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/

Kheema Cutlets.

I buy kheema from market and decide to make a snack. I want to make something different. I am expecting guest and they want to try something new. Should I make Shami kababs? Now everybody makes Shami kababs, and that is so trite. I like to be creative in my cooking. My guests always expect me to. I always make every dish, just once. It is my inability to re-produce the same dish. (however, a painter cannot repeat the same strokes, can they? and I treat cooking an art ) That is why I cannot repeat the same taste. My brother says, enjoy this dish and don’t ask for a repeat, she will never reproduce it. (and he is right) I think that’s the reason I don’t work in a restaurant, nor have opened one, because everything has to be measured and cooked to produce same taste. (How do they do that?) I have tried many times but I still cannot reproduce same taste. I decide to find some innovative recipe from a book. I have so many recipee books on my bookshelf. But it is always the same. I feast my eyes at all the recipes and admire the glossy pictures, sometimes drooling over them, but I am always short of one or two ingredient and then my mood is fused. After going through endless recipe books, I am still undecided. The Indian recipes are same, with little variation here and there, and now-a-days I don’t like too much masalas. In Chinese book there are hardly any recipes for kheema. Damn it. I decide to make one of my own style. Dekha jaye ga! My methods are simple and easy. (I don’t like to spend too much time in the kitchen. I just grind together onion, garlic, ginger, chillies. Mix them into the kheema. Then add soya souce, chopped basil leaves, corn floor, some soaked bread, rosemary leaves, parsley. I mix it well and bind it into firm patties and steam it. After steaming, I flatten it; dip it in egg batter and shallow fry. I serve it with salad and French fries. I stand in a corner and watch my guest. They have sliced the patties and are about to eat it. I turn my head; covering my ears, look at them from the corner of my eyes, as they slowly munch on the morsel, juice filling their mouth and a grateful belch. They are asking me for a recipe!

Ad on Indian TV.

Indian film star Kajol is the brand ambassador of Tata Indicom and we have ad on TV which I find it quite interesting. In one ad, she is traveling by car and she sees a gentleman who is having a car problem and is stuck in the middle of road. It is apparently his wedding day and he is desperately trying to contact his to-be-bride but he is unsuccessful because of the network problem. His fiancée is upset when he disconnects the line suddenly. Kajol makes a quick guess that this Guy is having some network problem, it is his wedding day, and he has to reach in time. She hands her phone and a car ride to the wedding hall (a woman is giving lift to the stranger…how strange, I wonder how many women would do that?) she guides him to continue talking to his fiancée and also helps him on the topic as to what he must say (one lesson she teaches him is how to butter the lady by talking love quotes instead of giving any other explanations for unpunctuality.) The guy reaches the wedding hall, still talking, while we see Kajol following him happily. (Wasn’t she going somewhere before she saw him?) She asks the groom to introduce his bride-to-be and even poses for a photograph! Moral: A Tata Indicom network makes you generous, friendly and intelligent. You can even be a party crasher! Should I get one too? Image source: http://www.agencyfaqs.com/

5 Spice restuarant in Bandra...

Today is my brother-in-laws birthday. Morning I call him on his mobile to birthday wish him and promise him a birthday gift if he promises me to treat me in a restaurant. He says he does not believe in celebrating birthdays because he is too old. But I know he will treat me in a good restuarant. So, in the evening, as I wish him happily, I smile, expecting a treat in a fancy restuarant. My sister is not surprised. We go for dinner to 5 Spice, a cozy-two-storey Chinese restaurant. It is at Pali Hill in Bandra. He has already booked a table for five and when we arrive at the restaurant, the valet drives away our car to a secured parking. As we enter, my sister orders a cake, with the name engraved on the cake, to be delivered to our table at the end of the meals. The hostess smilingly leads us up the wooden stairs, to a table for six on the first floor. I sit facing the red, warm wall that is behind my known faces. The table is laid with white china ware and white napkins that are so soft to touch. The waiter comes immediately to our table to take our order. They don’t like to keep people waiting for too long. All the tables are occupied. the sooner the people leave, the better is their business. On week-ends, you see many people waiting patiently outside the restuarant, on the road. The popularity of this restaurant is good and it is known for its good food, with big servings at a reasonable price. While everybody orders fresh lime soda, my brother-in-law orders whiskey (he wants to celebrate his birthday) I order sweet and sour soup.(I have stopped having fizzy drink)My brother-in-law is in playful mood and he keep dailing different people and fooling around, teasing my sister. We order pan-fried shrimps, spicy chicken and spring rolls for starters. Ummy the shrimps taste so good and juicy. The quantity is quite a lot and we are already feeling full. The sauces add to the richness of the taste. Before the next course arrives, we pass our time joking and singing 'Ay ganpat, whiskey lao, soda ko glass me jaldi lao, we are the bhais, mum-bai bhais....the girl on the next table is laughing hysterically and we laugh with her too. The next course arrives and it includes fish (my nephew’s choice), burnt rice (the speciality) and fried vegetarian noodles. I am already feeling too full, but the food is too tasty and I cannot stop myself form over-stuffing myself. I have extra noodles in my fridge (we packed the left-overs) and I plan to eat it tomorrow. We rinse our throats with Chinese tea but are too full to eat the birthday cake. Anyways, my brother-in-law is an old man, cake is for kids. I am happy to visit this 5 Spice restaurant, if you happen to be in Bandra, do dine in, you will love it.

Simple remedies to cheer you up on those gloomy days...

Daily Thought: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS. 1. When choking on an ice cube, simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself. 2. Avoid cutting yourself slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop. 3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink. 4. To treat high blood pressure: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer. 5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button. 6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough. 7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape. 8. When confused remember, everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Sing and dance and Jhoom Barabar till you drop dead....of boredom!

“Don’t bother going for jhoom bararbar jhoom”, warned my friend who came back with a head-ache. But the ticket were already booked and I couldn’t give a ditch, and after reading the review warning me that it is a movie with one star, I was ready for the worse, and I was not disappointed.It was lousy, indeed! The movie was supposed be without any story, with Amitabh, dressed in vague clothes (Why was he there?) dancing with two dozen dancers, singing one ridiculous song again and again (Why?). The crude Abhishek and confused Preeti were supposed to bore the audience with their spinning yarns while they waited to receive their respective relatives at London station,(train service in London is unpredictable too?) and falling in love within two hours(Wow! do people fall in love in just two hours by just chatting, or climbing esclators backwards and having a tattoo painted?). Lara Datta was supposed to look stunning in her acting and her proficiency in using abusive language(Funny! Preeti and Lara excel n abusive language) and Bobby Doel was supposed to steal the show with his fabulous acting of biting his fingers. I was warned of that loud music and those classy drums with loud music is still ringing in my ears (my ear drums need a make-over). Are you going to see it? Well it is Yash Chopra films and how can you miss it? It is directed by Shaad Ali (you liked Shaad Ali's Sathiya and Bunti Bubbli too, didn't you,) and you will get to visit London and Paris and see Pakis-Hindus-lovey-dovey. so go ahead…..enjoy the popcorn and Samosas, relax and be a judge…..we are used to watching meaningless movies, aren’t we? So go watch and jhoom barabar Jhoom till you drop dead..of boredom!

I have a right to Choose.....

