Sharada Within Bombay

She was 69 and suffering from flu for a week. On 6 February 2012 she was rushed to Bombay Hospital when her condition took a turn for the worse. She died on the way passing thru the by-lanes of Bombay. 
The lanes and passages she was so conversant with. Sharada Dwivedi the lone living legend was now no more.  
Sharada Dwivedi, eminent historian , researcher and author, was hailed as one of the few who opened Bombay up to its people. Dwivedi was a product of this city (educated at Queen Mary's School, Sydenham College and Bombay University, where she earned her degree in Library Science);

(Authored by Sharada Dwivedi
and Rahul Mehrotra)

 The panoramic coffee-table book she authored with Rahul Mehrotra-Bombay: The Cities Within (1995)-was a watershed publication, breaking the old mould of 'city histories' with its conversational prose, breathtaking sepia images and broad detail. Other histories that followed (often co-authored) included works like Banganga the sacred tank at the Malabar Hill, Fort Walks, and most recently The Taj At Apollo Bunder. 
 She lived and breathed monuments of Mumbai. She was familiar with every minute detail of the old and neo-gothic structures of the city. History as though unfolded to her. She belonged to Bombay which in return belonged to her. She was a true Bombay-ite who even refused to use the term Mumbai. She loved its culture deeply. And this reflects in her work. The sheer knowledge and understanding she brought to a subject which even most seasoned city planners and politicians of today neglect greatly. 
She loved the streets and by-lanes of the city that was her home, and she dared go beyond to protect the historic identity of Bombay. She has researched history of all the famous monuments and buildings of the city and was always caring for the conservation work. She tirelessly raised funds and created awareness for heritage buildings and championed causes related to the city. She was actively involved with the Urban Design Research Institute, Kala Ghoda Association and other citizen groups. 



Sharadaji, you still endure in the heart of Mumbai. The many researchers you inspired, the students you helped, the conservationists you generously shared your knowledge with, the heritage lovers you introduced the city by your work will all miss you....but most of all, the city of Bombay shall miss you as you were the one who loved and worshiped it the most.


                  May Your Soul Rest In Peace. Thanks for enriching our lives...

JAI KISAN - the forgotten slogan.

First, it was Purushottam Manikrao Deshmukh, in 2003. Then, his younger son, Sunil, the very next year. And a then it was his elder son, Santosh. They all lived on credit, but died in installments, with burden of debt piling up.

(only for representation)

In four years, one family of the Deshmukhs in Katyar – a cotton producing village of about 3000 people 35 km east of Akola – lost all its men, one by one, to a crisis that has for sometime now, threatening to swallow families unto families across rural Vidarbha. Farmer, an element of growth and development of our motherland is cosuming slow poison ie. Poverty.

This thought of mine erupted from nowhere and ridiculed me about the Poor India.

On the other hand Richest India came into account when i was informed about the total travelling cost of Our beloved President, Pratibha Patil.

President Pratibha Patil's travel has cost the public exchequer (Indian citizens money) a whooping 205 crore. I was thwacked!! Being a cheapskate i drooled as soon as the freaky news channel showed the numbers '205 crores' in sometimes large, small, zoomed motions and repeated it several times. Then came list to places she visited  after assuming office "12 foreign trips covering 22 countries across four continents and spend 79 days abroad. She travelled to Russia, Switzerland, Brazil, China, Mexico, Mauritius, Chile, Bhutan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Spain, Poland, Tajikistan, UK, Cyprus, Austria, Laos, Cambodia, the UAE, Syria and South Korea" quoted the loyal newspaper. 

Travelling to different countries i know could be important for bi-lateral ties and friendly relations but travelling with large entourage doesn't make sense.

99 dignitaries, Yes I mean it NINETY NINE people accompanied Madam President which included family members, ministers,six cooks, 4 butlers, lady attendants and a stupid photographic officer. Cooks i can understand she might be food poisoned or she cant manage her diet routine or she was following the Protocol. But SIX COOKS?? Aha!!  Farmers in the agricultural pockets were committing suicides during this period and Mrs. President was enjoying her lavish vacation overseas.

When i type these words i feel like banging my keyboard and to smash it on our lame Prime Minister. Ok! its time i should calm down.

