MumbaiJamming

Lucknow Winter Flowers

2012-02-15T05:00:00.000+05:30

Lucknow Winter Flowers

2012-02-14T17:41:00.000+05:30

Winter has still got to run its full course in Lucknow and some glimpses of the spring can be seen!

Lucknow Maqbara Amjad Ali Shah

2012-02-13T07:15:00.000+05:30

In the nooks and crannies of Lucknow you suddenly stumble upon decaying monuments. In one such corner off Hazratganj is the Maqbara Amjad Ali Shah.

Lucknow Sketches

2012-02-12T07:08:00.000+05:30

I came across some sketches of Lucknow monument that I had clicked earlier

Rumi Darwaza

The thatched roof huts are charming and nostalgic!

Bara Imambara

Lucknow Flowers

2012-02-11T07:03:00.000+05:30

Bara Imambara: Shahi Baoli

2012-02-09T07:50:00.000+05:30

Another View of the Shaihi Baoli

The view of the mosque from Shahi baoli

Bara Imambara: Shahi Baoli

2012-02-08T07:47:00.000+05:30

The Shahi Baoli is a little visited but equally impressive structure within the Bara Imambara

Lucknow: Bara Imambara More

2012-02-07T05:42:00.000+05:30

The Outer Courtyard as seen from the upper windows.

The Terrace

View of the Inner Chamber from the window.

Play of sun and shadows

Lucknow Vignettes 5

2012-02-06T05:30:00.000+05:30

The Bara Imambara is a religious place with a majestic sanctity about it. Somehow it continues to defy the apparent decay all around it. There are photgraphs on its walls of the floods of 1923 when it was partially submerged. The play of lights from the ventilators is a magnificent display!

The hall and the ceiling

The simple geometrical ceiling produces a mesmerising effect

The dome

Repetitive geometrical designs on the doorways

The outer corridor seems to dwarf the people

Lucknow Vignettes 4

2012-02-05T05:00:00.000+05:30

The Bara Imambara boasts of a labyrinthine walkway in its magnificent dome popularly known as Bhool Bhulaiyya. It is not much of a maze and it is indeed difficult to lose your way into it. Nevertheless it is full of seemingly uncouth hoi polloi shouting and screaming through it and basically having a good time. Quite contrasting with the function of the Imambara which is ironically a landmark of mourning.

The First stage terrace

One of the alleyways and play of light and dark.

Reflection of the cupolas on the terrace.

A well lit alleyway

Lucknow Vignettes 3

2012-02-04T05:00:00.000+05:30

The Bara Imambara is rather in a dilapidated state but nevertheless doesnt fail to impress. It is indeed an extremely photogenic monument despite the decay.

A Rickshaw at the outer precincts of the Imambara

The majestic Mosque and two kids filling drinking water in front.

An sneak peak of the insides from the myriad windows of the Bhul Bhulaiyya

No! This isn't Turkey! Its our own Lucknow!

Lucknow Vignettes 2

2012-02-03T10:53:00.000+05:30

Rumi Darwaza, Lucknow

The old world still alive in Lucknow!

The Rumi Darwaza! I find it uncomprehensible why the main arterial flow of traffic is allowed through the monument?

Beehives! Inner Dome of the Darwaza.

Lucknow Vignettes

2012-02-03T10:39:00.001+05:30

Bara Imambara Mosque as seen through Nimbu Bagh.

Thenmala

2011-11-21T08:47:00.003+05:30

If you land up in Trivandrum Railway station you would find small multiple hoardings announcing "Eco Tourism" at Thenmala about 72 Kms from Trivnadrum. This weekend I took the plunge and decided to explore it. But it turns out there are no hotels in Thenmala, it solely exists on day trips from Trivandrum or Quilon. There is a KTDC hotel 11 Kms ahead but no room was available. I crossed into Tamil Nadu and there was a neat little exotic looking hotel, Apichayan's Cliff Resort. Spotless clean and spacious room with balconies overlooking the hills and the highway! But electricity was a problem and no TV or Room service! Thenmala is a good 17 Km drive back into Kerala on a meandering road running parallel to a defunct railway line awaiting gauge conversion. The views are spectacular but the roads are full of buses carrying pilgrims to Sabarimala. Thenmala itself boasts of a Dam which is a strenuous 10 minute climb and no cameras allowed. The Eco Toursim has a long list of activities but I manage to see a well kept deer park (only they are very difficult to spot thanks to the thick foliage!) and the leisure park which has a precarious hanging bridge infested with aggressive monkeys. There is a small aquarium and by the by there is lunch time. Beware! There is only one restaurant and it serves only two fares! In the evening the highlight is the Musical Fountain which is populated by catcalling troupes of school students from Trivandrum and Quilon. The Musical Fountain is impressive playing popular Hindi and Malayalam numbers and ofcourse the Waka Waka as well!

Sunrise over the Arabian Sea!

2011-11-05T10:29:00.002+05:30

Sunrise from the Arabian Sea! You might ask Arabian Sea is in the west!! Well, if you are at sea then you have the Arabian Sea both to your west and to your east!!!

Kanyakumari!

2011-11-04T05:55:00.002+05:30

Kanyakumari is in the subconscious background of all Indians. It has a unique set of monuments: the temple from time immemorial; the Vivekananda Rock a symbol of national reawakening; the Thiruvalluvar rock; the Gandhi Mandap; the atmospheric sunrise and sunsets. All of us can relate to it even though a large majority never actually go there. That is changing with ever increasing number of tourists thronging this little temple town overwhelming its scant infrastructure. Pictured here is the Kanyakumari Light House against the sky away from the clutter that Kanyakumari is increasingly becoming.

Curious Signs!

2011-11-03T09:23:00.004+05:30

This curious sign was spotted at Trivandrum Central Railway Station. It was not clear where the Bungalow was running to or whom it was running from!

Krishnapuram Palace

2011-11-02T05:31:00.003+05:30

The Krishnapuram Palace is just outside the town of Kayamkulam. It is small compared with the enormous Padmanabhapuram Palace or the Hill Palace in Tripunithura however it no less majestic and features a large remarkably preserved mural showing Lord Vishnu salvaging an elephant from the grip of an alligator.

Sunrise in Mumbai

2011-11-01T09:14:00.003+05:30

A late october sunrise with umpteen yachts in the foreground of Mumbai's Apollo Bunder sea face. Got up just in time to catch it!

Hogenakkal Falls

2011-08-21T23:10:00.002+05:30

The fact that Hogenakkal Falls do not appear in major tourist books should not let you presume that it is one quiet get away! It is infact a hot crowded commercialized place. But then you see the falls and you guess it is worth it only if the crowds had been a couple of a thousand lesser! Finding place for parking in the small crowded streets is difficult. Finding a Coracle is easy though albeit expensive. I paid Rs 900 for 2 hours although I guess I got fleeced a bit. The ride involves passing through a narrow gorge with minor waterfalls flowing in from both the sides.The main falls can only be see by walking through what was once a lonely jungle trail on the edge of the Karnataka border with Tamil Nadu. Today it is a well trodden path with atleast 200 people trudging along it and littering it with empty plastic bottles, chips packets, and almost all the litter you can imagine. The main site is a further walk away on an elevated platform which seems to be a victim of serious funds misappropriation as the railings have been constructed only halfway leaving the proximal half dangerously open. The falls are however an amazing site. Some people do manage to wade into the water right till the edge which presumable gives a much better sight but I would suggest not given the precipitous drop. The ride back is quiet and only interrupted by repeated pleadings by the coracle boatman for backsheesh which is rather irritating.

C + 1

2010-03-07T11:27:00.001+05:30

Whoa! Hundred and first post! Time to gloat over some achievement!

Wireless!

2010-03-07T07:44:00.003+05:30

Managed to log on wirelessly thanks to Mumbai airport's free internet! Not that its a new technology but the first time you do it, it feels wonderful! Also proves that technology never fails to amaze us. It can be impersonal and alien but never boring!

Anjengo

2009-12-31T15:47:00.005+05:30

If you ask anyone on the road from Varkala, where Anjengo is, you would be met with quizzical looks. Because, of all the anglicised Malayalee names, the most injustice has been done to Anchuthengu or as the British would like to call their fort Anjengo. Going by its looks, the fort doesn't do much justice to its history either. The most dominating of the British fort south of Bassein, it looks like a dilapidated godown. Godown it was, where the British stored spices, more preciuos than gold. But you cant go in because even though its not a holiday or monday or even a hartal and you are well within the 5 pm ASI time cutoff, the gatekeeper is not there. This most innocuous of Kerala explanations is the last straw, and you would want to get out of this place pronto. But wait, there is a huge black and white tower, well a lighthouse to be precise right next to the fort. You are barely on time but the attendant is very kind, he opens the lighthouse and you climb a vertiginous six storeys to a fascinating view of the beach, the coconut covered land and the serpentine back waters. Its only now, you realise why should the british build one of their most impregnable forts here.

