The Quintessential Indian

Shit Happens!

2011-07-12T23:45:00.000+05:30

It was the first Saturday after I had got my new car. A shining metallic red curvaceous vehicle! Me and wifey had gone for a movie. The punch line of the title read "Shit happens".
As could have been expected of me, all through the stairs to the third floor of the complex, I just could not take my eyes off my new darling. After all, it was standing out in the open, right next to the two wheeler parking.
As soon as the movie got over, I just could not wait to check if the world in the parking lot had not taken tumultuous turns. And there it was, it all its sheen. I heaved a sigh of relief.
With wifey giving out directions, I reversed the car successfully and was on the road. The weather was nice. FM was playing some nice music and the ride was smooth till we reached one of the narrow lanes. And as luck would have it SHIT HAPPENED. Some smart Alec in a swift desire passed by scrapping my new love!
Its been three days now and I just cannot take my mind off the incident.
I've made plans to get it repainted and also get a Teflon coating on it for that extra shine.
Whether that happens or not is a different question.....but I can definitely say that it is not a very good feeling at the moment!

Ba-Ba Ramdev have you any shame.. no sir no sir I only want fame

2011-06-05T16:36:00.000+05:30

The Great Indian Tamasha continues to amuse the World.
And this time it features Baba Ramdev.

It seems Ramdev (sorry Mr. Baba, you don't get my regards) was fed up of crunching his stomach and holding his breath and decided to take plunge in politics. As is one Anna Hazare was not enough for this nation, we suddenly had another 'satyagrahi' sitting in a multi-crore shamiyana preaching his disciples to to fight corruption. And did they even know what inflation or black money menat? Ramdev himself admitted that 99% didn't. Such shamlessness!

But our administration was not to be fooled by the 'sanyasi satyagrahi'. With Diggi asking some very pertinent questions doubting the intentions of Baba, things turned sour for Ramdev when his 'shanti shivir' was 'attacked' by police forcing baba to flee and bringing an abrupt and violent end to the satyagraha

Media is abuzz.And so is the opposition.

BJP is condemning the attack on their beloved RSS ally and the 'uncorrupt' Lallu Prasad Yadav is issuing a statement. Even Mulayam Singh Yadav is not missing the opportunity. It is time for these political bigwigs to come out from the hiding. I will not be surprised if all these 'loosers' form a coalition to contest the next National elections! The Nation would then definitely be fed to the dogs!

Media also has got some masala to talk about. Star News correspondent is worried why Ramdev is wearing a white robe as he gets off the helicopter in Dehradoon. Another news channel correspondent is asking a 'devotee' on where exactly did the police hit Ramdev. A yet another news correspondent is 'breaking news' that Ramdev was wearing woman's clothes when he was caught.

Anshan or no anshan, Ramdev definitely has achieved what he wanted - free ki footage!

Overheard

2011-05-24T23:36:00.001+05:30

I was at a chemist's shop waiting patiently for the sales person at the counter to get free.
He was busy dealing with a lady who had come to buy some 'salt solution' which the doctor had prescribed her to wash the dentures of her son. The bottle costed Rs 60 and the lady was visibly upset at spending so much for a one time wash of the dentures.
She asked the sales person if it was alright to wash the dentures in warm salted water to which he replied "arey madam aapko kahan paison ki kami hai" and without battling an eyelid the lady replied, "toh udaa dein kya?"
I could help smiling.

Taking time out

2011-05-24T23:25:00.001+05:30

I've recently joined my new employer. Well not too recently either, it's been nine months now. I am a consultant now. An average consultant spends a lot of his life travelling. His travel plans are unplanned and bizarre.
To be honest, I've been lucky and haven't been asked by my employers to explore the length and breadth of this country much.My last post was live from the side upper berth of a Ambikapur bound train. That was my first trip. This was to Chhattisgarh - the land of maoists.
My second and the most recent trip was to Chandigarh, Jammu and Simla.
I've often discussed this with my colleagues and they tell me how difficult it is to be a tourist at a place you are visiting for business. I, however disagree.
I am of the opinion that if there is a will, there is a way.
On my first trip to Chhattisgarh, I could get time do sight see the city of Raipur, explore a mall, shop Kosa silk at the local cloth market and buy souvenirs from the forest department's emporium. I would have explored the jungles of Bastar as well if I had my own conveyance!
On my second trip, which was much shorter and much more rushed, I could visit old acquaintances, have a quick lunch at the Mall road in Simla, shop Kashmiri embroidery suits and be a guest at the Western Army Command's GOC-IN-C.
Am not saying I've achieved a laudable feat. All am saying is that it is important to take time out for yourself and mix work with pleasure. Contrary to the belief of many of my colleagues, it is only after one does this, work becomes pleasure!

No-one killed Arushi Talwar

2011-02-09T23:28:00.000+05:30

Earlier it was Jessica and now it is Arushi.
Now that the ghost of Arushi is haunting the courts again, the media is abuzz!
I am watching Star News and a bearded anchor with oiled hair tied into a pony tail is screaming and making vehment hand gestures.

The media seems to at a loss to decide which is the largest murder mystery (who the hell is interested in knowing it!) of the country.

CBI is clueless on who killed Arushi.

I am speechless!

Live from the Indian Railways

2011-02-07T22:54:00.000+05:30

I am on my first client visit as a "consultant". And, as a part of this client visit I am on a train to Ambikapur, a town in Surguja District of Chhattisgarh.
It has happened for the first time that I am web-enabled while being on-the-move.
What an obscure location and occassion for the inaugral post for 2011.

Though I would love to talk about the behaviourial traits being demostrated by the employees of my client, rhe professional protocol prohibits me from doing so (I would love to discuss this off-line though). So, the next best option available to me is my co-passengers (Oh! I love 'bitching').

Seated (now asleep) in the coupe right in front of me is a political leader of sorts, a Dada Bhai. A quintessential politicial. I suppose he is an MLA, worse he could even be a MP. He is traveling with his convoy of yes-men. If you were to believe him, the country is being fed to the Dogs and a 'madhyavarti chunav' is right around the corner. The Bhartiya Janta Party, whose NDA has swept the Bihar elections, will come up with a charismatic leader (magically??) and come back in power. Man! he must have been day dreaming. Even the great Arun Jaitley isn't sure who the next leader is going to be!

My mind has now wandered to a copy of The Outlook which I bought at the Raipur railway station. It has a couple of interesting articles. Ms. Mamta Banerjee has left no stone unturned to get the mighty Indian Railways back in the red (or was it that Lalu had cooked another scam during his tenure?) and is now eyeing the West Bengal elections. Rumours are rife that didi will quit the portfolio to take charge of WB politics where Trinamul Congress supposedly has high chances of winning; but not before she has announced a yet another populist budget for her vote bank.

The Outlook also has an article on the Egypt crisis. Oh! I am loving it so much. No, it has got nothing to do with the region. It is this one person who happened to be my client at my previous employer. He was from Egypt and his reports always had a positive outlook (Oh yeah! am flaunting that I was once an 'Equity Research Analyst') on the country. Middle East needs a correction in valuation, and yes I intend a pun on 'valuation'.

And now that I've laid out the sheets and am securing my luggage, I ask one of the personnels from the client's "Theft - weft ka to koi chakkar nahin hai na" and no brownie point for guessing his reply.
He has prompltly replied,"Take your chaces".

I've packed my Puma shoes in a brown paper bag and kept them alongside my (side upper) berth; just as I've kept the rest of my luggage.

Signing Off!!

Oye! Lucky! Lucky! Oye!

2010-11-17T12:21:00.000+05:30

No, This post is not about the movie or its inspiration.
It is about how I feel each time I cross someone who makes me feel lucky that I am not in his/her shoes.

Everyday when I climb the steps of the Kanjurmarg Station, I wish that beggar-woman, with a child in bandages, on the staircase would just vanish and her wails would just die out. Even as I stand at the platform waiting for my train, my ears can her her cries as a distant din. Am relieved that I haven't seen her in the past few days. But, I don't know what has happened to her. I hope it's something good.

When I reach Dadar, there inevitably is another beggar, a crippled one, sitting right in between the crowded foot-over-bridge. Sometimes I drop in change to him.

Day-in-and-day-out I see fellow commuters with some disability. Who knows how many people out there in the world are sufferening - silently going on with their routine.

Then, comes the thought of those living on daily wages or doing all sorts of obscure jobs for a living.

These sights and thoghts make me feel so blessed and lucky and I often say a small prayer to the good Lord watching us from up above - for the well being of the under privledged and for giving me such a beautiful life.

I feel blessed to have a family, a home, friends, good education, a respectable job (not that others' aren't) and an easy life.

And it makes all those other complaints of being underpaid and over worked just vanish.

Travails of travelling

2010-10-28T00:55:00.002+05:30

You know that you are a regular Mumbai Local Train Commuter when:
1) You start recognizing other commuters
2) You start ignoring that ailing beggar whom you see daily on the stairs
3) You have the timetable stored on your phone memory
4) Your facebook status message is the latest railway announcement
5) You feel sad and disturbed (and yet you don't help) when you see a handicapped person travelling all by herself. And, you thank the Lord for what he has given you.
6) You know what 'jalad' means
7) You look out of the window to have a quick glance at the ruins of an old factory your train crosses-by daily
8) You are not flustered by the oily heads and sweaty hands. OK! Sometimes you ARE!
9) You carry a deodorant and a comb with you.
10) You know how to push yourself in and out a train with ease. Yeah Yeah, I know. Not Always!
11) You become apathetic to people around you.
12) You know where the First Class bogey will halt.
13) You know the train route by heart.
14) You have developed the skill to sleep while standing
15) You start tapping your feet to the tunes of a crappy 90's Bollywood number being played on someone's cell phone.
16) You have witnessed at least one cat-fight between the commuters in each week of your travel.
17) You know to which side the next station's platform will be
18) You have a monthly or a quarterly season ticket.
19) You start preferring a train over a more comfortable taxi ride in the peak hour.
20) You can recognise the face of the vendor selling 'pass covers' and ball pens outside the station.

The Smart Taxiwallah

2010-10-18T15:21:00.004+05:30

Today morning I got a pleasant surprise.
I was struggling on the road outside Dadar Station to catch a cab to my office at Shivaji Park. None of the drivers were ready to go as I did not have a change of fifty (it's a minimum fare from Dadar (W) to Shivaji Park). So, in all the desperation that I had to take a cab to work, I bought a bottled of packaged water to get myself a change of cash.
And as I turned back, I saw a vacant Taxi approaching. I showed out my hand and it stopped. Even before I could complete saying "Shivaji Park", the cabbie said it.
This was followed by the following monologue from him:
"Aapke kapdon pe likha hai aapko Shivaji Park jana hai.
Aapke bag pe likha hai.
Aapke chashme pe likha hai.
Aapke to poore chahre se tapak raha hai Shivaji Park, Mayor Bunglow, Veer Savarkar Trust"

I couldn't help but laugh with him and admire his friendliness.

He went on to tell me how he daily watches so many of my fellow office colleagues lined up on this road and often drops them (and amuses them with his banter).

He even knew the best route.

It surely was a good start to a mundane Monday!

Kankar Pathar Jor Kar....

2010-09-30T21:27:00.004+05:30

Ayodhya was all over the place today.

It was there on the street in the form of Police bandobast; it was there on the internet with Nirmohi Akhada becoming the most Googled term for the day; it was there on office desks with me and my desk neighbour discussing if a 'Ram Rahim Hospital' at the disputed site would be a plausible solution; it was there on the media with Barkha Datt conducting a debate and instigating the masses to create an issue out of a closed matter (i.e. after the verdict was out); it was there on the office emails with advisories to leave work early; it was there in my mind in the form of the lines from a famous song 'mazhab nahin sikhata, aapas mein bair rakhna'; it was there in the courts in the form of a verdict from the High Court of Allahabad.

After a day full of religious brouhaha, I am reminded of these couplets by Kabir

कांकर पाथर जोर के, मस्जिद लिया चुनाय।
ता चढ़ि मुल्ला बांग दे, क्या बहरा हुआ खुदाय?

माला फेरत जुग भया, फिरा न मन का फेर ।
कर का मन का डार दे, मन का मनका फेर ॥

मोको कहाँ ढूंढे रे बन्दे,
मैं तो तेरे पास में
ना तीरथ में
ना मूरत में
ना एकांत निवास में
ना मन्दिर में , ना मस्जिद में
ना काबे कैलास में
ना मैं जप में , ना मैं तप में
ना मैं बरत उपवास में
ना मैं किरिया करम में रहता
न ही जोग सन्यास में
न ही प्राण में न ही पिंड में
ना ब्रह्माण्ड अकास में
ना मैं प्रकुति प्रवर गुफा में
न ही स्वसन की स्वांस में
खोजी होए तुरत मिल जाऊं
इक पल की तलास में
कहत कबीर सुनो भाई साधो
मैं तो हूँ विस्वास में.

From Mumbaiya to Dilli-wallah

2010-09-25T10:35:00.002+05:30

The clock is ticking for me. Come November, and I will cease to be a Mumbaikar, a Mumbaiya. I will become a Dilli wallah.Rather, a Faridabad wallah - Resident of a sleepy town in NCR.
The transformation will be drastic and no less than a culture shock.

From traffic jams on roads to no roads
From rains to winters
From Hiranandani Gardens to Sector markets
From local to cabs
From Marathi to Punjabi
From Vada Pao and Pao Bhaji to Pakoras and Kadhai Paneer
From Powai Lake to what-once-used-to-be Badkhal
From Lonavala to Mussourie
From International airport to no-good railway station
From friends to family
From Single to Married
From House to Home

Why do I write?

2010-09-23T00:02:00.000+05:30

This ain't a famous blog. There hardly is any audience to my posts. Yet, I write. And I write quite regularly, except for those moments when I am very happy or very depressed (and don't have time or don't feel like writing).

I write because I just love to see how simple sentences take form of a big paragraph. How my thoughts translate to words. And to my amazement, many-a-times, when I read my own writitings, I feel good.

I developed interest in writing in my Tenth grade. I used to love 'Interact in English' course. The notices, advertisements and memos used to be tests of my creativity. And this love for words stayed on.

So I write. Mindlessly. Aimlessly. And for no audience.

I write for myself!

Headlines for Today

2010-09-22T15:49:00.004+05:30

I woke up a little late today. It’s a holiday - Anant Chaturdashi – the day people bid farewell to their beloved lord Ganesha. It will be a big chaos on the roads outside my house.

I am looking at the newspaper. There is chaos all around, it seems.
The headlines are interesting.

Commonwealth Games National Shame: A Bridge has collapsed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The anchor of a news channel is reading out ‘Breaking News’. A portion of false ceiling has collapsed over the play area.

World heaps scorn on filthy village: TOI has ‘stunned’ the country with its lead story, it seems, on how filthy the games village is. Leading athletes are pulling out their names.

Aussie TV crew enters venue with ammo case: An Australian channel has done a sting operation (who says only Tehelka held the copyrights to ‘stinging’) and managed to sneak in an ammunition case, heightening security concerns.

I am ashamed. And so are millions of Indians watching the events unfold.

It is such an irony. Ganesha is the ‘Lord of Beginning’ and the ‘Remover of Obstacles’. Guess, he is not a ‘lord of anticorruption’. Guess, there is NO such lord.

I hope some divine soul helps our ministers and babus.
May Suresh Kalmadi and Ms. Dixit be blessed!
Its the country's reputation which is at stake.
Someone please wake up!!

Being Quintessentially Indian

2010-09-21T13:39:00.021+05:30

Many things come to my mind when I think of the quintessential Indian way of life. Things that could happen only on this homeland of ours. Things that are a matter of pride, and things that are a matter of shame. Things that are commonplace in the so-called 'middle class'.

