Vasansi Jeernani yatha Vihay
Navani Grihyati Naroparani |
tatha sharirani vihay jeerna-
anyani sanyati navani dehi ||
Monday, July 07, 2008
Friday, July 04, 2008
A bridge an hour!!
When we were in grade 5 were taught the unit of speed as kilometers per hour, metres per second, etc. but having come to Mumbai I have come across this new unit of measuring speed - A bridge an hour.
As is with all others units in physics this is very self explanatory and easy to understand. What is different is that its very expensive to be used. Let me explain you with an example.
You are traveling from Kanjurmarg to Powai. There is a bridge that you have to cross. You are in an auto-rickshaw with the meter down. As you wade past the thick traffic enroute you come on this bridge. There is a cluster of vehicles a little ahead. You have been luck so far to have been successful in navigating through the traffic and you very confidently tell the auto-wallah to take you through the bridge much against his expert opinion to take an alternate rout. And rest they say is ............ So there you are at the end of the line (or may be at the beginning of it) and waiting for traffic to move, but it doesn't. So you wait... 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes pass by and you have moved just an inch. Half an hour later you realise you have moved by a meter..By now you start getting frustrated and seeing the meter (which is running even though the auto is not running) you feel all the more frustrated... Your daily budget of expense seems to be going for a toss. In the meanwhile the auto-wallahs gets some sadbudhhi to change the lane and your savari seems to be moving a bit faster. So you chug slowly, halting intermittently and cursing heavily under your breath the Mumbai Municipality for not having completed the road on time, the police wallah for not having done his duty properly, the trawler which got stuck midway and your fate which showed you this fateful day!!!
Full one hour later, when you finally have cleared the bridge the engineer in you wakes up to the call of you inner unconscious and coins this new unit of speed A bridge an hour!!!
That is one small bridge for the Municipality and one huge dent in the pocket for the mankind!!!
As is with all others units in physics this is very self explanatory and easy to understand. What is different is that its very expensive to be used. Let me explain you with an example.
You are traveling from Kanjurmarg to Powai. There is a bridge that you have to cross. You are in an auto-rickshaw with the meter down. As you wade past the thick traffic enroute you come on this bridge. There is a cluster of vehicles a little ahead. You have been luck so far to have been successful in navigating through the traffic and you very confidently tell the auto-wallah to take you through the bridge much against his expert opinion to take an alternate rout. And rest they say is ............ So there you are at the end of the line (or may be at the beginning of it) and waiting for traffic to move, but it doesn't. So you wait... 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes pass by and you have moved just an inch. Half an hour later you realise you have moved by a meter..By now you start getting frustrated and seeing the meter (which is running even though the auto is not running) you feel all the more frustrated... Your daily budget of expense seems to be going for a toss. In the meanwhile the auto-wallahs gets some sadbudhhi to change the lane and your savari seems to be moving a bit faster. So you chug slowly, halting intermittently and cursing heavily under your breath the Mumbai Municipality for not having completed the road on time, the police wallah for not having done his duty properly, the trawler which got stuck midway and your fate which showed you this fateful day!!!
Full one hour later, when you finally have cleared the bridge the engineer in you wakes up to the call of you inner unconscious and coins this new unit of speed A bridge an hour!!!
That is one small bridge for the Municipality and one huge dent in the pocket for the mankind!!!
In the memory of Arundhati
Well, am not a big fan of Arundhati Roy so this post is definitely not going to be about her. Nor have I ever know anyone by the name Arundhati in my life so far, so no remembrances for anyone. For those of you who are still reading Arundhati was a tele-serial that was once telecast on our once-very-own DoorDarshan. The story was simple with no multiple relationships, no vamp queeens and no slaps that would rebound at least thrice, unlike the K-series today.
The tele-series was actually a tribute to Nargis Dutt who had died of cancer.
