Perspectives and perceptions

For the first time I had not read about this movie before going to see it, had not searched for it on google, no research on IMDB, nothing. I was as blank, as a canvas. And what a painting the movie left on me when it was over, literally and otherwise. Bombay, my city, my home, has never looked so intense and so deep before. There was the chaos that I've grown up with, but there was this depth that I have failed to appreciate and to recognize. Maybe one of the most beautiful things that has been said about this movie is said by its producer, and actor, Aamir Khan, "The movie is like an artistic painting on celluloid" And that's it. That is how beautiful this movie is. If you're someone who appreciates photography, who loves the play of colors, the confluence of ideas and poetry, this movie will touch you. It's almost like an art film yet not. It's a very different genre of film, and it got under my skin. I'll attempt to be less vague about it and give...

So the last time I blogged about finding those key, small but your people in establishments, I'd written about this person at my regular printers near Andheri station and this guy who'd helped me out at the Vodafone store. :) Something similar happened to me recently. In a new city. I shifted to Hyderabad because I got a job with Google! And it felt different to roam around in a city that I didn't know anything about. To meet new people everywhere I went after having gotten used to going to 'usual' places for just about everything, right from your parlour appointments, to your haircuts, to getting xerox, to buying medicines, to buying groceries, to clothes, to drinks, to food, everything... Just made me realize how much of patronising we do in our lives because it just makes our lives simpler and easier to get by... In this new city, I didn't know anyone, and the first people who get to know me and give me some level of preferential treatment because of the loy...

I’ve been born and brought up in Bombay, and I’ve celebrated a lot of birthdays... but the funny thing is that I only remember the gala celebrations from the last few years of my school! When i was 5 – 6, it was so simple, we just brought a cake from the local bakery shop, bought some back presents for all the kids, ate some good home-made snacks along with some local potato wafers in thin paper plates, played musical chairs, and then went home in time for dinner! How different from the scene today! It’s not just the spending that has gone up, the influence of brands, and products, on our day-to-day lives and on our occasional spending has changed drastically too. Today, even if we think of buying a cake from a local bakery, that bakery invariably turns out to be a Monginis, a Croissants or Ribbons & Balloons, the potato wafers are either Lays, or Uncle Chips, or whichever the latest entrant in the market is, the back presents have assumed enormous proportions and somewhere somehow...

It's been three years almost since I first sat on a Bullet... and I can still feel the thrill. It's funny how some associations just stick with you for your lifetime, my affair with the Enfield has been exactly that. I first sat on the Bullet Electra 350 cc, red colour... and I knew this was special. I had never felt like that on a bike before, and the moment I sat I was comfortable. That instinctual connection was fuelled by the connection I shared with the rider! :) And it was magical. To the point where, within a span of a few days, I could only by its sound (from far away) distinguish an Electra, from a Machismo, to a Thunderbird! And to think I had no idea about what bikes were! I only knew what they felt like! Years later, my fascination continued, I began to judge the rider by the bike he rides, and automatically one who owned / rode an Enfield rose in my expectation and in my eyes... To the point where given a choice I would most certainly place trust in an Enfield ride...

No this post is not a review on the book by Alvin Toffler, which I do want to read but haven't managed to so far... it's just that lately i've been dreaming and thinking about my future... personal yes, but professionally too. i'm doing a masters in advertising and marketing which has got me thinking about various careers that it can lead to. ad agencies, fmcg companies (fast moving consumer goods, like HUL and P&G), marketing companies, brand management, copywriting, account planning... there are a lot of options but i'm still searching. i wanted to do something with films and designs. i thought a career which required me to meet people, talk to them, understand their requirements, get it executed, imagine, design, etc. would be ideal. this sounds like the perfect job description for client servicing and account planning. but i don't know. i think i'll know only after i begin working in a company. then i also had these thoughts of working with a magazin...

I, a resident of Takshila, Bldg. No XX would like to bring to your notice the sheer inhumanity with which crackers are being bursted in the colony. One would expect that a colony has some rules and regulations, which must not permit the bursting of crackers beyond a certain time limit. For all practical purposes, a 10 O’Clock deadline must be imposed upon those who wish to burst crackers within the colony. It is sheer insanity to permit the people who burst long malas / laddis at 11:30 PM on the main road of the colony. Presently in our colony, we have around 33 Bldgs each consisting of numerous flats. The people living in these flats range from the young children to the senior citizens. Apart from humans, we also have a healthy population of dogs and cats in the colony. I have observed, every festival crackers are being bursted without any consideration and no action is being taken against the people. Buildings should instruct their members not to burst crackers such as Atom Bomb...

