17 - H2O

Just a simple compound, but so indispensable.  The animals need it, the trees need it, the humans need it, the birds need it, the insects need it.  Intake can be in any form........ice, tea, coffee, a drink etc.   Except for humans, all the other living things can drink water in an impure form.  But the weak human is not immune to the impurities and bacteria that can be ingested through it.

Every year, at this time of the year, during the months of April and May, belated rains, soaring mercury,  and the minimilistic levels in the dams and lakes,  prompts the politicians to resort to the water donation theory of winning brownie points.

And then the same story is repeated each year.    Why should that be allowed to happen?  Let us learn techniques of water conservation from other nations that have honed their skills at conservation. 

Indians go abroad for a foreign degree, but what is the use of that education if it is not what  India needs to survive respectably.  I know that I am very fortunate to be a citizen of a flourishing metro city.    But it is not a very peaceful existence if I can watch the suffering of my fellow Indians in the villages and other drought hit towns.

As a teacher,  I endeavour to imbibe into young minds, the tenets of using this resource carefully.
But everyday the TV news shows how desperate drought hit communities resort to prayer, sacrifice, havans etc.,  to invoke the Gods to bestow rain and solve all their water problems.

If only all this energy and money would be invested into more productive forms of water conservation.  But it seems that the water conservation minister for Maharashtra has other things on her mind,  like posting selfies on twitter.  Please Ms Pankaja Munde, do not let women become a laughing stock.   If you have been bestowed the honour of holding a high post,  do good and let everyone benefit.  Almost three years now that Latur is suffering with farmer suicides and drought.

My open suggestion to all Indians is that the very rich temples and mosques, should adopt a few educated, committed youngsters, and sponsor their foreign education, specifically in the field of water conservation.  Yesterday's news highlighted the largresse bestowed upon Shirdi's temple.
And then there was a boastful comparison between the richest donations collected by the various prayer centres.  What happens to all this wealth?  Let it be put to good use for India's future.  Let it be used to prepare and maintain water holes etc.

Let us aspire for better means to solve problems.

16 - MEE PANN MUMBAIKAR

What is perennial in Mumbai?   Let me list some of them.....the beggars, the potholes, the crowds, the spit ridden public places, the shameless public urination by males, the over crowded local trains, the irregular public bus service, the yellow-black taxis which often refuse to ply you, the illegal pavement shops,,,,,all negative aspects of my city that just cannot be sidelined.

But I have found a positive aspect among one of these.  Every morning, on my way to work,  my taxi passes the Mumbai central BEST bus depot.  One gate of this enclosure is always shut and outside this gate is a haven for garbage throwers.  Piles of black garbage bags, full to the hilt, form a little hillock every morning.  And this is where I redeem my faith in 'unity and friendship'.

Two black hens, one brown hen, a golden brown rooster, two black cats, five to seven rats and about fifteen crows,  meet here and are seen sharing the spoils discarded by humans.  Since there is sufficient garbage for all of them,  they are rummaging peacefully.  In their little world,  these creatures must also be commending the BEST for allowing their hillock to flourish daily.

I'm sure that I have missed spotting the others in this group, from my vantage point through my passing cab.   Since the dumped garbage is also surrounded with dirty, stagnant water,  flies and mosquitoes also must be enjoying the space. 

When I am returning home in the evening, the pile is smaller but the friends are still seen, going about their pecking,  oblivious to the traffic snarls on the nearby road.  Usually, a human child or two are seen in the pile at this time.

Mumbai is a city where people of different religions sometimes come together through workforce proximity but seldom live up to the friendship, giving in to the compulsions of family opposition, and weak characters.  But I am grateful to these friends,  to have let me see that at least one corner of Mumbai is peaceful and friendly.

15 - TRAVEL TRAVAILS

Having to commute to work by taxi or bus has a unique set of hurdles.  The first one is that I should be able to board a bus.  The next is that the bus may be overcrowded.  If it is not, then I can be seated.  But certain factors can mar the joy. 

I may sound like a pessimist but that is the truth and has to be accepted and explained..  All may seem well,  but soon the peace within the bus is shattered by a loud voice, instructing a colleague, on the mobile,  how to tackle a fussy customer.   And another shrieky female voice, argueing aka Arnab Goswami, but on the mobile,  that the new flat should have blue tiles and not the grey ones............

All this is the noise pollution within the bus.   The loud, incessant honking of the traffic outside, creates an unbearable din on the exterior of the bus, which violates  the ear drums of all passengers within the bus too.

The last straw is when the strong stench of a garbage truck overwhelms the senses.   With the traffic moving at a snail's pace,  I am forced to watch the garbage truck preceding my bus and to breathe in the foul air.

So the senses run riot during my bus journey home.   Of course, the pot holes add the normal bumps and subsequent bruises that occur.

But recently, I can overcome these tortures.......I shut my eyes and transport myself to France and Switzerland......where my children and I had toured last month.    The smooth roads,  the unspoilt natural scenery,  the peaceful silent roads.     That was so strange.  The motorists do not honk at all in Pairs and Germany.    Traffic signals are obeyed and every vehicle respects the zebra crossings.   Oh my India,  I wish every driver would get a chance to experience driving in Europe, and emulate the traffic discipline.

