KYN WCAG in KC

What the hell was a KYN (Kalyan) WCAG doing in KC (King's Circle)?

Spotted, the other day, at King's Circle station, a KYN WCAG coming in from MM (Mahim Junction) into KC and proceeding towards VDLR (Wadala Road). MM, being a WR territory, it was surprising to find a CR-based KYN coming in to KC from the MM side.

Some of these mysteries will always remain, I guess. As soon as the loco (travelling "light") came along platform 2 of KC, I looked at the starter. It was ON (meaning, the signal was "red". Red is "on" and Green is "off"). But, the loco showed no signs of stopping. Was it going to jump the signal? My question was answered as it braked quickly just close to the starter. A moment later - as if it was being expected by the pilot - the starter turned OFF. And, the loco was off on its way to VDLR. During its brief stay at KC, some school-going kids decided to touch the loco (to see if it was "real"?) and some even clambered onto the rails of the rear cabin.

In case you are wondering about the differences between a WDM, a WAM, a WAP, a WCAM, a WCAG...and the likes, rest assured that its easy to know, once you know.

The first letter (in the modern naming convention) denotes the gauge. The "W" is "broad gauge". The last letter denotes the type of trains the loco is meant to haul. ("S" is shunter, "G" is goods, "P" is passenger, "M" is mixed.)
The middle letter(s) denote the power. ("D" is diesel, "A" is A/C, "C" is D/C and "CA" is dual A/C-D/C). So, a WDM is a broad gauge diesel for mixed trains. A WCAG is a broad gauge A/C-D/C goods loco.

And, while we are on the subject of KC, here is a recent photgraph of what must've been the original ticket counter at KC station. The year mentioned below the station name is 1940.

Godmen and the FUD against them

Today's (18th Dec 2005) Mumbai Mirror has an article that throws the spotlight back on the "godmen". More specifically, it states how a "devotee" of a locally famous "godman" (Anirudhha Bapu) has filed a defamation case against Bollywood actor (and self-styled "crusader") Nana Patekar.

That's not the first time Nana has gone against "such" people. Neither is it the first time he has got into such trouble. There was the recent case where he had threatened a car driver on the road for driving "rashly". It was alleged that he had even pulled out a revolver (a licensed one). On the other hand, the recent case where another godman Narendra Maharaj was not allowed to take his "holy staff" aboard a plane may have prompted Nana to speak against them again.

Now, the very first point of argument against Nana's statement is that he seems to be against "fake godmen". Does this mean that he is alright with the "real godmen"? If so, what is it that differentiates "fake godmen" from "real godmen"? And how does he know that Asharam Bapu, Anirudhha Bapu and Narendra Maharaj are "fake"? Has he met them ever? That is something that should be thought over.

But, coming back to the case filed against Nana, the "devotee" (one Mr. Ulhas Kulkarni) gives very nice arguments and (as you shall make out by the end of this posting), I fully support these godmen ("fake" or "real"). Mr. Ulhas goes to the extent of criticising Bollywood and how they are not doing any good either by projecting and promoting "prevesity and obscenity". Right on dot, Mr. Ulhas and congratulations for taking a courageous step. It takes guts to fight anyone from Bollywood. These days even script writers of useless soaps and serials are pretending to be great. (These days if you are not connected in any way with Bollywood or her sister "Telewood", then you are an "insignificant person".)

Time and again one has heard of countless arguments against these "godmen". Send these people to me...nirvana guaranteed. These arguments are often referred to as "FUD" (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) in the Open Source world. For example, private software companies try to create a FUD in the minds of CEOs/CIOs/other vulnerable people regarding how open source software can destroy the industry, etc. But, we will not get into that. The FUD here, is against the godmen. Lets take a look at some of the arguments that one hears:

1. These "godmen" mislead people and take favours from them (money, other worldly desires, etc.)
2. These "godmen" show people some magic tricks and get people to treat them like god.
3. These "godmen" encourage people to have "blind faith" and believe in superstitions.
   

There are many more, I am sure. But, for every argument raised here, I can assure you that I'll have an equally unanswerable counter-argument. One single point is easy to demolish all this:

Let one who has not sinned cast the first stone

Argument over. Go home! Not convinced. Let's try to answer the above points one by one.

Point #1. : What do you mean by "mislead"? Show me one actor, politician, businessman, builder who does not mislead? What about people who show off their status and money to seek sexual favors from women and then dump them? Are they not in the same category?

