29th September 2009
A dip at Aksa beach
Manu loves water so we took him to Aksa beach on Sunday. Aksa beach is supposed to be dangerous and we were discussing the same thing among ourselves and later with a life guard and I guess Manu sort of figured it out so he was not very keen in playing in water the way he usually does. Initially he kept walking with us, exploring the beach for shells and other things but by the end of it, he couldn't stop himself. I guess the other kids playing there gave him the confidence he needed to go for a splash. Here my brother is giving him a spin.
28th September 2009
Happy Dashera / Vijay Dashmi
We plant barley on the first navratri and on Dushera. Ten bundles of them are used during the puja on the morning of Dushera. On top of barley is sweet curd rice prasad.
27th September 2009
Best wishes for Durga Puja / Durgotsab / Maayer Pujo
Habits are formed by doing something repeatedly. We have been going to Durga Puja every year and it has become a sort of a routine so now we have to do it. This year though we went to Powai as well as the Puja closer to our home. In Powai they made a temple for the idols and I have never seen something quite like it before. An image of the temple will follow during the week.
23rd September 2009
Manu and Shyla
We have been to Kanheri Caves three times and all three times we have been able to spend about an hour there and see the same few caves. The kids don't find such places interesting and they were both eager to go back to the national park and go for the animal safari and for a ride in the toy train. If I get an opportunity, I would like to go there alone or with people interested in exploring the caves further and spend more time there.
22nd September 2009
“I'll distract them, you get the cameras”
Imagine driving around a national park and stopping to take some pictures of a group of monkeys. A normal thing to do, not hard to imagine, right? Now imagine the monkey sitting on a tree, with a DSLR in his hand and taking pictures of you. This is what I felt this group of monkeys had in their mind.
21st September 2009
“Saara sheher mujhe LOIN ke naam se jaanta hai”
When Ajit said “Saara sheher mujhe LOIN ke naam se jaanta hai” (The whole town knows me by the name of LOIN) what was the reason behind it? Did Ajit really used to pronounce Lion as Loin? Did he do this on purpose to add some character to his role or was it some sort of a private joke among the crew shooting the movie? And was Shatrughan Sinha ever tempted to make a wise crack at it like “Aur saara shehar mujhe GROIN ke naam se jaanta hai.”
18th September 2009
A toothless smile
If a statue is to be installed in Bombay, it will be either a statue of Shivaji or Dr. Ambedkar. If a statue is to be installed in Uttar Pradesh, it will be Mayawati. If a place is to be named in Delhi, it will be Rajiv Gandhi/ Indira Gandhi/ Jawarlal Nehru. If a note is to be printed, it will have the picture of Mahatma Gandhi.
17th September 2009
The last rain
It is said that when there is a rain accompanied by thunder, it is the last rain of the monsoon in Bombay. Last weekend we had rains with some very loud thunderstorm, it rained again on Monday a little and has not rained since. I thought it was only appropriate if I capture the last rain of the season, I guess a little faster shutter speed would have been better.
15th September 2009
Please, do walk on the grass
Walking on the grass and not having someone shout “Hey! get of the grass” is a luxury in cities like Bombay. As a child we were unaware of the concept of “keep off the grass”. There is a ground and grass grows on it, if you keep off it, were the hell will you walk. Now we are mostly walking on concrete, tarmac or paver stones and staying off the grass has become sort of second nature and we feel guilty of walking on grass even if it is not prohibited.
14th September 2009
Manuraj or Manu Raj
Manu has learned writing his name but he writes it with a space between Manu and Raj. It is quite amusing watching him write his name especially on a crowded paper. Sequence is not very important for him so the name may not appear from left to right, he will start with an M and then the rest of the letters will follow where ever he finds space to write them.
11th September 2009
I am superstitious
I bought a Samsung phone in November 2007 which didn't last for an year. I bought a new phone in December last year to replace it. As can be expected I posted some images of the Samsung on my site and I took some pictures of my new phone HTC-3400i as well. I bought a phone at around the same time for two years and I was about to post pictures of two phone at the same time for two years.
9th September 2009
Squeezing out every bit of life
I guess I am over denial and have accepted the fact that I am no longer a Delhite but a Mumbaikar. I realised while writing the description of this image as the fly on the door my parent's house. Till now I used to say my house
This is either a house fly that has died after being squeezed between the door and the door frame and turned green or some other insect that was green to begin with. I have no idea, do you?
8th September 2009
Clothing on monthly installments
Yesterday the market crossed 16000 which should be a sign that the economic slump is on its way out. This morning I met my neighbor who works for a bank and he mentioned “The market is showing no signs of improvement” Unless you are personally affected by it one way or the other, you don't really know what to believe. What do you think about the economic condition of the country?
7th September 2009
Leaning tower of Paisa
A few things Manu likes a lot are scissors which he uses to cut papers, especially tags of clothing. The other thing is the tape. If he gets his hands on any tape, you an be assured, it will be finished by the end of day. He got his hands on two way tape and he used that tape coins to make this "spring". When I saw it, I noticed he has doubled the tape in some places. I told him this is a two way tape and he doesn't have to do it. "I did it to make a better spring", he told me and it did work. When I tried to squeeze it, the double layers of tape did give it a better cushion.
3rd September 2009
Finally compensated
A while ago I wrote how not to run a promotional campaign. TATA-AIG Insurance sent me a wrist watch, a belt and a purse-all three of very bad quality, something I would never use. Currently Timex is offering a discount of 25% if you give your old watch. I picked up this watch last Saturday and gave that old watch in its place. So the watch I found so disgusting when I got it, saved my Rs.1250 which I guess is more than value of the entire pack including the purse and he belt.
1st September 2009
There is space for one more
Komal di Gaddi is really old, smokes like a chimney and pollutes the air more than an average vehicle. At the same time it is transporting so many people who in turn are not driving their own cars so the per capita pollution is still less.
