Carpooling - have you ever heard of this? Well Carpooling is a shared use of a private car, in particular for commuting to and from work and other purposes, often by car owners (drivers) and people (passengers) traveling to the same destination by other means of transport. There are often times when car owners have empty seats in their car because they don’t know of anyone who needs a lift.
This can, be avoided by using our carpool network where one-to-one matching is done automatically; the driver and passenger have to simply accept the match done by the system. Due to the nature of carpooling it is most appropriate for pre-planned or regular journey

The concept of carpooling is in its infancy stage in India, and Mumbai is slowly catching up to this concept. www.carpoolmumbai.com is the first of its kind carpooling website in India and through this website the concept of carpooling is gaining popularity. Am sure that such innovative ideas are the only things the common man can come up especially with such high fuel price hikes.

So Mumbai are you ready to carpool?

Jeffrey Archer on Landmark tour!

..proclaims a hoarding on Andheri Link Road a few feet before Infiniti Mall which houses the Landmark store. The lower two floors look fairly sane, I think to myself as far as weekdays go. Even the second floor which looms into sight as the escalator rides up looks remarkably normal. Then I notice the mountain of bags lying at the entrance. And I’m stopped by the polite but firm female guard who shakes her head almost sorrowfully and tells me that I cannot carry my battered copy of As the Crow Flies in.

I push my way past the jewelery counter, the New Releases rack and past the music section. Voila!! What’s a celebrity without the crowd? Archer has succeeded in drawing the mob to the store on a weekday. It’s so crowded that people are stepping on each other’s toes even among the magazines racks that signal the start of that heaven that is Landmark’s book section.

I slither through the crowd in a manner perfected by years of Mumbai train travel and end up right at the back, smushed up against Movies while Jeffrey Archer regales a crowd from a stage in what is otherwise the aisle between Maps and Language.

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I came across this piece in todays paper.And hell I was amused by it. Its a known fact that most western suburbers avoid the Virar local as much as possibile (unless u stay somewhere beyond borivili). The virar local travellers are notorious for being bullies (esp the women). Its a riot inside the compartment and possibily can be slapped/hit by regular commuters. I am sure these women will find their karate lessons more useful to fight their way inside the compartment to get a seat.

Even in this century of the Stupid Politician, this piece of news takes the cake…or the “vadapav”.

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray took the lead when he proudly claimed his party’s decision to rename the humble vada-pav as Shiv vada-pav to be ahead in the race with Raj Thackeray. [link]

This takes politics to an amazing level of stupidity never ever seen my mankind.

First we had the shivaji beedi. Now the shivaji vadapav. Next will be shivaji chai.

What’s also disturbing is how these politicians pander to the name of Shivaji. For arguements sake, he was not even a God, prophet, holy man or god man. He was a king of a small group of people. Why is it necessary to elevate the stature of a person so that he somehow becomes an icon for regionalistic jingoism is beyond me.

So the next time you are the corner tapri….why not just order a Shivaji Triple…

With the world celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend I realised that the dynamics of motherhood has taken a huge leap. Today Mothers are no more those who are stuck up in the kichen in front of the hot stove cooking sumtious meals for their family, its the age of hot mama/mom in bikinis.

Gone are the days when moms looked like moms. Now its mom who look like their kids elder siblings. Tube tops, off shoulders, capris, backless are the latest fashion trends for the moms in the city. So on this Mothers Day lets meet some of the hottest moms who have flaunted themselves in many front pages.

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Have you been to Naushad Ali road recently. No, no, not Mohammed Ali Road. Naushad Ali Road.

Chances are you have but never realized it.

In the stupid politician series this is another hallmark.

Residents are angry that the plan to rename Carter Road as Sangeet Samrat Naushad Ali Road was mooted by corporator Kavita Rodricks without consulting them. [link]

The erstwhile Carter Road that has for decades been one of the landmarks of Bombay, has been re-christened Sangeet Samrat Naushad Ali Road.

No offence to Naushad whose music was timeless and amazing, but was there a need to name this prominent road after him. And will changing the name really make any difference.

Did it make a difference to Warden Road or Hill Road? Bhulabhai Desai and Ramdas Naik would say NO.

Will someone tell Kavita Rodricks, Corporator, SP (stupid politician) that she has pushed the envelope of stupidity when it comes to politicians.

The thing that makes a city interesting is the fact that there could be a surprise waiting for you at any corner. I often think I’m jaded with the proverbial ‘I’ve seen it all’ attitude to things that are supposed to catch my interest. And then I’m proven wrong.

Here’s what I spotted on a late evening in the local train. Orange transparent plastic sandals fastened on with a fat ribbon in a matching hue. How could I not stop and stare?!

Anjani, the owner of those tangy toes (I love aliterations!) works in merchandising a fashion retail business. She was also gracious enough to let me take a photograph for this blog. She isn’t a Mumbaiker (still bothered by the weather and the crowd) but she isn’t new to the city either. But in my mind she represents the colourful panorama of this city, shifting smoothly between outsider, newcomer and seasoned local.

Ooh, the sheer audacity of the design, the spunkiness of the colour..it totally made my otherwise dreary day! Notice the contrast between the shoe and the surroundings - a typical dark-and-dingy platform on a Mumbai railway station.

In fact, now I think I’ll start a section where I report interesting fashion ’spottings’ in the city. (See an earlier sighting here!)Thank you, Anjani, for inspiration and for the colour!