Did you just ask Kaun Middle Class?? Arey, They are the ones who are neither poor enough to be called lower class and nor rich enough to be termed the Upper Class. So they hang precariously somewhere in the middle!

My list follows. Feel free to make your additions.
Drying clothes on a clothesline outside your balcony
Borrowing lemons and sugar from your neighbour (but never the salt!)
Bowing down to touch the feet of elderly, even your room-mates parents when you don't even know them or are meeting them for the first time
A grand wedding
Savings under the National Savings Certificate Scheme in the Post Offfice
Small car, high on mileage (remember the kitna deti hai advertisement of Maruti)
An entire family on a two wheeler - Miya Biwi Bachon Samet
Toddlers reciting nursery rhymes to guests
Living rooms with vases full of dusty arificial flowers and souviners
A doting mother who is a housewife (and has full potential to be a corporate manager)
A penny-wise father who never shops for himself
A BSNL landline
Garib Rath
The dream to buy a sedan and a real estate property
A maid who is unreliable
A liftman and a security guard
A dhobi, doodhwala & maali
Family unions on Diwali & Holi (and may be on Christmas, New Year and Eid)
Haggling with a vegetable vendor for the best price
Haggling with a retail shop vendor for the best price
An IRCTC website login
A lohe ki kadhai and tawa
A relative in the US of A
A job in MNC
A job with the Government
A dream to be an IAS officer (or an IPS or IFS or IES)
An eye on the stock market
An arranged marriage
A Shah Rukh Khan movie
A Zeenat Aman (and a Rakhi Sawant)
A joint family
A nuclear family
A loving sister
A caring brother
A caring wife
A loving husband
A nagging wife
A questioning husband
A mister and his misus

And..... ek packet ummeed!

Secrets of Mumbai

2010-09-15T13:44:00.006+05:30

In my more than two years' stay in Mumbai I have discovered many treasures which I think are unique to this city. They are not necessarily places/monuments but are rather means to derive small joys in this otherwise fast life in a metro.

A non-exhaustive list, in no order of preference, follows.

Food
Sandwiches at Sukh Sagar across the VT subway
Green Chilly ice-cream at Bachelor's, Girgaum Chowpaty
Cafe Churchil's Spinach and Corn Lasagne
Pastries at Theobroma in Colaba
Authentic Punjabi cuisine at Papa Pancho da Dhaba, Bandra (Must tries: Chaat & Stuffed Parathas. Don;t forget to ask for their amazingly fresh white butter)
Coffee at Cafe Sea Side, Bandstand (The menu is rather short and food quality not up to the mark. The place offers an amazing view of the sun setting in the Arabian Sea.)
Thali at Rajdhani
Cafe Mondegar and Leopold in Colaba
Pao Bhaji at Amar Juice Centre, Irla
Kulfi, Pao Bhaji, Pani Puri, Gola at Juhu and Girgaum Chowpatty
South Indian cuisine at Mani's Lunch Home, Matunga
Dosa at Babulnath Dosa Centre
Gulabjamuns at Sweet Bengal, Maker Arcade, Cuffe Parade
Dal Makhni and Stuffed Parathas at Happy Singh, Sakinaka
Chinese food at 5 Spice, Sakinaka, Fort and Pali Naka (Bandra)
Misal Pao at any road-side stall/restaurant
USS Club in Navy Nagar (entry only to defense personnels)
Chhas in a beer bottle at Bhagat Tarachand in Kalbadevi
Flavoured teas at Aromas, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai

Monuments
Victoria Terminus
Deutche Bank building in Fort area
Mumbai High Court
Rajabai Clock Tower, Mumbai University
Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika Building
St. Xaviers College, VT
Flora Fountain
Horniman Circle
Library of the Asiatic Society
Bombay Stock Exchange (a modern age monument indeed. This is where the address reads Dalal Street, Mumbai - 400 001)
Gateway of India

Galleries
Prince of Wales Museum (now called, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya)
National Gallery of Modern Art
Jehangir Art Gallery (and the roadside art gallery)

Festivals
Kalaghoda Art Festival

Markets
Electronics bazaar at Lamington Road
Perfume shopping at Alfa Market, Irla
Fort Market with shops selling everything from mobile chargers and cheap electronics to accesories.
Saree shopping at Dadar (though have never done this, but have suggested it to many friends)
Handbags, antiques, belts and accesories from Colaba Causeway
Fleas market in Kalbadevi and Oshiwara
Narrow lanes of Crawford Market full of household stuff
Flower and Vegetable market of Dadar
Kolhapuri slipper shops at Bandra

Leisure
Plays at Prithvi Theatre, followed by coffee and dinner at Prithvi Cafe
Walk on the Marine Drive (or a late night chat session with cvlose friends). All the way from Nariman Point to Chowpaty.
An evening at Jogger's Park, Bandra

Spiritual
Temple trail of Sidhivinayak, Mumba Devi and Mahalakshmi
Ganesh Visarjan at Powai Lake
Iscon Temple, Juhu

Well, this is my list. Am sure you have yours too!

The 10 Rupee fix

2010-09-09T13:06:00.003+05:30

My 7 year old rampyaari, My TVS Victor, has been a subject of my neglect very often.
The poor thing also falls victim to Mumbai Police's strategy of ever-changing no-parking areas.

Some months back, me and my colleague decided to go to the near-by Naturals Icecream Shop taking a small break from office. I parked my bike at the place where I have been parking it over the past 2 years. We had a lovely double scoop each and came out only to find the bike missing. Seeing policewallahs and a towing van on the road outside gave me the idea as to what would have happened. Needless to say, I had parked my bike at a newly identified no parking zone and it was happily towed away by the sincere Mumbai Police.

It was with much mehnat mashakkat that I could retrieve my bike. What an ordeal that was!

With this episode over, I realised my pyaari raampyaari was making a kind of gumpy sound when I raised the acceleration. First, I ignored it but then had to figire out as to which bolt was loose. To my dismay, I found that the front mud-guard (the semi cricular covering over the front wheel) had developed a big crack and was about to split into two pieces. Must have been due to the manhandling by the towing van gues, I rationalised.

While I had no intentions of buying a new mud-guard, I decided on taking it to the nearby road-side mechanic to fix it. He looked at it and happily announced that it needed a replacement. Nothing else will help. Determined to not to buy a new peice, I decided to return. As I kicked the bike to a start, this intelligent chap came up with a very ingenious idea. The chutki mein chipyae, FeviQuick! What a quick fix (the pun is indeed intended). And I must say a pretty durable one also. And the price..... Rs. 10 ONLY! That is damn damn cheap by any standards, given that a new one would have coosted me atleast Rs. 600.

I have been happily driving my bike eversince and had almost forgotten this incident.... Now that I have to transport my bike to Faridabad, I am again worried that it might lead the crack to resurface.

But then as they say, in India we have a jugaad for everything. Am pretty convinced that there will be somebody in Faridabad, ready to offer me his quick fix!

To be or not to be

2010-09-08T23:54:00.004+05:30

We often face dilemma. At times its forced upon us. And, we feel we would have been better off if we never had choices in the first place.
Choices empower you. It is such an overwhelming experience.
They also make life miserable. While on one hand we are excited to take a stand, on the other we also dread making a wrong choice. It is like a sword hanging on you head all the time.

In the past two weeks, I have felt miserable, joyous, thrilled, depressed, confused, sorted and puzzled. All at the same time.

A while back I had made a simple choice, and I was pretty satisfied with what I had on hand. And suddenly over the last two weeks, I saw myself embroiled in this big mess which made me just go ZAP! It felt I would just throw up any moment. There seemed to be no metric which could help me make the right decision. But, there WAS NO right or left, let aside wrong. I just needed to decide.

It was one of the most important and most thought after decision I would have ever made in my life.

All thanks to certain external agents whose ethics I question, and who had put me in a position to question my ethos.

Thank God! am all sorted now.
I am at peace.

Homecoming

2010-08-22T01:19:00.003+05:30

A friend and my ex-roommate, Nanda, returned from the US of A today for a small vacation after a gap of 6 months.
My first reaction as I entered my apartment, and saw him staring at me in my face, was - "What! You are still in the same clothes you left India in!". And the memories of the past flashed by. Happy Memories.
I could not even imagine that I was meeting him after such a long time.6 Months!

This is what Nanda is saying:
Airport se bahar atey hi maine bahar road pe construction dekha....
Arrey yeh Nile shampoo ki bottle abhi bhi shelf pe rakhi hai.
Yeh bathroom mein geyser ka switch abhi bhi rtoota hua hai.
Mujhe papad khane hain.
Mujhe to neend hi nahin aa rahi hai.
Arey yeh right hand drive.....
Main yahan pe gaadi nahin chala sakta.
Mujhe lag raha hai main mota ho gaya hoon.

Welcome home Mr NRI. Have a comfortable say. This is what I can say!

The etymology of Mumbai

2010-07-20T12:11:00.049+05:30

Yesterday, on our way to 'The Hub' in Goregaon to watch the 10.45 PM show of the latest sci-fi "Inception", my roomie popped up a very interesting question. He asked "Ever wondered why Worli is called by that name?"; or for that matter any other place in Mumbai is called by that name?

Colaba, Mahim, Matunga, Dadar, Sion, Powai, Vashi, Virar - these are not the usual names you hear of areas in any other city. So, I thought, let me look this up and see if I can find the answer to his questions.

I found almost all my answers at this online archive of a book by Samuel T. Shephard available at this link .

But as Perry Mason would aways say - Let us begin from the beginning.

Let us begin with Mumbai.

Mumbai derives its name from the temple of Koli Goddess Mumba or Maha Amba. Aai in Marathi means mother.

Mumbai is built on an archipilago of seven islands: Bombay Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island (also known as Little Colaba).

Here is a brief writeup on how other parts of Mumbai got their names.

Andheri

Though I haven't come across any concrete source of information on this but quite interestingly Wiki suggests that Andheri is quite ironically derived from the name of Udaygiri hills (Bright Mountain) that houses the Mahakali Caves complex.

Antop Hill

Possibly named after a Hindu resident resident N. Antoba who possesed properties at Girgaum and Varli. Antoba (or Antob) got corrupted to Antop in English.

Crawford Market

This market was opened up by the then Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, Arthur Travers Crawford.

Bandra

Bandra is most probably derived from the Persian word Bandar for a port. In Marathi, the word for a port is Vandre, the reason why you would often find many rickshaw-wallahs and bus conductors calling it by this name (i.e. Vandre).

Babulnath Road

This road is named after the financer of the Babulnath temple. This Shiva temple was funded by a person named Babalji Hirji Nath, thus the name Babulnath (the God of Babul)

Bhuleshwar

This place is again named after a financer of a temple. He was a rich Koli, named Bhula/Bhola/Bhulya; thus the name Bhuleshwar (the God of Bhula).

Byculla

It is said that one Sir J. Campbell coined this name from 'bhaya' & 'khala' ('Bhaya' is the Indian name for Cassia Fistula, or Amaltaas & Khala means 'low ground' in Marathi). May be the place was once abound with these trees.

Charni Road

According to one account, this name is derived from a (then) locality near the Thane railway station called Chendni. Many residents of Chendni migrated to an settled near Girgaum and thus the name Chendni Road which became Charni Road later. Another account traces the roots to 'charon', the grazing of cattle.

Chowpatty

This is now synonymous with any sea beach in Mumbai, though initially it was meant only for the Girgaum Chowpatty. Chowpatty is derived from 'Chau-Pati' or four creeks.

Chinchpokli

This is derived from 'chinch' (Marathi for tamarind) trees that grew in the area.

Churchgate

Named after one of the three gates leading to the old fort. Interestingly Churchgate was called 'Pawan-chakki Gate' also, possibly on aacount of a wind mill at the location sometime in the late 18th century.

Colaba

The fishermen are called 'Koli' in Marathi (Interestingly, Koli means a spider - one who weaves a web or net). They were one of the earliest residents of Mumbai. Colaba probably derives its name from 'Kolbhat' meaning the residence of Kolis. Or, it could have originated from 'Kol-ab' (ab meaninng water in Persian) i.e. dwelling of Kolis near water. The Persian word 'Kalbeh' meaning a neck of land jutting into the sea could also have been an etymological origin for the name Colaba.

Cuffe Parade

Named after Mr. T.W. Cuffe, Chairman of the Standing Committee of Corporation 1901-02. He suggested the raised footpath on the Cuffe Parade Road that distinguishes it from other roads in Mumbai.

Dadar

Dadar means ladder in Marathi. Bombay was a set of seven islands and the village of Dadar would have been a 'ladder' leading to the main island of Bombay. No wonder, You still have sug a big crowd at the Dadar railway station even in these times.

Elephanta Islands

Originally known as Gharapuri, they were named elephanta by the Portuguese from the life-size figure of an elephant which stood in the lower part of the island. The figure later fell down, and was removed and re-installed in Victoria Gardens.

Girgaum

This is probably derived from 'giri' and 'gram' from its location at the foot of the Malabar Hills.

Kalbadevi

This place is named after a Kali (Kalika Devi) temple which was relocated to this area from Mahim.

Kurla

Derives its name from 'Kurli', meaning crab, which were found in abundance in the marshy areas surrounding the area.

Mahim

This is derived from the word Mahi, meaning earth. Mahim is a corrupted form of Mahikavati, (again, derived from Mahi) the capital of the 13th century ruler Bhimdeo.

Malabar Hill

Possibly derived from the pilgrims from the 'Malabar' region (South India) who used to visit the temple (Wlakeshwar/Ban Ganga temple) atop this hill in large numbers.

Matunga

Matunga (a neighbourhood of Mahim) is supposedly the place where 13th century King Bhimdeo of Mahikavati (today's Mahim), used to station his elephants (elephants are called matanga in Sanskrit).

Parel

This is another tree-named locality of Mumbai named after the Paral or Padel (Marathi for the 'trumpet flower')

Powai

The village of Powai is named after a 10th Century temple of Godess Padmavati located on the banks of the Powai Lake (exact location being within the premises of IIT Mumbai). The ancient name of the village was Poumvi. The word Powai is a corruption of the original name by the Portuguese. It is said that the village of Powai has been in existence for over 1000 years.

Prabhadevi

Named after the temple of Shakambhari Devi, the Patron goddess of King Bhimdeo. The temple, originally built in the 12th - 13th century, was destroyed by the Portuguese and rebuilt by one Shyam Nayak (a Pathre Prabhu) in 1715. Hence, the name Prabhadevi (possibly, derived from Prabhu).

Santacruz

The name comes from the Protuguese word meaning Holy Cross. This was the name of a church that existed on the site presently occupied by the Sacred Hearts Boys School.

Sion

Sion or शीव(as it is referred to in Marathi) is derived from the Marathi word शींव (Shinva) meaning boundary. The village of Sion was the boundary between the island of Bombay and Salsette.

Vasai

Probably one of the most important places in the history of Mumbai. It was known as Bassein during its long Portuguese rule. According to Wiki, the name “Vasai” appears on stone inscriptions in the Kanheri Cave writings and as "Vasya" in the Karla Cave inscriptions. Vasai is mentioned as “Bussy” in Ain-I-Akbari. Vasai was the seat of the various political powers such as the Peshwas, Mughals, Portuguese and the English.

The Treaty of Bassein was an important landmark in the history of British supremacy in India. Bajiro II, the late 18th - early 19th century Maratha ruler, was seeking refuge in Bassein after the Battle of Poona. To restore his Peshwaship, he had to agree to this Subsidiary Alliance that empowered the English to station 6,000 soldiers in the region against a payment of two and a half million ruppes to the East India Company as protection money. The treaty was intrumental in the downfall of the Maratha Empire.

