Sightings

Four Steps. For All Seasons !

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A week back, a Sunday morning saw a strange romance on the balcony above. Now that the moral police is hyperactive and beat up any kissing and cuddling in public places, this was a rare moment indeed. Almost on reflex the camera was out. These are resultant pictures.
The pictures are a poor indicator of the sheer magic that happened. Like an art movie in the hands of a rookie camera man, who has no interest in movie making. Those minutes were not only magical, they were mystical too.

There were two pigeons who arrived from nowhere. Wings flapping and making a strange noise. Looking up from the Economic Times that was there in my hands, this was quite a sight. A sight in simplicity ! One of love that was simple, profound and with no fancy schmancy ! I watched, almost in a trance. This was precisely the balm to the Economic Times and all it contained !

They took straight positions. Their investments were in each other and in that magical moment. And this was the sequence !

Step : 1

Step 2

Step : 3

Step :4
And this four step process was almost a process in a 6 sigma set up, with an audit team in tow ! Oblivious to the drones of big air crafts or the faint http://premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/womans-health/ clicks from my camera, these steps went clockwork !

For almost a good five minutes ! Allowing me time to drop the newspaper, pick my camera, unpack and shoot those four snaps in quick succession.

Almost to announce the completion of the snapping on the Japanese lens, a swift breeze flapped the newspaper a trifle too hard. Perhaps it was the shaken Nikkei blowing hot and cold! These folks looked up from their intense moment. And looked in my direction. I froze. Almost like an implicated sleaze peddling paparazzi, catching a private moment of a public princess on lens.

They lingered there for slightly longer. I stood still. Camera in hand.

The Economic Times caught the breeze once more. And fluttered harder. The stock market had wiped out whatever weight in the economy. So !

A propitious sidle later, they flew. What a voyeur like me couldn’t do, the economic times did! But what the economy & our times couldn’t do, was to stop unbridled beauty of mother nature staying on offer. To anyone who cared.

Suddenly ‘stock market’, ‘bail outs’, ‘Paulson’, ‘sub-prime’ and such other ‘words of the season’ sounded like petulant jargon dropping from a broken time machine.

Soft Wares As A Service !

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Clicked at Madurai Aug ’08


Staying with market innovations, here are examples of two ‘services’ that are offered. Soft Services. Or rather ‘soft’ ‘wares’ offered as service to customers !

In the hustle bustle of downtown Madurai, is this small store. It started out as a tea shop, and today, you get everything an office goer would need, from photocopying to hot coffees and idlis. And oh, by the way, you can also get your mobile phone’s battery ‘recharged’ here !

The business model is simple. If you are purchasing something from the store, be it an idli or anything else, the phone charging is ‘free’. If else, you’ve got to pay. No, its not a kings ransom. Its not even a sentry’s ! But how much hooked does it get you to go this store !

Clicked in Sion. Mumbai. Oct ‘8

This is a mobile ‘ear cleaner’ ! He moves around on foot, and i was impressed with the fine array of ear cleaning tools that he carried !

The chap cleans up your ear, for a pittance ( i am told ) and he does a great job ( i am told ) and he is supposed to have a clientele who would lend him their ears, gladly ! When i saw this soft ware in action last week, well, lets put it this way. I was impressed !

These soft wares are new to my eye. The first one : an innovation arising out of modern day living. The second, i guess was an age old practice that faded away. Looking novel to a modern day dweller !

Both soft wares. And both services that would come in handy. Charge up. Listen up !

Crateful Markets !

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The markets are in turmoil.

People say so. The newspapers say so. Every TV Channel worth the telecast rights says so. Any industrialist who doesn’t say so, is not one. Educationists say so, the world over. Many friends from the blog world says so.

Not to be left out, i want to say something about the markets too.

Ever since i graduated from B-School, ‘Market’ took a meaning of pinstripe suits, mega deals, pink newspapers, intense analysis, luck, spread sheets, mathematics, loads of money. These of course had one element in common : Me ! All of the above had a strange repelling effect on me ! They took the next street, when i came close to them !

Before B-School, ‘markets’ conjured different images : The fresh smell of vegetables, the dirty ground swathed with dropped green leaves, grimy soil, rotten tomatoes, cut coconut, broiler chicken, endless bargaining and a huge amount of energy.

I suddenly seem to get the connection, and understand why stocks are traded in ‘markets’ too.