View of the backwaters from the top of Anjengo light house

View of the Anjengo Fort from the lighthouse.

The light house tower

The Anjengo fort, whose doors were locked

Attukad Waterfalls

2009-12-19T06:09:00.004+05:30

Eight kolimetres away from Munnar, tucked in the middle of a winding serpentine private road with crazy hairpin bends and surrounded by the Pallivasal Tea Estate is the Majestic Attukad Watrfalls. Its a wonder why tourist guide books do not talk about it. May be because of its remote location. I made the trip on a wet and windy afternoon in November. It was worth it in the rains and it must be so in dry weather too!

The Keral State Electricity Board warns in four languages, the Hindi is great!

The water falls!

Mysore Zoo

2009-12-14T05:53:00.002+05:30

Mysore zoo is arguably the best kept zoo in the country. It does reflect in the way the animals live in the zoo.

A zebra

Mushroom.

A peacock in all its glory: took 15 minutes for this snap!

Mysore

2009-12-13T07:16:00.003+05:30

Mysore has a rich cultural heritage. Also,what is not immediately apparent is the pristine sylvan surroundings one has to cross to reach Mysore from Ooty. The scenery gradually changes from lush tea gardens to dense forests of Mudumalai and then to the arid plains of Mysore region.

The Nandi bull halfway through to the peak of Chamundi hills.

The drive through tea gardens near Ooty.

The forests of Mudumalai.

Roses in Ooty

2009-12-11T20:56:00.002+05:30

The Rose Garden of Ooty springs certain surprises for the visitors:

A pavement tile has a Rose engraved on it.

A rose bud with Ooty in the background.

A rose variety named "Jayalalitha"!

Ooty

2009-12-11T20:12:00.004+05:30

Udhagamandalam or Ooty, as it is popularly called, is the highest hill station in South India. Infact, it higher than cool Simla! The rampant commercialization is a bit depressing but does nothing to decrease its beauty.

The view from the Tribal Research Centre

Tribal deities on display inside the Tribal Research Centre.

Fossilised remains of a tree on display at the botanical gardens

Haridwar

2009-12-06T07:04:00.003+05:30

Kamadhenu

Shiva destroying Kama with a rare opening of the third eye

Hrishikesh

2009-12-05T06:23:00.005+05:30

The Ghat at Rishikesh

Laxman Jhoola

The ferry crossing

Moving beyond Mumbai!

2009-09-12T23:33:00.004+05:30

Mumbai has been a pleasure for the past four and a half years and now its time to move on and grow beyond. So, its going to be Kochi of Cochin if you will! Mumbai continues to be on my radar and will try to continue blogging on this site, however, for Kochi there is a new blog: www.kochidiary.blogspot.com The format on that site will majorly be twitter based and my longhand musings will continue on this site.

Monsoon over Marine Drive

2009-06-28T05:39:00.002+05:30

The moods of Monsoon over the Marine Drive:

Mumbai Central once more!

2009-06-15T18:33:00.007+05:30

On yet another trip to Mumbai Central I caught these moments:

Platform No 5 from the far end. Also seen is the inscription "MBAY" on the corrugated iron sheet on top reminding of an era when it was still BOMBAY!

Mail being unloaded from the Saurashtra Mail from Rajkot (although the train goes till Okha?) . In the backdrop the tallest building in Mumbai under construction at Tardeo.

A NDDB Milk Container attached to Saurashtra Express possibly for Anand:

A "guide map" on the entrance of Mumbai Central Railway station: Quite concise!:

Translocations and all!

2009-05-17T15:56:00.004+05:30

Last week, I achieved one of the most unenviable feats: Translocating for the seventh time in a span of four years. But it has its joys. Some of the stuff which were packed in the first and fourth translocations miraculously appeared now as some of the most recent stuff is languishing in some unheralded unmarked carton only to make itself appear in the umpteenth translocation in the foreseeable future! My two year eight month old son has also discovered this pleasant aspect of shiftings when suddenly his long forgotten but much loved toys, namely a blue colored car with one wheel missing suddenly popped out of a books carton. But it has its price, we are still looking for his one eyed Popeye!

Hyderabad Shilparamam

2009-04-30T06:46:00.002+05:30

Some pottery being sold at Shilparamam near HITEC city, Hyderabad.

Mullaithivu

2009-02-20T05:43:00.004+05:30

The above image shows the fighting for Mullaithivu by 6/8 Gorkha Rifles.

On 26 January, SL armed forces captured the last major town held by LTTE, Mullaithivu. This was seen in India with nonchalance at most quarters most notably by the media. However it is pertinent to note that the IPKF had taken the same town almost 20 years ago almost to the date at a huge cost. No one seems to remember the war which IPKF fought whose goals were not clear.However, suffice to say that Indian Army generally played by the books and lived upto its finest traditions in war in which it was derided by the Sri Lankan government, and when they came home were seen with colored glasses. This is my tribute to those who fought valiantly and fairly.

Tetrapods

2008-12-19T13:36:00.002+05:30

Theseare the tetrapods which lie in thousands strewn on the side of Marine drive to break the waves splashing acrss the Queen's Necklace. Somehow bollywood directors love them and countless bollywood masala flicks have scenes in the backdrop of these Tetrapods, so named as they have four limbs!

Thrissur Palace

2008-12-16T05:23:00.004+05:30

Thrissur is to Kerala what Pune is to Maharashtra, a cultural and religious centre. A tinge of royal heritage is also preseved in its small but beautiful Palace, a second home of the Cochin rajas. It is not as grand as the Hill Palace at Thripunithura or the Mattancherry Palace but it has its own charm, something whose mere blurry memory is a comforting thought.

Thrissur palace

2008-12-16T05:13:00.003+05:30

Thrissur is to Kerala what Pune is to Maharashtra. A cultural and religious centre. But it has a tinge of political history as well in its Palace, home of the Cochin rajas. It is not as grand as the Hill Palace at Thripunithura or the Mattancherry Palace but it does have its own charm, something like a home away from home, whose mere blurry memory is a comfort.

Charni road towards Grant road

2008-12-15T18:12:00.001+05:30

Railway tracks leading uto to the highrises of Tardeo and Bombay Central.

The city and its flock

2008-12-12T07:06:00.002+05:30

Pigeons, eternal city dwellers, on Girgaum chowpatty in the backdrop of Walkeshwar.

Goa again

2008-11-02T09:35:00.002+05:30

After nearly three years I got an opportunity to retrace my steps to Goa. This time, however it was more of a "working holiday". I found myself in the rather unattractive port city of Vasco - da - Gama or is it called Marmugao? I printed myself an internet generated bus ticket aboard Konduskar Travels from Mumbai Central. Like their airline counterparts, the bus services' timetables have to be talen with a rather big pinch of salt. So I had full opportunity to see busloads of travellers leaving for Vadodara, Ahmnedabad, Shreenathji and host lot of other places before my bus came in a full hour late. The "volvo" status notwithstanding the recliner was not working, a nightmare for a person with as long legs as mine, because the guy in front had managed to recline his seat full way right upto my xiphisternum! The journey was interrupted by two chai halts which stretched to nealry three quarters of an hour each and consequently I landed at Courtallim at 11:30 in the morning. I got hold of the first motorcycle taxi to Vasco. True to its reputation, there are no tourists, no silver lined beaches. Vasco was supposed to be the major transport hub in the pre Konkan Railway days. But today why should anyone go to Vasco? Probably if you are in the shipping industry. Vasco is in the Salcete taluka which is predominantly christian and is supposed to retain a bit of portuguese character. But I had a job to do, so in the afternoon I went hunting for the Bogmalo beach but instead landed at the characterless Holant beach. The next day it was Bogmalo which is quite good. The tourists are less and the water is clean albeit muddy. I had chiciken lollipops at an eatery on the beach after developing a sudden unaccountable distaste for sea food. The next day I tried to make it to Panjim but instead wound up at Dona Paula, an intensively commercialised place completely out of character with the place. I headed back and this time found the Utorda beach deserted and nice at noon. The sand is silky and the water ... well ... clean. I could suddenly see why all the beaches of konkan including Ganpatipule cannot beat Goa. The fourth day I had to head back to chaotic Mumbai again on an internet generated bus ticket but this time aboard Raj Travels, which was definitely more punctual

Hindi in malluland

2008-10-12T05:59:00.003+05:30

Well I went to Kerala few months back but I dug out this photo from my mobile yesterday, shot on Thrissur station:

A picture is really worth a thousand words!

