Industrialist and LK Advani salute former sheriff for introducing ‘tweets’ 40 years ago.
For 42 years, Nana Chudasama has reflected the sentiments of people in a few carefully-chosen words on a banner at Marine Drive. People had not even heard of Facebook then and Twitter was nowhere close to being conceptualised.
In fact, the world would have balked at the idea of saying it in just 140 characters. Chudasama, probably, has been ahead of his time. That’s why industrialist Mukesh Ambani believes Twitter must pay royalty to the former Mumbai sheriff.
“Nana always had a solution to the city’s problems. Twitter should give you (Chudasama) royalty for the tweets you started 40 years ago. Had they started their service at that time, they would have done a lot of business,” Ambani said at the launch of Chudasama’s book — History on a Banner — at the Mumbai University on Thursday.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani, party president Nitin Gadkari, industrialist Adi Godrej and journalists MJ Akbar and Shobha De attended the function.
Even De said that it was Chudasama who invented Twitter. “Nana’s voice stands for true secularism in the city, which is being divided on several issues,” she said.
Chudasama’s banner above The Pizzeria on the Queen’s Necklace often makes fun of politicians and reflects the angst among citizens, mostly tongue-in-cheek. Sometimes, he suggests solutions to problems. One of his famous banners read: “Go through the Greek dictionary for the meaning of idiot. It is the person who does not vote.”
Advani too showered praise on the former mayor’s slogans. “I always envy cartoonists. And whenever it comes to cartoonists, Mumbaikars recall only two names — Nana Chudasama and RK Laxman. Nana’s lines force everyone to think,” the BJP stalwart said.
Chudasama said politicians gave him more subjects than anybody else. “All Indian politicians work for me to write,” he said.
The 77-year-old added that Jawaharlal Nehru was a good prime minister because he always encouraged the opposition and
Amitabh Bachchan was the best actor he had ever seen. Bachchan, who was scheduled to attend the function, could not because of family commitments.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}