Shivajinagar… the first thing that comes to my mind is “THE BUS STOP”. My views, my perception, my understanding towards Shivajinagar were standardised. You know I was put within walls about the place and I stayed in it, going with what other people told me about it and how it is and all. But figured they have never been there… Though I have been living in Bangalore for quite some time, I never knew Shivajinagar was so big!! For really I didn’t know that commercial street was a part of Shivajinagar. Leaving this behind, after the walk I so impressed, inspired just on the first day of the walk we had. The mixer of people from different backgrounds, sounds, shop, work, small shady lanes that are not scary at all… old house built ages ago and still being use as it is. There were so many things going in and out of that place, that it was unbelievable. What got me the most was the footpath; every few meters I walked there was this one rocky footpath, which made me feel like I was on to something, like a sign to reach this old guy with huge amount of knowledge or this shop where you can find things for your project. And you know what made it worse? Dogs After I looked at the rocky footpath and looked around there was always this one dog looking at me O.o” smiles looks down and goes away(not joking). I don’t know may sound funny to you but I was being played by Shivaji.


- Gaurav Gatti 

MYTHIC CITY-My Reflection- Saumya Pankaj

‘Mythic city- as the name contests- are cities created not just out of concrete and mortar but romanticized and refurbished from the stories and escapades conjured by the mighty pen of journalists and travelogue writers down the ages. This is evident in the ‘golden bird’ stories of India conceived by travelers to the royal courts like Huen Tsang and Ibn Batuta. This is  evident in contemporary times when the seventh estate is rocking the world with shocking and revealing headlines that rudely yet entertainingly and exhaustively seek to keep the glamour or cities alive in good times or in bad…and nothing can do them apart.

The beginning leaves an indelible mark with the Zoroastrian death ritual, impacting readers by a harsh tradition over a sensitive issue. The Zoroastrian and the Mumbai world are metaphors of a sacred but vulnerable universe that is exposed by the naked truth wrought out by magazines and journalists in their noble endeavour to inform, instruct and entertain. Lewis Carol once accused interviews to be hateful since it seemed to steal the soul of the person interviewed. Similar is the exposure through media that lays bare the realities of any city, its corrupt administration, Machiavelli politicians, its legal order and its religious frailties; as the author says…’it allows a vital energy to escape from the holy ball of fire.’

For the people of the city it would be nothing less than sacrilege to lay bare the demons, but it allows its readers to delve and revel in the new ‘mythic image’ manifested in films and the written gospel. Thus cities are soon becoming a  figment of imagination contrived by stories, dreams, fears and aspirations of the national diaspora. The author is right CITIES LIVE IN OUR IMAGINATION…and this illusion and imagination feeds and thrives on publicized episodes of a city kept under wraps by its inmates. No city is a hard city, enjoying a cushy place on the map…they are all soft cities susceptible to change for the good or worse, a heady cocktail of embarrassing events and virtual Melting Pots.

Physical remoteness, associated glamour, money- estrange fiction and reality but fantasy becomes far more palatable for the readers. Cartoonists like Mario Miranda, editors like Russi Karanjia, writers like Salman Rushdie, tabloids like Mid-Day or Blitz and Illustrate Weekly undoubtedly add elitism to the topic broached but enjoy disseminating the absurdities, the modern spirit, the cultural arrogance and the bureaucratic ethos of a city. The myths are shattered soon and there is a paradigm shift in the perception of the people towards the city and its charm. Bombay’s mythology was cast in iron…entrenched by Bollywood ‘masala’ till it was hit by floods and terrorism that took a toll on its sacred name and besmirched the image of its politicians and administrators.
The ‘mongrel’ world of our metro cities tend to be soulless, with a dull government, callous city habits and capricious decisions. Liberal democracy takes a beating and the façade cracks. Decaying values are thrown up and the myth is relegated to the ‘once upon a time’ episode. 
Cities are now crammed with the currency of competition and suspicion . paranoia reigns supreme with all the corruption, ‘power brokering and influence peddling’. With the ‘urbanization of poverty’ the myth finally crumbles and the new ‘generic city’ makes a bloodless coup. The 'historic' has been smothered by the 'generic' landscape that is anything but exciting or exhilarating. The ‘mythic’ cities are under the lens…’open for archaeological excavation’, hidden under the dust of myths proving cities are societies and need to go through the scanner despite the surreal stories shielding their reality.

