Builders of Mumbai are knocking on our doors....

Every Thursdays and Sundays for over two hours, there is a spiritual discourse of the religious gathering in the open compound, at the end of the lane. During these two days, the lane is converted into a crowded, busy, market place with a people selling food stuff, fruits and vegetables. But that noise and crowd is acceptable to the residents of this lane because the tranquility return after two hours of commotion and traffic. 36th road of Bandra is the lane that has cradled my building for more than 40 years. Although this lane is clubbed between two busy roads, S V Road and Linking road, it maintains its silence and its serenity. During the early morning hours, you can hear the chirping of the birds through the thick foliage that border this lane and during the late evening, the lane is filled with sweet fragrance of flowers and leaves. It is the lane that has no shanties and no serious architectural disasters except one, which is under re-development plan. Each building in this lane stands proudly. There are no beggars, no slums nor are there any yawning garbage cans. On sunny afternoons, the ground is spotted with intricate designs made by the rays that pass through the rows of green flowery trees on both sides of the lane. It is believed to be one of the cleanest streets of Bandra. It maintains its cleanliness and ownership by driving out every family of beggar that attempt to spread their tattered sheet at the corner of its street. However, beggars are allowed to rest for a while and they are permitted temporary residence but not for more than twenty four hours. There are security guards posted on both ends of the lane to ensure the safety and security of the residents in this lane. The salary of these security guards is billed against maintenance tax of every resident. The lane is tarred regularly with cheap material that lasts for one season or six months. Using a cheap material is the norm in Mumbai city and it is no different in this lane too. Two years ago, this lane was decorated with potted plants. To stop the stink from the drainage pipes, the gutters on both sides of the lane were covered with huge concrete slabs and a wall of two feet was raised around them. Investment was made on mud, soil and plants to make the street look colorful and beautiful. It has thence, become the walking plaza for health conscious people, who stroll in this lane after dinner. Many of them walk their pets, who poo at dark corners behind the parked cars. Many dogs have found their mates here. Stray dogs have a peaceful existence too, with their regular supply of meals provided by some kind hearted, dog-loving residents. This lane is a zonal paradise for those who are looking for free parking space. During the day, all the rich students of the nearby colleges park their cars in this lane. During late evenings, visitors from various suburbs, visit Bandra for shopping or a movie, drive into this lane to find a free parking spot. The residents don’t mind these parked cars if they are shiny and of good brand. But if they are dusty and are parked for too days then there is whimper from the sulky folks who force those dusty cars to move away. Grumpy residents of this lane don’t like anything ugly to pollute their lane, because they love to enjoy the view of this green laced lane from their balcony or from window. On the days, when there is nothing interesting to watch besides K-series of family drama on TV, they prefer to gawk at the young college crowd that walk down this lane throughout the day, especially, those teen-aged couples, who walk, their hands entwined, lovey-dovey’s style, stealing brief kisses behind those shiny expensive cars. Many of those college students surround the idliwallah, a rice cake hawker, who has found an unlicensed spot, under the shade of bougainvillea, near to an abandoned architectural salad of broken stones, tins and poles. This iddliwallah is pampered by the residents, some of them offering him buckets of water for washing and cleaning. Everyday morning, at 11 am, he comes to this lane on his bicycle. His bicycle is a portable kitchen, fully equipped with stove, steamer, batter for idlis, sambar, chutney, wadas and utensils. He serves tiny, steaming hot rice cakes with spicy sambar and chutney, which is appreciated by the college crowd and the lazy residents of this lane. He returns home everyday as soon as he finishes all the food-stuff. In the evenings, idliwallah is replaced by bhel puri wallah who comes to occupy this unlicensed spot. Bhel puri wallah brings bhel and pani puri in his huge basket and is parked at this spot for over two hours. He is boon to the residents because he saves them from the hassle of cooking and can be summoned to the house to serve the invitees, and all guests love his tasty panipuri and batatapuri. Outside the lane, on both ends of the street, there is a long queue of builders, waiting to raze down the old building and built Shanghais that Mumbai has promised to build. Will the resident get enticed with the green wads of notes that are promised to them for a secured future? Will they allow the builders to destroy their tranquility? It waits to be seen…….

Now men are complaining too……

With all the women’s lib and the women joining hand to fight against the cruelty of men, I was surprised today when I read in the papers ‘Spouse abuse: It’s the husband’s turn now’. Husbands are complaining?…. It says ‘98% of the 1,650 urban husbands surveyed said they had been victims of violence in their married lives. Wow! I never thought of that!’ Nagging, grumbling, taunting, name calling, refusing food, denying sexual intercourse, abusing parents and family members, snatching salary, throwing objects, scratching with nails and biting, threats of suicide and even eviction from the house were some of the common forms of abuse that husbands are complaining. The study, conducted by two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - Save Indian Family Foundation and My Nation - looked at four aspects of domestic violence — economical, emotional, physical and sexual. In a sample survey of 1,650 urban men, almost 98% of the respondents said they had suffered violence under one or the other of these heads more than once. I am highly confused. Why it is that in a marriage, one of the spouses is always suffering? Most of the married couple I see, it is always the stronger one, who rules. Why can’t they learn to respect each other? Isn’t marriage supposed to be of compatibility and understanding? Many times, I get caught in the couple abuse. It is very embarrassing for me when they are arguing and abusing each other and I wonder if this is what marriage is all about? I cannot take sides and I think of various excuses of moving away from this situation. Something they argue for a very long time and then there is tension for next few days, and I wonder, will they get back or is this going to lead to divorce? But why do those couple continue to argue over senseless things? I think to be able to live happily and tension free one could learn to respect and accept each others. Everybody have some weakness, if we can overlook their weakness and concentrate on their good points we can make a clean atmosphere and create positive vibrations into the house. In a relationship, ego should never rule. That is the root cause of every problem. If we are able to keep a loving spirit in our nature, and solve the problems with maturity, there can never be any misunderstanding.

Praying to Lord Ganesha

Ganesha is the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He can place obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked and can remove blockages just as easily If you were in India right now, you would feel the positive vibrations in the air, almost ninety percent of people are praying… The air smells of sweet fragrance, there are sounds of spiritual hymns on the loud speakers that are installed by the road side, there are huge pavilions at every street and all the streets are dressed with long strings of colorful lights that stream from pole to pole…..and the sweet shops and the markets…well…. they have a reason to smile……..