The eternal construct of the old world market, was in its form. You traded in what you could see. For a price that was by and large equitable to value. The principles of supply and demand worked to ‘real demand’ ! You could touch the offering, and paid in hard currency. If your produce was sub-prime, your price automatically was sub-prime !

Sale didn’t happen because of serendipity. You didn’t buy two more cabbages because some pinstripe told you to. You bought it if you liked it. Or somebody in the family liked it. And those of course were the days of carefree eating, unpolluted by the oil-free-calorie-calculating agenda ! The veritable place offered the best breeding ground for veritable trade.

With a polyannish flourish, and additional inches to a wiseacre chest, here is my theory : The engine of the old world market was its simplicity. Or rather in its abhorrence of anything complex.

You could set it up in a jiffy. When its time to go home you go home with your store. But the essence of a certain degree of a ‘fair exchange’ & commerce took place ! True value was exchanged. And still gets. And these showcased Innovations in simplicity !

Here are some examples.

A foldable cot forms the merchandising area of this store. Infact, that forms the store. The trader displays his material, shouts out to the world, catches the odd mans attention and converts the sale !

Clicked at Malpao market in Goa.

You sure must have heard about Tele-shop. But have you seen an auto-shop ! Well, here is one. The shop is gone by the night. Only to reappear in the morning. With new merchandise and merchandising.

Vegetable / Fruit Vendors at Powai

And oh yes, supply chain, need not be imperious analytical minds, software that would almost get you the moon, heavy duty warehouses and so on. All it could take is a gunny bag and some strong arms !

Clicked on the road. Somewhere in Mumbai

An inverted crate and 2 X 2 ft is all that this lady has to sell a perishable product. She told me she makes about Rs.300/- a day and sleeps a happy woman. I asked her, what does she aim to do ? She told me, ‘ Sell my ware. Earn my money. Get my sleep.’ That was as simple as it could get.

And i sure could tell, she was crate-ful ! Even after her merchandise was exhausted !

Clicked at a market in Goa

The Jealous BMW !

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There is a clamour around the decision to send taxis that have worked their wheels over 25 years, to the scrap yard !

The last word on the resilient Mumbai taxi is yet to be written. Perhaps it never will be. For all of Mumbai, Taxi means a black and yellow old world Premier Padmini. And thats not going to change in a jiffy !

Much has been said and read about the London cabbie. And some about the New York cabbie too. However, in my opinion, to have been a cabbie in Mumbai is indeed high in the pecking order of cabbies of the world ! It is not easy to have the forces arraigned against you. Always ! Thats one reason !

The old world engine that should long been buried, still turns the wheel and rubs off the road ! That should get Henry Ford twist in pride !

The door still locks, with a distinct metallic flourish. The radiator still needs physical water filling. The gear lever is on the steering shaft. There are two benches with backrests, that go by the name of seats.

A small pulley works on the window glass and closest that you could get to a seat belt are ropes that would bind your luggage to the boot or the roof grill! Read this. And air-conditioning..well, there is the ‘Mumbai air’ in a ‘certain condition’ that you are sure to get ! And that’s http://healthsavy.com/product/zithromax/ pretty much it !

But here is the bottom line. They get you from point A to point B. Sometimes they fleece. Other times they are ok. ( But the fleece tribe is part of the mainstream nowadays, arent they ?). You will get basic courtesy and experience the odd petulance. In the world of perennial ‘hurry dom’ it is but rare for people to expect more !

In the times of push button technologies, engines with horse powers that discredit horses and their powers and other material comforts that make cars almost a dwelling place, it indeed is nice to see the old taxi share the same road !

After all this romanticising, when the beads appear on the forehead when you travel in a ubiquitous taxi and the rough road says ‘hello’ more often than you would want to reciprocate, you understand that this car was a ‘luxury’ some years back !

On Dussera. Eastern Express Highway. Mumbai

And at Dussera, the taxiwallah adds his dash of pink to the number plate and the string of leaves across a dented radiator grill, and adds paper baubles from the bonnet to the roof, with a fervour and a passion that has to be seen to be believed.

I only wonder if the BMW with a million hoofs inside the bonnet, and zillion gadgets to keep you happy……feels a trifle Jealous !

Durga Puja at Powai !

