84 - TO MARKET, TO MARKET, WITH A CLOTH BAG FOR SURE.

If you are buying vegetables from the market, you must carry your own bag.  It can be of paper, cloth or plastic.  But  you must have it on you,  unless you are a regular customer, and then the vendor will give you a carry bag that he will conjure up from the depths of the undercover 'galla'.

The quick thinking startup is that of stitching cloth bags and setting up shop at strategic places,  grocery stores, markets, etc.  Dorabjee strores in Pune sells cloth bags with their logo, for forty rupees each,  Reliance stores sell cloth bags with their logo for rupees forty and ninety each, Nature's Basket sells cloth bags with their logo for rupees ninety each.  So many shops have started this new product line, with something that has a timeless shelf life and excellent demand.

 Numerous establishments pack the products into paper bags with handles styled out of cords.  But these are viable only for light weight products, otherwise the customer has to carry the bag with both hands, one supporting the filled bag from below, otherwise the contents will soon be scattered through the paper and onto the ground.    Another invention is a 'bio green' bag, made of vegetable starch pellets and is completely bio degradable.  But that does not support large and heavy products that have to be carried from the sales' point to the home or place of re-distribution.  The large blue plastic bags are the most popular ones and are still used, and reused.  Crawford market is rife with 'plastic' bags.  Black garbage bags are also sold freely, whether they are bio degradable has to be taken at face value, on the word of the vendors.

The talcum powders, shampoos, conditioners, hand wash liquids, shaving creams,  are sold in plastic containers.  The refill packs of these are also sold in plastic bags.  Chocolate wrappers, snack wrappers, are all a type of plastic material.   Innumerable toys are manufactured with a type of plastic.  Innumerable footwear is made of plastic.  Raincoats, childrens' water bottles and snack boxes, are all made of plastic.  School books and school calendars are coated with plastic covers.  Everytime we write, we use a pen made of plastic.  Travel around the city and you will see blue plastic sheets used to cover roofs in so many places.  All electrical wires are coated in plastic,  it is a bad conductor of electricity, so it is quite indispensable.   Plastic is almost indispensable, and instead of banning its use, attention should be paid to recycle it effectively.

The worst culprits are the large cardboard chocolate gift boxes, mainly by Cadbury, which pack a variety of their products into moulded plastic containers and then pack these into a cardboard box.  The mobile phones which are packed with moulded plastic, to keep the product safe, are also environmental pollutants.   The thick, transparent, plastic strip curtains used to enclose shop entrances with AC installed.  Every toothbrush, most combs, goggles, are plastic.  Walk into any toy shop and you will see mostly plastic products.  The bucket and mug in my bathroom is plastic. The shower curtains and the pipes that connect the washing machine to the tap and the outlet, are plastic.    My Adhaar card, pan card, debit and credit card are all plastic coated.  Every photograph is on plastic paper, every roll binding is of plastic.

Plastic is a wonderful invention and it should be used and then recycled correctly.

76 - FIRE . . .

Builders advertise a very rosy picture for flats to be sold.  The first page of newspapers flaunt exciting images and lucrative offers.

 Hiranandani builders, Thane,  offer 'an address that's lively, convenient and desirable'.   With tennis courts, tree lined avenues, landscaped gardens and an exclusive gymnasium in the building premises.

The Regency Group, Titwala,  promises 'your dream home with lakhs of savings'.  No GST, no stamp duty and no registration.  Besides these promises, they boast of having won various awards, the affordabloe segment by CNBC, environment friendly award,  Times realty award for affordable homes, etc.

RNA builders,Mira road, boast about children's play area, senior citizen garden, 24x7  cctv surveillance, etc.

Rustomjee Thane, advertises that it offers a balcony,a squash court, tennis court, mini theatre, swimming pool, mini golf, party hall, spa, tree surfing, yoga hall etc.

Ekta builders, Goregaon, has a full page ad that  says 'an address that will make your life  luxurious'.
They will give buyers an experience designed by Holyfield gymn, with international equipment, coupled with the finest luxuries and comforts to let you live healthy for your lifetime.  No hidden costs, no club charges, no infra charges, no outgoings.