VASUDHEV KUTUMBKUM the ‘world is my family’ --My City -saumya pankaj

VASUDHEV KUTUMBKUM

the ‘world is my family’

My City

We were asked in one of our classes ‘which cities we came from’. We were also instructed to include a memoir from any media- a photograph, a video, a song, or any means of communication that connects us to that city. Ironically, while my classmates were thinking of what connected them to their cities, I sat on my chair, at the back of the class, grappling with the dilemma of which city to choose from the plethora I had been exposed to!!

 You see I’m one of the ‘Fauji Brats’ A military slang to describe kids or teens of the ‘active military personnel waging an everyday battle against a proxy enemy ‘,who are thought to be spoilt by adoring parents and their every need is served on a ready platter. What no one sees is the degree of inconvenience the whole family goes through, the dangers it encounters in field areas, the insecurity of such impermanence and the lack of anchorage in such a life. Not that I am complaining.Born in the historic city of Gwalior [Madhya Pradesh], in a dilapidated military hospital, at a meager ‘cost price’ of ninety rupees, I am proud of say that i am the apple of my mother and father’s eyes.

 MOBILITY being the quintessential ingredient in my roller coaster ride called life I’m a rolling stone that has fortunately gathered a lot of moss. Since birth I was promised the permanency of a gypsy life, punctuated by change in places, friends, and schools. My ROOTS??  They’re as strong and steadfast as the mighty oak.  This might seem paradoxical to some, but juxtaposed against my father’s career in the Indian Armed Forces it seems perfectly normal and natural. Every move has woven a new transition; a new flavor with every city has been added to our spicy life. My family and these changing faces of new cities nurtured and nourished my soul, behavior and  personality..it never allowed me to grow old but rather grow up and be far more mature than my friends. So my ‘hometown’ is technically nowhere, yet everywhere. As I grew up I observed a lot around me and chronicled it in stray diary entries, and  moments got tucked away neatly in memories' cupboard. I often wonder what took me to all these places and what made me brave enough to gather myself and start again and again every time.

As I shut my eyes to see what weaves all these moments together, I see my father. A photograph I have with my dad ,as he sat on a chair outside, in our garden, leaning forward and chatting with the 5 and a half year old me , smiling to me like he’s encouraging me to keep faith and enjoy the journey. It’s his camouflage uniform that has made such a life possible. We have always moved together as a family and not split at any moment just because the next city would be cut off, or not good enough for our education. Undoubtedly... my city is where my family is, and my city is my family ever since.....nuclear but complete in itself.

Imbibing all that a place offers me, giving enrichment and I maintaining a cheerful effervescence, humble and grateful in return for the ‘not even a single boring moment’ life. Goodbyes were to meet again, yet in every sorrow of separation you hope and find strength and the ability to anticipate a fantastic tomorrow.

Hence my CITY[s] is Gwalior [MP], Delhi, Pune, Gopalpur [Orissa], Roorkee, Bangalore (many more)-MY FAMILY makes the city beautiful.

- Saumya Pankaj

FORBIDDEN FRONTIERS with Saumya Pankaj

In response to the book- CITY AT ITS LIMITS (authored by Danielle Gandolfo)

Danielle Gandolfo, in his book -The City at its Limits-begins with the relationship between oxymorons, taboos and transgression. Taboos invite human curiosity and questioning, leading to, crossing the sacred precincts to satisfy the inquisitive mind about the consequences of crossing the prohibition. Taboos invite transgression and transgression allows fresh taboos. 

This symbiotic relationship allows dynamism and change in every society, its politico-social framework, its cultural hierarchy and the legal order of things whether its gender, class, caste or ethnic related. Urban ‘informal’ societies tend to do just that- they allow random change, radical and mixed thinking and hold the promise of liberation from the taboos. The woman’s act of stripping is seen more like a metaphor for breaking the taboos and prohibition. It means a dilution of authority when the common man dares to not adhere to periphery performance and crosses the sacred line.

