Mystical Musings through a Journey called Life!

Did you know (Part 2)

2012-02-27T20:52:00.001+05:30

Hope you all enjoyed the first part of my discoveries into Mumbai’s history and are ready for some more interesting bites of information!! Did you know….

The Victoria Terminus was designed by a British architect and took 10 years to complete. There are a number of animals carved into the facade of the building and it also has a lion (representing England) and a tiger (representing India) at the gate including a lot of flora and fauna on the facade. This was because even though the architect was British, the workers, laborers and artists were all Indian. It was named "Victoria Terminus" in honour of the Queen and Empress Victoria.

The Victoria Terminus Station

The lady that stands on top of the station is not Queen Victoria but the Lady of Progress holding a torch pointing upwards in her right hand and a spoked wheel in her left hand.

The Lady of Progress

The Ambassador Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Mumbai. It has a revolving restaurant that is called the “Pearl of the Orient”. Each revolution takes 90 minutes.

Ambassador Hotel

The Bombay High Court was built in the 1800s. To the west of the central tower are two octagonal towers. The statues of the Lady of Justice and the Lady of Mercy are atop this building – have you ever noticed them there???

Lady of Justice

Lady of Mercy

The Rajabai Tower was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, an English architect. He modeled on Big Ben, in London. It is said that he never once came to Mumbai to see his creation while it was being made! It was started March 1, 1869 and construction lasted 9 years. The total cost of construction came to Rs. 2 lakhs which was paid by Premchand Roychand, a prosperous broker who founded the Bombay Stock Exchange on the condition that the tower be named after his mother Rajabai.

Rajabai Tower

All the buildings in the University of Mumbai’s premises have beautiful stained glasses. In fact it has the highest collection of stained glass windows. In the Convention Hall of the University of Mumbai building there is a huge circular window (24-feet in diameter), also known as the Rose Window which has a design of the Zodiac signs.

The Flora Fountain was originally to be named after Sir Bartle Frère, the Governor of Bombay at the time, whose efforts to improve civic sanitation and the urban space requirements of the growing city had resulted in many of the great public buildings of Mumbai. However, the name was changed before the fountain was unveiled as Flora Fountain, named after the Goddess Flora, a Roman Goddess of flowers and the season of spring.

Flora Fountain

David Sasson, a Jewish businessman, he traded with China. He grew as a business man and built one of the largest and most beautiful synagogues of India, the Magen David Synagogue at Byculla, Bombay. He also constructed the Sassoon Dock at Colaba, one of the largest docks ever built in Bombay among other institutions.

David Sasson Library

Maybe you would all know this one... The Taj Mahal hotel was built because Jamsedji Tata decided to build the hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city's grand hotels of the time, Watson's Hotel, as it was restricted to "whites only". And yes, do you know that the hotel has been built in the opposite direction than the original architectural plans??

The Taj Mahal Hotel

Well, I hope that you have enjoyed the little tit-bits about Bombay - the original Mumbai!!!

Did you know? (Part 1)

2012-02-19T19:09:00.000+05:30

Last week I went on a Heritage Bus Ride which was part of the Kala Ghoda Festival and the things that I learnt were amazing! Did you know….

The Police Headquarters near Regal cinema was once a sailor’s home where sailors would rest when visiting Mumbai. On the top of the building one can see King Neptune that is carved in stone.

King Neptune carved on top of the Police Headquarters

The Yacht Club which lies on the right side of the road as you approach the Gateway of India is not the original Yacht Club! The original club is the building that is opposite! It was shifted after the lease of the original club lapsed.

The Colaba Causeway is so called because it was built to join the islands of Colaba and Little Colaba. All roads that were built to join the islands together were called causeways hence Mahim Causeway!

The Regal circle was previously known as the Wellington circle and the fountain that stands there even today was known as the Wellington fountain and was built to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's visit to Bombay in 1801.

The Wellington Fountain

Churchgate is so called because it was an opening from the sea to the first church in Mumbai – the St. Thomas’ Cathedral, Fort.

Churchgate Station

All the land from Nariman Point to the Oval Maidan is reclaimed land.

The Fort area in Mumbai derives its name from the fact that the area fell within an actual fort! A small fragment survives as part of the eastern boundary wall of the St. George's Hospital. The buildings that are on D.N. Road like the Thomas Cook building and Siddharth college building are built where the moat of the Fort was!

The Bombay Gymkhana was formed in 1875 exclusively for Europeans. There was a sign which hung outside which said “Coloured people and Pets Not Allowed”. Indians then began started various gymkhanas based on the different communities existing in Mumbai at that time. Hence, various Parsi, Muslim, and Hindu gymkhanas were started nearby with fierce sports competitions among them being organized on a communal basis.

The first test cricket match was played on the grounds of the Bombay Gymkhana! This match was between India and England in 1933 where England won by 9 wickets.

Glimpses of Kala Ghoda, Feb 2012

2012-02-12T21:33:00.001+05:30

It is that time of the year again when the Kala Ghoda Festival comes to tingle our art sense and love for culture. Whether it is through the innovative and creative installations or the colourful paintings or the performances that are showcased, culture drips from each second of the 9 day festival! As usual I have made sure that I am present for most of the days during the festival.

