Pillaging the Park

Popular as the cradle of Indian cricket, Shivaji Park is also notorious for the humongous crowd it attracts during political rallies. This serene neighbourhood in the heart of Mumbai, also known as the 'Baalekilla of Sushikshit Madhyam Vargiya Marathi Maanus', is renowned for its soothing ambience which is periodically agitated by a spectrum of political parties. A daily visit to Shivaji Park is a must for the people residing in and around Dadar, be it for a walk, a jog, a chat with friends or for gorging over the ambrosial food offered by a myriad of restaurants satiating the hunger of their customers irrespective of their budget. Shivaji Park is one of the few areas of Mumbai which still conserves its verdure.
But every year sees political bigwigs announcing their intentions to hold a rally either for gaining pre-electoral political momentum or for underlining the political party's ubiety. The 'tiger' roars over all the din and bashes all his political rivals unabashedly on every Vijayadashami day. Signora Italiana also makes brief appearances as she waves her palm in a highly rehearsed fashion. The most recent addition to this 'elite' group of politicians is the elephant from Uttar Pradesh. I mean the election symbol and do not wish to discover metaphors for the leaders involved. Shivaji Park turned into a shade of blue well before the expected date of 6th December. So our locale had to face 'bolts from the blue' twice this year.
6th December is a very important date as far as Indian politics is concerned. The events on 6th December 1992 triggered a storm all over India. But 6th December has always been a torturous day for the residents of Shivaji Park. As the 'much awaited' day approaches the locality starts reeking and residents run for their gas-masks as hordes of 'Bhim-bhakts' start inhabiting their bivouacs on the cricket pitch. A blitzkrieg is launched on public transport all over Mumbai as the visitors hurry to exploit their freedom of 'free travel'. Mumbaikars are left dumbstruck as they witness the comprehensive annihilation of their favourite 'Park'. The famous 'katta' turns into a urinal and the chowpatty turns into a defecation point as it becomes impossible for Dadarkars to step out of their homes. It is impractical to describe the plight of Shivaji Park on this blog but the fact that the area stinks of human waste even after a week is enough to prove that steps should be taken in order to preserve the 'sanctity' of Shivaji Park! Is this the way we portray our gratitude towards the ground which has produced the Tendulkars and Agarkars for the Indian cricket team? An earnest plea to all our politicians: "Can you please organise rallies in distant villages? It would be easier for the audience to reach those places (most of the crowd comes from rural areas....hired....obviously).It would save Mumbai of its time,space,money and patience. There are larger spaces in rural areas so you can invite more people for the rallies.If not for the peace of mind of residents, at least refrain from organising rallies at Shivaji Park for the sake of producing more Tendulkars for the country! "

Technovanza '08:Hybrid of Creativity and Technology!

This is an introductory article written by me for publicising Technovanza '08 through our media team.Please visit www.technovanza.org for further details.

VJTI is renowned for striving for excellence unremittingly. We bring to you our national level technical festival “TECHNOVANZA ‘08” which is scheduled to be held in January 2008. TECHNOVANZA is an exhilarating blend of technology and fun. Various events, competitions and exhibitions ensure that the creative side of an aspiring engineer is unearthed. We aim at focussing on Industry Institute Interaction. BLUEPRINT 2020- II will see VJTI hosting a very intellectual conference involving eminent industrialists. Budding engineers from VJTI will suggest improvements in infrastructure and amenities to the civic authorities in a major event called MASTERPLAN MUMBAI. Some parts of India face floods in the monsoon while others face droughts. The event, INTERLINKING OF RIVERS, will provide solutions to India’s water quandaries. X-CON provides a great platform for enthusiasts to display their innovative technologies which would be useful in many fields. VJTI has always been a pioneer in F1 racing. We were the first to introduce F1 racing as an event in the robotics section. As India gears up to host an F1 Grand Prix in the near future, we are proud to present our Delhi Heights circuit. This is the first ever IC engine based Robotics Event at VJTI. AUTOPORT will show automation of the Mumbai Port which would introduce further efficiency in its working. Engineers build bridges to connect two points and while doing so it is made sure that the materials used satisfy certain standards. But how about a bridge made up of recycled paper! Yes, you can witness it in our exhibitive event called PAPER BRIDGE! RED SHIFT will give a glimpse of the surfaces of Mars and Titan. Various robotics events like Nautilus (underwater robotics) and IR-BOT (robotics at its best) are sure to attract swarms of engineers and enthusiasts from all the participating engineering colleges. TECHNOVANZA ’08 is unquestionably going to be a gargantuan event. We hope to see your contribution to TECHNOVANZA ’08, as a participant, visitor and a well-wisher and thus make our festival a great success.