So what you doing on New Years' Eve in Mumbai?

What can possibly happen during next seven days? A lot I would say if you are in Mumbai.


But, you should only be able to brave the traffic jam (like they say 'goslow' in Nigeria)

At every signal, your vehicle is likely to wait in a long queue which can be sometime extend to ten minutes or more.

The streets are lighted with hundreds and thousands of tiny, tiny light bulbs, There is talk of party and entertainment at every street and what more, new year is round the corner.

And hey, what’s this I read in papers today?

Some of the big stars will earn millions in just one day by performing on the new year’s eve!! Might see most of them dancing to the tunes of ‘Sheela ki jawani’ and ‘Munni Badnam hui’……and many more!! zara sa jhatka!!!

On a quiet day, you might want to go to Film city and visit the film studio of Masterchefindia?

Yeah!! exact replica of the original 'Masterchefaustralia'

But before you enter the film city, be ready to pass this

 yeah, thats the reality, dirt is every where!

but nevermind!! Its a part of living in Mumbai, that is not likely to change in thousand years, we have learnt to live with it. hahaah!!

Nevertheless, Mumbai has lot of offer


Street food

 Sweet and sour Dabeli and paan for digestion

Road side shopping

 Where else would you squat on the ground to shop?

What ever your choice, Mumbai is the place to be

Happy New Year!!

Literati Festival in Mumbai

image source

In 2007, I had attended Lit Festival in Jaipur and had enjoyed every moment, listening to different writers about their experience in the lit world, sitting in the sun on cold winter morning sharing coffee with our favorite authors and attending workshops to collect some dust of grey cells that was floating in the air, I never went back because I can’t take the cold but now I am glad that finally Mumbai has its own literature festival.

So very glad

This was something that was missing in Mumbai. We do have literature sessions during Kalaghoda festival in February, every year, but that is another story, more about that some other time.

The lit festival starts (debut) on 12th November 2010 for three days in Mumbai at NCPA and the fourth day, make a guess where it is? Yep! if you guessed Lavasa, you are right.

I am planning to attend 'E-literature' on Saturday, the 13th which is at 11am, and ah! that means I must wake up early (aw! What a pain! No late nights on Friday then)

I would have liked to attend all the sessions for three full days and would even have loved to go to that beautiful city of Lavasa but unfortunately, I have other commitments.

This one promises to be vibrant with fiction, nonfiction, plays and poems

See you there!! *Wink**Wink*

Arties festival in Mumbai

If you are in Mumbai during the next week from November 8th to November11 and enjoy Chamber Music Concert then you may hop over to NCPA for Arties festival, the November 2010 edition. This is the music festival which takes place every March and November at NCPA where young musicians are invited to play their masterpieces.

 

The musicians of the current Arties Festival include violinist Pierre Fouchenneret , who has taken part in many sonata recitals, chamber music concerts, in addition to being a soloist with many orchestras.

A fun filled three day festival is a real treat for music lovers, I am sure. You may book your tickets online or at the venue.

Arty Changing Times in Mumbai

The Making of Sunday Mid-day Preview Mumbai  

Ladies Local

Many years ago there used to be just one ladies compartment in Mumbai Local trains, but times changed when number of women increased ten fold so much so that we had ladies local at certain time of the day.

It was fun watching only women board the only-for-ladies train while men do the bird watching.....

Just gaping hahaaha

Now--a better progress, Mumbai local has its first woman driver.

Like lakhs of Mumbaikars, 34-year-old Priti Kumari rode a local train on Tuesday. The only difference was that she piloted it, becoming the first motorwoman of Western Railway (WR) to do so. Kumari, who hails from Bihar, drove the 2:29 pm local between Churchgate and Borivli and was guided by a chief loco inspector.

Kumari, mother of 10-year-old girl, is the history graduate, who also has a diploma in electronics, she joined the railways in August 2009. On October 11 she and two other motormen were asked to give tests and go through final training in front of senior WR officials. Her husband works for the Indian Air Force, and she will play the crucial role of running more than 1,200 services every day.


“We have to remain alert constantly, especially with the signalling system and at crossovers,” said Surekha Yadav, Asia’s first woman train driver who has been running engines on Central Railway’s long distance trains since 2000. “I am hopeful more women will join the fleet.”

Shades and Hues of Navratri Festival in Mumbai

Last year, when I had travelled by a local train in the Ladies compartment during the Navratri festival, I noticed that all the women in the ladies compartment were dressed in blue.