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The week has been busy. For some reason the body disobeys the mind, and seeks rest and time for itself. The mind has been jumping. From one perch to another like a primate in the middle of day ! In the middle of all hectic activity, recollections of the Durga Puja Pandal at Powai dominate.

The last year, i happened to be in Kolkatta. There was a unique spirit in the air back then. You wouldn’t have much to dispute, if the whole town stops to give Ma Durga a deko ! In Mumbai, the essence of the Kolkatta air was ensconced at the Powai Padal. ( Earlier post is here).

You had all the ingredients. Bright lights ( i am told, brought all the way from Chandapur), a majestic Godess Durga in all splendour, numerous commercial establishments selling anything and everything from Mahindra Scorpios to Godrej washing machines to sarees to fruit juices to lottery tickets !!

Alka Yagnik performing

To cap it all, there is the annexure auditorium where ‘cultural events’ take place ! This to me, seems to be the heart of the whole Pandal engine. Many a night, i am told there were different cultural programs that happened here. On one evening, Alka Yagnik performed. I know because i was present ! ( Atleast a couple of other famous people performed. I am a neophyte in the entertainment space. So)

The immersion procession

My wife stood in the queue ( of one hour plus ) to have Bhog! The food was quite something, i am told . And oh, the immersion procession, was quite a sight ! Spontaneous dancing and having clean fun and exhibiting pride in being Bengali came to the forefront, not radically, but more socially !

A ‘Bong’ gentleman & his kurta !

Amidst big bindis, elaborately hand worked kurtas, intense discussions ( on something or the other), song and dance the spirit of ‘Bong’dom returned with fervour. This impalpable yet omnipresent spirit seemed to be the essence of Durga Puja ! To a southerner like me, it appeared that the Pandal was as important as the Durga there. Perhaps more. As though the Goddess herself was a ruse for the community to bond and get together !

kids and Alka Yagnik

Alka Yagnik sang song after song in Hindi. And when she moved to sing in Bengali, it was the kids dancing right next to the stage who had a problem with it. We sat there and watched, as the parents requested songs in Bengali and the kids kept asking for Hindi movie songs ! Do i construe it to be a ‘nothing-serious-mainstream-requests’ or is there an ominous sign of a storm, taking root in young minds ! I would tend to lean toward the latter.

For, it is a strange yet powerful spirit that gets woven into the Bengali mind more than the cotton sarees and flamboyant kurtas. And language is intricate & critical thread, that weaves the culture and produce that inescapable egalitarian spirit of the Bengali ! To see the ‘future’, restive about that thread, leaves the prospect of strong fabric in the future, that much more weaker !!

For our collective future, such threads and bonds must grow ! And when they grow soaked up in heritage and culture, the mind pushes its boundaries to accommodate others too. After all, Puja is best spelt with an ‘o’ ! But you know what, the puja this time makes us want more. We look forward to the Powai Puja of 2009 ! Err..sorry. Pujo..we mean !!

The drums beat !

Another City. Same Tunes.

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Work had me travel to Chennai.

Chennai is like any other Indian metropolis. Only more familiar to me. Thats because, I can read whats written on the walls. Those posters and graffiti scream for attention and my mind hoovers up, before you could say hoover up !

My eyes rest on the road and sees whats abuzz. The strife for more, the constant stretching of limits, an existential reality that is so typical of all big cities. And Chennai is no exception.

We drive on & I see the St.Thomas Mount Shrine, atop the hillock. I vividly recall my times there. Beautiful, serene and pristine place, the ‘mount’, soothed frayed nerves in a tough time, many years ago.

As we drive on i spot a BMW showroom ! Ah. I think. I smile to myself. The object behind many a prayer, i think !! Self chiding auto-starts. ‘Devious Mind’ !

Forcefully wanting to switch attention, i close my eyes. The ears come alive. ‘Suryan FM’, the local FM Radio station, is on. Perhaps the drivers favourite. ‘Blade No:1’ is the program that is on, with a gent who calls himself ‘Blade Shankar speaking non-stop, as though stopping would get activate a nuke or something !

For now, this program has listeners call in and narrate a PJ ( PJ stood for Poor Joke. I don’t know what it stands for in the modern times). And this gent himself has a few PJs up his sleeve.

‘An Elephant walks on the road and come to a signal. But he doesn’t cross the road. Why?’, asks someone. My eyes are happy to remain shut. Half in disbelief, half in mild-amusement. ‘Because it is a Zebra crossing’, someone else says ! A Siamese twin combo of ‘sigh and a smile’ escape escape my pursed lips.