This year, most of the stage performances were held at Cross Maidan. There were also a few folk dances at the amphitheatre at Kala Ghoda. I managed to watch a long awaited dance form - the Lavni! This is one of Maharashtra's traditional dances which are performed to a dholak. Check out a brief video of the dance.

A few evenings ago, I attended a Flamenco dance routine at the Cross Maidan. The twirl of the dresses accompanied by the foot stomping kept me engrossed and by the end of the 4 routines my eyes and heart longed for more!! The way the dancers swayed to the music and the enthusiasm they exhibited on the stage, the audience, me included were transfixed to the dancing figures. See the twirls here...

The dances continued late into the night and as I walked home I found myself walking to the rhythm of the beats of the Flamenco! Ole!!!

Back again!

2012-02-12T19:38:00.000+05:30

After a really long hiatus and a huge writer's / blogger's block I am back! Hopefully this time the writing will continue on a regular basis!

A Moth Attack, A Leaping Frog, Snails and Insects on the Dinner table – My Kolad Adventure

2010-09-07T22:59:00.002+05:30

What do you get when you have six girls excited about going out on a weekend trip? Well, for starters you get a little of noise, you hear high pitched voices, a mass of giggles and of course as they pass you, you feel you are in the middle of a mini tornado! This was the situation as we made our way out of office to our ride to take us to Kolad.

The drive to Kolad was a medley of traffic and the rains till we reached the perimeters of the city. Once we crossed Panvel and made our way to Penn the skies were dotted with dark rains which showered us with cool droplets of rain. The lush green surroundings banked on each side of the road instantly took us to another level of peace!

We reached our destination at Kolad – Sai Farms around 7 p.m. We trudged to out room where we found 6 beds neatly made and our bags came tumbling onto them. As we stepped out onto the balcony we were greeted by a breathtaking sight of a long lazy river across our room.

After chilling on the balcony our growling stomachs reminded us that it was time for dinner. We made our way to the dining area and sat down while our eyes looked longingly at the kitchen mesh doors. And at that very moment out of the corner of my eye I saw my team member leap off her chair!! And she yelled “Frog!!” I was intrigued by the frog and went towards it. As it leaped to get out of the way, my team member leaped along with it – but in the opposite direction!!

As we settled down after the frog leapt to safety under a cupboard, we all became aware of all the insect lives around us. There were creepy crawly insects, big and small around us and a few on the table too giving us company for dinner! ;)

Soon after we served ourselves dinner, the Moth Attack started… Two – three moths (beautiful ones I must say!) started flying around. And their dance around us was guided by the shrill shrieks of my friends who felt that they were under a Moth Attack!! Due to this “attack” they shifted to a table that was unlit and completed their meal without further visitors to their table!

After a scrumptious meal we made our way back to our room and turned in for the night as the next day would see us doing an adventure sport….

Independent in the whole sense?

2010-08-14T23:55:00.003+05:30

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action--
Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake.
- Rabindranath Tagore

As we in India embark on our 63rd year of independence I wonder if we are truly independent….

Independent from corruption, independent from terrorism, independent from tyranny from small time thugs, independent from our fellow human beings who don’t seem to want to have anything to do with you…

We may be independent such that we have no other country ruling us – but are we independent of the so called leaders that we have running the country today?

I am proud to be an Indian, free from the rule of another, free to make my own decisions, free to live the way I want…. But there are aspects of this independent India that hit me and make me wonder what went wrong with us and why?

Why do the same free Indians want to make an extra buck during the Commonwealth games? We have gathered media attention for sure but for all the wrong reasons.

Why do we have to keep one of our most beautiful states under curfew day after day due to violence in the valley? Why can’t we diffuse the internal terrorism in the north and the east? Has human life lost its value? Aren’t we still under someone else’s rule?

Coming nearer to home we are kept hostage by our fellow humans be it the force that believes that Maharashtra can only have people who are only Maharashtrians; or be it the regular men in khaki who refuse to drive you to your chosen destination – so much so that we had to go on a “strike” against them?

So as we embark on our 63rd year of Independence I would like independence from corruption, from terrorism… May I ask for my fellow Indians to work towards a truly Independent India?

This is indeed India! The land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendour and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of hundred nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of traditions, whose yesterday's bear date with the moldering antiquities for the rest of nations-the one sole country under the sun that is endowed with an imperishable interest for alien prince and alien peasant, for lettered and ignorant, wise and fool, rich and poor, bond and free, the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the world combined.
- Mark Twain

Zoroastrianism and few of its Rituals

2010-04-28T23:15:00.002+05:30

Zoroastrianism is a ritual intensive religion. Rituals are an integral part of the religious life. On the basis of their purposes and functions of the rituals, they can be divided into various groups like Thanksgiving Rituals known as Jashans; Consecration Rituals known as Visperad, Videvdad etc; Rites of Passage known as Navjote, Navar and Maratab (initiations), Marriage and Death among other various rituals.

The word “Navjote” is derived from two words Nav (new) and Zot (offerer of prayers). The Navjote ceremony is performed of all Parsi children both boys and girls, generally between the ages of 7 to 9. The ritual involves 3 stages – purification, presentation and benedictions. The main purpose of this ritual is to ceremoniously invest the child with the Sadra “the sacred shirt” and the Kasti “the sacred girdle”. The Kasti is made of 72 strands of sheep’s wool intricately woven with ritual observances. Wool symbolizes innocence. It is known to be able to absorb evil vibes and thus act as a protective shield. As shown below there are 9 parts of the Sadra.

