Nov 20, 2008
A random thought!
Why the hell does it happen that whenever I think 'Ke Boss, isse bura kuch ho nahi sakta hai?', I am always proved wrong...Does this mean I should stop thinking altogether or stop being optimistic. Any answers please???
Nov 17, 2008
A tale of a city
Yeah..i know. Have been missing myself from the blogging scene for a looong time. And not because of paucity of ideas either. More like a lack of inclination to do something more strenuous than moving the mouse after I come back from office. As I read it somewhere today: 'I am not lazy, just an effort minimalist'. Ahem. However something happened yesterday which rused me from my self-imposed effort minimization process and led to a serious chain of thoughts which i wanted to share with all of you guys. This article is an emotional soliloquy on my experiences in the city. Plz bear with the long post.
My city- Mumbai. A love affair which began 24 yrs ago and continues strongly till date. People who live here have either of the 2 opinions- either they love it or they hate it. But love it or hate it, u just can’t ignore Mumbai. The city keeps on constantly reminding you at every turn, at every nukkad, at every by-lane that u are part of a culture which has a soul of its own. An interesting pot-pourri of difft cultures but still unique on a standalone basis.
I have traveled extensively in India over the last couple of yrs. As a rule I never compare cities because each city has a fabric woven with the hopes, aspirations and dreams of so many people calling it their home. I have worked with many out-of-townies whose favourite past time is berating the city. And I often don’t react to their criticism bcoz sometimes it is well-justified. But you don't have any option right?
Yeah, sometimes the city gets to me as well. Sometimes I feel throttled by the fast paced life. Sometimes I feel like running away from the crowd. Yes, I hate traveling through a crowded train without even leg-space to stand; but everytime I travel home at 12.30 am from work & I see a big crowd in the ladies compartment I feel grateful. Yes, I hate traveling on bumpy roads, but everytime I feel the wind messing up my hair as I drive around Marine Drive or Palm Beach drive, I feel my spirits too rising up. Yes, I hate the huge waiting list outside a restaurant on weekends; yet when I am assured of a good meal at even 2 am in the night anywhere in the city, I have no cause for complaints.Yes, I hate the huge crowd of vehicles waiting ahead of me at a traffic signal when I am getting late for work, but then everytime I see people getting down from vehicles and taking the mantle of directing traffic through flooded lanes or when the city is rocked by serial-blasts, I feel happy about the spirit of the people in the city. Such is my life. Such is my city.
But now the spirit of the city has got eroded. And it is indeed surprising that it took few people with vested interests to bring a city of this magnitude to its heels. Yesterday, while returning home from a nearby mall with my Dad, I faced the first-hand experience of the unrest in the minds of people. My rickshawwaala was stopped at a police check-naka and asked for his papers and the fact why he was not wearing the uniform mandated by the Govt. Fair enough. But when my driver made the feeble excuse of his uniform being given for washing, the havaldar asked, “Kyu, kapde kya Laloo ke gaav mein bheja hai kya dhoneko?” & confiscated his license after giving him a hard slap. While all this was happening, we saw another rickshawwaala being caught on a similar pretext but who managed to drive away scot-free after pressing a 20 Rs. Note in the hands of the havaldar. In response to my query why he didn’t do the same, my rickshawdriver said “Kaun pakdega usse memsaab, wo to Marathi hai. Hum se to kam se kam 100 Rs lega. 20 saal ho gaya hai Bambai mein rickshaw chala rahe hu, par fir bhi aajkal roj Mumbai mein rehne ke liye jhunjna padta hai”. Me and Dad were completely flabbergasted to see how the people supposedly responsible for the law and order in the city were using divisive elements to mint money.
For the first time in my life, I felt ashamed of being a Mumbaikar.
My city- Mumbai. A love affair which began 24 yrs ago and continues strongly till date. People who live here have either of the 2 opinions- either they love it or they hate it. But love it or hate it, u just can’t ignore Mumbai. The city keeps on constantly reminding you at every turn, at every nukkad, at every by-lane that u are part of a culture which has a soul of its own. An interesting pot-pourri of difft cultures but still unique on a standalone basis.
I have traveled extensively in India over the last couple of yrs. As a rule I never compare cities because each city has a fabric woven with the hopes, aspirations and dreams of so many people calling it their home. I have worked with many out-of-townies whose favourite past time is berating the city. And I often don’t react to their criticism bcoz sometimes it is well-justified. But you don't have any option right?