Interspersed with such prolific thinking, are ads for various products. One such is for ‘aruna kayiru’ ( RTT: a black string tied around a toddler’s http://www.buyambienmed.com (usually) waist. I think i had one tied around my waist when i used to crawl. As a kid, that is. So they say).

This ad goes ‘buy 1000 metres of ‘aruna kayiru’ get 5 metres free’. I wonder, why on earth would anybody buy 1000 metres of that string ? But thats the ad.

My eyes remain closed.

In a short while, there is a movie song that is being played. A male voice croons :

Paal PappaZhi,
Nalla Takkazhi
Own Kootazhi
Ennai Samali

RTT :

Milky Papaya
Good Tomato
Your friend (me)
try handling me !!

I shake my head in disbelief. lyricist are working real hard, i think ! And almost as if on cue, the young driver says, ‘ nice song saar’ ! My head still shaking, i tell the driver ‘I have been away for long’. Not in the least sounding as though my presence here would have caused the songs & lyrics themselves to be any different. But my ‘bearing quotient’ would have been !!

The car stops. My eyes open to see.

We are at a toll gate. There is a signboard for a ‘reserved road’ which says, ‘Govt Vehicles and extra wide vehicles only’ ! I wonder why would they want to make that distinction !! Govt vehicles with their occupants automatically are extra wide. Aren’t they ?

My eyes involuntarily close. My ears become alive again. Suryan FM has a contest going now. This ‘Blade Shankar’ chap asks for an equivalent tamil word for ‘Election’ and provides viewers with numbers to call in with answers.

I wonder, since when ‘election’ or its tamil equivalent hit such nadirs that they become subjects for arbid quizzes on a show titled ‘Blade No : 1’. The chest thumping on ‘we are the largest democracy’ must have rubbed somebody right. Or wrong. somewhere.

I shudder to think of the possibility of some bloke calling in with a wrong word.

Thankfully we reach our destination. And i don’t know, what happened. I hope people got it right. Hope springs eternal. They say.

In Chennai too.

Meaning Matters. Part – II

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This snap came via email from my brother. On a busy day, this provided relief. Brought back the smile to my lip and lifted some load off the heart. So, for this post, i am riding on someone else’s photograph !

Do take the time to read the banner. Such banners are marketing tools that you would find on nomadic tents, whose occupants peddle in herbal remedies. Claiming solutions to problems ranging from ‘Gas Trick‘ to ‘urine unable to come‘ to ‘all types of secret diseases‘ !!

As discussed earlier, the message must reach the receiver of the communication. And here, the message sure does. If the message didn’t, it perhaps is ‘because you are discourage‘ ! Or perhaps ‘stones are stored in your kidney‘ !

By the way, you get medicines on credit. If only you are in Government Service ! No wonder !! No wonder at all !!!!!

*****


Clicked from my phone Mumbai.
Seen everyday. Never frequented.

Here is a shop that i pass by quiet often. Its name board has been of intrigue ! It gets the message out too. In its own free spirited manner !

Yes Boss. We are like this only !

D Company !

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The weekend saw us attend two very different events ! The first one being Dandia and the other Durga Puja ! Such occasions come up just to let you know that there seems to be an irrepressible spirit that is indeed far beyond all of qualms that are visible in the surface. Perhaps thats a wish. Best qualified by calling me a Pollyanna of sorts!

But tell me what would you think when a small child, decked up in finery, attempts to play Dandia with a spirit that tugs your heart and an impish charm that makes you wish that you could somehow capture that innocence in the palm of your hand and broadcast it to the world!


Pictures clicked at Dandia Celebrations at the apartment complex we live in

What would you make of a happy family, managing to create magic in an otherwise prosaic neighbourhood, which is much like an ant colony of people going to work and coming back in the evening !

Dancing on this day, the three of them went about creating happiness for themselves, without a bother of who was watching or who wasn’t !

*****

What would you make of the splendour of a Durga Puja pandal. I can spot the rich, the poor, the wannabes, the content lots. All there. Some are there to look. Some others to show. But there are those that dont seem to care. And they are there, it seems to me, to just be present. On this day, at the Durga Puja Pandal in Powai, this ‘absorbed in the moment’ set seems to dominate!