Zoroastrian marriages are generally solemnized after sunset, as it was one of the promises given to the Hindu King Jadav Rana by the ancestors of Zoroastrians who came from Iran to India about 1200 years ago. Marriages can also be solemnized in fire temples in the morning. The marriage ritual is referred to as “the Ashirwad” since the priests give “ashirvad” (blessings) to the couple. The senior priest starts the initial part of the Ashirvad, during which rice grains or a mixture of rice, coconut shreds, pomegranate seeds and rose petals are showered on the couple. These items are significant as they all carry a meaning: coconut – symbol of utility and helpfulness to each other and society; rice – indicative of prosperity and plenty; pomegranate – symbolizes fertility and abundance of children and rose petals – indicate fragrance of happiness in married life.

The Zoroastrian mode of disposal of the dead is designed to ensure theological correctness, ecological safeguards and spiritual fortification. The Dokhma (Tower of Silence) is a consecrated circular structure built of stone. Dokhmenashini is the only valid Zoroastrian system of disposal of the mortal remains. The system upholds two of the basic tenets of the religion:

Disposing the corpse, as quickly as possible with the least possible harm to the living people as also any creations like earth, water, air and especially fire.

Least harm or discomfort to the soul which is now getting ready to go to its first stage of its journey into the other realms.

A Snapshot of the Parsi Culture

2010-04-28T23:08:00.003+05:30

Over the last weekend I visited a small exhibition showcasing the Parsi culture and its various rituals. Yes, I was accompanied by my mother and my masi joined us too. I already knew bits and pieces about the culture that had been handed over to me my mother’s side of the family but after visiting the exhibition at Albless Baug (Charni Road) I became a little more enlightened. Let me share some parts of the Parsi heritage and culture with you.

Prophet Zarathushtra was the first prophet to reveal religion in the world. He was a divinely appointed prophet. Zarathushtra is an Avestan word. Greeks called him Zoroaster which means “Possessing a wise camel” and “A golden star”. During the Kayanian dynasty, the power of evil was increasing. It became so unbearable, that Geush Urvan, the soul of Mother Earth cried out in pain to Ahura Mazda. After discussions with Bahman and Ardibahesht Ameshaspands, Ahura Mazda proclaimed that there was just one soul who could help her – Zarathushtra Spitama. He was sent as a Prophet to the world.

Throughout his childhood there were a number of murder attempts made on him, but he survived them all. He passed away at the age of 77 years and 11 days. Prophet Zarathushtra accepted the teachings of the already existing Mazdayasni belief system, added many of his teachings and gave a very strong religion to the people of Iran.

Fire temples are special consecrated structures housing a consecrated fire. The sacred fire is housed in a small room, which is the sanctum sanctorum. It is kept burning ever since its enthronement. Priests offer prayers and fuel to the fire at least five times during the day at the turn of the five gahs (watches of the day). The consecrated fires in fire temples are specially made. There are three grades of fire: Atash Behram; Atash Adaran and Atash Dadgah. These 3 grades of fires are made by collecting, purifying and consecrating fires from different sources and then amalgamating them into one fire. For the Atash Behram, fires from 16 different sources are used; for the Atash Adaran, fires from 4 different sources are used; for the Atash Dadgah, it is not necessary to collect fire from different sources, nor is it necessary to perform any particular rituals over the fire.

IPL 3 Semi Finals – MI v/s RCB @ DY Patil – a mind-blowing experience!!

2010-04-22T23:00:00.003+05:30

As the hour hand inched closer to 6 p.m. yesterday the excitement within me started to mount and take over my senses. I had bought my tickets online and had to get them exchanged for “original” tickets – weird but that’s what my printout said! As we approached the relevant gate we were informed that the counter had closed and we could get it at another counter. After approaching Gate No 7 for the tickets, I realised I was one of the many hundreds who were also inching their way towards the counter. Suddenly there was a roar of voices and the news floated back to us that they had stopped issuing the tickets and we could enter the stadium with the printouts. So, off we trudged to the stadium gates.

As we stood in the line in front of the gates, a Kingfisher helicopter hovered over us and landed in the ground outside the stadium. As everyone craned their necks to catch a glimpse of who was in the cabin, the pilot gets out, opens the cabin door, is handed a camera and he obliges by clicking a couple of snaps of the passengers inside. After the smiles had been captured by the lens, Deepika P got out of the cabin and while all the men on the field drooled, she strode across into a waiting car and made her way to the stadium. Soon after, another Kingfisher helicopter hovered and landed on the field and out stepped the owner of the brand – Mr. Mallya himself, dressed in a red tracksuit.

Being a cautious person, I hadn’t carried my mobile into the stadium as per the various updates issued in the papers but was amazed and surprised to see the number of individuals roaming around with their cell phones plastered to their ears!! As I made my way towards the gates the civilized lines turned into an unruly mob who had the weird thought that if they all pushed together to get to the gate, they could all go through instead of one by one that the turnstile allowed! And I would like to ask the organizers where was all the extra security that they had harped about in each of their interviews with the newspapers?? Where were the 3 tiered security checks? I was just asked if I was carrying a cell phone and when I replied in the negative I was allowed to walk right into the stadium without even a pat down by the female cops!! Wow I loved this kind of security!!! Were we all really safe???