Ganpati Festival...the begining..a photo essay

Still Life

This month I decided to play with brushes and paints. I bought six shades of acrylic paints and started a painting…..I wanted to give some life to those plant, so I rolled up the em-seal and molded it to form the stems and the strings of the blinds (it gives it a three dimensional effect,) and I have finished the painting today. Any buyer? If I am able to sell this one then maybe I might start one more…

Dhamaal..chasing all the way to Goa..

This is one movie that I enjoyed watching. There is non-stop comedy from the beginning to the end. (The jokes picked up from various laughter shows) With its pace, flow and mad concepts it has adequately done its job of creating a paisa-vasool. Dhamaal is the story of run and chase of four clumsy friends, who have never thought of making an honest living. So one day while trying to save a dying man, Bose (Prem Chopra), they get their big break. He tells them about hidden millions as he takes his last breath. Here begins their misfortunes! Police Inspector, Kabir Nayak (Sanjay Dutt) has been chasing Bose for the last ten years. He finally finds him. Only dead! Desperate for his promotion, he questions the suspicious looking foursome he finds next to the body. When they manage to give him the slip, begins the Chase..... One misadventure follows after another. All five are thrown into hilarious life threatening situations that make it rib tickling….. The end, however, was the let-down with the comedy replaced by moral values of Indian society……..all that run and chase for……..sniff, sniff.

How can we expect that God will protect us from any calamity if we don’t respect Him?

Every year, we bring Ganpati home and we take so much care of Him. There is so much joy and festival in the air and some of us, even cry when we have to say "Ganpati Bapa Moriaya, Poorcha varshi lavkar ya' We go to the beach to immerse the Ganpati into the deep waters.... Have you gone back to the beach the next day? If you went you would see this at the beach. We Bring Him home and take care of Him with so much love, and then this is what ultimately happens with Him Wake Up People, We must respect our Gods. It is better that we should use small idols instead such big one or the idols made from paper (which dissolves easily).

Tsk, tsk, tsk. from riches to rags....

I have come to realize that good looks may not always buy us happiness. Sometimes it is more of a pain living in this lusty world, where good looking girls have a crazy soup to have with their meals. The story doing rounds now-a-days is about the top model Geetanjali Nagpal, who was seen begging in a market place in South Delhi, living off the streets and spending her nights in parks and temples. Disowned by her family, this 32-year old former model, with her matted hair, dirty clothes and unwashed look, now presents a picture of utter poverty. Who would believe that this was the same girl, who in 90’s had sashayed down the catwalk of Delhi with the likes of Sushmita Sen? She had seemed set for a flashbulb career in fashion! This is the horrifying story of the dark side of glamour. In glamour world, good looking girls have very few friends and if they get into drugs and alcohol, then there is a downward slide to misery. For many who enter into the world of glitz and glamour of the fashion industry hoping to make a mark, not everything is a smooth sail. With long and odd hours to work, there is too much stress and unrealistic expectations, and this becomes sometimes difficult to cope. Everything has a price....doesn't it?

Cooking is so easy...Anybody Can Cook...... Even a Rat!!

“What? Go for a children’s film? Are you mad? Won’t it look funny going for children’s film without any kids?” I said when my friend suggested that we go for Ratatouille. But as always, I can never win an argument. She had one hundred and one reasons to tell me that it was a good movie to watch. Ratatoille is indeed a great movie, and I have not stopped talking about it. I think it is a masterpiece and I will be very disappointed if it goes unnoticed at next Oscars. It is a story of Remy, a thin blue rat who lives with his unruly rodent clan in the French countryside. He finds himself torn between these two commitments as the film opens. While his family lives on stealing and feeding on garbage, Remy dreams of cooking the best food and becoming a famous chef. He has a great gift of smell and taste, and he knows he is different from the clan. He can read and understand human language, watches TV cookery show by legendary Monsieur Gasteau, the famous Parisian chef, and is inspired by his book called ‘Anyone can cook’ When separated from his family during a cooking mishap, Remy winds up in Paris, near a restaurant once presided over by the legendary chef, and he can’t resist sneaking in and spicing up a vat of soup; credit for the delicious dish goes to the poor garbage boy, Linguini (Lou Romano), a clumsy, stammering type with no talent for cooking, who is immediately ordered by conniving head chef Skinner (Ian Holm) to reproduce his success. The story is very engrossing and the genius of Brad Bird shines through in the way the story unfolds – seamlessly- and the thought that has gone into the smallest of detail, with a strong message that if you dream and work hard, things may happen to you irrespective of your backgound or the odds that you belong to different species. The entire film is a captivating visual delight, as fluid shifts between human and rodent perspective. A must-see film, don’t miss it.

The Mumbai Times Café (Review)

Ever wondered how these youngsters pass their time when they are not in the college? Well, you will find them hanging around in one of the countless cafes that are scattered all over the city of Mumbai. Bandra is the suburb with more than 200 places to hang around. There are restaurants everywhere. If you are hungry, you only have to walk for two minutes and you are sure to find a restaurant. From this week onwards, there is one more place to hang around. The Mumbai Times Café (It is not the name of any newspaper, now they have started naming cafes after newspapers too. How innovative they can get!). On the 5th floor of Crystal Shoppers Paradise Mall, Linking road, we saw the opening of yet one more place to hang around. What I was amused and liked it, was a private terrace beach-like-look (sans sea) with muddy floor, fishing net and two boats. They plan to put Mumbai chaat stalls around that area. People can just hang around there, standing, eating and dining. The overall ambience and the concept of coffee are good. The menu resembles a new-paper, (what else? as the name suggests) In one corner, at far end, there is a newspaper-rack that resembles the broken dhabas and basket of dhabbawallahs of Mumbai.(Did they steal one from some railway station?). There is a mix of authentic ‘Mumbaiya’, Indian and global dishes throw in. (The prices are steep and cover the cost of bread, service and ambience). They have Wi-Fi broadband facilities, (you can take your lap-top and surf the net for free), LCD screen airing all major news channels (you can watch five news channels, all at the same time) and also separate lounge and outdoor areas. (Forget about chatting with your friends, the music murders all the other sounds). Just eat, dance and drink till you drop dead. If you are going late evenings, (8pm to 10pm) then there is ‘Live Band’ on Mondays and Wednesdays, ‘Karaoke night’ on Sundays and ‘Ladies Night’ on Fridays when there is one complimentary drink for every lady entering the café (they want to encourage ladies to become drunkards so that they can stop complaining about their man) There is ‘happy hours’ till September 30th and we took advantage of this offer. I ordered spicy fish and chips and my friend ordered Pav bhaji, but we paid for only one dish. We bought the assorted range of breads and cakes too (since the offer was to pay for one and get one free). The drawback is that there is no separate lift for this restaurant, it is shared with supermarket, which is on 3rd and 4th floor, and if you don’t wish to wait for lift then you have to use staircase, which is dirty and full of paan stains. (But, then this is the common sight, you get to see dirt and ‘Paan-stained Arts’ at all the stairways in Mumbai.) Well, nothing is perfect….. It is not supposed to be.

