Mumbai local

A gratifying shopping trip & lip-smacking snacks later, we decided it was time to head back to the resort.Inspite of constant nagging from hubby dear, we managed to lose time in shopping and loafing around. By the time wisdom dawned upon us and we decided to head back, it was already too late. The city is Mumbai, the hour, 6:30 PM on a Friday and our mode of commute? The local (train)! ....

Boarding the train at the originating station helped us grab a few seats. As the train started to move, we slowly drifted away into a tired drowse - only to be awoken to shouts from somewhere behind us “Aage Badho, aur aage badho bhai” . Shockingly, the entire compartment was crammed within no time!
I noticed an elderly gentleman navigating through the crowd towards us. He wanted to place his bag on the storage area over our seat. On placing the bag, we expected him to move away and find a place to stand in somewhere in the crowd. But no! He never budged! He stood riveted there - between the row seats facing each other,right in front of us! Very soon, there was a request from an elderly aunty to make place for her, since she was unable to stand. She was supposedly ill. That made four of us on a seat meant for 2 adults.Half-an-hour into the journey and another to go, some of us struck a conversation with the elderly gentleman trapped infront of us. Casual inquiries revealed that this was his daily routine. Apparently, he commutes to work the same way - one hour of standing between people! ...I thanked my stars for not having to go through this ordeal.

From the announcements and billboards in the station,earlier,it was clear that most of the trains were either nine or twelve boogied.I furiously noted that the one we were in, had only nine compartments.As is obvious,my first thoughts were - why couldn't they add more compartments,atleast during the peak hours? What kind of life is it, if you had to stand for an hour to commute to your workplace, in an extremely crowded train,day in & day out? And then, return the same way? Later that day, I learnt that though Mumbai is supposed to be the financial capital of the country, it gets very little attention - in terms of improvisation of infrastructure, unfortunately. Sad, really! I digress,though.

Coming back to the local. Those who have commuted by a Mumbai local during peak hours would have known how hard it is to get into or get out of the train. For this reason, we decided it was impossible for us to get down at our destined stop. Hence, feebly resigned to our fate and made up our mind to alight at the last stop.At that point,the gentleman trapped infront of us, who was listening to our discussion intently, pitched in to help. Luckily, he was to alight at the same station.He suggested we should start planning our exit one stop prior to the destination. That was the trick!

As planned, the elderly gentleman started wriggling his way through the crowd, one stop prior.One by one, all of us followed him, forming a line in which the ladies were sandwiched between the men folk. It seemed as if we were preparing ourselves for a bungy jump!As we inched forward, we could sense some sort of excitment building up in the people around us - who by now, know every minute detail of our "mission disembarkment". I noticed a few keen eyes watching our every move,with bated breath!Soon we heard the train slowing down and then screeching to a halt at our destination.We were somewhere close to the exit, but still not out. That is all I remember. Before we knew it, we were all on the platform and were continuing to move with the human current towards the exit of the station. A sense of achievement engulfed us. We made it! Hurray! We survived the Mumbai local!

We thanked the gentleman who helped us and that is when I asked him his name. Prakash, is his name. The whole experience is going to stay with me in the years to come. Prakash is a living example of the Mumbaikar spirit. Inspite of his daily ordeal,he managed to have pleasant disposition towards total strangers on the train and even helped them! Three cheers to that human spirit! On that note, I bid adieu for now. Merry Christmas!

Our friend - the sparrow

Every morning, at around 8, we have this tiny visitor who drops by to say hello. The little guy is almost punctual every day. He would fly onto the window sill and spend sometime trying to converse with us ... fearless and extroverted, unlike his fellows! Over the time, we started leaving crumbs of biscuits and a little bit of water for this little fella and he made visiting our house, his routine. Our friendship continues...

A while ago,I came across an article that listed the common house sparrow as a soon-to-be endangered species and requested its readers to do their bit in preventing it.Discovering that the sparrow would very soon join the list of endangered species was horrifying. Where are we headed? Rapid deforestation - ruthless felling of trees to expand roads, to create new infrastructure, to build extra luxurious apartments,office,commercial spaces meant very minimal greenery around. The result? Well, drive the most common bird, close to extinction!!
Is man becoming so selfish that he thinks he can very well do away with the other species? Isn't there beauty in balance? Thats what Nature teaches us,doesn't it? Then why are we so overwhelmingly selfish? Why are we bent upon protecting and nurturing just our own species, at the cost of everything else?.....
How would it feel if our kids would have to visit a zoo to get a glance of say a sparrow, cow, goat or a crow! - all them which we could so easily spot around us while growing up?! Think about it...
Habitat loss is a major reason that is driving many species towards extinction. We can do our bit in protecting and nurturing our environment by planting more trees and protecting the existing ones.

