Roti, Kapda aur ‘MAKAAN’!

Could anyone ever make you feel like a white-collared poor? Come to Mumbai. The brokers here with their typical ‘Itna paisa me ittaich milega’ look will make one feel so when one plans to rent a house even if your budget is 3-4 times that of any other metro. In fact, exorbitant rentals are a matter of fact and one is not supposed to even express a surprise over it. And when one observes closely, every 3^rd shop here would be that of a real estate broker (exaggerated a bit, every 4^th may be). With a gold plated watch, 3-4 gold rings, gold chains, branded shoes, jeans, t-shirts, Honda stunner, office in Colaba, etc. they would have as good or even better standard of living than the to-be-tenants.

I’ve always wondered why Manoj Kumar (Director, Actor of Roti, Kapda & Makaan) has the typical sad look on his face. Probably, even he wonders how the 3 necessities have climbed at linear, cubic and exponential rates and don’t deserve to be used in a single breath anymore as was done in his 1974 blockbuster. So much so that, if he had to remake ‘RK&M’, he would definitely become a real estate broker to solve his family problems.

Cribbing apart, I’ve few observations for this city as I had for Delhi & Kolkata:

1) Everyone is a professional here. Right from the domestic maid to the taxi-auto wala to ticket counter wala and the list goes on and on.

2) Ask any Mumbaikar for some address and multiply the time he suggests by 4 to arrive at the actual time to reach that place.

3) Railway lines should not be crossed is a truth more honored here by its breach than by its observance.

4) Half of Mumbai’s population travels by local everyday and one-third travels by bus, given the amount of time spent traveling and the places where people manage to get a living, even if half of Mumbai shifts out of Mumbai, they'll have a much better standard of living than what they’ve here.

5) Salesmen in Mumbai local are like absurd ads. You won't understand what he/she is trying to say but they surely catch your attention.

6) You’ll feel good in Mumbai only if you’ve returned from Delhi & Kolkata ;)

Delhi, because people in Mumbai can be trusted, even the brokers, trust me.

Kolkata, because only Kolkata has a more ruthlessly humid weather than Mumbai

Frankly, I hardly have any feelings for Mumbai as of now. We (I and Mumbai) don’t share a good past as well. Last time I came here, there was 26^th July, typhoid to me. This time, motormen strike the day I landed. Whether we treat each other well in this 2^nd innings is yet to be seen now.

Don't be happy, Please!

Disclaimer:This post was written in utter frustration under the heat of my roof burning in 48 Degrees this summer in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra . The arguments hence are pretty heated too.

There are two schools of thought. One is which our archaic religion (or even archaic education system), be any, teaches. Be content with what you have. Be satisfied. Don't be greedy. Money is the root of all evil. So, in places like I am at presently, my hometown, Akola and Kolkata (henceforth Kolkata can be included in any reference to the context at hand), people (and that includes me too) have learnt to be satisfied with whatever little they've or don't have. Even if that teaching extends to the basic neccessaties of life as simple as water and electricity. So, we Indians find new profound reasons to be happy. So earlier municipal water supply gave darshan once in 10 days now once in 8 days, we're happy. Load shedding - 7 hours earlier now 6 hours and again we're happy. It is this inferiorty complex of not expecting oneself to even deserve the basic necessities of life which is more painful to me than anything else.

There is yet another school of thought. Strive for more, be impatient. Earn fast and not for your entire life. Retire early, let your investments work for you not the other way round. It's not bad to be working for money.

Of course, just as the first school of thought is conveniently used to fit people's own needs & perceptions, the second one is used conveniently by most of us too. But given a choice between these two thoughts, why not work towards the latter since anyways nothings happening in the first one at least for the past 4 decades here.

Point is, can we stop being happy over the sorry state of affairs & at least try feeling frustrated at the lack of activity to improve things which have only deteriorated over the years. The amount of time put in pursuing religion & superstitions if dedicated to improving the lives of selves by expecting more & better for oneself will ultimately lead to the same. As put in by one of my wise profs "Conscious mind does affect the matter".

So some people, who've been putting all their brains together demanding a separate Vidarbha state, can you please (since you're motivated enough and have energy too) instead pour in all your energies in making people of Vidarbha intolerant to these efficiencies and tolerant to each other than the other way round at present. Can we please give up the illusionary 'Aal Izz Well' philosophy and can we stop progressively burning our desires under the heap of so-called new religious learnings, superstitions, etc.? Can people in these cities be as professional/aspirational as any other, dread competition and love convenience & comfort as a way of life! Unless we do, there's hardly anything to be expected from the administration who always lags when it comes to fulfilling the masses' need-gap!

When my cell was one door lock away….

This is about our being a part of this year’s republic day parade…an experience I’ll relish for a long time…what experience….well…read on….the title is not aligned with the theme though…like most bollywood movies

We reached with a little difficulty… …we din know head or tail on how to reach…no google maps....no gps… and if that wasn’t enuf our overconfident autodriver took us straight to president’s estate… :P

As soon as we entered our block on Raj path, everybody got busy with cleaning their respective chairs. The ceremony started on time with the arrival of the president at 9:57AM. Fortunately/unfortunately I was sitting beside Tyagi J who did exhibit why his dream company was/is/will be Lockheed Martin…we had discussions ranging from the 21 gun salute to which regiment’s band was better to which regiment had better uniforms to watching on TV vs being a part of this to discussing the state jhakis (I still feel THAT rowing looked natural :P) to the motorcycle stunts to fly past! We had good enuf info on anything n everything…not more than what we cud (or at least I cud) retain…at the end of it, I was…hungry…thirsty…felt chilly but was super duper delighted…

When I returned, I did not have the keys of our flat and my cell was in…I wanted to call up n shout out my experience…to let know there was no LeT attack…to reply some missed calls which might have been…to check mails…(not that anything important happens every single minute of my life)instead I thot…wasn’t the day beautiful more bcoz none of us had our idiot boxes n cells with us…we talked…discussed…enjoyed …as silly a thing as eating papad n getting lost…super experience which I was talking about earlier here!

Somehow when I see oldies around me…ranging from cynics to some who feel contented to those which crib to some who’ve excelled…to some who travel extensively for fun…to some who lead by example…to some who gossip…..to some who’re highly respected….I try portraying exactly what kind of life I wanna have which will culminate into some of these which I may admire…I don have an answer obviously…I plan long term only for interviews else looking even beyond a horizon of 6 months is out of my capability…but one thing I do crave for…to not let the ecstasy of these small things in life to wither away ever...to feel surprised over surprises…to feel happy over goodies & free gifts…to cherish unplanned happenings no matter how much they screw me…to click photos for social n/w sites only…to see new releases back-2-back…to sit on the beach side n be able to discover a new sound of the waves every single time! Hope that’s not too much to ask for!