Thoda aur

Jis desh mein thoda thoda nahi hota, thats what the new Hero MotoCorp ad says.
I agree, relate, admit in totality!

About two weeks ago, I returned back from Nagpur to Mumbai after a short a trip home. I decided to go to Borivali (my destination), from CST via Local train. The new-girl-in-the-town that I am, I took the help of my fellow commuters for thoda information that I needed for my travel. Lekin, thoda kahan thoda hota hai, in our country!

   ***
After getting down from Duranto at CST , I asked a young lady near the Local rail tracks -
Which train should I take for Dadar?
She (points out) - Mmm take this one, which goes to Thane. You may get down at Dadar.
Me - Ok, thanks
She (interrupts) - And did you take the ticket? The ticket counter is near the main entrance (smiles)
Me - O yes, I have to. Thanksss
   ***

In the Local, I managed to find a place to stand. However, my travel bag, was a hindrance for others I realised. I looked around and asked a middle aged lady sitting closeby - Aunty, yahan apna bag rakh doon? (signalling the space near her)
She - Haan, rakh do (she said and helped me slide my bag to a safe corner)
She further added - Tum yahin baith jana, apne bag ke paas. Mera station next hai
I smiled to her and did the same.
   ***

On reaching Borivali station, I stood there for a second wondering where to go and then asked a lady, who had got down from the same train - Which side is East?
She - That side of the foot over bridge (she showed to a direction). Where do you have to go?
Me - Raheja Estate
She - I suggest you take an Auto-rickshaw to the place. Should charge you the minimum fare.
Me - Alright, I'll do that. Thank you
   ***

I'm slowly getting the hang of the roads, routes, directions, of this city. But I'm sure I wouldn't hesitate everytime I would 'want' help from my fellow Mumbaikars. For how else would I get the thoda aur information that I 'need' to know!

Yeh Safar..

Everytime I feel low, I sing this song to myself. And it does give me respite!

