Magic shows, paper craft enthral Sunday crowds at Equal Streets

MUMBAI: Every Sunday, Dr SalilBendre kept seeing people singing, dancing, drawing or contorting themselves into tortuous-looking yogasanas. In the last few weeks, the Equal Streets Movement along a traffic-free stretch in Bandra and Santacruz on Sunday mornings has become a theatre of sorts, with Mumbaikars freely indulging in their passions and pet projects.
“Everybody was doing what they like. So I thought why not do something that I am passionate about,” says Dr Bendre, head of chest medicine at Nanavati Hospital. This Sunday, he set up a table not to give advice on pulmonological disorders but to put up a charming show on magic. As the good doctor named cards held by opponents close to their chests and pulled Re 1 coins out of thin air, the bunch of people around him nodded in amazement. The doctor seemed pleased with their appreciation.
Equal Streets movement, which envisages city roads as friendly places for all, entered its 12th week with nearly 50,000 footfalls. On Sunday, regulars dropped in with a sense of familiarity while wide-eyed newcomers got used to the spectacle of people freely cycling, skating, singing, dancing and getting fit on roads empty of traffic.
The initiative, brought to Mumbai by NGOs, citizens’ associations and cycling groups, aims to create awareness about keeping roads inclusive by turning a 6.5km loop of Linking Road and SV Road closed to motorized vehicles from 7am to 11am every Sunday. The Mumbai police, BMC and NGO Embarq are partners while Times of India supports the movement, which will continue till May 31.
Like Dr Bendre’s spontaneous magic show, there were many other citizen-led ventures. Yasmin Shroff and husband Aspi Shroff dangled small pieces of newspaper in front of visitors and asked whether it was possible to make it encircle one’s body. As people gathered, the Shroffs folded the paper and tore it in various places to create a belt of sorts. “She is showing us that the impossible is possible,” said a visitor holding her paper belt. Shroff agreed. “We are looking to change perceptions with games like these,” she said.
Along with pre-planned events like yoga, fitness and origami sessions, there was karaoke singing too with people singing along to versions of ‘My Heart is Beating’ and Bollywood hits. Moms sat with their toddlers, who were busy doing street graffiti with chalks or creating paintings with ready-made cutouts to be displayed at an art exhibition later. Many also queued up at Sujata Thosar’s stall that made instant newspaper hats. As Thosar quickly fashioned elaborate picture and sun hats right on the wearer’s head, a snaky line began to form. “I forgot to bring my cap. So I thought why not get one of these hats to keep the sun out,” laughed Dr Kalpana Kutecha.
Meanwhile, first-timers struggled to contain their excitement at the sight of a traffic-free road. Forum Mody’s five-year-old couldn’t believe that she was standing in the middle of Linking Road with her mother urging her to cycle on the empty stretch. “They are taught not to play on streets right from childhood. So she couldn’t believe that she could actually cycle on city streets,” says Mody from Vile Parle.
Bharat Kadge, another first-timer, too stood in amazement and clicking pictures of his grand-daughter trying on Thosar’s colourful hats. “Equal Steets is indeed a novel concept for Mumbai. It is great to see people having different kinds of experiences and having fun,” said Kadge.