The Pandal itself is rather majestic and impressive to say the least. Add that to the ‘culture loving’ (as my friend calls himself) crowd you have a powerful concoction. The Durga deity is simply aweing to say the least !

Pictures clicked at the Durga Puja Mandal at Powai,
organised by the Powai Bengali Association

I come back with loads of impressions. And thoughts. And those that dominate seem to be ones that there is more to be done. It is possible. And people somewhere have goodness reside in them. We perhaps need to look for it !

Even as i type this, i wonder how i came to that conclusion. A few ‘diabolic’ questions get ready to come at me.

I think of the children & their play with reckless abandon, their laughter still rings in my ear. The visage of people engaged in simple conversation is still vivid, just as the Goddess seemed to smile on them ! And so many such images from the last two days engulf me.

I go no more. Between Dandia and Durga, the divine overruns the diabolic. Divine company, i think. I still can call it ‘D Company’ !

What say ?!?

Meaning From Within

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Please do take a moment read the post by clicking here.

It was two years ago. But the memory of it all is evergreen. I was particularly pleased with the way the entire activity galvanised the neighbourhood into action. We were like any other neighbourhood in modern day India. Ok, most other neighbourhoods. Middle class with aspirations, new money, apathy and focussed on self.

On this day, it all changed. Even if it were for a brief while, it changed. We found support from every quarter. And today, what was once a mound of garbage is a clean place with no problems. Most of the people who were involved arent there any more to enjoy the fruits of ‘labour’ !

That doesnt seem to be important at all ! We were part of a moment. An important important. An important moment where there was disticnt movment. Both for the world and for us. That activity showed us what was possible. And that it was possible to go beyond illusory borders in our own minds.

All this, a tribute to a man, who showed it is possible to go beyond ! Yourself !

Even as i write this, there is new found energy to do something. Far more deep, distinct and ‘making a difference’. There is a plan. And watch this space ! More on that, is on the drawing board !

The Indian Auto shows !

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The ‘Auto’ industry, to the layman, refers to the three wheeler : the Auto rickshaw! That mode of transport that gets you from place A to place B, with minimum comfort-maximum value, basic courtesy ( depending on the city you take the auto in) -maximum noise !
The Bangalore Auto rickshaws gave me a tough time in haggling. I had to polish, and re polish basic kannada there ! In Mumbai, things are a lot more professional ! In Tamil Nadu, ‘metered fare’ is as alien as aliens can get !! ( And with no meters, ‘at the mercy of’ takes a far greater meaning) !

Whatever the case, these three wheelers form an indelible part of the Indian city landscape. Through narrow roads, crowded streets, early mornings, late evenings, for every occasion, the Indian ‘auto’ rides them all !


On the way to Goa, we spotted some ‘hard top’ auto rickshaws, with doors et al. Wonder why ! That seems to be a variant of the konkan region. Colourful, ‘decorated’, interior worked, these hard topped vehicles looked majestic seen in the backdrop of the pristine mountains and roads !

Notice the spade work on the door ! The curtains inside. And those elaborate frills that adorn the drivers seat. Not to miss the ornate name board on the ‘forehead’ ! Perhaps the hard top and doors comes in handy during the monsoons, when the rains would hit mother Earth with persistent ferocity !


The Mumbai autorickshaw is a study in contrast. Functional. Fast. And sometimes, just way too omnipresent. Especially if you are stuck in a jam ! And when it rains, the resourceful auto ‘driver’ just pulls the string to roll down a tarpaulin / leather / rexine / plastic sheet, to shield the passengers from rain. If rain water makes it through this, which happens invariably, too bad for you!!

All said and done, the auto rickshaw define a city to many a traveller. For it is them and their drivers that you come in contact with as soon as you set foot in a city !! Just ask a non-tamilian’s about his first trip to Chennai, and i can bet you that there would be an invariable mention of the auto rickshaw at central station !

That said, did you know that auto rickshaw runs in the UK as well ? (with seat belts, shock absorbers et al) ! Well, at least that’s what the papers said back then. And i blogged about it two years back ! You can read it here.

If there was a permanent fixture on Indian roads, (other than potholes), it would be the good old auto rickshaw ! And for all of three wheels, they can get spinning like nobodys business !

Alright, it is a three wheel drive ! But one that could give all four wheel drives a run for their money, within the city ! This Indian Auto truly shows, who is the king of the Indian road !