By the time you reach this line (if anyone ever does), your might already have a few images in your mind with this desperate attempt at an attention seeking headline. Shivaji Park conjures up visuals of white uniforms sporting cricket aspirants practicing and dreaming of going on to become the next Sachin Tendulkar. Their clothes not exactly white but a few soiled shades away. To some the name might bring images of crowded rallies listening anxiously to Balasaheb Thakrey or his rebel nephew Raj. There might a few(very) who would think of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement which ensured that Mumbai became a part of Maharashtra , a state formed in the 1960s. But before you decide to close this blog window thinking it will be too boring with another such topic, hold on!
I can’t promise that this would be the most interesting piece you have ever read but yes at least one thing is for sure, this piece will look at the no-so-serious side of Shivaji Park- no political rallies or stories of grit and determination of Mumbai cricketers. This piece is purely self indulgent on the writer’s part who will look at the park through the lens… of his eyes. Eyes which a few months ago were not used to tree lined walkways, a promenade, a huge park or a ground within 100 footsteps from where they lived. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what a boy who grew up in Airoii, an unknown node of Navi Mumbai thinks of this middle class dream known as Shivaji Park or SP( to make it and yourself sound cooler!).
Shivaji Park and the adjoining area is a wonderful discovery each day with its many layers, many people and many activities most of which are centred on the park. For most people living close by and to some who do not, the park is an important part of their daily lives. It means different things to every group of people. The localities close to the park are equally interesting which offer insights into living in our endearing and hated city. But the park is a study of contrasts, of different worlds all within the same time and space. So, you could be visiting the park early in the morning to see many fitness enthusiasts jogging around its periphery with their ipods and fresh looking sporting gear. But the park centres around(literally) cricket with its enthusiasts getting a daily morning dose of the game. Still the mornings are not necessarily about sports and fitness for everyone. Walk, take a closer look and you are bound to find the nana-nani park on the eastern side where the not-so-young catch up on daily news immersed in their saamna, sakal, loksatta or the odd Maharashtra times. Not that everyone there too is quietly reading, there are many who just prefer to have a loud chat accompanied by tea served in plastic cups. So at any given time the park is home to different types of people engaged in different interests, one might be more visible than the other but all of them as intense.
People definitely add excitement to the park and make it a wonderful place to just watch the world go by, but it is the trees which are permanent residents and add to the quiet charm of the area if you ever wanted to pay attention to the sllence. I have realised that one of the best ways to spend a rare, free Sunday afternoon is to walk around the park and just fill your sight with the green and beauty of the trees at SP. Strong, dependable, shade providing they make the park what it is- a paradise for many a tired mumbaikars. Also, like many other spaces in Mumbai- the ‘katta’ or the boundary of Shivaji Park showcases its utility beyond being a place to sit. Visit the park any afternoon and it is difficult to find a vacant foot to sit on the western side of the katta since it is lined up with people getting their siesta, the benches too on this side of the park are put to the same use. But this is a sight visible only during the day since loitering around the park in the night is prohibited by the police. Past midnight - it is difficult to find a soul at the park - that can only be a result of policing in a city which otherwise loves to both stay awake and out until wee hours of the morning.
Another way in which the park serves its visitors is by allowing the young, romantic ones to spend some quiet time together. Some of them reach as early as 7am!!! Obviously, they are bunking college or tuitions to spend those beautiful moments cuddling next to each other on the park benches. Me too, I have spent a couple of very nice evenings- holding hands, exchanging looks and sitting close at this park. With whom, I not quite ready to tell.
But it is the evenings truly when the park gives up its sports character and turns itself into a hub of recreation, friendship, gossip, laughter and just the plan old ‘catch up’. The twin coffee shops Barista and Coffee Day overlooking the park provide the perfect spots for a first date or the ‘conversation over coffee’ ritual. Personally, I am not a huge fan of these western concepts of socializing especially when there is a bhelwala and a lovely katta just a few footsteps away. It seems that I am not a minority since hordes of teenagers, equal number of aunties and a few uncles make the evenings at SP colourful and put the katta to good use. The evening hotspot is the frankiewalla just off the eastern entrance of the park. Though an import, I dont quite mind the Frankie with its ‘as Indian as it gets’ filling. The day at Shivaji Park ceases to end without activity- even late into the evenings it is a common sight to find some joggers who probably aren’t able to make time for fitness in the morning; many boys from nearby neighbourhoods spend hours talking what they should talk about – women, women and about some more women.
To me Shivaji Park is a microcosm to India itself- free, diverse, lively, chaotic and cricket loving. But the most amazing quality of the park is its democratic nature. You don’t have to have ‘arrived’ in life to be able to take a walk here. You might say that’s true of most parks around the world and would say emphatically say ‘no, that’s not true!’. Most public spaces placed in middle or upper middle class localities find ways of shunning out the poor from experiencing their pleasures. If not that, then most make it intimidating for the not so rich to be there since everyone else using the park seems to be so rich with their shiny clothes and fancy cars. The park also does not stop at being a young man or woman’s park or a college goers’ hangout. The park belongs to senior citizens as much as it does to the youngsters of the city; it is as much a place for slackers as it is for the fitness freaks. This urban space somehow allows for a harmonious blend of people, no matter what demographic definition they belong to. It might be true that the park gets this nature due to the legacy of it being an epicentre of grass root movements and probably it is the not-so-rich who have accepted the shiny people here than the other way round.
But nevertheless, Shivaji Park’s democracy calls for a celebration over cheap whisky in one of the mumbaiya bars close by! Wat say?
I genuinely liked the article. You start with a feeling of, I know where this is going, but you go becasue you want to understand what different has the writer written about Shivaji Park that has missed my observation. The adjectives I relate to this are nice, simple, clean article which leaves a faint smile on the readers face.
ReplyDeleteWell written, way different from your previous blog I had read.
You're right, when I think of Shivaji Park,I think of Bal and Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena rallies. Maybe, this article sheds light on other aspects besides of course, the famous cricketing connection.
ReplyDelete