mind-o-girl

Odd but true!

2011-10-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

In my recent visit to our neighbouring country of Nepal, I came across an odd looking flower which rather struck me as a sponge more than a flower. I also did come across what is commonly known as Davis Water falls, which is shaped as though it was intentionally cut out in such a manner so as to give it an artsy feel! Another thing that transported me back to my childhood when I truly believed that clouds looked fluffy and was as cold as ice cream were the clouds over Kathmandu. Check these oddities for your self!

Sasuji's treat!

2011-02-16T02:39:00.003-08:00

My job has brought me to Ahmedabad this week. It is from here that I write this post about a restaurant called “Sasuji” which serves up authentic Gujarati thali. Since we had heard decent reviews of this place, we decided to try the place even though we had to work post lunch which was a daunting task in itself. This place is perennially packed with hungry folks who will lap up the local cuisine with all gusto. With a simple décor the restaurant serves the thali containing the regular spread of unlimited gheewala rotis and puris, dal, kadhi, dhokla, chilla, 4 types of sabjis, chutney, salad and papad along with buttermilk and sweets. All of this at a reasonable price of Rs.150/ -.
What makes this place unique is that in all the customer traffic the floor in charge and the servers barely talk to each other and communicate through sign language only. If any table was in need of refills, these servers would signal each other and your plate would be refilled instantly! Each item was assigned a different hand gesture and number. For instance, the chutneys came in a serving vessel containing 2 bowls; hence the number two was assigned for chutney. Similarly the vegetables came in a container of 4 bowls and therefore the number four was assigned for vegetables. The waiters would snap their fingers for refills and most often when you hear the sound of snapping, rest assured, someone was getting served to their heart's content!

Chronicles of Bahrain

2011-02-02T22:33:00.000-08:00

As I made way through the immigration counters at the Mumbai International Airport I could hear instrumentals of popular hymns being played softly. People eagerly made their way to the security check and once that was done, we entered what I call the "shopaholics paradise". Yup you guessed it-Duty Free! Let the word "free" not fool you as everything in those shops were high end and therefore not even remotely inexpensive. But it was a view that put a tiny smile to my face and a twinkle in my eye. After entering my comfort zone, I began my favorite pastime-observing people in their funniest best. We Indians love to dress up grandly with all our finest of ornaments and silks when going on international flights. It makes them feel super fine & important. Then there are those "home alone" families who spend all their time in between crying babies, feeding babies and counting the number of kids still present at the end of it all. My flight to Bahrain of course had passengers of all kinds- those who complained of the seat, those who kept poking the television screens to annoy the passenger in front of them and finally those all important super VIPs passengers who just could not tolerate the thought of being cut off from the world and hence refused to switch off their cell phones! So much for the onward travel!!

My two-week stay in Bahrain had its share of idiosyncrasies and memorable anecdotes. Some that come to my mind include:
(1) When my colleague and I were dodging the rain while entering our hotel, we noticed a Caucasian male (trying to be politically correct!). He seemed to have been holed up in his hotel room and decided to get out for a bit, only to find that it was still raining! He blurted out “Is it still raining? WHY!! Is this Bahrain or Mumbai”. As soon as he noticed us (very much Indian looking folks) he realized his faux-pas and said “By the way good game of cricket there” referring to India’s good performance at the ongoing series against South Africa and gave us the thumbs up.
(2) Unlike its neighbors’, Bahrain is a very progressive little nation. This can be evidenced from local newspapers which talk of the young royals who take active interest in women affairs and image building exercise for the country. Its constant endeavor to ape the west and become a popular destination can be seen its people and lifestyle. Men and women parade in outfits that look like they have come straight out of a Milan fashion event with high heel boots, denims, jell hair and accessories like bags and latest cell phones to match them all! All very interesting!
(3) The country is the sin city of the Middle East in all ways possible and sees a major inflow of people from the neighboring GCC countries like KSA, Kuwait & Qatar over the weekend. This is the time when Bahrain comes alive with its malls, roads and restaurants crowded with the young and old. People start streaming in on Wednesdays and by Friday evening the country wears a deserted look leaving behind the locals. Trivia- The country population is 1 million of which 400k are expatriates!
(4) Since it’s a small nation with not much history to boast of, it has but a handful of places to see like the Tree of Life (look it up on Google if you please), the tall high rises, the causeway, the local museums which gives a brief on the nation, the royal palaces and Bab-al-Bahrain which was the erstwhile official gate of Bahrain. There are a few quaint shopping zones and the country is famous for high quality pearls.
(5) People are in general friendly and cab drivers strike up conversations at will and ask about various things like the best medical facilities in India, visa and immigration policy, weather of Bahrain etc.
(6) Now, we decided to visit the local Indian restaurant called ‘Moti Mahal’ on Food Street in the suburb of Juffair at the insistence of one of our colleagues. What makes this place unique? The waiter- comes the resounding answer! Don’t quite remember his name, but he was the whole package deal. Not only did he take our orders but he also sang film songs & he did a fantastic impersonation of Shahrukh Khan. In fact he was so obsessed with the actor that he stopped serving us when his idol was on screen and started giving us trivia about him and the awards show that was being shown on the telly. At one point when an actress joked/insulted our waiter’s idol, he was so enraged that he began hurling abuses at her! We then realized that this guy had seen this recorded show many times over and could narrate it backwards! At the end of the dinner I was left thinking what brought this budding actor to Bahrain and that too in this role!