'Caferati' August Read-meet

I am learning to be a good writer and I am member of various networks on Ryze, which help me to grow as a writer. I write, people react, I improve my skills and I am encouraged to write more. There are many networks online and many of them interact personally too by meeting off line, enjoying the evening of fun and feast. Every month, ‘Caferati-online writer’s network’, have read-meets where we meet off line and see the actual expressions of the group members while we read our piece. It is fun, watching the expression of the dazed crowd, especially if you are reading a bold stuff, which the group members are not sure, whether it is the fiction or a real life experience. On the net, when we write, we sometimes forget, or don’t care that there are many people reading and making their own impression, but at the actual read-meet, it is a different story. We, as a reader, are conscious, of all those people listening and staring at us, watching our gestures, our clothes, and our hair, although all those members, who are present may not even be listening to us hundred percent. Some may be admiring the style of our dress, others enjoying the whiff of sweet perfume, some of them might be wondering whether we shaved our legs before coming, and some might be wondering about our private life and making their own assumption on our pattern of living. Then there will be some who might be thinking when they will eat their Samosas and Sandwiches, wondering whether they could get up, out of turn, and help themselves with the cup of coffee or visit a rest room. The point is that nobody might be actually hearing us hundred percent. So, when we finish our long story and expect an applause, (sometimes we assume, our piece is the masterpiece) we might get to see a group of rolling eyes. We, then grin, rub our palms, raise our eye brows, and look around trying to settle our gaze on one particular person, whom we feel must have listened to our masterpiece ninety-nine percent. The feed-back takes a front seat and we get what we deserve. Live performance and feedback is always intoxicating. Thus, read-meets of Caferati are fun and this month was no different. This month we had at one of the member’s private, cozy home, with books and artifacts lining the walls, high up on the 16th floor of Sainara apartment at Cuff Parade, overlooking the fishermen colony and a beautiful sunset above the calm sea. A friend who had promised to accompany me for the read-meet could not make it and she had to drop out the last minute. I decided to go alone, but I hate making solo entrance. I looked around, as I reached the lobby, hoping I would find one member to accompany me for the entrance into the group and I was lucky to meet one person at the lift. We got to introduction, she was a first-timer, I was consoling her that she need not be afraid or nervous, that she will have a great time, I gave her some back ground knowledge about the group and then asked her to make the entrance with me so that we look like great pals. Surprises! Surprise! Surprise! She was a reporter from a reputed paper! I had already given her my interview in the lift! The read-meet started with a group photograph of famous writers by professional photographer and a formal detailed introduction (glad that we could get free publicity at last!). The reporter encouraged us to boast about our work, which I shamelessly did. (I love freebees)I hope she writes about my books! I need sales! The rest of the read-meet was just reading, commenting, snacking, listening to the sparkling conversations of vibrant group, romancing the ambience and sometimes smiling forcefully at those who won’t match my smile with theirs. Later, after the meeting, smaller group were contemplating the idea of dining to gather in some restuarant. I decided to join in too without any fuss. “Let’s go here” “No!” “Yes!” “Let’s go there” “Let’s take a taxi” “Let’s walk” "It is getting late na" “Never mind, forget the dinner, and let’s go home.” Phew! I was hungry! I was lucky to get a lift back home in a luxurious car, offered to me by one of the members (Lord bless her kind heart!) Thank God we can order food from the comfort of our homes! Viva Mumbai! Hail Mumbai! The memories of the read-meet lingered on as I chewed on roasted chicken and French fries.

Went to see ‘Heyy Babyy’ thinking I was going for some pure fun

but was disappointed. It was full of stupid jokes and bad comedy. Story of three idiots who think women are a game. Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan and Ritesh Desmukh, the three playboys, who think they can have every girl. (What an attitude!) Akshay who thinks, he is so smart that he can lay every girl, succeeds in wooing a simple, homely girl (supposedly) who gets intimate after brief meeting. Fardeen Khan has his Western sensibilities embedded all the way in his body language, mannerisms and accent. Ritiesh Deshmukh threatens to steal the show (something which has now become a routine) whenever he appears on a frame. His dead pan humor is prevalent once again as director Sajid Khan incorporates a humorous ‘gay’ angle to his character at not less than 4-5 instances. A baby is left in the basket at their door, one morning, with an abusive letter and these three idiots go to their numerous girlfriends to find the mother of this kid. It is very disgusting to watch them clumsily feed the kid every two hours, change her diapers every hour, act as clowns to keep her smiling, take her for evening outings and buy clothes in dozens. During the first half of the film, they hate the baby and use abusive language for a child (How can anybody ever use abusive language for a kid? It sounds very weird!) But one incident in their life changes it all and it’s time for them to sing along ‘Meri Duniya’ with the toddler for the rest of their lives. So much so that they completely go out of practice of ‘how to woo a woman’ and choose to sing lullabies and nursery rhymes in spite of being on the verge of a romp with some of the hottest stunners. Vidya Balan is a disappointment too. Badly dressed, there is something that misses out from her performance. The only good thing in the film is the smile and the emotions of the kid. Baby Johana is simply adorable and special effort must have gone into getting the best expressions from her, which is apparent, especially when it comes to all the close up shots. While her naughty winks would be remembered by the audience, her wails are of the kind that would be identified by anyone and everyone who has ever held a kid in his/her arms. Don’t bother wasting your evening in watching something as stupid as heyy baby