I have traveled thousands of miles in this life, and met scores of couple of supposed-to-be-happily-bliss-couples, but I still have to meet a perfect couple. The type of emotional support that a person needs changes from one stage of life to another. The type of emotional support that her family provides may not be what she really needs after certain age. True! But as she grows older, she learns to discover and know herself. If she is single, she has already learnt to control her emotions and she knows that she, herself is responsible for her own happiness and there is no body else on whom she should depend. She builds a wall around her, and learns to protect herself against all the bullies. She becomes stronger as she grows older. A married women lives all her life with expectations of being recognized and appreciated by her spouse, children, extended families, eventually losing her own identity, in trying to please others, when she is older, she realizes that all her life she has only lived for others, compromising, tolerating and the cycle goes on and on, the emotional support that she was expecting from others may not be there. Life is just give and take and emotional support always will come from anybody whom you care, they may or may not be your own family. Loneliness is a temporary phase that everybody goes through, married or not. It is phase of boredom. This can be easily replaced by different interests. The conjugal bonhomie between couples may remind her of what she is missing, but when she sees those heated arguments, that sloppiness in men, his vices, his drinking habits, womanizing, his long hours in front of TV (or computer), during the week-ends while the wife helplessly awaits for an outing, it is during those spells of unhappy couple, that she starts blessing her stars. Single woman may become conscious about her single status when she comes across a very happy family of husband, wife, and child/children. This may leave her totally demoralized but only temporarily. And when a married woman, sees her single friend, carefree and liberated, being able to support her-self and live with dignity, while she is chained to life-long-imprisonment of ungrateful and selfish family, it can leave married woman totally demoralized, which her own family may not even know. Absence of commitments (marriage is one great commitment) may make single woman reckless and intemperate during the age, when she is young and wants to explore everything independently but a mature, single woman is not reckless, she knows her responsibility and is in charge of her life. She has been free to do what she likes and she does that with responsibility knowing that she has only her self to please. Married woman has obstructions and rules to follow, (don’t do this, don’t go there, don’t talk to this one, must call him, what will people say, think of family prestige, etc) so she is always craving for independence and she is the one, who destroys her self-esteem in the long run. The sense of security that a marriage brings is priceless to those who have no faith in themselves to make their own life secure. A majority in the society always look down upon single women because they are jealous of her bravery. Societies have their own imaginations and they feel every single woman is unhappy, easy catch, unworthy and an object of pity. High time they realized that woman, sometimes chooses to be single and will be ready for commitment, only if she finda a worthy man. She will not clutter her space with society-must-haves. Her single status may make some men think that she is easily available. Warding off these roving eyes would be a tough task for that woman, who is weak and has not yet mastered the martial art. A man complements a woman and vice versa if there is understandings on both the sides and willingness to respect each other. There is lot more to the life, than a marriage. I think, woman can stay married, but only if she has some space to stretch her emotions and desires, if she has no danger of being stripped off her identity, if she has a companion, who is under-standing, caring and loving. He is the one, who will be tolerated in her old age.

Women don’t gloat, men don’t take offence

Circumstances play a very important role in our life. Being happy, single or married, is our choice. A married woman may be happy but distressed if she is not free to expand her interests due to her priorities towards her families. An unmarried woman can be happy but sometimes lonely if she does not have many interests. Society pressure is there for women to get married and settle down, because she is more capable of shaping a secure home. If she is talented and also earning, then the pressure is more, because men are the weaker sex and they need a talented wife to steer their life. Society has always pampered men, and here too, woman is pressured to get married so that men can have a secure life. Indian society is not used to seeing men cook or sweep at home. The world is changing, true, many men are helping their wife, change the nappies, but those men live in nuclear families. Men in joint families are still pampered. So woman is expected to marry so as to release her mother-in-law off her duties towards her son. What are the advantages to a woman who gets married? She gets a companion, who can accompany her for late night shows, act as a buffer in this bully world, and support her financially if she is not earning herself. She can enjoy these pleasures if she is blessed with husband who is caring, not having any vices and supportive. But alas! Like all normal human beings, we cannot be blessed in all things. Second choice is the endurance. If the woman has the tolerance of overlooking few drawbacks, then she can hang on. If she has enough faith in herself, then she can walk out of the painful marriage. What is life for single woman? It is accepted in today’s world if the woman is financially independent. People envy the strong and independent woman and only the jealous ones will pressurize single woman to fall into a trap. People who are conservative are the ones who cannot accept the changing society. An independent, strong woman is capable of showing the world that getting marriage is her choice and she will take it herself when the time is ripe and nobody else should worry about that.

Walks by the beach? Ugh!

My friend Rhea is fed up of going to jogger’s park everyday. She say, oh same track! Same trees (how do I plant new trees everyday for her?). So boring! So boring? Taking walk in Jogger’s park seems boring to her. She fails to see the beautiful, blooming flowers on the hedges or the soft sea-side breeze that caresses our cheeks. She is bored of same walks and need new scenery every day. “Okay! Where do you want to go?” I ask her. ‘Let’s go to Juhu beach for a change.” She says So we decide to go to Juhu beach for a change in scenery and environment and a different variety of walks! Am I glad I went for a walk to Juhu Beach? Certainly not! Not a good idea at all! Going to a beach, walking on soft sand and enjoying the sea-breeze as the waves flap and roars, is the luxury enjoyed in only western world. The waters in western world are dark blue and are in sharp contrast of light blue sky that can be seen at the horizon where the sky seem to touch the waters. At Juhu beach, the sky is light blue, the waves flap and roar too but the water is grey, yes grey and the sea-breeze stinks! As we trudged by the shores, we had to dodge the dirty-black-end-wave and walk carefully as the whole beach was covered by loosely scattered carpet of soaked-plastic bags, empty bottles, rags, decayed-flowers, etc. I think this dirt and mess does not upset anybody, because children, and adults, happily bathed in these dirty waters, splashing water on each other, playfully and jumping and diving between the waves. There are children playing cricket, happy family and friends soak in dry sand, couples (old and new) refresh their daily news and the hawkers move around, between the crowd selling their unhygenic snacks. The weather is sweltering, even the water is warm and there is too much crowd at the beach. I still prefer my Jogger’s park.

Light low-diet dinner, Indeed!

Today, my friend calls me to join her for evening walk to Jogger’s park. I have already had my dose of walking in the afternoon sun to finish some string of odd errands and I am in no mood to go out, once more, for an extra round of evening walks (I know, my paunch is showing and the walks might help) but I was in no mood to walk. But my friend has brighter ideas, if I am in no mood for walks, could I join her for a diet food of only soup and sandwiches at ‘Just Round the Corner’. Well I am in no mood to cook either, so having just soup and sandwiches is a good idea and I decided to meet her for dinner after her walks. ‘Just Round the Corner’ is the name of restaurant near my house in Bandra. (Yep, once, I had invited my cousins to this restaurant and they kept stopping at every street-corner, thinking that we had arrived at a restaurant, I had told them ‘Lets go to the restaurant just round the corner’). Well, this is the restaurant where you can chill for hours and the management has no issues about you whiling away your time, warming their chairs for endless hours. You can order cups after cups of coffee, or chat for hours over just one cup of coffee. I arrived at the restaurant, after my friend had finished her doze of evening walks and was comfortably stretching her knees at the corner table. (She had called me several times on my route, but there was too much traffic at Linking road, and walking through the crowded traffic is a nightmare) The ambience at the restaurant is very warm, with lots of diet-conscious-youngsters. There are self-service counters, where you take a tray, and self-serve whatever you wish. There are only two pots of soup, veg-asparagus and non-veg chicken hot and sour. Then there is the display of variety of salads, pastas, sauces and dips. You make the combination of your choice and fill your plate of one helping only at the cost of Rs100. (The girl on my right is starving, she fills her plate to a brim, with strands of noodles swinging from the edge of her plate.) Then there is a counter for sandwiches with a display of the variety of fillings that includes beside veggies, a variety of cold meats, and barbequed chicken or spicy fish. You choose the filling and the kind of bread (white or brown), and the chef toasts it for you at the cost of Rs80 per sandwich. the girl on my left makes it very clear that she want no butter, nothing oily, she is dieting, she announces loudly for everyone to hear.Then there is variety of fresh juices that include sweet lime, water-melon, etc. priced at Rs40. I wait for the chef to toast my sandwich, and see that there is also a courtyard outside the restaurants that serves Pizzas on left side and variety of hamburgers on the left side of the restaurant(in the courtyard). There is cobbled-web path and plastic tables and chairs in the courtyard where youngsters enjoys the long smoke-rings as they slowly bite on to their slice of pizza or chomp down on their hamburgers. I self-serve an asparagus soup, a sandwich with the filling of ham, bacon, salad leaves and tomatoes and then gulp down with fresh watermelon juice. At Rs140 for this (too) healthy a meal, I can hardly walk back home. My paunch increases by one centimeter with this healthy meal!.