Such historical importance, and I always thought of Vasai as just some far flung suburb of Mumbai.

Virar

Virar derives its name from the Eka Veera Devi temple, also called the Jivdani Mata. Legend has it that Pandavas visited the temple and carved out caves there (now called Pandav Dongri)

Ville Parle

Ville Parle was originally a set of two villages Idla (probably what is called Irla now in Ville Parle West, the house of the famous Alfa market) and Padla. Quite contrary to the belief that the suburb is named after the Parle Biscuit factory, it in fact is the other way round.

Worli

Worli is derived from Varli. Varli in Marathi means upper, relating to the northern location of the Varli islands with regards to Bombay.

And as for Vashi, am still looking for an answer!

On loosing half a grand

2010-07-05T10:52:00.002+05:30

The other day, I withdrew 1K from the ATM before my swimming session (Oh Yes! Yes! Yes! I have joined swimming at the elite Hiranandani Club) and my mind said I shouldn't have withdrawn this big an amount. After all, my wallet would be lying there in the changing room and anyone could have access to it. But, I took my chances and here I am poorer by half the amount I withdrew.
It feels so helpless when you loose your money. The last time I felt like this was when we forgot Gunjan's birthday present in a rick.
Ever since I returned home and discovered my loss, I have been wondering where did the money go. I didn't spend it, and that I am pretty sure of. I never dropped it also, or so I think. And if someone were to flick it from my wallet, why would (s)he leave half the money. May be (s)he was a vey needy person (or so, my dear friend R thinks) who just took the money (s)he needed. How considerate!
Whatever it may be, I am poorer by half a grand, and I can't help but stop thinking of my lost money, and I feel irritated, helpless and frustrated at my carelessness.

In the land of Hindi..

2010-06-27T23:37:00.003+05:30

Hindi literature is dead. At least none of my acquaintances seem to be too enthused on reading a good Hindi novel. The Hindi section in the Crosswords and Landmarks of the World have shrunk to a small neglected shelf; often stacked with Hindi translations of bestsellers such as 'Who moved my cheese' (मेरा चीज़ किसने हटाया ).

The closest one gets to Hindi Literature now is those x-grade thriller pocket books that you get at Andheri station or the unimpressive, superfluous poetry by our generations' poets which often is a result of the upheaval in their love-life.

What could be a bigger mockery of the language and its rich literature in the land of Mahadevi, Premchand, Dinkar and Neeraj.

Off late, I have been reading essays by Mahadevi Verma(remeber the stories of "Sona Hirni" and "Gaura Gaay" by this writer we read in our school). Though, at times her, choice of words is something that would get me to take out a Hindi-to English dictionary, that does not stop me from just going on with the flow of her stories.

I have read English translations of works of Tagore, but I wonder why has there not been a translation of Mahadevi's essays. Her portrayal of life around her is so real and so much in the context even today, almost 50 years after she wrote these essays. Then be it her pets in "Mera Parivar" or her memoirs of people in "Smriti Ki Rekhayein" and "Atit Ke Chalchitra", each story is equally unique and moving (disturbing, rather).

If Chetan Bhagat can sell a million copies of his stupid stories; then Mahadeviji definitely has a much better potential. But who is listening? Hindi literature is passé. Hindi literature is dead.

Where do you belong to?

2010-06-15T11:33:00.005+05:30

Friends, interviewers, landlords and many more inquisitive souls have often asked me this question - "Where do you belong to?" And this, has been the most difficult for me to answer and am often at loss of words to explain why.

My standard answer now is - "I belong to nowhere, I belong to India". Nah! am not a patriotic guy, but this is the best that I can describe my belonging-ness.

What adds to the woes is that even my paternal family has had two bases. My late Grandfather shifted base from Allahabad to Agra after his retirement.
So, technically I am from Agra; but I have never really lived there. Even my father hasn't (Though, am not sure as to where my dad thinks he belongs to.). And, I hardly know anything about Agra apart from Taj Mahal and Swami Bagh.

I was born in Allahabd. Spent my toddler-hood there and have very faint memories. My maternal family stays in Allahabad but it stops at that. I have always been a visitor to this city. Earlier it was to spend the summer vacations at grandparent's and later on (when I started working) to attend weddings and other such family get-togethers. In all these 27 years of life, I would have ventured outside the confines of Civil Lines barely twice. So, I think I don't even qualify to be an Allahabadi.

I can say that I am from UP, but am not aware of the geography of the state. I don't even know if Muzaffarpur neighbours Mirzapur or if Firozabad is close to Muradabad.

Till about two years back, I would have said I am from Ahmedabad. But after my parents shifted their base to NCR I can't even say this, though my permanent address continues to be 34-Sona Mahal.... Alas! am no more an Amdavadi also, though my heart dwells in that city.

I thought the best answer to this question could be Delhi but that also doesn't work out for me. For my parents don't stay in Delhi (They stay in the NCR) and am as unaware of Delhi's geography as am of Uttar Prdesh's. So, if one were to tell me they stay in Pitampura, my expression would remain the same if they would have mentioned Greater Kailash or Rohini or Munirka. Ah! It is not Delhi either. Neither is it the NCR.

Thus, even though my father grew up in Allahabad, shifted to Agra later; my mother belongs to Allahabad; we have our property in Ahmedabad, and my parents are now sort of settled in the NCR, I don't belong to any of these places.

I belong to India!

A blue bunch in a May & Baker's box

2010-06-08T15:43:00.007+05:30

A blue bunch of old letters in a May & Baker's tin box on a shelf in the store is probably is a prized collection for my mother, especially today when Nani is no more with us. I remember when mummy had a tendon fracture on her right thumb, the first words that she tried writing after her operation were - प्यारी मम्मी . That used to be the opening of each letter!

Usually, Nani would use up the entire space on that letter; not even sparing the margins in her smaller-than-Arial-font-size-8 handwriting. One would need a magnifying lens to read it, but not mummy. She knew where the page was to be turned over and which fold to look for to complete the last sentence. Nani would write about the maid who had relinquished the post (after all they are also Ranis of a different sort), or the new sweater she is knitting for us, or the weather, or her heath, or the latest wedding in Allahabad, or wish us on our birthdays, or congratulate us for good marks; among many other things. Nani's letters would often have english words and that would amaze me. Her letters would also mention how much she is waiting for the summer holidays and our visiting them.

Occasionally, Nana would also get some space to scribble his blessings. The last haalf page is what Nani would offer him. He would be generous with his usage of space, quite unlike Nani but his handwriting being that of a doctor's also used to be illegible for us.

Of course, there would be delays in receiving letters. Often we would receive the letter mummy last wrote to Nani after we had reached Allahabad.

Those were the days when we did not even have the now forgotten BSNL land line connection. The frequency of exchange of letters dwindled as we got our personal connection and BSNL introduced the India Calling Card. Old age also made it difficult for Nani to continue writing the letters. Her writing had become increasingly illegible towards the last of the letters she wrote. Telephone and later on Nana's cell phone completely replaced the letters; though Nani was never too good at talking over the phone.

When I think of it now, I feel how much more connected were we in those days when news used to take weeks to travel as against now when we are just a phone-call away. The wait for a letter was something that kept us in each others mind and hearts; somethiing that emails can never replicate.

At least there were no error messages saying BAD BAD SERVER! NO DONUTS FOR YOU!

We knew, well in advance, that Nani would already be busy preparing the lovely katahal ka achaar and aatey ke laddo for us to be savoured in the summer vacations! They definitely tasted better than today's donuts!!

Of Ramlal, food, music, literature and celebrity spotting

2010-06-06T01:53:00.011+05:30

It is very rare that you get to enjoy literature, good food, theatre and celebrity spotting; all at one go; under one roof. If you are wondering what place am talking about, just walk into the compound of Prithvi Theatre.
Tucked away in the calm surroundings of Janki Kutir, at a stone's throw from the hustle bustle of neighbouring Juhu beach, Prithvi is an art lover's paradise and I am in love with this beautiful place.

When at Prithvi, one has so many options to explore that time seems to fly by.

We (Me and R) went for a play "Salesman Ramlal" starring Satish Kaushik and Seema Biswas. The play has a somber story revolving around the life of a common salesman - Ramlal (played by Satish) who like many of us, dreams of making it big. Ramlal's entire life is a mirage and it comes crashing one day. Though there is absolutely no positive note in the story, it does gets us to realise that "(इंसान के ) कुछ न होने में कुछ गलत नहीं " (There is nothing wrong in being a mediocre). The problem is in not accepting the reality and chasing the mirage. Seema Biswas’ and Satish Kaushik’s performances are impeccable as the husband-wife duo.

If theatre is not your muse, the Prithvi Cafe - an open air cafe - is a great place with its reasonable prices and the modest spread of appetising preparations. And if you are looking for that "something more"; look no more. Just look around; and the flute rendition by a sexagenarian seated under a banyan tree - Suhas Joshi (an architect by profession) - is something that would definitely take you to a different world.

If you are still yearning for more, Prithvi also offers its visitors a quaint book-store which houses one of the most amazing collections of literature. I am in love with their collection of Hindi authors.

You also get to spot many celebrities enjoying a cuppa at Prithvi. Me and R were able to spot Makarand Deshpande (the Fakir in Swades), Vrajesh Hirjee (the Anthony Gonzalves in Golmal Returns) and Madhurjeet Sarghi (Santosh Bhabhi from Na aana iss des….). There were many more known faces whom you could remember but not recall where were they seen last on the silver screen.

Prithvi is untouched by time. It belongs to an era bygone!

Do I look as if I care??

2010-05-13T20:00:00.009+05:30

Many a times, in life, we create notions. About things, people and situations. Often there is no logic(or perhaps there is!) and we don't give a D*** to what others think of them.
Here goes my list, read on...
1) Gujarat is the best state (and Ahmedabad the best city) to live in. No, any amount of arguments (not even the Godhra Kaand) will not change my stand.
2) Branded doesn't mean it's always worth it. I don't think highly of Provogue as a shoe company or of Woodlands as an apparel company; nor is a 1000 rupees worth backpack from Adidas (after discount, of course) any better than the 200 rupees worth bag I bought from Bandra (it has lasted me over two years now). Titan is a good enough watch brand for me. I had never heard of "Police" and "Davidoff" before I came to Mumbai.
3) I don't need to change my phone every two years. No, I don't think I need a swanky cell phone to cast a lasting impression on a client.
4) I don't have an overstock of shirts. Yes, I have over 50 shirts and No, am not going to not buy any more!!
5) I am okay with the shades I bought from a street-side stall. No, I don't trust the claims of UV protection being made by most branded eyewears!
6) Yes, I love my green belt. And my Red shoes. And no, by no means are they a fashion disaster.
7) No, my jeans is not a li'l too slim. I like it this way. It's my jeans anyway, why would you care!!
8) Yes, these are cowboy shoes that I wear to my office. And my office is in the Arabian Ranches!!!
9) Maroon or Purple is a (shirt) colour to be worn to office. As is blue, beige, white and grey!
10) I look around in a zillion shops for that perfect bargain. It is fine if you won't accompany me for my shopping. I take a lot of time to choose. I may not choose anything, as a matter of fact!
11) Lemon soda is a waste of money at a fine dining restaurant. Now you know what not to order when I throw a birthday party!
12) No, I don't get tired of going to South Bombay. And Yes! I like to call it Bombay. South Mumbai sounds pretty shady!!
13) Yes, I remember each penny that goes out of my pocket. And I won't mind if you walked up to me to ask for what I owe you. It's your money afterall!
14) Yes, I like gossip. And no, I don't beleive that you don't.
15) Mughal-e-Azam is a great movie. And Madhubala is the most beautiful actress of all times.
16) Yes I watch Utran, Na anaa... and any other daily soap that you can think of. No, I did not follow IPL.
17) I hate it when you ask me if I remember you. I may not call you or mail you often. I may not even keep you updated of the latest happenings in my life (read my engagement), but If you were ever friends with me, I remember you with all my heart and warmth.
18) No, you cannot borrow all my things. Am attached to many of my belongings and would not like you to use them without me knowing about it. No, I don't trust your material handling skills!
19) No, I don't go home too often. Once in two months is pretty normal. What else do you earn for if you cannot be with them on festivities!
20) Yes, that is a chikaankari kurta that I wear. And no, its not too transparent!

Am sure this list can be endless... Do let me know if you know something about me which I don't. I never had a good score on my Johari Window excercise!

Of Mumbai, friends, birthdays and stray dogs

2010-05-12T01:17:00.004+05:30

Mumbai
It is a city of dreams, glitter, local trains, fast life, slumdogs and millionares. Though I love every bit of my stay in this city, which I would prefer call by its maiden name - Bombay, I was rather disappointed when my parents told me that they found "Apnu Amdavad" better compared to this "Maximum City". Guess Bombay put all its efforts just being called Mumbai and Karnavati never minded being the uber-metropolitan and well planned Amdavad.

Friends
Mumbai (Bombay) has given me my share of some very close friends. As much as I would like to write in the names, I would not like to succumb to the temptation lest I forget a name and regret it later.
We have shared innumberable laughs and bucket full of tears. We have been there for each other when we celebrated our birthdays and promotions; during break-ups and during the engagements; while shifting our houses to cooking yummy meals together; in enjoying the street food at midnight on the Juhu beach when someone's parents were visiting or in the times when someone hasn't got the big bonus they were expecting.
Thanks guys (and gals) for being there. You are a BIG support system here!!

Birthdays
Birthdays are always special.
I just returned from Tushar's place after wishing him a Happy Birthday. It was fun. We literally had a virtual party. Wouldn't get into the nitty gritties but me and Ruchika (one of the virtual participants) had a good time with Tushar. After a long time we wished someone Happy Birthday the XIMB way.
We, me and the bunch of friends that I have here, have always been innovaitive in the midnight celebrations. Then be it cutting a Pizza on Marine Drive (Am sure, Ruchika you would remember this all your life) or literally running out of air blowing the magic candles!

Stray Dogs
An obscure topic to talk about, but then a stray dog (even worse would be a bunch of them) chasing your motorcycle in the dead of the night on a dark road is the last thing you would like to encounter as you return home after a long day at work. I was reminded of many such wild chases I have had while I was retuning home from Tushar's place today. Each dog on the road was (and there were tens of them) a potential threat. Thank God, none of them tried racing with me else I would have had to zoom my poor bike (its an old 100 cc TVS) at whatever gear it was in with my legs up in the air!!!

All in a day's work

2010-01-26T01:37:00.002+05:30

Read this old joke somewhere.. guess on a friend's Gtalk status message, and enjoyed it.
It read
"My company pretends to pay me and I pretend to work" :)

Musicals

2010-01-23T03:30:00.005+05:30

Though I generally like all movies I watch, there are some musicals that are my favourite and I think I can watch them over and over again.

My Fair Lady - The movie, based on GB Shaw's Pygmalion is a visual and aural treat. Audrey Hepburn is phenomenal as Eliza Doolittle and so is Reg Livermore as Professor Henry Higgins. I just love the song 'I could have danced all night' and the use of alliteration such as 'The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain'. Other songs such as 'Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait' is equally witty.

Manpasand - Closer home, our own Bollywood has made a remake of My Fair Lady starring Tina Munim and Dev Anand. This movie also has an amazing sound track with songs like 'charu chandra ki chanchal chitwan' that are on the lines of use of alliteration in the English version and the title song 'pankh bina udoo' which is the Hindi version of 'I could have danced all night'.

