Fun & Frolic in the 'biased' Air.

I was looking at a picture of an Australian group performing at the Gateway of India, Mumbai, as a part of Mumbai festival, in one of the dailies. The photo brought back sad memories of a show which was intended to happen there but never took off; rather it was not allowed to start. I’m talking about I Rock 2005.

If anything is truly synonymous with Mumbai for the past 20/22 years, it is the Independence Day Rock, without fail it happened every year, sometimes delayed, but sure to happen; a phenomenon closely relative with our lifeline, ‘Local Trains.’ Our Authorities should have incorporated it in the ‘Mumbai Festival.’

Sometime back (September 2005) after our hallowed month of Independence, every rock & roll fan in Mumbai and surrounding cities was gearing up for live event of his life, ‘20th year of Independence Rock at Gateway of India, Mumbai.’

“So what if they did not allow us to rock at Rangbhavan,” a friend said, “we will rock harder at the Gateway of India.” "Indeed," I thought.

But, to our horror, the Mumbai Police struck down the hammer, for ‘Archeological’ reasons. Truly, as weird as it sound, allegations to shutting down the show before it started was ‘sound damages the monuments!’ Ironically political speeches and sounds from ‘Phirang’ vocal cords strengthens it.; No disrespect to the phirangs.

Till this day, I have kept my tickets for that show. Those tickets are an epitome of prejudice; How authorities strike ruthlessly upon a group of people who do not fall under their definition of ‘vote bank,’ a theory proved in the Anti-Reservations issue. The motivations of our esteemed politicians have gradually shifted from ‘Principles of Gandhiji’ to ‘Gandhiji on their compounding principle.’ No doubt Gandhiji is still revered for different reasons I suppose.
I wrote this article with a broken heart hoping this might revive Rangbhavan, after all the only thing that we do own is ‘the spirit of Mumbai,’ right ?