Swami can move you……!

Although I was late for the show(maybe half an hour or so), I still enjoyed the movie. Ganesh Acharya's debut film, Swami, is a movie of emotion, of love, of caring for the family and respecting the wishes of the families. It is a story of a couple who live a happy life in a remote village, but who have to migrate to a city for the future of their child. (because they don’t have proper schools in the villages) It is the story of the child, who loves his family and grows up to take the responsibility of his father, it is about a husband, who has only one desire to live, that he has to fulfill his promise (of sending his son to America) to his dying wife. The dilemma and the high point of the film is when they are at the cross-road of going to America, the protagonist has to fulfill his mother wishes but has to leave his father all alone in the old-age home. Child actor Siddharth’s acting is worth watching. His expressions and his bond with his mom, played by Juhi Chawla, are parallel to real world and portrayed very well, I was amused by his sweet lisping language and his innocent conversations. Manoj Bajpal is very clear about his role in film industry. He gave his best performance. I was specially moved by the scene in which he breaks his earthen pots (of saving) to count the change, when he needs money for his wife’s treatment. Alas! The movie had no bad people, it was sugary throughout. I was expecting daughter-in-law to show some temper tantrums, or a bad boss, or a bad neighborhood. But Swami lived in a beautiful world which revolved around his wife. His wife's aspirations become his mission in life. BTW, Why do dying people in the films ask their family for a promise that haunts them throughout their life?

We live in a funny world..Ha! Ha!

There was this man smoking in a bus and the Conductor says,"No Smoking ka board nahin dikhta?" and the Man replies,"Uske side mein 'Always Wear Condom' ka board hai, ab vo bhi laga ke baithoon?" * * * * * * When we watch TV serial, they disturb our concentration to show ads, for a toothpaste ad they show teeth, For hair oil they show hair, For face cream they show face, But for Whisper & Condoms they r not showing anything, that's cheating. Jaago Grahak Jaago * * * * * * * * * * Condom says to whisper: "Bloody every month u stop my business for one week" Whisper: "If u make a mistake I lose my business for 9 months" * * * * * and then this lady from 2nd floor asking a bananawala: "Kaise diye?" and the Bananawala replies,"Memsaab Aath mein Bara." the Lady says "Saat mein Tera deta hai to oopar aaja." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This taxi driver says, "Mam, u r the 3rd pregnant lady whom I'm dropping to Airport today."and the Lady replies,"But I'm not pregnant" and the Driver says,"But we hvn't reached airport yet." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Another funny forward.....@Planning to move to Europe?

Read slowly and carefully... The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English". In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter. In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away. By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer , ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas. If zis mad you smil, den share to oza pepl.

Want to try this chicken recipe?

Whenever I travel abroad, I always pick up food packets from supermarkets. I like to try new stuff and sometimes I am happy at my new find and sometimes not. This time, from Bangkok, I picked up a packet that said ‘Season’n Fry'. It was 'McCormic' brand and it was a crispy spicy coating for chicken. What is written on the packets says that, for using this stuff, you simply have to empty this content into a plate and dip the chicken pieces in it and deep fry to get a crispy chicken. Nowadays I am avoiding fried stuff therefore I decided to try something innovative. I dipped the chicken pieces into the powder (this powder contains wheat flour, salt, flavor enhancer, spices, egg powder, leavening agent, flavor) coating it evenly from all sides. In a baking tray, I greased the plate with olive oil. Spread the dish in the layers of onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, tomatoes. Salt, parsley leaves and rosemary leaves. Spread the chicken (that is coated with ‘Season’n Fry’) on it, pour one teaspoon of olive oil on it and bake it for 45 minutes. Oh My God! It was so tasty. Have it with French fries and cucumber salad. Yummy!

Choki Dhani of Poona

“Come to my birthday party” said Dolly, my friend’s daughter “I am celebrating my birthday at Choki Dhani.” That sounded interesting. Celebrating a birthday in a theme park called Choki Dhani. I had visited ‘Choki Dhani’ in Jaipur during my last trip but was not aware that there was one in Poona too. We set out at 6 O’clock, a big group of about 10 people, in two cars and by the time we reached (after nearly one hour drive from Pune city) it was already dark. The rest of the group had arrived earlier at 5 O’clock in the evening (which I think is the best time to go if you need to enjoy and experience the flavor of the place). The entrance had huge iron-gate with colorful lanterns burning into the slots, embedded into the walls, on either side of the gate. A large size mannequin of Indian native was installed in front of the entrance. We entered the gates and were greeted by man who said ‘Ram Ramji’ and he put tikka on our forehead. Inside the gate, we entered a new world, a Rajasthani village, with ethnic colors and drawings adorning the walls. A man performing a horsey dance (kacchi Ghodi) accompanied us as we entered inside this ethnic make-believe village resort. We headed straight to the stalls serving a Jal-Jira drink, Aloo-chat and chana-chat. We climbed a thatched wooden hut, to enjoy the freshly baked roti with butter and garlic chutney. Then there was Gola sherbet, Kulfi and popcorns. The resort took us back to Rajasthan with a traditional appeal, there were many features that include besides "Kacchi Ghodi", also "Ghumar", "Kalbelia", "Bhopa Bhopi" flute recital, and "Nat"(acrobatics). There were also a magician and astrologer with his future-teller parrot adding to the complete Rajasthani look. About 130 artisans, cooks and performers were posted there to provide the warmth and hospitality identical with the Rajasthani tradition of "Padharo Mare Des"(welcome to my world), transporting one to the era of Thakurs, the village lords in olden times. It is the ambience of the "Chokhi Dhani" that captivates everyone visiting it. It gives an impression of typical Rajasthani village replete with its rich tradition, with mud and thatch dwellings, with cottages, Havelis, restaurants, Rajasthani folk dances and performers. There were string cots and oil lanterns spread all over the resort giving it a village ambience. We specially enjoyed the traditional dance, in which our whole group participated. We wore their red bandhini turban on our heads and dance with them at the rhythm of flute-and-drums music. After the dance, we came to lie down peacefully on the string cot, enjoying the cool breeze under the open skies. Children were entertained, enjoying the camel and horse rides and playing games of luck in the row of games stalls. There were also many stall selling traditional hand-crafted goods like ceramic pots and clothes. The birthday was celebrated in the dining hall, where all people are seated on the floor and serves in leaf-plate. The dinner was very delicious and a traditional rajasthani thali and consisted of 18 different delicacies that included dhals, bhajis, achar, papad, sweet dish. I think I over-ate, because I could hardly walk comfortably up to the car park.