Point #2: Treating people like god is nothing new. Some people come all the way from Allahabad to Mumbai to see their "gods" (like Amitabh). Pity they don't even have time to visit their local temple. But, who are the gods? And what good have these guys done to merit such status anyway? They have "acted" well in a blockbuster. (Isn't "acting" related to "falsely portraying one's true self"? Isn't it the same as "misleading"?)

Point #3: Ah! the whiff of "blind faith". We'll have dozen people (including the so-called "human rights activists") crawling all over soon. What exactly is "blind faith"? I say if one has reposed complete faith so as not to question his "god", then that is his/her personal judgement. Why do you have to interfere?

In a much broader perspective, so what if the "godmen" do "bad" things? Gosh if they had got it all right and were perfect, they would be right up there, with "God". Surely, they are not worse than the corrupt lot of actors and politicians. Look at their positive side: as long as they preach people to do good things, so be it. And if people go to "bad godmen", then no one has asked them to go there. They are not bound by any bond to be going to that guy. And if they do so, they are doing it because they get some inner peace.

Ah! I know. These actors...they are probably getting jealous. How dare people worship other gods when they are still around? Well, this is the age of competition. So, grow up and fight back (in the same competitive spirit). Not by asking people to beat the devotees and put "chappals" around the godmens' necks. And, not by creating FUD in the people's minds against these.

Oh maybe its because Nana had to face a lot of incovenience because of thousands of devotees gathered for some satsang. Maybe that's why he is so upset. But, wait. Weren't there some real innocent people incovenienced because of Amitabh's stay in the hospital? And what about those useless film shootings that are held on public roads? No one dare say anything against them, then.

Truly this is the age of Kali. Where to even preach good is considered bad. Where heroes now are those who can only "act" well.

Thanks, Mr. Patekar. You have opened our eyes. We still have a lot of work to do.

Of "Tiger faces", "Barbie Dolls", "Baldies" and "Jumbos"

These are not some fictional characters in some movie, but "nick names" given to certain class of Indian Railway locomotive because of their appearance or color. Certain loco sheds prefer to paint their locos in specific color combinations (maybe also based on a specific class of locomotives).

A "Tiger face" can be seen adjacent. This one is a WAG-7 from Ajni shed. Its face has some stripes and so is called a "Tiger Face".
A "Jumbo" is here. This unusually sized WDM-2 from Guntakal shed is called so because of its larger than usual structure. Most of the "Jumbos" may have undergone structural changes because of accidents or damage.
A "Baldie" looks like this WDM-3A from Gooty shed. The hood of a "Baldie" sets it out from the other normal WDMs and hence the name. Again, this modification would have been necessary because of some accident or damage.
And, a "Barbie Doll" is named so because of its "lipstick" color combination. This one is a Tatanagar WAM-4.

Four weddings and a temple visit

This weekend, spilt over to Monday, included hectic trips to record my presence at four weddings. In addition, the weekend began with a visit to the Lord Ganesha temple at Titwala.

Saturday morning began normally and I had decided to visit the temple at Titwala. I took WR local to DDR and changed over to DR (Dadar, Central Railway). Then, there was some waiting time until the next local. So, I decided to take some tea from a nearby restaurant. I came back in time for a Badlapur fast local. I made sure I got a sitting place and then started the long journey to Kalyan (KYN). KYN was crowded as usual. I had to disembark at KYN and wait for the next local that was going to Kasara (KAS). A short time later I was at Titwala. A 5-minute "share-a-rickshaw" ride brought us to the temple. The rickshaw drivers have their pre-determined vendors where one can buy flowers and other offerings for the Lord. In addition, one can keep their footwear with them.

A 3-minute walk from the Ganesha temple is another temple - that of Shri Vitthal Rakhumai.

The wedding receptions were held at various places in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. The first two were on Saturday. The real challenge was in attending both. Both were in the evening (the usual 7:30 p.m. onwards) - one was in Byculla and the other in Bandra. But, I was up for the challenge...after all, it was quite possible with some careful thinking. I knew that if I had to do it, the local trains would be the best commuting option. I was at ADH at about 19:20. A fast train to CCG at about 19:30 ensured that I reached BCT at 19:40. A taxi from BCT to Byculla and I was at the reception at 19:45 before the bride and groom could arrive. Before I could sneak out to the other wedding, I met some people from the same apartment complex as mine. Then, I had to tag along with them. One of them had a car and my hopes of catching the other wedding reception soon disappeared when it seemed possible that I might accompany them in the car. Had I taken the train even at 21:00, I could've reached Bandra station by 21:15 and the venue by 21:30.

