Perspectives and perceptions

Last year I'd written about my experience of the festival, and today as I went for this festival, there're host of other things that I've explored! I went to see the festival and the nearby places, with a friend of mine, and the glimpses of our visit are here! A few shots of what caught my eye, and some amazing work done by the artists. As I walked down the road towards Colaba, we saw a couple of artists painting a building, sitting on the sidewalk, just to watch them paint like that was exhilirating to say the least! Then we walked towards the festival and saw these artists painting on canvases, I've managed to grab a few shots of the paintings that he'd just done and I think they're amazing! The festival itself was full of people, food stalls, artefacts, ranging from furniture, to showpieces, chappals, bags, books, greeting cards, and the likes. There were a lot of NGOs who'd set up stalls to generate awareness as also to publicise their range of products

There's nothing so comforting as the sound of the train wheels gliding on its rails, The pace, the slight noisy chugging, not of the steam engines but of the engine running on electricity, The changing landscaprs, trees interspersed with habitation, slum dwellers having houses stacked up on one another, garbade dumps and huge skyscrapers striving to live up to their name, The movement of compartments which have a slight sway, speeding across their rails, held together by the energy that binds us together, There's group, that was featured in the news recently, IRFCA , Indian Railways Fan Club. This group is very knowledgable about their passion for the love of the Indian Railways, and are present at most unusual sightings for engines, locals, long distance trains, etc. What is it about the railways that so many people literally 23 million each day use this mode of transport to commute to work, schools, colleges amongst most purposes. Apart from being the cheapest, quickest, and

My friend said, it doesn't make sense to write and "crib" about the problems that festivals create without offering solutions in return. Justified. So here goes, Festivals in Bombay are definitely many, being a secular city we're bound to celebrate all the festivals associated with the various religions in our city, we'll have Ganesh Utsav, Diwali, Durga Puja, Id, Christmas, and so on... Political parties aiming to be projected as the party for everyone will support these festivals to gain a double whammy, political mileage and votes. People will accept their support because they too have a justifiable desire to celebrate! How do we, ensure that amidst this chaos, we prevent damage to our environment? Let's start with the resources used to erect these festivals, Mandals are created, Idols are sculpted, Flower Garlands are utilised, Colours (or rang /gulal), Crackers, Diyas, Lanterns and now so often used the electric versions of lights and the likes. What does

What is a festival? A celebration of what? Of what has happened in the past, for the reasons that our ancestors established rituals, and followed traditions... Lokmanya Tilak started the Sarvajanik Mandals for Ganesh Utsav with a primary motto for bringing people together as a community to celebrate a festival and to be able to spread the message to a wider base at a particular time. Is that relevant today? What has Ganesh Utsav turned into now? More and more humungous sized idols, more chemicals, huge crowds, political powerplays, and huge environmental hazards! Take another example of Durga Puja, a primarily Bengali Festival which celebrates Maa Durga and her avataars, normally we'd expect it to be hugely popular in Bengal, accepted that Bombay is very secular and so on, but surprise suprise, the political parties in Bombay decide to give this festival a huge boost and we see Durga Pandals all across the city! I for one, spotted not less than 30 processions (for immersions) near

Talking about responsibilities, Civic Responsibilities are the responsibilities that we have for being a citizen of the country. Yes we get a raw deal, I see my parents putting in more than they can, each day and receiving much lesser than what they actually deserve, yet they will make all attempts to be responsible citizens. What is it that defines this spirit? The feeling that when you call it yours, you want to change the way things are, you want to make a difference to the place around you, you want to live in a better environment. In an argument in the local trains, when a woman was stopped from throwing some litter into the creek by a college girl, the woman quite embarassed and miffed, snapped at her, saying, "What's your problem?" The smart girl that she was, replied, "26th July, that's my problem" (26th July 2005 was the year in which Bombay Suburbs received 944 mm of rain in a span of 3 odd hours, it caused absolute havoc to the entire system, and

I'm going to print this on a t-shirt which I shall wear, it is aimed at all those people who do not realise the implications of their actions. This should serve as the ice-breaker for conversations between me and them.

The very word suggests the sort of emotion that the place is expected to arouse within you. I don't agree. I went to Esselworld and I was not amused. What I was is bruised, tired and dizzy! The entire concept is to give you a thrill of your lifetime they say! and they catapulate you into the air with nothing but the inertia and gravity and your fear which compels your body to be tense and hold onto to anything that you, and the entire torture takes about a minute and a half and your throat is hoarse from all the screaming, which is the only way for your body to complain in protest of the "forced adrenaline rush" as my friend calls it.. !! It's a known fact that these sort of thrills are enjoyed by many people, and I would prefer a softer, gradual sort of an exciting experience instead of the sudden, jerky, terrifying experience that it is. :) maybe I'll prefer bungee jumping or para gliding... para sailing was boring... :) hehe... so till the time I experience tho

I was sitting at Chowpatty today, and the filth around that place just completely turned me off! What kind of a place are we living in? The apathy of the BMC and the irresponsibility and laissez-faire attitude of the people in general just makes my blood boil! i'm wishing knowing it's wishful thinking that there were a giant sieve that two huge ships could pull through and gather all the rubbish, filth, bags, and flowers and all the trash that people dump into the ocean and this all dirt would be accumulated and treated, and recycled and then disposed off! why are we letting our public spaces go to the dogs? why do private beaches only remain clean!! where does the money for which we pay taxes go!! I'm infuriated, and completely upset by the repulsive attitude of our establishment and the people around! i want to break free from this cycle and my small efforts of ensuring that I and my friends don't litter, dont seem to make much of a difference.. i will strive nonethel

For so many days, I've been debating about which 5 restaurants deserve to be the best in the city according to me, so for now, this is the list, (i might update it later though!!) 1) Red Box Cafe It's a restaurant in Bandra, near Turner Rd. and it's one of my best places to eat. The ambience is fun, music is loud and peppy (like a disc, but not rock or anything, it's hip-hop, indian mix, country, and lots of things, they've actually got a d.j. who keeps changing songs and all..) The food is delicious!! Right from Sizzlers, to Pasta, to Main Courses, Burgers, Starters, Pizzas, they've got it all.. and it's all very reasonably priced.. As far as the desserts are concerned, they've got a good collection of pastries, My personal fav is the chocolate pyramid.. (just too yummy!!) The whole feel of going there, makes me want to go there again and again.. It's meant for a young crowd who don't mind the smoke or the loud music... ;) 2) Urban Tadka This is