Sugarless Cheeni Kum

During my visit to Pune this week-end, I went with my cousins for this movie ‘Cheeni Kum’ why this movie is called ‘cheeni kum’, I fail to understand, (some recipe for odd couples) but the film was sugar-coated and entertaining during the first half of the film because of the arrogance and humor of Amitabh and fine acting of Tabu. But it gets boring after the interval, a sip of coffee and munching of popcorn was the only reason why I decided to sit and watch it till the end of the show. During the first half of the movie, umbrella plays an important role in the film, in building up the romance between 34 year old Tabu (nicknamed as ‘Ghas phoos), and 64 year old Amitabh (nicknamed and ‘Tangri kabab’). The borrowing, returning and borrowing back are the escuses for meeting and building up of affection between the egoist chef and a London tourist. The context of mismatched-bigger-than-father-age is the hinge where the story hangs and when the couple fall in love, it is as entertaining to the couple as it is to the audience. Post interval, Paresh Rawal as Tabu’s father is wasted. His humor and his acting skills are wasted by his stubborn satyagraha style fast and his refusal to co-operate to his daughter’s wishes of marrying an elderly man. Amitabh bears a buddy bond with his impish mother Zohra who is constantly nagging him about joining a gym and he shares a unique relationship with a nine-year-old-cancer-patient neighbor who acts as love counselor offering him advice in exchange for adult CD’s. No fighting scenes, but few lyrical songs to entertain yourself and a tangy romance could be the good reason for you to escape from this scorching heat and enjoy this sugarless film in an air-conditioned auditorium.

Ever wondered what games do kids play nowadays?

Gone are the days when children played games like ‘seven tiles’, ‘hide n seek’ sakli, pakra-pakri, statue-stop, langdi, dum-shera, etc. There used to be so many games to play in those days. Summer holidays meant that we would be playing all day in the building compound, playing indoor games like carom, ludo, chess, scrabble or out door games like badminton, football, basket ball, Oh! There were so many games, that our neighbors would get tired of the noise that we made and would breathe a sigh of relief when the school re-opened. This summer, too, there are many children, in the compound and the same noise is there, but the games that they play are very much different. First of all, every child wants to be the boss and nobody is interested in taking orders. So there is too much chaos. (I tried teaching them some organized games but they got bored) Either you see children running from one end to the other end of the compound, or they are just skating (Oh yes, this is the new craze now-a days, most of these kids are roller-skating.) but, then there are many children who just sit around, staring or making a small chat. I saw two kids who were busy doing something. I went over to them and asked them what game were they playing? And guess what? ..they were repairing a gun! Repairing gun at this age! I think parents should not buy such toys for their kids. It creates violence in their fragile minds. Imagine, them running from one corner of the building and hiding at the other corner and shooting, Bang! Bang!(of course, the games are innocently played but the violent feeling is there (have you seen their expressions)And so here, they are repairing the gun that has been overloaded with bullets. One child bring a knife from his house to help his friend remove the bullets that are stuck inside the gun! And they spend at least half an hour trying to figure out how to remove those bullets! And thus the kids are learning to hold guns and knives at such tender age! Unsupervised by their elders, who may be busy shedding off extra weight off their limbs at some fancy gym.

vegetable seller at corner stall

The lane in Bandra, off linking road, is to be converted into line of six malls. The road is broadened and construction is still going on. Once upon a time, this lane was the busiest street with hawkers occupying the foot paths on either side. There used be so much crowd that traffic and people, dodged each other for an easy movement. Now this street is free of hawkers, except for few vegetable stalls at the far end of the street. Although there is a big heap of fresh vegetables in these stalls (like always) unfortunately, there are very few shoppers. The vegetable sellers have stubbornly occupied the footpath, but only few passing people are patronizing these stalls. Only those, who do not wish to walk few extra steps for just buying few sprigs of coriander leaves. This is because, few meters away from these stalls, is a giant supermarket with competitive rates. The vegetables and fruits are fresh and cheaper. There is a huge variety of grocery and fruits and everything is available under one roof. I am wondering how long can these vegetable sellers at corner street survive? Gradually, their vegetables will decay and they might not have enough money to roll. They cannot compete with giant malls and they are not educated to enter IT world. What is the alternate business that they can be qualified with? I think that the malls that have sprout up at these places, must have offered their first job preference to these people who have lost their business because of them. But one wonders how many of them have compromised and taken up the jobs instead of stubbornly hanging on to their street corner hoping that things will improve.

BEST Bus Conductor of Mumbai city,

Today, on my way to school to Belapur by BEST bus, I noticed there were three conductors, all of them having same leather bag that contains money, and other steel box of tickets. I was wondering whom to approach for buying a ticket as they, all three, stood side-by-side. The mystery was solved when I was approached from the real one on duty. The other two were hitching a ride to the next bus depot. But, on second thought, (I am wondering) are they prohibited from occupying the passenger’s seat when hitch-hiking? Although there was an empty seat, none of the other two made any attempt to rest their feet. So what happens to them at the end of the day? Remember they are standing all day. We, Mumbaites, cannot stand in bus, not even for fifteen minutes of travel. Whenever we travel, we keep eyeing at those sitting comfortably and are alert to run to an empty seat immediately. (As though we are playing musical chairs) Sometimes we occupy the seat when the person has only got up temporally to peep from other window for a better view when he sits back, he feels a soft lap to sit on. It must be tough life for bus conductors. They stand all day, in the moving bus, keeping their balance during sharp jerks and turns, snaking through the standees in a crowded bus, diligently issuing ticket to every traveler at his seat. Why doesn’t he have a proper seat, a special seat, in the bus? Everybody can go to him and buy a ticket while he sits all comfortably at his seat. System in western world is better. There is no conductor in the bus. People have either to buy a ticket card which can be used for several trips or the bus driver has the ticket to issue and each person buys his own ticket before boarding the bus. But will this system work in Mumbai? Bus driver in Mumbai drive off with a speed and sometimes do not even bother to wait at the bus stops! (Why do they rush off like that? Do they get extra perks for extra mileage?) Many times, we, here in Mumbai have to board or light from a running bus. If we miss our balance, we may meet the ground in an awful poise that can be the photographer’s delight. Also, there are many dishonest travelers who get cheap thrills by saving small change that they can cash it on booze. Hic! Nah! It won’t work! Bus conductors will continue to suffer! Tsk! Tsk!

So much commotion over 'Dera Sacha Sauda'!

