I was worried the world was coming to an end. Yesterdays hot and amazingly humid conditions in Mumbai refereshed some images from a TinTin comic edition titled ‘The Shooting Star’ which I had browsed long long ago. The sweaty stinky moist bodies of middle-aged men brushing in the crowded locals, is not my idea of a pleasant journey by any stretch of imagination. Yet someone amongst the heavens above might have yearned for some more fun to unfold as the train I was riding pulled in on the newly constructed (and a true nightmare for any infrastructure project in this city) platform no. 8, which is far from the Borivli area. The long march towards the exit was completely forgettable.
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Life in a…Metro (2007)
There were a few reasons for watching this movie. Actors that I have revered all my life including Konkona Sen, Irrfan Khan, KayKay and Shiney Ahuja have played a part in this flick. Anurag Basu has helmed the role of a director, whose Gangster (2006) was critically acclaimed and loved by the masses. The music by Pritam and the songs (lyricists Sayeed Quadri, Amitabh Varma, and Sandeep Shrivastava) are so contemporary and funky, I listened to it almost everyday in Europe, visualizing the tale against the urban backdrop of Mumbai. The question I begged to ask now was – when is Life in a…Metro releasing?
CHI Mumbai Launching Soon
Amidst the tangle called ‘my life’ comes some good news. CHI is launching the Mumbai chapter of SIGCHI. For the uninitiated, ACM SIGCHI is the ACM’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction, which brings together people working on the design, evaluation, implementation, and study of interactive computing systems for human use. ACM SIGCHI provides an international, interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas about the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Amongst some notable chapters are BayCHI (San Fransisco), and BostonCHI (Boston City).
Last Frontier Conquered
After the disastrous 4-0 one-day loss, India redeemed their lost glory on the cricket field in the first test match at the Wanderers which was won by 123 runs and completed in 3 and a half days by some superb display of grit and talent. When we made 249 in the first innings, one thought the score to be unsubstantial against the SA batting line-up. Until I received an SMS from a colleague who asked me to switch on the TV. A certain lad by the name of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was running through the opposition with his seam bowling. Suddenly I saw the final score and rubbed my eyes in dismay – SA were bowled out for a paltry 84; their lowest score since readmission. In the second innings Zaheer Khan’s late outburst with the bat with VVS Laxman ensured that we had a decent target of 402 set for the springboks. Ashwell Prince seemed to be the only ray of hope in the playing eleven. South Africa was the only country where India had never won a test but all that’s changed now.
Rakes without Racks
Regular passengers on the Western Suburban Railway route will realize the pressures of the daily commute – the crowds, the sweat and those battles to secure every inch of space for standing ‘comfortably’. The lucky ones are those who commute to and fro from one point to the other (say Borivli to Churchgate); no botheration of alighting or getting into the train midway which could mean enrolling oneself for another battle for barging into the crowded compartments. As if these daily crusades weren’t enough, the railways have now introduced some rakes which are devoid of the luggage racks. These racks were a boon for keeping luggage while you travel and also holding onto it as you stand closer to the window. This decision was apparently taken (in a haste?) after the July 11 train bombings to deter any terrorist from planting a bag loaded with explosives and risking the lives of many.