Done, Dusted and the Macabre

Caveat: views are mine. ?I am writing this in my personal capacity.

I have seen a Ravana effigy of the height of more than 100 feet razed to the ground, only once. It was back in 1981, I think, as a 9-year-old when my dad took me to watch one such spectacle. I was too young to fully understand its magnitude and in those days, protecting against environmental damage wasn’t a public outcry, so no plugs were pulled during the grand show of destruction. That, the good versus evil debate was a layered one, was not even in a germination stage in my impressionable mind. I was too young and easily taken in by the black-and-white yardstick that proved to be powerful and suited my formative years.

If you follow the news today (29th August 2022), the Noida twin tower implosion (thankfully it imploded and not exploded), there’s a wee bit of the binary narrative creeping in. I believe that some publications have likened it to the Ravana burning spectacle and at some level, there’s a ring of truth to it. There’s no denying the unholy (and grievously unhealthy) nexus between municipal authorities and builders which have unscrupulously allowed illegal and often environmentally dangerous structures to dot the landscape. And this is not about any particular state or local authority. Norms have been flouted, almost at will and across the country, where some have given it a corporate veneer while the rustic others have invoked the spirit of Al Capone in their impassioned pursuit of land-grabbing. ??????

I would like to peel the layers of the “layered debate” (that I claim) and urge the reader to stay with me as I go about uncovering them.

The first and foremost is that TRUTH has most definitely prevailed over falsehood, and it is to the utmost credit of the Hon’ble SC that such an act has come to pass after a decade of legal and protracted wrangling. It sets in motion – and yes, this is not the first time either but perhaps the most prominent example – that the Judiciary is NOT always going to gloss over flagrant violations, and in these matters, they are more than willing to exercise their solid locus standi to make a distinction over the other two, the Executive & the Legislature. I am not so sure that it will happen for ALL illegal structures in the country, but I am hopeful that some day, the word “always” in the above statement becomes irrelevant. Till then the nation will play trapeze while circumventing many gambits.

Next in line is the sheer engineering marvel on display. Given the humongous size of the twin towers and the adjacent buildings, the complexity (and cacophony) was going to be at an altogether different level. The buildings had to be taken down, implode while doing so and be done in a matter of seconds. The reports say that more than 3700 detonators were required to achieve this feat. Imagine the amount of planning required only to place these detonators to achieve this level of precision. The experts may have run thousands of computer simulations before even contemplating the exact placements. Understandably, everyone in the team heaved a sigh of relief once the TASK was completed. And, oh what a task it was! A labour of Hercules, no less.

The third in line is the impact on the environment and to a layman, it is nothing short of macabre, and despite the assurances given by the master-blasters that all is well. How many times in your lifetime, have you been in a situation (same city even) where 80K tonnes of debris were generated in a matter of seconds? Let that sink in – eighty thousand tonnes of rubble. Delhi NCR has a dubious distinction of being one of the most polluted cities in the world. Around October-November, the air quality is so bad that city planners and social activists throw a fit when they see people (like me) buying sparklers for Kali Pujo or Diwali. Arguably, and is that why we stopped exploding (or imploding) “chocolate” bombs when India wins a cricket match (particularly against our arch-rivals)? A chocolate bomb exploded (did not implode and much to my chagrin) in my hands once and I found out there’s nothing sweet about its misleading name. Bomb-makers are a delusional lot. Eighty thousand tonnes of debris followed by a pall of dust that raised the AQI levels (albeit for a short time) twenty times, the vibrations were felt across a kilometre away, and no damage was done to the environment. I mean, like seriously? Okay, if you say so! ???

The fourth and final layer I am about to peel is about humans and exploring their emotions on various levels. For example, the atmosphere inside the master-blasters’ offices must have been electric and Elon Musk sure did miss out on captivating its power for his EVs. An elderly couple had come with their curious grandson in tow all the way from Agra just to witness this spectacle. It was at the grandson’s goading that the couple made the trip and were seen bubbling with excitement. The grandson was more scientific in his approach. There were hundreds of other people within a kilometre radius, “safely” ensconced and watching Scene IV of Act IV of a Shakespearean tragi-comedy being performed in the open. And quite oblivious to any danger – real or imagined. The common (wo)man on the ground or on a Uber rooftop elbowing (sometimes scratching) her neighbour for a ringside view, the rich man with his glass of Chablis or Chardonnay or whatever he drinks at 2 PM on a Sunday afternoon, exhorting, then exulting and finally – yes, exeunt. They all go out. And the elders, having survived the German Luftwaffe and its relentless bombing during the Second World War, were seen cackling and snorting (as they always do) at young people for being faint-hearted. They sure did earn bragging rights many decades ago. But tarry a while and spare a thought for the hundreds of nearby flat owners who were earlier evacuated to safer places. Imagine that you bought a house in one of those adjacent buildings and now imagine some more. Think of the time between the SC judgement and the twin tower’s inevitable destruction that was yesterday. The wait on tenterhooks would have been a harrowing experience. Uncertainty, which can have cataclysmic consequences, if things go wrong, even when the possibility of error is wafer thin, has always been a scourge of the middle class. Not knowing what to do, not knowing what not to do, equally. It corrodes the soul. One lot waited, another lot destroyed, another entertained and yet another was seen rushing home in glee in their bid to watch the cricket match. Our life span (average) is about 75 years which means we are likely to see 4000-odd Sundays in a lifetime. Frankly, how many Sundays out of these can promise such a wide array of entertainment?

Now, the citizens await the new garden which will come up but before that, a giant-sized cleaning operation will be underway. Informed sources tell me (not quite) that it could take upto 4 months to clear the rubble.

The onion did require some peeling, didn’t it?

Hmm..