Hum pardesi ho gaye...

Baadal ko chune ki chahat to thi...

Udne ka armaan nahi tha magar...

De Diya mujhko ek ajnabi aasman....

Mere pairon se meri zameen cheen kar!

-- Title song of the TV serial "Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye"

“Spirit” of Mumbai – No more, rather never was!

So, the terror attack strikes Mumbai again. The city, which is bruised and scared, is back to work. – Up and running. And, no it is not the spirit of we Mumbaikars, it is out of no choice! Do we really have an option??

And why do we have serial attacks – and why the intelligence failures. We really don’t need our home minister to fly down to Mumbai to “monitor” the scene on ground. We need them to eradicate it from where it starts.

If only we utilized our tax payments for the right things, rather than spending millions and billions on Kasab’s security. So, a citizen like you and me doesn’t feel secure here, but Kasab surely does.

Billions spent on skywalks and other stuff, which are not so frequently used. But, basic sanitation and hygiene set up is missing! As I write this, Mumbai is flooded. The civic authorities lack the funds for preventing such disasters, but we have all the money to feed the scam masters and see that they are safe and secure!

I have been in this city all my life. I have seen all the bomb blasts and terror attacks closely. But, it looks like government has some short-lived memory. And now, I feel scared – am worried until my near and dear ones reach home every evening. Will we ever feel safe?

The love, fights, growing up........the wonder years :)

This Rakhi….some scattered thoughts over the years as I recollect my best moments spent with my bro @ Harshit Shah

- Remember the day we got you home ...all wrapped and curious !

- Tied a purple teddy bear rakhi on your wrist on one of your early birthdays J

- Your first birthday celebration and I loved the football masi gave you !

- Me and mom taking you for a ride…by talking in languages you wouldn’t understand when you were a toddler…fooling you and going for a movie ;)

- You and me going for a studio pic and doing the weirdest actions ever !

- Your early days at school..when I used to come across you sometimes in the recess…and you will run to say hi J

- Me and you checking our hands if thorns indeed grew ..after our parents told us that “if you hit each other, thorns will grow on your hands”….waiting for a orange tree to grow from our throat, after being told that a tree will grow if we swallowed seeds ( We did that deliberately to wait for the tree to grow)

- All the toys and all the plays....sticking “lotus” and “shandar” stickers all over the furniture, playing with the beach set in the building under constructions around us!

- Me taking logic and Maths lessons from you when u were in 1^st and I was in 5^th standard JJ

- Definitely tagging along at each other’s friends’ birthday parties ….If not allowed, we would throw all tantrums until mom gave in :D

- Me giving my 10^th standard exams..Not understanding the essay asked in the paper and you telling me when I came home how simple it was!

- Me coming to your class and telling you my std X score..and you were all happy !

- You outpacing me and scoring a super duper score at the same IQ test taken by us …when I was 17 and you were 13 !

- Fighting over small and big things over the years….TV remotes, TV games, computer to “my place” etc etc

- And last but not the least…my wonderful California trip last year J

Miss you this rakhi J Hope it did reach you ….muaaaah!

Do it right or time it right?

I have been wondering whether it is important to get things done right or get them done at the right time. While the first option may sound the best, I think I am kind of agreeing with the second one…Quite often, in the quest for getting things done right, the time passes and then, the whole purpose of the event happening or not is lost. So, is it better to get things done a bit wrong or not that right but at the right time or right at the wrong time…maybe? Confused? I am.

DISCLAIMER: The views herein are expressed on a Monday morning after a 2-week holiday and a sleepless night…

Woh kaaghaz ki kashti .......

We’re close to halfway through April…and my mind drives down memory lane to my childhood...
Each year, this time would be the end of final exams at school. I guess days before the actual vacation started , along with studies, most of us daydreamed the activities to do ( or not to do) in the holidays :)
Here are some random thoughts or scenes I remember at the onset of the summer holidays in those days....!
1> Me & my bro Harshit would pile up all Tinkle comics !

2> Read through and mark the list from the local cablewalla for movies in the week and also check the TV time for special summer programs .

3> Dad and Mom making up a plan for a summer holiday immediately after exams and their year end at business (March 31), which was most likely Mahabaleshwar or Matheran .

4> Make birthday plans (Reminder: My B’day is approaching, First, remember the date, then, block it on your calendar and MOST IMP..buy THE gift ;) )

5> Join hobby classes at nearby Kalavithi. The pathetic case that I was at drawing and craft, I surely made a bad student there.

6> Have cousins come down to stay or go over to their’s or may do both! We were (are) a whole bunch ….

7> Most imp....mangoes….mangoes :D

8> Wait for the report card ….and yes hurray !!!! I don’t think I ever disappointed my parents in those days, but yes, you somehow always “fell short” by 1-2 ranks .!Never mind…the celebrations which were ideally some mango ice-cream or nice cozy dinner were always there :)

9> Mom always got our school books on the day of results (don’t know why). The most interesting part was that Harshit & I actually read through those books like the most interesting story books on this planet!

10> The summer holidays come to an end. And, unlike the Monday blues we hate today, school was actually looked forward to at the end of holidays :)

11> Shopping time, a new school dress ( didn’t matter it looked the same each year, same style, colour…but yes, it was new…and that mattered!).

12> Gearing up for rains …the raincoat …the shoes….

13> Then , its 13 th June (I remember this was usually the date schools re-opened )
Back to school with the rains pouring in.…and loads of tales to share with friends :) (One of my best memories)

Sigh….need those days back!!!

Woh kaaghaz ki kashti .......
Yeh doulat bhi le lo
Yeh shohrat bhi le lo
Bhale cheen lo...... mujh se meri Jawaani
Magar mujh ko lauta do , Bachpan ka saawan,
Woh Kaaghaz Ki kashti, woh Baarish ka Paani!

One bad feeling!

To see off a near & dear one at the airport and come home to some emptiness :(

Three beautiful feelings!

1> Having a hearty South-Indian meal over the weekend at MahaBhoj, Matunga (Fellow-foodies, you gotta check it out !)
2> A toddler sleeping peacefully in my arms :)
3> The feeling before Friday!