The car journey took a long time even inspite of a light traffic. Then, we had to find a "suitable" parking space. Since it was new car (about 15 days old), we also had to worry about other vehicles "scratching" against the gleaming paint of the car. I complimented myself on making a good decision not to own a car (yet!). We finally reached at about 22:15 and most of the guests had left. We just had some token dinner and left (again by car => more woes).

The 3rd reception was on Sunday. Again, I met quite a lot of our "neighbors". Some of them were amazed that I had reduced so much. Others (who had lost weight earlier) tried to advise me on how I should have tackled the weight problem. Some others were of the opinion that this life was meant for eating and drinking in the first half...yes, I thought to myself...and the rest half of the lifetime (and money) could be spent in being bed-ridden. Thanks, nevertheless, for showing so much concern.

The 4th reception was on Monday. That was not really a reception. It was a "re-reception". The actual wedding and reception was held in the North of India and this one was held in Navi Mumbai for those people who could not make it to the northern part. The very interesting part of this 4th reception was the food...it was what people might like to call "authentic Punjabi food". Since I am not from Punjab or the north (heh - until some years ago, the northern most part of India that I had visited was Vasai Road), I could not vouch for the authenticity. Nevertheless, it was quite tasty.

Thus ended a solid weekend of receptions and a temple visit. Was I exhausted? Not so much attending those as I was in writing this. Phew!

"Dombivili Fast"

Saw some posters (inside CR locals) about a new movie titled "Dombivili Fast". Its a Marathi movie and it seems to be based on a commuter's life. Finally, Dombivili (station code "DI") is in the news for the right reasons. Earlier, it was infamous for its house crashes and rickety buildings.

Hopefully, the movie is shot in a "real-life" train and the madness inside is captured. That might bring a sense of urgency to the state administrators to improve the commuter's life. Instead of wasting the money on developing Metros which may never be used (as outlined in this post by WGFA-CS), the administration might do well to reward the people of Mumbai for their hard-working habits.

Unusual professions #1...temple cow feeder

Some say that anyone can make money in Mumbai. That's why its sought after by all our Indian junta. One can find all kinds of professions - usual and unusual. It is surprising how people earn their living. Let's see an example. Let me call this profession "temple cow feeder". The choice of this title is not entirely precise, but then I have yet to find anything more suitable. As we shall see, there is a reason why we call this profession as "cow feeder" (and not as, say, "cowherd").

I've observed (as would have so many Indians) this set of people outside temples with one or more cows and a heap of green grass. Hindus and Jains believe that cow is a sacred animal and one must feed the cow to get blessed (and to credit to our "karmic account"). The cow is typically tied to a tree or post and is usually under a nice shady tree (if the cow is lucky). There are one or more persons in charge of the cow. One needs to pay some money (Rs. 2/- is minimum in the posh suburbs) to this person(s) and they will give us a bundle of green grass. This green grass needs to be fed to the cow. The cow and the person are in position by morning 9 a.m. and this might go on till afternoon or late evening (depending on the demand). (Remember - this is a business model. All business rules apply (including demand/supply)).

Now, I wonder sometimes if the cow ever gets fed up of eating the same old green grass. Cows outside Jain temples are more lucky. As per their rules, Jains do not eat anything that has been prepared a day before. So any leftovers are also brought along and fed to the cows. Sometimes, the cow will ignore grass that is being fed and instead prefer to eat chappatis and bread.

That's not the main point. The point is that the person in charge of the cow is actually just a "feeder". That person is not the owner nor the cowherd. Nor does the person look after the cow or give her a bath or milk her. The way this works is simple (if you know): A designated cow from a stable (tabela) is brought over by the real cowherd and handed over to the "feeder". This happens outside the temple - only that we are too busy to take notice of this "handover". The cow has probably been milked in the tabela and given a scrub and brought to the place. Now, this feeder takes over and handles the feeding of the cow until the "time" is up. The cowherd again makes an appearance and, after taking a (hefty) commission from the feeder, takes away the cow back to the tabela.

This is real "business". If one is lucky, the feeder might make hundreds of rupees outside popular temples. Instead of the cow remaining idle in the stable, the cowherd "leases" it to the feeder who acts like an "agent". After the time is up, they split the earnings (in whatever agreed upon ratio). It is probably good for the cow too. Its breakfast and lunch get taken care of. Everyone is happy - including the people paying money to buy the grass.

Time to publish this model in HBR (Harvard Business Review). Some MBA courses might want to study this "model", after they have had enough of the dabbawalas. As a bonus, some of these feeders and cowherds might get to attend some royal wedding in Britain.

