The parting kick

It is a familiar strain and you hear it every once in a while: ``You know I never thought I would want to leave, but now...'' Yes, now. M...

It is a familiar strain and you hear it every once in a while: “You know I never thought I would want to leave, but now…” Yes, now. More money, a nicer house, a nicer school, a better job, a better car the reasons to leave can be endless.

I have nothing against people who want to leave the country. I have nothing against India’s venturing forth to make money in distant parts of the globe. And I feel nothing but pride when I read about the accomplishments of our brethren abroad. And

yet, I do have a problem. I have a problem when affluent middle class Indians crib, criticise and bitch about home to justify leaving.

The familiar story was repeated a couple of weeks ago when I met up with a friend in New York. A true blue Mumbaikar, he had been away for just a few months. Yet, the moment he clamped eyes on me he was off and gushing — about the weather, the efficiency, the creativity, the things to see and do.

Story continues below this ad

I could have excused him his almost childlike enthusiasm, even shared it, but for the factthat every sentence virtually was punctuated with an unfavourable reference to Mumbai. When I pointed out that he was running down a city that he had thrived in for well over three decades, he seemed affronted. “I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “But the city has just deteriorated,” he continued passionately, doing just that. “The pollution, the traffic is disgusting. You will feel it when you go back, when you see the surly goons at the airport you will feel it. You will tell me I was right”.

Well, now I’m back. And yes, the men at immigration looked like they were Yama’s emissaries in a previous incarnation; locating luggage was a minor nightmare. The air, when I went for a walk this morning, was grainy and hung low like a brown grey cloud. I dread going into town because I know it will take hours. And I am concerned deeply about a report in this paper which claims a ten per cent increase in respiratory diseases over the last five months.

And yet, what can I say but “what’s new?” Only an idiot woulddeny that Mumbai has deteriorated. That essentials such as clean air, fresh water and hygiene have become distant luxuries. That crime, like traffic, has multiplied, and noise levels have zoomed. The deterioration, in fact, is of alarming proportions.

The significant fact is that all this has not happened overnight. It has taken place gradually, and before our very eyes. The point is, what have we done about it? Very little. Where are the public campaigns, the protests, the large turnout of citizens that would indicate some opposition to this state of affairs? Where are the signature drives, the lobbying with politicians and individual action?

Story continues below this ad

For the most part, Mumbaikars have survived the decline by other means: buying tanker and mineral water for the absence of municipal water; antibiotics to fight the illnesses that crop up with alarming regularity, security guards to do the job cops are supposed to, so on and so forth.Granted that the politicians and local authorities appear to have failed us. Thattrying to win even a small civic battle takes a lifetime and that the system seems insurmountable. Given all that, have we even tried? In fact, I believe the apathy has been worsened by selfishness. The incredible rise in the size and number of cars on Mumbai’s roads shows just who, by any standards, lead enviable lifestyles in this city. Wanting to leave home is not a crime. The parting kick is.

(Amrita Shah is a writer and former editor of Elle)