There has been so much commotion in the name of religion! Now take the case of 'Sacha Sauda'. This is not a name of any religion, caste, or any organization. The meaning of Sacha Sauda is to truly meditate on the names of Allah, Ram, God — all of which are different names given to the power of the soul by various religions, without interfering in anyone’s religion or caste. The aim of the Dera Sacha Sauda is to make people aware of the true presence of the Lord through the proper channel and guide humans towards the true love of the Lord. The Dera was originally set up in Sirsa in 1948 after it was displaced from Baluchistan in the wake of Partition They preach to meditate on the name of God all the time, abstain from consumption of alcohol, meat and eggs, observe truth in day-to-day life, shun evil social practices like dowry and extramarital relations and follow the path of truth. but now-a-days, it is in news for a different reason. Apparently,the Dera chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh offended the religious sentiments of the Sikhs. He was seen in an advertisement as appearing in public wearing robes akin to the ones that 'Guru Gobind Singh-ji' used to wear. The Sikh community is highly offended. they feel that he has hurt their religious sentiments by giving an advertisement attired in a dress similar to that of Guru Gobind Singh and also administering Amrit (nectar) to his followers in violation of Sikh traditions. This advertisement led to outbreak of sectarian violence in the state, claiming a life and causing much damage to government and private properties. (Whatever happened to peace and meditation!) Singh was charged by Punjab Police under pretext of deliberate malicious act intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or its religious belief, There has been uproar and the Dera has been asked to shut its doors.(I wonder if closing the Dera will solve their problems forever) The stand off between the Dera Sacha Sauda and the Sikhs show no signs of a resolution with the Akal Takht rejecting the Dera Head's regret, demanding the closure of all Deras in Punjab and calling for a state bandh.(More fuss) However, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh feels he has done nothing wrong. He feels that the entire thing has been misinterpreted. (I am sure it is) He says that whatever has triggered the controversy now has been a normal practice in the Dera ever since it came into existence. The serving of amrit that has become so controversial has been their practice since ages. They call it jaam-e-insaan, after partaking which a Dera follower becomes a true human being. where will this end? I wonder if they know it?

Whats wrong with old-age home? huh?

Imagine if you have an aging father, and you are unable to take care of him, For aged mother, it is not so difficult. Aged Mom can spent her time watching TV, attending various mandirs and tikaras, gossiping with friends in the park, she will be busy taking care of the house, searching for odds and ends to occupy her time, she will stitch the torn ends, cut the veggies, wash the plates and even make chappatis. or simply pass time taking panga with her daughter-in-law. She is never bored. But aging father? It is difficult. There are very few activities for him to do except to read newspaper, which he cannot read if he has poor eye-sight. We don’t expect him to help in the kitchen. At the most, he can go for walks or he can baby sit. But he needs/expects his tea/lunch/snack/dinner/attention/pampering, all at his convenience, and that is difficult nowadays, when there is so much of a work load. I don’t understand why old-age-home is a taboo in our Indian society. I was suggesting an old age home to my Indian friend who was worried about her aged father, and she looked shocked as if she had seen a ghost. Come on, be practical. If you look at these homes with open mind, they are no so bad, especially the ones where you can pay and stay comfortably. There are some good old age homes in India, where they take a deposit of five lakhs of rupees and you pay the rent of rupees ten thousand per month. They have an air conditioned private room plus they can have great number of professional to look to their mental/culinary/health needs. These homes ensure good health care, full services for a fee. These apartments which are equipped with 24 hour medical services, dining and recreational facilities, wheel chair facilities are available for a monthly maintenance charge plus the initial cost of the apartment. These independent living retirement arrangements enable the older people to enjoy life without being bothered about day-to-day maintenance. They can actively participate in the activities of the residents and also play games, swim, go out shopping and enjoy other cultural activities. Usually food is provided but the enterprising ones can cook their own meals. Such senior housing facilities are for those senior citizens who cannot take full responsibility but still want to be independent. Nothing however will take the place of staying at home with the family. Love and affection and the feeling of being wanted and needed can never be replaced by anything. Senior citizens staying in a family environment are the ideal scenario that they would want provided that is what the others want. But some times, certain things cannot be helped. Wise decision always helps.

A Joke sent to me by my friend...heheheehehee!

A woman comes home and tells her husband, "Remember those Headaches I've been having all these years? Well, they're gone." "No more headaches?" the husband asks, "What happened?" His wife replies, Margie referred me to a hypnotist. He told me To Stand in front of a mirror, stare at myself and repeat "I do not Have a Headache; I do not have a headache, I do not have a headache." It Worked! The headaches are all gone." The husband replies, "Well, that is wonderful." His wife then says, "You know, you haven't been exactly a ball Of Fire in the bedroom these last few years. Why don't you go see the Hypnotist and see if he can do anything for that?" The husband agrees to try it Following his appointment, the husband comes home, rips off his Clothes, picks up his wife and carries her into the bedroom. He Puts her on The bed and says, "Don't move, I'll be right back." He goes into The Bathroom and comes back. A few minutes later and jumps into bed And makes Passionate love to his wife like never before. His wife says, "Boy, that was wonderful!" The husband says, "Don't move! I will be right back." He goes Back Into the bathroom, comes back and round two was even better than The First time. The wife sits up and her head is spinning. Her husband again says, "Don't move, I'll be right back." With That, He goes back in the bathroom. This time, his wife quietly follows him and there, in the Bathroom, She sees him standing at the mirror and saying, "She's not my Wife. She's Not my wife. She's not my wife..." His funeral service will be held on Friday.

Funny kids nowadays! Studying on their mobile? How silly!

During our college days, the exam periods were the most interesting days. We would make plans to study at night. Some times we would have competitions on who studies the maximum hours. (some times, I would cheat by catching a small slumber with my light on, fooling my competitor that I was still studying) Then we would have friends stay over, to keep us awake so that we could chat/eat/make coffee in between our serious studies. Some times we would go out in the middle of the night to eat Paav Bhaji (Yes, pav bhaji and egg bhorji would be available during all night) and some times we would rush off during the early hours and eat the half-fry egg and drink Irani Chai. Our studying sessions were filled with laughter and thrill. But all that has changed! Nowadays, they spend too much time on internet or they are out all night, surfing discothèque of different suburbs and that leaves them with little time to actually prepare for their exams. And what should I say of this? In this new technological age, our future generation will just switch on their handset and answer the multiple choices available on it to prepare for their exams! And they are going to study material for competitive exams like the GRE, CET or CAT! This initiative will be called the ‘Prep Guide’ and this service will be available on phones through WAP/SMS/voice and multiple applications and would involve major operators to provide the service. All an aspiring student has to do is go to a particular study zone, type the code and avail of the services, just for Rs100. EnableM, a wireless application company, has come up with such a solution. It has tied-up with the Institute of Management Studies (IMS) to launch comprehensive MBA study material on phones within a month It is a comprehensive module catering to all the learning requirements for an MBA training program, which comprises of an English zone, Math zone, logic and reasoning and must-knows. Booo! How boring! Alas, the young kids of today may not understand nor enjoy our kind of pure fun. They can study in those crowded, smoky, ‘Kaffee’ zones.

Comics with bold messages like HIV/AIDS

During my growing up days, I found it easier to read comics because they had lot of pictures and it ended faster. I would enjoy comics like Tintin, Archies, Phantom, Batman and many more. Many of my friends discouraged me from reading those comics debating that it murdered the English grammar but since it was easier to understand, with everything left to imagination, and it worked for me. Comics are not merely for kids any more. There are new set of comics, in market nowadays, like - "Josh Mein Hosh" (Passion with Sense), "Khoon Ka Katra" (Just a drop of blood), "Savdhan Senior" (On your guard, senior) and "Pyar Ka Packet" (A packet of love) that are interwoven with messages on HIV/AIDS, and conveys the message that it is wrong to presume that "girlfriends must be meek and submissive and that a sexually aggressive woman is bad. The aim of these comics is to change social attitude and dispel the popular notion of masculinity that makes young men in urban slums indulge in violence against women and use condoms only when having a relationship with sex workers. There has been an urgency to bring out these educational comic books because in 2006, about 30 percent of HIV infections were reported in the 15 to 20 age group. Existing literature shows that young Indian men subscribe to norms of masculinity that lead to risky behavior and to change this, discussions were held with young men to understand their media habits, message retention from HIV campaigns, myths and misconceptions.. Participants were encouraged to relate real life incidents so that these comics echoed true stories. The draft stories were pre-tested in discussions with young men in urban slums and their feedback was incorporated in the final version The state and district AIDS control societies in Andhra Pradesh and Delhi have integrated elements of their campaign into the comic book series and have endorsed the products The Population Council and four other NGOS have brought out this set of comics, in four languages - Bengali, English, Hindi and Telugu. Several NGOs have been approached to integrate this package within existing outreach activities and to distribute these comics Will the illitrate population show any interest in such comics? Time will tell.