Also, the road repair department should attend a workshop in France, as to how to build and maintain smooth, pothole free, clean roads.

14 - THE BUS STOP

The BEST bus routes are the safest way to travel in Mumbai.     But not the most regular mode of transport sadly.   I have waited for more than two hours for the bus to arrive and with no other choice of travel at the spot.  

If only the BEST would have a GPS tracking system at every bus stop,  then commuters could easily realize when a particular bus would be expected.  Preferably access to the monitor should be easy,  similar to the railway monitors that are available on railway stations. I have waited for a bus for almost 2 hours........sad but true.   And on such occasions there is not even an unoccupied taxi available. 

Once,  after having waited for almost an hour, in vain, I decided to walk, and then the bus passed by.
If only a GPS would have been installed,  the BEST would get more passengers too.

Sometimes, due to morchas or certain religious processions,  buses are diverted.  The unaware passengers continue to wait and suffer.  Technology should be used to reduce the trials of humans and the BEST can do so.  The advertiser on a particular bus stop should be made to sponsor the GPS monitor.  I sincerely look forward to this upgradation by the BEST.

Another change that I would like to suggest, is that the steel bus shelters are very uncomfortable to sit because the backrest bars are too close to the perpendicular angle of the seating plank.  the backrest bars need to be dismantled and welded to the second vertical curved supports.  This will enable the passengers to sit comfortably on the seating support.  Presently it is not at all easy nor restful to sit on the  seating,  as the backrest bars are too close for comfort.

Are you ready to revamp your facilities dear  BEST???    You will surely increase your revenue.

One more suggestion, is that, the bus stops should be clean.  Especially the Mumbai central bus depot.  It is your flagship stop.  I pass by every morning and evening.  At both times, there is a garbage pile around the area.  Of course, in the morning I am in a taxi, since the BEST randomly cancels  or changes major bus routes.  The 64 route was randomly cancelled.......then reinstated, after I had taken the initiative to collect more than a thousand signatures (with phone numbers)  and requested the then head, mr Khobargade,  and begged and requested certain MLA's to intervene.  And then the route was randomly diverted...........so unexpected and unexplained and below the belt.

Please dear BEST,  I request you to live up to the acronym you boast about.

13 - YEOOR AND HE

   Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder .....is  a famous proverb.   But it is only partly true.    Beauty is also  an inherent physical asset that is not too common.   As a Mumbaikar,  one gets to admire shop window displays  and that's it.    I prefer to see beauty in more natural objects.

   On a trek through Yeoor,  the pretty yellow lilies blooming along the forest floor of Sanjay Gandhi National Park,  were beautiful.    Their bright yellow hue was in stark contrast to the dead leaves strewn around them.

   When I cross the roads near Metro theatre at Dhobi Talao,  the miniscule, colourful primroses,  are a treat to walk along.   Pink, orange, white, purple primroses,  altogether in little clusters of colour,  among a bed of their slightly rough aromatic bright green foliage.  The Maker must have invented them when He was at leisure to indulge Himself with such intricities.

   Closer to my home,  as I enter the neighbourhood,  pretty clusters of periwinkle greet me with their bright pink plumes.   I walk past looking in their direction and breathing in their slightly  sharp scent.   Such humble flowers and yet so they lend an exotic setting to the cement and stone and tar that surrounds this area.   Their shiny leaves frame the beautiful flora.

   These flowers are quite common in the  Mumbai metro city.    The symmetry and perfection that each little flower displays is very interesting.  And all these humble flowers are of medicinal value too.  So I can say 'beauty with a cause'.

 

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.

11 - WHAT GETS ME ECSTATIC.........

Our school organises a picnic for the students and of course, teachers have to go along and be alert,  keeping the childrens' safety in mind.  But teachers are allowed to enjoy the picnic too.   Our last outing was to Tikuji-ni-wadi,   at Thane.   I enjoyed the journey much more than the destination,   especially to the venue.  

The weather in the early morning is pleasant and all the kids are happy and eager,  and full of happy anticipation.    The traffic is moving smoothly and the fresh breeze is almost pollution free.    The sights and sounds along the road are viewable,  unlike the ones when one travels by the local train.

On this particular trip, what made me ecstatic,  were the blooming Jacaranda trees along the Vikhroli highway.   All the trees were in full bloom and their soft purple blossoms lined the central path of the highway for a few kilometres.   It was as though God had used his paints to beautify the roads for us!

The other sight that gave me a high were the birds.   Along the highway to Tikuji-ni-wadi,   there are a few high rises which are connected by electrical wires or so it seemed from the moving bus.   Atop these wires,  families of birds were perched, probably chatting and deciding the day's schedule among themselves.     The silhouette that these birds presented seemed almost ethereal.   There were parrots,  crows and sparrows.  When I see birds and animals that happily and freely co-exist on this planet,  an inherent calm assurance overwhelms me,  that all is safe and that the world is a happy place to be in.

The feelings of peace are not a little influenced by the fact that the parents of the students who have come along,   have faith in us as teachers and guardians.    That they have allowed their wards to travel in our custody.

So,  as a teacher,  I too enjoy a picnic,  but for different reasons.