Railways honoring the brave!

2008-10-05T13:45:00.005+05:30

Railways at some stations have come up with a unique way of honoring the brave. At Ahmednagar railway station, Gopal Krishna Garud is honored by a plaque on the entrance.

Pune railway station honours Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore.

Bordi

2008-10-02T06:03:00.002+05:30

I looked up the list of MTDC resorts and found that it was Bordi which I had not visited. So on and extended weekend I drove down to Bordi which is about 40kms to the left of Charoti as you move towards Ahmedabad. The road is promising for the last 18 kms from Dahanu. The MTDC resort true to its reputation is right on the beach. Surprisingly, despite two power plants being nearby, Tarapur and Dahanu, there is a a stiff 6 hour load shedding everyday in the sweltering afternoons. Hence, the manager advises us against taking the 'AC tent House'. I remember only one phrase from my 'now misplaced' 52 weekend breaks from Mumbai: " Bordi bakes ..." and yes it does! The beach is nothing much to talk about ... it strewn with plastic bottles, styrofoam, lost footwear, and what looks like human excreta. Well the only thing shich can be said for the beach is that it is nearly 2 kms long. Soon, the tide recedes and the sea goes back by nearly a kilometre! This reveals a hitherto unseen swampy extension of the beach where children play and birds try to pick on crabs. We decide to change the view and go for a drive to what our manager says as "tribal area" near the Asavli dam. It is a wonderful drive lined by palmyra, coconut and chikoo trees. The last valiant 2 kms are unpaved and we decide to walk it down. The dam is stunningly beautiful. The only creatures we see apart from us are the cows grazing on top of the dam. I wonder why there is no boating, and then realize that it is for the better!

Capitals of India

2008-08-25T20:00:00.003+05:30

Thinking about Delhi prompted me to write this post. Delhi has not been the only capital of India. Some of the ones I could think of are:
Pataliputra (Patna) of Ashoka
Delhi of lot of rulers
Daulatabad of Muhammed bin Tughlaq
Agra (Fatehpur Sikri) of Akbar
Calcutta of East India Company and Britishers till 1912
Shimla, Summer Capital of East India Company and Britishers till 1912
New Delhi of Britishers after 1912 and of Republic of India

My favorites in Fifty worst songs!!

2008-08-21T18:57:00.002+05:30

I went to a book exhibition and picked up this Time Almanac for Year 2005 for Rs90. It has got certain interesting entries and I reached one which said 50 worst songs ever sourced from Blender the ultimate music magazine. As I scrolled down I was horrified to find a few of my favorites in there:
No 33. "Barbie Girl" Aqua (1997)
No 41. "We didn't start the fire" Billy Joel (1989)
No 42. "The sound of silence" Simon & Garfunkel (1965)
No 48. "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" Beatles (1968)
Looks as if Iam getting older!

Last bus from Pune revisited

2008-08-19T04:50:00.003+05:30

I found myself again in the same predicament on the weekend ... catching the last bus from Pune for Mumbai. But this time the ST bus was a rather decrepit one: the usual red bus rahter than the asiad so I was tempted by the punters shouting "Volvo" ... "Volvo" just outside the stand. I decided to check them out ... 200 bucks to dadar and it was three - fourths full. I took my chance and hoped that he would move with some seats vacant. But he was eyeing more passengers. So it was a full one and a half hours before he managed to get every single seat filled and start. Meanwhile I counted 4 ST buses leave ... I just cursed myself!

Nehrus of africa

2008-08-15T11:19:00.004+05:30

On Indian independence day, we remember our founding fathers. These founding fathers, Gandhi and later Nehru influenced a host of leaders across the world to pursue independence for their countries. However, unlike Gandhi and Nehru many of these subsequently became hugely unpopular among their countrymen and some had fatal outcomes too. The following could be called Nehrus of Africa:
Tanzania: Julius Nyerere
Kenya: Jomo Kenyatta
Malawi: Hastings Banda
Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe
Zambia: Kenneth Kaunda
Botswana: Seretse Khama
and ofcourse,
South Africa: Nelson Mandela
Ohh! I forgot an important one:
Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah

D 10, 31 Deccan Queen

2008-08-14T06:16:00.002+05:30

Recently, in one of my innumerable commutes to pune, I decided to take the Deccan Queen after a long time. The irctc site booked me a window seat in D10, precisely seat no 31.When I a landed at CST, I found that D 10 is actually a unreserved bogie which has been half heartedly converted into a reserved one. It forms the better half of the luggage van! It was packed like a II. I managed to persuade the person occupying my seat to vacate it. There was an overpowering stench from the nearby toilets. D-10 is unusual in the sense that it doesnot have the 3 x3 seating characteristic of a 2S. It is a regular II coach of 4 x 1 with some thin cushion to give it some semblance of order. When I enter it is occupied by daily commuters who have given up hope on the better parts of the train. A game of cards starts off by the time we hit Dadar, whee of course the train does not stop. The view outside the window is rain drenched hills shoing a thousand shade of green. I begun get hungry near Karjat, but no relief, D10 is not vestibulated! It is the last coach so invariable it falls out of the platform where only intrepid vendors with cold vada-paos tread! I manage to grab one. The train was doing good time till it hits pimpri. The wait gets longer and longer till someone manages to dig the vital information that a trains engines have failed ahead on the line! So we finally manage to screech into Pune Jn by 2100 hrs.

The day after

2008-07-28T17:48:00.001+05:30

Its Sunday morning I am headed towards Kandivali in splashing rain. The view out of the taxi is typical Bombayana ... rain washed street ... pull carts and cyclists competing with huge sedans in avoiding potholes made invisible by flooding ... 70s music playing on the taxis jarring audio cassette player. Churchgate station is deserted. Th 11:51 slow to Borivali is practically empty. I pass the newly installed row of metal detectors. They have a counter also which reads 25,000 something as I pass it with the ATVM generated ticket. There are more vendors on the train than passengers. I buy a plastic "water tight" pouch for keeping my mobile, which is made in China and yours for Rs 5.00. I wonder about the cost price and imagine thousands, nay, millions of such puches being shipped in huge containers which have labels "China Shipping". Or may be they are just smuggled across Nepal! The crowd is really thin. Is it because, of the blasts in Ahmedabad or is it the normal "Sunday" crowd or may be just another rainy day.

Last Bus from Pune

2008-07-23T16:30:00.003+05:30

The Pune Central ST Bus stand has a curious outlet: The Pune - Dadar Bus. These run every 15 minutes from 4 am to ... well 12 midnight or 12:30 am or may be even 1 am ... but nobody can tell! There is a motley crowd of students, businessmen, people who have to catch an early morning international flight out of Chhatrapati Shivaji International, and even one odd daily commuter who has got hopelessly delayed. The staff at the counter consists of a glorious figure of one. He is busy peering into a thick dog eared yellow register. Some novices try to barge into his cabin and ask "Volvo?!" to which he casts a disdainful eye and mumbles something, which to an old timer translates as "Asiad!" But then old timers do not ask such questions. What they ask is: "When is the next one?" To which he says: "Whenever the next one from Dadar arrives!" But the real pro at this game does not ask anything and does a mental arithmetic of the number of people it would take a Asiad to fill and if the length of the queue is good enough to convince the gigantic MSRTC to run the "last" bus to Dadar. Many times it does convince them. But sometimes the crowd peters out earlier than their patience and lo ... the next bus is 4 am, as per schedule! If you get trapped in a situation like this one you better know a few facts: a list of all trains from Pune to Mumbai after 12 midnight and the scope to barge into one unreserved, the cost of a all reserved Pune - Mumbai taxi, which is available next to the bus stand and of course the possibility of hiring a punter, driving a Indigo, who is going empty after dropping someone to Pune. Because after all the 4 am bus might be a little too late for you!

Nostalgia and Time Games!