The curious case of Dadar "Junction"

My elders told me that a "junction" was always a station that was "big". While that satisfied my curiosity when I was small, I could see that the definition was not entirely correct as I grew up. Take for example, Mahim on the Western Railway. It is a junction, though it is small (compared to say Andheri, which is not a junction).

Some search on the subject revaled the following definition: A junction is a place where 2 or more "lines" meet (line is a set of tracks proceeding along a certain route). This is obvious if one considers the English meaning of the word "junction". Thus, Mahim is a junction since 2 different routes converge at Mahim; the Harbour line proceeding to King's Cirlce and the Western line proceeding to Matunga Road converge at Mahim. So, Mahim is a junction. Andheri is not a junction by the same definition.

What about Dadar? Technically, Dadar station has lines from Central and Western Railway. But, then the stations are physically different. Dadar Central Railway station is a physically separate entity from Dadar Western Railway station, even though their names are the same. Heck, even the station codes for the 2 stations are different (it is "DR" on the Central and "DDR" on the Western). That the 2 stations are connected by a bridge (actually 3 bridges - 2 railway and 1 for normal pedestrians) does not matter. Dadar is technically not a "junction". Now, confirm this fact by looking at the name of the station painted all over the platforms and you will see that Dadar is not a junction.

That's when the mystery starts: Travelling into Dadar from Parel (on the Central Railway), one can see an old dilapidated and abandoned building on the left hand side. This is just before entering the Dadar station. One can also see this, travelling on the Western Railway from Elphinstone Road to Dadar. This building is then on the right hand side. Painted on the walls of the building one can still clearly see the words "Dadar Junction South Cabin". What? Dadar, a junction?

Maybe it WAS a junction a few decades ago. Or was it a painting mistake? Most likely to be the former.

Ground floor blues

Having stayed in a ground floor apartment all these years, its time to think back and make a comparison. If I were to buy a flat now, it would have to be some higher floor (surely not ground floor)...maybe the 3rd or 4th floor. Of course, there are very few buildings that have a ground floor flat these days; most usually have a stilt which is used for parkng vehicles.

Here are the advantages v/s disadvantages of a ground floor flat:

Advantages:

• Easy access (especially for elderly people in apartments where there is no elevator) for people as well as for material movement
  
• Staying on the ground floor is ideal if one has kids. Kids are in no danger of falling out from the windows or balconies and parents can even let their kids out to play and keep an eye on them
• Water pressure is the highest at the ground floor. So, water flow is guaranteed to be the highest.
  

Disadvantages:

• With too many apartments around, ground floor flats do not get the pleasure of enjoying a good sea breeze; besides, there is too much pollution and dust
  
• Diwali and other such festivals are a big pain. Most people burst crackers on the ground level; so decibel levels are the highest.
  
• Kids playing cricket is a perpetual problem because of the fear of broken window panes
• If one has to study for exams, it is also difficult to concentrate with so much noise around
  
• Privacy is also of concern since the windows are at an average person's height
• With the recent 26th July floods, it is also clear that ground floor flats are the most affected by the water coming into their houses

What we learnt and forgot

It is clear that we (myself included) forgot the most important things taught in school. We need to remind ourselves of the very basics of how to perform our everyday activities. It is not surprising that most of us do not know: how to breathe, how to stand, how to sit, how to sleep, how to eat, how to take a bath, etc. Maybe it is because we do not pay much attention to these things - since these seem to be so insignificant. Or maybe it is because we have not been taught how to perform these things exactly.

Upon reading some books on various topics such as yoga, acupressure and others, it became clear to me that we were not following the basic rules that we had been taught. For example, all of us were taught that we should stand "straight", but on observation, I find hardly anyone (including myself) following that rule. After having read about the harmful effects of not following these rules, I've tried to follow these as often as I can. I also observed if others are following these.

A nice example is to take a look at people standing at the bus-stop. It is morning time and people have got up and look fresh and are waiting for the bus. But none of them is standing straight. And its not because they are tired (come on - they've gotten up after at least 5 hours of rest - and this is the start of their day). Maybe it is the fashion to stand by putting one's weight on one leg and folding the other (like the ramp models do). But remember what we were taught - to stand straight. Probably the problem is that we were not taught "how to stand straight".

