Monday, April 02, 2012

Ground Reality

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has scored a hundred tons. This prodigy is much hailed and not without reason. He attributes much of his success to his coach of his initial years Ramakant Achrekar who groomed him on the famous Shivaji Park.  But I am not going to write more on this brilliant man. Enough experts have already done that. 

Shivaji park, the now hallowed park held sacred by Sachin-worshippers is a lovely chunk of open space in Dadar West where kids can still play cricket and aspire to be another Sachin Tendulkar. It is a space where kids learn gymnastics, get coached in cricket, football, athletics and a haven for the health conscious to jog and an open place for adults, senior citizens and kids to hang out.

Shivaji Park Ground - Picture from Wikipedia

In a city of more than 20 million people, I wonder why it is that there is just one ground that is famous for producing prodigies?  A Sachin-worshipper might argue a player like Sachin comes only once in a century, but a person with even half of Sachin’s talent (50 centuries in a lifetime) is awesomely creditable too and the way Indian cricket team is playing, it wouldn’t mind that either! I find the answer almost too easily. It is because there are so few grounds where sports can actually be played and conditions are conducive to learning.

I stay in one of the central suburbs in Mumbai – Chembur.   There is a ground/ Maidan known as Gandhi Maidan close to my house where kids still manage to learn basketball, volleyball and skating at the YMCA. There are several teams playing cricket on one side of the ground and football on the other side. A fairly good walking track also exists on the periphery of the ground.  Being a less of a gym-person, when I shifted to this area, I was thrilled initially to find such a lovely ground nearby. Alas!, my happiness was short lived when the ground reality hit me. It is ironic that the very ground that I visited for health conscious reasons was a huge health hazard for all the adults and kids who came there for lack of options for miles around.

The ground ensures that my olfactory and visual senses are subjected to the maximum torture there can be.  All four corners are used as urinals for loiterers and disgusting men. Along all sides of the ground sit groups of men of various ages- teenagers and old men who believe that this play ground is a smoking lounge for cigarettes (and other things) and for ogling at women who walk on the track.  It is so sad to see young boys in their teens wasting their lives puffing away when they should be either studying or playing actively on the ground.  Even sadder is that these kids with jelled hair and fancy hairdos think smoking is very cool. On another side of this ground sit ominous men drink away merrily and gamble with playing cards. A dead rat or pigeon lies on the third side while garbage burns on the fourth side.   On the outside of the fenced ground at its periphery, stand a few men outside their BMWs puffing away and sipping alcohol in soft drink bottles.  

If my olfactory nerves and lungs can withstand all this, then my eyes are treated to visual pollution of litter all over the ground. Littered newspapers, plates, glasses, alcohol bottles, empty cigarette packets, plastic bags are callously dumped everywhere even though there are dustbins at a few designated spots.  Random graffiti paints the unpainted walls on one side.

On requesting the smoking sociopaths to move somewhere else and smoke has resulted in fights and abuses hurled at the women who pleaded with them.  As a woman, I would not even feel safe if it were not for the fact that I walk with a pack between such filth and malignant men. The YMCA and the ground authorities refused to help when concerned parents raised these issues.  The lone watchman and caretaker of the ground fled since he could not alone counter the many iniquitous activities the ground was used for. A lone rag picker is the only one who does any good when he picks up what is of use to him.

When builders are not gobbling up our open spaces and politicians are not using it for their political rallies, it is the citizens of this very country who pretend to be educated who are making these playgrounds unusable.  If smoking in public areas is an offence why indeed is it so difficult to have any action taken against these miscreants?  Why do most people still believe everywhere outside the realms of their house is a dustbin? Quite honestly, citizens are scared to be the ones to report these nefarious activities and I don’t blame them. For who would want to take the brunt of complaining and the backlash?  Policemen have far too many things on their mind, and are indifferent.  Elections are over now, and there is little hope that the local politicians are likely to do anything to better things anymore.

I wish I could change so many things around here on this ground and the other open spaces in our city which I trust are no different unless they are in the poshest of places in town with a fair amount of security.  First and foremost, I heartily wish I could smack the smoking rascals right out of the vicinity of the ground out of sight of the impressionable kids so everyone can breathe normally. Those urinating and littering should be reprimanded and penalized heavily.  I wish I could walk where no men ogled and where I felt secure.

A few lights more on the ground would go miles in helping women feel more secure. A well maintained kids area will encourage more parents to use it. A patrolling policeman in the evenings would ward off miscreants. Perhaps privatization/private management of our grounds is the key. Even if they charge a few rupees to go on the ground, a huge chunk of the anti-social elements would disappear. After all probably they can use the entry fees for just one more cigarette.  For those who really want to play could take an annual pass which is not prohibitively expensive.

I hope parents take up notice and check if their teenage kids were smoking or doping and advise them against it. I wish some officials took up notice and stopped the blatant misuse of the few remaining grounds we have, and people stopped littering and learnt to respect the space that belongs to all.  Change from authorities and people is the need of the hour! Only then, will we have more Sachin Tendulkars in this country full of aspiring and passionate cricketers.