As I stood at the end of the corridor my eyes and ears strained to take in the wonderful sights and sounds in front of me. The cricket ground was brightly lit and the green grass shone as if each blade had been washed and shined for the semis. The atmosphere was electrifying and I felt as the sole electric conductor in the stadium. The music blared out English and Hindi hit songs while occasionally the IPL trumpet blared followed by the cheers / roar of the crowds already present. Watching both the teams warming up in the field added to the already mounting excitement. After settling into our seats I merrily joined in with the chants of “Sachinnnnnnnnnn… Sachin!!” and “Mumbaiiiiiiiiii….. Indians!!!!”

As the match started the chants went on and on, encouraging the Men In Blue while they battled out the game against the Royal Challengers in the middle. My MI flag (which now stands on my office table) flew high in tune to the music and the chants. The air suddenly grew heavy and you could hear the stillness in the air as Sachin was declared out! The silence hung heavily all round me as we all craned our necks to catch the replay on the screens not wanting to believe what had just happened. As he walked back to the pavilion the crowd finally accepted his dismissal and with a somber silence sat back to watch the overs unfold. The air got charged once again as S. Tiwari and Pollard started to unfold their magic onto the Bangalore bowlers.

The excitement in the atmosphere went on till Bangalore started losing wickets to Bhajji and Malinga. The MI team was on fire!! When the final over came up there was a loud roar as the crowds smelt victory round the corner and the last 6 balls were met with equal cheers. As the last ball was played the crowd went berserk and started dancing in the aisles, in their seats, on their seats, jumping up and down all the while chanting “Sachinnnnnnnnnnnnn……. Sachin!!!” followed by “Mumbaiiiiiiiiiiiii….. Indians!!!”

I left the field feeling exhilarated as the intoxication of watching the semis flowed through my entire body!! It was one of the most amazing and awesome experiences that I have had. Am I glad I went!!! :) :)

Goa = The Sun, The Sand & The Sea (4)

2010-03-22T23:30:00.007+05:30

The warm sun and a cool breeze greeted us as we set out for our day of sightseeing of a few gems of Goa.

Big Foot
We started our day with a visit to “Big Foot”. The project is spread over a nine acre hillock in South Goa, and represents an effort to recreate the “Old Goa”. As you walk through the “village” you are escorted by various guides who give you an insight to the models that are built and the life that the ancestors of Goa lived.

As we entered a cave like structure we were met by one more guide who proceeded to tell us about the “Legend of the Big Foot”. Legend has it that there was a wealthy landowner by the name of Mahadar always helped the poor. His greedy neighbours kept on asking him for help till one day they fleeced him of all his possessions. Soon after he lost his wife, and he had to make do with what he got. The Gods seeing this good faith asked him for a boon wherein he asked for a small place to stand and pray. He was given a hot rock where he stood on one foot and prayed. Seeing his devotion the Gods took Him to heaven leaving his foot print behind.

Another attraction was the 14m x 5m laterite sculpture of Saint Mirabai which is also in the Limca Book of Records as the longest laterite sculpture in India. This sculpture was carved by Maendra Alvares of Goa in just 30 days!!

Did you know?
That most houses in Goa especially the older ones have a “Rooster” on their roof? And in addition to this they may also have another smaller statue of a man in a uniform near their gate or at the porch of the house? Do you know the significance of these objects?

The Rooster is the National Bird of Portugal and as most of the ancestors of Goa were Portuguese; their houses all had the statue of the Rooster on the roof of their houses. The smaller statue of the man in uniform signified that one of the members of the family were in the Armed Forces.

Goa = The Sun, The Sand & The Sea (3)

2010-03-21T21:25:00.007+05:30

Sunday morning we decided to have our breakfast at the much spoken about eatery – The Infantaria. The quaint little eatery drew us instantly and we made our way to a table and sat down to start our day with good food. We had a scrumptious breakfast of a mushroom - cheese – 3 egg omlette with toast with French toast and Strawberry milkshakes – though the milkshakes were not too good :(

After a day spent on the beach and lazing around, in the evening we made our way to the Mandovi River for our very first Ferry cruise/ride. As we made our way to the Ferry boat we heard music being played and our excitement grew with every step that we took to the top of the ferry. Upon being seated, we looked around and our eyes glinted with the lights all around us.

Soon our host started the show and we sat enthralled as dancers swayed to different kinds and types of music. As the show took a break, a huge boat went past us – the Casino Royale! It was beautiful! My interest rose to new high and I got tempted to go onto the Casino Royale but the same got squashed immediately when I heard that the cost of getting onto the boat was Rs. 4,000/- per head! Though I was disappointed, I made up my mind that one day I will go onto the boat and try my luck at the casino! :) Anyone listening? ;)

The ferry ride lasted an hour which sped by so fast that we were left checking our watches to see if the hour had really passed! The growling in our stomachs reminded us that it was time for dinner and we made our way to eat at an open air restaurant – The Fisherman’s Cove. Before we got to the restaurant we passed a shop called as “Original Fakes” – the name was interesting and their wares were more that a little interesting! They were amazing! This small shop sold bags – nothing interesting about that you may say, but if you walked out with a “Jimmy Choo” bag @ just Rs. 1,200/- wouldn’t that get your attention?? And it definitely got ours! Our stomachs were put on hold for the moment and we went a little berserk inside, ending up with 6 bags between the 3 of us! :)

With our shopping pangs satisfied it was now time to attend to our hunger pangs and attend we did – with a seafood platter and sautéed squids! A perfect end to a perfect day!