Here then is what I have gathered from reading various books:

Standing:

• One must always stand straight with the body weight thrown equally on both the legs.
• Why: If one does not stand straight, the body will soon feel tired, the spine is affected and the mind becomes dull
• How: Here is a secret: The weight of the body is to be borne not on the calves, but on the thighs. The thighs must be "pulled and rolled" inside and the buttocks must be held tight. Do it and see the difference. Of course, the spine must be kept erect and the feet close to each other.
• Symptom: The easiest is to observe the soles of the footwear worn by the person. If the soles are worn out at an angle, then the person is not standing straight (as in this definition)

Breathing:

• Breathing must always be slow and steady.
• Why: If one does not breathe slowly, the mind is likely to get carried away by all the distractions. One will easily get excited and will not be able to concentrate. Indeed, the ancient science of pranayama (the 4th stage of the 8-stage yoga) is precisely the control of breath - so that the mind can be controlled.
• How: Each cycle of breathing has 4 steps: inhaling, holding the breath in the inhaled state, exhaling and holding the breath in the exhaled state. The recommended ratio for this is 1:4:2:2. By practice, one can increase each cycle to take more than a minute.

Eating:

• One must eat slowly and chew the food properly.
• Why: If one eats hastily without chewing the food properly, the food will not get digested properly. The stomach may need to overwork for performing the digestion. Not chewing the food properly has been specified (by ancient wisdom) to be the main cause of diabetes.
• How: Each morsel of food must be chewed at least 32 times to ensure proper mixing with the salivia. This itself ensures that the food is pre-digested reducing the burden on the stomach.

More about the other activities in a later post (maybe).

Censorship...the forgotten point of view

Those were the months that went by when not a day passed without someone crying foul over the curtailing of the "freedom of expression" (and all the other "freedom*"). I am talking about the months that finally led to the closure of dance bars (first in Maharashtra excluding Mumbai and then in Mumbai). Many "freedom zealots" raised a lot of arguments opposing the ban - some of these arguments were an "eye opener" to say the least. Sample some of them:

• With dance bars closing, the jobless women will take to prostituion
• It is much safer to travel in the night because there are always people around (believe me - some people actually said that!)
• Men will now start spending their monies in other illegitimate ways
• If dance bars are banned, so should all other activities like smoking, alcohol, etc.
• All 5 star hotels should stop the dances since they too have women dancing with little clothes
• ...and so on

Although I agree with some of the statements above, I do not support the "freedom movement". Freedom, as everyone knows, comes with its own responsibilities and duties. In India, the mental age of people is very low (this maybe because of illiteracy or Bollywood films or whatever). Therefore, censorship becomes essential.

One point that I want to particularly highlight is this: the recent sentencing to death in the Borivli double murder case brought back this issue to my mind. It should be noted that the boys in the case were thinking of robbing their victims because they wanted money to spend on the girls in a dance bar. It has also been reported that one of the boys was a drug addict - but we will overlook that issue since drugs are already banned (and no one has a problem with that...except maybe the addicts themselves).

That many robberies took place or desire to make a quick buck was felt because of the lure of the dance bars is well known. In a discussion with some people, when this argument was put forward supporting the ban on the dance bars, the "freedom guys" pointed out that money is also being sought after for things like cigarettes and alcohol. So, even these should be banned.

But the magnitude of money spent in smoking is so miniscule that it is pointless to commit a robbery just to get a cigarette. I mean we are talking about a difference in scale. The money spent by individuals in a dance bar has been reported to be in the few thousands in a sinlge night. Now, if someone blows up that much money for smoke in a single day, he will surely die (or it might be one of those famed Cuban cigars (Davidoff?) that cost a fortune). Ditto for alcohol.

We do not know the "real" reason for the dance bar ban. (Some have blamed the concerned ministers saying that they were demanding more money from the dance bars which the owners were not willing to cough up.). Whatever be the case, at least, now there is some respite from the nuisances posed by these bars that seemed to be mushrooming up anywhere and everywhere. And, we hope, that wisdom finally dawns upon our people so that they do not want to make a quick buck by harming other innocent people.

The world's longest song title ever?

A decade ago I thought that one of Paul Simon's song would be the longest song title ever. This title has 77 characters (including whitespace and punctuation) and is

A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)

A few years ago that changed and I think the longest one belongs to a musical piece of a group called Shakti featuring John McLaughlin, Vikku, Zakir and L. Shankar. The title of this is 117 characters long (including whitespace and punctuation) and is

What Need Have I for this? What Need Have I for that? I am dancing at the feet of my lord, all is bliss, all is bliss

The discography for Shakti (and its recent avtaar "Remember Shakti") is to be found here.

And while we are at Shakti, I'd been to one of the "Remember Shakti" shows in December 2000. The show was at Shanmukhananda Hall, King's Circle. Quite an amazing experience. The show was recorded live and is marketed as an album "Saturday Night In Bombay" (one of the claps you hear in the album could be mine :-)).