2008-06-28T16:09:00.002+05:30

These last four weeks I have been gripped by a debilitating nostalgia. Everything reminds me of some seemingly comfortable and happy past and leads to craving for such relaxed times again. To counter it I have begun playing mind games involving time.
How the people must have felt in 1971 regarding the independance, Gandhi, US, the war with pakistan ...? The answer is to go back the period form today and see how we feel about the incidents at a particular point in history. So, Independance was 24 years before 1971, so what happened 24 years before now and how distant does it feel? Well that makes it 1984 ... Indira Gandhi's assassination, Blue Star, Color television, Asiad at Delhi.... Well for me these are very fresh although I was just a toddler then and I can clearly recount what was I doing when each of these happened and how I felt about it ... So in 1971 people must be feeling really close to the Independance movement than just some piece of history!
I guess I should find some more useful employment!

Puneethar Kota

2008-05-29T17:39:00.002+05:30

Elephant lovers rejoice! If you wish to see lot of elephants, albeit in captivity but being treated in the most apt manner head to Puneethar Kota, 3 km away from the Guruvayoor temple. Here nearly 80 elephants in the service of Lord Guruvayoorappan reside, and for the princely sum of Rs 5.00 you can see them being fed, bathed or just doing thier routine chores. Its good fun to watch them splashing in the pond! a word of caution though, do not approach any beast without permission from the venerable mahout!

Guruvayoor

2008-05-27T19:36:00.002+05:30

Guruvayoor, about 40 minutes ride north west of the cultural capital of Kerala, Thrissur, is best reached by bus. But I took the train from Ernakulam which was coming from Chennai Egmore and as the flashy LCD screen at the station said, 122 minutes late. The D4 was packed like a II compartment and after wading through masses of humans and baggage I moved to claim my seat which had been usurped by an old man whose english vocabulary seemed to consist of just two words: 'Next Station'. Well, he did get off at the next station and I moved quickly to occupy the seat. The scenery outside was typical Kerala, rural but not quite so, with the almost incessant row of houses. After two and half hours the train reached its terminating station, Guruvayoor, where yet another LCD screen diligently showed the delay at 133 minutes. Its nor difficult to find the temple, just follow the unending stream of people and you will hit the East Nada of the temple. What is difficult is finding where the queu begins. I noticed that in the entire 1.5 km length of the queu, no male was wearing a trouser (all were wearing mundus, lest you jump to some other conclusion) and precisely one person was wearing slippers. Which presented me my first problem, buying amundu and finding a reasonably safe place to keep my stuff. I found the first shop selling mundus and kept my stuff with him. By now the line had grown nearly 2 km long and I was told by someone who had apparently done this many times that it will take minimum three hours. He was being optimistic to say the least, it took me nearly 5. In the meantime, the people immediately preceding me and after me, gave up. The darshan after the wait was really worthwhile as it is a stunningly beautiful temple. Next: the temple elephants.

Ettumannur

2008-05-21T20:31:00.002+05:30

What do you do when you are in god's own land and have an afternoon free? You open the rough guide to india (three years old bought second hand) close your eyes and place you index finger somewhere on the map of kerala ... and lo .. Ettumannur! You head to the KSRTC bus stand try deciphering the noodles like script and sit in the right bus on the third try ... survive the 2 hour bus journey to just short of Kottayam and get down in front of the Ettumannur Mahadevar temple which is upposed to have some exquisite paintings. Well it has four big murals which albeit in poor state are impressive. What is more impressive is the temple ofcourse, ie, if you religious! You have a snack right in front of the temple which is strangely called ABBA and written like the way the band like to write it, but no music though! You board a bus driven by a maniac and rally feel blessed by the god when you make it tto Ernakulom in one piece

Tower of Babel!!!!

2007-08-01T18:31:00.000+05:30

I discovered this page Google translate and started playing with it. Hence the long list of languages in which you can find this blog "translated" upon! While it looks neat, I tried to test the options with hilarious results. Since I know no other language in the list other than English this was my test: I translated my previous post in this pattern: English to German to French to German to English back again (by then it had started losing resemblance to the original!), and then to Japanese. And then instead of converting it back from "Japanese" to English I clicked "Chinese" to English thinking that after all Japanese and Chinese must have some similarity and this is my result (please compare with the "original" below!!):
And a caravan is private "their Macchimar Nagar their Cuffe Nariman between them they p aradiert their coastal their Kabriolette their "Truly earth they see signs from the heavens asunder. These are led down a back you sign away most private things between you are, boats, Monsune us time to be outside their admission said : Path! And when they will give no crew と their songs do stand up easement

Mumbai's Boat People!

2007-07-26T20:43:00.000+05:30

One of these days I found these "convertibles" on the coast at Macchimar Nagar, between Cuffe Parade and Nariman Point. It took me a while to realise that these are boats waiting out the monsoons! Till then they act as shanties.

Churchgate Parking Lot Banyan Tree

2007-07-24T06:17:00.000+05:30

You can find Banyan trees lurking inconspicuously in most usual places, like this one in the parking lot of Churchgate opposite Eros.

Cuffe Parade2

2007-07-20T19:36:00.000+05:30

Cuffe Parade is a piece of reclaimed heaven. But it is also a symbol of what all is wrong with Mumbai. The residential rent is among the highest in the world. When it was being built it was being vehemently opposed by a person no less than Phirozeshah Mehta and no, it was not for environmental concern, but he thought that such a huge piece of land will depress prices in coveted South Bombay. But the prices spiralled after the reclamation as they do even today. The construction was bungalows on the art - deco pattern. Of course in the last decade it has been of the skyscraper kind.

Cuffe Parade from Nariman Point

It is a symbol for mumbaikars, the opulence which they see everyday but cannot live. It feels, as if you stretch your hand you can touch it but not quite!

Cuffe Parade

2007-07-19T21:44:00.000+05:30

Cuffe Parade is one of the most upmaket and posh localities of Mumbai, interestingly often pronounced as "Cup Parade" by city cabbies. The written version is often even more plebian: "cough parade"! It is named after T.W Cuffe who was instrumental in reclamation in the area. Currently, the renamed version is: Captain Prakash Pethe Marg. Here are a couple of views:

Cuffe Parade by Day

Cuffe Parade by night

Trinkets on Colaba Causeway

2007-07-16T20:02:00.000+05:30

A trinket shop

You just cant seem to miss the colour on Colaba Causeway!

Laloo's magic and small town India aspirations

2007-07-10T23:56:00.000+05:30

I had heard a lot of hype about the "upgradation" of tickets to the higher class, but I really got to see the "magic" recently while I was going to Ahmednagar. I was travellng on a waitlisted ticket but still managed to eke out enough space to "exist" in a reserved coach. The TTE gave his meanest, dirtiest look but smiled to the couple sitting across and told them that their ticket has been "upgraded" to 3AC! Ofcourse it meant a cheerful smile all around because there were a couple of more "illegitimate" passengers there. Two people moving out obviously meant more space to sit! There was a group of students from Raipur. They had come to Pune to secure admissions to a BCA college however were told that the admissions had stopped long before their results came out. They were not bubbling with energy but were not depressed either. They were talking excitedly about the apparent vastness of Pune and its filthy but rich streets. They wondered aloud that nearly everyone gets a job in Pune irrespective of their qualifications, you only had to posses two skills: ability to handle computers and speak english. Unfortunately for them, these were the two skills they lacked. But they had a little plan to make up for this deficiency. Next year they would be back, with better english skills and a working knowlegde of computers and on time! Once there, studies can continue. Suddenly I also caught their infectious enthusiasm started feeling positive!

Mumbai GPO

2007-07-10T20:29:00.000+05:30

What do you do when you have to send a document in a jiffy to an address which does not accept private couriers? Well you reach to the nearest "24 Hour Speed Post centre". And what else do you do? You snap pictures of the gigantic and marvellous GPO building in the setting sun. Here are they:

No this is not a mosque but the dome of GPO!

18 Lac doesnt seem to be much of an amount for this grand building!

Mumbai in rains!

2007-07-09T19:31:00.000+05:30

Its no secret that Mumbai is receiving heavy rains and that is both good and bad. I got two photos, one for each aspect. The first is the day my entire travel plan for the weekend went haywire:

This counter ar CST local terminus showing the "punctuality" of the central line trains on the day!

This is a view of the Oval Maidan and the lake like puddle which has formed in the centre!

Pune Station revisited

2007-06-23T23:34:00.000+05:30

Suddenly right now I found myself on the Pune Railway station and it was like jamais vou! It has been nearly 6 years since I was last here and I find the the place geographcally the same but populated differently! The wheeler which opens 24 x 7 is still there but the chances are that if you are not paying attention then you might step on some sleeping soul before you get to the latest India Today screaming India's 60 years of independence. The place as cramped as the kumbh mela! There is a hep restaurant "Comesum" with psychedelic lighting which dishes out stale chicken burgers for Rs30.00 + VAT! I am remembering Mamu and Iam not sure if he would be reading this, but he would have been delighted at seeing the eccentricity of Bhavnagar - Kakinada Town express standing on platform no1. I really want to know who travels from Bhavnagar to Kakinada Town the entire distance! I guess so would Mamu!