Well, those were my take aways from the Land of Pearls!

Trip down the Nehru residence

2010-11-02T04:12:00.000-07:00

My job takes me to places in India that I would normally never think of visiting. One such place was Allahabad, a relatively small town in Uttar Pradesh and it was an eye-opener. During my stay there I had the opportunity to visit "Anand Bhavan". As I approached the huge bugalow which once housed the members of the Nehru family, I was told that I could not take photos inside.As I entered the place, which is now an attraction for people from world over, I could not contain my excitement and felt like a kid in a candy store.I moved from one room to another seeing the grand style in which the Nehru family lived. But the whole experience left me with the feeling that our country could have been a great nation if its leaders worked towards the prosperity of its people.For instance the memorabilia at the Anand Bhavan included Nehru's leather long coat worn by him overseas, his London issued passport, silver cutlery, travel iron (small sized), different designed leather wallets with his name engraved on it, porcelain leg warming equipment, letters written by him to Indira, Bapu's letter to Indira.Why in those days Nehru also had an electric shaver (which was popularized much later)!!!.All the rooms had a high quality and beautifully crafted furniture and loads of books (the size of a library).It was truly like going back in time.The bungalow also had rooms kept for Mahatma Gandhi, study rooms for the Nehrus, Indira's rooms, Congress Committee meeting room.The huge property had a sprawling garden, planetarium and now what is converted into a book store. Seeing all of that made me wonder if the common man in those days had even one of these mentioned items that the Nehrus' possessed.

All in all, it was a thought provoking trip. I would recommend a visit to anyone who comes to Allahabad.

2010-03-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

Freebees Ahoy!

8^th March is celebrated as Women’s Day worldwide and India is no exception. However, this year, apart from the usual discounts and special offers by companies selling all kinds of goods and services (read-beauty products and designer clothes) there were some offers that came with absolutely no strings attached. And that is too irresistible even for someone like me since advertisements have never enticed me.

One such offer was that by Big Cinemas who gave every woman in this country, an open invitation to walk into any Big Cinema theatre and watch any movie free of charge and that too all day long! What can I say-too irresistible isn’t it? I felt it was my duty to oblige since I got handed a pamphlet informing me the same when I visited there the last time! So, come 8^th March I called in my friend and told her that we have to grab this offer with both hands and both legs if needed, and she obliged of course. Now mind you, we have never done such a thing before, never even tried the free make up session at the Shoppers Stop outlets. So we braved the Mumbai traffic and landed at R City Mall in Ghatkopar well within time. Took the elevator to the 3^rd floor with much anticipation knowing that all the women with us had also come to celebrate women’s day and were headed in the same direction. Finally on arrival we found a huge serpentine line, which was being manned by staffers handing out forms (yeah-forms asking for details of which movie we wanted to watch!). We could not believe the turnout and kept cracking up seeing the addition to this queue. All women kept chattering among themselves deciding which movie was worth the free ticket and if they would in fact get the ticket at all. There were college groups, kitty party groups, families where women came along with their men folk who of course were paying for their tickets as was the case with yours truly. The whole scene was fascinating as it was funny. Once we came close to the ticket counter the decision on which movie to watch took paramount importance. Women were calculating with increased fervour the odds of getting the tickets before them being sold out. As for us we knew all the way that we would be watching the Road Movie since we had planned for it a few days back. Good for us that nobody wanted to watch this hatke movie, so we sailed through with getting our tickets on time.

