Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Divorce as a separation of equals...

Saw the movie "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna". It was almost a manual for ending a relationship and moving on. Still too radical for setting the movie in India. So it is set in the US and thus the joint family issues are avoided. Indian city divorces are on the rise when both husband and wife have the ability to be financially independent. Why be unhappy when there is the possibility of hope and happiness without a partner or with another partner?

My guess is that there will be a similar movie after another 5-10 years with the setting being Mumbai the next time around.

Ofcourse, the movie is similar to "Closer" without the "bad" character. Ofcourse if exceeded Closer in that there is sex with another while being within a marriage. And somewhat scary if you are a city male; the woman character was almost frigid, but she was OK with extramarital sex with a grumpy, disgruntled male.

I lived in a pretty congested neighborhood in Mumbai and witnessed atleast two extra marital affairs in Mumbai within the colony. Pretty tough to carry on these affairs; just about the everyone knows. The "walk" from one building to the other was a spectacle in itself! This was in the 80s. So I am sure things are more brazen now.

AIDS epidemic

The AIDS epidemic is India is probably reaching unmanageable proportions and the big cities are at the epicenter of the epidemic. Both the educated and uneducated migrant population need to play it safe. Easier said than done.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

ModiBombay1.avi

Speech of Modi in Mumbai after Train Blast.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Flash mobs in Mumbai

Here is a group of people that joined in to have some fun and confuse onlookers. Good for a rush of fun, but not recommended. You really do not want to confuse a mob the wrong way. It can easily turn into a good way to get a public beating.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

No more children servings teas in tapri...

Here's a troubling development. Children are now legally banned as domestic help. Thousands of kids run from their homes all over India and end up in Mumbai. Many eventually make it to something decent. Or they learn their lessons and go back home or move to a less hectic place. This kids usually have even worser condition at home and usually are not inclined to go back home.

With the new rule, these kids are not going to stop coming here. But they might not find things to do anymore. Tea stalls, handyman jobs in garages and stalls were always their best option. Let us hope that the rule does not get enforced too heavily. If it does, there will just be more beggars on the street.

Friday, July 14, 2006

25 lakhs prize

There is a prize of 25 lakhs for information leading to the terrorists. With three individuals already sought for questioning, it is only a matter of time.

Mumbai's resilience was amazing as always. Yes, human life does not have much of a value in India. But with that argument, there should have been counter riots similar to those seen in Iraq or Pakistan. Since that does not happen anymore, life is indeed valued. The terrorists actually want a repeat of Gujarat. But as long as presence of global elements are confirmed, Indians typically do not go after fellow Indians. Which is always a good thing. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Mumbai in trouble...

Looks like there is a queue of people waiting to exploit Mumbai. First it was the local Shiv Sainiks with their defamation bandh, then the global terrorists with their coordinated explosion. Wonder who's next. Probably back to Shiv Sena/BJP for the obligatory bandh.

Ofcourse Mumbai can withstand this. Like it has withstood everything else. Mumbai police is pretty good at finding out what happened.

It is easy to destroy things, any kid will tell you that. Terrorists destroy multiple things at the same time to increase the degree of difficulty and somehow rationalize that as a manly act.

Global terrorists have been able to get some pretty impressive recruits locally. Ofcourse, the power comes from oil money and hateful cultures in the mideast. I remember a Saudi guy in an elevator telling me that their country has "too many" Indians. Such language comes naturally when you are given a steady diet of religious and cultural superiority. The superiority turns into utter humiliation when you see the outside world that is both tolerant and better. These acts are pretty much a way a spoilt child acts.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

A separate blog for Mumbai

The cities of Maharashtra typically have a different beat compared to the states. So I have created a separate blog for each of the cities now.

We have heavy rains in Mumbai now, but no water logging. Hopefully that becomes the norm. The first rain is a catastrophe though. Plastic and paper clog all drains and the road and tracks become wading pools. Cities like Mumbai need to figure out a way for cleanliness better than ragpickers/kachrawallas. And yes, garbage cans do not work as it becomes easy money for someone that wants to make a quick buck.

Here's a 4D theatre in Mumbai. Well, something different. Mumbai has always been about entertaining and eating if you have deep pockets.