Shobhaa De | All Hail Ashwini Bhide… A Swish Of Silk In Sea Of Suits

The best breaking news on April Fool’s Day was the appointment of Ashwini Bhide as the first woman commissioner of the BMC — Asia’s richest civic body. History happened! It has taken decades, and several almost-rans before Ashwini swept into the majestic corridors of a heritage building that dominates an important square in the heart of Mumbai at Fort. It is a grand Gothic Revival style structure that has hosted an impressive roster of 31 commissioners since 1946, many of them individuals who were extraordinary civic servants like Jamshed Kanga, B.G. Deshmukh to Ajoy Mehta and Iqbal Singh Chahal. The very first municipal commissioner and collector of Bombay was Arthur Travers Crawford, after whom the still functioning and very busy Crawford Market is named.

Interestingly, at the moment, Mumbai can proudly claim to have quite a few amazing women in key posts, including Ritu Tawde, Mumbai’s mayor, Rashmi Shukla, the first woman director-general of police, and Sujata Saunik, who became the first woman chief secretary in 2024. It is to Ashwini’s credit that she has taken the appointment in her stride, with her characteristic no-nonsense attitude, saying: “Because the government did not get a chance to appoint a woman to this position before, this is probably being highlighted.” Spoken like a true gender-blind professional, who places more emphasis on getting things done than making a fuss over breaking through the glass ceiling. With nearly three decades in the bureaucracy, handling tough portfolios, Ashwini has been at the centre of the action, leading boldly from the front when she was in charge of the iconic Coastal Road as additional municipal commissioner for four years. As managing director of MMRCL, Ashwini made sure the controversy-riddled 33.5-km Aqua Line 3 finally started operations after many delays. She candidly admitted: “The most difficult challenge was dealing with people…” She can say that again! And errrr… it’s okay not to name Aaditya Thackeray as the main obstacle.

I recall meeting Aswini Bhide years ago, when she was posted in Nagpur as the CEO of the Nagpur Zilla Parishad. I travelled there to get to know first-hand what was going on with the tricky Naxal issue paralysing the area. Chandra Iyengar, a dynamic IAS officer, who was in charge of several key portfolios at the time, had spoken highly about three juniors, all women. One of them was Ashwini. If I recall correctly, she was expecting her first child back then. I am assuming that it’s the same child who is today the co-founder of AI start up Origin Bio — Malhar Bhide. Ashwini’s husband Satish Bhide, who took voluntary retirement in 2012, was posted elsewhere. A visibly pregnant Ashwini was behind her desk, handling several complicated tasks, a frown of concentration on her face, when the phone rang. It was a powerful neta calling from Mantralaya. She frowned some more. From what I could gather, he was instructing Ashwini to reappoint someone she had dismissed recently, on serious grounds of corruption. She heard him out and firmly told him that it was not possible. The man was corrupt. She had enough hard evidence… she did not want to reinstate him. Period. After a few minutes of Ashwini holding her ground and refusing to play ball, the neta slammed down the phone. She turned calmly to me, like nothing had happened, and we resumed where we’d left off. No fuss. No explanation.

And certainly, no concession!

I was sure she’d lose her job or get sidelined. Maybe she did face a career setback for daring to “disobey” orders from the top. But here she is, so many years later, admired and acknowledged by colleagues, both past and present. Unfortunately, I lost touch with Chandra. I hear she is an independent director with Adani Power Ltd. Chandra had faced blatant discrimination herself, when she lost out the chance to become the chief secretary during Ashok Chavan’s tenure as the chief minister of Maharashtra. J.P. Dange, her senior by a few months, got the coveted post instead. But, like the cliché goes — the world can never keep a good woman (or women) down. The last time I ran into Ashwini was a few months ago in the corridors of the Bombay Gymkhana. She was rushing to a meeting, her beautiful silk sari rustling softly, as she briskly strode past members seated at cane tables, sipping mint tea. We promised to catch up and reconnect. I am sure Chandra must be beaming with pride, wherever she now lives (we lived in the same vicinity back at the time). Chandra had promised an idli-dosa get-together at her home, along with all her female protegees. What better time than now to take her up on the old offer?

Between an unseasonal hail storm and dramatic thunder showers, my short trip to Pune was filled with fresh discoveries and new friends — always wonderful to meet young minds exploring worlds I know nothing about. A 35-year-old woman, casually dressed in jeans and a checked shirt, was introduced to me as a “chartered mechanical engineer”. Huh? What’s that? I enquired, awestruck and impressed. Aditi Joshi (that’s her name) grinned broadly and explained what she does in very clear terms. At 35, she leads a team of 40 people, interacting on a daily basis with government agencies in India and internationally, as a trusted valuer of processes and heavy-duty equipment. She started at 18, after losing her father who had started the company which she now heads. She would drive him to his work appointments, and be paid in kind with spicy chicken dishes! Did she — does she — face gender biases, given the macho nature of her business? Of course, she does… but which intelligent woman can thrive in such a competitive environment without super smart coping strategies… and beat the sceptics at their own game?

For all the Chandras, Ashwinis and Aditis out there… the road to the top has been bumpy, pot-holed, hazardous and with speed-breakers galore… But hey — why bother with the gravel when today you are walking on a carpet of velvety roses?

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