The Irani Heritage

The food culture of Mumbai is changing. With Indian and International Restaurant chains fast growing, you see a plethora of them in and around the city. But amidst these newbies, resisting this change, the remnants from city's old Culture still stand tall.

And when you talk about the popular hangouts from the bygone era, you simply can't miss the Irani Restaurants.

Kyani and Co. is one such restaurant near Marine Lines which represents the Restaurants of yesteryears.

As you enter the restaurant, you find a septagenerian handling the counter. When he says, "Paanch-Dus minute rukna padega"(You will have to wait for five-ten minutes), a sense of satisfaction is clearly visible in his eyes. A satisfaction that even after being into business for maybe more than hundred years, they are still running full houses.

As you happen to wait for a table to get vacated, you start observing the surroundings. Everything around you seems to be from your History textbook. Be it the wooden tables and chairs or the old Grandpa Clock hanging on the wall (although from lost time, still shows today's time) take you back in time. The antique telephone with round dial on the counter reminds you of Graham Bell.
Forget about the airconditioners, the fans too are not like what you see today.
The old hand painted advertisements of their "No.1" products reveal the efforts that needed to be put in those days when "Ctrl C + Ctrl V" was an alien phenomenon. But the presence of a Lady on these hoardings clarify that alike today olden days marketing too was predomintantly influenced by the Female Power.
Behind the counter, there is a handwritten parchment stuck on a wall which says, "Credit Cards are not accepted". This very line brings your time machine back to today's era as you realize that your wallet is full of plastic cards but you hardly carry any cash.

It is when you are summoned by a waiter, your table is ready. As you search for the menu card, you happen to look at your table and you are surprised to find a menu card under a glass sheet. Looking at over hundered variants of Irani and Parsee cusines, you are now totally confused. You finally settle down for maximum variety of delicacies each of which comes with 'Pav' as complementry. It is not that you like the taste of all the varints but your tastebuds that are accustomed of usually eating Paneer Butter Masala or Veg Kolhapuri or for that matter a burger or a pizza whenever you go out eating get a sense of newness. Gradually you start developing this taste and before you could even realize, you have devoured four odd Pavs. As your plates get empty, the waiter approaches thinking you may ask for a bill, but he doesn't know your capacity and thus eyes you suspiciously when you say, "One Brun Maska, one Irani Chai and two Faloodas".

As you eat, eat and finally reach the climax of this food saga, you find a cold drink being served which you had seen when you were a school kid or a mere toddler, well how often do you find a Dukes being served in the era of Red Bull and Mountain Dew? But as you are already full, now you want to stop and ask for the bill. You have eaten like a monster and now you are asked to pay a meagre 330/- Rupees. You are contented. Since it is far well within your budget, you happen to check out their Bakery. Biscuits, Kharis, Nankatais, Cakes, Pasteries they have them all. You end up buying a few of them home.

One last survey tells you that even if everything here belongs to Bombay but the machinery used for cooking is from Mumbai. The fact that the place is listed on Zomato is a certificate that it's popular even today.

While you move out, you can't stop the photographer in you clicking every possible moment, every possible nuance.

God's own Shoulder

Amidst heavy rains and torturing traffic, manoeuvring their umbrellas as people try to find their way out, I can see this kid hardly a year old, oblivious to this downpour, sleeping peacefully on a strong shoulder under a big umbrella.

Sanguine he is as he knows that come what may this shoulder will never let him fall.

Confident he is as he knows that this strong shoulder will carry him in every thick and thin.

Optimistic he is as he knows that this shoulder belongs to the God Himself, His God whom he Calls “Papa”…

When God could not reach to each one of us, He created His Avatar whom we call "Father"...

You don't belong here

Walking through the plush malls of South Mumbai,

You come across Brands which are not much heard of in your middle class Life.

You come across Foreigners who try to find their home here.

You come across Girls from your own Country wearing bare minimum clothes trying to imitate those Foreigner Ladies.

You come across those Guys whom they call as 'Gays'.

You come across Restaurants which are not really 'Desi'.

You come across every thing that is High Class...

This city is changing, country is changing, this very change is bridging the gap between भारत and 'Indiyeah'.

But some where as the masses try to fall prey to this Westernisation, a voice resonates in your heart,

"You don't belong here..."

"You don't belong here..."

"You don't belong here..."

Think and then Act

While buying a Sim Card as I try to understand the activation procedure from the Sales Executive, I see this girl approaching.

As the Sales Executive hands over her new sim card to this Girl, very carelessly she removes the Old Sim card from her phone and puts in the new one.

I wonder about the fate of the old sim card, will she dispose it casually or will she destroy it properly?

It is when I see her breaking it into pieces.

I feel happy that She is careful enough to destroy the dead sim card before disposing it.

But alas my happiness doesn't last long as I see her lamenting that She has forgotten to copy her contacts from her old sim card.

Well, nothing against the girl,

But we humans, both women and men alike have a general tendency that We Act first and think later, when ideally it should be exactly the other way round...