How can we help these moral policemen in saffron forces?

Sex is the most controversial topic in our Indian society. Whenever there is an assault or freedom of expression in an open space it arouses a great interest in majority of population. Lately, two people who have been in news are Shilpa Shetty (a Bollywood filmstar) and Chandra Mohan (Lalit Kala Akademi awardee from Baroda). Shilpa, who was taken by surprise when Richard bend her over in a poise, like in ‘Shall We Dance” created quite an uproar. Although the kiss was only on cheeks, people responded as though they had witnessed a porno. A criminal case was registered against her in the judicial magistrate courts of Jodhpur, Ghaziabad and Mundawar (Alwar) which is now moved to Mumbai. Then, there was arrest of Chandramohan, an art student of the MS University in Baroda on charges of ‘objectionable’ display of art work. He was arrested by moral police in saffron forces and was charged with non-bail offences, including inciting communal disharmony and public obscenity, which violated his right to express himself. It is very obvious that political parties target sensitive subjects like these to fulfill personal motives or even gain some cheap publicity. If only they would target their anger on more important issues and try to bring change in the nation in a more constructive way. If only they could focus their attention on more important problems. For example, we have one suicide in every eight hours. More than half of those who committed suicide were between 20 and 45, their most productive years. More than two thousand farmers have committed suicide in last five years and most of them have done so due to their inability to cope with stress or poverty. If only they would help these poor farmers and create opportunities for them to live with dignity. If only we knew how we could shift the focus of these moral policemen to these more important issues. We would personally help them, if we could. What can we possibly do?

I Can Prove that I am a Mumbaite.

I will say "town" and I expect you to know that this means south of Churchgate. (In Bandra, it is a suburb) I speak in a dialect of Hindi called 'Mumbaiya Hindi', which only mumbaites can understand.(Samjhe kya?) My door has more than three locks (Two strong one and one latch). Rupees 500 worth of groceries can fit in one paper bag.(its quite expensive here) Train timings (9.27, 10.49 etc) are really important events of my close friend’s life.(and they won’t speak to me, not even on their mobile) I spend more time each month traveling than I spend at home. (it takes me more than four hours to pay a visit of two hours at my school) I call an 8' x 10' clustered room a Hall. (Can’t help it) My paying guests are paying Rupees 10,000 for a 1 room flat, the size of walk-in closet and they think it's a "steal." (and I let them believe it) I have the following sets of friend: school friends, college friends, neighborhood friends, office friends and yes, train friends, a species unique only in Bombay. Cabbies and bus conductors think I am from Mars if I call the roads by their Indian name, they are more familiar with Warden Road, Peddar Road, Altamount Road . Stock market quotes are the only other thing besides cricket which my nieghbours follow passionately. (and they are happy to share) The first thing that we read in the Times of India is the "Bombay Times" supplement.(or a midday) I take fashion seriously. (I update my knowledge on TV) I am suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to me. I cannot see Hookers, beggars and the homeless at traffic signals (I am always short of change) I always compare Mumbai to New York's Manhattan instead of any other cities of India. (NY’s Queens suburb is quite backward) The most frequently used part of my car is the horn. ( I wonder how they clear traffic in western world) I insist on calling CST as VT, and Sahar and Santacruz airports instead of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport.(Why did they change it any way?) I consider eye contact an act of overt aggression. (what do they want, huh?) My idea of personal space is no one actually standing on my toes. (my friends can call me before every visit) Being truly alone makes me nervous.(I would rather go to a crowded mall) I love wading through knee deep mucky water in the monsoons, and actually call it ''romantic'.(specially if we fall in the open manhole) Only in Mumbai I can get Chinese Dosa and Jain Chicken. (and it is available at every cross road) Don’t get confused when in Mumbai, follow your instinct not the name...Because.... Churchgate has neither a church nor a gate. It is a railway station. There is no darkness in Andheri. Lalbaag is neither red nor a garden. No king ever stayed at Kings Circle. Nor did Queen Victoria stay at Victoria Terminus. Nor is there any princess at Princess Street. Lower Parel is at the same level as Parel There are no marines or sailors at Marine Lines. The Mahalaxmi temple is at Haji Ali not at Mahalaxmi. There are no pigs traded at Dukar bazaar. Teen bati is a junction of 3 roads, not three lamps. Trams used to terminate at Kings circle not Dadar Tram Terminus (Dadar T.T.). Breach Candy is not a sweetmeat market, but there is a Hospital. Safed Pool has the dirtiest and blackest water. You cannot buy coal at Kolsa street. There are no Iron smiths at Lohar chawl. There are no pot makers at Kumbhar wada. Lokhandwala complex is not an Iron and steel market. Null bazaar does not sell taps You will not find ladyfingers at Bheendi Bazaar. Kalachowki does not have a black Police station. Hanging Gardens are not suspended. Mirchi Gully does not sell chillies. Figs do not grow in Anjir Wadi, Sitafals do not grow in Sitafal Wadi, Jackfruits do not grow at Fanaswadi But it is true that you may get fleeced at Chor Bazaar!!! so Beware!

Life in Metro

Okay, Okay, I admit, I went for this movie, first day, first-show. Well, I was too tempted to see it after all those promos on TV. Normally, I am not a movie buff, but this movie had got me real curious, and when my friend asked me to accompany her, I went ahead. And I was not disappointed. Maybe, I was in a good mood. Escaping the summer heat and relaxing in a cool multiplex on a week-end, can be luxurious sometimes. But, I wonder if people in metro city are really living in sin (how come I don’t know any?) All the people were having extra-marital affairs, infidelity, live-in relationships, and the need to make it to the top quickly. The message the film sends out is to give relationships a chance. The fact that you’re never too old to give love a chance (Dharam and Nafisa in love croonings) and that love has to be nurtured in order to let it grow. The characters are easily recognizable—the homemaker (Shilpa Shetty), whose marriage to philandering (Kay Kay Menon) has lost all meaning. She briefly finds solace in the stranger she meets every Saturday (Shiney Ahuja), who has let life pass him by as he struggles to make it on stage, but feels terribly guilty when she is overcome with strong emotions.. Then there is her sister (Konkona Sen Sharma) who is searching for love at 30 and her room mate (Kangna Ranaut), who caught up in a loveless relationship, and (Sharman Joshi) intelligent, ambitious, (who encourages loves to use his apartment while he waits on the streets.) and unable to express his love for Neha. There is also (Irrfan Khan) searching for the perfect partner on shaadi.com.(and ogling the legs of women) All caught up in the relentless pace that comprises big city life. It is basically the story of emotions. They all try to find that special someone even as they go about living their mundane lives. The ones to watch for are Konkona and Irrfan (this is worth all the money you spent on movie and popcorn) as they go about their mismatched lives till reality dawns on one and then the other. Their getting together is accomplished in a hilarious sequence. It was interesting to watch Dharma and Nafisa in their old age romantic moods. Lyrics were good although my friend had a hearty laugh every time those same three singers kept appearing, shabbily dress, and filmed in the same way. Pritam, the music director, and two cronies lip-sync the songs like three fakirs while the film's characters battle their way through their crises.