Lonavala 2

2007-06-11T16:44:00.000+05:30

Well the platform 2 exit is an absolute contrast to the other exit. At first glance it looks exactly like the umpteen Mumbai suburbs: Congested, crowded, chaotic. But look carefully and you will find it different in its rows of flower sellers, cobblers, "ready made clothes" shops and traffic. It is actually Mumbai on vacation. The main chowk as you get out is curiously named "Jaichand Chowk", someone told me after the famous traitor!

Jaichand Chowk

Move ahead and a giant Shivaji greets you astride a stallion. Facing the shivaji is the fruit market, named after Jyotiba Phule with a small statue. Reminds me of Crawford Market.

Shivaji

Jyotiba Phule

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar

Further ahead is the Municipal office greeted by the figure of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. For three quarters of a kilometer length of a road the presence of so many national leaders is astounding! Probably it says something about the real politik of the place too. But I just cant seem to lay my finger on it! Actually Lonavala is like a archaeological site in terms of social development. Dig carefully and you can see all the layers distinctly: British Raj and its die hard remnants; Rural India; the effects of new market economy; and of course the various icons of the social upheavals we are witnessing in this part of the country. Dig deeper and and you will find the real India! But if you dont want to act like an archaeologist, just wait for the monsoons and you will be rewarded1

Lonavala

2007-05-27T15:20:00.000+05:30

Last week I beat the rains to Lonavala, when I was asked to go there without much fanfare. Well, Lonavala before the monsoon, is not exactly the best place on earth, so I decided to go around the streets of this "hill town" to find out what lies beneath the list of "points to see" and Maganlal Chikki hoardings. There are two sides of Lonavala station. The side on Platform No1 is more pompous in exteriors, cleaner and almost deserted. The reason, there is not much apart from the colony of railway employees, ST stand and the connecting roads to the Expressway and the Old Mumbai - Pune highway. Platform No2/3 exit is a different story. Most of the tourist traffic exits this side and this is where the hoi polloi of Lonavala live in its narrow serpentine lanes. First the Platform1 side. The entry to the station is a grand pink colored structure, a look alike of the chaitya hall at Karla caves some distance away near Malavali.

The chaitya hall entry to Lonavala Station

Walking a little distance further, are the old houses which accommodate the numerous railway staff. A little to the left is the ST Stand. Here you realize that Lonavala defines itself strictly into two parameters: Platform for Buses going towards Mumbai, more spacious but filthy and crowded and Platform for Buses going towards Pune, cramped and equally filthy and crowded. I reckon that since its origins this town must have looked upon these two cities in different ways for its survival. In some ways it is really the place where Mumbai and Pune tend to meet. As I walk further I meet a broad, busy road, which concretised, I guess that it must be the legendary Old Mumbai - Pune Highway. Legendary because legends abound about the numerous traffic jams on this road before the Expressway came into the existence. Now nobody talks much about it. The streets are lined with numerous Maganlal Chikkis each claiming to be the original and best.

Maganlal Chikki shops lining the Mumbai - Pune Highway

I quickly exited the road and ventured into the heart of Lonavala again and was rewarded by the site of these two beautiful trees:

Banyan Tree

Rhododendrons?! Much brighter than at Mumbai!

I will keep the next post for Platform No2/3.

Street names, chowks and the like: Thinking away from the usual suspects

2007-05-21T19:27:00.000+05:30

The last post on Sir JJ gave me some food for thought. Its not only about Sir JJ that I do not know but also about the scores of apparently memorable people I know nothing about, who are "martyred" by naming innumerable roads, chowks, chawls, bridges, hospitals and what nots. Apart from the usual controversy of naming and renaming etc. I have begun to think what can actually be done about this gigantic lack of ignorance about our public figures which I am sure I share with millions of others. I am also pretty sure about one more thing: there is very little information about "these people" on the internet too. I believe we should make it a public crusade to ensure that the people who demand naming/ renaming a public structure over a "public person" should post relevant and authentic information about the person on some public repository of information like the internet. The municipal bodies should ensure that the backlog should be tackled step by step too.

Sir Jamsetji Jeejibhoy

2007-05-19T23:50:00.000+05:30

As a resident of mumbai it is difficult to miss the name of "Sir JJ", from school of arts, to flyover to hospital the name is omniscient, however when I snapped this photo of him from the oval maidan, i virtually knew nothing about him. And sadly so, not very much even now, because a search of his name on google reveals precious little! He was the first Baronet of Mumbai. He passed a resolution calling for abolition of indentured labourers and that is about all i could find about the man who lends his name to so many of this city's institutions. No info on wikipedia either! Any clues?

Flora Fountain! Fiftieth Post!

2007-05-19T23:37:00.000+05:30

On my fiftieth post, I celebrate one of the famous landmarks (and one of the most neglected too) : Flora Fountain!

Driving into the sunset!

2007-05-15T21:19:00.000+05:30

It seems like a really dark sunset on the road leading to Churchgate from Flora Fountain (Hutatma Chowk). Well actually, it was not as dark as it looks in this photo because my camera is capable of doing some tricks on its own! The building on the right, Central Telegraph Office is a real masterpiece which has been vandalized by huge megalomaniac hoardings put up by BSNL. Thankfully they are not visible in this photo. Well darkness has its virtues!

Ficus benghalensis: The Banyan Tree in Bombay

2007-05-14T18:13:00.000+05:30

I have always managed to find banyan trees in Mumbai's still relatively pristine corners. Believe me there are still pristine corners in Mumbai! They grow tall, branch out and extend their foliage over a large area yet are generally inconspicuous, springing a surprise for the keen observer.At many important road junctions they are being trimmed, cut and being made unobtrusive on top of being inconspicuous. Everyone has a favorite and plausible theory to propound and mine is this: Mumbai must have been covered extensively by these giants long ago but have today all but vanished. To look for some evidence I searched the internet but came up with precious little. Just proves one more thing that internet is not the panacea for everything. But I do came up with some interesting links:
Photo of a banyan tree in mumbai posted in a blog.
The technical details of banyan tree
A great picture of a great banyan
A great banyan tree
In forthcoming pots it will be my endeavor to find proof of my theory by other means namely my Sony Ericsson k 750i.

Fruits

2007-05-13T06:44:00.000+05:30

Its amazing how many times you come across fruits while walking on the streets. A sample:

Tied up!

Unbound

Unique pair of shoes!

2007-05-11T18:52:00.000+05:30

It seems to be a new fashion statement to wear shoes of different colours, as this shop window in Mumbai sports a pair of shoes which has the right foot black and the left foot is brown!!

Mumbai University

2007-05-10T17:57:00.000+05:30

A new unique look of Mumbai University at Fort.

Gods on the footpath!

2007-05-09T14:35:00.000+05:30

Gods too live on the footpath in Mumbai!

This is a photo which I snapped from my mobile phone of postcard photos of god being sold on the footpath outside the Prince Of Wales Museum.

Gateway Of India II

2007-05-06T17:05:00.000+05:30

Gateway of India in many ways is the single most recognisable face of Mumbai. But the interesting fact is that most of Mumbaikars do not actually relate to it. It as far in their minds as Niagara Falls. Recently, while talking to a person in a local train, told me that despite living in Mumbai for over 40 years it was only last week that he had actually seen the Gateway, and did not find it too interesting! Infact the Shivaji statue was more significant for him. Personal preferences apart I guess most of Mumbaikars have "seen" the Gateway as they would perhaps see something abstract. Once there, they are distracted by the boat rides, photowalas, people selling everything from footwear to imitation jewellery. Few even realise that actually the Gateway commemorates the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay! For some it is a colonial relic and is representative of a past which best forgotten. But much of South Mumbai's buildings including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus are that only. However, it must not be forgotten that the architecture of the Gateway is a unique culmination of Indian and European styles, and hence is a living heritage of Indians. What really beats every comment about Gateway is the one which I keep hearing from the varied so called "educated visitors" to the city: They keep confusing it with India Gate !

Gateway Of India

2007-05-02T18:57:00.000+05:30

I took snaps at Gateway of India over the last few months with my freshly acquired Sony Ericsson k750i.

