Step 1 :

Find yourself a plastic vat/tub/cistern/barrel. Fill with cold water and jump in.

Step 2 :

Let Fourier’s Law of heat transfer take effect - “When there exists a temperature gradient within a body, heat energy will flow from the region of high temperature to the region of low temperature ” - in plan speak “Chill”.

Step 3 :

As the your body temperature falls and the heat is but something that effects other people enjoy yourself. Remember the water is your friend.

Step 4 :

Congratulations you’ve won the battle but the war continues.

Attention all Mumbai Bloggers!! - A very important announcement

Yours truly and Amit Varma have decided to get together for another blog meet on 20th May, 2006 at ‘Thank God Its Friday (TGIF)’, Andheri West from 3.00 pm onwards.

Blog newbies, non-Mumbai bloggers and (only) blog readers - all are welcomed.

However this time round no ‘Special guest blogger’ will be making a presence, but what the heck…good time can surely be expected.

Here is the full address:
THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY (TGIF)
INFINITY MALL,
2ND FLOOR,
OSHIWARA NEW LINK ROAD,
ANDHERI WEST, MUMBAI

So put a note in your appointment dairy or PDA and make sure to get your butt down there.

*Kindly leave a comment ONLY if you are atleast 99% sure of coming or would like to get some more info.

Small carts carried by young boys and men can been seen in plenty in and around MIDC, Andheri East area. Just carry your empty printer cartridge to them and they shall re-fill the same - for less than half the price of an original new cartridge.

For example : Re-filling HP cartridge for PSC 2410 would cost, only Rs. 200/-, where as an original piece is around Rs. 1200/-.

These guys earn round about, Rs. 500/- to Rs. 800/- a day depending if they are lucky enough to get away from the local cops, who end-up taking their entire earnings. Obviously, there is always a possibility of your printer getting screwed up because of the use of fake ink. But not many small-scale offices seemed to be bothered by this fact.

Most of these carts are actually leased out by stationary stores, who in turn either pays a fixed salary or commission to the guys handling the cart.

Amazing, isn’t it! To see different means and methods local people use in order to survive everyday on the streets of Mumbai city.

I thought this protest at Azad Maidan was in protest of the laathi charge by the Mumbai police on the students protesting reservations outside Raj Bhavan on Saturday. I was late, so what I witnessed was a pro-reservation demonstration.

***

He says the OBCs must be uplifted, and his party will do everything they can to implement the quota.

And he claims the doctors weren’t laathi charged.

And they ensure no untoward incident happens

And they listen

And they hold their banners high

And yet Sachin lives at CST Station earning Rs 5 each day.

Does he go to school? He doesn’t have a caste certificate. And we don’t have reservations in primary education!

As you can read here, Sterling cinema is shut. It will be converted into a 3-screen multiplex. Multiplexes make huge money, not only from usage of space and reduction in fixed overheads but also, though tax exemptions. It’s a smart business move by Noel Tata.

I can understand that economics will push more cinemas down the multiplex route. However, the fact that governments are incentivising multiplexes is incredible. On one hand, the government actually forces multiplexes to hike ticket rates so that the one-screen movie halls could attract viewers. On the other hand, they subsidise ‘capital-intensive projects’ like multiplexes, for attracting investments! For more on what the government does, go here.

“For all existing and upcoming multiplexes there will be total exemption from entertainment tax for the first three years. For the next two years, a 25-per-cent exemption will be available. All other taxes, such as property tax, water tax will stay. The multiplexes will have to fulfil certain conditions before they become eligible for the concessions…Each multiplex should have a video parlour for the children, an art gallery, an exhibition centre, a cyber cafe besides an adequate number of refreshment stalls and restaurants. One of the theatres in the complex should be utilised for staging Marathi plays for a certain number of days. Of course, there should be adequate space for car parking.”

