sentence rolled out.

Sir PM and Lady Flora were unsure how to console an icon. Sir PM began, "Many newspapers, including mid-day carried exhaustive coverage, reminding readers of your invaluable contribution to Indian art, and your slice-of-life canvases, in your inimitable, witty style." Lady Flora joined in, "And, there were numerous odes on the new-age tool - social media too, to celebrate your work."

Miranda looked up, "Really! That's comforting. Somehow, the love, time and thought I gave the city… I felt it began to fade away, especially in the last few decades after my passing. Barring the mural at Café Mondegar, and panels at the Cathedral & John Connon Middle School and St Xavier's College - my alma mater, all I see are cheap fakes. Silly me to have actually headed to the city with expectations! I am grateful to my Goa which has hosted many exhibitions of my work. Even Bengaluru has organised a show, which makes Mumbai's miss doubly painful. There is no permanent space to view my work here," he sighed. Lady Flora added perspective, "Young people might not know you but have realised that it's "cool" to post about your work. That's an effort. With the oldies, like us, I admit, a city-based cultural platform should have held a show or at least a talk to hail your artistic contribution to Mumbai. For that, Mr Miranda, we apologise, and promise to make amends."

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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