RTI applications has revealed that Air India incurred over Rs 169 crore on use of chartered aircraft, always a Boeing 747-400. Here it is.., the another revelation, matter of pride and honour. A good show to show India a bigger country by using bigger aircraft! Does it really matter?? 

David Cameron, British Prime Minister flew to India in a commercial airline that to in business class. Did this tarnish his prestige or the face of United Kingdom? Negative is the response.

Then why? I ask why our hard earned money is been spent to satisfy those greedy souls?? 

I could foresee phlegmatic Indians pouncing on these greedy souls to snatch their looted treasure and force them to pay for their misgivings.

The conditions of farmers lie in a sorry state or i could say worst state. Will this be the end of agricultural economy? or DOES IT HARDLY MATTERS TO ANYONE IF FARMER SUICIDES ?? 

Television Usage Policy And Viewing Protocol For Women During IPL 5

There comes a time in every man’s life when there are certain things he must do and I mean DO ,Not as a Husband, Not as a Father, Not even as a Son but solely as a Man…

Once in a year an event comes which matters more to an Indian man than life itself.

IPL( Indian Premier League)

It is At this time that a man must enforce the VIEWING PROTOCOL for the IPL to not so understanding, religious daily soap viewers- WIFE’S and as a representative of all men due to my staggeringly brilliant genius awesome + humble reputation. ^o^

Therefore here is the Instruction Manual, Television Usage Policy and Directives to be followed by all Women for the upcoming weeks:

1.) The Remote Is Mine And Mine Alone: Under no circumstance are you allowed to even lay a single finger on it.

2.) The TV is also mine and I will watch ONLY CRICKET,

Yes, ONLY Cricket

Only Cricket .

CRICKET, CRICKET, CRICKET and NOTHING else

     I Will Watch The Matches Live

    If The Match Is Not Live Then I Will Watch The Highlights Of The Previous Match.

3.) I Will Not Co-Operate, Adjust, Be Considerate, Try To Understand, About This, etc,etc, when it comes to the remote and the TV. Both these are under my control. If you interfere in my viewing of the MATCH by attempting to forcefully take the control then you may consider this relationship terminated and await Divorce Proceedings.

4.) If you even attempt to test me by insisting you have to watch Koffee with Karan or some related soul-sucking daily soap while the match is on then the resultant reaction from my end will lead to a catastrophe bigger than the combined nuclear force of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs.

5.) My line of sight shall at all times remain uninterrupted. Any obstructions in the space between the TV and my eyes such as Funny Dancing Dolls, Potted Plants, Antique Statues, or Any Type of Handicraft, placed by you will be mercilessly thrown out of the house.

6.)  NO – I will not get up and open the door if the door bell rings while the match is on

7.) NO – I will not pick up phone calls during the match

8.) NO – You cannot sit on my couch. It is a holy place because that is where my Ass will be parked along with a ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ Sign around my neck while I meditate on the Cricket Action. You may observe from afar and maintain the sacred environment. 

9.) Any negative comment relating to absolutely anything even most minute about GOD aka Sachin Tendulkar will result in immediate cancellation of Our Relationship.

10.) You are likely to hear a lot of cuss words and Maa-Behen Ki Gali against some people like Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Brett Lee, Stuart Broad, Shahid Afridi, Billy Bowden, AB De Villiers and many many more. I have no time to explain who these people are so please google if you want to know who I am abusing at a particular point in time.

11.) You are allowed to view the match with me but too much chatter will lead you to be ejected from the viewing area.

12.) YES - My Friends will be coming over every single day and I will also be going to their houses to watch the IPL

13.) If you want to watch the matches with me then especially note that only strict Cricket talk will be allowed.

 I don’t want to hear statements like:

    a)“I must buy Surf excel Powder today”

    b)Virat Kohli looks like my friend’s Son”  

    c)“Dhoni must shave more often” 

    d)“The color of that Team’s Uniform matches the color of the                                            curtains in My Sister’s bedroom” 

   e)“Simon Taufel is so cute”

   f)“Why is Raina Not playing?”

   g)“His haircut is so nice”

    Etc, etc

 Statements like these will lead to severe consequences and repercussions 

14.) NO – I will not watch what I eat. I will munch on more Chips, Samosas and high cholesterol fried food items during this week than I have ever done before. In case I collapse due to high sugar levels, then be ready to tell me scores the moment I wake up in the hospital.