Thoda Sa Rumani Ho Jayein - This 1990 musical stars Anita Kanwar (of Lajoji fame from Buniyaad) and Nana Patekar. The movie compares a beautiful parallel of drought in a town to the drought in the lives of the movie's characters. Nana Patekar plays a rain seller (incidentally, many claim this movie is also a inspired by a Hollywood movie Rain Maker) who is able to get the rain back in the life of Anita Kanwar. Songs like 'Nanhi si Silu' celebrating the imending motherhood, 'main sundar hoon' celebrating moment of self realisation by Anita Kanwar, 'Do ghaton ke beech' celebrating victory over inhibitions and 'Thoda sa rumani ho jayein' celebrating victory over dismay are heart touching and leave a deep impact. Kanwar has done a class act in portraying the life of a not-so-charming-girl-nextdoors Binni Rai.

Morning Raga - Shabana Aazmi steals the show here. The movie is about Swarnalatha (played by Shabana), whos is a budding artist, who has taken to believe that she is the cause of death of her childhood friend and quits singing. The plot goes on to bring music back in Swarnlatha when her dead friend's son comes to her for a recording. Songs like 'Mahaganpati' and 'Thaye Yashoda' are a superb blend of Karnatic and Western music.

Sardari Begum - This movie is the cause of this entire post that I am writing at such an odd hour. The story which has Kiron Kher playing the main protagonist is a lovely story of a once famous thumri singer. The movie runs in a flashback after Sardari Begum dies in a minor religious tiff. What ensues is a reporter's (who also gets to know that she is the neice of Sardari Begum) further research into the life of the singer through interviews with people around Sardari. This movie would delight those who have an ear for thumri. If you ever enjoyed 'Piya tora kaisa abhimaan' from Raincoat, you would not be disappointed by songs in this movie.

Sound of Music - Julie Andrews is the show stealer. This cropped hair nun-to-be comes into the lives of a widowed naval captain's family as a governess to his children and overturns their monotonous routine. The plot is interesting with a hint at the pre-world war II Nazi era as well. 'Doe-a-deer' from this movie is the song which all of us have known since our childhoods. 'Edelweiss', 'My favourite things', 'How do we solve a problem like Maria', 'So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good bye' are treat to one's ears.

As I write this post am reliving the experience which I have enjoyed I don't know how many times now. Though I wouldn't recommend these as a must-watch but they are an absolute treat for any 'parallel cinema' lover.

To any of you who may plan to watch any of these, just a word of caution. Do not watch these with a big group. You would end up listening more of 'uff yeh kya ho raha hai...fir ganaaaaa..nahinnn' rather than the film's musical score....

The view from my window

2010-01-16T00:41:00.002+05:30

I love coffee.
Though I 'm not a big fan of CCD but am loving this coffee here. What makes me love this horrendously overpriced coffee at the airport is the view from the window.

I can see the planes landing and taking off at a distance. The whole place is lit up with thousands of twinkling lights. And, I am sitting in this cozy little corner sipping my hot café latte along with some not-so-great samosas.

Ah! there comes the announcement. Flight 452 is boarding, and off I am to home for one chilly weekend in the otherwise subdued winters of Mumbai!!!

Broken Images - Indeed!!!

2010-01-10T00:12:00.004+05:30

I was taught in my childhood that one should never scribble over books, which I was following untill I met this veteran actress - Shabana Azmi.

I am usually a no-autograph-for-me-please-type person, but I don't know why I felt like asking Shabana (sorry can't call her Shabanaji for various reasons) for one. What followed is a lesson for life.

We (Me and two other friends from XIMB days) had gone for this new play by Girish Karnad - Broken Images.

The play arose some interest in me for two reasons: 1) Shabana Azmi, the protagonist; and 2) Use of technology.

The plot of the play is simple and yet has a suspense that unfolds beautifully towards the end. Manjula Sharma (played by Shabana) is an English lecturer and a small time Hindi writer till she comes up with her magnum opus - a novel in English which becomes a worldwide bestseller. Manjula is at a TV studio launching her book in India when she gets face to face with her conscience. What follows is a dialogue between the two that takes us through Manjula's life and her eventual breakdown in front of her own self.

Shabana Azmi, as anyone would have guessed, was superb.

What added more stars to the act is that the Shabana's conscience was also played by Shabana albeit through a pre-recorded video being played on a large plasma TV. There was perfect coordination between the video and Shabana just as it would have been between two actors.

The play got over and as we were walking out, my friend started bugging me with her whimsical whim to meet Shabana in flesh and blood. I ignored it completely and soon we were standing out in the crowd doing some star gazing (the smalltime actors of tellytown were there to make their presence felt in the social circles, but no-one seemed to be noticing them except us). But this lady's urge to meet Shabana was so strong that she cajoled my other friend to get back to the green room and meet her dear actress, while I waited downstairs for both of them to be shooed away by the guard.

Quite a few minutes passed by and there was no sign of the two of them. I was getting curious, so I also decided to join them. To my astonishment I found the duo engrossed in a blah-blah that Alyque Padmsee was delivering in some strange accent. Shabana was nowhere around till this friend of mine decided to venture in the green room. The assistant informed she would be coming out soon. Suddenly the door opened and there was a little commotion. It took us quite some time to realize we were standing next to Shabana.

My friend didn't loose a moment to "catch hold of" her dear actress and congratulate her for the lovely performance. This poor little girl had thought Shabana would be all ooh-aah at her praise. Instead she got a cold response. Shabana scribbled her illegible signature on a book that my friend was carrying without even looking up in her eyes.

It is precisely at this moment when I suddenly felt this inner urge to get rid of my habit of keeping my books clean. I dug out a copy of Pather Panchali that I had purchased barely an hour ago and slyly forwarded it. Her hands once again moved in the same mechanical movements to scribble.

Once I had the book back in my hands, I realised my mistake. I felt like tearing off the page or throwing the book away. Alas! I could not do so. I had purchased it from my own hard earned money. It would always stand as a testimony to my fallen self respect in front of a damsel from the tinsel town.

This page, dirtied by the illegible signature of Shabana, would always remind me to continue to be a no-autograph-for-me-please-type person.

I would always remember those words from Shabana, as she climbed down a flight (just one flight) of stairs - "Yahan lift nahin hai kya".

I wish Shabana would not have said this. I wish she would have at least looked up in my eyes for one moment as she scribbled on my book. I wish she would have courteously replied, or at least smiled, to my friend’s wishes.

Then, I would have never minded calling her Shabanaji.

Another year and they will call it Twenty-Ten!

2010-01-02T00:16:00.005+05:30

I had posted this long back, almost a year back. A friend of mine asked me "Has anything changed, or you can still use the same post for this year"

The other day, I sent a mail to everyone in office inviting them to a small celebration that we had organised in office on the New Year's eve. The mail had a line that read "a year full of sweet memories..." and my colleague commented "are you sure (of the sweet memories)".

Am still trying to find answers to these two questions.

Yes, many things have not changed.. but some things have, and for the good!
And the year may not be full of good memories, but it wasn't that gloomy either.

When I sit back and count, there were more reasons to be happy that to crib about.

Home bound always!! I was home on all festivals and important occassions :)

Marriages Galore!! Three of my very good friends got married, and I could attend the wedding of at least one of them.

Two of my cousins also got married (looks like the entire year went away in marriages) and I thoroughly enjoyed the family reunions.

That one SMS. A friend made me realise the value of friendship through that simple SMS
that she sent while she was exchanging the marital vows with her beloved.

Pooo....My long time friend in the US of A is still in touch with me and we still share the same warmth.

Dube the painter. Friends gave me an amazing gift on my birthday.

Still stuck to Mahavir Classik. and I am loving it!! :)

That lovely 5-star dinner. And what a lovely time we had that night! Thanks Tushar and Ruchika for a memorable evening.

The Voice & Accent training. Learnt how your teeth need to pain(t) the tongue when you are saying "thank you" and that I have to bite my V's and kiss my W's. Crazy stuff!!

The unionbaazi at office. Though our lunch table has shrunk to three members for erstwhile figre of four, the unionbaazi continues. We have found some new members who have the potential to be a part of our union :)

While my mind has probably given up at this hour, I am sure there would have been a thousand other instances that would be a part of my happy memories for 2009. Not that I did not have my share of not-so-good memories, but what is the point is crying over spilt milk :)

A lesson from a cook

2009-12-02T01:17:00.002+05:30

I crib a lot.
On various issues.
I often find myself underpaid, overworked, underutilised, over strained, underestimated, etc etc etc. More often than not things get down to money and the salaries we draw. We hardly think about the innumerable gifts that we are enjoying in our current lives.

The very reason am writing this post today is my small chat with my cook today.

A stone faced lady, that she is, Chhayabai was in a little talkative mood today. So, while I made myself a cup of hot milk she asked me about my family and other generic stuff. I chipped in to ask her about her children and pat came the reply "dono ghar pe rehte hain pagalon ki tarah". This wasn't the reply that I had expected. Then she told me her story. She has two children and both suffer from mental disorders. She told me that her daughter has problem with her memory and does not remember anything, so she is home. Then she told me the story of her son. Probably a guy of my age, may be a little younger. He was a normal schhol going kid till the age of twelve. And then he met with a rail accident after which he has not been able to walk properly. While she told me her tale of sorrow I was constantly looking in her eyes to find that moist corner. I could already feel the goosepimples on my hands, but her eyes remained dry.
They had a sparkle, on the contrary.
She was telling me how bright a student her son was. That they had put him in a good English Medium school and had arranged computer lessons for him. She was probably reliving those happy days as she narrated me the story.
I didn't know how to react. In the entire conversation, not once did she try to evoke sympathy for us.
For once, I realised the true meaning of an essay I had written long time back in school - "Health is Wealth". My father had asked me to add these closing lines : Health is Wealth, but Wealth certainly is not Health.

Nostalgia - Served hot on the platter!!

2009-11-16T15:43:00.001+05:30

We met after a long time - Me and T. It was a long day at work and I was counting each second. As soon I wrapped up I and was at the basement, just about to give that first kick to my motorcycles, I remembered that I had forgotten to mention something important in my past mail to my client. So, back I went; frustrated and cursing myself for being so careless. As soon as my mailbox’s sent items folder confirmed that my mail was out from our server, I ran back to the casement with the cake (it was A’s birthday as well) in one hand to rush home, lest T would have to wait outside (as indeed it turned out to be).

When I reached my apartment I saw T standing there, may be cursing me for not being thereJ.

Before I proceed, let me also describe the commonalities that I share with T. Me and T were the part of the same conglomerate before wee joined the MBA course at XIMB. We were neighbours during the two year course. We did our summers in the same company and got the final placements in the same company.

But now T is moving out (as S did a week back) and is shifting his base to Mumbai. It was in this regard that T was visiting Mumbai for a short duration over the weekend. So after the day’s work we met like long lost friends and had so much to catch up. Post the birthday kicks to A, I shifted with T to his hotel, where our banter continued till late in the night.

The following morning we had the regale breakfast at the hotel. All thanks to T and his new employer J The evening was packed with good times and nostalgia. R had come over and the three of us chatted over a long dinner at the hotel. The discussions meandered from our current bosses to former friends; from our future life partners to the friends getting married; and from our roommates to life in Mumbai. The food was good and was unlimited. We had everything from soup and breads, salads, pasta, pizza, noodles, fried rice to even our very own aloo paratha. The “icing on the cake” were the desserts. We would have tasted some 15 variety of desserts that night!! While we were savoring the desserts it was getting late for R. So we decided to drop her back home. This gave us some more time to sit and chat. None of us was in a hurry and we simply did not want this dinner to end. When the service staff came over to tell us that it was close to their closing time, we proceeded for our final course of our lovely meal. The ice-creams! R was super-excited and created a very personalized scoop which we ate to our heart’s delight. Thanks T for that great dinner treat!!

And then came the goodbyes!! We dropped R to her home and then tucked ourselves to a peaceful slumber. The next morning saw us at the same place, where we had our dinner, munching away some bread over the breakfast.

It was around 10 or 11 when T checked out to meet another friend who was visiting Mumbai. I bade him farewell with the wish to see him soon in Mumbai and have more such (may be not this lavish) dinners!!

Thanks again to T for the treat.

A "Union" disintegrates

2009-11-08T23:44:00.003+05:30

"S" has quit the company and that leaves only the three of us at the lunch table. Till now, even if one of us was on leave it would be a crowd of three having lunch and the post lunch walk. But, now onwards, on such occassions it would just be the company of two.

Over the past 18 months, we have shared everything from personal life to professional life over the lunch and snacks sessions. We have played pranks; been more-than-often to the nearby Naturals for those ice-cream breaks; celebrated birthdays and weddings; and shared our thoughts about others rather loudly.

While S moves on to be with her dear P, we wish her a great life ahed. We will miss her in our very dear "Majboor Union" of Four.....

The cattle class and the poor little minister

2009-10-21T16:29:00.004+05:30

A train rams into another near Mathura killing some 30 people (that is the official figure) and Ms. Mamta Banerjee immediately announces a 5 lakh compensation for the family members of the victims. What else could have Ms. Banerjee done? This is not a dharna of which she has an expertise, nor is this a Lok Sabha session where she screams with elance. We are dealing with people here, whom she represents, and that is something that our poor little Railway Minister has got no experience.

The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, or so they are saying. Soon, Ms Banerjee would set up a commission to prepare a report on the incident. And we all know what will happen next. The report would never be out and the dead would be forgotten as they have always been in the past. After all, we are the “cattle class” and why bother for the cattle when you have other greener pastures to attend to!

The Kali Shoe

2009-09-24T12:28:00.003+05:30

When I stumbled upon this website called zazzle.co.uk I was first amazed at their product offering. The website allows you to create your own designs online. But I was appalled, when I came across one particular design - the "Kali Hindu Goddess Shoes". The designer has crossed all limits of cultural sensitivity by putting the image of a Kali-like figure on the shoes.

Wonder where have all the activists gone who had vandalised M.F Hussain's art works when he had "supposedly" portrayed the Hindu Goddesses in nude.

The Invisible Gift

2009-09-17T16:08:00.003+05:30

Never in my life would I have felt this blank as all of us did after we got off from the rickshaw that Saturday night.
We had been invited to a friend's house over dinner cum birthday treat. As is customary, we - me, A and R - had a bag of goodies as a gift for our host for the night. We got a rick and were chit chatting all the way to Mulund, where we had to change to another rickshaw to reach G's house in Thane.
I called up G when we reached Mulund that we are standing in a queue to get a rickshaw to Thane. This (queue), in our view, was the most absurd thing that we had come across that day - at least till that point in time.
Our turn came pretty quickly and soon we were trotting all the way to G's home. Half way through I called up G to tell her that we would be reaching in another 10 minutes.
As we got down from the rickshaw, and I was settling the bill, A asked the BIG QUESTION "Where is the bag?"
In all this rickshaw hunting and queuing up, we had conveniently forgotten about the gift which we had left in the first rickshaw.
My mind went blank.
This rickwallah was saying aomething about change and I son't remember how much I gave him over the fare.
I was still blank.
As we made way to G's house I could see the disappointment on A's face and astonishment on R's face. We could not believe we had done this, and there was no way that we could trace the rickshaw back.
We went up to G's house and were greeted by the warm smiles of G and her mom and grandmom.
The jaws dropped when they heard our deeds and we got our share of scoldings from Maanti (as A and G call her) and G's mom.
For G, we had nothing but an invisible bag from Lifestyle, an odourless perfume by Marks & Spencer and a colourless eyeshadow pack by Maybelline. Guess G would not have been too happy flaunting these.. neither we gifting them to her.

Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkarya

2009-09-04T00:31:00.010+05:30

And then it rained, like it had never before in the past few days. It was a sign of good omen. The skies had finally relented to the cries of the people. May be, it was the final gift that Ganapati wanted to give to his devotees.
It was the tenth day of Ganapati celebrations. The last day. The lake near my home - the Powai Lake - was a busy place. This Ganapati, though I had all plans to visit one of the pandals, I decided otherwise - thanks to the flu of the Swine. But then one could not have missed the grand visarjan ceremony.
As if, the waters of the lake were not sufficient, there was a great sea of humanity that was thronging the ghats to bid farewell to its favourite God; and one could see hundreds of statues floating amidst this sea of thousands of devotees. It was a joyous and mystic atmosphere all around.
The dhak of the dhols, the glare of spotlights, the blaring bollywood numbers, the soft-tonned aartis, the loud slogans and the messemerizingly beautiful statues took you to a different world altogether. After a good long walk and a dekho at all the murtis and a memory card full load of photographs we headed home.... and just as we entered the apartment, it started pouring heavily... May be, Ganapati was showering his blessings on us!

Some beautiful moments my friend "A" captured on his camera.....

"Is that a halo, or am I dazed by your divine presence"

"Even the mouse is so cute"

"I pray to thee, oh lord!"

"A hand from all"

"Am holding your hands"

"You are under my umbrella"

"Rest your tired bodies on me, am here for you"

"The sea of humanity"

"Divine"

"The Golden Ganapati"

"A closer look"

(C) All photographs are courtesy Amol.

V, R and Me

2009-09-03T00:43:00.005+05:30

Time flies. It was about three months back that my friend V told me about her wedding planned in September. That got me, and another common friend making plans for the wedding and at the end, both of us ended up not attending the wedding.
As luck would have it, this other friend also got engaged and is now busy preparing for her own wedding and thus could not make it to V's marriage. Why I never made it - that is another story - which I would rather not discuss :(
The bottomline being, that we didn't make it to V's moment of happiness.... I can only imagine V clad in a rich silk sari with heavy gajra (God knows if she would have worn jewellery on her marriage or not - she was always a no-jewellery person) sitting in the mandapam amidst the sacred chants with R by her side, clad in a white dhoti ("Topless" as V describes the look).

God knows if we ever will meet again.... All three of us together again, like we used to when we were in the college - over a lunch at Shrikunj or for that pao bhaji at the Unit 1 market.
O! What fun it used to be. Going all around the city of Bhubaneswar in an autorickshaw to visit various temples, or a trip to the far flung forests of Simplipal and the adventurous Hirakud dam excursion, or the innumerable visits to Puri and shopping at Raghurajpur, or (as a matter of fact!) the various assignment where we played those you-did-not-do-anything blame games, getting caught by the professor for helping each other and sending apology mails to clear the mess - they will all be the sweet memories that one can never forget.
Am sure V and R (not V's R) will agree to this.

Die another day!!

2009-08-21T11:02:00.003+05:30

Many a times we feel that nothing is in our hands. That we are mere puppets and someone else is pulling the strings. If the string snaps, off we go - haywire.
Well this is exactly what I felt last night when I was sitting on the rear seat of the motorcycle that my good friend "R" was driving. As the speedometer touched past 60 my heart rate would have been surely double this number. Not because 60 is too fast, but on Mumbai it is! As he raced through the traffic meandering through the pot-holes and tunneling through the traffic, overtaking from the left and splashing through a wet patch, I was not really sure if I would be alive till we reached the movie hall where we were headed.
As it happens in troubled times, that we remember the good lord, I was actually remembering the almighty that he let me watch this movie show.... and I made a resolve that never again am I to be a pillion rider. The irony of the situation was that while returning I chose to sit behind another good friend "A" considering it might help my cause, but empty roads and a slow Bullet Thunderbird just don't go together (somehow!). We were back on the same road meanering through the same potholes and the wet patch.... just that this time I was enjoying the power.. the wind coming in my face.... and me thinking aloud...Die Another Day!!

Maaru Amdavad

2009-08-13T14:06:00.003+05:30

As I was idle at work, I did a random wiki search. I was reading about the nobel prize when the wiki page on Tagore threw up an image of the Sardar Patel National Museum in Ahmedabad. My mind immediately wandered off to Ahmedabad and its touristic attractions.

One of the first memories is that of Gandhi Ashram. The place was next doors to our first house in Ahmedabad. As one enters the Ashram, one is greeted by a red wall contrasted by a row of lush green ashoka trees. A sign-board informs the visitors that one of these was planted by Pandit Nehru himself when the Ashram was inaugurated.

As you move inside, the chirping of birds and the uncanny silence in the air takes over. You are in a different land. The galleries that connect the small thatched square red-and-white-walled cottages that house the museum are lined with huge cut-outs and writings of Gandhiji. His almost illegible handwriting is a treat to the eyes!

There is a painting gallery with huge life-size portraits of Gandhiji. I distinctly remember a portrait of Gandhiji made using groundnut shells. These have amazed me everytime I have visited the Ashram.

“Hriday Kunj” is the cottage where Gandhiji and Karturba satayed while the Ashram was functional. The cottage has been maintained in its original form. One may be astounded to find different rooms for Kasturba and Gandhiji in this cottage. There is a small room in the courtyard of the cottage where you can just peep in from the grilled door. It has a neat arrangement of Gandhiji’s desk with a book and his glasses placed over and the famous watch lying by the side on the small sitting couch.

Not far from the Gandhi Ashram is the Calico Textile Museum. A museum preserved by the Lalbhai Group of Ahmedabad. The Museum, housed in an ancient haveli, is a treat to your eyes. The old fabrics weave a charm and you just can’t help getting mesmerized. Each woven thread has a tale to tell. Meandering through the dark staircases lit by the natural light filtering through the jharokhas, one is transcended to the world of the royals. It is not just the museum but the entire place that creates an out-of-this-world charm. The little pond in the courtyard with water lilies and the jain pichwai paintings to the remains of a haveli salvaged from a kabadi create magic.

A little ahead is the Sardar Patel National Museum. It is an umimpressive museum housed in a majestic palace. What catches the eye is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel – arm-in-arms – right outside the complex. I think this is the only one of its kind statue of Patel and Gandhiji together.

A little further from Shahibuagh - towards Dilli Darwaza - is located the famous Hutheesingh Jain Temple. The majestic tall tower and the symmetric arches along the corridors adorned in the jain style architecture are a must visit. Photography, unfortunately, is prohibited.

From Dilli Darwaza, one must make headway to the Saiyyed Siddi ni Jali at Lal Darwaza. The jail is a huge window in a mosque with intricate carving depicting a tree. This is also the unofficial symbol of Ahmedbad.

Right opposite Siddi Saiyyed's mosque is an old haveli, which now operates as a restaurant – Agashiye – famous for its authentic Gujarati cuisine.

Other places of interest in Ahmedabad could be the Kite Museum, Kochrab Ashram, Kankariya lake, Baal Vatika, Ahmedabad Zoo and Vishala Utensil Museum. A little drive away are the famous Adalaj ni Vav and Akshardham Mandir.

Oh! My mind is cluttered with memories of the colourful land…. Wish I could turn time back... How I wish!!

जल्दी आओ Dube!!

2009-08-03T01:31:00.004+05:30

It was well past twelve midnight and I was dreading the Monday that was awaiting the daybreak. My laptop's almost dead speakers were trying hard to make me enjoy Jagjeet Singh's Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi. The song was in the first paragraph and I was about to explain to my room-mate what the lines meant when suddenly "A" - my other flatmate - screamed. Jaldi aao Dube!! Trust me, my heart just froze for a moment. The living room was dark with him standing there with the flash light of his cell phone switched on. I thought some strange insect, a smake probably, has entered the house. As my eyes searched for the supposed snake and I moved further in the living room I was surprised by a bunch of friends screaming "Happy Birthday". For once, I didn't realise what was happening! It was a big surprise. Dunno when and how they managed to sneak in.

So there they were, the five of them. A, A, A, A and V (R). While A (my flat mate, the jadi aao guy) was busy shoting a video, A was helplessly trying to light a match - a proxy for a candle :)
The message on the cake read : Belated Happy Birthday Debbey। But this was not all. More was to follow.

On some other friend's birthday, I had told my friends what I wanted as a birthday gift and lo! here it was - a painter's tripod। They would have gone around places to find one, am sure। but here it was, right there in my arms.

I had been thinking for quite some time to update my blog। What better moment than this to write about, especially when I have now become the owner of a prized possession.

2009-06-27T01:50:00.003+05:30

MJ.... just loved your work in "Heal The World"... may you find peace wherever you are. Amen!

Headlines for today....

2009-06-04T00:22:00.003+05:30

I won't say anything... I would rather let these news headlines from today's TOI do the talking...
UPA minister-run med college wants Rs 20L donation - Ah! ask my brother how he felt when he got admission for a PG course in a medical college.... Bloody parasites !!
MNS sees red over Raj caller tune - They should rather be seing saffron...
Don't blame us for bad roads: BMC - Then whom do I blame, my bad luck :O
Rs 400 incentive for women who deliver in civic hospitals - And what about the life insurance premium for the unborn?????
Give baby a Tamil name, get a gold ring - And finish off all the alphabets of English two times over for just one gram of gold!! What an idea sirjee!
Girls are bad at math?It's all a myth, says study - Ever tried siphoning off a rupee from the money your mother gave you for the groceries???
AND THE WINNER IS...
Pakistan plannig to setup new anti-terrorism force - Ha ha ha!! am laughing my lungs out.... Look who is saying.... if Pakistan is setting up a new anti terrorism force then India should better be beefing up the security:)

ENDS.

The song goes...Jai Ho, but whose???

2009-05-28T22:56:00.003+05:30

When I saw Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, never in my dreams could I have imagined that it would sweep the Oscars. Good, that it did! And better that it brought laurels to the various Indian artistes and technicians. But then it should stop at this. I think Danny, as a film-maker, did a fantastic job to show it to the world how poor the country is (and we all loved him for this) and, we don't actually don't need to go overboard and tell the World "Suno Suno!!! Hum Gareeb Hain. We are still the good 'ol land of snake charmers and beggars".

When I read a recent statement by Azhar's (the kid in the movie) mother after Gerard Butler's visit to their shanty - “Humne suna hai ki woh paanch lakh dene wale hai Azhar ke naam pe” I was shocked. This, when Danny Boyle is already funding Azhar and Rubina's education and has even bought them houses.

Agreed that the families are poor, but whatever happened to those things called dignity and self respect. I wonder if it would not be better that they focussed on developing their children's future than stuffing money in their pockets, only to spend it all on the vices. That would be the real Jai Ho!!
Guess what Congress has to say to this.... After all this was their election Anthem!! Am sure there are many Azhar's and Rubina's waiting to see the zariwala aasman out there....

34-Sona Mahal.....Will miss you

2009-05-20T00:04:00.006+05:30

My association with Ahmedabad goes back to 1992 when we my dad got posted here. The very first memories are that of a transporter strike because of which our stuff couldn't come on time and I had to make do with samosas and jalebis in the tiffin, which I have anyway hated all my school life.
We stayed in a rented accomodation for a couple of years. I have very vivid and happy memories of that place. My sister would sit at the window and gaze at the vehicles passing by on the Subhash Bridge. When it rained heavily, the Sabarmati would swell and we would go to the bridge to see the waters. Come Navaratri, the whole society (yes, that's how we called it) would get decked up and people would dance all night long to the tunes of pankhida re udi ne jaje... I even taught my sister how to ride a bicycle in this society. There was a vegetable grocer within the premisis where I would often go with a list of vegetables that mom wanted. Also, there was a shop where you could buy that orange candy bar. In the evening all the kids would gather near the tall overhead tank and play till the sun set and their mothers came out calling them.

In 1994, we moved to our own apartment, our home. It must have been such a fulfilling moment for my parents. And never till today did I realise that I have spent some 15 long years in that house. I grew up in that house and the house grew with me. Over the years, we had adorned the walls with hand-picked paintings and the corners with the finest and the most unique artefacts. What memories I have associated with this house is something that I cannot describe in words. But why am I writitng this post is because today I suddenly felt that the string, which had kept me attached to MY HOME, has snapped.... My heart is overwhelmed by such strong feelings. When my parents told me that the packers were packing up stuff in cartons, my mind wandered off to those artefacts, those books, those paintings, those clothes, that crockery which had been there since ages, at least to me it did! I know its never going to be the same again. I know that Ahmedabad is lost for me....I know Sona Mahal is no more my home.... It might be a permanent address but not a home... I would now be a mere visitor to my own city, to my hometown.... There is so much that I have held close to my heart... There is so much to remember so much that am going to miss all my life.

I will miss writing "34-Sona Mahal....." as my postal address.
I will miss the name plate that bore my father's name.
I will miss the iron grill with a unique pattern, specially designed by my parents.
I will miss the arched doorway that let into my home.
I will miss my room with arched balcony.
I will miss the creaking noice that my almirah made.
I will miss that cozy corner in the living room under the lanp.
I will miss the sofa that I had bought.
I will never be able to see the sun set behind the temple.
I will miss the panoramic view from my balcony.
I will miss hushing away those pigeons in the morning.
I will miss reading the newspaper sitting on the bed while the first rays of sun filled the room with warmth.
I will miss the wardrobe that still smelled of fresh paint.
I will miss getting ready under the dressing table's spot-light.
I will miss seeing the Sabarmati flow by through the window.
I will miss pinnig-up a picture on the study table.
I will miss walking bare-footed into my neighbour's house to borrow a lemon.
I will miss driving to Yogesh Khamman to get my mom's fovourite dhokla.
I will miss kite-flying during Uttarayan on the terrace.
I will miss going to the law garden to do some local shopping.
I will miss the cool evening breeze.
I will miss the bright and scorching sun on a summer afternoon.

I will miss the walls, the flooring, the paint, the smell, the touch, the sounds, the sights...........

Two summers ago!

2009-04-27T11:56:00.002+05:30

It is one of those days at work when I don’t seem to be having any work. Guess this is what disguised unemployment means.
I have been thinking to post something here on this blog, but there were no stories to tell. So, when this friend of mine invited me to her birthday bash I thought I would blog about it.

Her birthday has a history. A two summer old history.

That was at Marine Drive in Mumbai. Some 6 of us decided to give this lady a surprise party and broke as we were during summers, we decided to treat her to a modest Pizza from Pizzeria and a pastry on the Marine Drive.

So, this (another) friend of ours was entrusted upon the responsibility of getting a Pizza while returning back from work and we would meet her at a pre decided place. And as we would have expected, she lost her way and created a big confusion regarding her whereabouts. After a mile long walk, we did meet and tried setting up candles and all on the marine drive when we noticed that the couple sitting next to us was getting quite cosy (ahem!) and we had no option but to shift our place.

So after all the mehnat mashakkat our birthdaygirl did “cut” the pizza and we had a good time giggling and screaming while we savoured it. And now was her turn to return the favour. One among the gang suggested a modest looking restaurant and we walked in.

Well, it didn’t turn out to be that modest while our budget was. So finally after a lot of brainstorming we settled for sum soups (three-by-six, I guess). The sauces and water were free, so they were used in copious amounts. The giggling and laughter continued in this fine dining restaurant, right under the pricey Ambassador Hotel on Marine Drive. The waiters gave us side long glances, as if we cared! :)

After we were done (with our soups and the payment) we gifted her some unique cards that were available for free at the restaurant… and wished her a soupy birthday.
And from them this story has been pretty much a wonderful memory of our summer of '07 at Mumbai.