Nine nights

Brightly decked up shops screaming out 'SALE' , streets filled with incense fragrance, exotically decorated pandals at every community park and a slight nip in the air - this is the charm October brings in. Come October, one of the biggest Hindu festive season sets in - Navratri followed by Diwali. Navratri (Nine nights, literally) has a special place in my heart. The kind of cheer and happiness this festival spreads - one has to experience it, to truly adore it.

While in school, Navratri meant 10 days of break from waking up at 6 a.m. every morning. It also meant shopping, new clothes, visiting friends , eating delicious food everyday in the name of God. The meaning more or less remained the same to me over the years, except that the 10 day breaks are replaced by a long weekend. An article I stumbled upon recently, threw open a different perspective on Navratri.While reading the article, I told myself to blog about it without fail. So here goes! A few excerpts from the article: Navratri is observed to celebrate the victory of spirit over inertia,pride,shame,craving and aversion. The first 3 days of Navratri are attributed to 'tamo guna',signifying depression,fear and emotional instability; the second three to 'rajo guna' characterised by anxiety and feverishness and the last three days to 'sattva guna' that pertains to calm, peace and dynamism. Though Navratri is celebrated as the victory of good over evil, the actual fight is not between good and evil.It is the victory of spirit over inertia and negative tendencies... Navratri is the time to reflect on and renew the inner depth of our lives. I shall leave you with that. May the true meaning of Navratri sink in and may we all rediscover a humbler and more peaceful side in us. Dussera Subhakanshalu!

It happens only in India!

If foot-over bridges in a completely uncrowded area are completed before flyovers at crucial choke-points, where else would it be?

If slight rain washes away roads and leaves behind huge swimming pools,where else could it be?

If commuting to work feels like an adventure ride, maneuvering around pot-holes, rain-made lakes and heedless,selfish riders ...
If following traffic rules is frowned upon....

If private construction is rampant & fast while public infrastructure creation, sluggish...

If a country with 70% of the population under the age of 30 is ruled by a meagre 10% who are aged above 70?...

Where else can there be corruption at every single rank of administration? ...

Where else would the governing body keep mum even on being aware of the malice of the neighboring countries? ...

Where else can be it?

Sigh!

Mera Bharat Mahaan!

Top Chef !

I'm no Tarla Dalal or Sanjeev Kapoor. Mine is all practical and quick cooking. However, sometime back I purchased a vegetarian recipe book authored by Neeta Mehta. It was an impulsive decision which I never repented. I remember going through the pages of the book soon after getting home and wondering if I would ever even try atleast one of them. That was then. Now, I proudly reveal that I have tried 7-8 recipes from this book and none of them have let me down.

The other day, I came home ravenous. Paneer danced around in my thoughts. I decided to make something out of paneer. Why search for exciting recipes when Neeta Mehta is at your disposal? After a quick reference, Kadai Paneer was chosen. To my dismay, the recipe appeared to be quite elaborate. Neither did I possess the patience nor the energy to prepare this dish. But that dint deter me. 'It will be my adaptation of the recipe' was the thought that refueled me. With new found energy, I started chopping the ingredients. Where the recipe said 6 cloves of garlic and 1/2 inch of ginger, I used the ready-made ginger-garlic paste. The step which required red-chillies and dhaniya to be roasted and then ground, was replaced by a ready made masala. This way, including some, excluding some steps from the original recipe, my own adaptation was born.

And to our delight, it turned out to be quite nice. I totally relished it. Unfortunate that I could not click any pictures. Alas! if only all our energy wasn't focused solely on devouring it!

The Racquet

On our drive back home, while waiting for the signal to turn green at one of the traffic signal posts, we spotted this guy making rounds with a racquet in hand. It is a common sight at traffic signals. So common, that if you are a newbie in the city,you wonder if Hyderabad is such a sports fanatic place. Well...in a way, it is. Hyderabadis with this racquet, do play a game or two every evening - no ball/shuttlecock required! The opponent/ball/victim is the mosquito! Yes, to the uninformed, this is no ordinary tennis racquet - its a deadly weapon that electrocutes the evil mosquitoes! Now isn't that quite an innovation?