I would love to hear suggestions from you – the Gandhian way, to change things and hope to do continue and try and change things for the better. 

19 comments:

  1. Really a thought provoking article. It is really our misfortune that whatever open spaces left after the builder- bureaucrat- politician nexus gulping the same have been mostly reduced to urinals / antisocial activities centres. As you have rightly mentioned, police, politicians and ward officers of BMC are least interested in the welfare of the subjects and will resurface only before the next elections.
    Hope and pray that your wish list comes true.
    Woh Subah Kabhi to Aayegi (when health conscious people can enjoy taking a stroll in open ground in Mumbai and also the Maidans produce many more Sachins.

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    1. I hope the government comes out with some sort of a bill to protect the remaining open spaces and instead of wasting crores on making some monument in the sea or beautifying the marine drive available to a few elite, it does something constructive for the rest of the city as well.

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  2. Yet another excellent blog Ru! & so true! With the open spaces fast depleting, only to be replaced by more super structures, it is imperative that we protect & preserve what's left. It is not the uneducated and underprivileged who are the problem but the politicians, corrupt officials & uneducated fools! It seems like beemers & skodas are only a way to flaunt wealth; they don't behave in a befitting manner and irk sicial responsibilities. New found money?! Ugh!

    Wish there was more we could do! While making our voices heard is a great start, wish each one of us could be another Usha Rajagopalan who revived Bangalore's Lake Puttenahalli and beautified it - all with the support of the community and residents!

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    1. *obviously, that was - shirk social responsibilities :) ..sorry about the typos..

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    2. Thank you Swe. Indeed, its not the uneducated who are the problem, but the forever greedy corrupt and the ugly rich who care for nothing but themselves. Perhaps we could do something Swe. It needs a collective voice if single voices don't work.

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    3. Totally!!! Let's brainstorm on what & how we can make a difference..I have a few ideas..but the challenge lies not in implementing them but keeping up with them and maintaining them in a society which lacks civic sense!! Let our little revolution begin in 2013 :)

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  3. This habit of urinating in a public place is indecent. Also, it offends our sense of smell. Garbage attracts rodents, roaches and flies that are dangerous for our health. As for smoking in a park, people come to a park for fresh air and second hand smoke in the air can kill. Wonder who they built our parks for? Wonder if people can get together to save our parks and reclaim them for health of individuals in the mainstream rather than to promote the bad habits of a relative few on the edges of society.

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    1. I totally agree. Littering, urinating and smoking do not just affect our sight and smell but are also dangerous. It is such a pity that there are so few parks, and even those are in the hands of anti social elements who ruin it for the bulk of the people.

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  4. The heartfelt plea at the end of your excellent blog touched me to the core of my heart.
    To my mind all is not lost still . you can count yourself still lucky as amidst all this degradation you still found a few good likeminded friends with whom you can enjoy a leasurely stroll or brisk walk or whichever way you prefer.
    As for our civic sense the less said the better.Some of us are not even inclined to keep our own houses clean what to speak of keeping our surroundings clean !!! love. aai

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    1. The only consoling factor is atleast there is a ground here to walk on and hope that things change for the better. Rest, I leave it to the ground's destiny.

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  5. I have seen government doing some development around building urinals..There is one on the main road to my office..They have built a proper and nice urinal...I peeped into it once, just out of curiosity and couldn't believe my eyes..it was spic and span!!! Why? Because people never use it! They are more than happy relieving themselves RIGHT OUTSIDE the urinal! I don't hope govt officials to come and ask these people to go inside..Don't think much can be done unless the mentality of our people change...Sad but true I guess. Nicely written.

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    1. It is the pathetic mentality of these sadists that have to spit on no spitting signs or smoke where there are no smoking signs that have made all cities so filthy. I wonder where that rebelliousness goes when it is rebelling for the better.

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  6. very thoughtful take on changes. insightful post.

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  7. What an irony that a nice city like Mumbai is becoming a big urban slum:(

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    1. It is indeed sad what this once beautiful city has become now.

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  8. This was the state of numerous parks and grounds in my city, Patna when I left the state. Worse, cowsheds had sprung up in most of them. This time when I went, I was surprised! The vast open barren space which served as a public toilet has become a stadium .. Parks have been renovated and well lit with fountains ! Children playing and their parents taking a walk, while old people sit on benches and talk. I was so happy looking at this. I wish Mumbai wakes up one day and finds a CM who cares about the city.

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  9. What the people can do?

    Take a cue from the Ugly Indian. You too can bring a change.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Puru. The problem I have at Mumbai, is not the apathy of the corporators or politicians but the pathetic nature of the citizens. The hooligans (on their BMWs or otherwise) are bad enough to do what they do (smoking and drinking where kids play) but even the residents apart from a few stray women are not willing to stand up to them and shoo them away. I did look at the Ugly Indian, but really it is easier said than done. To get the support of even a handful of people is totally not that simple. Maybe one day...

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