India Moves Through Mumbai
This is based on Kush's suggestion - charting change in India during the past year or so.
Wow... since I was away most of the year... let me see what I can do. SO much of the change was in me that I'll be ill-equipped to comment on externalities.
What hasn't changed: the numerous temples dotting my route to work. If i say a brief prayer to each one - I end up continually praying from Mahalaxmi to Prabhadevi, one after the other - passing a Swaminarayan temple, a Laxmi temple, The Haji Ali Dargah, a Mahadev Temple, a Hanuman temple, the Nipponzai Buddhist temple and another temple (I think it's a Shiva one from the darkness) till Siddhivinayak at Prabhadevi. Oh, then after is the Sitaladevi temple at Mahim.
People still don't pee on the tiles depicting various Gods, from Jesus to Buddha to Krishna along the walls of Shivaji park and Dharam Palace. Glad to know jadedness hasn't reached universal proportions yet.
Vendors still sell cigarettes in singles!!! This, in my opinion is absolutely one of the most amazing things about India's underground economy. Not only is it more affordable to buy just a couple of cigarettes, but addiction is curtailed by not having a packet lying around, available when one decides one wants/needs a cigarette. It's not as if parents can stop children from trying out smoking, because it's just so incredibly aesthetic sometimes, (despite the admirable advertisements featuring urmila Matondkar, Vivek Oberoi and Amitabh Bachchan which I endorse), but this is a better way for kids to prevent addiction from getting out of hand (of course, it doesn't prevent those with addictive personalities who will buy cigarettes anyway).
Shrinathji is still crowded and smelly and exhilarating. The crowds still carry you through and threaten to stampede if you don't let your body loose and go along. The Thandai still rocks.
The boys who are still somewhat chauvinistic without being chivalrous, who still smoke and drink in clubs and don't dance.
Anything must become mainstream before it's internalised or accepted. Originality is still looked down upon in clubbing circles, which, unfortunately, is my sole exposure to urban youth.
What has: Haji Ali Juice Centre will close down soon I heard! That is so sad! It's been such a mainstay of that road.
Haji Ali Mosque has become derelict. Something much be done to revive it: it's an exquisite and essential part of our architectural and religio-cultural landscape. I still distinctly remember standing on the terrace at Jade Gardens facing the sea at sunset at the age of 14, and hearing the achingly devout call of the muezzin upon the winds, moved by the sheer poetry of the atmosphere, all elements uniting in thanksgiving to the cosmic spirit.
More restaurants and fine dining places are opening up, exploring concepts the bourgeoisie would vacillate between - from the Salt Water Grill at Chowpatty sands to the Dome to savour the night breeze at the Intercontinental to the tiny cool Greek ambience of Mika's at the vegetarian enclave, Tirupati apartments. Not to mention a wine bar.
The roads are getting better.
The Right to Information Act was introduced.
Gymns became more popular, and self-sacrificing aunties have finally started looking after their health.
July 26, the day of the floods happened, and mumbai debated its right to become a union territory.
Mumbai Mirror's conducted gupshuppy crackdowns on local institutions.
Belief in Tarot cards rapidly escalated (this could come in the section above because we as a culture still remain fatalistic)
Papers dedicate whole sections to news of our soap stars.
Star One decided to remind us of our sense of humour with the Great Indian Laughter Challenge. A relief indeed amongst the gloval paranoia surrounding political correctness, in which we poor Indians fail miserably.
Some stupid political party wanted to build a water park at Worli seaface to 'provide employment' while residents and walkers protested about this usurpment of the last open space in Mumbai. We Mumbaiites are very protective of our open spaces - there was the furore over selling the racecourse to a resort company who wanted to make a golf course. Probably because of the city's lack of planning and vested interests of politicians and corporations.
The girls are wearing less and less, looking thinner and thinner, their hair is straighter and straighter and browner and browner, they are pouting more and more... but they still look the same. Now that every girl is smarter and working and savvy, they still remain the norm.
More malls are opening, to constribute to greater uniformity of these girls and their desire to look like Paris Hilton *sniffs haughtily*
Amitabh Bachchan fell ill (yes, apparently this is news). (Can I tell you a joke i got on sms from Hedonia?)
Reasons for Amitabh's stomach-ache:
1. excessive intake of chyavanprash
2. pepsi zyada ho gaya
3. Hajmola kam pad gaya
4. Tika nahin lagvaya hoga...
(the above were references to the fact that he endorses anything apparently.)
What embodies Mumbai's spirit: The ad that was heard on radio sometime last year - all the sounds of Mumbai's streets - car horns, buses, trucks, bicycle bells, cow bells, rickshaw horns, all combining noises in a traffic jam to offer a rousing rendition of some old Hindi song - I think it was Bombay meri Jaan or something like that. What was beautiful was that one car started it and the others gradually joined in... something like the spirit of India. And somehow - I dont know why - I associate Sanjay Dutt in his tapori Munnabhai role with this image!
Don't know why, just don't see that many cows on the road anymore...
Wow... since I was away most of the year... let me see what I can do. SO much of the change was in me that I'll be ill-equipped to comment on externalities.
What hasn't changed: the numerous temples dotting my route to work. If i say a brief prayer to each one - I end up continually praying from Mahalaxmi to Prabhadevi, one after the other - passing a Swaminarayan temple, a Laxmi temple, The Haji Ali Dargah, a Mahadev Temple, a Hanuman temple, the Nipponzai Buddhist temple and another temple (I think it's a Shiva one from the darkness) till Siddhivinayak at Prabhadevi. Oh, then after is the Sitaladevi temple at Mahim.