Boats at Apollo Bunder

More Boats at Apollo Bunder

Inside Gateway: Mughal Arch meeting Gothic Architecture

To Tickle A Crocodile

2007-04-25T13:06:00.000+05:30

I was sitting with him, discussing his agricultural land. He suddenly asked me " Do you know what to do if you are caught by a crocodile?"
"Why should I be caught by a crocodile?!"
Then he began to tell his story. His grandfather was in Burma. One day while washing himself at the mighty Irrawaddy, a crocodile appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his left arm. But his grandfather must have been agile. He knew what to do. He tickled the crocodile with his right hand at the beasts axilla, just as you would do to a kid prankster. The crocodile immediately released his grip. Later on his grandfather returned to his native Madurai district, got married and brought up a family. This tale became a legend in his family being told to every wide eyed child.
" I owe my existence to a ticklish crocodile!"

Oh Calcutta!

2006-06-20T00:19:00.000+05:30

,Phew! so after a hectic couple of months now I can look forward to an even hectier (if there is such a word) "vacation" of five days - I am going to good old Bhubaneswar. The gigantic problem is going to BBSR takes 40 hours by train, a time whch I can scarce spend it in "commuting" if I have only 5 days and flying costs a packet, so after much research I found out this: Take the late night (oh not that late : 2040) Deccan air flight to Calcutta (ok ok Kolkata) and then take the morning flight to BBSR ... so thats how I am right now sitting in Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport and found what ... a 24 hour lightening fast cyber cafe (but expensive: Rs50). The flight was full of weirdos or may be my slight pyrexia was making me feel it this way. Firstly a Bong auntyji conveniently ran her trolley over my foot and then got her three children with obnoxious luggage to jump the line as well. I was looking for an opportunity to get back at them it came in avery strange way: The son was playing with his mobile when the serpentile line had progressed much further so I told him "Chalo Dada"! Somehow it gave me a perverse pleasure to see the way the boy reacted with a startle!
If the recent privatization of the Mumbai has brought any changes it is not very visible. There are long lines, poor announcement system (infact very partial to Jet Airways) few monitors and none of them is conveniently located - all looking at your back when you are facing a marble pillar.
Ok that was a digression. The boarding line was a great mystery to me, even though the flight had not been announced people had crowded the boarding gate into a situation worse than railway reservation counters. Agreed there was free seating but the rush at the gate made me wonder if the last passenger would be given standing space only! Anyways I was the last in the line when the flight was finally announced and then lo miracle! they opened another counter and I was first!!! I had been warned that boarding a Air Deccan flight can turn into a stampede worse than any at the Haj pilgrimage but there was no such thing. The seats were packed, and vey limited reclining and of course astronomically priced food but I had come prepared with my dabba packed with sandwiches. Somehow I slept very soundly and woke up to the announce ment of approaching Calcutta. The lights over calcutta looked dimmer than over bombay, may be it was later in the night. Bombay really looks like a bejewelled city from air. I get down at Cal and smell the city: wet, smoke, stink and a humid warmth just like it has always been.
The next part is the toughest: finding a place or rather a space to sleep in the airport without being shoved out by some CISF boot. The chairs are comfortable for sittinf but not for sleeping. There are central pillars surrounded by some cushions but every inch of it is already occupied by people. To make matters worse, no tea! Just then I found this cyber cafe!

If I had a camera ...

2006-06-18T09:43:00.000+05:30

The train pulled up at the Lower Parel station and I woke up with a start. It was one of those lucky days I had got the window seat facing the wind. I peered on to the platform to find to lady constables sitting on a bench. One was bare legged and had kept her feet on the bench. On closer examination it was revealed that the had applied mehndi on her feet! She was applying mehndi on the other constables' palm! I wish I had a camera ... !

Rogue-oo-nath

2006-06-02T16:32:00.000+05:30

I stared out of the train window onto the ominous clouds ("Premonsoon" in met department jargon) over Bandra skyline.
My neighbour in a heavy bengali accent said "Going to rain isn't it?!"
I gave a reply with a certain contortion of my face which meant "Yeah, Sure" but also could mean "My mother told me not to speak with strangers"
He carried on, however, "Myself Rogue-oo-nath from Bhayander!" Obviously, he had failed to gather the second meaning of my facial contortion. "You are ...?"
I mumbled "Rohit" not having enough time to conjure up a lie at such a short notice.
"And may I ask what is your profession?"
This time I had enough reaction time "Medical Transcription"
"Would you like to earn more money?" He was in no mood to let up.
All my sirens were blazing now so I said "Not really"
Now I was really fighting hard but did not know how to ward off this "Rogue.."!Thankfully he decided to get down at Elphinstone Road with a polite "Ok Rohit bhai good to meet you!"

A Question

2006-05-27T21:12:00.000+05:30

What is common between 'Suraj Ka Satwaan Ghoda' and 'Pulp Fiction' ?

A Frog and a Window Seat

2006-05-19T20:28:00.000+05:30

I got up in the morning to the extravagant tune of my mobile phone alarm. (Somehow I have never owned a real "Alarm Clock") I wanted to sleep again immediately but with superhuman effort I managed to sleepwalk to the loo. As I contemplated the spartan commode I thought I saw some movement ... must be morpheus, my first groggy thought. But then it happened again. There definitely was something in the commode so I flushed it ... and lo ... a slimy green frog right out of Animal Planet was doing aquatic maneouvres in the commode! I was now wide awake I flushed again ... this time the force was enough to propel the frog down the drain. But I flushed again and again like maniac perhaps to flush down the funny feeling I was having in my throat!
Scene 2: The rush in the local was unexpected. I clambered on. I manged to push through to the proximal end. A man was engrossed in the MidDay reading some article about TV Actors making more money by hosting shows rather than acting (if you can call it that). I tried to peer into his paper unobtrusively. Suddenly the man was startled because the person in front of him got up from his seat so he was truly in the enviable position of grabbing a seat. He looked around confused. There was an old man slouching some way off so he offered the seat to him. The older man politely refused: "I only have to get down at Mahim". The lucky guy immediately occupied the seat and immersed himself in the MidDay. I looked longingly towards the window seat hoping for a similar windfall.

Taxis

2006-05-13T11:33:00.000+05:30

The most conspicuous thing on any mumbai road is the red and yellow Taxi which mumbaikars stylishly prefer to call "Cab" (perhaps influenced by London). Unlike the other metros, Taxis are used not only by the elite but also by the hoi polloi. Someone told me that mumbai taxi fares are the cheapest in the world. Everyone you meet here, definitely has a Taxi horror story but I have yet to come across something really gross. My guess is ( Idont have any statistic) that the average Taxiwala ("cabbie") is from UP or Bihar. What really puzzles me is that the same guy when he is driving an auto( why dont you see taxis in delhi?) in Delhi manages to be rude and threatening to the extent of extortion, in Mumbai a mild person, if rash driver, and will offer you the fare card should you raise an eyebrow at the fare demanded. The safety of Taxi ride particularly in night in mumbai is something of an urban legend. But actually I wanted to write this post about the garish graffiti you get to see at the back of mumbai Taxi. The most prominent is the names of the three most distant corners of the city and then in the centre more ornately is the place where the taxi belongs. It is as if the city is advertising its myriad far flung suburbs to a new comer.

New vistas

2006-04-25T20:03:00.000+05:30

My urge to post has drawn me to a seedy cybercafe near my place of work. It has been sometime since I have come to a cyber cafe and coming here brings a spate of memories. There were times when I spent about 5 hours per week and the majority of my allowance in/on a cybercafe. Those days (ah what a loaded phrase!) were the days of dial up connections, seedy stuffy rooms full of students of all nationalities and Rs50 an hour browsing. After 5 years I see a little has changed ... the price has come down to Rs15, there is airconditioning but the room is still full of smoke, students and exasperation at the speed! And yes people still peer over into your screen. It is still a "public" activity as opposed to "private" browsing in your home. Which is strange because gradually everything is becoming more personal and private. The most dramatic is the ubiquitous TVs.They used to be servicing a family if not an entire neighbourhood in the days of yore but today a DINK has trouble sharing a single TV with channels multiplying like rabbits. PCs were meant to be "personal" but that definition was rather diluted in my school days when the entire class of 30 children pushed and jostled to have a look at the solitary computer screen! Are we losing something as communities or are we gaining something as individuals?!

