Perspectives and perceptions

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

Indian Weddings and ceremonies are known for their traditional and elongated processes.... and yet there are people (and families) who manage to combine ingenuity and tradition together! I'm going to be attending a wedding in Calcutta, and it's a wedding of my friend's brother. All of us were just watching the engagement video and then there is this ceremony when all the women of the house are supposed to perform an aarti of the bride-to-be and apply a small tikka on her forehead and feed her something sweet. Considering the number of women, the amount of sweet that she has to consume is huge! This family found a unique way, that was non-messy, already small in proportion and sweet, guess what?? GEMS! It may sound like that's silly and all, but I think it makes perfect sense! :) Reminds me of the changes that we all seem to be undergoing. Everywhere we see, brands are changing, CEAT, Vodafone, and so many other companies are hell-bent upon increasing their latest brand

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

For all these years, I've been hearing this oft repeated phrase "Gone with the wind" and I knew it was in reference to the book written by Margaret Mitchell. It was just about fifteen days ago that I finally saw the movie! The first thing that striked me about the movie was the price! I wanted to buy it from the shop, and it was for Rs. 1,500! It must have been some collector's edition, nevertheless, I didn't have so much money to spend on it... So I ended up renting it for the night, little did I know that the entire movie is around 5 and 1/2 hours long... I sit to watch this movie, and it takes me into this different world that I knew very little about. I had only read a little about the Civil War and about the differences that made South and North America.. There was a short introduction to the movie, enabling viewers like me to understand the contexts. Another reference though not so prominent was a book that I had read a couple of years ago (which I re-read m

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...