Juice bar 'HAS' (Review)

Every morning I have a glass of vegetables or fruit juices. As soon as my maid reports to work, she is expected to make one fresh glass of juice for me. But, this morning she is not coming and I am too lazy to make one for me. I had to go out to do some errands and I thought I might as well buy me a glass of fresh juice from road side stalls. After all, staying in India, we enjoy such luxuries. There is juice stall at every street. We get sugarcane juice (Rs5 per glass), Coconut water (Rs15), orange juice (Rs20) water melon (Rs25). The point is that it is so damn cheap and everybody can afford it if they are too lazy to make it themselves. I went to Pali Hill, Bandra and I saw this new juice bar…..hmmm! ..Juice bar!... Welcome to the health world! There was an inviting poster outside the store that pulled me in. It said ‘Get high…Naturally!’ with a pretty and slim model, enjoying a slice of fresh Pineapple. I could not stop myself from entering and I walked in. The ambience was really good, with bar stools on one side and lounge with big screen TV on the other side. The staffs, all clothe in aprons and gloves, amidst all different kinds of juicers, were very attentive. On the menu, there were the list of ‘Power juices’ which were the blend of fruit juices, with exotic names like ‘Berry Blast’ which is actually the crazy blends of pineapple, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and apple, priced at Rs95 for regular and Rs155 for large. Then there were ‘Super smoothies’ that promised to be 97% fat free and had a chocolate treat. These were the blend of chocolates or dry fruits. ‘Masala Smoothie’ at the cost of Rs75 for regular and Rs125 for large was a creamy blend of cashew, dates, almonds, pistachio, and soy. There were ‘Low fat smoothies’ that promised to be 98% fat free. These were the mixture of fruits and nuts. ‘Fruit smoothies’ that promised up to 99%fat free and were the blend of different fruits. And there were also freshly squeezed ‘HAS it light’ that were the blend of vegetables and fruits. What I was amused was “Shots’. Priced at Rs35, there was a ‘fresh wheat grass’ it is supposed to be a fabulous shot of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants and ‘Lemon blast’ priced at Rs15, for extra hit of energy. So much variety! I am confused! What to have? What to have?.... Hmm…no! yes!, no!...umph….okay decided… I ordered ‘Cool Cucumber’. A regular of Rs65. It is a blend of chilled out mix of cucumber, apple and mint. Slurp! Sluuurrrrrp! I am feeling refreshed!

If our kids are on net, we, as parents, have right to know the details….

Adnan Patrawala, a richie, rich kid, was first kidnapped and was promised his return on the ransom of 2 crores but then he was murdered by his friends when things went mushy. The murderers, first befriended him on Orkut , a social network, and then used Fake ID (AnGEL) to lure him. Adnan was a junior college student at the Children’s Welfare Centre at Yari Road. The dead boy’s profile on a social networking site lists “driving all the way’’ and cricket as his passions. A photograph uploaded on the site by him shows his car’s speedometer touching 180 kmph. This is a wake up call for the parents and teens to avoid flashing the riches and stay within limits. Given his rich background and owning a personal Skoda and spending a lot of time in the pool parlor/game zone made him an easy pray. But what about a 16 year old, who is meeting strangers from the internet in the middle of the night? Weren’t his parents aware? This turns out to be an idea gone very wrong. It pains me to see how kids behave so irresponsibly without giving a thought as to what repercussions it could have on their families. What about parents? I meet many parents who are in 50-60 age-group and are not compu-savvy. They just refuse to learn. They openly declare it is beyond them and they will never understand. If parent block themselves off saying that computer is not their field and they can never understand or learn then how they will ever know what experiences and dangers their child is exposed to? How can they then advise? It is very important for the parents to regularly check the sites that their teenagers visit and that is possible if parents have communication with their kids. They have to win their trust. You are not expected to check the computer to see what sites he has visited, but you can talk to the child and talk about what is amusing him on the net and look for danger signs. Advice him on the pitfalls of the cyber net and that is possible only if parent are aware of the problems that arise on the net. Things go wrong when children don’t have parents for consultation. They, then, go to wrong sources for their problems and sometimes they will go even to strangers.

Trolls on their prowl…..

Today morning, when I saw a troll at one of the networks, I was disgusted with the troll and was sorry for the moderator who was the target of his abuse. I wanted to shout at him to stop his nonsense, but I was afraid of shifting his attention on me. Yes, I am coward. I cannot handle abusive comments. I like to walk away from trouble if I can. There are many networks on the cyber space and many of them are very informative and we learn a lot by getting into discussion on different topics. There are times we agree, and sometimes we disagree. It is like a meeting place where we can exchange ideas and opinions in the comfort of our house with AC on, radio in the back ground and snacks, chips and drinks at our side table. Life is good as long as it does not get mushy, and sometimes, if people go overboard, then the moderators have to intervene. But the moderators of the network have to go through lot of stress, especially if they have to deal with a troll. Troll assumes an anomalous identity and starts to make argument and accusations. I cannot understand what pleasures do the trolls get by disseminating bad advice, disrupting the discussion with their bombarding accusations? Does he want to destroy the network, so that he can start his own? Or is he power hungry so much that night and day, instead of having a creative muse, he starts bombarding irreverent facts and discrediting post? I wish they would curb their frustrations and concentrate on more positive vibes. Nursing a grudge only weakens us. We lose the power to function intelligently. It creates an uncomfortable feeling for everybody, one who shoots abusive words, the target and the audience. Why can’t we live in a healthy environment? But, I think there is no reasoning that will work. Should we ignore it or should we strike back and anger him more? I wonder what one can possibly do.

Thank God I didn’t have Nokia BL-5C battery!!

