Run for green cover

Silhouettes against the sun A walk through of the exhibition at Royal Western India Turf Club39s RWITC headquarters saw exhibits like these Conservation Credo The Breathing Space exhibition held over the weekend at the Mahalaxmi racecourse saw a crisp presentation on Saturday evening when a number of speakers talked about what open spaces mean to them The venue SoBorsquos most coveted open space was symbolic of the need to preserve and fight to conserve whatever little fragments of open space the city has left Song sung true Leslie Lewis sings at the event while the panelists look on Vivek Jain chairman RWITC when asked whether it was ironical that the racecourse was holding an event on preserving green spaces when the land itself is being eyed for lsquodevelopmentrsquo said ldquothatrsquos the whole point To communicate and inform people to keep the race course open and green and away from land sharks We especially want the centre of the race course to be untouchedrdquo In addition Jain said that TribeTurf an RWITC initiative wants to play a leadership role on causes relevant and necessary for Mumbai Watch this space People looking at newspaper reports and photographs of various projects undertaken by the NGO across all the wards in Mumbaiu00a0 Milind Deora while stating that the issue of open spaces must be politicized so that it receives the attention it deserves touched a chord when he shed off the political speak and talked about his childhood ldquoI remember there was a garden opposite to where I stayed at Breach Candy when I was a child Today a tower has replaced that I am sure we all have such memoriesrdquo he said to the audience at the memberrsquos lawn of the Mahalaxmi racecourse Making it happen The racecourse39s TribeTurf initiative has seen a host of eventsu00a0 Neera Punj convenor Citispace said that open spaces were a ldquonecessityrdquo not a ldquoluxuryrdquo and added that the global yardstick was 14 sq feet of open space for one person ldquoWe had insisted that the BMC and corporators come here to be part of the exhibition but maybe the reporters will do their job and the politicians will read the reportsrdquo she added Nayana Kathpalia coconvenor Citispace said that ldquoWe had reached out to political parties time and again to make open spaces a part of their manifesto during election time However somehow this has not got the support it deserved We need the support of citizens at the ground level toordquo Coffee tea and dexterity Artisans display their skill at the exhibition Hathautee an organization that aims to help youth to understand Indian art and craft supported the exhibition Kathpalia cited a few examples of skewed thinking with reference to open spaces ldquoSome time ago somebody came up with the idea of creating a Persepolis in the open space at the Dadar Parsi Colony Then somebody went to New York and saw Central Park Politicians decided they wanted to recreate Central Park in Mumbai and wanted to join Azad Maidan Cross Maidan and Oval Maidan for that purpose Dark against light Some of the products on display have an earthy indigenous feel These are the ad hoc random thoughts authorities often tout instead of a holistic vision for the city In Kandivali one recreation ground was turned into a wedding ground When there were objections it was said that the ground could be used for religious functions for a set number of days a year Got his eyestention Milind Deora looks at the work documenting the fight to preserve the city39s open spaces When asked how a wedding was a religious function activists were told pandit hai havan hai it is a religious functionrdquo she said to laughs from the audience Last up it was Leslie Lewis singer who sang four songs ldquonot a fullfledged performance which would be for two hoursrdquo one in particular to make this a better world for children He egged the audience on to clap and sing with him rounding off the last song saying in Marathi jocularly ldquoWhat are you all clapping here for Go on home nowrdquou00a0 u00a0 u00a0