The protest is an articulation of a long repressed demand, a questioning of authority and its rules. It’s a symbolic statement of an aging society that is not aging gracefully, rotting in its core and beseeching for renewal. The vision is of ‘urban renewal’ of an impoverished society that has outlived the archaic regulations and seeks to welcome change. ‘Change’ of any authoritarian regime is considered blasphemy initially but such self-inflicted restrictions of political, social and cultural boundaries abort creativity and liberal thinking and true growth. The truth of taboos is that they are not just disciplining but rather restrictive, imprisoning and debilitating. We enjoy setting taboos that permit social differences in the name of order and propriety, out casting anything that is improper and socially incorrect.

 Yet social taboos cannot suffocate or smother human curiosity for change and demands constant destructuring and restructuring that ends in delightful victory. What might be conceived as ‘fictio’ or ‘something made’ might actually turn out to be the reality of the future as no thoughts of change can be muted or muzzled.

city and its informalities

“Informal city” as the name suggests deals with the part of the city which is informal in nature. The city which consists of people not professions or monuments, it’s about the “humane “ part of it. “The generic architecture of slums, favelas and shanty towns might, in one sense, be labelled as the dominating housing solution of contemporary urban life.”  Informal city is a city built by people fighting the struggle for existence and not by the architects and engineers. A house which is built informally is self-sufficient and more fulfilling to a person’s psyche.

-        Sohini Mukherjee

cities through different lenses.

Mythic city and city at its limits, both the articles dealt with the cities, factors that define them , the challenges people face to survive within it.

Mythic city was basically about Bombay and its glories in the by-gone years. Bombay was one name people used to look up to. It was the heart of the glamour industry.  It was a city of dreams, wish fulfilment. People all over India used to be obsessed about Bombay and used to dress, talk and even walk like their favourite actor or actresses. Like any other city with the upsides came the down sides like dance bands, cabaret acts, architecture, cinema, and art or famous murder cases, exposés of brothels, illegal gambling, or the manufacture of illicit liquor in the Prohibition era etc., but the media would illustrate them lavishly to make it appear glamorous. Bombay was also seen as a sensual place and that it offered pleasure.

Bombay was seen a place where rules were made to be broken, this had huge impact in the ordinary man’s mind who is bound by his day-to-day chores to make a living. There was a thrill to enjoy “modern” life styles and to go beyond the limits.

There are conflicts and contradictions related to city but that does not lessen the sense of appreciation for the place in the people. There is a lot of confidence and optimism in the heart of the people living there. Bombay is a socially and linguisti- cally mongrel world. Politics also plays a major role in this city. However people say that Mumbai exists, but India’s most lib- eral, economically vibrant, multicultural metropolis, Bombay is no more.

“City at its limits” deals with the taboos, customs, beliefs, society of the city of Lima.

It showcases the issue of an old lady undertaking the act of nudity in public to gather a repulsive force from the crowd to grab their attention. The taboo of being covered from head to toe in public as decency should have evoked a lot of disapproval and detest from the crowd. Also more likely because the lady undertaking nudity was an old lady was also a major part of the issue.

The article deals basically with how blind faiths and taboos. Taboos change the mind-set of the people in a locality. These rules which are usually set to bring peace and harmony to people , brings about a negative impact on the society as the people can’t think themselves out of the box made of rules created by the society making it uncomfortable for the common man and often more than just uncomfortable. Also these taboos more than often revolve around women, discriminating them.

Both of the articles talk about cities from a different view point.

- Sohini Mukherjee 

INFORMALIZATION : Bane Or Boon ?

As urban societies are booming, informal economies are also developing side-by-side. Especially in developing countries, we see posh and luxurious colonies co-existing with slums, shacks and humble, untidy shanties. The capital city, New Delhi of India has plush malls and shopping complexes. But equally popular are the unplanned markets, which have mushroomed at Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar and numerous other such colonies. Mumbai, which is the financial and industrial capital of India, cannot ignore the existence of ‘Dharvi’, Asia’s largest slum that co-exists with its luxurious housing amenities. Shivajinagar is another example of an unplanned, crowded and an extremely chaotic market.  This is one place where one could find anything and everything under the sun. Being one of the oldest markets of Bangalore, Shivajinagar has yet retained its history, beauty and charm. Informal structures are mushrooming all over the place, but their origins are very old and are the core urban economies.

        Informalisation is also present in modern and developed economies. Social networking sites have become a very effective means of communication all over the world. Developed countries need cheap labour to manufacture luxury items at cheaper prices. So they too depend on developing economies. So all of us are in some way connected to the informal.

-Sharanya Aggarwal