We wanted to remember this day where we actually watched a movie for free and hence captured it on our camera feeling and looking every bit jubilant.

I realized that people actually love being a freebee even if that meant standing for hours to get what is being doled out free of charge. The growing consumerism is what theatre owners are capitalizing upon, with such offers. On any other day, I am sure the footfalls in the food stalls and other stores would not have been this high.

All in all it was one fun day, which left me feeling that people do take time out from their busy schedules to enjoy such bounties. Currently I am checking if there are any more such days which will be celebrated with all earnestness!

Mile My Lip synching Sur ....

2010-01-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

Was looking forward to the much publicised 2010 version of the evergreen Mile Sur Mera Tumhara which captivated the hearts and minds of million Indians right through the 80s and 90s. Read that many-read current- celebrities had been roped in to be a part of this venture which was touted to recreate the same magic of yester years. However, the product of all the efforts, was a pale and uninspiring version of the original, which left me tortured to say the least!
Firstly the original actually had renowned and established people from the field of music, movies,defence and sports.These were achievers in their own right. The musicians actually sang the parts that featured them! The sportsmen and women were truly inspiring. The original even showed the average Indian man and woman doing routine activities which all of us connected with and felt a sense of being represented. The men and women from the armed forced were equally given airtime making us realize how important their jobs are. The movie stars, well, I don't have much of an opinion of them, but they did add to the glitz of the entire song making it larger than life itself.I am sure every Indian felt the pride-I did.
The latest version was nothing but a bunch of popular actors lip syncing the song with hardly any patriotism in their emotions! There were a handful of the original talents who were the only saving grace. I barely recognized any of the so-called superstars from the south. How on earth did the organizers put people who are barely known in a song like this which was to air on national television as a symbol of national unity?
In all-a complete let down and a sham-that's what it was....

Movie Marathon

2009-06-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

I consider myself to be an average movie goer. However, the last one week has been a crazy movie marathon. The weekend was laced with trips to the movies.... the night before the 10 year graduation class reunion, it was "Angels and Demons" after which we (i.e. dev, padma and i) decided to stay up and chat till 3am.

With four hours of sleep we woke up to Saturday which promised to be one long day..... Right from shopping for the perfect clothes to getting ready and reaching the party zone, it was one fight against time as I decided to get all these things done in one day-the day of the reunion! Since multitasking was second nature to me, I did well to reach the venue in one piece....The party was fun, catching up with friends..post the catching up, dancing, food and drinks, we decided to crash at a friends place...so far so sane...

However Saturday night also got wrapped up by 3am after a lot of yapping....woke up on Sunday which started with a special omelette du fromage preparation by dev which ended at 10am....that was one long breakfast! Now what good is a Sunday without a trip to the movies again...Dragged dev for "Bride Wars"-fully faaltu chic-flick-My advice..please avoid it like plague.

While at the movies dev decided we had to take a break and come back for "Star Trek" at night..which is exactly what we did..by the time the movie began at 10pm I was completely zonked and was sleeping with my eyes open... However the movie turned out to be just the potion to wake me up from my sleep-Must watch if you are a trekkie.

The movie marathon continued with this weekend, as dev and I went for "X Men origins"-You may miss this one too..a bit dramatic for my tastes..

All in all I think I made up for the drought in movie viewing that I underwent in the last 4 months..

Major Faux Pas!

2009-05-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

After a tough day at office, I was entering Bandra station and while i was about to climb the stairs I remembered by blog titled "The Ugly fall". And just as I shuddered at the thought of going through the humiliation of falling on my face infront of a million people at a crowded station, it happened again. I fell on those stupid stairs and was on my four limbs feeling ever so foolish. Gosh...when will this end!