Alright, coming back to where I left - So, curiosity got the better of me and we purchased one of those bats. I could hardly wait to get home and put this masterpiece to test.
Once home, there was no time wasted - the bat was immediately unpacked and employed as a mortal combat weapon on the tiniest winged being spotted.A few hours later, as the initial fancy wore out, I realized it was time to bed. The next morning, when the maid noticed the number of flies,mosquitoes and fruit flies on the floor, she gave me a puzzled look. I returned an innocent glance and said nothing, inwardly amused at the achievement!

Raavan

We watched 'Raavan' last weekend. I was looking forward to watching this movie from the time I first heard about it. Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, Abhishek Bachchan - yes a trio very tough to resist! There is something else which made Raavan even more irresistible for me (pun intended ;)) - and that is, the modern day adaptation of Ramayan.
Ramayan holds a dear place in my heart. Don't ask me why - because I do not know the answer. Be it the influence of grandma's mythological fables
or the very popular TV show (Ramayana) ,that was telecasted those days ...I cannot put my finger on it.

As a young girl, I remember being enamored by the subject. When in a mood for mythology, I'd pester my father with questions like - whether Ramayan really took place? Why is Ram considered God? The possible dates of Ramayan, the possible setting, the place where it took place, did Raavan really have ten heads and many such questions.
He would patiently try to answer them all. Though he acknowledged that the account of Ramayan is exaggerated, like many other epics, he believed it did take place. "May be Ram was the leader of a tribal clan , may be it was not monkeys but monkey like tribals that helped him find Sita, may be Raavan wasn't as bad a person", he would speculate. May be? Such conversations often left me in an enthused and stimulated state of mind...

Excited I am even now, after watching Raavan. Not because it is such a masterpiece. Nor did the performances of the cast sweep me off my feet..no! But, may be because I found this adaptation of Ramayan closest to what I have imagined it to be. It connected to my thought process. Believing that the legend most Hindus consider sacred is not an exaggerated , overrated piece of fiction but a true life story (with may be a little bit of exaggeration) has a lot of joy associated with it. There is some kind of peace, hope and contentment which I'm not able put into words. I believe ... maybe, its the romantic in me!

Its been a year!

Yes, its exactly a year ago that I made the beginning...took the first step towards writing. When it began, I never imagined it would last this long. I supposed it to be one of those numerous fancies I never pursued more than a month!

But, lo & behold! here I am, creating yet another post....surprising myself yet again! I wonder what could be the reason? The only thing that comes to my mind is the selfish motive to observe how my thought process evolved over-time, may be? Anyways, that is for me to go figure.

Here's what I owe you, my readers : All of you who read, follow,comment , criticize my posts, a BIG thank you for hanging around and encouraging me.

The Orange Hibiscus

Last year, on the World Environment Day, we brought home an orange hibiscus plant. This plant was actually on display at the 'mini' plant exhibition held at the office,celebrating the day.It was on full bloom and naturally, caught my attention and that's how it landed in our home. We started petting it from the moment we brought it home - watered it dutifully,fed it manure once a month & even patted it now and then!

Over time, slowly, my petting came down and eventually, I forgot even that this plant existed! After a period of such 'hibernation', I was jolted back to reality when one day I discovered the plant in a very pitiful state, with just a few leaves left on it. I knew I had to do something - anything to save my plant. First thing that came to the mind was insecticide! I knew I had 'some' insecticide which I bought 'some'time back, which was meant to kill 'some' kind of insects. At that moment, these 'some's din't matter. All I wanted was an (any) insecticide. So I brought the bottle out and quickly sprayed a generous amount. That, I thought, would rid the bug that was feeding on my plant.

I went back to my religious routine of petting/watering. But, to my disappointment, the plant showed no improvement. Over the next couple of weeks, it withered further and lost a few more leaves. I knew the insecticide dint work. I heard loud sirens ringing in my head. I had to act and act fast. That's when I took out my laptop and started reading extensively about this plant and the possible pests that can attack it. After a few hours of research, I could finally nail down the nasty culprit. I learnt it was a mealy bug attack & from the condition my plant was in, quite a severe one! I read all I could about the damn mealy bug, homemade remedies to get rid of it and lastly the proper pesticides that can be used. My mission was to save the plant at any cost. I started acting on the bug with a vengeance - left no stone unturned. After a few weeks of battle, the bug finally gave in. I could get rid of it completely!

A couple of days later, my plant started leafing again..voila! Though the recovery process is slow, the plant is definitely coming back to life. This World Environment Day, as a token of its spirit to survive, the plant bore two tiny buds.

The experience totally revived my long lost love for plants. I am now more aware and sensitive to plant needs - they are living beings too! Thanks to my orange hibiscus, I now have learnt how to pot and take care of young plants.
One would definitely find more plants at our home now, than ever before.




