Mumbaikars

They are more than happy to tell you directions. This is unlike any place I have been to. Infact in my hometown, people turn a deaf ear to such queries. When I am asked for directions and unless it is somewhere just around the corner, I guide people to go straight. In mumbai, even if a passerby hears you asking for direction and if he know the place, he will stop and tell how to get there.
Mumbai is a crazy city, it never stops.. for anything. If someone trips her, it just gets up and starts walking... you cannot put her down.. Never!
The people are very resilient there. Hats off to them. It has seen riots, serial blasts, gang wars, natural disasters like the rains last year.. but it goes on. I have heard stories of how locals stayed awake the whole night just to warn people of an uncovered manhole during that cloudburst last year.

I like, I hate

I like blue, I hate maroon
I like cars, I hate bikes
I like Ferrari, I hate Hyundai
I like Fiona Apple, I hate Jlo
I hate chinese, I like Goan
I hate Quotas, I like Politics
I love F1, I can't stand baseball
I love India, I hate Pakistan
I like Tom Hanks, I hate Shahrukh
I hate Mallika Sherawat, I like Monica Bellucci
I can't stand Emran Hashmi, I can listen to Himmesh
I hate Ranjit Fernando, I hate Srilanka cricket team
I like daisies, I hate jasmine

Ok. One more protest. "Down with Quotas"

I would like to condemn the latest decision by the indian government to have quotas for different sections of the indian community.
I am against it. It's a shame that we are going to have reservations at our premier educational institutes, instead of merit which should be the only criteria for admissions. For years AIIMS, IIT's and IIM's have gifted to the world best doctors, leaders, innovators. IITians, IIM graduates have brought both fame and recognition to these institutes, and the country. Now few people in power have decided to interfere in the way these institutes select their students to gain votes. I hope this backfires in their faces.
Meanwhile I would really like to commend, applaud students who have taken up the challenge to fight this. I hope you win.

India Shining !

One of the major political parties of India, Bharatiya Janta Party which was running the
coalition government (NDA) before the current UPA government (led by Congress) used the phrase 'India Shining' as a punch line for their campaign. Ofcousre, they lost. That campaign is not the theme of this post.
India Shining is. Today India is riding the wave of adulation. India is in news all over the world, for reasons good and bad. More people are aware of my country these days in this world. The economic boom, foreign investments, IT, and even manufacturing. These are the new keywords that have been added to the 'India' phenomenon apart from the rural, Gandhi, British, snake charmers, nude
sadhus, and of course Kamasutra :). I really like my country. I have lived only in India. So I really can't comment of the other countries, their standard of living, and culture. Ofcourse media, communication, Internet are helping bridge this gap. But it's not the same as living in a country. We can never experience the idiosyncrasies that exist.
Well back to India Shining, I really like the phrase. It's kinda feel good. For years I have seen this country lack self-confidence. And here was punch line that made India sound confident, sure, prosperous. Self-confidence is very contagious. But then BJP lost, and I realised that all this shining was only in the towns, cities, metros.. not the 70% of rural India. Staying in a city, I never realized how bad the situation in rural India is. Even the most remote place may have a mobile telephone, but they don't have water, electricity, roads. Ofcourse we all knew it. But somehow it all got a bit hazy. Ofcourse, India is a land of entrepreneurs, but it is still run by bureaucrats, politicians who
are stuck in the past. But slowly it is changing. The keyword is slowly. If it takes a normal country 10 years then here it might take 20. But that’s how my country is.
We are a billion plus democracy, which is nothing short of a miracle. In the recent state election 70% of the people voted. That’s astonishing! People lined in queues, waited for hours in the hot sun to 'exercise their fundamental right' Things like this amaze me, and makes me optimistic. I myself vote. I think it's my duty. I personally consider it as my small way for paying a tribute, saying thank you to our martyrs who died in the fight to get our independence.
India is a country that has potential. It will require a great deal of hard work to convert this potential in to reality. Hard work from businessman, entrepreneurs, politicians, political leaders and the most important, the common people. We can't let our guards down. There is still lot of work to be done. We have got the launching pad ready. Infact we have already been launched. It up to Indians to provide the fuel for this very interesting and hopefully glorious journey.

cheers!
Me
PS : Man! I am positive today!