Pavement was a lakshman rekha

Urban historian Rafique Baghdadi recalls his 'footpath-chaap' days

The concept of pavements, or footpaths as we used to call them, has
disappeared from the mind space of the citizens of this city. When the old
roads were made, pavements got special attention. Even the stones used were
beautiful and strong. They had notches on them to prevent people from
slipping on them. The word 'footpath' was part of the lingo of the time and
words like 'footpathchaap' were common. All these are meaningless now.
Mumbai has changed far too much. In films like Rumble on the Dock, sitting
on the footpath is a mark of protest.

Growing up in Mazagaon, our buildings were separated from the roads by only
a railing. There was space between the building and the railing and there
was the pavement between the railing and the road. We used this space for
myriad reasons. In the summer, the residents would put chairs out and sit
there in the night. The pavement was the 'lakshman rekha' for us kids. We
were told strictly not to cross this when we were playing. We used to play
Seven Tiles and we used to make small bonfires in the winter and roast
potatoes and eat them. There used to be carpenters from Surat who sold papad
and pickles on the pavements.

The degradation of the footpaths started in the 1960s when Mumbai saw sudden
large-scale development. It is at this time that encroachments on the
pavements started. I feel that it is too late now to displace all the
encroachers. The problem should have been tackled years ago. Most people who
are in the administration don't even know what the interior of the city
looks like. How can they solve the problem?


URL :
http://digital.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?edorsup=Main&queryed=20&querypage=4&boxid=30996798&parentid=27293&eddate=10/29/2006