Mumbaikars show the middle finger to elections

2009-05-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

India has been under the weather for a while now with terror attacks and the recent recession laced with corporate scams. However when the time came to cast our precious vote, very little could be said about the turnout especially in the city of Mumbai. Many Mumbaikars including famous names from the entertainment and business community spoke vociferously in favour of being a part of the system that runs the city. This feeling of ownership was strongly felt after the 26/11 terror attacks when most television channels hosted debates on what can be done to make Mumbai an excellent place to live. When the time to vote came, the voter turnout in Mumbai was at an abysmal 43.5%. Bollywood did their bit by waltzing in their luxury cars to vote and lost no time to blame the rest of the city for the poor turnout. Maybe it was the heat or the long weekend, but people in the city did not go out and cast their vote. I wonder what were the demographics of those who did vote.

Doga-Yoga redefined!

2009-04-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

It is common knowledge that interacting with pets is supposed to relax you and the same goes for yoga.. However, when you mix the two (i suppose the relaxed feeling increases exponentially) you get Doga-yoga with pets like dogs and cats!!. This form of yoga is practiced in Malaysia-Dev was informed by the local guide who showed him pictures of little pupps being balanced on tummies of men and women who were attempting the Dhanurasan! I had to post this one, the mental pics were just too funny!! This pic here shows a lady actually practicing doga...the dog seems to be working more though...

Rakhi Ka Swayamvara

2009-04-14T04:54:00.000-07:00

Ok...I know that those of you who are not clued into reality TV in India are wondering, what on earth?!?? after reading this title...but hang on...remember Rakhi Sawant from all those cheesy (bordering on cheap) music videos where she strutted her stuff against the shocking pink and electric blue backdrops...yeah..its all coming back to you now, isn't it??? the deal is this...Ms. Sawant is finally taking the plunge into marital bliss... However Rakhi always finds novel ways to entertain the populace at which she is now a certified professional. She has decided to go and find herself a groom through the process of Swayamvara on national television and the folks at NDTV have been ever so kind to allow her to use their network to find the love of her life...so sweet of them...aawwww!!! Now this is no cheap trick she is pulling on her audience/fans. Its a very scientific process, where men wishing to get married to Rakhi have to register themselves with the show. Rakhi would then choose 15 chaps of her liking, and would stay with them under one roof. During this time, she will give her prospective grooms various tasks to perform and those who fail these tasks obviously have to take a bow. The final week will see Rakhi marrying the groom of her choice. And since she would be getting married at the end of the show, she even would be attempting to get acquainted to the families of these participants-so thoughtful! Now this is what I call fultoo entertainment... In the words of Ms. Sawant " Mein jo bhi hu, TV ke vajah se hu...Jo bhi mere paas hai, woh TV ne diya hai...agar mein shaadi karungi, toh woh bhi TV ke zariye karungi" Waah waahh Rakhiji, kya khoob kahi hai aapne!!! Here is wishing Rakhi Sawant, All the best and may the best man win!

Random thoughts....

2009-04-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

I wonder what makes the rickshaw meters tick..Is it a function of the distance travelled or the time taken to cover the distance or the number of times the guy running the auto hits the break..

Have you noticed that when you are cleaning up at home, there is a direct corelation between the inaccesibility of a certain part of your house and the amount of dust and dirt lodged exactly in the same spot!

Why do some people have the innate ability to always say the wrong and most insensitive thing while trying to sound concerned and friendly, thereby coming across as a complete monster/jerk?

Why is Edward Norton always a retard in almost all his movies???? Just occured to me while watching this movie called "The Score"...

Always the Best Man!

2009-04-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

Those who have seen episodes of the 1990s popular TV show Dawson's creek would agree with me that the character of Pacey J Witter, was far more colourful, smart, better looking and witty compared to the main guy Dawson Leary who seemed eternally confused about what he wants. Similarly in Friends, the character of Chandler Bing, extremely defined and laced with humour, but never really in focus. Or for that matter, the sarcastic doctor from Scrubs, Doc Perry Cox, whose every dialogue is packed with a punch. Yet, he is just one of the several personalities at the madhouse.

Oftentimes I have seen this trend in television shows where the main man's friend has a better and well rounded character as compared to the lead character... I wonder why..here it seems like the case of Always the Best man and not the groom!

This just occured to me, hence I had to write it!!! I wonder if life imitates art in these areas??