I also started looking at Environment day as a thanks-giving day to the nature & try to do whatever little I can to protect & nurture it.

For people in Hyderabad who love plants, this is for you : http://hobbyhub.co.in/
Check it out!

Miracles can happen.....if you believe

Yes, I believe. And I have been through situations, which I reckon, are the miracles I could live through. A 'spiritual leader' making ash appear in his closed fists, is not something I consider a miracle.
Learning that a selfless,whole hearted wish for a loved one came true - is a miracle! Somebody once said, life is but a struggle mostly. However, it is peppered with numerous tiny moments of joy that make the struggle completely worth while! I agree one hundred percent.
For example, did you ever pot a plant and experience the joy of seeing it bloom? Didn't it feel like a miracle when you first noticed your plant bloom? Now, didn't that make the trouble you took in potting it,completely worth while? Or, weren't you thrilled when the song you have been humming all day is played on your favorite radio station?

Over the years, I began to acknowledge that as we appreciate smaller joys in life, we begin to see more of them. One has to experience the calm & peace such a realization can bring into one's life, to truly appreciate it. Give it a shot!


I'd like to leave you guys with this video :





Enjoy!

PS: If you were wondering what kept me away for such a long time, think no harder - yes, I witnessed a couple of miracles :)

My precious

I saw him that day on a busy market street, in Bangalore. It was instant. His sparkling eyes stole my heart. I couldn't help staring at him. His smile mesmerized me.
I saw myself falling head over heals but just couldn't help it. I had to get my dad meet him, immediately! That day marked the beginning of our association. And now, he has become an integral part of my life.
My life, my family wouldn't be the same without him. He has been with me through thick and thin. One hug, and he makes my fears & tears vanish! What would I do without him?













What would I do without you, my stuffed monkey! :)

Hooked to Horror flicks?

My husband complains when I suggest watching a horror movie. His reason? Well, why do you want to pay money to get scared? What's the point? He argues.

Why do adventure enthusiasts jump off a cliff or do a bungee jump? How did racing come into existence? Isn't the thrill involved, a BIG factor? Astronauts?
Are spaceships fool-proof?

All-right! I understand I'm going slightly overboard with my comparisions. The fact is, we all like thrills. Human mind seeks something to pump up the adrenalin..To get away from the mundaneness of daily existence. But not all of us go to any extent for it.Some thrills do kill.
Hence, my dear friends, I conclude that for all of us who do not indulge in the 'greater' risks, horror flicks are the best bets!

Go for them! Even if it means you watch the movie with your TV muted or hiding under the couch! Go watch! Feel the fear, the next time you are all alone at home.
Prove it to yourself that you outlived your fears. Go watch! ;)

Whats wrong if...

a woman ....

...Challenges the notion that 'lady of the house' needs to take care of domestic needs ?
...Wears clothes that she chooses to wear?
...Refuses to be stereotyped to a 'traditional Indian wife/mother' - ever accommodating,ever pleasing and self sacrificial?
...Is disturbed on learning about the ill-treatment met unto other women?
...Condemns religious restrictions imposed only on women?
...Condemns treatment of women as a inferior race?
...Questions the interpretations of religious texts that dictate women to be 'submissive' & 'ever pleasing' ?

Is she being uber feminist? Are these the characteristics of a FCP (female chauvinistic pig) ? Does she needs to be rebuked for acting immature or trying to ape the so called *New Age Woman* ? Are her thoughts very shallow and selfish?

Who is a feminist?
.
.
.
.
.
Per dictionary:
feminist fe-mu-nist:
Of or relating to or advocating equal rights for women


Hello folks! I'm back after a long pause. Pause - not because I was out of topics to blog about, but because I was trying to put together some of my thoughts , bits and pieces from the conversations I had with some of my friends on this topic. ....So, here I go!

Yes, so all you ladies out there reading my blog, do you think you are an extreme feminist?
All you men, what do you think? Do you encourage your daughter,wife,sister,colleague when you catch her reacting this way or chide her for being a FCP?

If you ask me, I don't think any of the points I listed above make one a FCP or a super extreme feminist. I believe, in these changing times, men & women should learn to adapt and cope with the changes around. These are not the same times , when educating a girl child or sending her to an expensive college are considered a waste of money! Times have changed a lot! Many of the modern parents treat their kids equally - boy or girl, doesn't matter.

Given this background, its not surprising to find a woman who is as educated & earning equally (or more) than her husband, more now than back in our parent's time. With her education and the financial independence, the woman of today has come to believe that she is equal, in all respects, to the male. And,what's wrong with that? For example, what is wrong if she expects her husband to share all of the domestic chores with her? Isn't she slogging the same way he does?

