"On a Day like today, the whole world could change..."
However, unlike in this Bryan Adam song, there has been no sunshine over the past couple of days in Mumbai. The gloomy weather somehow depicts the mood in the city.
The turn of events over the past few days is unprecedented. Lives have been lost, peace shattered and Mumbai is terrified, angry and gloomy at the same time.
This is going to be the worst chapter in history ! Has changed the way we live....forever!
Light a Candle
Showing posts with label My dear MUMBAI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My dear MUMBAI. Show all posts
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Monsoon Magic and Manic Mumbai.
Trafiic is at a standstill.....but life still moves in the fast lane.
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Sea sprays sea spray on the sea shore
Rain Clouds in the sky...I don't know why....They make me blue...I'm thinking of you! Maybe They wanna cry...oh no....here's why..:)
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Raaga on Rails
Well people, if you think that I'm being partial to mumbai with my posts on the blog, you may be probably justified in thinking so. But there always will be so much to write about it that I think it's probably ok.
Anyway, After a long interval i got an opportunity to ride the suburban local during 'peak' hours. I was unusually surprised that I managed to get into the train quite easily in the first place, rather than having to squeeze my way through. And it was after i had settled in and managed to get the 'standing' spot between the pair of seats did I realise that I was surrounded by this group of men who had neatly managed to huddle in and occupy two complete rows of seats for themselves. And just as the train was about to leave, this guy drew out a neatly folded banner out of his sack and then hung it out on the overhead rack; it read 'XYZ bhajan mandal'.He then neatly passed out some more stuff out to his 'group' whose role I would soon come to know. And as the train chugged out of the station, there were loud chants singing praises about almost every popular Hindu gods and goddesses. And then started the round of bhajans; one again for each god and goddess, starting of course with the elephant headed lord ,as is always the custom.
Welcome to our own suburban Music clubs or whatever you may choose to call it. Although there've been various protests against these mandals from time to time, I don't think anybody will actually ever go up to one of these groups and stop them. And as the train rolled on between stations, the pace and fervor with which the group sang kept on rising.And then there was the neat sounding Percussion to go with the bhajans. And somehow, the sound of the train wheels blended in perfectly to create a surprising rhythm.
Although a bigger percentage of the commuters think that these groups are a real nuisance, There are actually some who enjoy these sessions. Of course, would you like to be disturbed if you're going through your serious reads of The Economic times, or If you're a student trying to catch up on some last minute revisions before that all important exam or whether you are just a regular commute who likes to use this transit period to collect your thoughts for the day ahead? Purists will always vote against these mandals creating that ruckus each day.
But frankly today, as I was no longer doing any of the above as I travelled, In some way I seemed to enjoy the singing. The group even threw in the non- religious kind of bhajans to go along with the regular ones. Some even sung by the great mahatma himself, speaking of brotherhood and respect for all religions ( although I would seriously like to know the views of these groups on the subject of tolerance towards other religions).
And as the Journey reached it's end and the group stopped singing,rounds of 'prasad' were passed around (I know Mom always told you to never accept stuff to eat from strangers). And as these Babus of the bhuleshwar markets, the brokers of Dalal street and the Workers of the mubai mills got off the train, it was business as usual for them for the day ahead. But,I'm sure that they knew that the 8:51 fast will be back tomorrow unfailingly. And so will they!
Anyway, After a long interval i got an opportunity to ride the suburban local during 'peak' hours. I was unusually surprised that I managed to get into the train quite easily in the first place, rather than having to squeeze my way through. And it was after i had settled in and managed to get the 'standing' spot between the pair of seats did I realise that I was surrounded by this group of men who had neatly managed to huddle in and occupy two complete rows of seats for themselves. And just as the train was about to leave, this guy drew out a neatly folded banner out of his sack and then hung it out on the overhead rack; it read 'XYZ bhajan mandal'.He then neatly passed out some more stuff out to his 'group' whose role I would soon come to know. And as the train chugged out of the station, there were loud chants singing praises about almost every popular Hindu gods and goddesses. And then started the round of bhajans; one again for each god and goddess, starting of course with the elephant headed lord ,as is always the custom.
Welcome to our own suburban Music clubs or whatever you may choose to call it. Although there've been various protests against these mandals from time to time, I don't think anybody will actually ever go up to one of these groups and stop them. And as the train rolled on between stations, the pace and fervor with which the group sang kept on rising.And then there was the neat sounding Percussion to go with the bhajans. And somehow, the sound of the train wheels blended in perfectly to create a surprising rhythm.
Although a bigger percentage of the commuters think that these groups are a real nuisance, There are actually some who enjoy these sessions. Of course, would you like to be disturbed if you're going through your serious reads of The Economic times, or If you're a student trying to catch up on some last minute revisions before that all important exam or whether you are just a regular commute who likes to use this transit period to collect your thoughts for the day ahead? Purists will always vote against these mandals creating that ruckus each day.
But frankly today, as I was no longer doing any of the above as I travelled, In some way I seemed to enjoy the singing. The group even threw in the non- religious kind of bhajans to go along with the regular ones. Some even sung by the great mahatma himself, speaking of brotherhood and respect for all religions ( although I would seriously like to know the views of these groups on the subject of tolerance towards other religions).