“Did you check your cell batteries,” said Sakshi, my niece, as soon as she saw me. “Why? What is wrong?” I said “Oh! There is big news on the air. If your battery is faulty, it will burst when you answer call. You might even become deaf. You better check the number on the net immediately. If you don’t check you are in danger. I went to the site of Nokia, which stated that Nokia handset bought between December 2005 and November 2006 needed battery switch. We had to identify 26 character battery identification number from the list given on their site. Nokia had announced that it would replace batteries manufactured by its Japanese supplier Matsushita between November 2005 and December 2006. It had identified that the affected batteries could potentially experience over heating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. Nokia has several suppliers of BL-5C batteries that have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries. This advisory applied only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. While the occurrence in the BL-5C batteries produced by Matsushita in the time-period specified is very rare, for consumers wishing to do so, Nokia and Matsushita offered to replace for free any BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory. Everybody started checking their mobile. Two members in my family, and two of my friends have reported this number, but are now postponing their trip to the Nokia office. Although they say that the replacement of the battery is free and they will do immediately, but they are afraid of the long queue and the mad rush at their office. I opened the back jacket of my mobile to check the number. Thankfully it was BL-4B. No need to worry, I am far from becoming deaf. At least for now……

Healthy Fruit Juices

I wish somebody had told me this before. I am beginning to understand that 'proper eating habits' are so necessary for enjoying a healthy life. My heart bleeds when I have to dig into my money bag to pay those medical bills and doctors. Damn it! The medicines are so expensive! The money that I could use for traveling and for seeing the world, I have to share with my doctor. Nah! I don’t like sharing my loot with those greedy doctors, not when many medical conditions can be treated more effectively with dietary changes. I think it is very important to place much emphasis on the requirements of a basic health diet for maintaining bodily functions and optimal resistance to disease. They also use diet controls and applied nutrition to stimulate and potentate the body’s recuperative powers in case of acute and chronic illness. I have finally realized that natural foods have their powers to keep us healthy and healthy juices have additional cures. If I wish to improve my skin texture and moisture and reduce the body heat, a mixed juice of Orange, Ginger and Cucumber works wonders. Also to improve my skin complexion and bad breath, a mixed juice of Tomato, Carrot and Apple helps. To improve my skin complexion and metabolism, sometimes I drink the mixed juice of Papaya, Pineapple, and Milk or the mixed juice of Apple, Cucumber and Kiwi. A mixed juice of Carrot, Apple, Pear and Mango clears the body heat, counteracts toxicity and decreases blood pressure and fight oxidization, whereas a mixed juice of Honeydew, Grapes, watermelon and milk increases the cell activity and strengthens body’s immunity system. I have learnt that using the proper combinations of Apple, ginger and Celery is known to prevent health problems such as cancer. It can reduce cholesterol and improve stomach upset and a headache. A mixed fruit juice of Pear and Banana can regulate sugar content in our body. A mixed juice of Pineapple, Apple and Watermelon is helping my body to dispel the excess salt and nourishes the bladder and kidney. A mixed juice of Banana, Pineapple and Milk can prevent constipation. To boost and cleanse our system a mixed juice of Carrot, Ginger and Apple is all that we really need. And Thank God it is not too late! I am starting to enjoy pain free life!

Chak de India (film review)

When my friend suggested we go for this film, I kind of wriggled my nose.. it might be boring, I thought, who would want to see the movie on Hockey…..but I am gladI went, it was one of the most interesting movies that I have seen since a long time. It is a story of an Indian hockey player who is dishonored by the society for losing a match against Pakisthan and is called a traitor, a friend of the opposition team. Seven years later, he is back as a coach, and promises to get the World Cup for Indian team by training the ladies' hockey players. The film is about anger, ego and pride, it is about the strength of unity and above all, a message to the society that women should be taken seriously as they are capable of their undefined courage. Their camaraderie and bickering is well projected and every girl stands out in her role (pun intended), whether it’s centre-back, right outer, or centre-forward! The movie is enthralling and spectators in the theatre, at some moments forget that they were watching a movie, as they cheered merrily, clapping in unision, with the tears in their eyes. Sharukh Khan once more proved himself to be the king of stars with his superb acting. There’s no gloss, nor glamour; no skimpily clad women, nor any item numbers. In short, there’s no fluff; this film is heavy on content, and scores big time. This is one film that celebrates women power!!! Don’t miss it…..

Kite runner

Today, I just finished reading a book titled ‘Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It is a very touching story about a twelve year old boy named Amir. He is desperate to gain the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament to prove that he has the making of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. Hassan and Amir are good friends and Hassan is very faithful to him. He listens to his stories, cleans his room and accompanies him in all his pranks. He is a low-caste servant who is jeered at in streets of Afghanisthan. Amir feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father’s heart. On the day of the tournament, Hassan runs for the kite that Amir has won, and is abused by the group of boys. Being a coward, Amir does not protect his friend and the guilt haunts him for many years. After Russian invades Afghanisthan and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realizes that one day he must return to find the one thing that his new world cannot give him. An opportunity to be good again. On an invitation by his friend Rahim Khan, he returns to Afghanisthan only to witness the war torn country. He is asked to rescue Hassan’s son ‘Sohrab’ from Afghanisthan and take him to a secure place . The relationships are beautifully etched out and your heart reaches for orphan, Sohrab, who, through his silences expresses the deep pain of growing up in the war torn country and the impact it has on his innocent mind.

