Our fave sutradhaars have some interesting advice for their friend on the black horse whou00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s been having sleepless nights thanks to the goings-on in his Byculla abode
It wasn't a Full Moon Night, and so, Sir PM’s vision was a bit dodgy. As he made his way to the usual meeting point at Rampart Row where he would join Lady Flora for their midnight strolls, he noticed a faint outline of her white shadow but there was a second silhouette right beside her. He panicked, true to his nature. Had she been accosted? Did a havildar manage to track them down? Worse, had his eyesight worsened to such an extent that he was now saddled with a double vision condition? All these thoughts began to wreak havoc in his head as he approached them. Luckily, Lady Flora began to wave frantically at him. He calmed down but was still apprehensive. 'We live in such uncertain, unsafe times,' he told himself.
"Look, Pheroze. Edward has decided to pay us a visit," she yelled, flashing him a full smile, while pointing out to the gent who was standing to her right. It was Edward, minus his famous kala ghoda. "Greetings, Sir Edward. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" enquired Sir PM. Their friend seemed a bit tense. "Lady, Sir PM…my abode back in the greens is turning out to be a rather noisy place. After all these decades of calm, I fear, things have changed for the worse," he told them, as they made their way towards Lion Gate. Sir Edward's trusted winged messenger, Percy the pigeon was fluttering around as well.
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"First, it was the incessant drilling sounds that emanated from the work around the Mayor's Bungalow, and now, it's the mess around the Victoria and Albert Museum," he began. "…you mean the Bhau Daji Lad museum?" Lady Flora interrupted. "It's getting worse by the day. I can't sleep at night because the sleeping patterns of the birds and animals have gone haywire; forget about soaking in the morning sun or relaxing during the evening breeze. It's not a good time," he said, as his voice fell, "why can't they just leave us alone?
I've heard there are grandiose plans to expand the zoo — create a different zone by bringing in species from other continents. The Bandar Lok went on the rampage and did a mass dharna when news of this announcement spread; I was told they showed their …er…bottoms to the public during visitors hour," Sir Edward added, albeit a tad embarrassed. "I believe the authorities are planning to give the bungalow a 'heritage' feel with a separate entrance to ensure the residents of the zoo aren't affected by the inflow of traffic to meet with the Mayor, but pray, tell me, hasn't the damage already been done by placing such an important civic office in the middle of a green lung?" Sir Edward asked. Clearly, the goings on at his home turf had upset him.
Sir PM was sufficiently worried, too. "You mentioned the garden by the east wing? Are those statues of our brethren in any danger? They were in a precarious condition when they arrived here in the first place, and were nursed back to some stature. But, now this. Let's hope they and the exhibits inside the building survive this unprecedented chaos," he added. "The other day, I spotted this bunch of unsuspecting Japanese tourists make their way towards the section, only to be greeted by swirls of dust from the area. My goodness! You should've seen the sneezing bout that took over for nearly five minutes."
By now, Percy, a tad too obese for his role, got tired and simply perched himself on the shoulder of his master. Lady Flora wasn't impressed as the fat bird nearly dashed into her in a slow, sloppy swoosh. The trio walked in silence for a while until Sir PM announced, "I have an idea! Why don't you move back to your original spot in SoBo? We'll do a straight swap with the other new black horse, and life will be good again." "Pheroze loves happy endings. And, for once I agree with him," smiled Lady Flora.
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 Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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