Who is to say that you have not come to the kingdom even for such a time as this?

2008-09-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Mention of atrocities from Orissa and most of us silently thank God, that we are living elsewhere...far away from where things have gone awfully wrong. However, today's sermon got me thinking about what my role was in the scheme of things...We read through the 4th chapter of Esther from the Old testament where the entire Jewish population was to be wiped out, as per the king's decree.

One of the lines that struck me is when -Mordecai a Jew was pleading outside the king's palace, sends a message to his niece Esther, Xerxes' queen and a Jew herself, reminding her that she may be the favored queen but she still is a Jew. He pleads with her to represent the Jewish people before the King, failing which she may not be safe within the palace walls. After all, she too was a Jew!

Pastor's message went on reiterate the point that most of us are in positions to get the message across just like Esther was....But are we using it, or are we under the false assumption that we have attained the kingdom of God and hence can sit back and say-Thank God, we are far away from the nightmare...

I wonder what I have to do to reach out.......

Where have the crisp editorials gone??

2008-07-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

I barely get the time to read the newspapers extensively due to hectic work schedules. However, I was home early and decided to skim through the Bombay Times section of TOI for a light read, and chanced upon an article with a catchy title. Written by a lady who was supposedly the Editor of the lifestyle section, it left me searching for the punchlines and high points in the article. It came across as a complete drag and almost seemed colloquial in style. I am assuming that writers of these articles are trying to connect with their readers. But this piece of expose was plain sad, as the matter seemed to come across as excerpts from a conversation between two gossip mongers!!!
The article in question was focusing on the lame and selfish PR tricks used by Bollywood actors today and how the press should react/combat it. Ahem, that was a nice thought! It goes on to say that the press gets taken for ride as these actors go all out with their publicity stunts just before the release of their movies and then disappear once their objectives are met.
Following are the lines from that article-Celebs measure and weigh every word. The readers would be more interested in reading about a star cheating on his wife instead of lame quotes about how much they enjoyed the making of a boring film. Let’s get real guys. Why should we accept whatever rubbish they give us? They have no sense of loyalty towards their fans, let us at least be more answerable to our readers and give them what they really want.
I do not claim to be voracious reader (judging by the stuff i am writing about!!) but this article makes me want to say-Get real guys!!!!!

Creative punch line

2008-02-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

We were on our way back from Calcutta after attending the big fat loud bong wedding, and we had decided that we have seen and heard enough! However the Geetanjali Express gave us a glimpse into creative selling....we had just approached Nashik station when a young lad selling grapes walked in with his offer of the sweetest authentic Nashik grapes and his punch line for it--- Shakkar ko takkar dene wala angoor! Now thats neat way of putting it..

Sites, Sounds and Aromas of Bangalore

2007-11-26T20:46:00.001-08:00

The hectic schedules of Bombay can be testing on your pressure levels and to get away from the routine, my husband and I decided to park ourselves for a whole week at my sister's in Bangalore. What better way to spend the holidays than to sit back and have no particular agenda. Waking up late, eating warm home cooked meals and soaking in the cool winter breeze of Bangalore...sweet vacations are made of these!!

One must know that in spite of the commercialization, Bangalore still remains slow and laid back compared to Bombay, which is in a way charming. Today is Day 3 of our one week holiday, and we have not seen much of the city as the shopping zones come to life post 11am and peak around 8pm.

The IT boom has given rise to many small eating joints, one of which has come out as the clear winner in the VFM category and that is- Kairali. If you like cuisines from Kerala, then this the place to visit. Located in a lane parallel to Forum Mall at Koramagala, Kairali is a no-frills Mallu joint with only Mallu food as its main offering. Ambiance and presentation could go take a hike and the people there make no bones of not having any. The menu has the basics like gruel with chutney and dry vegetable which is a staple dish in Kerala, appam and chicken curry to parota and grilled greasy chicken. Four of us had a sumptuous meal for Rs.175/- and that is truly value for moolah!

Watch this space for more on Bangalooru....

Issueless Matrimonials

2007-11-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

Many may find the matrimonial section of a newspaper highly informative and even helpful considering our nation's preoccupation with marriage as an event or process. Either you want to get married or you are attempting to get someone you know married. The matrimonial section would naturally be one of the oldest and supposedly trusted sources to know who is or isn't tagged.

