I spied this hilarious picture off Mumbai Daily Photo

Saw this hilarious poster tacked to a wall on the street in Dadar, while I was walking to dinner at the (admittedly disappointing Pubjabi restaurant Pritam Da Dhaba).

“According to him there are two class first class and no class. We have to develop the first.”

Clever chap, that James Bond. Oh wait — I mean Mr. Rajesh D. Bhujle, language consultant to the Rotary Club.

All I can say is Bhujle, Rajesh Bhujle

Image by : Robbie.

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The next time you go out drinking chances are that you will be placing your chilled beer on top of a bleeding coaster. The Mumbai Traffic Police placed at tables and bar counters in Mumbai’s prominent bars. When a customer places their moist glass of alcohol on it, the red ink starts spreading and the face starts to bleed. The coasters were printed using a special invisible red ink, which spreads only when moistened. Emotional blackmail always works, hence these coasters will be a warning against drunk driving stunts.

On the occassion of the ‘World Theatre Day’ , the Academy of Theatre Arts, University of Mumbai , brings for Mumbaikars a bouquet of India’s finest plays, in an 11-day ‘National Vasant Natya Mahotsav’.

The Mahotsav, to be staged between March 22 and April 1, 2007 at the Kalina Campus of the University of Mumbai , will present plays by renowned directors like Ratan Thiyam, Ramesh Verma and Ranjit Kapoor.

Famous Indian theatre groups like the Chorus Repertoire Company from Manipur, The National School of Drama Repertoire Company and the Mysore Rangayan will be performing in Mumbai after a long time. “This is the speciality of the festival. There will be plays in various Indian languages by some of the prominent directors this country has produced,” says Mr Waman Kendre, Director of the Academy. Along with this, several theatre luminaries like Anupam Kher and Naserrudin Shah too might grace the festival. Professor Waman Kendre himself is a very famous Marathi Theatre artist.

Some of the outstanding plays that Mumbaikars will have the pleasure of watching are:
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Massive round bindis, a whole bunch of kajra (garland) that she wears in her head, and colorful Kancheepuram sarees.. Am sure these are just enough to bring Usha Uthup’s name at tip of our tounge. As a child I remember mom and me shaking a leg to her “Zupi Zupi” to liven up those sleepy afternoons. Usha Uthup is attractive in her own, inimitable way. Draped in her signature Kancheevaram, sporting jasmine flowers and a chestnut-sized bindi she, almost always, calls for a second look. As I grew up I always admired her for the way she carried herself in sarees despite the fact she sang ultra modern pop songs and sometimes sang desi songs with pop twist. She can sing in different languages and famous for her unique voice quality.

Now she has taken on a new Avtar in the new movie Hattrick. The bindis are gone, instead she sports a stylish pair of glasses , the long hair full of kajra is replaced by a chic short colored hair style and she has taken on to colorful Kaftan isntean of her signature Kancheevaram.

Am not sure if the movie is that good enough to watch it in a theater, but yeah Usha Uthup has managed once again has made people take a second look at her. She kinda looks like a modern granny - sort of a cute and loving but with mordern thinking types. But I also love her old traditional with a tinge of flamboyance look much more.

These giant mean machines are a common site on Mumbai roads. They can be seen literally in almost every single street of Mumbai. Our city has one of the best public transportation. If local train is the heart of the city public transport. Then B.E.S.T is the artery that pumps blood into the heart.
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Fancy a ride with a woman cabbie at the wheel? If you are a man, forget it — Mumbai’s newest taxi service is for women only.

Sleek silver and white taxis sporting a blue and pink logo bearing the name “Forsche” — a play on the name of the luxury German carmaker and the words “for she”_ has hit the roads for the first time on Thursday which apparenlty was also International Women’s Day.

The service will have special feminine touches like bigger mirrors, a makeup kit with a nail polish remover and a magazine rack. But it is no gimmick.

I am sure if the tariff is at a reasonable rate this concept will be a super duper hit in Mumbai. As it addresses real concerns of female commuters. More women are traveling alone as they break with traditional roles and enter the workplace or even just to go out for the evening. Although Mumbai is considered safer than most cities on the subcontinent, where sexual harassment is rife, Indian women and visiting tourists often complain about being leered at by male cab drivers.

The only males allowed to ride in Forsche cars will be children under age 12. Sorry guys :))

Must admit that this is a nice womens day gift for the Mumbai gals.

On the occasion of Women’s day tomorrow, a protest against Dowry has been undertaken by Nupur Jagruti. The plan is to form a human chain and pledge Anti-Dowry support. This event is going to take place at Gateway of India. FM channels have been broadcasting this from quite some time. Men, women, young and old, all are welcome.

C’mon guys, its just a matter of an hour. I think everyone who can make it, should try to. If you are in the vicinity or around it, please try to hold a couple of hands!!

See you all at 9 am, everyone who is interested…

Dharavi has been one of the most (in)famous destinations in Mumbai. Asia’s largest slum and second largest in the world, it is a life unto itself.

Besides the fact that real estate developers would like to leech out the residents to get their hands on the underlying land for their selfish needs, it has become a de facto recycling plant for the city.

you will find here one of the most inspiring economic models in Asia. Dharavi may be one of the world’s largest slums, but it is by far its most prosperous - a thriving business centre propelled by thousands of micro-entrepreneurs who have created an invaluable industry - turning around the discarded waste of Mumbai’s 19 million citizens. A new estimate by economists of the output of the slum is as impressive as it seems improbable: £700m a year.

For Dharavi’s detractors, mainly Mumbai’s city fathers and real estate developers, keen to get their hands on the prime land beneath the sprawl, the shanty is an embarrassing boil to be lanced from the body of an ambitious city hoping to become the next Shanghai.

But for a growing number of environmental campaigners Dharavi is becoming the green lung stopping Mumbai choking to death on its own waste.

Read the entire article here

Photo Courtesy Parag Sankhe

Wishing you a colorful Holi!

The most endearing announcement Shri Chidambaram made on his budget speech is that price of pet food is down. Cats and dogs would be mighty grateful though how they can repay their gratitude to the Finance Minister’s party, beats me.

So the Golden question is Is the Union Budget 2007-08 people friendly?