THE BLACK FANTASY

When J.K. Rowling christened Harry Potter’s Godfather as SIRIUS BLACK, one realizes how serious she was in sketching her characters. Sirius, when many accused him as a murderer, he was actually a brave soul who was a friend and a savior of the Potters. Same is with the colour BLACK, when many allegedly term this colour as a hoodoo, those who are not superstitious; those who are rational dismiss this allegation as a silly crap. For them Black symbolizes Bravery. For them Black defines Elegance. For them Black is Beautiful. And I can proudly say that I am one of them.

And when you know that Black is your colour, you tend to buy everything that’s Black. Be it an attire or a gadget, your finger points towards only one colour and there is no second thought upon it.

So, here is my “Black fantasy” and yes though black in colour, this is not a blacklist but a wish list which I would love to have or experience one day.

1)     My Own Book with a BLACK cover page:

Being an avid writer, I always dream of publishing my own book. Will it be a Love story or a murder mystery; I really don’t know however what I know for sure is that the cover page of the book will be definitely Black in colour. How about titling it as “BLACK” as well where in B L A C K will be an acronym for…

Hussh… Top Secret, you never reveal your trade secrets.

2)     A Fulgor Nocturnus Pen:

As a sword is for a warrior, a pen is for a writer. And when you talk about this writing equipment, what else one can ask for than a “Tibaldi Fulgor Nocturnus”, studded with black diamonds and adorned with rubies, this black beauty will indeed be a priceless possession.

3)     A Cannon EOS 5D DSLR:

Apart from being a writer, I am a passionate photographer too and your photographic skills are enhanced when you have a right camera to “capture” your “vision”. And if I am thinking of giving a serious shot to photography then Cannon EOS 5D needs to be there, garlanded around my neck. When it will click colourful images, its own colour will be Black.

4)     A Volkswagen Beetle:

When you truly love someone, do you really bother about his/her weight or height or for that matter his/her behavioral tantrums? No, you don’t. Same is with this car. I love her so much that I really don’t bother to look at her technical specification. Her price tag may be a hitch but one fine day she will be mine. Only thing she will have to take care is that she should be Black!

5)     A BLACK Date:

  

      Now this is something really bizarre. A date with my Dream girl, Deepika Padukone. She will be a wearing a Black dress then and I will be wearing a black suit. It will be a Dinner date followed by a long drive in my Black Volkswagen Beetle. Then on some sea shore, bending on my knees very affectionately I will present her my Black Book and the Fulgor Nocturnus and in a gracious voice would request her, “Autograph please”. As she will be busy signing the book, I will capture this once in a Life Time moment in my Cannon EOS 5D.  It will be a Black date in a true sense.

When just a mere mention of the colour Black can bring such positive thoughts, imagine what these “BLACK” things can really do in real life.

Ah… Feels like Heaven.

       

         

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

Life Goes On; We have to move on

It was two years back when I had purchased this so called “Smart Phone”. It was a priceless possession and standing true to its name it actually acted smart. A plethora of features worked effortlessly then but as time passed, this device started showing signs of ageing. Its reflexes slowed down and it hanged every now and then. The device was no longer “Smart”

Fed up of these tantrums, one fine day, I finally decided to click on the FACTORY RESET BUTTON. Eureka! Since then the phone is back to square one and is working fine. It is as good as new as if its life has been rejuvenated.

This revamping of my phone made me wonder in a different direction, a direction which was philosophical but thought provoking,  

“Wish God too had made a FACTORY RESET BUTTON for our Lives…”
Thus making us delete all our sorrows, all our mistakes and enabling us to make a new beginning.

What a novel idea! No sorrows, no pains, your bad past would say “PASS”

But, as they say, Life is not that ideal.

On meticulous analysis you will realize, when you try to put an analogy between a phone and human life, you will understand, you can buy a new phone but you can’t buy a new Life.

We are what life has made us. The memories good or bad, the life lessons easy or hard, the experiences happy or sad, these are our building blocks. If we were to delete or reset everything, would we still be ourselves?

So, actually speaking God was really intelligent in not providing this Reset Button for Life. Because He wanted us to learn from our experiences; thus making our Life actually alive.

So, whenever you are sad, upset about your past life remember that was just a phase and since you do not have a reset button in your life you have no choice than to move ahead and if you have to move ahead, why look back? Why cringe for your mistakes and misfortunes?  Be happy for your good deeds, learn from your mistakes and don’t ever forget, Life goes on; we have to move on…

Death of an SMS

The year was 2005, when I first entered my Engineering College (Oh, it feels sad to realize that it was nine years ago when I had put my first step in the field of Engineering.Time passes by so quickly making one oblivious to the fact that one is actually growing older every passing day). It was then that I had got my first ever Mobile phone, Nokia 2600 a budget phone with a colour display (an added attraction then).

That was an era of prepaid sim cards and a postpaid card used to be the luxury of the rich. Living on the pocket money and the calling rates being high, we usually suffered from the low balance or for that matter a Zero Balance syndrome. It was when this little angel called the SMS (Short Message Service) came to our rescue.