The Ozone Group, Dadar, has advertised that they are selling lavish homes.  And that 'thank god, money can buy heaven.'  A concierge, a podium, zero bricks, crack free construction, fire safety ducts and a fire lift.

These are a few details of only the full page ads that appear in newspapers.  Besides there are countless offers of flats for sale and hire.  But yet, none are promising  that the premises has a foolproof fire fighting system, except one project that promises 'fire safety ducts'.  But nothing about the wiring, whether it is heavy duty copper or cheap aluminium.  No mention of the trip switches or the fuse box or the common electrical room precautions mentioned at all.

As a layperson, I do not comprehend a few of the items mentioned.  What is a 'dry fountain'??, no outgoing??,  infra charges??,  tree surfing??,  a dedicated fire lift??

There are so many things that can cause a fire, and a multi storey is a death trap, no matter how careful everyone is, because the residents overlook many risks that can lead to a fire.

1)  The wiring in flats is usually cheap aluminuim wiring, and it needs to be replaced with copper electrical wiring.
2)  Trip switches should match the gadgets installed in each house.
3)  The main fuse in the common metre room should also match the number of gadgets installed in each house.
4)  Servants should be trained as to how to handle electrical gadgets like irons,  geysers, ovens, chargers, ACs and also the gas of the cooking range.
5)  Children should be made aware of the dangers of misusing power for video games, mobile chargers etc.
6)  When new gadgets like a washing machine, or a fridge, or an oven are installed, the owner should make sure that the the plug point is matching.
7)  Rats are a major concern because they chew wires of electrical gadgets and that leads to short circuits and fire.

 Once when we had bought a new Godrej fridge, it was installed with a small size three pin plug.  Within two days of use, we noticed smoke and flames ensuing from the plug point and had to take steps to put off the fire,  and thank God we were just leaving the house to go out for a walk, when we noticed the flames.  The company was unapologetic and just replaced the plug with a bigger one of higher ampere.  The plug point that had burnt off had to be repaired at our own cost.

I recall that there was a dysfunctional geyser in the flat when I came to the house as a new bride and I decided to replace it and get it functional.  The shops are freely selling the gadgets one needs but there is no way that I can hire an electrician who is well trained.  I was directed to ask around for a plumber or an electrician among the squatters on the footpath at Nana Chowk or Tardeo.  How was I to ascertain the credentials or expertise of persons that squat on a footpath, waiting for odd jobs?  Some of them look so poor, with tattered clothes.  Anyway, one person came home and fixed the geyser.  The next day when I switched it on, there was smoke where the wire was joined to the main line.  The man returned and put in place a porcelain connector, which worked for a few days and then it also started smoking.  It was a horrifying experience, and I would just wait for the water to be heated by the afternoon sunlight, instead of using the geyser.  Many years later, the entire aluminium wiring of the house was replaced with copper wires and then the geyser too worked safely.  But most of the flats in the building still have aluminuim wiring.

Another time, I dropped the electrical iron and after a few days, there was a minor blast in it and smoke billowed from it, giving me  a fright.  But I switched off the mains and saved the situation.

At a certain workplace the AC went up in flames all of a sudden and it was later discovered that the rats had chewed the inner wiring causing a short circuit and so the flames.  And it happened twice, in different rooms at this workplace.

Recently, an article in a newspaper outlined the precautions that should be taken for the electrical wiring of highrises, by Mr.KKK Nair, an electrical expert.  But where is an expert when we want to install an AC or a washing machine, or even an oven?   The company offers 'free installation' and thats it.  The follow up for any problems have to be handled by others,  whose expertise we have no means of checking.

All schools teach about electricity at the senior levels, but there is no practical knowledge given.  It should be a compulsory subject in all schools, and every student should be trained in simple awareness about electricity gadgets, how to change a bulb, how wiring affects the electrical charges, how electricity is dangerous, how it can lead to shocks or a fire etc.

At bus stops, the advertisements have generators installed to supply power to the lighting at night.  I have warned children not to hug the pillars that support the electrical wiring, even when they are with their parents, who are quite oblivious of the dangers that  that can cause.  The worst aspect of electricity is that it cannot be seen, only felt.