The next day when I had travelled again I saw that they were all dressed in yellow.

Seeing two women dressed in the same colour is normal but seeing more than twenty ladies sitting next to each other in similar colours in a public place is rare, especially if they don’t know each other.

So how did they decide on same color?

Good question!

I was naturally amused and I had approached one woman to ask her about this dress code and that’s when I learnt that women who celebrate Navrati festival observe a dress color code which is similar to the color of sari worn by Goddess Mahalaxmi idol at Mahalaxmi temple in Mumbai during the festival.

Legend has it, that Goddess Durga wore a different coloured saree for each of the nine days of Navratri.

Quite a fashion statement, I must say!!

I am told that the colours to sport during this period are :

Pratipada – October 8, Friday- Green
Dwitiya – October 9, Saturday - Grey
Tritiya – October 10, Sunday - Pink
Chaturthi - October 11, Monday- White
Panchami – October 12, Tuesday- Red
Shasti – October 13, Wednesday- Blue
Saptami – October 14, Thursday - Yellow
Ashtami – October 15, Friday - Violet
Navami - October 16 , Saturday- Peacock

So don’t be surprised if you see women in same color outfits OR maybe you could join in too by wearing the right colour.

Will you??

Oberoi Mall in Mumbai

Everybody has been raving about Oberoi mall since a long time. I was not very keen to visit this mall since this one is quite far away from my house in Bandra.

One question, please, if you don't mind....er..

Don’t all the malls look-alike? Some are twins, exactly the same - (if made by the same builder) and some blood brothers,(if made by copy-cat builders). Its like- 'If you have seen one, then you have seen them all'. All the malls have same things, same brands, with only slight change in styles that suits the demography of that place and the people.

But my friends calls - visiting a mall- ‘an outing’…ah well - so for the sake of one another 'outing' to a faraway suburb, here I am - visiting one more mall, on a Saturday afternoon – a mall that I have never visited before… Yes! It’s Oberoi mall at Goregoan.

But wait a minute- what is this?

Just opposite the mall is this ‘chalta firta’ book stall that sells the latest books at 1/3 the original book (store) price. Guess why?? Yes.. you guessed it right - they are photocopies of the original books - but since there are buyers who are willing to buy cheap books and some are actually seen bargaining with these guys to cut the price still further,  so its worth doing this kind of business, isn’t it..?? (I would cringe if I saw my book on sale in that pile- ooooh!shudder*) bitchnish..hehee

And then there are more guys selling fresh flowers in case you are in a romantic mood and want to buy flowers for some one (new?).

Well this is Mumbai - like - it is rightly said that this is the city of opportunities and there is job for everyone, (good reason for exodus) you just have to be innovative and hardworking. In Mumbai, people are very fond of shopping, it is the second best thing they do it well (first choice is eating of course, if you were wondering)

 So we head towards Oberoi mall, a big poster outside the mall announces ‘Women’s Wednesday…wondering what that is?? Well, the management of this mall wants to make a gambler out of bored women. Every Wednesday, they organize Bingo games for idle, desperate housewives who have nothing better to do…hahahaa!!

Oh yes! One more thing- remember you have to be brave enough to face heavy traffic, yeah - dodge the bus, the car, the auto to cross over to reach this mall.

And if you were expecting something different other than these escalators and the row of shops all around, then let me remind you that there is nothing extraordinary inside the mall, well – don’t be disappointed, I don’t mean to scare you, Why not just go up to the third floor, gliding up the escalators and plop in the food mall to enjoy some thing to eat, eh? I mean ‘pet pooja’….or maybe a cup of coffee? or better still, just come out of the mall and sit outside to enjoy the water fountain or the polluted breeze…

That’s what an average Mumbaikar does in Mumbai…

What else can one do??

Its either keeping cool inside the AC mall or go outside on the crowded streets and sit on the steps, no there are no benches, this is India, here they have a phobia of beggars using the public seats.

But there is a better option too, of walking over to the nearest joggers park….

Wink, wink*

Fully Time Pass in Mumbai

It’s been long time since I have discussed what is happening in Mumbai…I have been occupied with so many things that I have not found much time to socialize. Oh! Nevermind! But you can have a good time while in Mumbai. Hey, have u watched the play ‘The Blue mug’? It sounds quite interesting play in Hindi. It’s about a man who mistook his wife for

hat. A hat? Geez!

