Mumbai Daily Photo, a part of the City Daily Photo network, has some really interesting pictures on the city.

The header says that it’s a foreigner’s view of daily life in Mumbai, but it’s not the usual foreigner’s view. In its sweep, it stretches from North to South and East to West, to a city that extends wider than even our local’s view of it. In its concerns, it covers Mumbai’s myriad street vendors, its twisted modes of transport, its many festivals and its melting pot of people, in short, the stinking, sublime, bitter-sweet spirit of the city. It seems, incidentally, that the the contributors are fixated on Juhu beach at the moment.

I decided to blog about it when I saw that the two of the first pictures at the blog were about rickshaws (here and here). I’m obsessed with rickshaws myself and have blogged about them here, here and here.

Read the other entries in the series here: (1)

some people might think it’s mighty sad that my first metblogs post relies for illustration on a picture i didn’t take. but i think this view of our fair city is pretty nifty, so i’m gonna throw it in anyway.

(note: it’s a popup image, so you might have to enable popups…
also note: it’s south bombay, which i am aware is not all of bombay; but it’s “my” bombay so that’s what the picture shows!)
(more…)

Two friends - Bombaywallah and Mumbaikar - discuss Vikram Chandra’s new novel, ‘Sacred Games‘. I overhear them as I walk out of the Crossword bookstore at Kemps Corner after hearing Vikram Chandra read excerpts from the book.

Mumbaikar: I can’t believe you missed the book reading! Vikram Chandra just left two minutes back.

Bombaywallah: Endless client meeting and terrible traffic! Maybe they should build that flyover at Peddar Road! How was it?

Mumbaikar: It was OK. He read two excerpts from the book, one about a sardar inspector called Sartaj Singh and the other about a gangster called Ganesh Gaitonde. The sardar sounded quite like a loser, yaar!

Bombaywallah: Yes, they are the two protagonists. And Sartaj Singh does have a wounded cynicism, not only in ‘Sacred Games‘ but also in ‘Love and Longing in Bombay‘, where he first appeared. My girlfriend is quite crazy about his character.

Mumbaikar: That’s what Vikram Chandra said:

The women like him a lot; I don’t know why.

(more…)

Hitler is going back after a five day controversy. Yup am talking aboutt he restaurant that created a ripple in the media which opened last friday in Navi Mumbai named after “Hitler’s Cross”. The owners have decided to change the name of the restaurant after all the media attention and the displeasure they got from the Jewish community in Kharghar. Read more here

My take on this entire issue :
First I appreciate the fact that the restaurant owners have taken into consideration, the sentiments of the small community of Jews residing in Khargar and they have even apologised for hurting their sentiment. I feel after all they have got their fair share of publicity and am sure that people are flocking into see whts the buzz all about.

On the other hand, I think tht the reaction of the media and the public was a bit too much. As the owner of the restaurant states “I only wanted to provide my patrons with the best culinary experience. We didn’t want to promote Hitler or his ideology.” After all its all about the food people! Does it really matter whome the restaurant is name after if the place is serving good food? If the ambience is peaceful and pleasent and if the service is out of the world, I dont think we need to think beyond that after all the nname of the restaurant is not gona betagged to you likea last name/surname . If at all we need to protest or crib abt it should be all those unhygenic places which serve food to mumbaikars for a outrageous price tag and ensure a hospital bed in return.

Wake Up (Navi)Mumbai !

With Peddar Road Residents’ Association (PRRA) strongly opposing a flyover there. This flyover was proposed to relieve the traffic conditions and improve vehicular flow. Several powerful celebrities including Lata Mangeshkar lent their voice (pun intended) to the campaign against the flyover.

Now, PRRA has proposed an alternative plan comprising of tunnels. Mumbai Mirror has published a story on this proposal.

Tunnel Vision
(more…)

I’m sure you’ve tried your hand at channel surfing thought if you life in Bombay I doubt you’ve been doing that off late. Sadly again if you live in Bombay surfing the sometimes sweet but mostly salty, always polluted waters of the Arabian Sea is not an option one can exercise without getting tiny flagellated protozoan parasites into ones body not to mention whatever pollutants that call that blessed sludge pool we call the Mithi river home.

The question arises - Have you ever gone Couch Surfing ? If you are lukha* (not a lafaanga) like me you have probably spent nights on other peoples couches (and their other random act of kindness) and many daylight hours sleeping on your own (couch). Couch Surfing is a free international Internet-based hospitality service that allows you to stay with locals on your travels. Some say it is the only way to travel - who needs hotels, hostels anyways. If you are wondering where Mumbai come into all this just hold on a minute and let me finish my inane rant. OK I’am done. Something about CS appeals to many Mumbaikers out there which has culminated into a lively forum on their website [link]. I don’t know what is it that attracts your average Bombay denizens to such a community may be they are attracted to the squatter-like quality of this entire exercise, or may be they just love their privacy being invaded or would just want to use this as a dating service (bad person bad) but mostly I think it is born out of their interest to meet and connect with new and interesting people.from all over the world.

Mumbai CSers are hosting a meet up on Sunday 27th of August at the Carter Road Ampitheatre (Open area) followed by Joggers park at 5 pm.

The group’s page has more info

If your like to travel or even better are visiting the city you can turn up as long as your are wearing a black cap with a red carnation and a pink tutu to boot. Just kidding they’ll be happy to have you. Highlight of the evening Aparna reminds me would be a small presentation on Balkan region - Lithuania by my friends from Kaunas and probably Macedonia by her two other friends from Skopje.