The story had a good cast with the main protagonist being played by Himani Shivpuri supported by Alok Nath as the doting husband. Himani, a superstar actress of yester-years, gets diagnosed of brain tumour and that changes the life for her. The story is not of the pain that she undergoes but of the battle that she fights against life. The portrayal of love between husband and wife is amazing and both Himani and Alok Nath have done a phenomenal job! During the tough times when Himani is undergoing chemotherapy, she starts loosing hair and develops patches on her skin. this beauty queen of the yester years sees her glory fading away. During such tough times the whole family comes together and braves the struggle of Himani with her. I do not remember if Himani survives or dies but what I remember is the strong portrayal of emotions!!
Surprisingly, this tele-series never became popular like the soaps of that era (read Shanti, Swabhimaan and Junoon) nor was it re-telecast ever.
Why I ever wrote this post post was because I tried searching about this tele-series on the net and could not get any links. So I thought I would inititate this post and let those of you who have seen this tele-series contribute more through the comments!!
The tele-series was actually a tribute to Nargis Dutt who had died of cancer.
The story had a good cast with the main protagonist being played by Himani Shivpuri supported by Alok Nath as the doting husband. Himani, a superstar actress of yester-years, gets diagnosed of brain tumour and that changes the life for her. The story is not of the pain that she undergoes but of the battle that she fights against life. The portrayal of love between husband and wife is amazing and both Himani and Alok Nath have done a phenomenal job! During the tough times when Himani is undergoing chemotherapy, she starts loosing hair and develops patches on her skin. this beauty queen of the yester years sees her glory fading away. During such tough times the whole family comes together and braves the struggle of Himani with her. I do not remember if Himani survives or dies but what I remember is the strong portrayal of emotions!!
Surprisingly, this tele-series never became popular like the soaps of that era (read Shanti, Swabhimaan and Junoon) nor was it re-telecast ever.
Why I ever wrote this post post was because I tried searching about this tele-series on the net and could not get any links. So I thought I would inititate this post and let those of you who have seen this tele-series contribute more through the comments!!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Summer of 2007!!
Yesterday, I met a friend from my alma mater and we were having a casual discussion when suddenly he referred to our small stint at Mumbai almost a year back. I could see that twinkle in his eyes and my thoughts went back to the summer of 2007.
What fun our gang of 9 had!!
Well this post is the story of 7 guys and two girls !! This is dedicated to all my friends with whom I had one of the most memorable summer of my life.
I would cherish remembering:
What fun our gang of 9 had!!
Well this post is the story of 7 guys and two girls !! This is dedicated to all my friends with whom I had one of the most memorable summer of my life.
I would cherish remembering:
- The mouth watering dinners at Bhagat Tarachand
- The pastries at Theobroma
- The soupy birthday at marine-drive
- The alumni meet and trip back, finding ourselves locked outside our hostel
- The visits to the art galleries around Mumbai
- The walks on Colaba Causeway
- Chinese food at 5 spice
- The late night movie session in our hostel room
- The visit of ladies to our gents' hostel and its afternath
- The trip to Elephanta caves
- Movies at the multiplexes and the not-so-multiplexes in south Bombay
- The veg-grilled sandwitch near VT subway and the McDonal burgers
- The golas at Girgaum Chaupati
- The dinner at soul fry casa and the upset stomach after that
- The walks on marine drive
Thank you folks for being there and making them one of the best days of my fife !!
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Of auto-rickshaws and the auto-wallahs
Ever since I joined my MBA course and have been away from home, I never have had the sukh of keeping my motor-bike with me. So my sole dependencywas on the autowallah wherever I stayed.
First, it was Bhubaneswar. This land of temples has got nothing in the name of public transport. The government seems to be so busy in solving the issues of flood and drought that it hardly would have had time to notice the sad plight of public transport in the capital city. And as they say, when the cat is away the mice are on the play; the Bhubaneswar auto-wallahs have taken up the charge in the city. The share-auto that ply across the city are pretty nominal but, if you happen to take a reserved auto then you must have your mom's bargaining skills. And, if you happen to be somewhere close to an IT park or some educational institute then be sure you are being taken for a ride !! (Yeah that pun is intended)
Let us move on from Bhubaneswar to down south, the metropolitan (Says who?????? )-Chennai. Here taking an auto is like a two edged sword. Neither do they charge you by the meter nor do they understand your language (or at least pretend that they are not). So you land up in a catch 22 situation. Let me make you experience the same.