These are common emotions when one decides to browse through the matrimonial. However, I for one have always read this section of the newspaper with great interest as it never fails to provide a few laughs and always reminds me that there are wierd and desparate people in this world.

Here are some of the funnies from the matrimonial:

Looking for a tall, fair, slim, beautiful, educated, religious, respect for elders, cool, caring homely girl who will support to carry family forward,good understanding, and who is willing to take care of old parents. Must not be older than 25 years. Good luck searching for that one!!!
There are some adverts that start with -I am from a swetamber oswal jain family and I am a simple person...Very simple yet very complex, don't you think?!?!
Now every guy wants a simple, fun loving and down to earth girl. And that is being very specific! I suppose you can find this girl immediately, now that you have laid it down so clearly :)
Then there are those who have already been through the marriage cycle once- Divorces. I came across this guilty guy who was insistent on proving his innocence and his ad read- 40 year divorced male looking for a fair, slim, beautiful and all that jazz and hold your breathe and never been married girl... still fair enough... However he is quick to add that he was and is blameless in case someone decides to ask him about his marital status. He screams out, " Its all her fault!! I was a babe in the woods!!!"
There are parents who are keen on getting their daughters married and put up adverts that seem to be showcasing their linage more than their daughter. Father is an ex-brigadier from the army and mother is a PhD professor from some top notch college. They are all a part of some elite family in God knows where and their family asset base is a gazillion rupees .... and yes- they have a daughter who needs to get married.

Why did Albus Dumbledore have to be gay?

2007-10-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

I don't get it...why did the most loved school headmaster have to be gay....I agree that he generally was a happy jolly old man, but gay?!?!? And Ms. Rowling says that there were signs of it throughout her books! I did not see any of them, neither did the countless kids who read them...

Just begun reading the 7th book in the Harry Potter series.... There better be a good enough reason for this twist...

Another point worth mentioning is that the last Harry Potter seems like it was not written by J K Rowling... did not have her signature style and finesse. Some lines almost seem like it was written by a flunkie wannabe writer.... Any Comments from those who have read the book???

The Ugly Fall

2007-10-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

Its extremely disconcerting when you have missed a step while climbing stairs or tripped over the road dividers. Mostly one would think of physical harm caused or whether clothes are intact or loss of time (especially for those from Bombay!).

Personally my only concern is the number of eyeballs that I have managed during such an unattractive scene. I have this out of body experience where I can actually visualize my downfall on a busy street and it gives me the jitters. Today was one such day when I made a dash for the Bandra Local and gifted the onlookers a visual treat!! Was trying to skip stairs and the next thing I know I was sprawled on the floor with my stubbed toe! I could actually feel the distance between my eye and the surface of the step shorten within nanoseconds. Just the sheer humiliation of the scene got me to up to my feet in no time. Irony of it all is that, I fled the scene in record time and reached the platform just to miss my train!

Movie review- The Break-Up

2007-10-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

Just saw the movie starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn...movie talks of an average American couple who are living- in and how their domestic issues get out of hand...Both the actors do a decent job and keep the audience occupied...

However the movie ends very abruptly...what I really want to know is whether the scriptwriter intentionally ended the story or had a writers block...

Any budding movie makers have a view on this movie?

Twenty20 Cricket-End of the traditional format as we know it?

2007-10-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Twenty20 matches are a real treat, with some terrific fielding, tight bowling and batting that is laced with plenty of sixes and boundaries and all of this in under three hours. This new phenomenon seems to suit every viewer and the sponsors are not complaining either. This form is gaining so much popularity, that we even spotted some otherwise reclusive Bollywood wives at the stands.. Hey who does not like some sporting action with filmi masala too!!

In what was the conclusion to the Aussie tour of India, the Indian team clinched the Twenty match in style yesterday and apparently retained their status as world champions in this form of the game. That brings me to the question-Do our boys have the aggression in the regular 50 over matches? Are they physically up to the 50 over matches anymore? Are these victories pure flukes?

Well time will tell, but till then the media will have tonnes of good stuff to talk about Dhoni's Devils!!