Goa = The Sun, The Sand & The Sea (2)

2010-03-19T23:58:00.009+05:30

Most of you may have seen the stalls at Fashion Street, Mumbai – now imagine about at least 200-250 (or more!) of these stalls spread out over a huge piece of land, add to it music, lights, drinks and food, mix them all together and you get one of the most electrifying and amazing Night Markets at Goa – the Saturday Night Market at Arpora which goes on from 7.00 p.m. to 2.00 a.m.

We reached the venue around 8.30 p.m. on Saturday night and as we trudged down from the small hill on which we parked our car our eyes and ears started taking in the sights and sounds around us. Music swarmed all around us and we were engulfed in the beats being belted out. On arriving to the source of the music I discovered that there were performers singing and playing instruments on a stage, enthralling the audience who sat on plastic chairs with beers in their hands.

The market was swarming with people of all ages, colours, shapes and sizes. There were foreigners walking around us either fully clothed or just clothed ;)! The atmosphere had a buzz in it and made us dizzy with delight at experiencing something different!

Most of the stalls were manned and owned by Indians but there were a quite a few that were manned and owned by foreigners too. I thought that being an Indian I could get a better chance at bargaining but NO! I was wrong… I got no bargains at all! :( Then as I passed one of the stalls the lady there mistook me for a foreigner and started to sell her wares to me when I realised I could get away with some bargaining… and I definitely did!! :) So, I started bargaining and getting amazing discounts on some payals and bags and a table runner just by passing off as a “phirangi”!! Now that was an experience I will never forget!
We left the market around 11.00 p.m. as the place become more and more crowded with arms full of shopping and satisfied grins on our faces! ;)

Goa = The Sun, The Sand & The Sea

2010-03-18T21:17:00.007+05:30

Q. Who in their right minds would book a 5.20 flight to Goa on a Saturday morning??? Ans: Me of course! ;-)

Yes, I took off from amchi Mumbai at 5.20 a.m. last Saturday to start my long weekend in Goa with my two other girlfriends. Over the next few posts I will take you with me on my holiday.

We landed after about an hour and were met by our resort taxi driver. The weather that greeted us was cool with a slight nip in the air. As we made our way to our resort, the fresh cool breeze caressed our faces as the sunlight played on the leaves of the trees that sped past our car window.

After a quick nap, bath and breakfast we headed out to the beach. As we reached the warm sand we suddenly attracted all the possible masseurs that were around – they each cam up to us asking “You want massage madam? Good massage? You want sun bathing madam? Sit here madam” pointing to beach chairs. Getting tempted we ventured to get our bodies massaged by the lady masseurs. And the feeling was divine!!! :) :) While we enjoyed our massages we were witness to a few strange sights too… like old foreigner men walking around only in the smallest swimming trunks that they possessed with all their belly tyres jiggling as they walked up and down the beach! In addition to them there were ladies of all ages and sizes in their bikinis sunbathing – some without their bikini tops!

For lunch we headed out to Baga to eat at Britto’s where “The Catch of the Day” was displayed and we indulged ourselves with the king prawns and squids!

As I enjoyed my food and my beer my eyes came to rest on the Ink Tattoo salon and I got drawn to it. My interest got further aroused when I discovered that I could get a temporary tattoo done and thus was born “Dolphi – The Dolphin” ;)

We are 2!!!

2010-03-12T00:00:00.002+05:30

Yes!! My blog and I have completed 2 marvelous years on the internet and I have enjoyed each and every letter, word and phase that I have written.

The last year saw me become more active on the social networking front and getting more exposure for my blog. Though at times I was confronted by “blogger’s block” I managed to come back and write at least one post each month.

My first year of blogging was full of new surprises and comparatively my second year of blogging has been more of discovering myself through my writing and the feedback received by all my friends and readers.

As I started my second year I had had apprehensions if I would make it to the start of a third year and what do you know – here I am on the threshold of my third year of blogging!!!

I would like to thank all my friends and readers who edged me on to write and share my experiences through my blog posts (sounds like an Oscar speech! ;) hehe). So, without sounding too dramatic, let me end by saying….

Keep coming back and reading my blog!!! :)

Sunday evening @ the 2010 Kala Ghoda Festival

2010-02-08T22:56:00.003+05:30

Not the ideal time and day to visit the festival because I was surrounded by people and people and more people!!! I started off exploring the parking lot where I had children running around me in search of their parents and I encountered some huge and magnificent creatures – the huge elephant, the tall giraffe and the majestic horse were some of the animals that greeted all who had come to grace the festival with their presence.

What caught my eye was this structure that had frames around it and caps of the armed forces in the middle and on the outside there was this plague which read: “Mera Desh Mahan?”

