Responses

The mythic city- A Response.

We were to read the article by Gyan Prakash, ‘Mythic City’. I found the article very interesting as it was largely about Mumbai and its downfall. The article basically starts of with the outsider perspective of the glitterati of Mumbai. It then continues retelling every aspect of Mumbai through the use of various media like magazines, articles, movies, newspapers and so on.  The writer gives the city various angles, like a place of gossip, style, fashion, pleasure and even ‘international espionage’.

The article then takes a turn as the writer begins to retell the transformation of Bombay to Mumbai. He touches upon all the incidents that have led to Mumbai’s downfall. He mentions incidents like the floods of 26^th July, the local train blasts, and the political instability. All of these factors have led to the downfall of this colorful, lively place.

The last few parts basically talk about ‘generic cities’ and how as time passes very soon all the cities would become carbon copies of one and another. The concept of ‘generic cities’ was very interesting to read, as it is very visible in the present times.

The city at its limits-A Response.

The article, ‘The City at its limits’ was quite a tough read but there were quite a few points that could be related to Shivaji nagar. The paragraph where the author describes the marketplace of Lima and the La Cachina intersection is very relatable to the scenes we see at Shivaji Nagar. The author then continues to describe it during a riot and I can imagine Shivaji Nagar would look the same during a riot.

The author then goes on to question what past were the people of Lima for fighting for; this part again was of great relevance, as none of the past seems to be happy as such.

The part that shocked me the most would be the reaction to the old worker who stripped in protest for something she believed in. Though the act seems ‘taboo’ it just really shows the mindset of people. This act, had many reactions- some were shocked, some said she did it on purpose to make a stronger statement in the protest and so on. But all in all, it shocked every one. Why?

It was not the stripping that shocked the people, it was the invisible rule, belief or so called custom that such an act by an old woman it highly unacceptable.

It would have been very interesting to read all the essays, in relation to ‘taboo’, ‘beauty’, ‘filth’ and ‘nakedness’. But the preface did give me a great idea of the invisible set of rules that every city seems to follow. Who creates these rules and why do we follow them? -Is a question that seems to have no answer.

Neha.Ganesh.Bharadwaj.