Electrical giants like Kirloskar, Bajaj, Crompton Greaves, HBL, Emco, Havels, BHEL, Siemens, and service providers like Reliance, Tata, BEST, and retailers like Croma, Vijay sales, Kohinoor, Godrej, should all make it a point to educate students and hold camps at crowded slums, and housing societies, to educate people about wiring, amperes, short circuits, fuses, trip switches, etc.

I visit schools during any function like an interschool competition, sport's day  or a prize day or even any wedding and am appalled to see how fans and lights and speakers are installed with the naked wires poked into the plug points, without any earthing wire or plug.  The temporary connections are dealt with by contractors and so no one bothers to interfere,

It is the duty of the concerned principals and administrators, who hire them and pay them,  to be aware of these minor problems that could lead to a major accident.  But who will bell the cat??

74 - INDEPENDENCE DAY.

On this day, in India, on 15th August,  all schools have flag hoisting and so, mostly senior school children are visible on the roads, early in the morning and returning by ten o'clock.  Sad to say that these kids litter the roads with wrappers of snacks that the schools distribute among them.   Worse still are the police personnel,  who board the public buses and then spit through the window.  Even the bus conductor refuses to scold them because they are 'vardiwalleh'.

Many readers may feel that I am being pessimistic, but it is the reality.  There is loud blaring music of patriotic songs,  that the local politicians take credit for.  It is an opportunity for local politicians to display life size posters of themselves, wishing random public a 'happy independence day'.   It is distressing to see the display of these lavish larger than life posters, displayed on  a street that is in dire need of pavement repairs, daily clean ups - which are not too effective, and potholes that need urgent repair.

At the road signals, urchins sell little flags and badges, and target people's 'patriotic' spirit, to make fast cash.

Nature's Basket, the posh grocery store, had arranged carrots, garlic, and green chillies, like a flag, with an avocado in the centre, and a border of potatoes.  Garment shops like Westside, Biba, Premsons, Amarsons and Meena Bazaar, clothe their mannequins in the tri colour.  Others use balloons to add a festive mood to bring out the Indian national flag colours.

The newspapers are splashed with full page advertisements of 'independence day discounts' if booking is done for a flat, a car, a mobile.  Electronic retailers like Croma, Vijay sales, Kohinoor, etc splurge on advertising their ware, promising 'slashed GST' rates just for Independence day.  Reliance retail and Big Bazaar outlets also offer discounts to lure customers, but if you visit these outlets, it is torture to stand in the serpentine ques to enter and to pay.  So why do these shops offer so many discounts on a particular day and then struggle to maintain the crowds?

Even the prime minister addresses the nation from the Red Fort and takes the opportunity to target and stigmatize the opposition parties.  My personal experience is that it does nothing to change the thick skinned 'rich' strata, who behave as crassly as they do on any given day.  This refers to riding off in their expensive cars with no regard for the changing traffic signal, talking insensitively to senior citizens or ladies that have the bad luck to be in their vicinity at a mall or a departmental store etc.

The speeches at schools and the speeches of ministers that are shown on the television, are reminders of the first independence day and the changes in the present, just brushing over reality and showcasing only the positives. Quite boring and so predictable.

48 - CHINESE ALL THE WAY

 Today, on 28th October, Mumbai celebrated the first day of Divali celebrations with Dhanteras,  and most Hindu residents had lighted up their balconies with Chinese fairy lights.  Also the shops were all lighted up across their name boards with twinkling lights.  Multistorey buildings look pretty with different coloured lights blinking away, and the walls and trees enclosing their premises are also lighted with pretty lights, mostly made in China.  Chinese fairy lights are not only cheaper than the Indian ones, but also in so many different options to choose from.

So, as I looked out from the BEST bus window, the Kemps corner high rises, were all lit up as though to celebrate a wedding.    I alighted from the bus at Jaslok Hospital, but I dared not admire the pretty colourful lights now, because I had to watch my footsteps.  The footpath at Peddar Road is like the surface of the moon, as are most of the footpaths of Mumbai.