My only contention is that L. Shankar (double violin = ten-string violin) got replaced by U. Srinivas(mandolin) as part of the change in "Remember Shakti". Srinivas is mesmerizing on the mandolin (a "foreign" instrument adapted by Srinivas himself to be suitable to play the subtle microtones required in the Carnatic ragas. But, Shankar would have added to the authenticity of the original Shakti. In addition, Vikku is replaced by his son (Selva Ganesh playing Kanjira) in "Remember Shakti".Guess Vikku is busy with his percussion school in Chennai.

A host of others like Shankar Mahadevan and Pt. Bhawani Shankar chip in at appropriate points in the "Remember Shakti" concert.

Mumbai Wastes Water - Part 1

Mumbai thinks of wasting water in various ways. Some of these are very obvious, while some are not. Among the common ones are leaking water pipes, using filtered tap water for cleaning automobiles, brushing with the tap on, etc. There are some pointers to this kind of wastage in my earlier post.

In this multi-part series, I will keep looking out for not so obvious ways in which precious water (aka "white gold") is wasted by Mumbai and her (his?) inhabitants.

In this blog post, I focus on a very strange custom found in restaurants. As soon as customer enters a restaurant and takes a seat, some special "water boys" or waiters keep a glass full of water in front of the customer. This is like a welcome drink - a typical scenario in an Indian house - we always offer water to our guests. Of course, we do ask them whether they would like to have cold water or room-temperature water.

The problem is that some customers are not thirsty at all. The question is what happens to this glass of water. Will it be taken away to be served again to another customer? Or will it be thrown away, washed, refilled and then served? Most likely the second case. In which case, there is a wastage of water of about a glassful of water. Not much I say. I know...but if you consider the number of customers visiting the restaurant in a day, this adds up. Now, multiply this by the number of restaurants and that is some quantity we are talking about. I know this still does not match up to the quantity Mumbai wastes in other ways, but then every drop counts.

Another problem is that most customers do not want to drink the entire glass: a sip or two will keep their thirst on hold till the time the thirst is fulfilled by ordering some other drinks. In this case, more than half of the glass of water will be thrown away.

The problem does not end here: some restaurants have instructed their "boys" not to keep any water glass empty. An example of this can be seen in Sudershan (Udipi) at Saki Naka. The "boys" keep filling the glass the moment its empty. So, if you wanted to drink 2 glasses of water, you will get those plus an extra one that is wasted anyways.

Wherever possible, I instruct these "boys" not to serve water to me, since I do not trust the water anyways. I might rather drink boiled tea than contaminated water (my dad's rule #1 while travelling...more about that later in another post). Often these "boys" get shouted at by the senior waiters for not serving me water and then I have to tell them that it was my choice.

Then, there are some seemingly more intelligent eateries: like at Panshikar in Dadar where they keep a common tray of filled water glasses per table; so only those customers that want to take water, actually do so. And after drinking, one is supposed to keep the glass out of the tray...so that the "boys" know that it is a used glass. Such practice is also seen in some of the bigger hotels/halls where conferences are held.

Peer pressure

I have observed people in India live under tremendous peer pressure. Here, I use the term peer to mean friend, co-worker, neighbor, relative or sibling.

Now, if one is motivated to do fine things because of this pressure, it is fine...but, as is to be expected, the results are almost never positive. Consider the kinds of pressure that a materially-attached middle or upper-middle class Mumbaikar is subjected to:

• Peer gets better marks than me
• Peer gets into a better college/university than me
• Peer has bought a car and I haven't
• Peer has bought a bigger car and I have a smaller one
• Peer has visited abroad and I haven't yet
• Peer visits different countries 4 times a year and I only have a trip once a year
• Peer is now the big-shot of a well-known company
• Peer has bought a new house
• Peer has better interiors in his house than mine
• ...and the list goes on

Believe it or not, this is the driving factor for most people. I know of a co-worker who got promoted and happened to get a car as part of his new renumeration package. Being eligible for the "small-sized" car, he naturally bought the small-sized car. Within 6 months, I could hear him say that he should have bought a bigger car.

Very recently, a middle-aged woman lost her life due to this car-owning craze of her neighbor. The details are to be found in this article in the Mid-Day. It seems that a newly-trained car owner was trying to drive the car on her own and in the process she crushed her neighbor to death. She accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.

For the spiritually-inclined, however, there is no such pressure. Whether that is good or bad for the society depends on how you look at it.