Recipe to a perfect Rassam and Tamarind Rice

2009-03-28T19:57:00.005+05:30

Well if you would have asked Little Johnny he would have said "isme kya naya hai babua! yeh to kisi bhi Tarla Dala cookery book mein mil jayegi" but then the Rassam that I am talking about is different.
It is different because it's not just a meal, it is an idea of enjoying your time with friends... So, this is how you go about making it.
Wake up real late in the weekend. This is a must, else the Rassam wouldn't taste yum!
Get some friends.... any number above four would do.
Get two of them to go to the market to get the ingredients.
If they forget to get some things that you had asked for.... don't worry, send them again :)
Once you have everything in place, get one of them to chop three tomatoes.... and if they seem to be taking eternity, which in all possibility they would, get the knife and do it yourself :)
Ask the guy, who was earlier making futile attempts to chop tomatoes, to wash the kadhai and put some oil to heat.
When the oil is hot ask the other guy to get some rai (mustard seeds) and when he picks up any random masala give him one of those killer single-liners... Soon he would pick up the right jar :)
By now the oil would have got hot enough for the rai.
Add some curry leaves, green chillies, turmeric and red chilly powder.
Add tomatoes and ask either of the idle fellows to stir it till the tomatoes get cooked to a paste.
Don't forget to add some hing to this. It would give that typical aroma to your recipe which you would have imagined for a perfect rassam. Your friend would definitely not know what hing is... so explain it to him again.... no need of one liners here :P
Now ask this same person to put some tamarind to boil... and get the pulp separated from the seeds thereafter.
Boil some arhar daal in the cooker and then blend it.
Add this daal to the tomato masala that you have prepared.
Add Rassam powder to taste.
Add some sugar. Very little amount.
Add water and tamarind juice and bring to a boil.
When done, add a tadka of ghee, rai and dried red chillies.
A perfect rassam should have a watery consistency with very little traces of daal and taste more or less like the sambhar.
Well Well..... if you think you are done... you are not.. The rice is yet to be prepared..
So while you are making rassam you may prepare the seasoning for the rice.
While you were preparing the rice and rassam, your other friends (who do not stay in you apartment) would have prepared a potato recipe (for which I would ask the readers to contact them).
For the rice seasoning, heat some oil in a pan. This can be done by your friend who has been standing idle for quite some time now.
Add dried red chillies, rai, curry leaves, green chillies, chana daal, udad daal, groundnuts, little bit of turmeric and red chilly .
If you see some strange crawling creatures in the packet where you had stored chana daal, probably you would have to throw away this seasoning and prepare a new one without the chana daal.
When the lentils get crisp, set it aside.
By now your rassam would have got ready and the burner can be used to put on the rice.
When the rice is ready, mix the seasoning, salt and tamarind juice for a delicious tamarind rice.
Hit the shower, get fresh and when you are ready - Bingo! - find your living room full of friends all fighting for the limited plates and bowls that you have.
Duly acknowledge any compliments that you get :)
Slip into sweet slumber induced by the rice and the rassam....
When the maid comes in the evening for cooking.... remain asleep and don't open the door for her.... to get a phone call from her later in the evening after you have made plans for gobhi paratha for the dinner :( .....
Call up your friends (who do not stay in your apartment) to appraise them of the situation only to know that an awesome dinner awaits you at their place!!
Put the recipe on your blog to make your oter friends feel J!!! :)

A Strong Man or Weak!!

2009-03-24T16:54:00.004+05:30

I am not pro-Advani or anti-Manmohan Singh, but a recent article got me thinking. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh(MS) has accused the UPA Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani for being an incompetent home minister; that in his (Advani’s) times there were incidents of Gujarat riots and Parliament attacks and also that he played an important role in the Babri Masjid demolition.
Coming back to the modern times, why has our competent Prime Minister forgotten the bomb blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and the terror attack in Mumbai? Why does he not remember the recent trouble in Sikkim created by the Maoists?

To quote MS from the article “Is he (Advani) a strong man or a weak man, let the records speak for themselves”. What is his take on the advices of Madamji to which he very strongly complies…. Should he not answer to the public if he is a strong or a weak man??

They say in Hindi - jinke ghar sheeshe ke hon, woh auron par patthar nahin phenka karte....

Baffled by the Baflas!

2009-02-24T11:40:00.004+05:30

Returned from a friend’s wedding today at 5 in the morning and am in no mood to work :)

The marriage was great fun, all Indian marriages are. Good food, friends, music, masti, no tension about deliverables and deadlines, no mails and no long distances to commute make a perfect weekend.
The wedding was quite eventful, atleast for us :) A couple of incidents that I would always remember.
First, we almost missed the train to Dewas. The clock was ticking silently while P was enjoying her tea. And the Taxi ride to BCT would just not come to an end. When we alighted the train, it had almost begun to move!!
Second, was when P went off to sleep after having sold the horses :) and such was her sleep that a crowd gathered outside her room to wake her up. After 11 missed calls and uninterrupted banging on the door she finally woke with a surprised look on her face! What adds excitement to the whole incident is that when one of us standing outside tried to peep in through the ventillator to see if P was alright, he could not se anyone inside and said "andar to koi hai hi nahin" . This was P's claim to overnight fame.
And how could I forget this one!! I was playing the saviour of my friend's shoes. For such an honourable job, I had to face the fury of a big mob of girls !! All captured live on the camera :)
And then it had to be this incident on the journey back home when the TTE made us pay a fine for boarding the train from Indore while our tickets were from Dewas. P and A could not hold their laughter while I dealt with Sutradhar :), the TTE… Am sure P and A would not let this incident of their minds that soon and it would turn out to be my claim to fame :)
And in-between all this we had the wedding and the good food.
Talking about good food, we had the much famous Dal-Bafla of the Malwa region at the wedding. Bafla is a preparation of wheat dough fried/baked and rich in ghee. Though it tastes amazing and I enjoyed hogging the ghee laden delicacy, it is pretty much indigestible for many of us (P happened to be one of them) who belong to the low-carb world. Well as J pointed it out... she was “Baffled” by the “Baflas” :)

Winds of Change!!!

2009-02-03T15:17:00.004+05:30

One thing that I used to like about my place of work was the freedom we had.

The freedom to do things your way and the freedom to take a break when you wanted.

So much so that I have been home on almost all alternate months ever since I joined my company.

First it was July. That was Ahmedabad. And then is was Rakshabandhan in August in Faridabad. Then came Dussera in October in Ahmedabad and then Diwali in November in Faridabad. This was followed by Christmas in December in Ahmedabad. Gosh!! 5 times in 9 months!! that is incredible.. but those were the good old days when the Indian economy was booming!

I remember someone coming to our campus and telling us that we are lucky to have been graduating this year when the economy is at an all time high.

Who would have guessed then that the tables could turn so quickly. That in a span of one year it would become impossible for a batch of 120 to be placed! That the golden era of investment banking would come to an end! That the high paying finance jobs would vanish! That we would have multi million corporate scams! That the stock market, being shoved up by the bull would be brought down by the bear! That oil would come down to record low and the dollar rise up! That we would prefer a salary cut than to loose our job! That taking leaves would become such a pain in the A@@.

We had a course in our B-School that questioned the current world order. Sitting there in the classroom we analysed why the World is the way it is! Why US is so strong and Japan is sinking. Why India is not a world power and why it may never become a developed nation! The course taught us how a firm is the centre of an economy, a Private Enterprise Based Market Economy (PEBME) as he called it. How the currency markets were equivalent to a shadow world government! And many of us were the sceptics.

But when I look at it today, I get a flashback of those lectures... With the crash of the i-banks and the bursting of the mortgage bubble the world has changed... The shadow Government has doomed the fate of this current design and a new design is emerging.

The firm is still at the core... the Private Enterprise!! We are now having more stringent corporate governance rules being put in, banks don't go door to door giving you loans... we have seen lot of restructuring within the firms and outside them.. lot of mergers have happened and lot of demergers... At the end of this turmoil only those firms are going to stay alive and kicking who have made their internal processes stronger and the other would die...... Countries like India are beginning to change their outlook towards the growth of the economy.... may be we would learn that it is not the KPOs and the BPOs that are driving us, but it agriculture and capital goods that would make us a sustainable force!!

Though I hardly remember anything what we discussed in those lectures but this thought of a change in the world order always stuck to me...

I am reminded of the last lecture when we had no discussion... but just a song... and how we really felt what we were singing!!

aa chal ke tujhe main le kae chaloon ik aise gagan ke tale.... jahan gam bhi na ho.. aasoon bhi na ho, bas pyaar hi pyaar pale.... ek aise gagan ke tale !!

The whole class reverberated to the tunes of this song..... how each one of us wished that the world would change.. but it would be like this... no-one would have imagined!!

The Photo Frame

2009-01-20T10:27:00.004+05:30

They say pictures are worth a thousand words... and this post would prove that!!
There sits on my desk a photo frame which was gifted to me by one of my closest friends - "P".
How me and P became such good friends is something even we wonder many-a-times.
Long years ago when I was doing my engineering I met this girl there who was sitting next to a schoolmate, "N" (who was also going to be my batchmate for next four years) and I was like - N and P would surely turn out to be the best friends. And as luck could have it, that turned out to be the case.
I got introduced to P through N. I still remember all of us being at P's first birthday at the college when we had gifted her some weird assortment of gifts. In between the four birthdays we celebrated were the four "Ganapati" (As P calls it) that we witnessed at her Nani's place.
Life moved on.... I got a job at L&T and P couldn't make it. I remember the day when I told P about the offer from L&T. She immediately hung up the phone. I knew she was crying.... not because I got it but because she didn't.... silly P.... and then we heard from her that she has made it to Infy....
She moved down south and we hardly got to meet.. in the next two years till she shifted to Pune I went to meet her and other good friends "S" and "R". And we had a gala time... It was then that I saw the first signe of transformation in P.
I am reminded of how I had asked P to make wada and nariyal chutney for me.... and also her famous rajma with rice (that she would serve twice to you). P is an excellent cook!!
I moved on to XIMB and P told me that she was moving to US. I remember that time S had also gone to US. Suddenly I realised that I had no friends to talk to.... B-school was a new experience and I was yet to come to terms with it.....
Life moved on.... 2 years flew by...
P switched her job and then I knew she was never to return back.... But we did get to meet her... She had come down to India on a vacation and we met.... and this is when she gifted me that frame....It had Friends written all over around it!
I searched for a suitable pic, with the good ol' bespectacled P giggling in there....
She has changed over the years... but its just the outer being... and she has changed for good.... but then she is still the same good ol' P deep within.... and I know we are going to be Friends Forever!!!

The one that follows....

2009-01-07T10:49:00.003+05:30

I got this as a forward from a friend and somewhere it struck a chord !!

2008 was when.........
We passed out of college....
We got a job.........
We made new amazing friends.....
Some of us moved to a new city.....
Some of us celebrated our 21st - 25th birthdays.....
We waved good bye to our buddies leaving to the States for higher studies...
Some of us fell in love........
Some of us fell out of love
Some of us got hurt
Some of our 'friends' screwed up our love life
Some 'one' we liked, did not like us..
We made mistakes .... and repeated hem...
We made life decisions....... and these decisions turned out to be a tragedy
Some of us felt lonely ....
Some of us made an amazing friend in a new city
Some of us would have learnt to be stronger.....
Some of us would have realized that everything happens for a reason.....
Some of us let out our anger.....
Some of us never opened up to our friends about how we felt....
Some of us felt so glad and happy to be the way we are.....
We went out everyday and met up with old friends...
We had serious talks with our dad about our future.....
We missed each other when we were at hometown.....
We missed our mom here ...
We cried for each other ...
We celebrated our first Christmas with our friends ..
We were jobless all the time in office ....
We walked around the streets late in the night ..
We put budget for the next month (but strictly not following it)

2009.......one more year.....A year to....
Find our life partner (might be)
Smile........
Let people know how much u care...
Learn from our mistakes.......
Cry when we are feeling down.....
Follow our dreams.......
Fight against everything for our dreams to come true.....
Be more confident.........
Be more strong at heart and mind.....
Enrich our knowledge.........
Make others happy....
Take each day as it comes........
Forget about the downs we came across in the past year........ and remember every lesson we learnt through them........
Enjoy Life to the Fullest............

LET'S WAIT FOR THE WONDERFUL YEAR AHEAD!!

The Inaugral Post!

2009-01-05T10:22:00.005+05:30

This is going to be the inaugural post in 2009 on my blog. I was wondering, what to write and then decided to talk about those moments from 2008 that I would always remember.
Let me begin from the beginning:

Placements 2008 @ XIMB : And what trying times!! Have seen the best of friend turning foes
Trip to Simlipal and Hirakud : Amazing time with batchmates… wonder how many of them qualify to be friends… guess quite a few of them!
Maxinations 2008 @ XIMB : Our last chance to prove our worth !! :P and boy!! What a victory we had!!
Convocation : Was such a proud moment for me and my family!
Orissa darshan with Family
Bootcamp @ Irevna, Chennai
Transfer to Mumbai
Hunting a house in Mumbai : Trust me it is difficult than mouse hunt and I saw this for I have tried both :P
The Jinxed Happy Singh!!
First Birthday in Mumbai with friends : I literally ran out of air !!!
The guests at our place… they just can’t resist our house :P
The coffee time with colleague-turned-friends at office
The Rakshabandhan weekend... Never would I have been so optimistic and so much in trouble!!
Matheran trip
Diwali trip.... Never could I have been so much more optimistic... missing the train... and flight fares touching skies..

Watching plays in Theatres and the associated events!! – Am sure “R” has much more to say about it !!
Numerous evenings spent in South Mumbai
The Mumbai Terror Attack!
The pulao and rassams we made
Receiving a close friend at the Airport
Seeing a friend break-up with that someone special
The New Year eve bash….. Wouldn’t talk much bout it though: P

These moments take me to lines from one of the various Hindi poems i like....
क्या भूलूँ, क्या याद करूँ मैं,
अगणित उन्मादों के क्षण हैं,
अगणित अवसादों के क्षण हैं...

For the Glory of "Jan - Gan - Man"

2008-12-10T16:43:00.004+05:30

The other day we went for a movie, a late night show at a multiplex in Mumbai and as is ceremonial here the National Anthem was played before the start of the movie.

Whenever I have been a part of this ritual, I have always hummed the tune and also tried to see through the corner of my eyes if the person next to me is also doing the same. Some find this ritual funny, but I don’t and I try to give the national anthem the respect that is due to it.

So, this day that I am talking about, the anthem was being played and almost everyone was at least standing. I used the phrase “at least standing” here because that is the minimum that is expected out of us when the Anthem is being played. And I used “almost” because not everyone was showing that minimum respect due also.

Down the aisle was an elderly lady, who was sitting while the anthem was being played. I had also noticed that towards the start of the Anthem a younger lady accompanying the elderly has even nudged her to get up and I had noticed the very prominent gesture of negation. And throughout the Anthem my eyes were glued to the lady (for no other reason!!).

But as we have another ritual in India “Chalta hai” no-one seemed to have been pained by the disrespect that the elderly has just shown towards the Anthem. The movie started, and we all got engrossed in the movie. It was an interesting movie.. don’t remember which one though!
It was interval, when we saw commotion down the aisle. A couple of agitated voices and violent hand gestures. I quickly realized what it was!

A young guy had supposedly gone to the lady and pointed out to her that she was not standing for the Anthem. Bas itna kehna tha, and the whole group accompanying the lady went defensive. I think, I also heard the lady say, “You don’t know! I am a very patriotic person”. The younger woman accompanying the elderly was heard saying, “Mind your business”. All this while the young guy was standing there and smiling, not uttering a single word.

Probably his simple intervention had made a big blow to the conscience of the elderly and the group accompanying her! Probably all her justifications were directed towards that inner guilt conscience than to its outer stimulus!

We couldn’t help but admire the young man who by now had already walked up the aisle and was quietly sitting at his seat while the agitated group downstairs was still settling in!
My mind wandered off to the old song that all of us would have once hummed in the schools, at least mechanically…

विजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा

झंडा ऊंचा रहे हमारा

From अंजी to Chaos Theory!!