Now just imagine yourself on one of the busy roads of Chennai. Let us make it more realistic. Say you are at T. Nagar, Venkatnarayana road and wish to go to Kilpauk Garden Road. And you obviously do not know Tamil. Now here is this autowallah gentle man. The first one that stops at the signal of your hand.
You: "Kilpauk Garden Road"
He: "Kilpaukam?"
You (speaking Tamil in English):"No no..No Kilpauka, kilpauk Garden road... opposite side"
He: "Mummy daddy showroom, watertank?"
You (still wondering how to communicate): "no water tank... Cemetry... burial ground"
He (is getting confused, or pretending to be so): ?????
You: "Dead people, Christian samadhi, New Avadi Road, Halls Road, Kilpauk Garden Road"
He (His face lights up): Ok
You: Evlo (that is "How much" in Tamil)
He: @#@$%#% (some figure in Tamil, which you obviously do not understand)
You: "Tamil Teriyad" (Do not know Tamil)
He (Wondering, if You do not know Tamil then how are you speaking Tamil)
He: 120 Rupees
You: 60 Rupees
He: Makes a hand gesture in negation and goes away
Now trust me this is the most frustrating thing that can happen. All your efforts going waste and you start allover again and again and again.....
and then there would be times that no matter how much you are ready to pay they are not interested in you. May be you should check your face in the mirror... may be you are that ghost for them who would turn their auto-rick to a stone monolith if you ever boarded it....
And now from Chennai to Mumbai... Here things are very much in order. The auto wallahs charge you by the meter and they also understand your language. So things are much easy. But there is a catch here as well. They are not ready to go where you want to go. Blame it on the traffic jam en route your destination or their greed for a longer ride.. they will simply not go. So you try one after the other and hope that the next one would take you for a ride.....
Let us move on from Bhubaneswar to down south, the metropolitan (Says who?????? )-Chennai. Here taking an auto is like a two edged sword. Neither do they charge you by the meter nor do they understand your language (or at least pretend that they are not). So you land up in a catch 22 situation. Let me make you experience the same.
Now just imagine yourself on one of the busy roads of Chennai. Let us make it more realistic. Say you are at T. Nagar, Venkatnarayana road and wish to go to Kilpauk Garden Road. And you obviously do not know Tamil. Now here is this autowallah gentle man. The first one that stops at the signal of your hand.
You: "Kilpauk Garden Road"
He: "Kilpaukam?"
You (speaking Tamil in English):"No no..No Kilpauka, kilpauk Garden road... opposite side"
He: "Mummy daddy showroom, watertank?"
You (still wondering how to communicate): "no water tank... Cemetry... burial ground"
He (is getting confused, or pretending to be so): ?????
You: "Dead people, Christian samadhi, New Avadi Road, Halls Road, Kilpauk Garden Road"
He (His face lights up): Ok
You: Evlo (that is "How much" in Tamil)
He: @#@$%#% (some figure in Tamil, which you obviously do not understand)
You: "Tamil Teriyad" (Do not know Tamil)
He (Wondering, if You do not know Tamil then how are you speaking Tamil)
He: 120 Rupees
You: 60 Rupees
He: Makes a hand gesture in negation and goes away
Now trust me this is the most frustrating thing that can happen. All your efforts going waste and you start allover again and again and again.....
and then there would be times that no matter how much you are ready to pay they are not interested in you. May be you should check your face in the mirror... may be you are that ghost for them who would turn their auto-rick to a stone monolith if you ever boarded it....
And now from Chennai to Mumbai... Here things are very much in order. The auto wallahs charge you by the meter and they also understand your language. So things are much easy. But there is a catch here as well. They are not ready to go where you want to go. Blame it on the traffic jam en route your destination or their greed for a longer ride.. they will simply not go. So you try one after the other and hope that the next one would take you for a ride.....