As I entered the Festival arena I was greeted by a 3D chalk drawing of a horse breaking out from the road! A truly amazing piece of art done by an Indian artist.

As I weaved my way through the endless waves of children and mummies and papas, I stumbled upon a stall run by “tappu ki dukkan” where I saw various items made from Elephant Dung. My eyes were suddenly drawn to a range of t-shirts and one of them caught my eye. My eyes lit up as I found the design I wanted and immediately bought. Check it out!!!

There were various more stalls run by various shops / artists / NGOs but because of the crowds I gave them a miss. Not to worry though, I am going back to check them out on the weekdays!!

Wah Ustad Wah!!

2010-01-13T23:27:00.008+05:30

As the clock struck 7 last Sunday evening and the cool breeze settled Zakir Hussein came onstage and in his trademark white kurta pajama greeted the crowd in front of him including yours truly! This was my second live performance of the great tabla player that I was attending – the first being at Gateway of India when he performed with the group Shakti.

As I sat on the steps of the Asiatic Library I felt the current in the crowd around me as Zakir Hussein settled behind his tablas. And the magic started!!! It was not just music but magic that enthralled all of us as we sat glued to our seats as the performance unfolded. His hands and fingers caressed the smooth tablas and with each caress a magical sound was heard. His hands literally flew over the tablas and one was left looking at a blur instead of his hands. He was accompanied by a Sarangi player who matched him note for note. One brilliant piece that he played represented the rain falling as raindrops which moved onto a downpour with flashes of lightening – a truly awesome acoustic experience!!!

The performance wound up in one and a half hours and it felt like he had just started playing! Not once during the performance did his waver and he kept all of us mystified. As I left the steps I knew this was one of his best performances ever and I was glad that I was there to experience it!

2009……2010

2009-12-31T21:48:00.003+05:30

Goodbye 2009… you were a year that brought tears, laughter and all the emotions one can have. As this year comes to an end and we are entering into another year of wonder, memories of the year gone by come flooding back to me, some good and some sad.

2009 saw an African-American take oath as President of the USA; India became the number 1 team in Test Cricket; Nadal was faced with serious injuries (yeah all Federer fans were glad!!); industries all round faced a bitter recession and individuals were left wondering what their fate would be; Mumbai is still prosecuting the surviving terrorist of the 26/11 terrorist attack in 2008 – when will justice be done??

Music and all music lovers lost The King of Pop, Michael Jackson. His death brought first disbelief and then tears to my eyes and the movie “This Is It” brought a smile to my face as I watched him do his famous moonwalk J. This year will also be know as the “Once in a Blue Moon” year with an extra full moon on 31st December 2009 and as I stood on the station awaiting my train to go home I tried getting a pic or two of the moon!!

Twitter and Facebook has taken Social Networking to whole new high and mobile phones are inching towards being your office away from the office!!

As each year slips away faster than the previous one, I am looking forward to the challenges that will come up in my way, the fun and frolic of friendships both old and new, love from my family and friends!

As I bid adieu to 2009, I would like to wish you all a Very Happy New Year!!

It's a New Year!!
It’s like a new Sunrise... of Hope, of Prosperity, of Happiness;
It’s like a new Beginning... of Thoughts, of Words, of Actions;
It’s like a new Day... of Energy, of strength, of Ideas;
It’s like a bunch of whole New Things... of Friends, of Prayers and of Love..

'Tis the season to be jolly; Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

2009-12-27T21:31:00.003+05:30

This year Christmas crept up on me when I was not watching and suddenly it was arm’s distance away and I hadn’t yet bought my Christmas cards and gifts!

The merriment and excitement started coming alive as the day arrived. And suddenly there were smiles on everyone’s faces, a lift in their step and one started seeing the colours of the season, red and green around oneself.

My celebrations started out with picking up the name of my gift receiver during the Secret Santa rounds in office. We had to buy a gift for the person whose name we picked and the budget was Rs. 100/- only! This was a fun activity and it succeeded in getting everyone in the right “Christmassy” mood! We exchanged our gifts on Christmas Eve which was also celebrated as the “Red and/or Green Day” at work. As I walked through the office the colours of the season beamed back at me…

Christmas Day saw me eating a lovely lunch at my brother’s in-law’s house and as I gorged on vindaloo and sorpatel I was in heaven! Christmas dinner found me with my best friend – a tradition we have kept up for the last 8-9 years!! This year we ate at The Intercontinental Hotel at Marine Drive where our table overlooked the sea…. an awesome view!!

After dinner we walked on Marine Drive with a cool breeze enveloping us in its arms. We went to see the Christmas tree at The Hilton. Though we were thoroughly searched as we entered, there was no mistaking the electrifying atmosphere inside where children ran around the HUGE tree and parents were taking their pictures. The mood was of fun and laughter and as I sat there I realised that this was the first time since the terrorist attacks last year that I had been inside the hotel. A slight chill ran down my spine as I remembered the awful scenes that were played in this hotel but the chill disappeared as the air rang with the giggles and laughter of the little children. Hope and Peace had returned to The Hilton.

The day after Christmas saw me catching up with some of my other friends, exchanging gifts and generally just chilling out!!