Religious Path. Follow a right direction? Which side please?

On my recent trip to Madrid, I met a Sindhi woman. We got to talking religion and philosophy. And suddenly she asked me about my Guru. She asked me to tell her which path I had chosen. Was I a follower of Sai Baba, or Dhan Nirankari or Radha Soami. I told her that I have not chosen a Guru as yet because I am highly confused. My family is Radha Soami, my cousins are Dhan Nirankaris and my friends are SaiBaba devotees. Plus there are more than twenty thousand Gurus, and all highly qualified. I want to choose a path that can guarantee me a sure shot heaven. I cannot live long enough to try all of them. I don’t have that much time. For a time being I have chosen to live the life of being an honest human being.I will make a decision soon, in this life time. I hope. She told me there is no hope for me till I make a quick decision and take sides. But yes, I am confused. What do I have to do to become a better person? If eating non-vegetarian is a sin, then, I stand as a sinner, and no Guru shall accept me. But what of those who hurt the sentiments of their fellow companions, killing their souls mercilessly? What about those gossipers who spend endless hours slandering the character of innocent and naïve people? What of those who speak endless lies without even a fraction of a blink? Do the people who have taken ‘Naam’ (initiation) get a free ticket to heaven against all odds? I have attended many discourses (satsangs) and all preach the same thing, time and again, same things, over and over, but still, I see repeatedly that the devotees nod their head in astonishment, every time, pretending, as if they are hearing it for the first time. Repeatedly they ask the same questions (at questions/answers meetings) and get the same answers, but they are surprised every time, as if relevation of solution is disclosed for the first time. Some of them have been devotees for many,many years and they are still wondering the purpose of their life. Still complaining that they find it hard to concentrate on their meditation, still curious about what is lacto-vegetarian diet, still weighing and contemplating as to what medicines (in their veggie world) are safe to take, still finding it difficult to shed off their attachment with their materialistic world. Time and again, it is pointed out that to search truth, we must learn to go inside and find a new world. But still people are outward, running in different direction, from one religious building to another, from hardwar to Beas to Ganeshpuri to Badrinarayan, through valleys and mountains, across the continents, following the Guru in human form, destroying His privacy and His independent space. Guru in human form is a Guide who shows us the right path to follow. A duty of a devotee is follow the path as shown and not have so many (endless) doubts, which don’t seem to find any solutions! A path is shown to one disciple at a time by our Guru, ‘Naam’ is the treasure to be guarded and pampered, not some thing to be worn around the neck and flash it, every time, to every passerby. It is something to appreciate it in solitude, for having a secret communication with your soul, to savor it, to relish it and help yourself to see that bright light and hear that divine music. We are still lost. I stand at a crossroad! Confused!

Organic way of life......

After attending Vijaya Venkat’s nutrition program for 2 months, I have become more and more conscious of the food that I eat. And when ever I eat unhygienic food, I am aware that I am torturing my body. Some times I look around to see if anybody is watching me eat. (Remember I am not supposed to eat!) If I keep advising everybody to eat sensibly, I should be careful too. I am supposed to concentrate on organic food, which is grown like it used to in my grannies’ era. (In its pure form, without any pesticides or chemical, that are used to make them look beautiful, that means it should be without any make-up) In organic food, instead of pesticides, they grow brave trees like neem trees, eucalyptus trees that does ‘Shoo! Shoo!’ every time any pests comes near them. In a way, it is good to eat organic food. Our body is free from all toxic waste. We can conveniently be disease free. Organic food, (besides being free from pesticides and chemical), it is also more nutritious. We don’t have to buy everything organic. We can make a gradual change. I know many people who find organic food more expensive than conventionally produced product. But they should understand that the cost of returning farms to their chemical-free state is higher. And also without fertilizers and modified seeds, the yield is lower than usual. But I think it is still cheaper than the doctor’s bill, were we to eat cheap food, we might fall sick more often and then we will make all doctors happy. (Actually doctors want to survive too and make money, so they keep prescribing pills which cure you from one disease only but create side effect which is guaranteed for a return trip to doctor for more pills for yet one more disease.) I have asked the secretary of my building to ban all those pani-puri wallahs and bhelwallh that sit outside our building. Every time I go down for a long walk, I am forced to eat their bhelpuri and spoil my health unnecessarily. No temptations no sins! I am sure of that!

Dieting in the city.

My mom lived in a nice world. She remained healthy and slim all her life and she had no restrictions on her diet. She would eat whatever she wished and there were no issues to discuss. My aunt lived in a nice world. She remained healthy and big all her life and she had no restrictions on her diet. She would eat whatever she wished and there were no issues to discuss. Nowadays, every second person you meet, you find her slimmer. And looking thin/big is a big issue, thing to discuss, thing to ponder. Whatever is happening to this world? Is there a food shortage or have people just stopped eating? Why is everyone dieting? Every body is aping each other and there is some sort of competition on getting thinner and thinner. Do they seriously mean to become so slim? But why? Why do people want to become so slim that they need to hold on to the lamp post every time there is a gush of strong wind? I think I know the answer. There has been advent of malls in our city. And there are fabulous clothes in every designer’s rack but they don’t seem to suit our big-sized sisters, so they have decided that they need to get into those small-sized pretty clothes. Or maybe, there are too many gyms in our city (one in every lane) and its is a in-thing to belong to some gym or other (‘Oh, what gym do you go?’, ‘I go this gym and we have this film star visiting too’. . ‘oh really, how lucky, I will join too’), It is the deep rooted desire to be the part of and belong to some group or other. Or is it that non-tasty, non-oily food/ snacks that is a craze nowadays? We are having great number of dietician who are trying out range of healthy foods and are seriously looking for big-bodied girls to experiment their stuff and miraculously, it works! The hot topic at the kitty parties is what you can and cannot eat. And the list is endless. And I am very much confused! Everybody says: Don’t eat anything white. That means bread, rice, milk and milk products, salt and sugar should be eradicated from our super-marketing list Don’t eat tin or preserved food. That means all the fragmented food like tin food, packed food, cold-stored food, chopped food should be avoided No drinks. So no coke, Fanta, soft drinks, aerated drinks, tea, coffee. No biscuits, skip the lane in a super market which has biscuits on display No chocolates, skip this row too. No fried stuff. So no samosas, batatawadas, bhajias, puris etc No Mithais or any other sweets. Bad for health. So what do I eat? Only fruits and vegetables, sprouts and nuts? Okay! So when can I eat my normal food again?

Card game called Rummy!

