Amidst the tsunami of election coverage in Mumbai, and the rest of Maharashtra, a little piece of news grabbed my attention. The revered Cambridge Dictionary, it said, had selected the word ‘m.fest’ as its Word of the Year 2024 after it was looked up more than 1,30,000 times on its website, making it one of the most viewed words of the year. It set off a train of thoughts about the state of affairs we find ourselves in as Maharashtra prepares to convene its 15th Assembly with 288 members but, before that, a few lines about the word itself.
M.fest, m.festing, m.festation. These have been the words of the metaphysical world and the self-help community that gathered massive momentum on social media in the past few years – during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The belief that one can m.fest the life, the job, the house or romance one desires has found many takers in recent years and it appears to have empowered people to summon energies of all realms to make their desires a reality.
The word ‘m.fest’, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, jumped from the self-help community on the social media to “being widely used across mainstream media and beyond, as celebrities such as singer Dua Lipa, Olympic sprinter Gabby Thomas and England striker Ollie Watkins spoke of m.festing their success in 2024”. To m.fest simply means to imagine achieving something one wants in the belief that doing so is more likely to make it happen.
Rationalists and scientists have cautioned against this because it has no scientific validity or proof. But, then, who can deny that belief is a strong motivator of behaviour? I am not sure if politicians or their election managers m.fested voter turnouts in the Assembly election but both Mumbai, and the state, recorded their highest-ever turnouts in 30 years. Provisional figures for polling, which was on Wednesday, showed Mumbai with nearly 55 percent and Maharashtra at approximately 65 percent, were both marginally higher than the turnout in the higher-voltage Lok Sabha election in April-May this year.
Now that the ballots have been sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines – or so we must believe – the politicians of both the alliances, Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi, must be m.festing the swearing-in of their governments. Both their m.festations obviously cannot come to pass; only one alliance will see that reality. Even as that unfolds over the next few days, I am tempted to turn metaphysical and resort to m.festing a few of my desires for my city and the state. Now, breathing in six seconds, holding four seconds, and breathing out six seconds before putting these out into the universe:
I m.fest that the elected representatives, the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), will honour our votes and not hop-skip-jump to the opposing alliance or party that promises them all sorts of goodies, including the khokhas, so that we are not confused about the allegiance and ideology of who represents us. But, wait, what if they m.fested the goodies, including the khokhas? Whose m.festation will the Universe grant?
I m.fest that the MLAs are found on the addresses and phone numbers that we voters have for them so that our concerns can be relayed and those concerns addressed. I m.fest that we can reach them in times of need and trouble on governance issues, also in times of celebration and joy, but certainly when we need them to be our voice in the Assembly and draw the government’s attention to our concerns.
I m.fest that the MLAs, especially those who form the government, wake up from their dreamland and realise that our core concerns need urgent and immediate redressal – motorable roads, obstruction-free pavements, seamless connectivity between different modes of transport, strengthening and expanding every mode of public transport, cleanliness in all public areas, protection of green and open spaces in every neighbourhood, restoration and protection of every river and stream and waterbody because only these will save us from the fury of intense rainfall, provision of heat shelters and drinking water in every neighbourhood, desilted and clear stormwater drains, landfills and waste water that are scientifically treated, hawkers and street vendors who are given their rightful place and stay there, sustainable and fair-price agriculture, schools and colleges that aspire to best standards, hospitals where the ill are treated without them losing their life savings. And safer public spaces for women and public restrooms in cities – MLAs can not only m.fest the last-mentioned but also make these happen without any intervention or assistance from the Universe.
I m.fest that there are social and cultural institutions in the city, and the state, that go well beyond the confines of popular culture that too has been reduced to mainstream cinema – institutions and corners and groups which have the space to nurture different kinds of literature, theatre, music, art, indie cinema, and dialogues and conversations around each of these; institutions or groups that are encouraged to bring out the creativity of children and adults, museums that are seen as live and vibrant spaces to connect with, libraries that offer intellectual engagement that the best social media cannot, public platforms that allow for exchange of ideas and world-views which are the only counter to a society that’s fast polarising with every passing election because polarisation wins votes.
I m.fest that the next government of Maharashtra – and MLAs of Mumbai as well as every city – goes beyond lip-service, formal statements, and ticking of boxes to truly and comprehensively address climate change and its varied impacts in our daily lives. There’s a lot of science out there, there are realistic or alarmist projections, and there are many best practices of climate action too that covers mitigation as well as adaptation. Of course, we can use bamboo straws, switch off air-conditioners, and opt for Electric Vehicles if we can afford them but let’s be clear on this: the buck stops at our government, the massive changes needed to address immediate impacts and plan adaptation have to be done at that level.
I m.fest that we have a livable Mumbai for all where our quality of life is not determined by so many variables outside our control. Can the Universe grant this? It’s quite basic, really.
Smruti Koppikar, senior journalist and urban chronicler, writes extensively on cities, development, gender, and the media. She is the Founder Editor of the award-winning online journal ‘Question of Cities’ and won the Laadli Media Award 2024 for her writing in this column