दिल ना-उम्मीद तो नहीं
ना-काम ही तो है
लम्बी है ग़म की शाम
मगर शाम ही तो है
~~~ * ~~~

ये सफ़र बहुत है कठिन मगर
न उदास हो मेरे हमसफ़र

ये सितम की रात है ढलने को
है अँधेरा ग़म का पिघलने को
ज़रा देर इसमें लगे अगर
न उदास हो मेरे हमसफ़र

नहीं रहने वाली ये मुश्किलें
की है अगले मोड़ पे मंजिलें
मेरी बात का तू यकीन कर
न उदास हो मेरे हमसफ़र

कभी ढूंढ लेगा ये कारवां
वो नई ज़मीन नया आसमां
जिसे ढूंढती है तेरी नज़र
न उदास हो मेरे हमसफ़र

ये सफ़र बहुत है कठिन मगर
न उदास हो मेरे हमसफ़र

~ जावेद अख्तर 

Pink se panga mat lena!

Sunday evening, 6pm

Met a friend after a long time at our favourite Cafe

~~oOo~~

She - Gosh, pink again! Why cant you wear a black or a purple or a grey??

Me - Just picked whatever caught the attention of my eyes (smiling)

She - Yeah, but then most of your clothes are pink! And don't you get bored of this colour? I mean, your room, curtains, laptop, bag, watch... everything is pink! 

Me - Bored!! How can I get bored when there's Baby Pink and Hot Pink and Shocking Pink and Sugar Pink and Rose Pink and....

She - (Interrupts) Ok ok.. stop!! Lets order something....

Chennai diaries

Being the starting point of my career, Chennai has been special to me. I have been a part of the city for sometime now, but the place still continues to surprise me quite often!

I can't help but notice a few things about Chennai. Here they are:

• During a coversation with a happy localite, the chances are he/she will use the word - Super!
• There is nothing to be surprised if you find men in the ladies coach of the local trains (mostly on the Velachery-Beach route).
• People use the word 'Thala' less for its actual meaning (it means 'a leader') and more to refer to the actor Ajith.
• If you haven't been able get a seat in a local bus, you may still request the seated commuters to hold your handbags etc and they will happily oblige.
• Nowhere else have I seen print ads of movies which are 'shooting in progress'.
• Forget fuel price hike, I have seen price hike in Jasmine too! Almost 100%!
• Nobody has been able to answer my simple question - What is pink called in Tamil?
• Apart from the daily power cuts, we have monthly 'EB Maintenance' as well, during which there is no power from morning to evening. Not sure what maintenance activity do they do every month and for the entire day!
• I din't know there is a vegetable called Chow Chow until I came to Chennai.
• You have to carry an umbrella everyday - either its sunny or its rainy!
• It isn't difficult to converse with the auto-wallas. All one should know is - 'Evlo?' (how much?), and 'Anna, romba jasti' (too much, Anna!)
• 95% of the people in my office use Tupperware (and I thought it was overpriced!)
• I was familiar with Hollywood and Bollywood, but only after coming to the South, was I introduced to Kollywood, Mollywood, Tollywood and Sandalwood. (If you don't believe 'Sandalwood', google 'Sandalwood movies' and see for yourself!). 

Of course the list is not exhaustive (I did say Chennai still continues to surprise me), so I shall keep adding as and when I experience them!

   (picture courtesy - Nita & Mayanka - clicked on 1st Jan '11 in Chennai)

When Ganeshji refused to go back

With mixed feelings Divya and I did the final aarti at home, before we can send Ganesha back to where He belongs. We have been really proud of ourselves for doing the Ganesh sthapna at home this year. Although we are both away from our (actual) homes, we were quite focussed on our religious intent, and were regular with aartis, flowers, prasad etc for those 5 days (yeah, we conveniently cut short the 10-day-span to 5, so that we can do the visarjan on a Sunday) (c'mon, itna toh chalta hai!)

Post some rounds of discussions with the local residents, we had decided to do the immersion at Marina beach which could be reached through local train. We carried our Ganeshji with a lot of care, taking rounds holding the idol, until Marina. While walking towards the shore, both Divya and I kept looking at the people around (we were hopeful, we would find at least one more companion for our Ganeshji.. but surprisingly it seemed to be a typical Sunday at the beach). I couldn't help but think of the Telankhedi lake at Nagpur which used to be over-crowded during the 10 days of Ganeshotsav. During immersion we would find Ganeshji in various avatars around, many diyas, echos of Sukhkarta-dukhharta.., the fragrance of agarbatti in the air, prasad offered by unknown followers and Rotary volunteers who would collect the flowers and other accessories of the Ganpati, to ensure less water pollution. Marina, however, was a total contrast.

Upon reaching the shore, a kid came to us and spoke in Tamil. I guess he offered to take our Ganpati idol inside the water. But before we could decide anything, he started walking towards the other side. We did say 'Aye aye' to grab his attention, but it was too late. 'Oh no!', we said to ourselves, wondering how handy it would have been if we could have got the immersion done with his help. However just then we noticed a couple at a distance, who looked Marathi to me. (yes, I can identify Maharashtrians by their face and feel the same happiness on spotting one, as I would if I bumped into my relative in an unknown land). The guy was holding something in his hand (couldn't make out what it was in the night), while the girl was walking close to him. Hoping they had come for visarjan as well, we went towards them (this time we did not want to waste any time). I took a second to decide whom should I talk to amongst the couple, and approached the guy as he was the one who was carrying the big bag close to his chest. As soon as I said 'excuse me', the couple turned to us. I realised the look on the girl's face was that of disgust. 'Maybe I disturbed their interesting conversation', I said to myself to regain my self-worth. In a split-second I changed the plan and spoke to the girl instead. I asked her if they were there for visarjan as well. To our disappointment, she took a while to understand what visarjan meant and then said - no. (I admit I was disappointed more on going wrong about the Marathi bit, than not having company for Ganpati  immersion).