It might be important to understand what great thinkers like the Adi Shakarcharya have to say about this. In Bhaja Govindam by Adi Shankaracharya, one comes across the following:

sura mandira taru mUla nivAsa:
shayyA bhUtalam ajinam vAsa:
sarva parigraha bhoga tyAga:
kasya sukham na karoti virAga:

The translation is:

Living in temples or at the foot of the trees,
sleeping on the ground, wearing deer-skin, renouncing all possession
and thier enjoyment - to whom will not dispassion bring happiness?

Who is wiser? Us or Adi Shankaracharya?

Culinary confusion

One of the things that I oft get confused about is the difference between a cutlet and a pattice. I can't seem to point out which is called which. And just when I have figured some difference, there would be some eatery that has to name the items the other way around.

As per current understanding:
A pattice is a plain potato-mashed round that is either shallow fried or deep fried with or without a batter cover. The English word is "patty", I guess...and therefore, the plural is "patties". The Indian spelling that one sees used in the restaurant menus is pattice. A pattice is mostly creamish in color and is mostly eaten with a gravy like chole/ragda.
A pattice, I think, is also referred to as a chop (or is it chaap), especially in the east of India.

A cutlet, on the other hand, has something to do with much more than potatoes. For example, one hears of a vegetable cutlet. This is mostly brown- or deep red-colored and is eaten with sauce or ketchup.

Occasionally, one finds eateries used these names to mean the other dish.

Diwali Snacks shopping

As outlined in an earlier post, there is such an activity as "Snacks Shopping" during Diwali. This year there were a few additions to the list of shops from where we bought those snacks. Apart from Cafe Mysore at King's Circle and Sapre's at Goregaon, we bought stuff from Shri Krishna Sweets at Chembur and Anand Bhavan at King's Circle.

Each place is well-known for specific varieties of snacks and sweets and hence the need to buy different things from different shops. The fact that these shops are located in 3 different corners in Mumbai is not a deterrent for people like me (who travel by train anyways...now, try doing that by car in 3 hours on a working day).

The "Shri Krishna Sweets" thing cropped up quite late on the" radar" and needs some explanation. For those who do not know, "Shri Krishna Sweets" has sweets and snacks of the Tamil variety and is "headquartered" in Coimbatore. It has branches all over Tamilnadu and even in Bangalore. This shop in Chembur is a newly opened branch and is probably the only one in Mumbai. One of the specialty sweet items is what they call as "Mysurpa" (and what Maharashtrians call as "Mysore Pak"---no connection to Pakistan, as in "Indo Pak". The "Pak", I guess, stands for "sweet syrup").

So, it was that someone had gifted a box of Mysurpa from Shri Krishna Sweets much before Diwali and my mom took a liking to it. It was mon's desire to buy Mysurpa from there that drove me to Chembur this Diwali.
Armed with a list of items to buy (and the shops to buy them from), I reached Chembur and tried to locate the shop. It didn't take me long to find it since it is on N. G. Acharya Marg (the station road in Chembur East that runs parallel to the track). It is on the right hand side as we move from the station entrance towards Govandi.

I bought some 2.5 kg of Mysurpa and 2 kg of "Corn Flake" Halwa (yes, that's right...the salesperson said that they did not sell wheat halwa, only corn flakes).

Diwali is over and all the snacks and sweets have been exhausted too. Let's see if this shop figures in the list next Diwali.

End of Semester

Phew! Doing a semester (especially @ IIT) takes quite a toll, even though it is part-time. The final exams are now over and so are the classes. There's only a small assignment left, but there's enough time for that.

That might explain the sudden flurry of posts to this blog now and the absence of any in the last few weeks.

Luckily for me, a spate of regular quizzes (with the marks of each contributing by a certain weight to the final grades) ensured that I did not have to "slog" towards the end.

Common Mumbai misnomers

The game is in the name. Here are some common misnomers...terms and names that you might hear, but might mistake it for something very similar sounding. We'll add more to this list as time goes by.