A typical commute

2006-04-23T20:07:00.000+05:30

Iam back to my punishing shcedule of taking the 10:36 pm Andheri slow to work! While these journies are a pain no doubt but they provide an excellent opportunity to introspect and catch up on phone convesation with long lost friends. For this particular commute it is the Millenium Rake which pulls into the platform no 2 of Churchgate. The interiors are plush and look elegant in the lighting even months after the rake was commisioned. Sure there are signs of vandalism, but still it is a much better than the drab interiors of the regular locals. I remove my shoes and put my feet on the front seats. I know that it is uncivil and illegal to do it but there is no one else in the Ist. I remember reading a news item recently that doing the same thing in a New York metro may cost you $50! Despite this fact, I doze off comfortably after setting my mobile phone alarm for 2300. I suddenly wake up with a start and find a strange looking station, I panic! My guess is that I've overshot Santa Cruz. I try hard looking for a sign board, but I fail to locate one. The train starts. The few fellow commuters I have are conspicuosly looking at me or so I think)! I suddenly realise that it was only Bandra and the train is now being put on the Harbour Line. I hate it when this happens because the Harbour Line platform at Santa Cruz is a case study of the infrastructural inadequacy of this city - there is only one way to the Rail OverBridge and it is crowded like hell always. I wait till the crowd thins out and then move leisurely out to the east side.

Churchgate Station: Eating Options

2006-01-03T15:06:00.000+05:30

Churchgate is one of the busiest suburban stations. And just as I am planning to get on board to fight for another day after missing my breakfast I feel hunger pangs. The 7:53 Andheri Slow is still a few minutes away. I survey the options: Ikays, WRly catering, and QuickBite. Out of the which QuickBite and Ikays are too near the loo for olfactory comfort. WRly catering along with Frankie have a small outlet which serves Cold Coffee (Most Popular Rs 10/-), IceCream of various shades and Frankie ofcousrse serves frankies of which Chicken Frankie (Rs 25/-) is the most succulent one. The downside is that it is made fresh and takes about 7 minutes and it looks that I will miss the 7:53. The faster option is at Ikays which serves readymade microwaved Chicken Rolls but is tad expensive (Rs 28 + 12.5% VAT ThankYou = Rs 31.50). Well I stuff it in my mouth fast otherwise I might even miss the 7:56 Borivali Slow!

Male Rivers

2006-01-01T11:54:00.000+05:30

Recently I came across an interesting factoid: Most of the rivers in India are mythologically female, however there are a few male rivers also. I could find only two: Brahmaputra and Damodar. Anyone knows any more?

The New Year!

2006-01-01T10:49:00.000+05:30

A Happy New Year!
Sometimes it so happens that under the weight of present commitments we chose to ignore the future with a stoic feeling that nothing much can be done about that. I believe the New Year is just the right time to shake off this feeling with taking stock of the future and the past and looking forward with enthusiasm and curiosity rather than cynicism.

Something about Mumbai!

2005-12-27T09:50:00.000+05:30

I realised having named this blog MumbaiJamming I am not writing much about the city and am rather concentrating on my travels! But that is not completely true because actually the travels out of city are an essential feature of the life of this city.Though the municipal limits of the city are just Dahisar on the western line and Mulund on the Central line, the actual limits of this megapolis extend far beyond geographically. It would be a difficult task to pinpoint the exact geograhic boundary but Surat, Ahmedabad and numerous cities in between show tremendous influence of Mumbai and their economic activity as well as sociocultural psyche is deeply associated with that of Mumbai and vice versa. Similarly Pune, Nashik and to some extent Goa also have this connection with Mumbai. Mumbai has been a power house which is pulling along majority of Maharahstra, Gujarat, Goa and some parts of Karnataka as an economic and financial juggernaut. The same is true of Delhi in pulling along the northern states but unfortunately the same cannot be said of Calcutta (Kolkata). That may be one of the reasons of economic impoverishment of the eastern states. South india is ofcourse remarkable self dependant with each capital city, viz Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore, and Kochi being metropolises in thier own right. I guess there is a lesson in this. We have to develop more medium sized (and more manageable) cities, otherwise the megapolises will just flounder under the weight of immigrants from less fortunate neighbouring cities, towns and rural areas.

South Goa: Madgaon Colva

2005-12-22T09:29:00.000+05:30

On the last day of my visit to Goa we decided to do a token visit of South Goa by visiting Colva Beach which is about 39 km away from Panjim. this time there was no escaping NH17 and we took to it bravely. The traffic was heavy but well behaved. We reached Madgaon in fairly well time. By the looks of it, it was most unlike Panjim. From here we took right turn to Colva which was 6 km furhter away. Colva Beach is the longest uninterrupted strtch of sand on Goa. The moment we landed hordes of boatmen came to us asking if we wanted to 'Dolphins' in deep sea for a price of Rs600 and half of it to be returned if there were no sightings! It took some persistent refusal for them to leave us. The beach is populated but less crowded than Calangute and immense more enjoyable. The waters are an undescribable blue- green colour. We took a break to have some pomfret fry at a beach restaurant when we saw some activity in the waters and lo! there were Dolphins! It was a profoundly spectacular sight. After about ten minutes the Dolphins disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared. Time for another dip in the waters and lunch. We left at about 2pm to head for Panjim, pack stuff and head for the airport for the first lowfare airline ride of my life. I was very apprehensive but as it turned out it was good for the price. The amount of enthusiasm which the solitary air-hostess showed while serving only water was indeed commendable!

North Goa: Chapora Vagator Anjuna Calangute Fort Aguada Sinquerim

2005-12-21T09:59:00.000+05:30

On the second day of my Goa "Holiday" I head north. Goa divides itself neatly into two by the Mandovi River. North of it lies the the now renowned and crowded beaches from Fort Tiracol till Panjim. These are party places, hippies dens and the hangout of dedicated dropouts. I see the map and decide to go till Fort Chapora on the banks of the Chapora river anthen work my was back by touching the prominent beaches. Its circuitious ride on the minor roads and the landscape is interesting. The presence of foreigner based tourism is palpable with prominent signs in Hebrew and Russian and at some places the prices being quoted in Euros! Chapora was originally 'Shahpur' after the great Adil Shah of Bijapur before the portuguese arrived on the scene. They cam and took over the fort which at that point must have been vital gaurding agianst the Marathas from the north of Chapora river. In fact at one point of time the fort was taken by Marathas. Graduallya s the portuguese managed to spread their infuence till Tiracol the fort lost its strategic significance and today nothing but a dilapidated fort wall remains of it. But the views are great. A calm and serene river merging into an equally calm Arabian sea and the fisherman village of Morjem on the north bank. We can see the Vagator beach and its very inviting. so we hurriedly climb down and head to Vagator. Its a short strip of beach but relatively empty. Clean. At the distal end (?Chapora beach) foreigners have occupied the shacks and the shack owner gives us disapproving looks. We head back. After a couple of hours we leave for Anjuna. Its a longer expanse and wider albeit rocky. The remenants of the famous Anjuna flea market can be seen. We have tuna in lemon sauce with chips and salad at a beach shack. And then we get into the water. Its terrific. Next stop is calangute and as expected its extremely crowded. Somebody described it as Ganga Snan! We go on a water scooter paying Rs 300 for the the 2 minute joyride! Its time for another fort and a big one Fort Aguada now hosting an unlikely combination of a prison and a 5 star hotel. Its a tough climb for the 2 wheeler. But the sights of Panjim and Mandovi are rewarding.

More of Times Of India

2005-12-20T16:04:00.000+05:30

Here is a collection of posts I found out on the glory that was Times Of India and now what it has become. Most of the posts ae from the deluge days of 26 July but I never knew that so many people had the same feeling about TOI :
http://wetware.blogspot.com/2005/08/scrutinizing-times-of-india.html
http://phoenix.gargs.com/blog/?p=26
http://govar.blogspot.com/2005/08/bloggers-revolt-against-toi.html
http://bluelullaby.blogspot.com/2005/07/tois-idea-of-disaster.html
http://wetware.blogspot.com/2005/07/decline-and-fall-of-times-of-india.html
http://imaginathon.blogspot.com/2005/07/toi-touching-new-lows-updated.html

Panjim and Old Goa

2005-12-19T11:23:00.000+05:30

Panjim was a city founded by the portuguese on the south bank of the river Mandovi. Initially it was just a port of first call for portuguese sailors from Lisbon who then moved upriver to Old Goa (Goa Velha) which was the capital of the Portuguese enclave of Goa in India. But in early 19th century (?1821) they shifted their capital to Panjim apparently because of a plague epidemic. The city of Panjim really flowered and today it arguably the most beautiful state capital in India. It still a very small city of narrow but good roads and there are districts which still have the colonial flavour in architecture and way of life - Sao Tome, Fountainhas and Mala. Urbanisation is fast claiming this pleasant city and high rises have begun appearing but it still retaining the flavour of a colonial town. Iam heading to Old Goa which is 9km away on the hired Kinetic Honda and it is such a pleasant ride - the Mandovi on my left and greenery all over the place and the road is fantastic. Old Goa has a high concentration of churches incuding the largest churc in Asia - Se Cathedral.
When we reach there the sunday evening service s in progress with a curt sign outside saying tourists not allowed as service is in progress. So in the meantime we visit the nearby Church of St Francis of Assisi and The Bom Jesus cathedral which houses the mortal remains of St Francis Xavier. There is also an innovatively done ASI museum where unforunately photography is not allowed. It houses among other things the portraits of all the portuguese governors of Goa. Quite impressive. Se Cathedral open and one can see easily why it is the largest church in Asia. I wish I had taken a guide along as I can gather precious little of the myriad paintings and sculptures painted over by golden paint. But the church is really massive. We move back to Panjim and suddenly I can see a certain similarity with Daman. A river dividing a port city into north and south banks with a fort on either side. Its good that we have visited Daman first otherwise it would have seemed a poor imitation of Panjim. We head to the nondescript and crowded Miramar beach. After a hefty dinner we get back to Altinho. Next post: North Goa.