Lieder (Series of songs tied by a single theme) and Arias (Opera)

Saturday is the day reserved for pure fun. No serious work, no thinking, just window shopping, dinning or a movie, and if I have friends dropping over, nothing can be better than to lay back and relax. This Saturday, I had a special treat, a grand privilege to attend a soprano. I had read about Nicola Beller Carbone's vocal presence, musical sensitivity, diversity of style and dramatic talent combine to make her one of the most outstanding artists of her generation, and this was the opportunity I could not afford to miss. My friends and I took a taxi and reached NCPA at Nariman point to witness the most beautiful opera performance. It was the evening well spent and I was enthralled by the fluidity in her voice as she sang with feeling and exemplary taste, without straining in the final notes of the upper octave. We were given a booklet which had the English translations of her Spanish lyrics and that made it more interesting. Spanish has always been my favorite language and it was a great experience to hear the lyrics in Spanish. I specially love her performance of the song called ‘El Majo Discreto’ (The discreet lover) that was sung in Spanish and it sounded sweet and its translations went something like this People say that my man is ugly It’s possible it may be so, for love is desire That blinds and makes dizzy There are times when I know That if you love you can’t see. But though my dearest is not a man Whose beauty shines and surprises, Yet he’s discreet and keeps a secret I confide in him, knowing he’s reliable. What is secret That my man keeps? It would be indiscreet Were I to tell It takes no little effort to know The secrets of a man with a woman We were zapped by the magic in the voice and the clock ticked by silently and quickly, and long before we realized it, one and hour half seemed like a short span. After the show, we were starved and grabbed the good portion of cheese, toast, fruits and wine. I am still in that spell. The magic lingers on……

Lie if you must, but only when, you want to save the truth from pain

Why do people lie? Are they afraid of telling the truth? I meet many people who will just lie when it is not even necessary. I hate telling lies and will not lie even to save face. I tell my friends you can swear on my honesty. I go for shopping with my friends and they shop like crazy. But they go home and hide the stuff. They will not show their spouse what they have shopped. Some of them will not tell the actual price of their loot. Imagine buying a branded bag of fifteen thousand rupees and quoting a price of two hundred rupees to their inquiring husband, even though they bought it from their own saving. They will wash their new clothes to make them look old. They will scratch the price tag and pretend that they bought it on sale. They justify their action by saying that they don’t like unnecessary taunting of their spouse. Some of them pretend to be too much concerned. Every time you call them they will say that they have been so much worried about you and have been trying to call you and inquire about our well being, when in reality they have not even bothered at all. With mobile phone, telling lies is become even more popular. They will be dining in a fancy restaurant with their friends but will say that they are eating dhal-chawal and are very lonely. The fact is that truths is always out and imagine the embarrassment. The person learns to distrust you. The satisfaction of fooling others is always short lived because the guilt feeling is very sticky. I shall never be able to risk that!

Hey, I am getting old.. tksh..tksh…

I knew I was getting old, physically, when my body started complaining. It started with waist pain, so much so that I could hardly walk. After series of clinic visits, kidney stone was detected. The treatment involved proper diet, exercise and laser treatment. The pain stopped and I was cheerful but not for long. Now its knee, sitting too much time in front of computer, leaves me with frozen knee. My knees hurt and as I climb down the stairs and doctors have warned me of Arthritis. Arthritis, which affects more than nine million people, is an inflammation of the joints and its causes are not clear. I have been surfing the net for its causes and cures and have found out that arthritis is caused by the body building up acid, which crystallizes and lodges between the joints. The acid crystals become surrounded by fluids, causing swelling, soreness and stiffness. So it has been concluded that the condition would be alleviated by cutting down on acid entering the body. By controlling the amount of acid going in through diet we can aim to increase the alkaline resources in the body that can cause the crystals to break down. Apple cider vinegar and honey has been recommended for its alkaline overall effect and it helps to create the right environment in the stomach to start off the digestive process. If we follow the regime strictly by avoiding alcohol, cutting out foods with refined sugar and any citric fruit, as well as taking cider vinegar, mixed with honey, hot water and molasses, after every meal, combined with vitamin supplements - including A, B, magnesium and calcium - and a hot bath in Epsom salts, we can succeed in being pain-free and totally mobile. And as the causes of arthritis are not clear, some doctors are very skeptical that a combination of diet, cider vinegar and Epsom salt baths would help. But it is better to discuss our problem with our GP for any side effects before taking any purported remedy. However, thousands of arthritis sufferers have been helped through a combination of the acid-free diet. We cannot expect results overnight - some people take months to respond, others take years - but I can believe that this combination is the key to getting rid of arthritic disease.

Auto drivers of Mumbai

Yesterday, I was stranded on the road. There was a row of six auto rickshaws parked in front of me and all refused to take me. It was raining heavily and I was very tired but I could not find one auto that was willing to go. They were all waiting for long distance passengers.

I lost my head, screamed at the driver, removed my note pad and pen and started to note down their auto rickshaw numbers.

Suddenly, they started to protest,(Surprise) one of them came forward and told me not to jot down his number and went to the other end and fetched me another passing auto and I smile victoriously as I settled comfortably to reach home.

Now I am wondering, what could I possibly have done with those auto numbers? Whom would I send? Would any action be taken against those drivers? And why were they afraid that I might report? I was only threatening them and I am unsure as to what I could possibly do?

The auto-guy, who ferried me to my destination was actually forced by these morons to take me and he was arguing with me throughout the journey. He challenged me that I could do nothing and he boasted about the tricks that he had used to confuse his other passengers: for example-

1. He would tell the cop that his meter was down and that he was waiting for somebody else, and he would accuse me of forcing him to abandon his previous passenger.

2. That it was time for him to give his auto back to the owner and he was getting late and couldn't take any more passengers.

3. He even boasted that if the traffic cop had forced him to allowa passenger into his auto then he would drive for few meters and then pretend that his auto is spoilt and will not drive and just present to look into the engine to see the problem with his vehicle. The passenger had a choice of waiting till he explores the problem (in that case the meter will still be running) or they, the passengers decided to change over to the another auto.

“Madam,” he said, “if you are smart, we are smarter. We live in a country where everybody is corrupted and you can do nothing about it.”

But yes you can do something. I discussed this with few of my friends and they told me that I could post my complaints at www.trafficpolicemumbai.org.
In general, locals and visitors can expect an unusual outlook on life, navigation and find out that what might seem like a simple process of getting from point A to B is, in fact, not.

Traveling back to his parents home in India after living abroad a young man hired an auto rickshaw to complete his journey. Giving the driver the address and attempting to settle on a price the journey began. Passing through a new district the auto stops to refuel. Soon they are off again but before the young man can determine where they are the driver has parked and joined some friends in a food stand. Infuriated the young man looks over to see another identical rickshaw pulled up along side his own with an older man waiting inside. "I have been sitting here waiting almost two hours and still have not arrived at my destination!" He declares in rage. "Two hours, is that all?" asks the older man in a relaxed voice. "I have been waiting here since they opened the food stand."

