5 Things you might not know about the local trains

1. The dirt and garbage from the platforms which is sweeped by the workers is thrown on the tracks; thus generating more work for the rag-pickers or merely pushing the dirt under the carpet (carpet being the bed of rocks)
2. The floors of the trains are cleaned by the beggar children and the passengers willingly pay them money for their "services"
3. Surprisingly, there isn't any need for the beggars to clean the first-class compartments; either the people there don't litter or the railways ensure that the compartment is clean
4. Most of the railways stations have toilets for men only, and if you're lucky to find one for the women, check again, there might be a lock on the door!
5. There's a queue for everything :

- For the window seat there are "claims" so the moment you get one, you're flooded with requests about where you'll get down so that they get your seat, it's the most common reason for an argument as well!
- There's a claim for the "fourth" seat as well.. (There are only three seats)
- There are proper queues for exits at stations, in fast trains especially, if you are in the wrong queue you've missed your stop! literally...

This happens only in India!

BBC NEWS | South Asia | The Boeing 737 stuck in city road: For close to 5 days, this huge airplane was stuck on a road in Chembur.

Update: Funnily enough, this plane has disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared.

Namesake

The movie has just released in India and it's enjoying full houses at least in Bombay. This movie brings to life certain aspects about the culture that were so prevalent earlier and have defined many of us and our brains in more ways than one.

Beautiful characters, smooth screenplay and some great acting ensure that this movie lives up to the expectations (after having read the book) Also this movie is good from the sense that it portrays the Indianness and the feeling of alienation in a sense that's actual and also comforting in a way.

I especially loved the way each and every detail is brought to life from the book and how the editing is done, this movie is amazing not because it conveys exactly what the book did, but because it achieved the same or maybe more emotions, story and the everything in much lesser time and in a pleasing manner. There wasn't one scene that was extra in the whole movie and the whole essence of the book was well captured!

Usually i'm all for books but this time i have to admit that the movie is almost as good as the book. Obviously the book gives you more lee-way to imagine but then the movie does give a vivid and unexpected picture. the actors being mature and without pre-conceived notions help to the extent that they are able to gel in with the characters.

all in all, it's a good movie to watch and think about.. :)

Patta (Ancient Game of Dice)

The ancient game of dice (called "patta" in Marathi and Sanskrit) is a game that I have fond memories of. It's a game of sheer luck and if luck favours you, then a little bit of strategy. The best part about the game is the language associated with it, and my mom and uncle have mastered the language over so many years.

The actual board, as seen in the pic is designed and embroidered by my great-grandmom, and all the pawns and cowries (these are the small shells used in place of dice) in the game are still the originals that my great grand parents bought in Pune. That's so fascinating...just the idea that we still cherish and love playing the game associated with hot, lazy afternoons in the first half of this century.

I really owe this post to my grandmom, who's still so energetic about explaining the strategy of the game, the sneaky steps, and the art of getting the perfect "daan" on the cowries.

To continue...

Talking about Bollywood, i happened to be in Goa for a few days and the unmistakable bollywood connection follows... out of the various beaches which are frequented by many tourists, there's one beach in particular which has something to "see", i'm talking about Vagatur, and if you ask me what's "famous" about this beach.. apart from the fabulous clean waters, it's also the place of the fort which was the location for the shooting of a popular movie Dil Chahta Hair (starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna amongst others)

ah well, there was the sign at the entrance to the site,

'This fort was used in the Hindi movie Dil Chahta Hai' - truly this country thrives on the backs of this one industry which unites people all over..

why at a recent gliteratti event, Javed Akhtar (a popular and well acclaimed lyricist and script writer remarked that this industry is single-handedly responsible for uniting the language of the entire nation, i.e. Hindi)

so in spite of all it's faults and it's set backs, the story moves on...

Oh! Bollywood!

It’s amazing how everything in India has to have a Bollywood connection…almost as if being connected to Bollywood gives the event an air of legitimacy that no historian can possibly counter. A case in point – while taking a tour of the Janjira fort, our guide gossiped about how the heir of the king of Zanzibar is now married to Saif Ali Khan’s cousin. And then of course, the rolling of the eyes – he’s after all the chote nawab of Pataudi.

The weird part was that my mom knew the exact relation – she quickly prompted – “Oh yeah, his atye baheen (dad’s sister’s daughter) got married to Siddi’s son recently.” Now I know where I get the uncanny knack of archiving and recollecting useless gossip from!

Memories of days gone by...

A long expanse of land,
an even wider expanse of the sea,
rows of tall palm trees,
coupled with wonderful company,
mouth-watering food and divine wine,
what you've just got is the best of times!

Lots of laughter, full of crackles and giggles,
cosy night conversations,
and journeys full of singing songs,
watching ancient fort walls and wooden panes,
wondering about the way it started for them all,

A surmai fry and spicy crab curry,
wasn't all that we all ate!
oh how can I forget the sol kadhi and fish plate!

In the end, you realise that these sort of days,
are indeed very few,
and that is why we cherish them too,
what remains from all these times,
are a few photos and a couple of jokes,
but what really counts are the memories of those days gone by...

(Posted by clickable on behalf of Ayesha)