Mumbai by night

Dec 22, 2012, 07:00 AM IST

1/5 Where are the policemen?

Reporter: Little Yadav

Location: Mindspace, Malad

Time: 10.30pm to midnight



Mindspace in Malad, the hub of call centres in Mumbai, is well lit and guarded. Many women are employed here on the late-night shift, so many of them were walking about the place with little worry apparent worry. I did not spot a single policeman in the area, but I did not feel unsafe. But there were few people on the street outside, and without an security here, there would be nothing to stop a criminal attack. Speaking to a few women, who work in one of the call centres located in the area, it became clear that they took precautionary measures for their own safety. “I do not travel alone after midnight. My husband will pick me up from work, or I’ll travel along with colleagues,” said one of them. Another said: “We usually are dropped home by the office transport. If I have to come out of the office premises for any reason, I make sure that a male colleague accompanies me.” But they all wished that there should be regular police patrolling in the area to make sure that there are no attacks on women.





2/5 Stalked by motorist

Reporter: Somita Pal

Location: King’s Circle, Matunga

Time: 10:30pm to midnight Mumbai is a safe place for women at any time. At least I would like to believe this. So I laughed at the thought when I was asked to check out the atmosphere in King’s Circle at night. Of course, I was a bit scared after the Delhi gang rape incident. And I learned that a woman was attacked in Sewri on Thursday evening. As I walked towards King’s Circle station, I did not see many pedestrians, just some persons spreading their sheets along the footpath for the night. As I walked over the bridge, there were a few policemen, chatting among themselves. I avoided them and entered the lane to SIES school. It’s a mainly residential area. Had this not been an assignment and my photographer colleague not with me, I would have panicked. I heard a car approaching, honking persistently. I continued to walk right ahead presuming it was a taxi looking for a fare. When the vehicle slowed down near me, I realised it wasn’t a taxi. I looked at the motorist and I froze. He may have been in his early 40s. Then he chose to drive on. Did he notice the photographer through the rear mirror? It was a brief experience, enough though to challenge my belief in a safe Mumbai.





3/5 Alert cops and drunk partygoers

Reporter: Puja Pednekar

Location: Amboli

Time: 10.30pm to midnight I was standing at a bus stop outside the church in Amboli, Andheri, not far from where Keenan and Reuben were murdered for protecting their friend against eve-teasers, a year ago. I was there for 45 minutes, acting as though I was waiting to meet someone. Pedestrians crossed me, motorists drove by, but no one glanced at me. Just a couple of curious stares, wondering what a young woman was doing at a bus stop so late at night, but not offensive. In fact some elderly men even crossed to the other side to avoid me. Would they have been so uncaring had I been in some trouble, I do not know. My photographer colleague tried to click their expressions from a distance away. While people did not notice him, a police patrol spotted him and quizzed him why he was taken shooting pictures of me. I was impressed. But then a couple of policemen on a bike had passed me by a few minutes before, but they were not as curious. The main road was well lit, but the bylanes were dark. I saw a group of teenagers, some of them girls, who appeared to be returning home after a party. The policemen did not pay any heed to them, probably assuming that they were safe in the company of the boys. Will the policemen get into the picture only after something happens, I wondered.





4/5 Cops visible amid sound of silence

Reporter: Radhika Ramaswamy

Location: Bandra-Kurla Complex

Time: 10.30pm to midnight Walking by the towers in Bandra-Kurla Complex appeared to be a easy, even if uninteresting assignment at first. The wide roads, the office crowd and security guards at every tower made me presume that there could not be a more secure place in the city. I was wrong. The suburban business district was desolate. There were vehicles regularly rolling by and a few people walking along the thoroughfare. But the by-roads were deserted. But when I got to the Mumbai Cricket Association ground, it felt like the dark end of the world. There was no light, but some construction workers who were barely visible. I thought I had better be gone, else they may pass comments. As I stepped along there were only buildings and more buildings, and some queer characters about. Even autorickshaws were hard to see, except for a stray auto near a bus stop or at a traffic signal. Then a police patrol vehicle drove by. At the Reserve Bank of India building and Income-Tax office too there was an eerie silence, as the light from the street lamp was hidden in the tall trees. As I came out of the business area, there was more light and more people around. I was at ease, at last.