Here’s the full address.

For directions use the Mumbai Navigator stating caterroad(pali) as your desitination

The Amphi is opposite the Cater Road CCD the address to which is as follows.

Shop No. 14/15,
Gagangiri Premises Building,
Ground Floor,
Carter Road
Bandra
Mumbai-52

You could comfirm your presence by emailing couchsurfingmumbai@yahoo.com - all queries could be directed to the same address

Unrelated Note :

Mumbaiya lesson for the day Lukha & Lafanga -

lukha denotes, at various points in time and persons, unemployed, useless, worthless, and the unemployed is often hailed as lafanga though lafanga is used to ‘mark’ an individual who is amiscreant, usually an eve-teaser.

Defination Courtesy Zainab

Two friends - Bombaywallah & Mumbaikar - discuss the sudden discovery of Omar Abdullah’s cousin and Aamir Khan’s step-sister in Bollywood.

Mumbaikar: Do you know that Omar Abdullah’s cousin, Saniia, will be acting in the film ‘Sirf Romance, Love By Chance‘? She was earlier called Khalida, and worked as a bank manager in Delhi for three years, before she decided to try her luck in tinsel town and changed her name because her director thought it was not powerful enough! (link)

Bombaywallah: You know I don’t track Bollywood gossip and neither did you, if I remember right? I thought you were only worried about issues of national and international importance.

Mumbaikar: I didn’t, but now that cable TV operators are on strike, I’m spending more time with my three daily newspapers!

Bombaywallah: The troika of daily tabloids! No wonder I haven’t heard about it. Between my work and my blog, I am left with so little time that I haven’t read the newspaper in months now! But, anyway, what do Omar and Farooq Abdullah have to say about it?

Mumbaikar: Actually, that’s the really interesting part. While Khalida refers to Omar as bhaijaan, he has told The Times of India that he doesn’t know her at all! (no link)

Bombaywallah: So, it’s a case of: “I’m your sister!” “No, you’re not!”

Mumbaikar: The interesting thing is that there’s another rumour of a rishtaa doing the rounds of tinsel town. People are saying that Jiah Khan, who is about to debut in Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Nishabd‘ opposite Amitabh Bachchan, is the daughter of filmmaker Tahir Hussain, which makes her Aamir Khan’s step-sister. (link)

Bombaywallah: These wannabe actresses really know how to hog a few headlines!

Mumbaikar: Actually, she is not very happy with the rumours. Although she doesn’t know much about her father, she thinks that he was an American. Tahir Hussian, who admits that he is close to Rabiya, Jiah’s mother and a small-time actress from the yesteryears, has said that Rabiya is married to a man from Pakistan and Jiah is not his daughter!

Bombaywallh: Cousin! Step-sister! Not Sister! American husband! Pakistani husband! No husband! Bhahut confusion hai, bhai, tumhare Bollywood mein!

Overheard outside a multiplex at Bandra. Immediately afterwards, Bombaywallah and Mumbaikar almost had a fist fight over whether they wanted to watch the latest Bollywood blockbuster or the surprise Hollywood sleeper hit.

Read the other entries in the series here: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5).

Yesterday, your friendly neighbourhood Mumbai Metroblogger brought you news of Vakratunda Mela - 2006. Today he brings to you a slide show by Rediff on Ganesh statues.

Watch this blog for more photos and news.

It has been brought to our notice that this blog has since last Sunday been taken over by four new squatters. This is in addition to the other squatters that have been residing here, free of charge, since last December.

These squatters have all of a sudden put out a lot of graffitti on the blog walls and the front doors. On closer inspection, the graffitti is pretty darned good.

And because of that the older squatters have allowed these new squatters to be around. Of course if they slack up or do crazy things, then the viewing public of Metroblogging Mumbai has the option to zap them with comment spam.

OK, enough.

In case you did not realize, we have 4 new authors. Welcome to

Gauravnomics

Dadoji Kondke

360degreeviewer

Sim.

Check out their bios in the author section, and join us in welcoming them.

There shall be a party and the drinks are on the new squatters expense account.

Two friends - Bombaywallah and Mumbaikar - discuss the endless delays in flight in and out of Maximum City.

Bombaywallah: It’s a pain these days to fly in and out of Bombay.

Mumbaikar: Yes, I heard that Mumbai airport is as crowded as Dadar station these days.

Bombaywallah: Not only that, after the train blasts and the foiled terrorist threat at Heathrow airport, they have increased security at airports.

Mumbaikar: Achcha! That’s why all these airplanes keep circling over Santa Cruz every evening, like a circus in the air!

Bombaywallah: And all the flights are taking off late too. Now, they are manually checking all cabin baggage, especially electronics items. They are not very good at it though. Yesterday, they made me switch on my laptop twice and almost confiscated my iPod and electric shaver. The flight was delayed because I was stuck in the security check queue for almost ten minutes.

Mumbaikar: No such things on local trains, of course. I carried my collection of Nepali khukris with me today. One of them even fell down from a hole in my backpack. The old man sitting next to me saw it and I showed him my entire collection. Everybody in the compartment was very impressed.

Bombaywallah: Really? If you were flying, I’m not even sure if they would allow you to check it in. They are so paranoid these days that they have even put anti-terrorist teams in civilian clothes at the airport, to keep an eye on passengers.

Mumbaikar: Baba! I would feel so conscious every time I had to pick my nose.

Overheard at half past midnight outside the domestic airport after my one hour flight into the city was delayed by three hour.

Read the other entries in the series here: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5).