Divya and I were back to Square-One, wondering how to go about the immersion. Finally we decided to do it ourselves, after all 'Ganeshji bhi to hamare hain' (Yeah, self-motivation! It helps!)
We folded our jeans and walked to a less crowded part of the shore (obviously we did not want unwanted attention, especially when we are laymen at this activity). We went into the water as much as we could, holding the Lord, and together immersed the idol in the sea. Our Ganesh-pujan had come to an end with the visarjan, and we felt peace within.

Me - Oh, we forgot to do a prayer. Visarjan ke pehle bhi aarti hoti hai!
Divya - Arey yaar, batana tha na! You are the Maharashtrian among us, I mean by upbringing... (just then, her voice changed.. as if she sensed a Tsunami)... Oh my God!! Nehaaa! Apne Ganeshji toh bahar aa gaye! 
I looked at the direction that she was looking at, and to my surprise the idol we just immersed was lying on the shore at a distance! Some kids were playing on the shore, near our idol, and two ladies were talking among themselves while pointing fingers at us. We felt as if we have been caught red-handed after a crime! We were hopeful that out of the many people around, at least one kind soul will immerse our Ganesha back to the sea. But nobody came to His rescue!
We walked upto the idol and lifted it for a re-immersion. This time, we devised a 'strategy' (being MBAs we like to use sophisticated words for 'common sense'). We decided to immerse the God along with the wave that goes back from the shore, with a slight push towards the sea. With a lot of curious eyes watching us (yes, we could not avoid unwanted attention after all!), we geared up again and went into the sea holding the idol. As per the plan, we did the immersion again. We (and many others) kept looking into the sea until the idol was seen no more.

Both, Divya and I were relieved. However, we decided to walk along the beach for a while, just in case! While walking, we kept looking at the sand and observed carefully the flowers, plastics etc that was lying on the shore. After about twenty minutes, we decided to go back home.
We took a final view of the beach and noticed something near the water! It was an idol lying on the shore, like an abandoned child!
Me - Divya! Wo kya hai? Kahin hamare Ganeshji wapas toh nahi aa gaye?!
Divya - Nehaaa (squeezing my hand), ye kya ho raha hai yaar?
We went close to the idol. The shape and size of the murti was just like ours.
Divya - But ye toh brown hai, apne toh colourful the!
Me - Ho sakta hai the colour got washed in the water.
We lifted the idol from the sand and realised that it was a different one!
But the good girls that we are (ahem ahem), we used our 'visarjan strategy' and immersed this idol in the sea as well.

We did a quick scan of the beach again.
Me - Kahin Ganeshji wapas aa gaye toh?
Divya - Yaar, humse jo ho sakta tha, wo toh humne kiya. Now, we can't stop the law of nature, can we?

I was convinced. I bid a mute adieu to Ganeshji, and went to the nearby stalls with Divya to have bhutta and chat.

Riha

यहाँ हर शख्स हर पल, हादसा होने से डरता है 

खिलौना है जो मिट्टी का, फ़ना होने से डरता है ।

मेरे दिल के किसी कोने में, इक मासूम-सा बच्चा 

बड़ों की देख के दुनिया, बड़ा होने से डरता है ।

बहुत मुश्किल नहीं है, आईने के सामने जाना 

हमारा दिल मगर क्यूँ, सामना होने से डरता है ।

न बस में ज़िन्दगी इसके, न क़ाबू मौत पर इसका 

मगर इंसान फिर भी कब, ख़ुदा होने से डरता है ।

अजब यह ज़िन्दगी की कैद है, दुनिया का हर इन्सां 

रिहाई मांगता है और, रिहा होने से डरता है ।

- राजेश रेड्डी 

Celebrations

There is something about Ganeshotsav, something that fills you with immense energy. And if you are in Mumbai - the energy intensifies! Even when you are not a part of the action, even when you are standing on the sidelines, you can feel the city flow around you.

I happened to call a colleague today who works in our Vikhroli office. I could barely hear her! All I could hear were sounds of drums and people shouting 'Ganpati Bappa Morya'. What did not reach me through the mobile however, (but I can very well imagine) were the brilliance of gigantic Ganesh statues and people dancing around, aaratis, decoations, fancy lights, offerings, and people dressed in ethnic best! And why not? Afterall in India we breathe celebrations!

Every time I think of 'celebrations', I think of an interesting ad that once caught my eyes in The Times of India (and continues to be stapled in my diary).

Below is what it reads...

What does it cost

to have a celebration?

A winter evening

Four friends

One barsaati

Four glasses of chai

Hundred bucks of gas

A rusty old bike

And an open road

Maggi noodles

A hostel room

4.25 am

3 old friends

3 separate cities

3 coffee mugs

1 Indiatimes Messenger

Rain on a hot tin roof

Pakoras deep frying

Neighbours dropping in

An impromptu party

You and mom

A summer night

A bottle of coconut oil

A head massage

Gossiping about absent family members

You can spend

hundreds on birthdays

thousands on festivals

lakhs on weddings

but to celebrate

all you have to spend

is your time

Thought-provoking, isn't it? Celebrations, in various forms and ways, are up for grabs every moment! All we need to spend (read spend well) is our time!