Mumbai Police’s charm offensive

There’s the stentorian, mai-baap voice from authorities that Indians are used to… ignoring. The usual ‘With you, for you, always’ kind that tries to sound like a U2 song, but ends up sounding like Army Uncle berating youngsters at Shaheen Bagh even when it’s about telling citizenry to maintain Covid protocol. But Mumbai Police seems to have got things right with its mix of wit and wisdom. On Tuesday, responding to a query by a Mumbaikar named Sunny asking if he can ‘go outside’, the men in khaki responded with cheek and charge, ‘Sir, if you are truly that star at the centre of the solar system…. We hope you realise the responsibility you are shouldering! Don’t compromise it by exposing yourself to the virus please! Be the #SunshineOfSafety.’ That’s a police state we’d tune in to regularly.

Earlier on, the same force had posted songs to spread Covid awareness — one more reason to stay indoors — including tweaking the hit Khamoshi track, ‘Aaj mein upar, aasman neeche’ to ‘Aaj mein upar ’cos mask hai neeche’. Police in India usually have two avatars — one, the cinematic one depicted by the likes of Salman Khan as swag-raj police officer Chulbul Pandey; two, the less affable kind who ‘sticks’ first, ‘carrots’ later. Mumbai Police wags have shown that wit can wield results. Call it a refreshing charm offensive.