Its raining Mum ...
Had heard of the terrible rains in Mumbai but had never thought I would be a victim of these rains someday..
I had woken up to the music of raindrops early in the morning, and for the next two hours I was lying on the bed letting my subconscious do the thinking-whether I should go to office or not! Don't know why but my subconscious decided to push me to get up and get going for the office. So there I was standing at my window and gazing at the traffic on the street right under.
Long queue of cars bith the sidelights blinking and the fast moving people and their colurful umberellas making dynamic patterns... It all seemed to be inviting me to be a part of that experience... and finally I got ready after a hearty breakfast and was ready with my umberella to be a part of that crowd.
I stay in Thane, which is supposedly not even in Mumbai, and I decided to travel the entire route by an auto-rickshaw. Reaching the Mumbai border, I realised that no-one was ready to take me to Powai. I just couldn't control my laughter. I had anticipated this but the quotes that all the autowallahs and taxiwallahs were quoting for ferrying me to Powai were outrageous. And then I called up office and to my great relief I was "advised" by my senior to stay back. I did not even think once and took an auto-rick back home. Well the journey back home was equally eventful with the Thane bound auto-wallahs quoting outrageous fares, telling me how flooded the area was... Through this entire experience, not once did I feel stuck.. I seemed to be enjoying the Mumbai rains.. Soon I was home, had a nice lunch and a great dinner that day.
All the news channels were buzzing with "breaking news" of how Mumbai and its suburbs had got submerged. Well the media doesn't leave a single stone unturned in creating a mountain out of a molehill. I was told by my friends in the so called submerged areas that the situation is not as grim as these media channels were showing.... Anyway, I was just lying on my couch and enjoying the rains.. there was hardly anything else that I could have done. And, then came the icing on the cake. The Met. department came up with a warning of heavy rains in the next 24 hours.. 12 of those 24 hours have passed and not a drop of rain has fallen from the sky.. I wonder why the Met. deptt. did not come up with such a warning before the first spell of the dreaded rains... may be they were too busy fixing their leaking roofs to save their own skin !!!
I had woken up to the music of raindrops early in the morning, and for the next two hours I was lying on the bed letting my subconscious do the thinking-whether I should go to office or not! Don't know why but my subconscious decided to push me to get up and get going for the office. So there I was standing at my window and gazing at the traffic on the street right under.
Long queue of cars bith the sidelights blinking and the fast moving people and their colurful umberellas making dynamic patterns... It all seemed to be inviting me to be a part of that experience... and finally I got ready after a hearty breakfast and was ready with my umberella to be a part of that crowd.
I stay in Thane, which is supposedly not even in Mumbai, and I decided to travel the entire route by an auto-rickshaw. Reaching the Mumbai border, I realised that no-one was ready to take me to Powai. I just couldn't control my laughter. I had anticipated this but the quotes that all the autowallahs and taxiwallahs were quoting for ferrying me to Powai were outrageous. And then I called up office and to my great relief I was "advised" by my senior to stay back. I did not even think once and took an auto-rick back home. Well the journey back home was equally eventful with the Thane bound auto-wallahs quoting outrageous fares, telling me how flooded the area was... Through this entire experience, not once did I feel stuck.. I seemed to be enjoying the Mumbai rains.. Soon I was home, had a nice lunch and a great dinner that day.
All the news channels were buzzing with "breaking news" of how Mumbai and its suburbs had got submerged. Well the media doesn't leave a single stone unturned in creating a mountain out of a molehill. I was told by my friends in the so called submerged areas that the situation is not as grim as these media channels were showing.... Anyway, I was just lying on my couch and enjoying the rains.. there was hardly anything else that I could have done. And, then came the icing on the cake. The Met. department came up with a warning of heavy rains in the next 24 hours.. 12 of those 24 hours have passed and not a drop of rain has fallen from the sky.. I wonder why the Met. deptt. did not come up with such a warning before the first spell of the dreaded rains... may be they were too busy fixing their leaking roofs to save their own skin !!!
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