• Vashi Naka is nowhere near Vashi
• Turbhe (the Hindi name for Trombay) is also a place near Vashi
• JVLR ends at Powai as of today...the original plan was (or maybe still is) to extend it to Vikhroli
• Lower Parel is not closer to Parel...if one wants to go to Parel by travelling through WR, the correct station to disembark is Elphinstone Road (remember, "Lower" in terms of railway lingo means more closer to the starting station on the "down" line, that is from Churchgate to Dadar)
  
• Matunga Road is not equal to Matunga (the Z bridge to cross over from Matunga Road station on the Western Railway to Matunga on the Central Railway takes about 10 minutes by walk)
• Marol Depot v/s Marol Maroshi Depot (these are a few km apart)
  
• Prabhodhankar Thackeray Udyaan (Charkop) v/s Prabhodhankar Thackeray Chowk (Sewree)

Diwali's here

The first signs of Diwali have made their appearance. One can find a lot of vendors/hawkers selling lanterns and crackers along with the decoration items like "rangoli". Several "temporary" hawkers have come up everywhere...hopefully these guys will go away once Diwali is over. On the other hand, several "permanent" roadside hawkers have stopped selling what they usually sell and switched over to selling this new seasonal stuff.

There is high demand for sweets and other "snack items" like chiwda and chakli. Traditionally, these sweets and snacks were supposed to be made in each one's homes and then exchange them with their neighbours. While the exchanging tradition still continues in most parts of Mumbai, the making part has been now left largely to these shops that sell these items. I think this has mostly to do with women working or being very busy in whatever it is that they do.

There are some specialist shops that I would like to mention (from which I have bought these things in the past):

• Matunga (and King's Circle) has a slew of these "South Indian" shops that sell the south Indian variety of sweets and snacks. Cafe Mysore converts much of its restaurant into counters that display the various sweets and snacks. I wonder whether the restaurant stays open on these days.
• When I visited Panshikar at Dadar last year, there was a huge queue into that small eatery waiting patiently to buy these snacks.
• Sapre's at Goregaon West is another Maharashtrian favorite. This is the place I've bought most of the stuff from in the past few Diwalis. Sapre's has a large (maybe complete) variety (of the Maharashtrian kind, of course). The very unique thing is that one needs to fill in an "order form" with the quantity that one needs. (The forms are available at the counter.) The forms are to be handed over the counter to the sales person and they will find and collect all the items mentioned. They will even put it in a box so that one can carry the stuff home. Another thing of interest is that at the bottom of the "order form", they mention that no matter how big the order, one would still have to come to the shop to collect it - that they do not deliver.

Let's see if things remain the same this Diwali.

Jumbo King Wada Pav

Its been a few years since the Jumbo King Wada Pav was launched with an ambitious goal of making the "Wada Pav world class". But, it was only recently that I ventured to have a Wada Pav at the stall. This was partly motivated by reading an article in a newspaper about the types of Wada Pav that they offer - I was most attracted by the "Brown (Whole Wheat) Pav".

And so it was that I was pleasantly surprised to see the price of Rs. 6 for the brown pav variety and Rs. 5 for the normal one. They also offer soft drinks and lassi. The Wada Pav was not bad at all and in fact, for the hygiene that they offer, the price is really worth it (it is priced Re. 1 more than the usual Wada Pav hawkers).

I could see that this strategy would not only attract the middle-class and college students, but also the labourer class that make a "meal" out of the Wada Pav. In addition, they have also have Wada Pav with cheese. On the other hand, they call the "Brown Bread Wada Pav" as the "Diet Wada Pav" - quite an attractive proposition for the "diet-concious" people.

The article in the newspaper also mentioned that they were soon going to introduce a "Jain Wada Pav" (without garlic and potatoes).

Looks like a desi McDonald in the making.

Mumbai's best bakers

Without a doubt, most of Mumbai's best bakers are either Parsis or Iranis. Among them, my vote for the best (value, and quality) goes to Merwan's in Andheri (West). There are only 2 Merwan's shops in the entire city (suburbs included). And, believe it or not, these 2 shops are just a few shops away from each other. Both are located on the ground floor of a building called "Madhav Building" on S. V. Road, outside Andheri station (West). One shop specializes in cakes and pasteries; the other has some seats, a snacks counter, and a small get-together hall on the first floor (apart from the same cakes and pasteries). Why there are 2 shops selling the same items within such a close distance is not known to me...maybe it has to do with the handling of customers. Such is the fierce clientele that the customers actually keep an "eye" on the fresh baked items coming in by 4 p.m. By 5 p.m., most of the snack items like rolls, puffs are almost over. And by 6 p.m., you are too late to get anything at all in the snacks section. The prices are quite decent too. I have known people who drop in at Merwan's on their way to Malad. Some eggless pastries and snacks are also available which are quite tasty too. They also have packets of cookies that are crisp and well-baked. If ever there was a baker's competition in Mumbai, this one would take it all. Note that apart from these 2 stores, there is no other branch. There is a "B. Merwans" Irani restaurant and bakery opposite Grant Road station - this has no connection with the "real" Merwans.