Life is easy kya karein

Hindi is such a deep and vast language. I speak very little Hindi in Mumbai. A maid came for a job and was talking fluent English and I was shocked. Mumbai's English speaking maids want to work for the expat community where the work is less and salary is more. The English speaking can get jobs in offices as receptionists and some of them want to work as maids or nannies abroad .  There is a Hindi word called 'Bas' pronounced as the word 'bus' of the English language. This word has loads of connotations . Bas means 'enough'. It also means ' stop'. So 'Bas Karo ab'  is 'Stop it now'. But people in India understand and use 'Bas ' in different contexts. The Hindi belt is using it in interesting ways. When someone asks them "How are you?" "Aap kaise hain?" , the reply is " Bas". It does not mean 'stop' asking me this question or 'enough' of your questions. It means all is well. It al...

Speak truth and be damned. Indra Nooyi spoke about how she feels guilty and as a woman you cant have it all, and a debate erupts. The feminists are saying how demoralising it is and blah blah. Every woman journalist, even if she covered the society pages, had her view on how Indra Nooyi's life is. The Pope talked about paedophiles in the Church and the PR machine at Vatican went on an over drive denying what was said by him. They accused the publication which printed it. Which organised religion is without crime? Rani Mukherjee after hiding her relationship with Adi Chopra suddenly wants to go all out and talk about her love, marriage, maids and all the publications want to cover it. All are aware her film is up for release and her non existent career as an actress needs all the Boost/ Bournvita/ Horlicks it can get. Truth sounds like lies to us when certain people speak. Truth hurts  because we have a certain view of how things are or how they should be. Anything contrary and...

I was walking in the rain. Some days, I walk because there is no cab in sight. Mahim by-lanes were all green and with newly paved footpaths. No water logging near the pavements or the drains. I was admiring the greenery and the lack of people on the roads. It was sheer bliss, the sound of incessant rain, no strong winds and the dark clouds hiding the afternoon sun. The cars were not splashing any water as the roads had no potholes. This was nature and BMC together at its best. I had had a lovely lunch with my child's school Mommies. The banter was more fun than the food. A friend dropped me across the Arabian sea. I mean we crossed the Mahim causeway from Bandra. I take the Mumbai sea for granted so many times. Then something makes me pause and start admiring its beauty. That moment of pause is when I am awestruck, one more time. Its glorious all the time as we all go about our daily chores but I don't even see it. In a few moments, I realised I was not enjoying my walk i...

Yesterday I spent a lot of time in front of the television . I was watching the Rath Yatra at Puri and actually listening to the commentator as he explained the significance of  many of the rituals. Aastha channel was covering Morari Bapu's Ramayan live at Vatican city. Wanted to watch both at the same time. The telly time was, because I was getting bird net put on all the windows. Three workers were working in the three rooms of the house. Kitchen was the only place to go to and the food was cooked. There was a lot of conversation on whether I should put the bird net, what is the costing like, where can I get the best rate, who will do the best job and will they be reliable. Final choice was between two young boys from Uttar Pradesh. One had just started his own business after leaving his job. The other boy worked for a Bori Muslim 'Seth'. The new kid on the block was enthusiastic but little arrogant. He said they do contract all household work like electrical, plumbing,...

The sea water logging in Mumbai in non monsoon time, is a strange phenomena. Two lanes away this sea water was gushing in and we were completely unaware. I got the news through friends from Delhi who were suffering severe heat wave.  With 4.5 metre height of the waves, people could not stand the force, I shudder to think how the tsunami waves were. Yesterday 12th June 2014, Vatt Purnima was celebrated in Maharashtra. On this day, married ladies pray to the Banyan tree and tie a white thread around it for the being 'sadaa suhaagan'. Sadaa Suhaagan means the husband is alive and the wife lives with him happily. Savitri prayed for the long life of her husband and got him back from the clutches of Yamraj, the God of death.  Today is Jal Abhishek in Orissa of  Lord Jagannath at Puri.  As it is is very hot in summers in Orissa,  and then on Snaan Purnima which is the full moon day, the Lord spends a lot of time bathing. With the heat and long hours in the w...

Working in the hotels in the Sales and Marketing department, I had attended lot of corporate, art and social events. Going for these, meeting people, taking their business cards, networking and making contacts is what most of these events were about. We just did it as a part of work which we did not like but could not avoid. Now after years, a friend Monalisa Mukherji invited me for her book launch, a collection of poems written in Hindi.  I was awe struck with the warmth and genuine feel of the space at the venue "Title Waves". These were not people hired by the publicist to welcome you and shove food down your throat. They were real people just like the Kavita written by Mona. No pretense in the launch anywhere. The guest list included Imtiaz Ali, Irshad Kamil and Mita Vashisht. Ritika Sahni who is a friend, singer and runs an NGO called Trinayani, introduced everyone and one could never guess who she was talking about. She had warmth and ease with the guests and the pe...

Early morning whatsapp messages were about Gopinath Munde being involved in an accident and is critical. Very soon Twitter was flooded with his passing away. He was just alone, unescorted. He asked for water from the driver. The car did not look so badly damaged. He was declared dead by the hospital after attempts to revive him failed. In the mean time, friends were talking about his sudden death. Why couldn't someone revive him? Was his security not equipped with any first aid skills? Came to know later that there was no security with him. Friends saying acupuncture could have helped him in case of a heart attack. Rural Development minister in the Modi cabinet, he had worked at  grass root level in Maharashtra and in other parts of India. I remembered him during the death of his brother in law Promod Mahajan, who was shot dead by his own brother. Gopinath Munde had handled the family and really supported them. Then at Balasaheb's funeral, I saw him sitting along with the BJ...