Potpourri

Think of a cafe, where the music is really loud and noisy, the waiters are as reluctant as you could have, and most of all the coffee is as bad (or as good) as the coffee we could make at home. I know one such cafe. And surprisingly I visit it quiet often. Its called "Bay Watch" (yeah, thats the name. Probably as bad as it could have been too). So why on earth would I go there. Probably because I might be crazy or may be because such a place will never be crowded 'cause nobody will go and so there I will be. But sadly that's not the case. Its not only me but a whole bunch of people who love going there. And yet again the relevant question: why on earth? Well, forgot to tell you a small point, it is right opposite to the (Besant Nagar) beach. A whole patch of sand spreading for some distance and then white froth of waves coming ahead and going behind creating a rhythm of its own. It is an open air cafe on the first floor, wind blows into you, as if, when it would reced...

Once upon a time there was a town. Town, because it wasn't really a city so developed and neither was it a village where all that happened was farming. So it was a town. A good combination of vocations used to be practised there. There were people working in all sectors one can think of. There were tool developers, mobile builders (I mean carts etc. not the todays mobiles), people doing food processing, cooks and there were farmers. But farmers were quiet poor as they only made raw goods while the rest processed it. So over the years the farmers tried to change themselves. They brought in more exciting methods to get better crops but even that reached a saturation. So slowly the previous generations started discouraging their descedents from getting into the farming business. It was hardly a business anymore. It so happened that hardly anybody was left in the town doing farming. But as one would guess this was the trend in almost all the towns and villages. Overall, finally there ...

I used to wonder how script writers might be coming up with movie scripts. Some of them would have a message to give, some would have a drama to depict, some may just want to entertain people for a couple of hours while some would want to leave an impact. Each could have a different motive. But what if someone wants to just make a movie about nothing? I mean, it seems like a bizarre idea. A movie about nothing. May be movie with certain characters whose life is as slow as an ordinary person and the whole two hours nothing really "happens". There is no theft, no robbery, no revenges or mystery. Isn't it a difficult task? There could be so many problems in making such a movie. Firstly, what will exactly happen in the movie? How long really would such a movie be? And who on earth will like to watch such a movie and most of all which distributors will buy it even if finally made? But there is a movie like this that I know. Its a movie about nothing, really. And it has m...

Kids are usually asked what they would want to be when they grew up. Kids give different answers parents get amused at them. Its quiet a usual phenomenon and all of us will have a story to tell about us or our kids or our nieces or our nephews. Like I had this friend. He and I went to school together. He always said that he would love to be the motorman. Taking the local trains up and down Mumbai. It was quiet a unique answer. Later sometime, in Mumbai one motorman was stoned and beaten badly for not running trains on time. (Almost for no fault of his). That's when I vaguely remember my friend telling me that he had changed his plans. Coming to talk about changing plans, almost nobody wants to be a management information officer as a kid. Its where we end up. Or rather I should say we lead to (Euphemism). That's when one thinks that may be as kids I should have been asked some other question. May be kids should be asked what would they want their usual day to be like. Or atleas...

Do words have a past? I would guess they do. For example the word 'neutral'. It takes me back to the history class, which I so badly wanted to end. And then to the stuffy chemistry labs. Also reminds me of a punch I got right in my face for being neutral in my friends' fight (each of them wanted me to take his side). What it reminds me the most of is a short story I had read a few months back. It was a story called No one will laugh by Milan Kundera in the book Laughable Loves. Briefly it is a story of a reputed writer who has been asked to give an opinion on another article written by an amateur writer. The reputed writer is in a catch because he hasn't liked the article at all. He isn't willing to hurt the later by telling his frank opinion but at the same time doesn't want to diplomatically give a neutral opinion. Life gets really tough as he insists on not being neutral. Had he been neutral life would have been much better for him materialistically. Bu...

With CD players and music systems being played all around I miss the fun of listening to radio sometimes. The hush of the channels subsides and the right signals come along and then starts the unpredictable sequence of songs. You only hope that the next song will be good but it leaves you disappointed. After a couple of songs you decide that hoping doesn't help and comes a great song. VJ's entertain you giving crispy details about songs never heard before and verbose ads leave you wondering how entertaining will this voice be in person. Radio though lacks visuals serves as a background even when you want to concentrate on something else. I sure miss listening to the radio and the childhood memories attached with it.