Tampered Rickshaw Meters

2007-10-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Mumbaites tend to use public transportation a lot more than people from any other city. Our trains, buses, taxis and auto rickshaws do a decent jobs of getting people from one end of the city to the other.

However over the years I have noticed that auto rides have become expensive. It is common knowledge that auto drivers are tampering the meters so that they tick faster. A rickshaw ride from Khar gymkhana to Bandra Station used to be 1.20-1.30 on the meter about ten years back. One thing I know is that the roads have not expanded, but the same ride now results in the meter reading 1.60-1.80, which strengthens my theory that meters are getting shamelessly tampered with.

The charge for a ride from Khar to Powai on a Sunday morning with minimal traffic would be around Rs.105/- but on one occasion while making the same trip to our Church, we encountered an auto driver who was charging us Rs.140/-.

There is also the theory of MH 02 and MH 03 auto rickshaws where the meter reads differently for the same journey. I have not yet been able to get my brains around it firmly though.

While this is becoming a menace to the regular travelers who have to fight it out everyday, the out of towner will not even know the difference and will be truly taken for a ride.

What do we mean when we say...

2007-10-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed the words " Horn OK Please" at the back of trucks? what is that all about?

Ever wondered about the phrase " Believe me you"? It almost sounds grammatically incorrect.

For those of us who travel by buses, you hear the conductor instructing people in marathi by saying " maage chalaa" which literally means "go behind". But since we are inside the bus, I wonder behind whom are we actually going?!!

When you has one too many ice creams, you hear the phrase "Be careful, you could catch a cold"। Why would anyone want to catch a cold and how do you do that anyway?

There is a phrase in hindi called "दीवारों के भी कान होते है". Loosely translated in english it means " that walls too have ears" and hence one must speak softly lest you let out some secrets. Well that still does not make much sense to me.

Selling Denims

2007-10-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

Notice how denim adverts position their brands these days? Check out the latest Levis ad for their skinny fits... The campaign is called ‘Stuck On You’ and promotes a line of jeans that are so tight they appear like they’ve been painted on you.Do we really want clothes that seem like body paint??
Or the idea that denims are to be worn by anorexic men and women....I speak for all healthy (read--plump) women when I say, jeans are my birth right and I shall wear it!
Its a wonder how the Levis store has not yet been vandalized ever since the Stuck on You campaign has been displayed in the stores across the city. Maybe Kangana Ranaut is a hot favorite with the moral police!!

Customization

2007-10-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Marketing gurus keep talking about meeting the consumers needs. So much so that each customer must be treated differently...they say its the era of customization!!

But some incidents takes the concept to a new level... For instance on our way back from church, we would notice a beggar making pit stops near every vehicle.... However what we did not notice was, that he too had noticed us every Sunday morning.. Couple of weeks later the same beggar comes around in front of Badigar Uncle's car with whom we traveled and instead of the same sales pitch, he stretched out his hand, gestured to us and said " God will bless you"!!

Page 3 everywhere

2007-10-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Browse through the pages of leading dailies and all you read about are, starlets purchasing swanky apartments (emphasis on buying the entire floor!) in upmarket neighborhood...or about some famous Hollywood couple who are in town and their daily agendas. With the recent victory at the Twenty20, much has been written about the team's nocturnal activities too!News like these really get a lot of eyeballs. The idea of news reporting has changed and the the people running these newspapers have the general public eating out of their hands by printing high quality trash.

Do we hear about seemingly real issues like the pathetic conditions of roads in the same upmarket neighborhood? Not much coverage is given to inconvenience faced by the residents of the locality that was turned upside down with the arrival of Hollywood biggies. And lets not forget that there are other sporting events apart from cricket.

Will the real issues please stand out?

Cashing in on Marathi

2007-10-03T09:32:00.001-07:00

We live in Mumbai and manage a bit of marathi every now and then. But how many of us are well versed with reading the instructions on forms given in government offices that are actually in pure marathi. I did learn to read and write elementary level Marathi in school, but this form was a total bouncer. When you want to get these forms filled at such government offices, you would inevitably struggle to understand the instructions and then after having given up, try and look around for help. But what do you know... there is a good Samaritan who willing to help you fill the form, but, for a minimal fee of Rs. 10/-.

