Rising From The Ashes..!!

BANDRA SLUM FIRE

5th March 2011

Flames gutted in the Gareeb Nagar slums leading to destruction of more than 1000 huts in Gareeb Nagar adjoining Behram Pada areas. As people were still trying to collect their belongings especially their ration cards and documents which could prove that they are residents of Mumbai. Authorities were seen facing the wrath of the slum dwellers because their response was tardy. Buckets of water and sand were poured successively. To calm down the blazing fire.
Kids were seen wailing as their mother was trying to collect belongings as much as she could. The memories were burnt to ashes and only hopes were their last resort.



                                                                  
                                           5th March 2012

Oh!! here it is again. Should i appreciate their courage as they are brave to overcome a life threatening tragedy. OR i should call them foolish as they have reformed their bastis again where the same incident could strike again risking their lives. 

Rising of new Era!!

WELL!! the people living here basically are from different parts.Some are Bangladeshis, some from Nepal and some from nowhere.. I mean its still unknown to them!! They settle here for limited period, paying rents and enjoying Mumbai life.These people have low income but high spirits. Some proprietors of the shanty stay off in some remote areas and just collect the rents which are way higher then the rents in remote areas.The owners have regenerated their shanties in such a way that it could anytime crash down, endangering their lives. But their willingness to continue to survive at the place where their memories of both happy and sad moments flourish. One plus two cement roof, unauthorized constructions has thereby increased the slums in these area. 
                                                

               And now it is almost 3-4 floors above ground

God forbid.. another tragedy awaits as these slums have dangerously overshot the limited space for them which has thereby risen to 3-4 floors above ground level. These developments often go unnoticed by the officials and when a catastrophic event occurs they are seen nowhere, leading to delays and more damage. If they keep monitoring these developments they would rectify serious issues in these slums thus preventing major destruction. Just imagine, if a fire breaks out or the temporary structure built crashes down... How could a fire brigade engine reach to the spot?? The lackadaisical approach of slum dwellers and authorities could lead to another BANDRA SLUM FIRE EPISODE!!

Mumbai Threatened

Rickshaw.. wait bloody.. , hey ruko, stop...!! i yelled. But not even a single rick turned back. It was 9 pm, peak hour where Mumbaikars rush towards train, bus and cab stations. I was at one of the secluded place in town where rickshaws were ample but they were really not interested in me I suppose!! I decided to give a shot in walking towards the train station but my mind replied back negatively as during this point of time travelling in trains is just like a battle to be fought. I said lets try once to stop a rick, i glanced on the road, an empty rick was approaching, bhaiya station jaana hai i pleaded..he nodded in return and now i was prepared for a jumpy, back aching ride on mumbai's potholed roads. In the meantime i was ready for  a journey of approx 20-25mins to my destination. I recently heard of Mumbai's Auto Union strike so i just gave a common man's piece of mind by poking him about the bandh fiasco. He replied in a vague manner that he only knew that he has to earn a living for his family. "We never declare strikes its just netas who create trouble in our lives" now in tone to show his protest aginst these strikes. I asked him if he knew leader of the rickshaw union? he said i have been driving in Mumbai for past five years and have never seen or heard about him but i know his name... its Sharad Pawar...!! i was astonished as i heard him.. Kya bola aapne?? Sharad Pawar he quickly replied. I made a quick correction there, and said its Sharad Rao..There was quietness in the air.. He started again on the very next signal, spitting off his paan, he said Saheb, we are just slaves, we slog on these roads, then pack off home only to realize nothing is gonna change. Regional differences,potholed roads, strikes, corrupt hawaldars are our added woes, atleast i am not the one who demands strikes, strikes leads to our losses. But these leaders don't understand and we are just their puppets who give them political mileage.
 I said then why the heck you go off roads?? drive and earn your living, why trouble common man? Now i was in a mood to give a tough fight. Common man V/s Rickshawalla. He said, we are forced to go off roads either they smash us or our ricks. You tamper your meters and avoid short distance trips.. fuming like he was the sole culprit. Saheb, we slog for long day facing several risks everyday, the rent of the vehicle, repairs, petrol, CNG, etc... we hardly earn a good amount after daily struggle. I reached my destination paying him the fare, i moved into railway station for another fight.
I Realized how handfull of goons sabotage life of Mumbaikars. Leaders just gain their political mileage through agendas like region, religion, demands. In a recent headline i read Sharad Rao Gives Ultimatum To The Government. That means another strike and to hinder lives of Mumbaikar.Who the Fu#* Is he?? The bloody neta who don't give a fuck if an autowallah dies hungry on roads. Strikes just fumes Mumbaikar and one day we would go on strike and YOU bloody asshole will remain off road. I mean why does Mumbaikar never comes forward like he did during every crisis.. Give Sharad Rao his shit and throw him out. Ultimatum!! huh.. The person who owns a bungalow, enjoying his rich life why would he give a damn to what an autowallah is facing.
Its high time that we allow our lives to be controlled by these handfull of morons.

Ban Ekta Kapoor.

