Under the over

What do you call this complacency, cockiness, misplaced over-confidence, or the Main hoon na (I am there) syndrome, that result­ed in the new flyover in Bombay being named other than what was agreed upon i.e. Sir J. J. Flyover. Right from under the very nose of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees who were caught napping, the other community scored over us and we were left with just an aghast expression — ‘this can’t be happening to us!’

Bombay is our karmabhoomi (land of toil), it’s the seat of the intelligentsia, the Tatas, Wadias and Godrejs who are the three pillars of Indian industry, and not to forget Soli Sorabji and the likes who have a say in Bombay politics. Yet we lost out on the name of the flyover to political considerations. A serious introspection needs to be taken. Has the BPP lost its clout? If this body can’t intercede on Parsi matters in India, vari world body join karvaa kaa chaalyaa? (how can it consider joining a world body)? This speaks poorly of the public relations work of the BPP!

This had to happen as all the energies of the BPP are now being mustered to join the world body. See the irony. You can’t settle issues here in India but insist on playing a global role! It’s the second time in a month that the BPP fell flat on its face, so to say. The first was the for­ma­tion of the World Al­liance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (WAPIZ) within five months of the idea being generated, while the BPP is still discussing as for the past two decades, on whether to join the world body.

Owning up moral responsibility is the call of the day. World body be damned. Set your house in order first!

RODA D. HAKIM

Baroda

The Editors reply

Contrary to what Hakim states, the BPP and several other communi­ty bodies lobbied with the government to have the flyover named after Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. The final decision of course rested with the state government. However as one reader in a daily newspaper observed, no matter what name is given, everyone will refer to the elevated roadway as the J. J. Flyover.