I'm sick and tired of firecrackers! It's always the same story, whether it's Ganeshotsav, Durga Puja, Navratri, Diwali.... I don't understand when the concept of sparklers and anars changed to atom bombs, laxmi bombs and laddis... Why must a child, boys, or anybody even want to crack these crackers?! To what pleasure? To whose liking? For whom? Why must we attempt to stimulate the terror and horror that real terrorists shower upon us? Why must we tune our lives to their sounds? Why should our Diwali be shrouded with sounds and bangs of horrifyingly loud crackers? Is it that big a nexus that the Govt. cannot simply ban the crackers and the allied sound items?! What sort of a Government are we living in? In my school, 10 years ago, we were taught about how entirely harmful crackers are, not just as a product but also as a means... child labour is used to produce crackers, the crackers cause noise pollution, air pollution, land pollution, and yet we continue and allow thei...

Micro-blogging has come of age, especially to update people about circumstances. Today's rains in Mumbai were a 'trending topic' in Twitter. Called '#mumbairains' People began updating or rather "tweeting" their status since morning, and some people like me who were at home were the media centres collating info from across the web, the TV and updates from friends and family over the phone... It was fun! and helpful... Although there are spammers who take advantage of the fact that it's a trending topic and post spam messages about their products and their events or their websites. Another thing called as retweeting which I think is mainly to reiterate a particular post so that more people across the networks get the updates. Some people were also indulging in jokes and fooling around, which was quite irritating and irresponsible. Someone began to spread some nonsense about a typhoon alert in Vashi and when lots of people began to question his source, h...

I have always seen and heard my friends talking about driving a car… till today I never had the courage to actually do it. But do it I did. I took a risk. For the first time in my life probably, I acted upon someone else’s trust in me, and actually went ahead with the plan. It was time for me to leave for my dance class, I thought I’ll take a bus or the auto. Something that my friend said made me think about taking the car. I decided to take the risk. Basically all this while, I’ve been waiting for someone to push me to do it. I don’t think I could’ve pushed myself at all. My mother was and probably is paranoid about my driving. She can’t relax in the car around me. That’s why I’ve never had the courage to drive on my own before. But today something struck me, something inside me made me want to do it. I took the car out nice and slow. Knowing the roads pretty well helped cause that didn’t come in my way of driving. I went on to the highway and was comfortable driving at 40. I wanted t...

The last time I was in love with the radio was when it had boomed around 5 years ago with a number of new channels coming on air! I can still recall being constantly tuned into Jaggu and Tarana's morning show on Go92.5, Savio on the College Radio and of course Malini in the evening show... For now, I'm hooked on Meow 104.8 FM! and there are two beautiful reasons for this! One is my vivacious friend Sameepa who has recently joined them as a RJ! She hosted her first show today, called MeriMeow during 8 - 10 pm on 104.8 FM and I am super proud of her! The whole thing with listening to this channel when she started competing for the RJ Host Hunt and all of us used to tune in to listen to her... The second reason is another RJ Ajay... I happened to listen to his show Meow Masti during 10 pm - 1 am and I was floored. By his voice, his casual conversational chatting, and his prompt response to emails! By now, I'm completely hooked on to the shows and the channel in the evenings! O...

How many times in the day do you call up a service provide only to routed through the IVR? How does that make you feel? The agonizing wait for a human to come online... Today, everything requires to be automated to make it cost-effective for the providers. Be it your telecom service providers, your banks, your take-away, your computer / IT related issues, everything is routed through an IVR, and as a last resort, you are guided to the Customer Service Executive / Phone Banking Officers who shall be "happy to help you". Yes, at times, it helps to have an automated system because it ensures that no matter who picks up the call, you're serviced the same. For example, if I want the number of an office / a restaurant and I call up JustDial.com, I don't care WHO picks up my call, because I get the number smsed to me just the same! However, when I call up Barclays or any bank regarding a query, I have to patiently explain the entire case history, background, service request ...

Well, elections are barely a month away and the political fever is catching up everywhere. I'm 21, going to be 22 this year. I've been eligible to vote for almost 4 years now and I will vote this year. Pavratti, the campaign manager of the Jaago Re (Tata Tea) campaign, had come to SIMC (Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Lavale Campus, Pune). He is an alumnus of the institute. He spoke at length about how the campaign has aimed to make a difference to the scenario of the youth voting. He actually proved to us (students) mathematically, how we CAN ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE! The probability, the numbers, everything is in our favour. If only we decide we want to make that difference. The website created is really amazing. jaagore.com just click on it and you'll know why. It enables you as a first-time voter to understand the process and download and fill forms. If you are an existing voter but have some changes, links are available in the downloads sections too....

It's amusing to note that people search for Mumbai Sex Aishwarya... while Raj Thackeray is forgotten in public memory... :)

We step out of our homes (assuming you live in the suburbs) and you hail for an auto to take you to the station, to your work, to the doctor or to any place you want to go to. This comfort is almost always taken for granted until they go on a strike! Oft late, I seemed to have become the passenger who is a listener. For some reason, I still can't figure out what, the auto-drivers seem to find me approachable to talk to.. Conversations are on diverse topics, some initiated by me when it comes to literacy, reading, bank accounts, garbage disposal, etc. but most are by them regarding their work, their lifestyles, etc. Conversation 1 Route: Bandra Stn. to home We started talking about his family and the fact that his children are now studying. Suddenly, he spoke in English. Mind you, it was excellently spoken. I'm usually very critical when it comes to languages, and this guy passed the test with flying colours. His accent was neutral, language was almost fluent! I was thoroughly i...

