Phew! the year is over before I could imagine it would but I am not complaining here. Personally 2005 has been a good year for me where I gained a lot of good things. The positives far outweighed the negatives like never before and that has thrilled me beyond comparison. The last time that I remember it happened to me was in 1995 – when I was in my 4th year in art college. I made quite a few friends and roamed the country too. That was also a good year in all respects because I scored some good marks as well.
2005
Merry Christmas Folks
It has been very windy and chilly in Mumbai these days. Very strange. But then after the July 26 aftermath, I am convinced that anything is possible here and we have to be prepared even for snowfall. As a precautionary measure I carry my favourite red pullover in my bag. It came handy today when I started feeling really cold sitting under the A/C vent. Today was also the day when the Maitree group sang christmas carols for us as we gathered at the 11th floor reception. I was never enthusiastic for such a thing because I was deliberately dragged out of a meeting to be present there. They sang Michael Jackson’s ‘Heal the World’ which lightened up my face. It’s my favourite all time song :-)
Tomorrow is the last day of a great week after which we take a 3 day long break for the christmas. Here’s wishing all the visitors of my website a very Merry Christmas.
My Diwali 2005
It has become a routine affair for me and I have sort of given it my full support. I escape from all the cacophony & smoke of Mumbai to my hideout in the tranquil arms of Nasik (pronounced ‘Nashik’ in Marathi). My hideout is an apartment in the outskirts of the pilgrimage city – around 7 kms from the heart – in a secluded sleepy village called Gangapur. It’s a sprawling project called Tulip Eden and the builder told me it has now become known in local circles as ‘Eden Gardens’ (he’s also contemplating changing the name of the project). As long as it has no relation with the sound and spree associated with the cricket ground in Kolkata, I am happy. The only problem that I have found while visiting Nasik is the travelling. It’s difficult to sit on one place for 4 hours and getting sleep is another challenge which I face.
Stranded!!
Its supposed to be the heaviest rainfall for Mumbai in 100 years! The records can be set straight by looking at the devastation bought about by the rain gods. I spent 2 days eating, sleeping, playing games in the office and also shopped for clothes at Westside like a touring guest. I also went and shopped for toiletries – face soap, shaving kits, toothbrushes & toothpaste. I don’t know how much I can justify the money that I spent on the purchases but I was ready to stay back for a few more days if the train services had not resumed to Borivli. I caught the 8:38 Borivli local which reached its destination at 10:30 but I had no complaints. It’s nothing short of a miracle that I reached home safe and sound.
Forget Shanghai or any other city that you may have wanted to stay. These rains proved to be a test to the government’s dreams of turning Mumbai into a world class place to live. The administration was caught napping. You might be tempted to defend the government but please don’t forget those hundreds who slept on the roads, away from their family because the transportation services went offline. This is something that Mumbai faces all the time and everytime it displays a human face of the tragedy which is people coming out of their houses and helping the needy. Even this time I heard stories of people distributing medicine and food packets absolutely free. This is the time to make a strong resolve of improving upon our defunct public services. Throw those outdated disaster management manuals if they ever existed and innovate newer methods so that the local populace is not subjected to third degree stresses by the forces of nature. Forget torential rains, have we braced ourselves for a tsunami or a Category 1 cyclone?
Mumbai Under Siege
It’s monsoon time again and what can be more frightening for mumbai city than that. 400 mm in just a day and the rumour is that there’s no respite from it for the next 24 hours too. It’s my prediction that there are atleast 2-3 days in the month of July when rains have total command over this city and it brings it to a complete standstill and it has come true almost all the time.