Why I changed my newspaper

2005-12-18T18:56:00.000+05:30

Ok Old Goa has to be the next post then. Today I made a deep impact conclusive decision. I changed my long time newspaper Times Of India to an absolutely new broadsheet 'DNA'. I've been reading Times Of India as long as I can remember - may be last 17 years with a gap here and there. There was a time when Times was published from very few places and Bhubaneswar was not one of them. So we used to get our paper a day late (from Delhi) and that too the 'National' edition - without any frills. But my parents were that kind who would rather read the 'Times' a day late than read any other newpaper. It was the age long before Sunday supplements arrived but Times carried two sections extra of, which particular interest was Section II - covering, literature, arts and entertainment in staid black and white esoteric articles rather than glossy colourful pages. The people whose articles I can remember are Dom Moraes, Jug Suraiya, Swaminathan Aiyar, Bachi Karkaria, Dileep Padgaonkar and ofcourse the guy who wrote MindSport. Gradually changes began occuring initially for the better - the sunday special report, Open Space (I was a proud boy the day my question got published in it!) and some good columnists - Rajdeep Sardesai, and that day too arrived when TOI began publshing from Bhubaneswar. But then something else also started happening, indiatimes and other things got brazenly advertised in the text of the newspaper. For some time the 'middle' and the enormously interesting 'third editorial' vanished. (They have now reappeared) The sunday supplement deteriorated into a crass glossy section featuring people whom I had no interest in. The book reviews, music and arts section all but vanished(They are making a comeback now). There were times when the newspaper from bhubaneswar featured only tender notices on the international page! But still TOI was the most readable of all the newspapers. Then something has happened over the last few months which have finally made me take this momentous and sad decision: inaccurate reporting and factual errors. TOI has been known for its authentic reporting and intellectually stimulating analyses. So when I saw the photo of a CRPF personnel labeled as 'Army man' in an article for carrier options in the army I was aghast. Soon, more was to follow. During the recent election results of Bihar ther was an article comparing Bihar with the nation in certain statistical indices, interestingly the Infant Mortality Rate was shown to be lower than that of the national average and it was commented upon as being worse. It meant that not only the statistic was wrong but also that the person writing the article had little clue what he was writing about. The final straw was in the reporting of the recent illness of Amitabh Bachhan. While on the first page his diagnosis was written as 'Diversiculosis' (there is no such medical condition), on the page2 it was written (correctly) as 'Diverticulitis'. Such an error for a lesser paper might have been pardonable but for TOI it meant fall from grace. I remember TOI was regarded as second only to the Oxford Advanced Learner's in my home in my childhood, unfortunately, No Longer. To top it all the bulky step child in the name of Mumbai Mirror is handed day after day which straight goes to my trash bin. For me Mumbai Mirror symbolises everything which TOI was not. I guess the people who are writing the TOI these days are not the people who read the paper in their younger days. Now I have switched over to DNA. I do not have high expectations, its a new paper with bright young people who may make mistakes once in a while because after all they are not TOI!

Panjim

2005-12-18T08:17:00.000+05:30

So after thinking about Goa for so long I took the dive and took the VOLVO bus from the Dolour Church, Marine Lines. It was supposed to start at 1930hrs but finally managed to get on to the Easter Express highway only at about 2200 hrs! It should have been the most comfortable bus journey I should ever have made as the the amount of leg space in the bus would have shamed some business class seats, however it was not to be. Somehow I was very restless and slept very little. At day break it was still the gigantic state of Maharashtra - Samantwadi. Soon after an obscure border crossing we were in the sunshine state of Goa. The landscape was the same. If someone expects beach loads of scantily clad women as soon as he hits Goa, he is going to get a little disappointed! Pernem passed off imperceptibly. The first major town is Mapusa with a difficult pronunciation somthing like MHAP - SSA supposed to rhyme with Lhasa. The bus was mobbed by touts offering us the heavens view on Arambol beach. I tried to catch up on my sleep. Panjim arrives a little too fast for the 12 kms that separates it from Mapusa. From a distance you can realise that why it is called the most beautiful capital city in India. The morning view of the Mandovi and Panjim (? Panaji, ?Pangim, ?Ponjje) is terrific. But after disembarking from the bus going to our destination in Altinho proves to be difficult as no one is ready to take us there for under Rs60. Finally we give in. The city has a quaint colonial character. Its very pleasant. Infact you can learn what "pleasantness" is in reference to a city can mean, here. The roads are excellent. The riverfront is sparkingly clean and very beautiful and there are no traffic lights yet the trafic is remarkably disciplined. Soon after, we start our hunt for a bike on hire, after having a prolonged and hefty lunch at the famed Venite in Sao Tome. It seems we are at the most wrong time - siesta. Finally we haggle to get a Kinetic Honda for the princely sum of Rs600 for three days and Rs 1000 as deposit as we refuse to part with our Identity Card. Driving is a pleasure. We are 'cruising' at 60 on the road to Old Goa and the views of the Mandovi are just fantastic! Old Goa in next post!

100 years of Howrah Railway Station

2005-12-17T10:22:00.000+05:30

The Howrah railway station is celebrating its centenary this month/year. It completed 100 years of functioning on 1 december. I have got many mixed memories of the station. The initial ones are of fear and amazement. I must have been very young when I first passed through it and the size and incomprehensible chaos of it frightened me! It was just a transiting station for me. So actually it was the fear of a small town boy of his first big city. To top it all the train which I was supposed to be travelling was, hold your breath, 22 hours late! Believe me it happens on those trains which are coming all the way from Trivandrum/Cochin to Guwahati and are even worse on their return journey. The second time I was there I was a young teen (eh!) and I seemed to enjoy it. What really me amazed me that all the chaotic 21 platforms ended on a dead end of a vast and even more chaotic terminus. It was the first terminus I had seen. I had always thought of platforms as two ended things - a mere transitory spaces in this complex network of Indian Railways. I wondered, rather naively, how does the train go ahead of Howrah?! One of the most remarkable descriptions of the Howrah stations which I have read is in 'The Shadow Lines' by Amitav Ghosh. After reading that piece I began to see the human angle of this gigantic railway terminus which to me till then seemed rather impersonal. My affair with this station continued when I flew for the first time (!) to Calcutta and then immediately after that landed up in the General Compartment of train heading to BBSR at the Howrah station! I felt a queer sense of achievement when I learned that It has indeed finished 100 years! Ofcourse now I know how the trains go beyond Howrah railway station - they just change thier direction and the engine starts pulling at the reverse end!

Thinking about Goa

2005-12-14T18:48:00.000+05:30

I have been thinking of going to Goa. This little state, the tiniest of all Indian states(does that incude Delhi also?) has been beckoning me for some time now. I have missed several opportunities of going there. The portugese came there in the 16th century and were dislodged only after some effort by India in 1961 (19th Dec to be precise). Goa is the fag end of Konkan strip which starts from southern end of Gujarat. It has famed beahes, marvellous churches, a portugese influenced cultural tradition but still is it enough to attract those hordes of tourists? When I ask this question to die-hard Goa enthusiasts they give me meaningful smiles and tell me "Boy, you have to go to goa to feel it!" So as usual my search started with the internet, Lonely Planet, and 52 weekend breaks. The more I read about it the more I wanted to go there so I bought the tickets made the bookings and ahoy!