"The Blue Mug is a devised piece of theatre in which actors Rajat Kapoor, Sheeba Chadha, Munish Bhardwaj and Vinay Pathak go down the path of their personal memories - their childhood, adolescence and youth, and also immediate past in their middle age. The play depicts the larger canvas of Indian memory through monologues and improvised scenes between the actors. "

I am tempted to watch it. Let’s drive over to Prithvis and watch some great stage artist at work.

If you are gaming buff then there is good news for you.

Picture  source

There is a new store Game4u, located at Andheri that houses some of the meanest and the wildest games. If you are one of those die hard gamers that love to keep him self on top of the latest range of titles, move over to Game 4U – This seems the only store in Mumbai for gamers everywhere.  I believe that there is also a girls section for those women who love to get their hands on a remote. Thats a good news..er..not very sure....I don't like these crazy dishum dishum games. Bah!

If you are the type to enjoy the western music concert, then head on for delightful music at NCPA which is hosting the Ninth Celebrity season.

Picture source

Perhaps you would be interested in listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is the most successful composer of musicals of all time.

"He started composing at the age of six and today his music is known by billions all over the world. He has composed 13 musicals during his career, which have played all over the world, especially in London’s West End and New York’s Broadway. Many of his musicals have run continuously for decades with audiences never tiring of them."

So hop on to Jamshed Tata theatre for a nice pleasant evening.

Mumbai always has some or the other time-pass-activities, for those who would like to just while away their time doing nothing then there is always linking road for shopping and eating Bhel Puri.

Anything is better than being a couch potato. Isn't it?

Celebration is Everywhere in Mumbai

decorated palki for Lord Ganesha

Today is the beautiful day in Mumbai…everywhere I can hear the fire-crackers, people are happy and the vibrations are good. Lord Ganesha is getting a big warm welcome. There is a big parade of colorfully dressed people in traditional Maharastrian attire, dancing to the music of Lazims.

 women in different coloured clothes dancing in a group

Men playing Lazims...lovely!!

Even the children are dressed in traditional clothes and they seem to enjoy it

TV crew has been visiting different nodes of Mumbai and interviewing people, everywhere you see people singing hymns, waiting in long queue to get the glimpse of the idol.

Women blowing the counch after every hymn

Everybody is having fun as they parade in Hindu Carnival

Ganesha festival is the mood of celebrations and it is here to stay for next eleven days

Pass the fish, please...

Yesterday I ate fish after a very long time and really relished it, my friend tells me that they eat fish everyday at every meal and they have been miserable since that oil spill.

Ecologists said the picture is grim. "The oil spill will affect fish species; many of them breed in mangroves. The chemicals sprayed to disperse the oil too would affect the marine ecology," said B F Chhapgar, a marine biologist. "The chemical dispersants break the oil into small droplets which then settle at the bottom of the sea and affect marine life," he explained. Chhapgar also expressed concern over the threat posed by the chemical containers still afloat in the sea. If the pesticides leak, marine animals would be severely impacted, he said.

image source

With 400 containers containing oil and hazardous chemicals that have slipped into sea and 800 tons of oil that have leaked into the sea, the fishermen are deprived of their daily wages and just await for better and safer options for fishing.

Somebody should be held responsible and be punished so that it never occurs again.

Peddling In the Eco-Friendly World

I think, with the auto/taxi drivers being arrogant, buses and trains - too crowded, cycling is the best option. For one, it’s a substitute for those fancy expensive gyms where you cycle not reaching anywhere; moreover you save on petrol, since your car is sitting silently in your garage.


I have a close friend who cycles regularly with her friends around Bandra area. She talks about her cycling group that meet during early hours, from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, outside Otter’s club, their favorite meeting place. I had even seen her group parade in the most innovative cycling aerobics during Bandra festival.

image source

This Sunday, the August 15th, while some patriotic groups will hoist the national Tiraga, Singing the National Anthem, there will be various other cyclist groups racing in the city, from differeent parts of Mumbai with all roads leading towards Prabhadevi.

It is the event to watch out for to spend a purr-fect Sunday morning…isn’t it?

More details call : 8898051999/9820030868

Kindly note: If you nothing to comment on my post, you are free to remain silent, it is fine by me, but please don’t spam my comment box with your ads, Mumbai has lotsa of slots for such purpose where you can place your ads for a small fee. Thank you.

Say NO to taxi and autos

Because they do too much DADAGIRI!!!!!.