Ever wondered who these helping hands really are? Maybe the government is seriously finding alternative sources of income... think about it...

Beanbags anyone?

2007-10-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd take a break from noticing stuff peculiar to train journeys and write up about something else. I have always come across this sign on walls of run down buildings - Beanbag , Contact 24xyz423.

I never gave it that much of thought, but when there were too many beanbags on sale across the city, I decided to investigate the situation. That did not go too far though as I was informed that there were in fact people who had beanbags to sell!!

Have you or anyone you know purchased such a beanbag?!!? If yes please do write in.

Whats your style quotient?

2007-10-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

I am not that into fitness, but the second class was really working every muscle in my body. Within a few months of train traveling I decided it might do me some good by cutting the first class train pass. Now the first class travelers are a different lot altogether.
Have you noticed the elderly ladies discreetly sizing up the chattering college kids? Unfortunately their silent sneers go unnoticed by the youngsters who are busy recounting what they saw on the latest episode of Boston Legal on Star World. Or when a tall woman gets into the compartment unawares of the eyes that are following her ( your eyes included!!). Cell phones pretty much decides for you where you stand in the cool quotient chart. An N series can get you approving looks and then there are folks like me who still carry the 3310! I for one tend to notice whats the latest in clothing and footwear while on the train... a few tips here and there don't hurt anybody!
Whats most interesting is to listen to women talking about office politics, whose earning more than them, which girl in college has her way with the guys and the list never ends... And in all of these conversations, you have to pick out which are the fake phirangi accents!!

Perils of participating in seat booking

2007-09-29T09:04:00.001-07:00

We looked at how to handle getting off the fast train. Hope you have been getting better at it. Instead of maneuvering the fourth seat while we shall get ourselves acquainted with pros and cons of seat booking, a phenomenon peculiar of Mumbaikars.

It so happened that I always got into the train very early on at Khar a good 6 stations before the real good crowd pours in. On settling down for the third seat from the window I assumed that there was just about enough place left for a three year old. Once we reached Kurla, a crowded suburb in eastern Mumbai, a rush of women got in as though that was the last train for the day and began booking their seats. Unaware of the trouble that lay ahead, a collegian booked my seat just around the same time that the fourth seat occupied by a rather tiny lady was vacated at the station that I was about to get out. Now imagine the scene that erupted when two seats were up for grabs at Chembur. The altercation that broke out between the young collegian and the other ladies around for the third seat were a sight that would give anyone a sore eye. Well the fourth seat… who cares about that one anyway!

The next time you let someone book your seat, make sure you lay down the rules!!

Rules of train travelling

2007-09-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever traveled by fast trains during peak hours, be it by the first or second class and felt that your feet aren’t really moving but you are getting off the train anyway? If not, then read on and be prepared for the ride of your life, which could be more disconcerting that a ride in Essel World’s roller coaster!

Now you must know that I am yet a novice at train traveling and I am slowly learning the ropes. So I figured that I would be doing some social service to those uninitiated who will soon be taking their first train ride in Bombay.

I have had the opportunity of traveling by the Virar and Bhayendar fast train from Dadar station and my first life saver lesson came from these trips. Now listen carefully and please be with me while I relive those few moments while alighting at Bandra station which is the next stop once the train leaves Dadar. The key is to know when to get off the train. Now you may say, well that’s easy… get off when the train comes to a halt at the station. However if you don’t register the smaller nuances of the system you could very well get off at the next stop- Andheri! Let’s back up a bit and learn how to get it right. Step one is to survey the sea of humanity when the train starts slowing down at the station, just so you know what you are up against. Step two- very important one, is to take your position at either of the ends of the door and if possible merge into the interiors of the train door. Next when the train completely halts, hold your breathe and let the throngs of women jostle their way in. Under no circumstances should you get off before they get in or engage in any altercation with them directly. Avoiding eye contact would help in going a long way. Any action of the sort can cause serious injury. As they say, hell hath no fury as a bunch of women scorned in a local train. Here’s the finale. Once the women have gotten in and are comfortable, you may get off just before the train moves to its next destination.

Hope you have had a grip over the scene by now, if not, do not sweat. We will go through some more of these life saving lessons in the near future. Next lesson will deal with the perils of the fourth seat! Till then happy traveling