18 - NEMESIS

Indian television news is full of tragedies and the rest of it is full of ads.   The ads are unique to the Indian mind set  -  shampoo and oil ads for long healthy hair,  car ads which entice the audience with family values and eternal love,  pan masala ads that proclaim authenticity to royal antecedents,  noodle ads that vie with each other to be more popular and the latest entry is of course, all products of Baba Ramdev.

The news tags are the ones that are so heartbreakingly tragic - gangrape and murder,  drought and death, farmer loans and suicides, young upcoming career girls committing suicide after abortion, the live-in paramours getting away with murder, little babies falling into abandoned borewells, and the latest is that of death caused by random shooting-in-the-air during wedding baaraats.

Assuming that I am an Indian male of marriagable age, (panning all Indian males, urban and rural),  I will have watched porn videos,  I will have courted at least one female,  I will have fantasized about the girl next door,  i will have surely proposed to and hounded at least one or more girls using my mobile and yet when I choose my life partner, she should be as virgin as untrodden snow.  Mind you,  the girl should NOT have conversed with any boy,  she should NOT have been in any type of friendship with a boy,  she should NOT be a normal female until I, the eligible bachelor, walk into her life.  It is of no consequence to me that I had indulged in  all the previous chapters,   the girl I marry should be an ignoramus and simple minded, until I conquer her.  Fie on her if I discover that she had been in any type of emotional relationship with any male,  I shall discard her and banish her from my life and my thoughts, forever.

And it is this mind set that makes Indian girls tremble with fear of character malignment,  because all Indian  boys are incorrigible. 

Live-in relationships are a big let down for the females.  It is a ruse by males to get sex and service for free, with no strings attached.  Poor, foolish, females, looking for love makes you compromise on too many fronts.  These men  format live-in relationships for their own convenience, to be able to get away without any backlash.  The female is often left with no face, an illegitimate child or an abortion in the bargain.  These tragedies highlight how males persuade, hound and entice girls to fulfill their male hormonal needs.

The latest tragedies of baraat shootouts are also male oriented.  Frustrated males showing a Macho side by shooting in the air....please go shoot the rats that plague the local train stations and do a public service.  How is it that so many persons possess illicit revolvers? 

A certain politician goes to the police station and files a complaint to get me arrested if I request him not to block the bus stop with his cars.  Please, dear politicians, use your man power and your political power, to do good and make the gun weilders surrender their illegal weapons.  You can do it very effectively as most of these goons would be in your entourage, I'm sure.

About the bore well tragedies,  the simplist solution would be to compel each and every borewell company to map out their workings of the past ten years and then let them show photographic proof that all have been covered.

Lastly,  I shall confess that my favourite news anchor is Mr. Arnab Goswami.  More power to you sir, to have the platform and the guts to speak out for what is right. This is so that the television viewing is a little more rational with him doing the talking on talk shows.










 

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.