I want to know whether they are running a public transport or a private car? They behave as if they are doing us a favor by taking us to our destination.

We go across the road to stand on that RIGHTSIDE of the road so that they don't have to take an U-Turn.

They prefer to take long distance passengers..why???

They demand a return fare whenever they feel like it.

Why must we ask ten-twenty auto/taxi drivers before we find the suitable one who will agree to our terms?? They show no sympathy even in heavy rain..here we are soaking in the rain but these guys are adamant.

Some of them are very mean and wicked

Since the rise in auto fares, they are taking advantage of unsuspecting commuters and overcharging them. I have to keep checking my tariff card(yes, I have bought one) to get back my change.

It is time we made our stand. Are you ready to skip a ride???

Re-Visiting Powai Lake

CAMPAIGN AGAINST HONOUR KILLINGS IN INDIA

Dear Mumbaites

A petition has been made to Prime Minister of India to stop the honor killing that has been quite regular and with higher frequency due which young couples are being killed accross the country for honour.

A petition has been made to bring a new law against the honour killing. I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself

CAMPAIGN AGAINST HONOUR KILLINGS IN INDIA

I request you to read the details of this petition and support it.

The undersigned

Click here to sign this petition.

Thank you!

Wet, Wet Mumbai

This year, Rain has been kind...it pours heavily at night and during day it drizzles. If it rains for two full days, then the third day will be clear and sunny. Till now, it has not yet rained to parlayse the city but still there is fear whenever it rains...Mumbaites are reminded of 26/11 whenever it pours heavily.

Things have not changed much in these four years...people still use plastic bags, water logging problem has not yet been solved and streets are full of potholes and open manholes

and the life goes on....

Eating out in Mumbai

Any time after 10pm, you can have your fill....thats Mumbai for you!!!

Any body on holiday to strange places always wishes to try the local cuisine and every place has its own favorites. During my recent visit to Darjeeling, my friend had told me to try Shushi, a local delicacy. I was standing by the Mirik lake and there he was selling Sushi in the cart..a big round modak-like-thingy with a curry and spicy sauce, but I was afraid to eat from the road side, always afraid of unhygienic stuff that it is sold on the roads with dust and pollution mixing in the plate, but now I repent that I should have taken the risk and tried just a morsel

Well that’s another story, but here in Mumbai, hygienic or not, we still are brave to try out at every cart on the road and they, the hawkers are everywhere, at every street corner, dodging the police, or probably bribing them too, to sell from their unlicensed spot, and we, always patronizing them.. and relishing it, a Batawada with bread will cost just Rs5, and it can make a hearty meal in just Rs20, so why not…especially if you are on a tight budget….

While surfing the various blogs I came across an article by Sanjiv Khamgaonkar about 40 Mumbai Foods you cannot leave without trying where he lists the special Mumbai food and the best places to try them for their true flavor.

The most delicious street food that I like is always my all time favorite Batatawada, Pani Puri, Sev puri and Pav Bajji.. When my NRI relatives visit me, they go crazy over Frankie and Bademiya’s Baida roti.

By the way…have you tried sing-channa from roadside hawkers?? It is my great time-pass activity during bus journey, while my vehicle is stuck in a traffic jam, munching away on peanuts keeps my mind busy and patience is restored.

Is it same for you too???

Bandra- the cream of the suburbs

I am very proud to be living in Bandra. There are still some cute homes in smaller lanes of Bandra. An auto ride through these narrow lanes is a treat.

Barring the glitzy Bollywood crowd -- many of whom live overlooking Bandra's sea front -- the neighborhood culture here feels creative, cosmopolitan and casual. Almost like what Brooklyn is to Manhattan. That means shorts and flip flops for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even townies come here to kick back.

And those who have the whole list of services available for a comfort stay in Bandra are the happiest lot.