There an equation of rains and Bombay that just strikes something in people's hearts I think... Yesterday, there was heavy rainfall in the evening and I was on my way to Mindspace, Malad (W) for an appointment WITHOUT my umbrella! Extremely stupid! :) I come out of station and I realise that I should've got my umbrella, having no option but to walk on I started walking towards some rickshaws. Obviously no one would go to where I wanted them to. Finally I approached a woman and asked her if I could share her umbrella! She put it over my head even before I could finish saying, "Excuse me... " She walked upto a bus stop with me and then she had to go her way. I managed to walk under the shade of some shop extensions till I decided that I had to buy a new umbrella. I approached the shopkeeper, but the cheapest umbrella he had was for Rs. 75/- Obviously I wasn't carrying enough spare cash! I asked him to give me one on rent for an hour. He refused. I explained my situa...

Has anybody been the new Pizza Hut (the one post renovation!!) If you have, I hope you have had a better experience than I did, (though I seriously doubt it!) The new decor, I don't know who the interior designer was, but he/she had no sense of foresight! The new seating arrangements are sparse and utterly uncomfortable. Previously the section in the middle had two tables which could be combined to seat a large group of people. Now there are low sofas in a L shape, with tables (like coffee tables) and pouffes on the other side. This sort of seating is expected at lounge bars or coffee shops, definitely not pizze eateries! We were a group of 7 people, waited for 15 mins for them to get the "table ready" In effect they didn't get anything ready, just placed table mats and plates. We were made to sit at a table meant for 5. We squeezed in somehow. In spite of regular requesting to shift us to a bigger and higher table, we were told that there is no space and that all tho...

For a long time I've been thinking, there are so many little things that we notice each day. I'm going to start writing them down as each day goes by... Day 1 (Thursday) I'm on my way back from a meeting at Malad, and in the train, on one of the stations, a transgender walked in. Most of the times they're loud, garish and overtly obvious. She was different. I would call her 'she' because she was one. Graceful, beautiful and very feminine. Clad in a short kurta with pants and a duppatta, she was dressed like any tall big woman would be. Of course she didn't hold herself in the way women would, she was comfortable the way she was. I think that's what matters. Her eyes were the most striking feature of all, sharp, deep black, kind, tender and smiling. When a fellow passenger was attempting to get in, she was looking at her just like we would and she mildly reproached her. I think, with that small an interaction, not that I spoke to her, I was merely obser...

It's been just about 4 days since the rains are here! And yesterday was the first time that I got wet, willingly! :) Have you got that feeling inside you to just let go of everything that's bothering you, or that you're pondering about and you just want to feel free? The rains bring that out in me... I see them and I remember the fun I had last year, roaming about in town on the bike, and enjoying the various scenes from the seaface, the gardens and the roads... Everything undergoes a change with the season change, it's external as well as internal... This season, makes me want to cuddle up with my blanket and sleep for long hours of the day... I feel an insane urge to have hot tea and kanda bhaji... I feel like running on the wet roads... The rains bring out the child in me. :) Of course, it's flooded, all the drains are choked, it's horrible to walk amidst the filth to work, and more, but that still doesn't take away the beauty of nature, the beauty of hav...

Amidst news about the recent killings and deaths, another one stands out. A man dies while trying to save couples from drowning at Bandstand , a popular seafront promenade at Bandra, Mumbai. Why? Because of Love? Or space for love? Is it a crime to want to be with the person you love? Is it a crime to touch, feel or kiss that person? I thoroughly disagree. I would agree if people said is it okay to make love in front of people, nudity and obscenity and not acceptable, but kissing, hugging and holding hands is anything but that! We see it on T.V. everyday, so what's wrong in seeing it happen in front of our eyes? Hypocritical as people are, they shun the couples away from every place... Gardens, Parks, Promenades and any public space you can think of. What's the outcome? Couples are forced to spend time together in dark, lonely paths, go far out in depths where there aren't too many people, sit in dark theaters watching some crap movie, go to lonesome beaches... ...

Baghdadi (Colaba) This is a small restaurant, quite an old place, not flashy, simple to the point of being considered unworthy of entering, but the food is mind-blowing! Whatever gravy, meat you choose to eat, you must have the tandoori roti, it is as big as a plate it itself, and it's hot and soft. For those of you who're not familiar with this roti, typically even at the best of places, this roti (unless buttered) becomes hard and stretches like rubber the moment it is cold, but at this place, it stays soft forever! and trust me, if you don't have a great appetite, this one roti is more than enough for you! :) The chicken is tender, and it's cooked really well, all in all a great package deal! Badshah Juice Centre (Crawford Market) This place is very famous for their (obviously) juices, while I haven't tasted any, I've heard they're really good. But the other day I had the Royal Falooda here and I can't stop raving about it! It was awesome. Nothing unn...