Where the air is pure, the water clear, and the earth green,
Where the hills, the Mula, and the Mutha are a permanent heritage zone,
Where the wells, lakes, and ponds are re-cultivated and nurtured,
Where trees are planted not arbitrarily but for their ecological relevance,
Friends, let the city of Pune unfold a vision for itself.
Where the hills are freely accessible to public and a home for birds,
Where natural terrain is used for creating ponds leading to rivulets and rivers,
Where vegetation outgrows its destruction,
Where flowers bloom, and fruits adorn- even the pedestrian paths,
Friends, let us not divorce ourselves from nature so soon
Where the automobile is not worshipped but treated as a mere convenience,
Where all forms of the public transport system are explored and upgraded,
Where services are efficiently planned along for flexibility,
And where the pedestrian is brought back with glory and joy,
Friends, let us draft a plan for the city of Pune with the common man in mind
Where the slums are not seen as eyesores but as socio-political facts,
Where migrant population is provided for by way of temporary camps
Which the squatter will vacate, once financially improved,
Where the squatter colonies are not rehabilitated in multi-storeyed buildings,
Friends, let Pune aspire for a Punyanagari for all and not just the privileged few
Where the City Plan critically examines the soil potential,
And innovatively respects agricultural and non-agricultural soils for their assets,
Where they intermingle to complement each other in development,
Where the agricultural land is sustained with effective subsidies,
Let us, friends, create a city of crops and buildings together
Where the cores of the city and the cantonment are conserved selectively,
Where conservation goes hand in hand with futuristic development,
Where existing properties are amalgamated and utilised for a common purpose,
Where heritage is an asset and is rewarded with the TDR within the same zone,
Let the city core be rejuvenated, friends, to give a strong vitality and form
Where the law is both fair and tough and implementing authority armed well,
Where the unlawful development is scorched in the bud; not after it is built,
Where the PMC is replaced by the Development Authority,
Where the bureaucracy is not blinded by an outdated modernist agenda,
Friends, let us create room for finer subtleties of context and communities
Where transparency replaces red-tapism and land values made available on the net,
Where political leadership is not about exploiting the law or the land,
And the industry contributes rather than demands,
Where the ward committees play a more specific role,
Let us, friends, make the stakeholder responsible and the plan feasible
Where all good intentions and inputs by several NGOs and activists,
Serve as the most important data, facts and analyses,
Where the local planners, urban designers and architects combine,
To address the brief into a well-conceived plan for the city’s growth,
Let us not, friends, do the jobs that skilled professionals are better equipped to handle
Where the Indian bazaar, with all exuberance, is restored with new spirit,
Where vegetable markets along the streets offer a unique, enjoyable experience,
Where the traditional weekend market is recognised as the Asian phenomenon,
Where newer space is created for contemporary socio-cultural activity,
Let us friends realise what really belongs to this place
Where all existing open space is consolidated and further added to
Where existing houds, courtyards, precincts and wadis are reactivated,
Where characteristic Pune is conserved for posterity,
Where street furniture and landscape is environment friendly,
Friends, can we not avoid garish signage, hoardings and adverse illumination?
Where garbage is separated at source, and yet the stray animals do not go hungry,
Where organic waste is recycled by both individuals and the PMC,
Where rainwater does not ruin the roads,
Where the city sewage system is planned and laid in advance,
Friends, let us aim at insisting on one toilet per family
Where the flyovers are not an epidemic,
Where roads don’t turn into spittoons and toilets,
Where cement and automobiles are servants, not rulers,
Where mixed development is brought back after refinement,
Friends, couldn’t we find solutions to our own peculiar problems?
Where our city teams from the experience of other lands,
Without, however, wanting to ape any examples,
Where city development is not about just exploiting the land,
Where development is not equated to the business of development,
Friends, let us discard what is false
Where the new would mean using technology for a common benefit,
Where technology would not mean arrogant glass boxes,
Where future would combine efficiency with humanness,
Where children, young, and old all have a sense of belonging,
Where imagination is a free and creative flight,
Let us erase the outdated image of this city
Where cities are engines of growth’ notion does not run amok
Where the social-cultural rituals are not to the detriment of the natural resources
Where plans have the inbuilt possibility to change as per the judicious decisions
Where ‘being rich’ is not the highest rung of the ladder
Let us be conscious to redefine the spiral of cultural values
Where ‘vision’ is neither a faded version of an alien city,
Nor of a glorified past with rhetoric of caste, community, or religion,
Where, in fact, the vision is a bold attempt to fuse our ideas into a new whole,
Where it is not drafted at the order of any leader,
Let us resolve a vision that stands for freedom, efficiency, ecology and equity!
Feature Image sketch by Narendra Dengle
The above poem was inspired by Tagore’s ‘Where the mind is without fear’.