Anyway, today the footpaths have been taken over by the flower vendors, who are so creative in their toran making, with entire families involved.  You can see the obvious husband wife couples, with an old family member, and kids of all age groups, from ten to five to infants.  All are busy doing their bit to complete the finished product.  Yellow, orange, white marigold flowers, interspersed with bunched leaves and golden balls, woven into a lovely display of garlands to decorate the entrances of shops and homes.  These real flower torans are more aesthetic and more in demand than the artificial chinese ones.

The shopping at the Reliance Store at Mahalaxmi, left me riled.  One cannot find the healthy options here, except the uber expensive fruits.  There is nothing special for a 'sugar free' person to buy.  Sugar free biscuits, sugar free chocolates,  slow release cooking livo oil, slow release diabetic atta, sugar free vegetable and fruit juices, jamun sugar free juice, etc will not be found here.   Better than this shop, I got what I wanted across the road, at the other shops.  Mr. Mukesh Ambani, with you being one of the richest persons in the world, I assumed that you would also be the most aware and informed shopkeeper.  But there was a  crowd around the free JIO mobile recharge card table.  So many suckers for 'free' tags.

And then I returned home and observed the various advertisements along the outer fences and gates of the residences and shops I walked by.  Right from the Tata garden, along the majestic St.Stephen's Church, upto the Parsee Sanatorium and the famous Banoo Mansion at Kemps Corner, where   Zubin Mehta grew up to be a world famous conductor especially of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.  His father's home, is still used as the Mehli Mehta Musical Foundation, where music classes are conducted.  Whenever I walk past the Parsee sanatorium and the Mehli Mehta building, it gives me pride to belong to the zorastrian faith.  And then, across the road, just before the flyover is the boarded up unlucky shop, outside the Om Builders office.  I recall visiting this once lively shop, which is under litigation, as family members quarrel over the spoils.  It has been boarded up for so many years now, what a waste.  Four watchmen sit outside the premises, and once I had asked them why the place was shut and they had informed me about the family dispute.  What a waste of prime land.

Then, just at the turn of Kemps corner, is the stately entrance to the Parsee Towers of Silence,  the place where Zorastrians lay their dead to be consumed by birds and in the absence of vultures,  to be incinerated by natural solar energy.  The towering gate posts, display the nameplate,  'The Towers of Silence' were made in memory of the First Baronet of Mumbai, Sir Jamshetjee Jeejeebhoy, on 19th December. 1868.  When I used to visit Mumbai as a child, about 50 years ago,  this entire area was forested and there were no highrises at all,  but now it is a different landscape.

On the other side of the flyover, is Hobby Ideas and Crossword, the book store, a road which is always congested with double parked cars and the stink of the public toilet as one walks along.  Then is the very aesthetic window display of Anita Dongre and then my favourite shop, Biba.  But the eyecatcher of the entire street here, is Meena Bazaar, with the most exquisite sarees and ghagras on display. 

Walking further is quite a torture, as AC drips have to be dodged and footpaths blocked with parked two wheelers and four wheelers have to be traversed like an obstacle race.  The Sah and Sanghi showroom of new cars is the most tortuous, because in spite of a decent footpath, it is mostly blocked by the showroom's customers' vehicles.  The next sore is the now defunct Porsche showroom, whose manager committed a financial fraud and caused the company to be bankrupt at this centre.  That is the gossip that is doing the rounds.  Walking past buildings that have sad pasts, produces bad vibes.

Then further is the New Era School, now a drab and rundown exterior, which once boasted a very artistic mural of the Mahatma.  And on and on, I walked along a very narrow footpath, encroached by electrical pillars put up for road lights, that made it impossible to traverse in most places.

All along the paths that I have described, were NO PARKING signboards, squares of  eighteen inches, made of tin and wired onto gates and fences, where ever possible, with an advertisement painted on them. Some displayed as proper squares and others displayed in the diamond position.  Very innovative and of course free of any rentals.  So now I shall list the various ads that were displayed on these numerous square ad boards.

