Thanks to all of you for the continuing support and the comments. Due to more reason than one I am not able to visit all the blogs I love as often as I would like to. Wanted to something clever about this image but presently left speechless by a the growing imbalance of debit and credit in my balance sheet.

Rishi Kapoor was wearing an wnderwear of a Union Jack in Salaam Namastey but no one objected, Mandira bedi was wearing a saree with the national flag and all the news channels were busy showing it. They were interviewing people and asking them to send their opinion via SMS if she should change into a new sari. I think we are a nation with to much time at our hands adn not enough things to do. What will we do next, protest against these trees for indecent exposure.

A friend of mine was supposed to fly to Delhi but a day before the flight he got a call from the airlines informing him that the flight has been cancelled. At a time when all the airlines are trying to undercut each other, I won't be surprised if the flight had been cancelled because the airlines didn't sell enough tickets. Something similar happened to us when we went to Tiger Safari in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. We were told that the bus will only go if there are a minimum of ten people. This picture was taken there only while waiting for the rest of the people to come.

You don't like people peeping in your home. Do you? Why can't I have the same level of privacy?

“Thanks mom. These are really neat parachute trousers you have made for me... what did you use for this?”
“Your Dad's parachute”
“I'll show these to dad. Dad... Dad... where is he mom?”
“Don't know, he was saying something about an airstrip some time ago”
Meanwhile in a plane 20,000 feet above the ground.
“I don't know why Ricky, but I am getting a bad feeling about this jump. My parachute is also feeling a little odd and light”
“Do you want to cancel the jump and head back?”
“Oh no. Let's do it... see you on the ground Rick... GERONIMOOOOO...”

This guy with a parachute is not jumping from a plane but actually flying off the ground. There are toy sellers at Juhu Beach who sell toys such as this, aeroplane and a few other things that fly quite well in the wind of the beach but never gets off ground when you take them home.

In the morning Manu and I went shopping. There was some water in the parking and he was telling me it is "chi chi pani" (dirty water) and he was trying to figure out how to reach our car without stepping in it. In the evening we went to Juhu beach and he rally enjoyed himself. We planned to stay there for an hour - hour and a half but had to come back in about 30 minutes because Manu was getting too difficult to control. He was jumping, splashing in the water and shouting in joy. Back home, I called him in the bathroom for a bath and he was a little concerned by the sand in the floor. To avoid getting it on his feet he walked on shoes and slipper lying there. The same sand he was too happy digging in at the beach only a few minutes ago. I am surprised how he reacts to the same thing in different situations.

When I came to Bombay and was going back to Delhi for Diwali 3 weeks later I seriously thought of taking my stuff with me and never come back. I did come back with Mira. Everytime I am having a tough time, the thought of running back to Delhi has crossed my mind. Currently more things are going wrong than right and I once again thought of going back to Delhi. Actually for some time, considering I know I can't just go back, I have been wishing that I had an option of going back there.

I guess it is time I stop entertaining those thoughts.

“Look I found a pigeon”
“But this is only a feather where is the rest of the pigeon”
“The cat ate it”
“Really? How?”
“This pigeon was trying to hit on a female by spinning in circles and got dizzy and fell down.”
“and?”
“and what? Instead of getting laid, it got eaten.”

My picture of a window cleaner got featured in vazaar in the theme "working" and a picture of australian dollar notes got selected as the favoutite in macroday. Nothing else nice to report at the moment.

I was talking about some changes we have seen the past few years. I remember the only colours in sports shoes I would wear was blue, black, white and grey. White coloured shoes and chappals were strictly meant for film star Jeetendra. These red and black shoes would have been out of the question in those days. I never thought I would wear pink or yellow shirts and t-shirts.

Andy came out of the Fridge before me and then I could hear him shouting in joy about losing weight. He sounded damn happy but then I heard a noise that sounded like bones being broken. Now I can't seem to find him...I am getting really worried about him now. Andy... Andy... where are you? Hey! I just noticed, I have lost so much of weight after coming out of the fridge! Yipeeeee!!

That bloody bas... You know, you won't believe it! Just yesterday I was telling you how he has helped me lose weight. I was all happy and thankful when he picked me up again and crushed me like this before throwing away. I mean, seriously, what did I do to deserve this? How the f&#$ can anyone do this? Now I feel I was better off in that supermarket. I was overweight but the place was air-conditioned and that blonde girl in red cap looked after me real well.

It is amazing. I was told by the doc that I need to lose weight and I tried everything but nothing worked. I didn't lose any weight...even a gram. Then the kind gentleman brought me home and removed this tab from my head. Now I feel I can fly. I have lost so much weight that I can't even keep standing in a strong wind...

Most kids like to have very large canvases for their tiny crayons. Manu fortunately is content with colour books. So far he has coloured by computer screen and have made an attempt to draw a masterpiece on the TV as well but I guess the silver of TV doesn't make as good a base as the beige of a computer screen.

Today is the day celebrated by the people from a lot of regions in India as New Year by a different name. Punjabi's celebrate it as Baisakhi. Happy New Year.