 It was a usual morning but unusual beginning of the day as my anger which was building up since 5-6years ago crashed on my mom. My anger was all about Ekta Kapoor serials and crying shit which is making my life sucking and i feel like loser because my mom gets glued to this bloody Rona-Dhona and i suffer as i don't get lunch, dinner and even a cup of tea on time. Now you would say i am blithering and just dragging a small stupid situation like a chewing gum but seriously its making my life hell. Morning fights ruins your whole day and yes it did happen! It RUINED my day. As i saw my mom glued to one of the program showing some courtroom drama, i just went up to her and said let me watch some news channel as its my daily routine but she just snatched away the remote and started screaming. How rude!! Why was that for just to see a courtroom buff which she knows is reel??
Now i just got pissed as i switched the main button off to show my ire and sneaked into bathroom. She was still screaming that i turned the mains off. After a prolonged silence i came out , Brush in hand, remote on the other, i again switched the TV on and sat to listen some hindi songs. After some time i went to take bath as i came out i just balled over as i saw her again glued to that Ekta stuff. Now it was getting off my hand Ekta was sabotaging my family. I was supposed to hurry down at office as i was already late and Mom was supposed to pack my Lunch box. I asked her twice.. No RESPONSE.... i just fumed and picked up the remote and BANG!Pieces scattered, battery under the bed and damage beyond repair!! She shouted.. Dad intervened, pushed me aside.. it looked like Kushti ka akhada. Finally TV off... I took my bag, wore my shoes and i just walked off. So now i had no lunch box and i was planning for Anna ka Anshan against Ekta Kapoor for making crap serials, mood was arrghh..!!to bang someone like a remote.
Controlling my anger just reached the office, My colleagues sensed something was wrong and preferred to stay away from angry young man, Silence was kind of unknown thing until i fumed like angry bull. Signal sent Imran ko kuch hua hai!! I could feel that, still gave a blind eye.
I decided to stay off lunch and to not even eat a morcel...
"Imran just come have lunch" said one of my colleague
No yaar i am not hungry will eat later.. felt proud to say that.
Lunch over, me hungry, everyone settled, but i wasn't now i am hungry, searching for some good junk food to fill my stomach i just went out searched the vicinity nothing impressed me so i decided to go to one of the Dosa center nearby, "Dosa nahi hai", said Anna in his south Indian accent.
"Medu vada dedo,"
The outlet was famous for its yummy sambhar and i was still mesmerising the taste while in the backdrop banging of the remote flashed in my mind... i finally ended my Anshan...!!
Aha!! my stomach rejoiced within as i gulped my bottled water. During my starvation period this was my moment of joy and this is for Anna- My Savior.
But one thing i know i would really not forgive EKTA KAPOOR for ruining my day!!

Unfair fairness creams..!!

The day seemed blurry as I started, the result of my half sleep mode. The day seemed promising,long and hard day. It took me great efforts to build pace as I was still thinking on the lines to beat it and go back to the badly needed snooze.
The regular seven minutes walk brought me to the station.The platform was crowded, people hustling down the train, I hurried down to my usual compartment as I had already missed one. The next train was after five mins which I presumed as ten mins because its Indian railways and it’s a regular case of trains running late. The announcement came, the train arriving on platform no. 1 for Virar is running late. I said, Holy shit!! I will be screwed if I don’t reach in time as always I tend to reach office after the reporting time. The train arrived, my habit of standing on footboard made me stand on the corridor, pushing, pulling and finally a woman with a child got pushed and started cursing with chosen abuses at the passengers departing, but that day I creeped inside the train passage and stood below the roof fan which was guzzling out warm air.

I gazed in the compartment as usual and I noticed a boy, he seemed 20-21 years old, brown in color , lean and well dressed, a black coloured bag in hand, tagged along with a friend and was busy gibbering to his friend  and from amidst his animated conversation he removed a tube, pressed its nozzle and the blob of white cream popped in his hand he spread the white cream on his hand and started massaging his face. I suppose it was Fair and Lovely fairness cream.  In front of that boy was a middle-aged woman, talking as softly as she could to her hubby and the chat suddenly came to a standstill and both gave an awry look to the guy they were amazed by this unaccustomed act. And she ensured that she doesn't spill out the beans by laughing her heart out and so did I. 
This little incident made me think how Indian Men are conscious about their dark complexion. When i googled about Fairness cream market in India for Men I came across a huge disbelief -500 Crore Rupees and in South India the market has grown by 35% for men and mere 15% for women. One of the website which is into match-making business had 3 primary questions on the form:
1) Name
2)Caste
3)Fairness.
I was still coming to terms about this crap and as i scrolled down i came across a research expert who said -
"Parents, bride and grooms don't even reach up to the column on educational qualifications or job if the partner is not fair."
Does that mean a guy pursuing higher studies has zero value if he is dark? A girl is judged mere by her fair complexion?? 


Be it a college goer or a corporate person, none have been left untouched by this grooming fad with a keen desire to look fair. Indian cosmetic companies and marketers have strongly hooked on to this opportunity.
The media has played a major role in pushing men in this direction, as ads promoting fairness creams seek to portray that dark skinned guys lack confidence and are not as successful as the fair-skinned. These ads are pointed needles and penetrates hard in the minds to the Dark complexioned Indian Men.


GROW UP INDIAN MEN... Black Is Beautiful and I really mean it..!!