Mumbaikars don't have the luxury to support Anna

To anyone who lives in Mumbai, the flop show at MMRDA grounds wasn’t a great surprise. Mumbaikars have little time for themselves. The very concept of sacrificing even a little bit of this precious commodity to go and attend a political rally (and the Anna Hazare rally is one, make no mistake) is inconceivable. Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi could have given Team Anna a tip or two on how different Mumbai is from the rest of the country. Speaking at the CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards a month ago, Qureshi told the assembled audience that Mumbai would NEVER see an election on a Friday or a Monday — because Mumbaikars would immediately grab the election ‘holiday’ opportunity and make it a long weekend. As a result, Mumbai has an embarrassing voter turnout, which is lower then 40 percent in some constituencies. [caption id=“attachment_167296” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“A supporter of anti-corruption activist Hazare gestures at the venue of his three-day fast in Mumbai . Reuters”]  [/caption] That’s a lesson Team Anna could so easily have learned. To understand why holidays are so precious and guarded one needs to take a look at the life of the average citizen. Most work six-day weeks; most have a long (in terms of time) commute — even those earning seven-figure salaries. The weekdays (and Saturdays in many instances) are days when family members interact only over the necessities; conversations are about school fees, electricity bills, groceries, money needs, the dabbawalla and the dhobi, illness at home, renewal of bus and train passes, and so on. That’s why the weekend (for the lucky) and the Sunday (for the less fortunate) is protected with such zeal. It’s a time when husband and wife can spend some time in privacy, sometimes travelling 25-30 kilometers for the luxury of being able to hold hands without being seen by someone; it’s a time when couples go and watch a terrible movie only because it allows them to get away from 10 other family members who they share the chawl with; it’s a time to show the children the beach that they’ve only heard about from their classmates; it’s a time when the daughter-in-law gets a break from the mother-in-law (and vice versa). It’s a time to attend to pressing matters, repeatedly put off because of lack of time, like a visit to the doctor to have the lump in the breast seen to, or the rash that your six year old has had for over a week. It’s a time to hunt for an elusive electrician because the geyser has gone kaput and the children need their hot water. It’s a time when you have to find a new bai (maid) to replace the one who disappeared last Wednesday. It’s a time to visit your father, who lives 20 kms away, or your mother-in-law who lives 40 kms away. It’s not the time to attend a rally against corruption. Compared to one’s own problems, corruption and Anna Hazare pale into insignificance.