People still don't pee on the tiles depicting various Gods, from Jesus to Buddha to Krishna along the walls of Shivaji park and Dharam Palace. Glad to know jadedness hasn't reached universal proportions yet.
Vendors still sell cigarettes in singles!!! This, in my opinion is absolutely one of the most amazing things about India's underground economy. Not only is it more affordable to buy just a couple of cigarettes, but addiction is curtailed by not having a packet lying around, available when one decides one wants/needs a cigarette. It's not as if parents can stop children from trying out smoking, because it's just so incredibly aesthetic sometimes, (despite the admirable advertisements featuring urmila Matondkar, Vivek Oberoi and Amitabh Bachchan which I endorse), but this is a better way for kids to prevent addiction from getting out of hand (of course, it doesn't prevent those with addictive personalities who will buy cigarettes anyway).
Shrinathji is still crowded and smelly and exhilarating. The crowds still carry you through and threaten to stampede if you don't let your body loose and go along. The Thandai still rocks.
The boys who are still somewhat chauvinistic without being chivalrous, who still smoke and drink in clubs and don't dance.
Anything must become mainstream before it's internalised or accepted. Originality is still looked down upon in clubbing circles, which, unfortunately, is my sole exposure to urban youth.
What has: Haji Ali Juice Centre will close down soon I heard! That is so sad! It's been such a mainstay of that road.
Haji Ali Mosque has become derelict. Something much be done to revive it: it's an exquisite and essential part of our architectural and religio-cultural landscape. I still distinctly remember standing on the terrace at Jade Gardens facing the sea at sunset at the age of 14, and hearing the achingly devout call of the muezzin upon the winds, moved by the sheer poetry of the atmosphere, all elements uniting in thanksgiving to the cosmic spirit.
More restaurants and fine dining places are opening up, exploring concepts the bourgeoisie would vacillate between - from the Salt Water Grill at Chowpatty sands to the Dome to savour the night breeze at the Intercontinental to the tiny cool Greek ambience of Mika's at the vegetarian enclave, Tirupati apartments. Not to mention a wine bar.
The roads are getting better.
The Right to Information Act was introduced.
Gymns became more popular, and self-sacrificing aunties have finally started looking after their health.
July 26, the day of the floods happened, and mumbai debated its right to become a union territory.
Mumbai Mirror's conducted gupshuppy crackdowns on local institutions.
Belief in Tarot cards rapidly escalated (this could come in the section above because we as a culture still remain fatalistic)
Papers dedicate whole sections to news of our soap stars.
Star One decided to remind us of our sense of humour with the Great Indian Laughter Challenge. A relief indeed amongst the gloval paranoia surrounding political correctness, in which we poor Indians fail miserably.
Some stupid political party wanted to build a water park at Worli seaface to 'provide employment' while residents and walkers protested about this usurpment of the last open space in Mumbai. We Mumbaiites are very protective of our open spaces - there was the furore over selling the racecourse to a resort company who wanted to make a golf course. Probably because of the city's lack of planning and vested interests of politicians and corporations.
The girls are wearing less and less, looking thinner and thinner, their hair is straighter and straighter and browner and browner, they are pouting more and more... but they still look the same. Now that every girl is smarter and working and savvy, they still remain the norm.
More malls are opening, to constribute to greater uniformity of these girls and their desire to look like Paris Hilton *sniffs haughtily*
Amitabh Bachchan fell ill (yes, apparently this is news). (Can I tell you a joke i got on sms from Hedonia?)
Reasons for Amitabh's stomach-ache:
1. excessive intake of chyavanprash
2. pepsi zyada ho gaya
3. Hajmola kam pad gaya
4. Tika nahin lagvaya hoga...
(the above were references to the fact that he endorses anything apparently.)
What embodies Mumbai's spirit: The ad that was heard on radio sometime last year - all the sounds of Mumbai's streets - car horns, buses, trucks, bicycle bells, cow bells, rickshaw horns, all combining noises in a traffic jam to offer a rousing rendition of some old Hindi song - I think it was Bombay meri Jaan or something like that. What was beautiful was that one car started it and the others gradually joined in... something like the spirit of India. And somehow - I dont know why - I associate Sanjay Dutt in his tapori Munnabhai role with this image!
Don't know why, just don't see that many cows on the road anymore...
posted by Princess Joya | 4:27 am
6 Comments:
Excellent!!!
Nice!
Hi, came here from Evenstar's blog. I liked your chronicle of the changes, and had a little smile about the SMS forward. But don't you think you missed one big change? The bull run. I guess the sensex has never looked so good, and well, oil prices too were never so high. A confounded situation of sorts, eh?
Heh heh... this next statement will automatically erase any credibility I may have, but I dont read the papers. I dont have teh time, and the news doesn't digest my muesli well. My views are based on the observations of those around me. I dont care about the bullrun or oil. That affects me in a very macro-way. I'd rather leave that for those with a more sophisticated understanding of economics to observe and analyse!
Thanks for the wishes.
So, why don't you read newspapers?
So, how is Amitabh B. doing these days?
I think he's better. Keeps having celebs visit him. It's the fifth time he's been operated on in his abdomen or something.
Papers bore me. The quality of the language in newspapers is deteriorating, news is sensationalised and prejudiced. It's like we're being fed information filtered through the matrix. And I really don't have time, nor do I feel inclined to make it to read about depressing things.
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