There is a thirty one list of places that include places like

• Turqoise, (a home store) 
• Anokhi, (souvenir)
• Pali Market,(marketting)
• Mela,(clothes)
• Gear: The Bike Shop,(bike assessories) 
• OMO,(clothes)
• Paws N Furs, (assessories for pets)
• Maharashtra Stationary and Xerox, (stationary)
• Oleander,(fashion garments) 
• Curbside Florist, (flowers)
• Gloria Jeans Coffee, (coffee shop)
• Gostana,(burger joint) 
• Bagel Shop,(fresh bagels)  
• Santé,(baked foods) 
• Candies,(food joint) 
• Just Around the Corner,(salads and sandwitches) 
• Nature’s Basket,(organic supermarket) 
• American Express Bakery,(fresh cakes) 
• Yellow Tree Cafe,(european and labenese treats)
• Soul Fry, (fiery coastal food)
• Janata Lunch Home Restaurant & Bar, (cheap lunch place)
• Toto’s Garage Pub, (a bar)
• Zenzi, (a trendy hang-out)
• Bamboo Tree,(fish pedicure) 
• Aura Thai Spa, (fancy spa)
• Glory, (french manicure)
• Reboot Shoe and Bag Laundry,(bags and shoe laundry) 
• Twinkle Gents Hairdressers, (Gents' hairsaloon)
• Mad O Wot?, (trendy hairstylist)
• Al’s Tattoo Studio(tattoo joint)

Too lazy to write the details (specially if somebody else has already done their homework, but yes, these sure are interesting places where Bandraites while away their time.

Bharat Bhand July 2010-Mumbai streets.

Bharat Band!! Silly move by BJP to bring down the prices!!!

Since morning I am watching TV

They keep showing all the parts of India and how goons are terrorizing a common man. I work from home so this Bhand makes no difference to me…my computer is not protesting, nor facebook nor twitter...there are updates every second on twitter...
Bhand is the top trending topic on Twitter today, and everybody has something to tweet and retweet.

"Crying about hike in prices for oil n using the same oil to put buses on fire.. These morons carrying out #bandh only can explain the logic"

"Smriti Irani is on IBN live supporting #Bandh as a BJP leader, she seems to have lost weight......in her head!!"

"#RamGopalVerma is writing another horror story based on the #bandh. and is expected to open to a grand release this friday"

"Buses become aeroplanes during bandhs. They get stoned, and then they get high"

And here, my TV window, the impact is seen on the road, with buses being targeted, stone pelting, and discomfort to a common man. Different people are being interviewed to talk about their discomfort. But, Media is not on strike, in fact they are working with great passion trying to find some breaking news. Tyres burning, lathi charge, rail roko, people lying on the tracks, students who cannot go to give exams, poor people who are not able to reach the hospital on time, every channel is quite busy reporting the latest BREAKING news.

The images on the screen are not pleasant at all. I get fed up of watching TV and I decide to go down for a walk…to see whether it is really that bad out here.

 I live in suburbs where it is normally quite peaceful in the narrow lanes.

The shops were all closed, true….All the shutters were down..non-shopping day....

Ooooh this is Linking road….do you remember it to be so lonely? On normal days, this is so jam-packed that I have to wait sometimes for more than fifteen minutes to go across the street unless I am brave enough to walk between moving traffic.

And this is Waterfield road in Bandra. Signal is red but since there is no traffic today, I decided to stop here for a minute to click this picture.

And children were playing cricket out on the streets. On normal days, there is too much traffic on this road…since there are group of restaurants in this area and the hungry clients flock this street and wait on the foot-paths till late nights

Well ....the urban town wears a rural look on this day and it is a pleasant walk for me, without those noisy autos and buses and the people too.

I walked freely, no worries at all, happy to have Mumbai road just for me……till the time I come home and hear the BREAKING NEWS again

“Bandh hits businesses, losses up to Rs13,000crore…”

What stories would interest a Mumbaite??

Mumbai, being the nerve centre for Bollywood films, it makes an interesting subject. Migrant workers, rich businessmen, smugglers, terriorists, sadhus, common men, the list is endless and every unit has a different angle and a new story to tell.

"Cities are built from concrete but held together by the mortar of desire - the nature of that desire determines how they will hold. Over them we throw the cloak of our stories. Then, even though we sweat in the local train, in our heads we tread fabulous dreams. Along with its economy and infrastructure, every nagri is also a maya nagri, city of illusions, temptations and myths, the stuff of possibility and hope. So we can walk on streets made unimaginably filthy by the monsoon, yet live in the imagined romance of Marine Drive mist. Both things are real in their way."

Paromita Vohra, an award-winning Mumbai-based filmmaker, juggles with the stories, what story could really interest a Mumbaite.....

Picture of the day

Okay, so tell me where in Mumbai did I see this???

One more evening at Jogger’s Park in Bandra.

A cool sea breeze, a thirty minute brisk walk and relaxing to watch the sunset is the perfect way to while away the hours on hot summer days.