Talk about meddling in things where the markets can play a role. A puny little space with three paintings becomes the art gallery and exhibition centre, some Marathi movies are shown at strange times in one of the halls. Plus, somewhere at the back, the place will have a computer called the cyber cafe. All this to enjoy fiscal benefits. What does this result in?

My favourite cinema hall being shut down for a while.

A fire broke out at the famed ILFS building at the Bandra Kurla Complex today, allegedly after a transformer in the basement caught fire. My dad works in the works in the building so he called me up as soon as they had evacuated the building. It was no flaming inferno the only thing visible sign of fire was a small trail of black smoke creeping out of the underground parking lot. (one of our cars is down there hopefully it’s fine)
A lot of fire engines though, I counted 6 I think. Here are the pictures.

[A small boy look on at the line of fire engines, probably wondering what the commotion is all about]

[Members of the Mumbai Fire Brigade. Don't go by their look these guys are real heroes. ]

Mangoes are the national fruit obsession of India. You have to be there to experience it. From the start of the summer around April to about late June, all of India is flooded with mangoes. People cant get enough of them. Rich or poor, you gotta pig out on mangoes.

And if you havent eaten an Indian Alphonso mango, you haven’t lived life. No other country comes even close when it comes to a tastier mango. The Mexican variety is not even a close second.

Today’s NYTimes Travel Section has a very nice article on Mango Madness in India

The most important lesson: How to eat a mango, presented in a three-part mime. She first holds out a cupped hand, in which sits the imaginary glistening orange oval of a whole peeled mango; she then deftly flicks her hand at the wrist to propel the phantom mango against her mouth, which gets busy sucking the flesh down to the seed; finally, outrageously, she deploys the full length of her tongue to lick her arm, elbow to wrist, to recapture an inevitable trickle of invisible mango juice. [...link...]

Is global warming for real?? Sure is, buddy, if u live in Mumbai. For those who live no where near Sion, and dont know about this, it rained in Sion yesterday. Rained enough to wet the streets and stop the busy office-going crowds to stop and stare at the rain fall. Bikers stopped riding to not cause accidents cause of the half wet and slick roads. Since this happened at 8:15 in the morning, it’s understandable that a very few people know about this. Also, my friend living in Vashi tells me, that it rained in Vashi a week back.

It’s weird to feel dampness along with the humidity and the heat of May. I wonder why Mumbai is getting such weird spells of weather.. Any guesses anyone?? or maybe a scientific theory behind it??

i couldn’t catch a pic which could show the rain in the environment.. but this one below is that of the wet road outside Sion, and the one after that is of the overcast sky.

Every now and then, the controversial topic of ‘Euthanasia’ also known as ‘mercy killing’ makes its presence felt by appearing as Newspaper headlines. In most cases it’s the people suffering (or their family members) who are at the mercy of others inorder to end their own life. A life which they consider to be nothing but a painful process, where are so-called advanced medical science is of no use and the only feasible option is ‘death’.

Last year December we heard the story about a young couple who had requested the doctors at Wadia Hospital to have their one-year old boy’s life terminated medically.

Thankfully, Dr Santosh Karmarkar from Lilavati Hospital on Thursday offered to operate upon the boy free of cost and also take care of all the post-operative expenses.

This time round we have not one person but an entire family of four, who have filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking permission for euthanasia.

(more…)

The hawkers were causing a traffic problem in the area. As a VIP was to pass through, we had to clear them out,” said Deshmukh.

Do you find something very disturbing in the above statement ?.

Problems seem to be resolved only when they inconvenience politicians and not citizens and tax payers.

A solution from this incident therefore is that henceforth all politicos should do 10 hours a week of social service. They should just visit places that are congested and a nuisance. Thats it. Just visit. Dont do anything else. Citizens can suggest places for the politicians to visit and nominate which politician they would like to be present.

Wow. So easy. Why didn’t I think of that one before.

In the meantime, go here to read why I am so pissed.