Mumbai’s “piggy bank” and two brothers’ “insurance policy”!

Morning time is always rushed for Ramya, but today a very different kind of “budget” discussion was going on in his house. The occasion was his son’s birthday, and on the table lay the child’s small pink piggy bank. For the past two years, Ramya’s son had been putting coins into it with great hope—sometimes loose change given by guests, sometimes leftover snack money. Today the child picked up the bank and innocently asked, “Baba, today is my birthday, right… shall we break it today?” Ramya smiled and placed his hand on the child’s head, but while looking at that pink piggy bank, he suddenly visualized the massive building of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Again and again, he felt that we ordinary Mumbaikars are like a helpless “coin” lying inside that piggy bank. Our job is only to make a “clinking” sound while falling inside in the form of taxes and votes, and to fill the hollow belly of that bank. Who will actually eat the spoils when that piggy bank is broken is something the “coin” can never decide. The piggy bank gets filled by coins coming from outside, but when it is broken, the celebration belongs to the owner. For many years now, the common person has been filling this “piggy bank called Mumbai,” but what remains in his share are the same old questions—roads or potholes, clean water or murky water. Ramya began to think—this atmosphere of two brothers coming together that has formed recently, is it really an alliance, or is it an “insurance policy” taken out for their own political survival? When Uddhav Thackeray’s power was in danger, Raj Thackeray mocked from a distance, and when Raj Thackeray’s engine had derailed, Uddhav Thackeray smiled quietly. But today, both brothers have understood that if the BJP-led Mahayuti’s “development model” is to be defeated, the same old “emotional tactic” will have to be used once again. Those who pushed Mumbai’s progress back by ten years to fill their own homes—what justice will they now deliver to Mumbai? This question was unsettling Ramya. When these two brothers were attacking each other fiercely, they did not remember the Marathi person or identity. But now, when signs have begun to appear that the “key” to the municipal treasury may pass into someone else’s hands, the brothers have suddenly remembered brotherhood. No political expert is needed to say that this alliance is driven by self-interest. This alliance sends a clear message— “I want my piggy bank back, even if I have to shake hands with anyone to get it.” When Ramya stepped outside his house, the same banner stood there— “Marathi man, wake up… this is the final battle for your existence.” Reading it made Ramya laugh. He thought—if there were an imaginary banner on the opposite wall saying, “Mumbaikars, our family business is currently in loss, please vote for us and help us re-establish our feudal estate!” how honest that would sound. Or even more plainly, it should have said— “Mumbaikars, this is the final battle for our piggy bank, please do not forget to drop your coins!” Because this battle is not about the existence of ordinary people at all. This battle is for the “key”— because whoever holds the key, holds Mumbai. Ramya returned home. His son was still looking at the piggy bank with hope. Ramya placed his hand on the child’s shoulder and softly murmured— “Son, before breaking this bank, just check one thing… it is true that you filled this bank with your own effort, but after breaking it, will the happiness belong to you, or will there be a lavish party in someone else’s name?” The child may not have received his answer, but for Mumbaikars, the time has certainly come to ask themselves this question. BMC is not a family business #notafamilybusiness