The sprawling Shivaji Park on Tuesday, swathed with the golden rays of the sun seemed to have erased the memory of recent attacks on north Indian migrants.
Almost all the enterprising vendors were migrants
MUMBAI: The sprawling Shivaji Park on Tuesday, swathed with the golden rays of the sun seemed to have erased the memory of recent attacks on north Indian migrants. A pleasant wind swept across the park, merging with the din surrouding the park. People in large numbers and questions in their eyes, perched themselves on the park fence. Where is Raj? Will he be arrested? Will he travel in his own car or police van? But once these questions were set aside, the park transformed into a perfect venue for a winter picnic.
Kishore, an 18-year-old, went around the park with a steel kettle selling tea. A cup of tea in a plastic glass fetched earned him Rs5. Nagesh, a south Indian boy from Dharavi, was having a tough time keeping pace with the demand for his idli-sambar. He ran out of stock twice. Talking a break for about half an hour, he appeared at the venue to find more customers asking for tiny idlis in spicy sambar. For the elderly Ramesh Tiwari was only too pleased to sell peanuts for almost twice the price. The word migrant was on nobody’s mind.
Non-migrants, still ready to make a quick buck at Shivaji Park, admitted, “There is some trouble here as the police wants to arrest Raj. But where will we go? We know there is a problem with Uttar Bharatis.”
The 1970s agitation when Shiv Sena staged a similar agitation against south Indians was no longer weighing on the mind of young Nagesh.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers strolling in the park were outnumbered by non-Marathis. The residents of the area preferred to stay indoors or were out to their respective work places. Occasionally, one came across an elderly man walking his grandchild to school.
Even the on-lookers, hanging around to catch a glimpse of Raj, did not fear revealing their non-Maharashtrian status. One of them said, “When you have such high security, what’s there to fear?
The section representing the media were on its toes to keep an eye for everything. A third of Shivaji Park was transformed into parking space as media stationed their OB vans for direct telecast.
At a distance, a school teacher in a yellow saree, was giving young kids lessons on how to play football. A few yards away, children in white uniforms complete with pads and gloves, were deep into the game of cricket.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}