* Barbeque Nation at Atria Mall.
* My Glamm-Book your at home, spa and saloon service,  download the app.
* 100% gold load from HDFC.
* idp - free counselling to study in Australia, UK, Canada, US, New Zealand.
*Dock to door-Hamvi- no more fish market, you name it, we have it, prawns, pomfret, surmai, rawas,
   rahu, bombil.
* TITAN eyeplus, Wardem road.
* Office chair repairs, just call.
* Pestcontrol, call the experts.
* SENSO hearing aid experts, Kemps corner.
* HRC hard disk repairing, laptop repair, data recovery.
* SAN-hearing and speech clinic, total care.
* Beyond Fitness-cardio, strength training, spinning, zumba, power yoga, kick boxing.
* Career after HSc-NIIT-Grant road (W)

But the most popular one, or rather the most numerous ad was this:
* Free kaali peeli rides everyday, Just download the Ola app and 100% money back on kaali peeli rides.

I found it quite interesting to  read the ads.  They are displayed at eyelevel and of course the latest ones must be replacing the older ones.  My only wish is that if only I could put as many of these ads with the legend "NO PARKING" , no matter what they advertise after that,  at the wall of the buildings that park their BMWs and humangous SUVs and Skodas on public footpaths.  Chronic areas are the August Kranti Maidan entrances on both sides, a certain Dar ul Mulk building with lots of rich and care-a-damn car owners, at Pandita Ramabai Road,  and all the buildings along the Walkeshwar road, beginning from chowpatty and across Sital Baug and White House.   How I wish I had a magic wand, to make the cars parked on walking spaces disappear or get minimised.  Walking is so enjoyable, but in Mumbai, you have to only walk while you are supposed to walk aimlessly, just for the exercise, at maybe Marine Drive or inside Hanging Garden, Phirojshah Mehta garden or the Worli Seaface, or the Mahalaxmi race course, or the Bandra seaface,etc.  You cannot walk your way to work or to shop,  because those paths are not walkable, or blocked with garbage, like the Nagpada area, or parked across with vehicles, as most other places, or full of uneven tiling, which can cause you to trip and get seriously injured. 

Walking to any specific destination is not easy, nor fun at all, in Mumbai.  So that is one reason why the Mumbaikars are so potbellied and obese. 




 

12 - .............AND MORE ECSTASY

Shopping for the family's needs is a regular and lonely chore.   Sometimes for vegetables and fruits at the Nana Chowk Bhajigalli,  and other times at the Reliance and Nature's Basket stores at Mahalaxmi.    The pain is that the BEST bus service to my residence  is irregular and taxi drivers seem to purposely ignore you,  if you are in desperate need for one,  with lots of loaded bags etc.    

Today was my first day of school with students, after the summer holidays and I was extra tired.    To add to my sorrows,  the Reliance security misplaced a  cardboard box that I had checked in with them.   When I reached  the bus stop, laden with my bags,  the seating was occupied by some insensitive rich person's driver and he also had the temerity to block the bus stop with the uber expensive vehicle.     Passing taxis were occupied or heading home for Friday prayers.    After almost one hour,  I managed to flag down a cab and he decided to take me along Peddar Road.   

At the Cadbury Junction,  I peer to my left,  whenever I'm on my way towards Kemp's corner.   It has become an involuntary gesture through the years that I have lived in south Mumbai.    No,  you are mistaken if you assume that I am trying to catch a glimpse of the designer clothes' shops.   I am paying my obeisance to the nightingale of India.   The talented and famous Lata Mangeshkar,  who lives at an iconic building at this junction.  

Today,  the sight was an exotic one.   God had decorated her residence around the walls with the prettiest white bougainvillea,  (I think),  in full bloom.    The sight is such a pretty picture that all my woes were forgotten and I felt a sudden peace. 

I would not have agreed readily with anyone,  if they had said that flowers can change one's mood,  because I abhor being gifted flowers that wither and die within a few hours.   But the pure white flowers blooming over Lata Mangeshkar's compound wall,   seem to be a heavenly cloud or halo that is extremely aesthetic to look at.   I  wish that I could 'stand and stare'  to my heart's content. 

Anyway,  the pretty image is embedded into my memory.