And as the Journey reached it's end and the group stopped singing,rounds of 'prasad' were passed around (I know Mom always told you to never accept stuff to eat from strangers). And as these Babus of the bhuleshwar markets, the brokers of Dalal street and the Workers of the mubai mills got off the train, it was business as usual for them for the day ahead. But,I'm sure that they knew that the 8:51 fast will be back tomorrow unfailingly. And so will they!
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Mumbai dhamaka
"From autorickshaw races,arm-wrestling competitions in colleges(?), street food fests, shopping,movie screenings,arts,marathons,culture and everything else that the city's image conjures up is going to be on display"
Yesss! The Mumbai festival is finally on the cards.Amazing, isn't it? Frankly, I never thought that I would get to be part of a public fest in mumbai at all. We're always the ones who've had to be contended with watching people lapping up the goodies at London's Hyde park, at the all famous Oktoberfest in Germany, the Mardi gras (although I wouldn't prefer to be part of such extremities in amchi mumbai frankly) or be it the Times square.
The news piece said that it's being planned as a ten day event beginning from the 7th of january and that industrialists,politicians, brand gurus, corporate czars etc are all supposed to be funding and taking the initiative here.
Anyway, I feel that the idea is great and Mumbai will finally be on the world map for such events. But does the city really have all the facilities and the infrastructure to hold such events? Movies, shopping, eating and all is Ok but to be really categorised as a public event, it will have to reach out to the masses at the street level. And I, for one really don't think that's going to be happening. And it won't be reaching the suburbs as well. So in the end I fear it will just turn out to be a money spinning and brand promoting exercise. But it's a good start nonetheless and I hope that a few years down the line, The london's and the new york's will be getting a run for their money.
Yesss! The Mumbai festival is finally on the cards.Amazing, isn't it? Frankly, I never thought that I would get to be part of a public fest in mumbai at all. We're always the ones who've had to be contended with watching people lapping up the goodies at London's Hyde park, at the all famous Oktoberfest in Germany, the Mardi gras (although I wouldn't prefer to be part of such extremities in amchi mumbai frankly) or be it the Times square.
The news piece said that it's being planned as a ten day event beginning from the 7th of january and that industrialists,politicians, brand gurus, corporate czars etc are all supposed to be funding and taking the initiative here.
Anyway, I feel that the idea is great and Mumbai will finally be on the world map for such events. But does the city really have all the facilities and the infrastructure to hold such events? Movies, shopping, eating and all is Ok but to be really categorised as a public event, it will have to reach out to the masses at the street level. And I, for one really don't think that's going to be happening. And it won't be reaching the suburbs as well. So in the end I fear it will just turn out to be a money spinning and brand promoting exercise. But it's a good start nonetheless and I hope that a few years down the line, The london's and the new york's will be getting a run for their money.
Friday, November 12, 2004
The tale of my city
As I grew up, my city has changed
The clamour of crowded streets that I once loved,
becoming unbearable by the day
An uneasy throng filling up the mass transport,
the maze of underground pipes spewing filth into the oceans
Heritage structures that once stood tall and proud,
now vying for space between tattered shanties
Her roads no longer pliable, her maidans no longer playable
and the highways that we once loved breezing through on cold winter mornings,
sadly turning into a parallel valley of shitters
Seemingly unstoppable lawbreakers, unplanned development,
Is this what we call taking her the Shanghai way?
But whichever way my city goes,
Trains and buses plying way past midnight
Even the street ragpicker getting to grab a bite
The monsoon waves lashing up her beautiful seafronts
chowpatty with the ganesh visarjan, Mohammad Ali road engaged in Eid celebrations
Shopping malls, garish pubs
Booksales along the fort footpaths, her suburban railway music clubs
Bollywood dhamakas, the page three masalas
Whichever way my city goes,
I sincerely hope,
that while I sleep each day and as my word will change,
My piece of this planet and her undying spirit will remain the same
The clamour of crowded streets that I once loved,
becoming unbearable by the day
An uneasy throng filling up the mass transport,
the maze of underground pipes spewing filth into the oceans
Heritage structures that once stood tall and proud,
now vying for space between tattered shanties
Her roads no longer pliable, her maidans no longer playable
and the highways that we once loved breezing through on cold winter mornings,
sadly turning into a parallel valley of shitters
Seemingly unstoppable lawbreakers, unplanned development,
Is this what we call taking her the Shanghai way?
But whichever way my city goes,
Trains and buses plying way past midnight
Even the street ragpicker getting to grab a bite
The monsoon waves lashing up her beautiful seafronts
chowpatty with the ganesh visarjan, Mohammad Ali road engaged in Eid celebrations
Shopping malls, garish pubs
Booksales along the fort footpaths, her suburban railway music clubs
Bollywood dhamakas, the page three masalas
Whichever way my city goes,
I sincerely hope,
that while I sleep each day and as my word will change,
My piece of this planet and her undying spirit will remain the same
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