Giant Santa hat on tree top at Carter Road designed to make people realise value of nature

Ashwini Bhide, additional civic commissioner, and Tanya Dubash, chief brand officer and executive director of Godrej, at the selfie point. Pic/Shadab Khan

Santa Claus may not make it to Mumbai this year, as travel is disrupted due to Covid restrictions, but his hat has found its way here. A giant Santa hat has been installed atop a tree on the Carter Road, Bandra West promenade. The hat, which sits on top of a tree that has huge Christmas decorations, is designed as a selfie-point, and hopefully, a conversation starter for people about nature, its value, the gifts it gives us through the year. It is the site of the #TheRealSanta campaign, which gives a message that ‘Nature is the real Santa'.

Spot on

On Tuesday late morning, the BMC and Godrej Industries Limited announced their collaboration at the Carter Road, Santa hat selfie spot, specifically created for ‘nature is the real Santa' campaign. Ashwini Bhide, additional municipal commissioner, eastern suburbs, said, "The current atmosphere demands more awareness and conversations around protecting nature. We thought this was an apt time for such an initiative. Santa comes once annually; nature gives us her bounty through the year. So, we need to take care of nature. We were happy to collaborate to spread the message on how we all need to preserve our ecosystem to give humanity a better future."

When asked about the perception about the BMC and nature preservation being opposites given that civic-driven projects in the city equalled reducing green cover, Bhide disagreed. "We can strike a balance between development and ecology and we do so. Every project is preceded by an Environmental Impact Assessment report. The BMC Gardens Department maintains approximately 30 lakh trees in the city. Even projects like the Coastal Road will see enhancement of green cover, rather than depletion. We will see 50 hectares of green space created with the coastal road. We are proving that nature and development go together," Bhide said.

Community

Tanya Dubash, chief brand officer and executive director of Godrej, said the company has been on the "green path" and added, "Innovative actions like these are designed to bring the concept of preserving nature to people since it is in a public space. We have to break the intimidation around environmental awareness or that nature preservation is somehow niche. It is accessible."

As Bandra locals, including late morning Carter Road joggers stood to stare, resident-blogger R George said, "[This] fosters a sense of community and purpose, giving Carter Road promenade exercisers a stop and think moment in the midst of their walks. It is an insta-perfect opportunity." Celebrity chef Varun Inamdar, a Mahim resident, agreed. "I am not from Bandra but do feel a sense of community here. I studied in a Bandra college," the chef said.

With all the feel-good statements in the easy-breezy air, it was evident that the cheery Christmas spirit is here. Bhide and Dubash chipped away at the stereotype that government authorities and mega business houses push the development agenda, without a care for the greens. Both insisted that they are for the planet rather than ecologically damaging projects or profits. The campaign spot will be on through the week, till Christmas.

25 Dec
Day till when the hat will be there atop the tree