As the Christmas festivities end and the New Year festivities are seen around the corner, I would like to wish everyone the very best for the future and peace to all…

The Mini Kala Ghoda Festival

2009-11-08T15:17:00.008+05:30

Last weekend saw a mini Kala Ghoda Fest as a preview to the annual one to be held in February 2010. And I landed there armed with my camera looking forward to some fun and disappointed I was not!

Though the mini fest did not have the abstract statues around it still invited one to mull over the wares that were displayed in the stalls on both sides of the street. Some stalls were the familiar while others offered a new browsing experience. To my surprise found around 3 stalls catering to different kinds of clocks! And they were all beautiful!! Some were made of brass, others of glass and some from Nagpur were made of wood in the shape of a t-shirt!!

The cultural shows were fun to watch too. Gary Lawyer entertained us with songs from Frank Sinatra to Queen and ended with one of his own. Following him there was a jugalbandi of music with Louis Banks’ son (forgotten his name!) on the drums, and accompanying him were members on the electric guitar, tabla, sitar and flute. The music enthralled each one of the spectators.

Sunday saw the same stalls and the crowd puller that day was Jagjit Singh live!! Yes, I stood and waited for him to come for 1 hour, not budging from my place less someone comes to displace me! Jagjit Singh was in a great mood and his ghazals kept everyone asking for more.

Wake up, Inglorious Surrogates!

2009-10-14T07:44:00.001+05:30

Yes, I caught up with all these three movies over the weekend.

Started with Surrogates, and it was interesting (for want of a better word!) to see Bruce Willis with hair!! I have become so used to seeing him bald that the hair looked totally out of place!! The movie was interesting and if you enjoy sci-fi then you will enjoy it too. The movie made me wonder if I too would like a surrogate for myself – and yes I wouldn’t mind it most of the time but definitely not all the time! I mean I would love having it around to do all the daily mundane chores!!! Who wouldn’t?? ;) The movie was well made and Bruce Willis showed bits of his Die Hard character when he went around with his gun and a bloodied face and shirt.

On Saturday evening I went to see Wake Up Sid. Though I am not much of a Hindi movie buff I went to see why it was being spoken about. The movie was ok-ok. Loved Ranbir’s t-shirts though!! They all were really cool and cute all rolled up in one!! Hehe Konkana looked good as usual. The story was ok and the end could have been mmmmmmuuuuuccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhh better!!!! So go and watch it if you have nothing to do and you would like to waste 3 hours of your life! ;)

Inglorious Bastards – the name itself makes you inquisitive and curious to know more about the movie. The movie is over 2 hours long but never seemed it. One of Quentin Tarantino’s best movies ever! Though I am not a fan of Brad Pitt I must admit he acted well in the movie as the leader of the pack. Though more than him I thought that “The Jew Hunter” aka Standartenführer Hans Landa played by Christoph Waltz was the cream of the movie! His acting was fantastic and you felt he was a real Nazi soldier! The compete band of the Inglorious Bastards were interesting including the baseball bat-swinging Nazi hunter – “The Bear Jew”. The movie was made more realistic by the usage of local languages like French and German besides English, so you were forced to turn your eyes to the bottom of the screen to read the subtitles. It was gory in bits but then again what Quentin Tarantino’s movie doesn’t have blood and gore in it? All in all a wonderful movie – enjoyed it immensely!!

Voice your decision – Vote!!

2009-10-14T07:40:00.001+05:30

Over the last few days the election committee has been trying to lure citizens towards the voting booths to cast their votes for the Assembly Elections. It has been interesting to see the way in which the various party candidates are trying to woo the voters.

Some have resorted to advertisements in the newspapers the major ones being by the Congress and the Shiv Sena – BJP alliance – and I must say that whoever is dong the print advertisement for the Shiv Sena - BJP alliance is good! To see what I mean, look on the last page of yesterday's Times of India newspaper!! Through these advertisements they seem to be reaching out to the educated masses instead of the uneducated ones. The Congress ads are a little stale now and look like they are used for all the possible elections that we have in our country.

In terms of innovative ways to advertise there have been the usual smses from the MNS and Congress parties – did not receive any from the Congress though... One that truly took me by surprise was when my mobile phone rang and on answering it, I heard a man’s voice (later recognized as Raj Thackeray) speaking in Marathi and convincing me to vote for the MNS. The commuters of BEST buses were not saved and even they had to look at MNS ads on the little tv screens in the bus.

I went to cast my vote yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the number of youngsters around my area that had come out to vote too. Hope you have done the same!

I want to watch them all!!

2009-09-09T12:19:00.004+05:30

I was surfing through YouTube a few days back and stumbled upon their Movie Trailers section and started browsing through them. I came across few movies whose trailers kept me wanting for more! Let me share them with you:

Alice in Wonderland – Johnny Depp never ceases to amaze me! From Edward Scissorhands to Pirates of the Caribbean, he is now the Mad Hatter!!

Inglorious Bastards – though I am not a huge fan of Brad Pitt (yeah!!) I kind of liked his acting in this trailer and am waiting this one to hit the big screen!!

Sherlock Holmes – the ever lovable mad detective, I have been reading his adventures right from my school days and have loved every one of them!! Even the TV serials based on his adventures have been followed by me religiously!! “It’s elementary, Dear Watson” being one of the most famous and recognizable phrases it will be fun to see the new Sherlock Holmes on the big screen! And I never knew that Sherlock wrestled!! :)

Surrogates – one of my all time favourites Bruce Willis comes in all sorts of roles!! Right from the angry cop in the Die Hard series to the ghost in Sixth Sense I have loved him in all his “hatke” roles!! And this is one more!!