2008-12-08T15:11:00.007+05:30

Long time ago I saw a play at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai – Anji [Hindi] by Vijay Tendulkar and I saw a yet another play yesterday at the Prithvi Theatre – Chaos Theory by Rahul da Cunha.
While “Anji” deals with the life of a girl, in her late twenties or mid thirties, trying to find a suitable match for her; “Chaos Theory” is play about two people, each with a chaos to manage in their lives.

One thing that I like about plays is that they are live! You see the actors in flesh and blood and their impeccable performances leave you dumbstruck at the end of the day. There are no retakes, just like our lives and that is what makes you wonder how on earth can someone be so perfect!!

Let me come back to Anji and Chaos Theory. Or rather to only "Chaos Theory" as the memories of the act are still fresh in my mind.

The main protagonists, Mukesh and Sunita “Sen” are in love, but they never express their love for each other to each other. And this is a chaos that they face.

Towards the end of the act there is a very beautiful and heart rendering dialogue. Sunita is meeting Mukesh for the last time and she says:
"You never knew who you were, and that is your Chaos."
To which Mukesh replies:
"You knew who I was, and that is your chaos."
Just two lines and the whole play gets summarised in them.

There were many other instances where the love between the two protagonists was projected in a very subtle but yet a very strong way.

A scene when Sen is marrying another guy and reads the marriage contract: “If the material witnesses present here have any objection to this alliance, they may speak now”.. She looks at Mukesh who is standing there with an air of indifference…. The audience is waiting for an answer from Mukesh… At least he would say something, at least now. And Then Mukesh speaks “Read the fine print”…..

But, apart from the strong portrayal of love between the protagonists, what also appealed me was the ambience of the theatre.

Set amidst the quite surroundings of Janki Kutir, Prithvi Theatre is a delightful place. The Pritvi Café is the perfect place to spend an evening with friends or with oneself. There is a bookshop with a limited but rich collection. I managed to lay my hands on Hindi literature which now-a-days is a thing of passé.

What also makes the play a memorable one is a small incident that happened with a friend of mine who had joined us for the play. Just that she never got to watch the play! And that is one Chaos that she had to manage while we enjoyed a new version of the Chaos Theory inside!!

हजारों ख्वाहिशें ऐसी....

2008-12-05T10:40:00.002+05:30

It could be called serendipity! Today morning when I plugged the earphones into my ear canal, the first song that my cell played of a random lot of some hundred songs was "hazaaron khwahishein aisi" from the movie by the same name.

What else could have been a bigger coincidence that the theme of this movie was based on what we are seeing in Mumbai now.... I get goosepimples when I hear these beautiful and yet so very powerful words in a poem that goes alongside the song...

"A thousand desires such as these

A thousand moments to set this night on fire

Reach out and you can touch them

You can touch them with your silences

You can reach them with your lust

Rivers, mountains, rain

Rain against a torrid hillscape

A thousand desires such as these

I loved rain as a child

As a lost young man

Empty landscapes bleached by a tired sun

And then

Suddenly it came like a dark unknown woman

Her eyes scorched my silences

Her body wrapped itself around me like a summer without end

Pause me, Hold me Reach me where no man has gone

Crossing the seven seas

With the wings of fire, I fly towards nowhere

And you; Rivers, mountains, rain

Rain against the scorched landscape of pain

A thousand desires such as these......

हजारों ख्वाहिशें ऐसी के हर ख्वाहिश पे दम निकले

बहुत निकले मेरे अरमान लेकिन फ़िर भी कम निकले"

With regrets to the President!!

2008-12-04T10:45:00.005+05:30

The other day, I was just casually browsing through the website of all the president of the nation when I happened to come across a section that read:
"Located on the hill top of the Mashobra, the building was taken over during 1895 by the Viceroy. The president visits The Retreat at least once a year and his core office shifts to that place during his stay in The Retreat. Thousand feet higher than the Shimla Ridge Top, The Retreat is located in a picturesque surrounding. The architectural pattern and the natural beauty of the place have made The Retreat a tourist attraction in Shimla.”

“Located at Bolarum, Rashtrapati Nilayam building was taken over from the Nizam of Hyderabad after India attained independence and handed it over to the President's Secretariat. Constructed during 1860, this building has a total land area of 90 acres. A single storied building, it contains in its premises 11 rooms. It also has a Dining Hall, Cinema Hall, Darbar Hall, Morning room, ADC's dining room etc. The President of India visits the Rashtrapati Nilayam and stays there at least once a year and conducts his official business from this Nilayam."

Now, me being me, thought to take a shot and wrote a mail to the lady at Rashtrapati (agreed it could not be Rashtrapatni, but may be something else!!) Bhawan. I wrote:
Respected Madam,
It is a pleasure to see a lady chair the seat of the highest authority in the country but it is of utmost regret to see that the Indian system is not yet ready to accept this fact.

How would the society awake to the fact of woman empowerment when the country's politics is marred by a male oriented approach to things?

The following paragraph taken from the official website of the President of India is a sad example of how we never ever in the history of 60 years of independence thought that a President could be a lady. The use of masculine gender in the statements below is such an irony to the very vision of woman empowerment that you embody.
Hope you would direct your secretariat to rectify this social, political and grammatical blunder as soon as possible.

I never expected a reply from them, let alone any action. However, I was surprised the day after when I saw a mail in my mailbox from some S G Sharma, which read:

Dear Shri Sudeep Dube,

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your e-mail dated 1st December 2008 addressed to the President of India. Your concern is appreciated and necessary step has been taken in this regards.
Regards

S G Sharma
Technical Director

I immediately checked the website and the error stood rectified! I was amazed at the promptness of response!
This made me realise that we, just the common people of this country, can bring about a change in the system. I am not saying that to get a small grammatical error rectified is the same as to be able to manage the mess in which our country seems to be currently, instead what I am saying is that no step, however small it may be is going to be a waste, especially in times like these.

धीरे-धीरे रे मना, धीरे सब कुछ होय ।

माली सींचे सौ घड़ा, ॠतु आए फल होय ॥

A quick musing!!!

2008-12-03T10:30:00.003+05:30

Why does it need to be tagged "the 9/11 of India"?
Why can't it be "26/11 of India"?
Do we really need this comparison? Is the fact, that this was a heinous act of crime in its own right not sufficient?

Arrey... Kamaal hai!!!

2008-12-02T10:00:00.004+05:30

"Arrey... Kamaal hai".. how often would we have used this phrase, and more in concatenation with another phrase "Ek to chori, oopar se seenajori"..... But then who would go and tell this to the CM of Maharashtra, "Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh" Who has, who had the audacity to take his entourage for a terror tourism trip at the scene of Taj carnage and massacre.
How on earth could he think of tagging along his good-for-nothing son, Ritesh (now spelled as Riteish, to bring good luck to his doomed career; which unfortunately would now be doomed forever if the people of India excercise their disposition) and the equally good-for-nothing director Ram Gopal Verma to the scene which would have witnessed the biggest and the most horrendous terror attack on the country.
Jo kiya, so kiya but at the end of it all, how boldly he is making statements "Arrey Kamaal hai.... we gave you the footage on goodwill and you are stretching things..... (or something of the sorts, but Arrey kamaal hai is what I am sure of)" One look at the face of the beloved CM during his recent press conference would have cleared us of any doubts of his love and respect for fellow citizens.
Did I write "Fellow Citizens"..... guess no politician in this god-foresaken country would be considering the aam aadmi even close to that term. To them we are the lesser mortal beings and in bade bade sheheron mein to yeh chhote chhote haadse hote hi rehte hain.

Wonder what the Patils and the Deshmukhs would have to say if their residence or the Mantralaya would have been the focus of the attack. That being the case, this would have been another big attack on the democracy of this country, after the Parliament attack. And did I say "Democracy".... did someone not tell these demigods of the society that democracy is a system of governanceof the people, by the people, for the people....... Wish at least some of our politicians had not been the school dropouts then this much sense would have prevailed!!!!! Not that those who have degree from the Howard and Cambridge Universities of the world are doing some wonders..... Bhai kamaal hai!!!!

Yeh Public hai... sab jaanti hai

2008-08-29T15:54:00.003+05:30

Today morning, as my rickshaw approached Bhandup I could see a big mob of Police constables. I call them a mob because that is what they behave like. They hardly have a human side to them. One of these constables stops us and mutters something in Marathi. He wants to check our bags and we oblige. He gets disappointed for not finding any illegal arm or drugs in our possession. But how would he letus go just like that. This isthe boni ka time. Yeah pretty much like those road side vendors who have their boni (the first customer) early in the mornings when one buys a comb or a wallet from them at one of those foot-over-bridges.
So this Police-wallah asks the auto driver for his licence and other documents and the driver obliges. Bad Luck! The Police constable mutters under his breath. But he is unabated by this second failure in a row and gives it a final try. A thousand ideas cross his nerves in a fraction of a second and he realises that the Auto-driver is not carrying his badge. There! Caught! Hurray!
Now he is half way through with his boni. Alas! The poor auto driver, who probably is having his boni time has got no money in his pocket. Additionally he has his passengers waiting in the rear seat. The Police-wallah tries to be rude and demeaning, signals the auto-wallah to come in the khopcha (where he could settle for kharcha pani). The rickshaw driver is now in a very odd situation and so are we, sitting in the rear seat. Suddenly something happens, the Police-wallah darts towards the rickshaw and in a split second we are off on our way. We just see the driver slipping something in the hands of the Police wallah and pocketing his licence into his pocket.

As we inquire he says, “ Chaalis rupayee liye saab. Sharifon ko hi to pakdenge, do number wale to aise hi nikal jate hain”. And my mind wanders off to the bomb blasts that we have witnessed in the recent past….

Mumbai Meri Jaan

2008-08-28T10:26:00.003+05:30

"ऐ दिल है मुश्किल जीना यहाँ ..... ज़रा हट के ज़रा बच के यह है बॉम्बे मेरी जान...." went the last track of this movie Mumbai Meri Jaan.... Quite an impressive attempt by the director. I wonder if it would not also have been pertinent if the director would also have added the following stanza from the same song " ऐ दिल है आसां जीना यहाँ, सुनो बंधू सुनो मिस्टर यह है बॉम्बे मेरी जान"
I do not want to rate this movie. I have always had a bias in favour of those movies that are off-beat and this movie I believe was precisely that, else the hall would have been running a houseful . Two characters which I felt very moving were that of the News reporter (Soha Ali) and the high-paid desh bhakt professional (R Madhavan). May be Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan and Paresh Rawals' characters could also have been made more powerful if the movie was of a smaller duration. Nevertheless, if nothing else, the movie does leave you more observant of your surroundings.

Today morning while travelling I noticed a Police constable talking to a private taxi driver. then the driver digged out something from his pocket, possibly his licence and what would have entailed thenafter is something that we all can guess. I have not picked up today's newspaper yet and am sure it would also have something that I could relate with the movie. Guess it is the effect of the late-night show... by the time the day passes by, I would soon be back to my normal self.

What I find quite amusing here is that the movie in itself is a big paradox. The movie sort of portrays media in a bad light. I may sound a bit outrageous if I call today's reporting as Journalistic Voyeurism but that is what today's news channels are. the are the biggest possible reality shows. If we look at it from another angle, even this movie was supposed to "entertain" us by portraying what would have been the plight of the bomb blast victims. Never-the-less, I rate it as an honest effort from the director to portray life's realities.

The final note from me on this:
After the movie had its "The End" (sadly, they don't have this appearing anymore as the movie ends) a friend of mine quite pertinently noticed that why is this movie "Mumbai" meri jaan. Had it been Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Banagalore for for that matter Bhubaneswar the meaning would not have changed. I guess this is a movie about India. That Indian spirit which has kept us going for generations..... this again reminds me of a couplet from Iqbal
"यूनान मिस्र रोमा, सब मिट गए जहाँ से, बाकी मगर है अब तक नामो निशाँ हमारा... कुछ बात है वह हस्ती मिटती नहीं हमारी... "

Of Blues, Beiges, Blacks and Whites

2008-08-26T10:16:00.002+05:30

I often wonder why I do not see people wearing colours to their offices. It has to be a combination-permutation of the above four, or at the max a variant of the shade.
May be it is a silent protest against how pale their lives are at the office or it is to remind themselves that everything has to be in black & white with no traces of any intermediary shade, be alone a different colour.

The Midnight's Angels

2008-08-22T17:59:00.003+05:30

It was 2 am in the morning. The Indian bureaucracy was probably celebrating the 61st Independence Day, or probably they had not even realised that wewere already in the 61st year as a free nation else I would not have been there sitting in a pre-paid cab stuck in knee deep waters in the middle of nowhere. This was the last I could have expected after my ordeal to reach home for that extended weekend (Those of you who are still figuring out what I am referring to may please refer to my earlier post). If I look back at it now, I am reminded of that song from popular film Mughal-e-azam “ Jab raat hai aisi matwali to subah ka aalam kya hoga !!”

Such had been my plight ever since my flight had a touch down at The IGI Airport.

The Arrival lounge was unusually crowded. I thought may be Delhi has now opened the arrivals to visitors but I was proven wrong when I saw the long queues at the pre-paid taxi counters. Then someone got the news from the counter that the whole of Delhi was enjoying heavy rains and the Delhi drains had refused to let go the water that they seldom get to feel (other times it’s the solid waste). And all the vehicles in a radius of 7 – 8 Kms were having a holy dip in these monsoon waters. So we waited. At the stroke of the midnight hour when the world was asleep (and India had awaken to freedom and glory at the same stroke some 61 years back) I got the parchi which was my boarding pass for the pre-paid cab ride to Faridabad. After another half-an-hour-long queue I finally managed to get a cabbie for Faridabad.

The journey was quite un-eventful, initially. For the next one hour the driver waded through thick traffic and I was getting restless. I was not being able to understand whether I was hungry or sleepy (probably I was both). I had a company of another passenger who was going to Sector 30 and we both had some small moments of discussions on the way. I dozed off soon.

The gentleman guided the driver to his destination and then directed him the way to my place. In the dead of the night at 2.30 one should always expect a driver to loose his way and the same happened that fateful night. Luckily, we spotted a sardaarji (with due respect to be called surd) and he was kind enough to direct him again. However, the poor soul, tired after almost a two hour drive got scared when he saw the road ahead filled with water and in an unsuccessful attempt to protect his rozi-roti managed to get the car stuck in knee deep water. At such an odd hour whom do you expect to come helping? But then came the same surd, driving with a merry band of quite a few of others, all cramped in a small car. Initially they made fun of the driver but the very next moment they were all out in the water with their trousers folded upto their knees. One push and the car was out. I could almost hear the “Jo bole so nihaal…….” in the air. Not a single word was exchanged. None for help, none for thanks. As I stood there figuring out how to thank these gentlemen off they went in their small car.

I asked the cabbie, “What would you have done if these people would not have come? I would have called my family and be gone with them, what would have you done the whole night” Pat cam his reply, “koi aur mil jata sahib” and I could not stop admiring his optimism!!

How I made it ..... Almost

2008-08-21T15:04:00.002+05:30

14th August 2008 was the Independence Day of Pakistan and, the entire Mumbai was on roads. Not that they were celebrating Pakistan’s independence or staging a dharna against it, but they were all rushing to their nests in their hometowns. It was that long weekend, which each employee longs for…. And the preparations had begun almost a month back. All the trains were running high on waitlist and the travel agents were minting money with people ready to dole out huge sums for that tatkal ticket… All thanks to Lalooji for the 60 day window for booking tickets and inflation for the soaring flight fares…. And in the midst of all this brouhaha was a confused me still planning the trip home forr this extended weekend which coincided with Rakshabandhan.
After not much of a jaddo-jahad I booked a supposedly low cost air carrier for 14th August and a train ticket at a whopping W/L 91 for the return journey.
The moment I clicked the “OK” button on the payment gateway of the air carrier I took a deep breath of relief – ab jana to pucca ho gaya. How I ever got inspired to book at wait-list 91 cleared was another story and I wouldn’t delve into that for now.

