Mumbai Masala: BMC Officials Must Do Their Duty

A music lover falls silent

Last week, Kaushik Kothari, a promoter of good Hindi film music, passed away. He was a lawyer by profession. But his passion for old Hindi film songs was immense. Several years ago he held a music programme with a live orchestra at Bhuriben Auditorium, Ghatkopar (W) under the banner of Golden Greats, and never looked back. The programmes became so popular that he had to shift to bigger halls like Fine Arts, Chembur and even Shanmukhananda Hall, Sion. Each programme was theme-based. For example, he would hold a show of songs from only Raj Kapoor’s films or only songs sung by Geeta Dutt. Music lovers used to eagerly wait for his programmes. Kothari himself used to anchor the events by doing value-additions to each song. He promoted so much budding talent that it was not surprising that a pall of gloom descended on the world of live orchestras when news of his death spread.

Living the moment

Visitors enjoying at Vihar Lake, Sanjay Gandhi National Park on Sunday | Salman Ansari/FPJ

A cosy place for a tête-à-tête

The Tea House on St John Baptist Lane in Bandra (W) has emerged as a cosy place for a tête-à-tête since it opened its doors in 2015. Apart from celebrities, people from the world of arts, music, bookworms and executive types flock to this place as much for the charming ambience as for the food. Owned by Hindustan Lever, the interior of this ancient bungalow is inviting and cool. The management says, rather bombastically, that the place “features the choicest of fine Indian tea and tea blends curated by our tea sommeliers (and) constructed into authentic tea recipes”. The teaware is believed to be inspired by the many moods of Hindustani music ‘ragas’. The menu includes Parsi brun maska, cheela oat wrap omelette, green lamb keema pao, masala toast with basil-scented akuri, apple pie, and a variety of teas. Nothing like spending a lazy afternoon here. Your boss is under the impression that you are working from home.

BMC officials must do their duty

Mumbaikars have never had it so bad. The BMC just doesn’t respond to complaints from citizens. The absence of corporators has made matters worse. Earlier, there were ward officers like V Balachandran, Shekhar Chore, Sudhir Naik, etc, who immediately attended to complaints from citizens. They would also take the trouble of calling up the complainant and informing them that their complaint has been attended to. They would also visit their wards regularly and apprise themselves of the ground situation. At present, apart from K Kshirsagar, there are hardly any dynamic assistant commissioners. Many of them are on the take and care two hoots for the public. Even tweets to the civic body rarely evoke any response. Every effort is made to dodge RTI applications and even when replies are given, they are delightfully vague. Activist Kamlakar Shenoy says that officials are duty-bound to meet members of the public at pre-decided hours, but few do that.

Tailpiece

Our netas promised to convert Mumbai into Shanghai. But in fact they have converted it into Venice minus the gondolas.

Compiled by S Balakrishnan

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