That's auto ride for you!!! Enjoy!!

Visiting Post office in Mumbai..Uff!

Few months ago, while I was in Bangkok, I wanted to make a food parcel from the post office. The post office was air-conditioned and very clean and an officer occupied one corner of the room and he helped me pack my food parcel in a box, write address for me and fix the stamps and voila. It was done in ten minutes!! But, I wonder, why it is so difficult to do such simple thing here, in Mumbai? I wanted to send a small packet overseas. I bought envelop for packing, placed the contents into it and went to the post office. The one, closer to my house is a smaller one and they refuse to help me, claiming that I need to wrap it with cloth and go to the other bigger post office. The bigger post office has bigger problems. It is not only dirty and unkempt, but also crowded. There is a separate line for sending parcel and a separate line for buying stamps. The packet had to be wrapped with the cloth, and that service was offered by a man, who is seated on the road, outside the post-office. All these services are exposed to you, one at a time. Tempers fly high, due to frustration of people standing in line and some of them cutting lines. I wait ten minutes for the parcel to be assessed, then take it to the man, outside the post office, and wait on the road. There are many people working on the road side outside the post office, some people are selling envelops, some scanning through mail and some just sitting idle watching the world pass by. I wait patiently on the road as he carefully stitches the packet for me. I come back and wait in line again, only to be told to come back with the stamps of said amount. Wait in another queue to buy stamps and wait again, back at the first window. There is no glue available to stick the stamps on the packets and the tempers fly again, demanding glue! Glue!Glue! People working behind the window are unperturbed by the noise and commotion and they continue to work at snail speed, weighing, chopping a rubber stamp, slowly looking up at aggressive customer, very cool, dilling, dallying..like in those 1955 movies. My parcel takes more than an hour to slip off from my patronage to the other side of the window. Phew!

Photo essay on Jallianwala Bagh

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre turned millions of moderate Indians from patient and loyal supporters of the British raj into nationalists who would never again place trust in British “fair play.” On April 13,1919, thousands of people gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh near Amritsar. The occasion was Baisakhi, a Sikh religious festival. It was traditional for Hindus and Sikhs to gather in Amritsar to participate in the Baisakhi celebrations. Dyer positioned his men at the sole, narrow passageway of the Bagh, which was otherwise entirely enclosed by the backs of abutted brick buildings. Giving no word of warning, he ordered 50 soldiers to fire into the gathering, and for 10 to 15 minutes 1,650 rounds of ammunition were unloaded into the screaming, terrified crowd, some of whom were trampled by those desperately trying to escape. According to official estimates, nearly 400 civilians were killed, and another 1,200 were left wounded with no medical attention. Dyer, who argued his action was necessary to produce a “moral and widespread effect,” admitted that the firing would have continued had more ammunition been available. It thus marks the turning point for a majority of the Congress' supporters from moderate cooperation with the raj and its promised reforms to revolutionary noncooperation.

Visit to Wagah, India-Pakistan border

We had actually planned to visit only 'Golden temple', when we had planned a trip to Amritsar. But our driver informed us to visit India-Pakistan border and watch the closing ceremony, 'a must-see event', he said. We reached 5:30 in the evening at Wagah border after a nine-hour ride from Delhi. The car was not allowed to drive through a certain point and we had to walk towards the border. This was the well developed tourist area which had a stadium built for the spectacular closing border ceremony. The patriotic songs of Bollywood film (songs like 'Jahan daal daal pe sone ki chidhiya karti....and 'mere desh ki dharti......)blared through the loud speakers as we found our way to the VIP stands. We secured a front seat for a better view and waited for the show to begin. A big iron gate separated the India-Pakistan border. And I could see the stadium on the Pakistani side too, that had huge Pakistani audience on the other side of the gate. At 6:30, the ceremony started with the man shouting into the loud speaker 'Hindusthan’ and the crowd cheered ‘Zindabad!' Similar sounds applauding ‘Pakistan Zindabad!’ could be heard from the other side too. Two people held the Indian flag and ran towards the gate and back again. This was repeated by different pairs of women, men and children.(One woman lost her balance and fell down with her flag still up in the air) Next, five Indian solders came marching and stood in a neat row in the centre of the path leading towards the gate. One soldier turned, as he shouted loudly, picking his leg, heavily, his knee, almost touching his head, as he turned swiftly, ninety degrees and walked towards the gate. The gate opened slowly as the soldiers marched, one by one, towards the gate, to face a Pakistani soldier. Then, the two guard units attempted to outdo each other in martial displays: shouting, and stomping around the border in mock military maneuvers. All while the crowds were shouting patriotic slogans In a carefully choreographed ceremony, the men met at the border, salute each other, stared at each other and then untied the flags and finally lowered them and folded them. They then salute and marched smartly back to the barracks. Everyone was cheering wildly in a great patriotic display. The crowd dispersed from all directions and we had to stand guarded to avoid being pushed around. Some of them rushed towards the soldier for a photgraph. My family and friends wanted to photograph with the smartly dressed soldier too. I wondered as to when they made this daily ritual of closing cermony of India-Pakistan border into a spectacle with such a huge, expressive crowd.

My Visit to Taj Mahal

Last week, while people in India were still voting for Taj Mahal as ‘Seven wonders of the world’ and people around the world focused their attention towards Lisbon for its place of honor, me and my cousin Gitu, her daughter Neha and her friends Nadar and Saif, were making our own estimation of the monument. We set for Agra from Delhi, during the early hours in the morning in a private, comfortable vehicle (Inova) to admire the monument that Emperor Shah Jahan had so lovingly built for his third wife Mumtaz. Arjumand Bano (later named Mumtaz Mahal by her devoted husband) was a legendry beauty and many a poet has celebrated her charm and delicate beauty. Although Shah Jahan had three wives, Mumtaz Mahal became his favorite and the only wife to bear his children (14 children). The Prince would not part with her even on his numerous military campaigns. In his suffering, she sustained him; in his glory, she inspired him to acts of charity and benevolence. Both comrade and counselor, she was beloved by him for her unswerving loyalty and by his people for her wise and compassionate guidance. When Mumtaz Mahal was still alive, she extracted a promise from the emperor that he build the Taj in her memory and that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary. Construction of the Tajmahal began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty two thousand people were deployed to work on it. Mumtaz Mahal died in 1629 during child birth while accompanying her husband in Behrampur in a campaign to crush a rebellion. The monument deserves its place in ‘Seven wonders of the world’ for its splendor and fine architecture. It is not merely a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the pride, loyalty and passion of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones. It is a celebration of eternal love, exquisitely portrayed in marble.