There was a time when people used to pay 750 bucks as the annual charges for a credit card and used to apply to the bank for the same. Now you are chased by the banks who want to offer you life time free credit cards. There was a time when bread was available in only two shops near my home and you could get it only if you go there early in the morning. Now the different vendors are forcing my local grocer to store 150% more bread than he needs. There was a time when a vehicle needs to be be booked and you could sell it at a premium when you get it months after booking it, now you can walk in a showroom and drive in a car whose value depriciates the moment you get it registered in your name. People of my age and older have seen a lot of things change from one spectrum to another. Mostly for good but not always.

“Good morning, This is Natasha. How may I help you?”
“Hi Natasha, I just got my credit card bill and it is obscenely high. It has entries of things I have never bought”
“May I have your name and your credit card number?”
“Yes, my name is Navin Harish and my card...”
“Oh, so you are Navin Harish, the guy who thinks he is some hot-shot photographer and keeps posting images on the net?”
“I beg your pardon”
“Well Mr Harish. What else were you expecting after posting a picture of your credit card showing all the details”

Ashish once commented that he has to walk a lot to get good shots and I get them home delivered. I thought I too should walk a little to get a decent shot once in a while and on weekend morning I walked to the gas station next to Kamal Amrohi studio on JV Link Road to get this shot of a red Chrysler PT Cruiser. I really like the looks of Cruiser and Prowler a lot more but unfortunately they have stopped making the Prowler in 2002.

Thanks for the comments and your wishes on yesterday's post. This is a shot I took on Sunday. There are a lot of people who might say how can I take pictures when I have so many problems surrounding me. Well, like any other true hobby, photography takes my mind off those problems and in a stressed situation, I find taking pictures quite relaxing.

This is a small magic trick that a cashier gave to Manu at D-Mart—a mall in Bombay. Manu calls it chotta sa jaddu which means a small magic. Right now my life is following Murphy's law that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Mira is having health problems, we have to leave our present house by the end of this month and things at work too leave a lot to be desired. I think I also need a chotta sa jaadu in my life.

Last one in this series. I couldn't resist posting this picture even if it is quite similar to this one. What I love in this shot is their expressions. This doesn't look like an old man playing with a kid but to friend enjoying each other's company. Between their heads you can see a couple of clips Manu as stuck and on the table you can see one of they toy he plays with when he goes there.

When you look at tiny, baby feet you feel a desire to tickle them. Don't you?

He gets up in the morning and needs his mommy and daddy to play with for some time. After that he either keeps following us around the house or may sit down and watch some cartoons. He usually sits in front of the TV on the floor or on a chair next to the TV but on this particular day he was feeling a little lazy and lied on top of a pillow. I completed the sandwich by placing another one on top of him.

What has age got to do with friendship? Manu—my 2 year old son with his best friend Mr. Alok Dasgupta-my 80 years old neighbor. Earlier he used to run to his house when the door was open but now he asks us to take him there. "Uncle paas jaan hai". Over there he keeps Mr. Dasgupta busy as he holds his hand and take him inside to inspect the house. He collects the clips from the bedroom and sticks them on the curtain in the living room. Here he is sitting with him on his sofa and checking out his empty pack of cigarettes.

A day before yesterday Manu went to the doctor with his friend for his vaccination. Usually he doesn't like going there but that day he had no problem. He even agreed to go inside the doctor's chamber when Mira asked him. Inside, he proudly sat on the chair. When his friend Ritam started shouting for the fear of a needle, Manu started laughing. The doctor was also surprised “He is unusually happy today”. Why shouldn't he be? After all it's not everyday that you go to the doctor and not get a shot but still get a lolly.

Manu likes to tease us. The word for the big toe and the thumb in Hindi is "Angootha". One day I touched his big toe and said "This is angootha". Then I asked him what it is and he said "Gootha". I asked him a a few times over the next couple of days and he told me what it was, then he got bored. One day I asked him what it is and he said. "This is not gootha," and touched another of his toe "this is gootha". After that he kept insisting that the middle toe is the gootha and the big toes is actually an "unni". Ungli is the word for a finger and all the toes except the big toe.

“Yeh dhai kilo ka haath jab kisi ko padta hai to aadmi uthta nahin ai uth jaata hai.” This what Sunny Deol, an Indian actor in a constant rage tells in one of his movie called Damini that means, “When someone is hit by this 2.5 kg hand, he doesn't get up, he goes straight up to god.” The angle of this image made me think about Sunny. This image was taken on the day of Holi after the celebrations with the colours. The black mark on the little finger signifies that he took the polio drops in the last stage of Pulse polio campaign.

Tulsi is the name of holy basil, a plant that is worshipped and can be found in almost all the houses in north India. It's leaves tastes good in tea as well. This is also the name given to the central character in the never-ending Hindi serial Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi who must have used up about a full trailer if glycerine so far since the serial started. I wish the entire cast of all saas bahu serials with all the support crew would board on a plane that will crash in the Indian Ocean.