* Nothing comes for Free, so please remember the following:

1. As the invite says, we need for you to confirm your attendance to us via email.

2. You can come if you’re a veteran blogger / a new blogger / a blog reader / a blog commentator / a blog stalker (though we will kill you) or just a friend of a blogger (though I know most of us have few of these).

3. Entrance is @ Rs. 150/- per head and covers the entrées and NOT booze.

and last and most importantly…..

4. DO SPREAD THE WORD.

Believe me, this is going to be one heck of a meet you don’t wanna miss.

Do you live in and around Mumbai ? Do you love the city, Would you like to express your love by writign about it on Mumbai Metroblogging ? If so, now is your chance. As a Metroblogger author, you will be free to write about whatever they want as long as it has some connection to Mumbai, but you must post AT LEAST three times a week.

You obviously live in or right around Mumbai. Other than that, kuch bhi chalega!

New ideas are encouraged and given a free hand. The mission is to get people coming back for more and more.

This is a great opportunity to get your opinions heard, gain writing experience, blow off steam, or just see what it’s like to write to a broad audience.

We only have a few spots, so if you are interested, you need to move on this NOW! We will be accepting applications, so drop us a line before then. Include the following:

• Full Name
• Writing or blogging history if applicable (if you have not written before, that doesn’t mean we will not consider you!)
• A short explanation of why you would be a good blogger with us

To apply, send a note to metblogs@wadias.in We also welcome questions you may have. We are excited to hear from you.

- The Mumbai Metblogs

February comes and Mumbai and the pedestrian plaza around South Mumbai’s lively historic art district ‘Kala Ghoda’ comes alive to the tune of the Kala Ghoda Art Festival. The setting is marvellous, the crescent shaped plaza is nestled around an array of heritage buildings such as Elephantine College, the David Sassoon Library and the Watson Hotel.

The Festival promises rich events in Arts, Literature, Music & Theatre – Seminars, Workshops and more. This years an entire host of events including a vintage car rally also expect performances from famed percussionist Shivamani. History buffs should also look out for the special heritage walks organised as part of the festivities. Also scheduled are many book readings including a “TETE A TETE WITH SHANTARAM” a freewheeling chat with author of the best selling book Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts this time without the cumbersome presense of Dolly Thakore.

The festival kicks off on the 4th February and continues up to the 11th February.

But what is really exciting is that the Kala Ghoda Association is blogging the event. The blog promises to bring the festival live to you with a mix of previews and impressions, reviews and reports, text and photographs, maybe even some audio and video. JUST LIKE LAST YEAR.

Here is all you need

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival [A schedule]

and

The Kala Ghoda Gazette. [The Blog]

Well life is so smooth when others do the work and all you have to do is Slip Slop Slap. So here I am shamelessly lifting Mel’s creation and pasting it up on my post.

After all the bottom line is to get the message across. Right!!

The Bombay Heritage Walk takes groups of people on walks through the vintage spots of Mumbai. These walks, each roughly about 90 minutes, trail through specific areas of Mumbai and help educate people about the architecture, history and evolution of the city’s landmarks. Walkers can choose to meander through the bustle of Crawford market, absorb the quaint East Indian settlement of Khotachiwadi or even gape at a model of the second oldest ship in the world.

Born out of the enthusiasm of two young graduates of architecture, the Bombay Heritage Walk has been around since April 1999 and was started as a part of the Kala Ghoda festival. Five years since, it has expanded to include specific routes with a common theme and has helped dignitaries like Chelsea Clinton understand the city and its origins.

This Sunday there is a Heritage walk around the Banganga Tank. I hope to meet you guys there. Look up the information in the image. BTW ..Satish Thanks a lot for the heads up on this.

Count – A Gold Chain, A Gold Watch, AGold Bracelet, 2 Gold Rings and an OK hand of cards. That’s what you call Bombay Bling talk about wearing your savings.

Welcome to Auckland, our member city # 51. Hop on over and say hi !!

[Image credits]

Diwali: “The Festival of Lights” is the Hindu New Year. Today India celebrates Diwali. Metroblogging Mumbai would like to wish all our loyal readers a very Happy Diwali 2006.

Stay safe, be happy, light fire crackers responsibly.

Yes u r right now its gona cost u less when it cometo dirtying mumbai city because the fine amount determined for offences such as littering Mumbai’s roads or defecating, urinating, bathing or spitting on them has been brought down from Rs 500/- to Rs 100/-. The decision follows last month’s public hearing where citizens’ groups pointed out that the punishment could not be implemented simply because a large majority of the people who indulged in such activities would not be able to pay up. In a way this is a good decision if ther are enough people to do the policing job but other wise its just another trial and totally gone waste efforts. Its high time we realise tht our city need a little bit of of attention when it comes to the cleanliness department. I wish there could in many Rani Mukhajees of KANK ( a cleanliness freak) in real life that too in Mumbai :)

“What was so special about yesterday ?” The 2 most common answers one will get from people around are – “Yesterday was Gandhi Jayanti” “Yesterday was a dry day”. Hence this is what my post today is gona be all about (here am referring to the former answer of the two). This year Oct 2nd was as hep and cool as the Friendship Days and Valentine Days, all thanks to apunka Munnabhai’s latest prequel “Lage raho Munnabhai”. Mahatma Gandhi was past history for many teenagers, but thanks to Munnabhai, there is renewed interest in the Father of the Nation. The movie has been able to successfully reach Gandhi to many youngsters. Munnabhai and his pantars have managed to make Gandhi look cool and happening dude and suddenly Gandhigiri has become the cool topic to be discussed and practicing it is considered all the more cooler. It is interesting that in this film Gandhi’s identification is with the 20-plus generation who are most likely to scoff at the Gandhi of their textbooks — that great but boring old man who said uh-oh to sex, no to drinking and seemed uncomfortable with any fun in life. The principles that Gandhians have sworn by become, in this film, hip concepts for getting the best of life. The film works because it strips away the stiff layers of principle from Gandhi and makes available the very basic of his worldview. It acknowledges that Gandhi was a great man, who lived by his principles, but that we can’t all be great men like him and neither do we want to. But what we do want is not to forget him and some basic truths that were as relevant in his time as they are today.

Had Gandhi lived today, he might have frowned on Lage Raho, or maybe he would have quietly smiled. Who knows? This film comes after a whole bunch of ‘patriotic’ films of recent years where Gandhi figures as some kind of dithering weakling, who could have saved Bhagat Singh and his friends from the gallows, but couldn’t. In fact, Gandhi has been out of favour with under-40 Indians because the Gandhi they know seems too good to be true. Statist discourse has mummified Gandhi making him inaccessible in a fast changing society. Munnabhai has reinvented Gandhi for us.. And am sure that there are many more areas this trick of serving ghar ka khana with the 5 star hotel presentation style can work. On that note lets Lage raho…