The Princess and the Frog – on a lighter and funnier animated note this movie does not really follow the original story but looks like fun!!

My Web/Online Presence till today..

2009-08-27T12:18:00.004+05:30

I visited some friends a couple of days ago and one very dear friend asked me if I was on Twitter. When I replied with an “Of Course!” he grinned and replied “Why am I not surprised!!” :)

While chatting with him I realised, Yes, I do have a presence on the World Wide Web!! And am proud of it too!! Today the whole world has congregated together on the Internet and is reaching out to people all over. As we progress, in time, each individual with access to a computer and an internet connection will be present online.

As I started getting introduced to the infiniteness of the internet, I decided to make my presence known to all around me and beyond.. :) I started off (years ago) with signing up for a yahoo mail id, a hotmail id and an Indiatimes id which then graduated to just having 2 mail ids – one on Yahoo and the other on Gmail. After this I got onto the social networking bandwagon and signed up onto Orkut. After getting bored with the site (yeah I know… u don’t understand that!!) I graduated to Facebook where I am more or less settled – for the time being at least ;) till something more fun comes up!!

On the professional networking side I signed up with the lesser known Ryze network years ago but I must confess that I didn’t find that very user friendly and now I am more active on LinkedIn!

Blogging caught my eye and the fun that I have had blogging has been awesome!!!! As you can see by this blog – have 75 posts and counting and have been around only 1.5 years – which may be less compared to those that write every day – but what the hell.. I enjoy writing and what I write!! Hehe Personal blogging aside I decided to get into blogging about my profession and started my HR Blog – it’s still only 3-4 posts old but I think I will get to 75 posts soon!!

I then wanted my own domain name and went out and bought that too which gets directed to my personal blog. I am in the midst of getting/setting up a website too wherein all the links to me will be present – cool nah?

Click! Click! Then I wanted to share my pics with my friends, so I signed up for the then popular Yahoo pictures – loved the interface and could uploading pictures was as simple as A-B-C!! After Yahoo shut down their service I went on the hunt for another online photo sharing site. Amidst all the ones out there, kind of liked Flickr but soon gave that up when I stumbled onto Picassa! This prompted me to start off my very own photo blog and I did! Though it is young too I don’t doubt that it will soon grow to be full of manyyyyyyyyyyy pictures taken from my camera and phone!

Twitter happened recently and it’s not too bad.. Have been getting the hang of it now and keep trying to tweet regularly! Spied one of my friend’s signature sporting his Google profile and now have one of my own too!

So I think for an HR person I am quite present on the Internet!! What do you think? ;)

My Best Friend’s Birthday Adventures

2009-08-23T20:08:00.001+05:30

No, this is not like one of the Famous Five’s adventures!! This is about a night out with my best friend on her birthday last night. It all started out well, and we left her place for Juhu in her car.

With the windows rolled up, we waited for the air conditioning to kick in but to our disappointment it refused to do so and we had to roll the windows back down – not too bad as there was a cool breeze blowing. After filling up petrol we got on our way with the FM radio belting out the latest Hindi movie songs. We decided to take the Worli-Bandra Sealink and turned towards Worli seaface.

We suddenly heard a thump-thump noise and were wondering where it was coming from…. As we racked our heads to figure out the source of the noise we became aware of the car not performing the way it should. We pulled over on the side and discovered we had a flat!! Ok!! Two of us stuck on the side of the road with a flat tyre!! As we debated on how to get to the nearest petrol pump our eyes fell on couple of men changing a tyre on a car and we looked up to find that we had stopped right outside a small-time car alignment garage!! Luck was on our side!! We got the tyre changed and made our way towards the Sealink.

As we approached the Sealink the excitement grew and we were soon driving over the sea!! As we crossed the Sealink, I started taking pictures. The sights that greeted us were amazing and the journey was awesome!!

We made our way to the restaurant at Juhu without any further adventures and settled down to a yummy Italian dinner at Del Italia.

Grant us Independence today!

2009-08-15T00:07:00.003+05:30

“Independence” a word that we take for granted at times but makes our hearts swell with pride as the tricolor flutters in the clear blue skies! As we all prepare to enjoy and celebrate our 62nd Independence Day from the British rule, I would like to ask for Independence from some other chains that bind us!

Grant us Independence from the terrorists who think it is their birthright to make our lives miserable by indulging in killing innocent people just so that they will go to heaven!! Don’t they realise there is nothing like that! Why are they getting away with all that they do?

Grant us Independence from the H1N1 virus that is making us suspicious of everyone we interact with, travelling with masks and handkerchiefs wrapped around our faces, and taking the lives of innocent children and elders.

Grant us Independence from the drought that we are facing in the country; send those rain laden clouds to us please! I recently saw the state of the fields on a TV channel and the dry, arid landscapes have been imprinted onto my mind… it is indeed a sad state of affairs…

As this year’s Independence Day passes I am thankful to be living in a free and independent nation. For whatever its quirks I love this country with all my heart!!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ONE AND ALL!!