I was visiting my favorite restaurant in south Mumbai along with a couple of my colleagues. We were the first customers ushered to the mezzanine floor which was surprisingly partitioned into a smoking and a non-smoking area but not clearly indicated anywhere. We had no clue about it until we found a lady bellowing smoke sitting behind us. I signaled the steward bringing my apathy to his attention but he’d only shrug in helplessness. So we continued with our lunch and the bonus passive smoking. However when I visit the place next time I am going to be the one shrugging vehemently at the steward.
When I had read about Shyam Benegal directing a movie with Shreyas Talpade in the lead, it was called Madhav Ka Sajjanpur. And I wonder why the title was anglicized later to Welcome to Sajjanpur when the story is perceived and described through a village erudite called Madhav. And indeed traces of the original title still remain on the censor board certification displayed before the movie starts if you pay attention.
My business trips take me to places in and around India and it’s exciting to meet new people and enlighten them on the delicate facets of design. Though my sojourns have been curbed drastically by the company I still managed to sneak in a few days to go to Kochi on a deputation.
I had a tough time digesting the idea of working in a world renowned holiday destination. It was a pathetic feeling to say the least, that I would be ignoring the swaying palms, the flowing backwaters and the gentle breezes. An impossible situation like you’re sentenced to 5 days of imprisonment albeit in a hotel room, all by yourself watching STAR World! Even the gods would have laughed at my apathy.
It all seems like the Indian art cinema movement has come alive with the making of such sensitive movies like Aamir and now Mumbai Meri Jaan which deal with present day issues like terrorism and cultural & religious cliches. The latter has been the subject of much discussion in the media for its strong portrayal of the Mumbai train blasts of 2006 – branded as India’s 7/11. It’s to be noted that Mumbai is one of the few cities of the world that has repeatedly been in the eye of storm. On the one hand is the human saga of hardships and the rigor that the Mumbai lifestyle is bound to guarantee. On the other is the repeated assault on its self-confidence and dignity which the citizens have bravely overcome through their high spirits.
Are we taking our Marathi baana (pride) too far? a few weeks ago I reluctantly accompanied my friend who is a native of Kanpur to the MSRTC (ST) bus depot. He wanted to reserve a ticket for Nashik. Before I go further, I want to clarify that my friend is an educated MBA and a computer Engineer from a reputed institute and not the typical Paraprantiya (outsider) that one would associate with North Indians. Anyway, with his credentials in mind I didn’t know what the fuss was about and why was he asking me to come along? shouldn’t it be easy for any commoner to negotiate from the time-table, pay the exact fare and get his reservation done?! I realised how wrong I was in my logic.