Oh my goodness! What has world come to…lingerie show in flights?

There was time, when going abroad was a novelty and we smiled ‘jabardasti’ at our aunts who visited us, hoping that they would part with their duty-free shopping gifts, if they were lured by our smiles. I wonder if any airlines complained about their empty flights in those days. The flights were few but they were enough. People who traveled were happy with meals of cold cuts and a movie show and while they entertained themselves, their minds were preoccupied with schemes on how to con a customs officer and pass through a green channel. But now, people are no more bothered about watching a movie show in flights because they now, prefer never-ending soap operas. Meals are not served in the planes and people prefer going off to sleep rather than to part with their hard earned cash to buy a packet of wafers. If I say I had lunch in Mumbai, snacks in Delhi and dinner in Chennai, nobody will even smirk. Everybody is traveling and hopping places is a norm. There are too many flights and there is so much competition. Everyday, there is a launch of a new airline, and all are obsessed with attracting of maximum passengers into their flights. But, what is this I am hearing…..?????? To attract the passengers, Ecuadorian airline Ícaro has launched mid-air lingerie parades, with voluptuous models strutting up and down the aisles in underwear and heels? Uff! Passengers from the capital Quito to the port of Guayaquil are being treated to ten-minute shows, which, oddly enough, are proving rather popular with male passengers? We, in India, the champions at aping……and this idea, so easy to copy, soon all this might get introduced in our Indian flight too…. Tobba! Tobba! Now I will have to sit next to an uncle in a flight, who will be drooling over a bare flesh? What will the next stunt for attracting a passenger be? With dance-bars closed, will we have our males hopping into ‘males-only-flights’ with bar dancers as air-hostess? Whew! Hare Ram, Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare….

Should I vote for Taj Mahal or wot?

Everybody is talking about ‘Seven wonders of the world’ and Indians are very much obsessed that Taj Mahal may not be listed in the new list of seven wonders. And there is so much craze on voting for Taj Mahal, on TV, on radio, on Forums, everywhere they are asking for votes. I think the cell phone companies must have already made million from the vote messages. I have never seen Taj Mahal in my life. When I tell my NRI friends that, they cannot believe me ‘Wot? You no see Taj? Why?’ they exclaim. I promise them, that I will see it during this life. My promise is about to be materialized. Yeeeh! I am going tomorrow to see it ….finally…....Yupeee! and then I shall decide should I vote or wot?

Games we played...

Those were the days…there were so many games, when there was no TV. All day long we played. I wonder how our parents tolerated that! Every evening all my friends would come down in the building compound to play games. We loved to play 'kho-kho', hop-scotch, spinning the top, gulli-dhanda, langdi, hide-n-seek, seven tiles, Fire in the mountains, statue, tug-a-war, kabbadi, volley ball. Then we played cricket, basketball, badminton. The best was dhabba ice-spice where all would hide, and we would come out from hiding and kick the dhabba as hard as we could. It used to be fun, my friends and I would hide into our home, eating sandwiches and watching the person searching us, from our balcony while eating. When it was raining, we played indoor games like snakes and ladder, ludo, carom, chess, scrabble, monopoly or other board games, or simply playing with dolls (house-house) or Dumb shera, antakshri., whispering a tale. During college days it was scrabble. There was so much craze on scrabble that we would play non-stop for eight to ten hours. During summer holidays, early hours, we would go for long walks or cycling (double seat) all the way from Bandra to Juhu beach. And we had so much energy! good ole days!

My art world

My favorite pass time is creativity. I love making odd things out of nothing. Take for example this balcony. Everybody loves this balcony that I made from Chinese cane calendar, cut out with blade to make door and windows, stuck plywood slabs to make a balcony and drinking straws for roof. Made intricate designs with thick cord of thread and painted the whole thing in bronze. Voila! A piece of art! This is the painting in oils, where there are three friends playing in the courtyard. It took me six months to complete it. This one is of a model who parades while a Rajasthani native stares at her. It is painting in oils. This is a Rajasthani native waiting in anticipation for her lover. I have used em-seal to make jewelry and frame and painting is on oils. One of the walls, I have just stuck leaves with stems painted with acrylic paints. The painting surrounds the set of five miniature pictures. On one wall, I have set of four picture, the frames are made of em-seal and painted in bronze and it frames my cross-stitch work. This is the flower arrangement of dried flowers. I stuck them on a mirror. The frame is painted in bronze. These are the things decorating my house, presently.

Gurus in India.....

I was watching TV program ‘CNN today’ and they showed some devotees in their trance. They looked happy and contented and they were the followers of Osho. “Sri Sri Ravishankar and Osho are today the glamour boys of Indian spirituality. They are charismatic and offer a new spiritual product: how to take the good life to the fulfilled life’’, said the reporter. “They are the modern-day sects of the successful. They teach you how to meditate and celebrate. The two will never clash. It's a personalized designer religion that allows you to love your material aspirations with no guilt. Sects like those of Osho and Sri Sri Ravishankar are today really popular with the young and successful. It's a young and personalized religion that allows them to enjoy their materialistic needs”. The people looked quite contented doing what they liked best, be it singing hymns or meditating. Their focus was on their own experience. If they took part in dancing sequences, they seemed to enjoy every moment. There is no teaching in Osho, you only have to strive for yourself because there is always danger in imitating others. “With gurus like Osho and Sri Sri Ravishankar, nirvana is hip. The community, therefore, is global and the holy life merges with the comfortable life.” said the reporter on CNN live. In Osho, Capitalism is in, charity is out. It’s not really an arduous pilgrimage. This is the philosophy of "Me". Well, everybody has their own choice to make; it all depends on our attitude towards life! image source: http://www.ibnlive.com/