Yeah, sometimes the city gets to me as well. Sometimes I feel throttled by the fast paced life. Sometimes I feel like running away from the crowd. Yes, I hate traveling through a crowded train without even leg-space to stand; but everytime I travel home at 12.30 am from work & I see a big crowd in the ladies compartment I feel grateful. Yes, I hate traveling on bumpy roads, but everytime I feel the wind messing up my hair as I drive around Marine Drive or Palm Beach drive, I feel my spirits too rising up. Yes, I hate the huge waiting list outside a restaurant on weekends; yet when I am assured of a good meal at even 2 am in the night anywhere in the city, I have no cause for complaints.Yes, I hate the huge crowd of vehicles waiting ahead of me at a traffic signal when I am getting late for work, but then everytime I see people getting down from vehicles and taking the mantle of directing traffic through flooded lanes or when the city is rocked by serial-blasts, I feel happy about the spirit of the people in the city. Such is my life. Such is my city.
But now the spirit of the city has got eroded. And it is indeed surprising that it took few people with vested interests to bring a city of this magnitude to its heels. Yesterday, while returning home from a nearby mall with my Dad, I faced the first-hand experience of the unrest in the minds of people. My rickshawwaala was stopped at a police check-naka and asked for his papers and the fact why he was not wearing the uniform mandated by the Govt. Fair enough. But when my driver made the feeble excuse of his uniform being given for washing, the havaldar asked, “Kyu, kapde kya Laloo ke gaav mein bheja hai kya dhoneko?” & confiscated his license after giving him a hard slap. While all this was happening, we saw another rickshawwaala being caught on a similar pretext but who managed to drive away scot-free after pressing a 20 Rs. Note in the hands of the havaldar. In response to my query why he didn’t do the same, my rickshawdriver said “Kaun pakdega usse memsaab, wo to Marathi hai. Hum se to kam se kam 100 Rs lega. 20 saal ho gaya hai Bambai mein rickshaw chala rahe hu, par fir bhi aajkal roj Mumbai mein rehne ke liye jhunjna padta hai”. Me and Dad were completely flabbergasted to see how the people supposedly responsible for the law and order in the city were using divisive elements to mint money.
For the first time in my life, I felt ashamed of being a Mumbaikar.
Nov 1, 2008
Woh Kaagaz ki Kashti....
Her majesty, Royal princess Ananya has deigned to pay us a visit in her Diwali holidays. And as usual, she has left it upto her maasi to design new ways of entertaining her. Me and AD (my cousin) took her to Crosswords yesterday where we were fortunate enough to spy on the 'Jungle Book' VCDs. And so home came the warriors, having conquered HRH's boredom for atleast the next day or so.
Yesterday nght over some sweet-corns nd cornflakes, we sat down to watch the movie. And immediately on hearing the song 'Jungle jungle baat chali hai....', i was transported back to the good old days of my childhood. When Sunday morning was the time to catch up with those eagerly awaited toons on DD- 'Junglebook, Ducktales & Tailspin'. I remembered the old man who was undergoing reverse ageing and used to distribute stories out of his 'Potli Baba Ki'. When summer holidays meant playing badminton & carrom the whole day and in-between catching the 3.30 pm shows of 'He-man: Master of the Universe'. When the on-set of the rains meant making paper-boats and dancing on the terrace in the first showers. When winter meant making new ploys on winning the neighbourhood kite-flying competition. When Mom had to literally drag me away from my buddies at dinner time. When the only worry was how to destroy the kite of the neighbourhood bully!
Then came Cable-TV. And i grew on the daily dosage of 'I dream of Jeannie', 'Different Strokes' & 'Bewitched'. My first crush: Capt. Anthony Nelson of 'I dream of Jeannie'. And yeah, not to forget the taklu who used to make participants run & play for money in 'The Crystal Maze'.
Thanks Ananya, for making me relive my childhood again, albeit fleetingly. How I miss those serials! How I wish those days were back!
Yesterday nght over some sweet-corns nd cornflakes, we sat down to watch the movie. And immediately on hearing the song 'Jungle jungle baat chali hai....', i was transported back to the good old days of my childhood. When Sunday morning was the time to catch up with those eagerly awaited toons on DD- 'Junglebook, Ducktales & Tailspin'. I remembered the old man who was undergoing reverse ageing and used to distribute stories out of his 'Potli Baba Ki'. When summer holidays meant playing badminton & carrom the whole day and in-between catching the 3.30 pm shows of 'He-man: Master of the Universe'. When the on-set of the rains meant making paper-boats and dancing on the terrace in the first showers. When winter meant making new ploys on winning the neighbourhood kite-flying competition. When Mom had to literally drag me away from my buddies at dinner time. When the only worry was how to destroy the kite of the neighbourhood bully!
Then came Cable-TV. And i grew on the daily dosage of 'I dream of Jeannie', 'Different Strokes' & 'Bewitched'. My first crush: Capt. Anthony Nelson of 'I dream of Jeannie'. And yeah, not to forget the taklu who used to make participants run & play for money in 'The Crystal Maze'.
Thanks Ananya, for making me relive my childhood again, albeit fleetingly. How I miss those serials! How I wish those days were back!
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