When I was small I was made to believe that playing cards is a vice to be avoided. So I only played solitaire and free cell. But as I grew up, I realized that my elders enjoyed the game of Rummy and whenever they met for lunch on Sundays, they played cards and passed their time. The family met regularly. They cheered, laughed and joked while playing rummy and sometimes they quarreled over a poor game or bad luck but the bond within the family was maintained and all the members looked forward to lunches and a game of rummy on Sundays and on festive days. My aunts and cousins would encourage me to play, sometimes sponsoring me, so that I would sit, joke and play with them. I was thus introduced to a game of Rummy and I gradually learnt to enjoy it as it kept me away from gossip and idle chat and also from taking endless, aimless walks, surfing through those shopping malls. And now I am a regular player of cards, and my educated/ literate friends don’t seem to understand my this passion. Every time I play cards, I am introduced to a new game. Many years ago there used to be only thirteen-cards-game of rummy that we would play with one or two packs of cards and there used to be one/two jokers and one pure run. But people soon got tired of playing the same game of only thirteen cards, every afternoon from two to seven. So they decided to try this game with little alteration. And the rummy with twenty-one cards was introduced. People complained at first, that they could not hold twenty-one cards, and the cards kept slipping out from the hands, but gradually people started liking it and for many years they play rummy with twenty-one cards where you make three pure runs and you play with three pack of cards. There are three real jokers plus one-up and one-down in addition to the card displayed as joker. Then, to make game more interesting, they introduced ‘andha kanoon’ where the joker was hidden till you had three runs ready. After some years again a new version of this game was introduced where you make four compulsory runs and then make your own joker to declare a game, earning the maximum penalties. And now, again, they have one more alteration. The new rummy is now played with twenty-seven cards. And they are not complaining about their inability to hold it because they have learnt the tactics of holding them efficiently in two layers. In this version, you have to make four runs and there many jokers. The main joker that is displayed carries its value two-up and two-down of same color and thus increasing the penalties. It is no more a game of wit but it is only a game of luck. If you get good set of cards, play or else pack your game and keep losing. And, I am still loving it…..

'Tara Rum Pum' go see it with children....timepass....

Went to see ‘Tara Rum Pum’ staring Saif Ali, Rani Mukerjee and two kids Priya and Ranveer. It is a cute story (more like a fairy tale) about a car racer who meets with an accident and his happy-go-lucky-live-for-a-present life goes up-side-down bringing hardships to his family. There are moral lessons to be learnt. We must save for the rainy day. (Saif buys expensive gifts like diamond ring, finishing all his money without a thought to paying of the house rent, buys big house, car and all luxury items in installments which he loses it all in his bad times when he has no money to pay for installments nor does he have enough money for his son’s treatment, who is seriously hurt when he swallows a piece of glass) Live with self-respect. (father offering 50,000 dollars to his daughter in hard times but the daughter refusing to take, prefers to live in penury), Don’t ever lie (Saif lies about his daughter being sick with pneumonia and get sympathy and cash from friends that he, then spends on celebrating the birthday of his child) and don’t worry, be happy. (The children are made to believe that they are participating in an reality show called ‘don’t worry be happy’ where they can pretend to be poor but still keep a smile. (That is why I say fairy tale, because children are no more stupid these day but still play along with their parent’s make-believe tale).

Chilled veggies at my doorstep?

I have this vegetable and fruit seller who rings my doorbell at all odd hours. Sometimes if I am too lazy to go out and buy those heavy vegetable, I welcome him and even buy from him. But there are times when I am doing my thinking exercise (for example : writing) or cleaning exercises (for example: bath) or breathing exercises (for example: meditation) Now, will I like somebody ringing my doorbell in such odd hours? So either I don’t answer the doorbell at all or answer the doorbell and show him one of my devilish moods. But I guess they are used to that and they keep coming back unperturbed by our bad moods. But, all that is likely to change. No I don’t mean that we will permanently start patronizing the food stores and supermarket but better still, in future we will not be able to refuse those sophisticated — a simple, out-of-the-box thela, that has been conceived by Acme Cold Chain Solutions, a New Delhi-based firm. Acme is investing Rs1 crore for a three-month pilot project in which 25 chilled hawking trolleys will be used to vend fresh food and fruits, improvising on the traditional sabjiwala’s facility. They are planning to have direct-to-home service providers to launch the mobile fresh foods venture called ‘All Fresh’. We will be able to book through a toll-free number, collected at a call centre facility in Gurgaon, and will be transmitted to the nearest ‘All Fresh hawking trolley operator’, who will then deliver fruit/vegetable at the our doorstep. Will I scowl at these veggie-vendor? Time will tell!

Pampering our taste buds

Though my nutritionist has prohibited me from eating road side ‘Kachra’ as she calls it, but this is the temptations I just cannot resist. We have so many road side vendors at every street that it is sometimes impossible to control the drooling. Agree, that road-side is the most unhygienic way of pampering ourselves, what with the traffic moving about, throwing the dust up in the air which finally comes to rest on the open food, and also the lack of clean water (they keep washing the used vessels from the mininmum of half cup of water) but still we drool. And before we wet the streets with our overflowing drool it is best to shuff mouths with the tasty flavors of the road side stuff. I love the Pani-Puri and Batatapuri the best. There is a batatapuri wallah who stands outside my gate and he makes the most delicious stuff. One day I had a kitty party at my place and I asked him to bring his whole stall up on the second floor. The ladies were so impressed and some of them, till today, remind me of that luxury. And what did I have to lose? I didn’t have to slog into my kitchen like our cousins in foreign country do! We, in India, just ask him to come up and handle the culinary part. (boo-boo) I also love to eat Samosas and Batawadas. I like them best with those fried soft chillies and stuffed into bread. (yummy!) Then we also have the most delicious sandwiches. Sssluurrrrp! The vegetable sandwiches and the cheese toast. Then there is Pavbhaji, Ragda-Pattis, Bhajias……The list is endless. Although, many of these stalls have been put up hygienically (wearing those plastic gloves et el) in the malls, but we still patronize the roadside, in the open air.. Who cares anyway? Dhekha jayega! We were brought up that way!

Sentiments are for foriegners in an artic zone..

Are you visiting India? It will do you good if you keep warm your sentiments behind. In India you have to be careful even while holding hands, because if you lose control, you could end up making a fool of yourself. In India, we show our affections only behind the closed doors or we can face the same fate as our Shipa Shetty, a famous Indian film star of ‘Big Brother’ fame. She stands amidst the angry conservative society as guilty. Guilty? Of what? For not resisting Richard Gere for his passionate kiss, which he couldn’t stop for three full minutes? And that too in front of truck drivers who were attending HIV health awareness program in Delhi. In a country where public display of affection are largely a taboo and the police arrest young folks who are a bit, too intimate at the sea shores, this kiss was too much to tolerate. As soon as it was flashed across TV channels, the crowds in India went berserk and starting burning effigies of Richard Gere. People viewed the event as ‘highly sexually erotic’ saying that the pair violated India’s strict public obscenity laws. And now the local citizens have filed a complaint charging that the public display of affection has offended local sensibilities. If convicted of Public obscenity, they could face up to three months in prison and fine or both. And so I repeat. Please leave your affectionate sensibilities back home, where ever you are. In India, it is not cashable.

life on Mumbai streets!

on Mumbai streets you can find many scenes, some happy some sad.... It pains me to see small children brought into this world by the parents who have no roof over themselves. what future can a child expect from those parents who have none.... Yes! they too love their children and you see them hugging their little ones amidst the traffic and dust as the empty vessels lie in front of them waiting to be filled.... what can one do about this child who is all alone on the street at this tender age? while the kids of rich parents have thousand eyes to watch over them a child of poor parents has none but One...... for year the poor live on squatted on the streets under the temporary shade of a wall that will soon fade away exposing them to the harsh cruel world.... while the elders will go on finishing their hard earned chores.....