15.)  NO – I will not attend any Birthday Parties, Naming Ceremonies,Wedding Anniversaries, Sari Exhibition, Shoe Sale, Art Extravaganza and wagera wagera.. .You are more than welcome to attend these on your own and remember to take the key because when you come back I will not get up from the couch to open the door for you as I will be too busy watching the match.

16.) During this time I will be more religious and spiritual than I have ever been my whole life. If you see me on my knees, eyes closed, palms folded and mouthing words then remember not to disturb me as I will be directly praying to Ganesha for the victory of my favorite team.

Failure to comply with the above mentioned directives will lead to negative results. You have been forewarned.

On Behalf Of All Men,

  IMRAN FAZAL

WOMEN..?? I TELL YOU!!

If you think women are complicated, I reassure you, they ARE. Solving a Sudoku is much easier than understanding the enigma called “woman”. 

I may be too young to speak about the broad and multi-dimensional phenomenon of womanhood I don’t want to emphasize on what a woman CAN DO or SHOULD DO, I will just talk about what an average woman DOES. Nothing out of the box, none my imagination but all that is known, all that is the truth. Just what the reality is!

WOMANHOOD AND EMOTIONS:

Womanhood is not about emotions, it is about an oceanful of emotions. The range of emotions is hugely vivid and extremely deep. Happiness, love, care, appreciation, hope, enthusiasm, anger, rage, fear, grief, despair, anxiety, surprise, apprehension, worry, envy—all runs in a woman’s blood and there is no turning away from this fact. women are sentimental. They love boundless, and hate endless. They hope for the best and worry about the worst. they get angry in a second, and melt in a moment. They care too much and fear too much. They can have more than one emotion at a time, which often comes across as confusion.

Emotions of a woman are her greatest strength and the driving force behind all the strong decisions. Emotions are an expression of femininity and not of fragility. Womanhood is all about feelings. 

WOMANHOOD AND TEARS:

Overtly active tear-glands are the hallmark of women. We don’t know when-where-why would they cry. They just do. Never ever take a woman’s tears as a sign of weakness. It is just a measure of her SENSITIVENESS. Tears of a woman could have four meanings:

Meaning 1: She is too happy and short of words to express it. These tears deserve simple acknowledgement.

Meaning 2: She is hurt and fearful. And she really is. These tears demand a sincere apology.

Meaning 3: She is in pain. And it is intense and inexpressible. These tears need genuine concern.

Meaning 4: She is just SHE. She has a million things to worry about. It may be her chipped nail or damaged hair; her dog might be ill, or that beggar child on the road, or Shah Rukh dying at the end of a movie, or the mention of another girl by her boyfriend more than twice, or a 0.000001-kilogram-increment in her weight. Anything and everything can stimulate those tear glands. And she can't control them as much as a man can't control ogling at women.

No! No man can understand the fourth meaning. The best (or the only thing) he can do is“to pretend to understand, to refrain from laughing, and to keep quiet!” She would be alright in some moments.

WOMANHOOD AND THE UNIVERSAL FACTS:

• Yes! they love chocolates, teddies, kids, Shah Rukh, love stories and fairy tales. PEACE.
• Yes! they are dreamy. And their dreams are beautiful. PHEW!
• Yes! they don’t understand gadgets, bikes, football and maths. And we care the least. BLAH!
• Yes! they are right in 90% of the arguments. In the rest 10%, the other person is wrong. WATCH OUT!
• Yes! they don’t need continuous oxygen to live. they need non-stop talking. BLISS IT IS!
• Yes! they know more than Google does. they can find out anything and everything. BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
• Yes! There is a calendar in their brains and it registers every single date and anniversaries. And it is stored there forever.
• Yes! they know only two adjectives: SWEET and CUTE! And only one interjection: “Awwwww!” Isn’t it so sweet?
• Yes! they need 4–5 hours to get ready. And their time starts when others have already reached to the door. PATIENCE MAN!
• Yes! Shopping, make-up, gossiping and giggling are their birth rights. No arguments. Full stop.

DEDICATED TO WOMANHOOD:

Womanhood is a constant struggle between heart and mind.

Womanhood is a continuous shuffle between rigidity and fragility.

Womanhood is a frequent shift between sensibility and sensitivity.

Womanhood is a regular alteration between stiffness and submissiveness.