Indian men are notorious for their ego levels. I will not say every man has a bloated ego, but yes, some of them do have a superiority feeling and think they are superior to the female population. Leave alone helping with domestic work, this kind of man gets threatened because his wife is "better" than him. Women married to this breed of men, I'm not sure how they survive! (Thankfully, mine doesn't belong to this breed.Amen.)

Being sensitive to each other, showing abundant understanding, being adaptive and some amount of tolerance towards each other, is the key for any new age marriage to survive.

Having said that, I'd now like to throw open this blog for discussions/dissections :) . I'm open to both. I urge my readers to please share your views/opinions on this topic.

Just another attack!

Came across this nice article in the paper today, which discusses democracy vs dictatorship, Indian vs Chinese governments. Creating a new post, only to save the article on my blog.

Terrifying question

Jug Suraiya, 23 February 2010, 08:59 PM IST

Would a Pune-style bomb blast have happened in a Chinese city? Or a 26/11? Or any of the scores of terror attacks that India has been subjected to over the years?

Forget the fact that the Chinese economy has grown faster than India's. Forget the fact that in terms of infrastructural development - be it power plants and highways or hospitals and schools China is way ahead. Perhaps the most fundamental difference between China the world's largest dictatorship - and India - the world's most populous democracy - is the vulnerability of each to terror.

China has its share of internal problems, its discontented minorities, like the Uighurs and the Falun Gong sect. But dissent, even non-violent dissent, has been ruthlessly nipped in the bud before it can erupt into extremist action. The scars of Tiananmen Square are a deterrent testimony to the consequences of dissidence in any form.

China's relative immunity to terror is due to the fact that it is a 'hard' state, perhaps the hardest in the world. When terrorists attack hard states as happened when Chechen extremists held a schoolful of children hostage in Beslan in 2004 the response of the state is often so swift and brutal that it out-terrorises the terrorists. In the Russian case, the final death toll included some 200 children who were sacrificed by the iron-fisted authorities as unavoidable 'collateral damage'.

The game plan of terror or what is sometimes called 'propaganda by deed' is to ensure media coverage in order to highlight the supposed cause the terrorists are fighting for. In hard states like China and to a lesser extent Russia the media can be, and are, kept on a tight rein. In China certainly, a terror strike would be totally blanked out by the state-controlled media, thus negating the publicity value of such an attack. If a tree falls in a forest where there is none to hear it fall, does it make a sound?

In a hard state like China which with impunity recently violated the privacy rights of its Google users real or imagined anti-state elements are denied freedom of movement and information before they can get themselves organised. India's anarchic democracy in which each and every one of us does exactly what we please is the diametric opposite of China's police state, where the freedom of the individual is stringently monitored and curtailed every step of the way.

Yes, India is a free society, and China is a muzzled and shackled polity. None of us or at least not many of us would willingly trade places with China on that count. But the in-built Achilles' heel of any democracy particularly one as determinedly indisciplined as India's is its susceptibility to subversion.

Is exposure to terror the price that we have to pay for the freedom of which we are so justly proud? The freedom to travel the length and breadth of the country as David Coleman Headley did without hindrance. The freedom to congregate in public, as the victims of the Pune bomb blast were doing. The freedom of our media openly to report news, even when such reportage jeopardises rescue operations as happened during the live TV coverage of the Taj Hotel siege during 26/11.

When the intrusive Homeland Security Act was introduced in the US after 9/11, many asked if in the name of deterring terrorism America was undermining the freedom by which it defined itself. If indeed it has done that, then the terrorists have already won. Similar questions might be raised in India. Will the recent tightening of visa and entry rules for foreign visitors be a genuine safeguard against terrorism, or will they merely deter tourists and business travellers, to India's detriment? Will re-introduction of oppressive laws like TADA curb terror or promote more human rights violations?

Is democracy doomed to be the unwitting bedfellow of terror? That's the truly terrifying question.

Stone Soup

This one belongs to my 'Nostalgia' series.
Its a short story named "The Stone Soup". I studied this story as part of the school curriculum. Back then,the idea of making soup out of stone, fascinated me no end. In fact,inspired by the lesson, I had even pestered mum to make some for me!

Cookery shows that promise scrumptious meal using umpteen spices,dry fruits and other savories, propel my memories (& mum's) back to the *stone soup*!
We tell each other : " A dish prepared from so many delicious ingredients has to taste good despite the recipe! ;)"

So here you go - enjoy this simple,cute story :)
The Stone Soup