Let me take you through a flashback of what I went through.

The day started early and around 9.30 I was at office. There were some mails from the client. By the lunch time I was through with all the mails and the deliverables for the day. I had called on the client and told him that there was a colleague who would be working for him in my absence. Post lunch I had done all the KT to this colleague of mine and had just packed my bags for the day when the an “URGENT” request came from the client. My watch showed it was already 4.00 pm and I had the flight at 7.45. Quite a margin, I thought, and I lingered on with the mail trying to figure out the solution. Soon I was at my wit’s end and I called up the client who was considerate enough to not to have held me back. It was not before 5.30 that I reached home. By the time I got ready and was done with the final packing the clock struck 5.45.

It was at this moment that I realised I had misplaced my flight ticket. And while I was searching for this, I happened to stumble across the train ticket and pocketed it, else even that I would have left back. After a phone call to the air carrier’s call centre and being assured of a duplicate copy at the ticketing counter I left and took an auto. Ah! I forgot to mention that I had no money in my wallet and had to stop by at the nearest ATM to get some cash. And then began the journey. Half an hour passed and I was still pretty close to my house. Another half and hour gone and still the airport was not to be seen. The suto-wallah took a “short-cut” to cut on time and traffic which was now proving costly to me. All calls to the call centre to get the ticket cancelled or postponed were futile. They wanted me to have done that 2 hours ago…. NOW, HOW DO THEY EXPECT SOMEONE TO ANTICIPATE A LAST MINUTE TRAFFIC JAM in those 2 hours !!! The best they could help me was to refund me Rs 225 in case I missed my flight!! Done with all this, my watch told me it was 7.15 and I should press the Panic button.
So off I was from the rick and was running like a mad man on the Western Express Highway. To describe my situation in a poets word would be

“Auto Auto everywhere, but none is able to move;
Auto Auto everywhere and am sure the flight am gonna loose”

And when my legs gave up and I could see the turn for the airport, there came another gentleman, dressed in White, in a rick and stopped at the wave of my hand. So in I went and was sson at the airport Terminal 1B. That day I didn’t have to stand in any queue. I was late and I got the full VIP treatment. And the moment I was done with the security check, I heaved a sigh of relief. The Muimbai Delhi flight 186 was boarding. And I was there at the fag end of the queue, calling up my folks at Delhi that I have finally made it…. Almost :)

In the memory of my grandmother..Love you always!!

2008-07-07T14:03:00.001+05:30

Vasansi Jeernani yatha Vihay
Navani Grihyati Naroparani |
tatha sharirani vihay jeerna-
anyani sanyati navani dehi ||

A bridge an hour!!

2008-07-04T12:07:00.004+05:30

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!!!

In the memory of Arundhati

2008-07-04T10:36:00.008+05:30

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!!

Summer of 2007!!

2008-07-03T16:23:00.005+05:30

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:

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 !!

Of auto-rickshaws and the auto-wallahs

2008-07-02T10:01:00.004+05:30

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.....

Its raining Mum ...

2008-07-02T09:44:00.003+05:30

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 !!!

The Chilika Lake

2007-01-14T20:36:00.002+05:30

Incidentally Orissa, which is backward economically, is well endowed with a rich heritage and natural beauty. Chilika, the largest salt water lake in the country, is one of the major tourist attraction here.. So when we found that it was the new year eve, and we had nothing to do for the day.... The plan to Chilika was conceived !!!
So we started at around 8 in the morning... And what a trip !!! I will let the pictures speak for themselves !!

The road surprisingly was superb....And the Cumo that housed the eight of us was not as uncomfortable as I had thought !!

And such scenic views made the journey fun !!

And then we experienced what most Indians in Delhi and Mumbai face on a daily basis...We waited and waited but the traffic wouldn't move...All this when we were just a kilometer form our destination.

And while we waited..we saw this group of laborious Oriya women carrying dry wood for their chulhas.

And then we were there finally....And the sight of these boats was shocking !

And we searched for that one boat which would be fit to take the weight of the eight of us....but to our dismay .....

And then we met the CHUPA group !!! and then the 24 of us began our maiden voyage on chilika.

And try hard as we did to spot the Dolphins which our guide cum boatman was trying to show us...we managed to see these little black sea birds..the sole group to be seen in the entire sanctuary (Yes, Chilika is a bird sanctuary)

And we sailed on !!!

And on !!!

And Mr. Boatman finally brought us back to shore !!!

And how we had a tiring journey back to the Insti.... andd then we waited to the beautiful night to fall and we JLTd ...Nachenge Sari raat style !!

Photos (C) Shikha Khangarot & Mayank Madhur.

A Walk On Golden Sands

2007-01-14T19:41:00.002+05:30

Sea never fascinated me. May be for the reason that I have grown amongst them. Gujarat gave me ample opportunities to be on some of the most lovely beaches for hours...
But there is a charm that the Chandrabhaga beach near Konark has.
The clear blue waters with pure golden sands, were a sight that one remembers for his life. The sun shone bright and high. The breeze was cold and the so was the water. Tall waves splashed the shore...the sound of the sea was music no organ could replicate..And, the moment we thought that we were at a safe distance from the waters sea would come to you in a big splash...wetting your folded trousers and more...
Huge masses of water would wash the shore and leave behind creative patterns on sand..Nature has immense creativity.
It was a delight to walk on the beach and observe the life at sea. A boat tied on the shores rocked everytime a wave brought waters to the shore. The fishermen were busy with the fresh catch of fish. The distant din of the trawler engines like drums accompanying the music of the sea...The group of people on the beach busy taking photographs...the crabs busy shunting between the sea and their eggs....everyone was busy but for our group of eight...we were the most vella souls ....and how we seemed to be on a picnicing spree...It had been a hectic week for most of us...and how we enjoyed being free with nothing to do, not even studies !! Unfortunately for us, we din have our star photographer with us !!

2006-12-25T13:47:00.000+05:30

Some More From My Kitty !!!

You got any other option ??

Me in different moods...Artwork Coutesy Pragyaan

Silent Night...

Wats there on my table ?

Floating Hopes

Invoking the lords....Diwali 2006 @ XIMB

Kailash Temple - Ellora Caves

Lessons I learnt - From friends & foes

2006-12-19T10:27:00.001+05:30

1. You are Welcome
Whenever I am on the chat on Gtalk and I say thanx (in its various forms like thnx, Thanks, etc.) a friend of mine would always make it a point to respond back immediately with a "welcome" and a smiley :). This I felt is such a nice gesture. You feel Good after this....that the person whom you are thanking actually values it !!!

2. Smile
This I read somewhere is the most contagious disease. You smile and people smile back. Feels good at the morning.

3. Hi Sudeep
Always address people by their names. They will feel special. This friend of mine, I am not taking names lest i might be infringing on IPRs, would always address me as "Hi Sudeep"....and I know wat it feels like....Try it out someime

4. Thanks
This is the most abused word...though the most kind also. And whether its accepting a compliment or is getting some work done, this comes handy.... I use it profoundly, but sensibly....

5. Lukkhe

This is something which we used during our Engg days....My bunch of friends there...we wud often address each other...I dunno wat it means exactly, but its litereal meaning is not what everybody would like..but to us it was and still is (How can I forget calls from two of my close friends...one of which cursed me for sending "that" news thru an SMS...thought its a separate story that even she did not give me "the" news......) ya...it is a sweet way to address.....How I miss those dayz !!

Thank You friends... Thank You all......(I had thought of writing names....but hten i might be doing injustice to those whose names I forget to write...so I am better-off this way !!!

Thoda Sa Rumani Ho Jayein

2006-12-06T05:01:00.001+05:30

I just love the following lines....i guess they have been written by Gulzaar..they are form one of my most favourite movies - Thoda sa rumani ho jayein..

दो दिनोँ के बीच एक छोटी सी रात है
रात के इधर एक दिन, रात के उधर एक दिन
दिन दो हैँ, बस रात एक है.कर लो जो चाहो, बन लो जो चाहो
आज है तुम्हारा, और कल भी तुम्हारा है !!

दो घाटोँ के बीच, एक पतली सी धारा है
घाट नहीँ चलते, धारा चलती है
पतली सी धारा, जाकर समन्दर से मिलती है
समन्दर से मिलती है, और मिलकर खो जाती है
घाट, घाट ही रहते हैँ, वो समन्दर हो जाती है !!

समन्दर को बान्धे, ऐसा कोई घाट नहीँ
कदमोँ को थामे, ऐसी कोई बात नहीँ
कर लो जो चाहो, बन लो जो चाहो
तुम कर नहीँ सकते ऐसा कहीँ कुछ भी नहीँ
इसलिए, यह न कहना कभी क्या करेँ, कैसे करेँ !!!

2006-11-14T02:46:00.001+05:30

Confessions of a failue !!! (Am I a failure??? Nahhhhhh)

Okay, I admit that the post below was a result of my frustration !!!! But that is it. Something happened to frustrate me. Nothing more to confess. But I believe, what is written is actually quite true....And I can bet that you wouldn't deny !!! May b its a generalization.....but who cares ??

The Bitter Truth

2006-11-14T02:15:00.001+05:30

There are three types of people you come across. One - who are your real friends and have been there through your thick and thin, two - who are your psuedo friends - who proclaim to be so, praise you a lot and get their work done and vanish after that till the time they need you again and three - who are not even worth that ...

A friend once while making a presentation said, "Money makes the world go round and round"...and with what my experience with life has been, I am of the opinion that your demand at the time of crises makes the world go round and round about you.

That moment you are the most helpful and the most creative person on earth, and as soon as it gets over ...you know what happens !!!!

So when people come to you and say, Yaar Sudeep....Mujhe se ho nahin raha...Tu to bada creative hai... You know what they are actually thinking.....Bakra mila......Phasa lo.....Phas Jayega....

And that moment You feel so important, You hold yourself in such high esteem.... Of course, you have it in you, and the other guy doesn't, just that you are utilising your time on the right thing but for the wrong person....

The world revolves around selfishness......that is the centre of all activities..... and if it was not so I would not have been writing this post, aand even after knowing my thought people would not have been coming to me for help..... not those at least who come only during when they need your help...rest of the time you don't even exist for them !!

2006-11-13T01:10:00.001+05:30

The world through my lenses

Me has been thinking of posting this fpr quite sometime....Me's desire has reached a culmination point today , and its now or never.....

Me is talking about a photoblog...Me is a die hard photography enthusiast, its a separate story that me doesn't have a camera, else Me would have been spinning a new world for hmself.

What if Me doesn't have a camera of his own....Me views the world through other's lenses. So Me posts a series of photographs that he feels re simply awesome.....

The Red Moutain ....

The setting sun paints a different hue ...

Mountain Vs. Mountain...

And he thinks...

And now they think....

2006-11-12T18:28:00.000+05:30

A walk down the memory lane

Long back, I got a forward..and it touched me so much that I poted it on orkut..and the kind of response I got there compelled me to post that here....so putting the story of me on the side-track for a while let me put up this small nice article.....

When gulli-danda and kanche (marbles) were more popular than cricket ...
When we always had friends to play aais-paais (I Spy), chhipan-chhipai and pitthoo anytime ...
When we desperately waited for 'yeh jo hai zindagi' ..
When chitrahaar, vikram-baitaal, dada daadi ki kahaniyaan were so fulfilling ...
When there was just one tv in every five houses and...
When bisleris were not sold in the trains and we were worrying if papas will get back into the train in time or not when they were getting down at stations to fill up the water bottle ...
When we were going to bed by 9.00pm sharp except for the 'yeh jo hai jindagi' day ...
When Holis & Diwalis meant mostly hand-made pakwaans and sweets and moms seeking our help while preparing them ....
When Maths teachers were not worried of our mummys and papas while slapping/beating us ...
When we were exchanging comics and stamps and chacha-chaudaris and billus were our heroes ...
When we were in nanihaals every summer and loved flying kites and plucking and eating unripe mangoes and leechis ..
When one movie every Sunday evening on television was more than asked for and 'ek do teen chaar' and 'Rajni' inspired us ...
When 50 paisa meant at least 10 toffees ...
When left over pages of the last years notebooks were used for rough work or even fair work ...
When 'chelpark' and 'natraaj' were encouraged against 'reynolds and family' ...
When the first rain meant getting drenched and playing in water and mud and making 'kaagaj ki kishtis' ...
When there were no phones to tell friends that we will be at their homes at six in the evening ...
When our parents always had 15 paise blue colored 'antardesis' and 5 paise machli wale stamps at home...
When we remembered tens of jokes and were not finding 'ice-cream and papa' type jokes foolish enough to stop us from laughing ...
When we were not seeing patakhes on Diwalis and gulaals on Holis as air and noise polluting or allergic agents

The list can be endless ... On the serious note I would like to summarise with...

When we were using our hearts more than our brains, even for scientifically brainy activities like'thinking' and 'deciding'...
When we were crying and laughing more often, more openly and more sincerily ...
When we were enjoying our present more than worrying about our future...
When being emotional was not synonymous to being weak...
When sharing worries and happiness didn’t mean getting vulnerable to the listener ...
When blacks and whites were the favorite colors instead of greys ...
When journeys also were important and not just the destinations
When life was a passenger's sleeper giving enough time and opportunity to enjoy the scenaries from its open and transparent glass windows instead of some superfast's second ac with its curtained, closed and dark windows...

I really miss it.. do U?

This post really made me nostalgic....

To visit the orkut post click here.

2006-09-22T09:00:00.000+05:30

Now that you know Me, know Me better.
Me is an Electrical Engineer from L.D. College of Engineering, Ahmedabad. Then Me joined L&T, Baroda as a Graduate Engineering Trainee. Me was given the much acclaimed (Hmmmmmmm) Marine & Ship Design department at L&T-ees, but Me was not very happy working under the loud mouthed B*****d P Mitra & his lip serving servant RKM. So Me kept on pestering the HR head till Me got a change to L&T-S&L where life was a bit better..... So, me slogged under the mighty & benevolent SKD seeking help now and then from the knowledgeable RR and did design engineering for K-I. Man, how Me was bugged by the Aksar Group of Agencies......
And then one fine day, after loosing all hopes to make it to a B-School, Me made it to a school in the far flung state of Orissa.....& Me is slogging here thereafter........
So Me has beeen studying, preparing assignments, giving quizes, giveing presentations, attending CEO talks, sitting for Summers, JLTing, attendng classes, trying not to sleep in some of the sleep inducing classes, eversince...
More about Me's campus life in Me's subsequent posts!!

2006-09-20T22:58:00.000+05:30

Only one word would describe me the best : Blunt. Its been 24 years, and its dificult to change perfection, so me gonna stay the way i am...its ur call- take it or leave it. There are some other adjectives that suite me : stubborn, adamant , impatient, impulsive.....I could go on n on...but who is reading....r u??? well if u have read this far, then I guess u wud not be interested to know more about me.....
But man by nature wants to display him in the world "trade show"...so here I am, writing about myself...Hoping someone somewhere wud be reading this piece of crap!!!...I am a creative person, hate braggers n aproval seekers..First impression matters n stayz forever...I got my own idealogies....N wheter I stick to them or not....that is definitely upto me......This is Sudeep Dube for You....
Yaaron ka Yaar...aur Dushmanon ka Dushman!!