Being aware of this 'Balance deficiency' amongst the youth the Service providers designed various SMS friendly packs. For e.g..: Recharge with Rs. 51 and get 1000 SMS free. This meant we could actually communicate with others via text messaging even if the talk time available was zero. This was something to be proud of and thus began the Love Affair between the SMS and the Youth.

Be it a Happy Birthday or a Condolence message.

Be it a Happy Diwali or an Id Mubarak.

Be it an I Love You or an I am sorry, this little pigeon carried them all.

SMS was not only a mode of communication but also the mode of entertainment.

Be it a Santa Banta joke or the so called 'Non-Veg' joke, SMS had seen them all.

As time passed by the Mobile Phone became a necessity and the SMS became the part and parcel of our lives.

Hardly had we thought that we have achieved a big milestone in the world of communication when the game changed.

With the advent of technology, mobile phones became 'Smart' and it was now possible to access the whole world of the World Wide Web on this hand held device.

2G, 3G, Wifi (ani Kai kai!!! Meaning: what not) accelerated the speed with which the internet was surfed. Opening new horizons, our mail box, our Skype, our Facebook everything said "Hello" on the smart phone.

But again this did not stop here, with GPRS(General Packet Radio Service) available at a dirt cheap price, many Messaging Services like Whatsapp and Telegram were born. These are in a way a new generation of SMS but being run on the Data Pack and consuming hardly a few bytes, one recharge of a GPRS pack can actually help one with a plethora of messages that too in runtime. One just needs to be online at the same time with another  and these services actually behave like an Online Chat. (The same chat which had once rocked the whole Web arena).

But in this race of fast mode of communication, our old friend SMS somewhere lost its track and moreover as you at least need to pay a small sum for a limited number of SMS, an SMS pack, is never hundred percent free. Also it doesn't run in runtime making it a misfit for the "Last Seen at" loving generation.

Conclusion, SMS has lost its popularity today. This doesn't mean that one doesn't come across SMS at all but if one receives ten SMS today then it is more likely that nine are of telemarketing (yes those good for nothing messages from VM, DM, LM etc.)

Losing its real purpose i.e. of communication, we are in an era when SMS is dead.

But one can never forget the contribution of SMS in the world of communication and thus whenever the history of communication technology will be written; this little angel will have a chapter written on her in Golden Letters.

R.I.P. SMS...

LIFE @ A HOSTEL

I have a firm belief that at least once in a Lifetime, one should get a chance to stay in a Hostel (Best age being the Teenage or the Youth)

No matter how rich or pampered one is at Home,

Away from Home, here one learns the real meaning of Living (when you actually do not have a living! PUN intended)

Because here when one's full pocket money reaches its Final Destination, then it really doesn't matter if one's Father is an ATM (Any Time Money) or a BPL (Below Poverty Line)

And thus one learns a Lesson "Phukat Te Paushtik" (Meaning: Whatever comes for Free is Nutritious) and no Text Book of 'Home' Science can ever teach this lesson. I guarantee it!

And this is the place which cultivates in one the spirit of Sharing, the spirit of Surviving (yes, there are times here when one may actually feel like living a Life of Pi! PUN intended again)

The habit
of sharing comes automatically when one learns "Amhi Jag Vikat Gheu Shakto, Contri Kadhun" (Meaning: We can buy this whole world, of course by Contributing Money)

Moreover, This is the place where one gets a Family when one is away from one's Biological Family.

Today, it's five years since I had left my Hostel, but the lessons learnt there are still fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday.

Today, I am proud that I was privileged to 'Live' in a Hostel.

Are You?

She has already won my heart

Once in a blue moon in Bollywood,

There comes a movie,

Initially you tend to ignore it.

The Star Cast is not amongst your favourites, forget they being your favourite, you don’t even recall their names.

The bigwigs in direction like the Chopras, the Johars or the Roshans are nowhere involved.

 But still the film does well, word of mouth spreads…

As a result, even after being a NON Multi Starrer (rather a non Starrer) the film runs full houses even on Weekdays.

This is the Magic rather this is not magic but a reality when,

You have an amazing Story Line,

You have a Meticulous Direction (Yes, Meticulous is the only word)

And to add the icing on the cake,

You have an awesome acting. (Honestly speaking I had never taken this actress so damn seriously)

Being a refreshing movie, QUEEN symbolizes the new generation of Indian Cinema, which is trying to break the shackles of age old concepts of Hero and Heroine running behind the trees singing romantic songs or for that matter that abysmal “Dhishoom – Dhishoom”

For the whole duration, you are totally engrossed in the film.

The Background score keeps your feet thumping.

The direction and the acting keeps you spellbound.

A must watch in the theatres!!!

Really, I am so impressed that I can speak for ages, praising, praising and praising and yes I only wish that may the QUEEN bag all the Crowns this year (No doubt, She has already won my Heart)

-Nachiket

A Bollywood Freak