aditya kumar's weblog

Many writers and travellers have been left amused and enough literature and travelogues have been written on the city of Bombay that I wonder if I would be able to do justice while I attempt to tell you my experiences when I visited the city recently. I was not a tourist. This is home away from home.

On 23 July 2005, 3 days before the Bombay cloudburst, the city was as sunny and sweaty as it could be. I guess the pictures suggest that.


[Above: The Flora Fountain]

Nostalgic crossroads, these on the Flora Fountain. It was 15 years ago, I used to have ice-cream cones, at least a couple of them- A bribe my mother paid me to keep quiet while she took her time shopping and bargaining with the cloth merchants. And I was always fascinated by the glass entrance of the Vimal Showroom that slid open as I walked towards it. But in 1990, this could happen only in Bombay. I also wondered what “Akbarallys” exactly sold. At one end of the Flora Fountain, towards Churchgate was the street of pavement booksellers. All the books you can imagine, and you did not have to be a rich man to buy them in bulk. Towards the other end, starting from the VSNL building, was the most boring place on the planet, or so I thought, the Fashion Street- 2 Kms of clothes, clothes and clothes.

What good would that do to a 10 year old? There were no book shops there; that meant no comics. It was often that I said to ma, “amma, when you want to go to Fashion street, count me out of it”.


[Above: The Old Taj Hotel]


[Above: The Friends of the Gateway]

The Gateway of India, as always drenched in the salty, smelly breeze. The colourful boats, still the same much like faithful companions to the age old monument. Not even the colour schemes have changed and the odd rubber tyres all over them. As I stand facing the green sea with the Gateway behind my back, I see the inland, the large chunk of land devoid of the mainland, which had once been my home for 6 years. The hill, far away and in the middle of the sea, with a tower on top. The view so faint that the hill almost dissolved itself into the surroundings of the sea and the sky, just a thin borderline preventing that from happening. Happy Homecoming.


[Above: The Kitten at Bombay VT]

On a personal note, I thought a post here should be a fitting tribute to my good old (heehee..**devil grin**..good, OLD) Blogger Friend, EP.

Happy Birthday EP. Keep sprinkling humor on your everyday experiences while you blog.

EP once featured in Rediffblogs “Top Blogs” and thats how I came to know him. I dont know about others but I go through his archives and read stuff to lighten my mood many times. Here is one…
and this one, which was when his blog made it to the Best of Rediffblogs.

Rock on, EP.

Saw this sticker on the back of a car. It said:

“Mr Chief Minister…
WASSSUP?
What about the work on the Airport Road Flyover?”

Since the last 2 years, the flyover has been as is- no work whatsoever. The road crossing there which normally should not take more than 6-7 minutes by car in normal traffic usually renders the car useless. It’s better off walking there. Meanwhile, hope is there since the work resumed last month.

One more incident. Yesterday while our CM was touring Jayanagar in an Air Conditioned Bus, a group of ladies came in the way and stopped the bus. Their demand? “Let the CM out. Let him come out and walk with us on this road.” A heavy rainy day and all we have here is just mud.

I have lived in so many cities across India, but this has the worst infrastructure. Hell, it seems the Government is adamant to keep it that way.

More examples?

The 80 Ft road in Koramangala- this long road is the main road in this part of the city and all we had there till 2 months back was a mixture of stones and sand. Then they fixed it- only a temporary solution as now I see that the road is rapidly coming back to it’s “usual self” and driving regularly on it could cut the lifespan of the tyres by half besides testing the driver’s driving skills. We have a dirt-road adventure, right in the middle of the city. Or for that matter, anywhere in the city for it is the same story on every road.

And here comes the biggie- Sometime before March of this year, the World Bank (YES, the WORLD BANK) paid BMC for the funding of not just this road, but all the Bangalore Roads under the Karnataka Municipal Reforms Project. (Did you notice? We have a State level reforms project going on since the last 8 months. Did you know that?) Where has all the money gone? In the potholes?

But yes, work for the malls, which are coming up like wild mushrooms, never stops. There is one opening up just opposite to “The Forum” mall. Who needs roads? Who needs a better drainage system? So what if we spend 1 hour, one way, reaching the office because of the traffic? Who cares if Azim Premji himself goes on record calling Bangalore a national calamity? We need our malls. We need those escalator clad, centrally air-conditioned malls.

Later I came to know about this. The source of the “Wasssup?” stickers.

In the early first week of the month of June, when I booked my tickets for Pondicherry I hoped and prayed that the day I was to spend in Chennai, 19th June, not be that hot since I had heard a lot about Chennai heat.

Ironically, 19th June was the hottest day of the year.

By late night I was in Pondicherry. I just wanted to visit the place and see the Bay of Bengal. I did not expect anything much. Heck, I did not even expect the hot weather.

As you walk by the straight and clean roads of Pondicherry, the city constantly reminds you of its French past. This was a colony of the French while the rest of India was in the British rule. The only exceptions were Pondicherry, on the east coast, which was under the French and in the west coast, Goa, my home, which was under the Portuguese.


[Above: Pondicherry, by the sea]

On the walls of most of the houses, their French names are written in neat blue boards. The architecture is beautiful, more so in the city of Auroville (located near Pondicherry), which was a dream of Sri Aurobindo. Auroville is a must see.

The ashram of Sri Aurobindo is the main attraction and people come from all over the country to visit his samadhi (more about it, here). This is the city where he lived in exile and made his home since Sri Aurobindo was also involved in the freedom movement and was wanted by the British Authorities. No visit to Pondicherry is complete without spending some time at The Ashram. Also do not forget to visit the Aurobindo handmade paper factory. It is walking distance from The Ashram.


[Above: Under the white sky, Pondicherry, by the sea]

The best way to explore the city is by walking. It is an enjoyable experience. Walk, be patient and the city quietly unfolds itself to you. The residents, they all seem so welcoming.

Also make sure, that the bus you take from Chennai happens to be a day journey. At least make it that one way. Trust me you won’t regret the sight. The highway is all along the east coast. The bay flirts with the line of sight when, at times, it goes away. All through the journey you will have the treat of watching the Bay along the highway and the humid, salty breeze washing your face.


[Above: The Blessing]

By the way, now that I have travelled by road on both the east coast and the west coast, I think there will be less road journeys better than the ones on the west coast. I have travelled extensively on that side and each time I am left spellbound. In fact, since my family is still in Goa, I do these journeys every few months.

Coming back to the topic, Pondicherry is not a city for beach bummers. If you wish to do that, Goa is the place to be. I think this city is a place where you can get in touch with your inner self by exploring your own version of spirituality. I found it to be a quiet and silent place, even though locals insist that in the past it was much better. When I go again to Pondicherry, it will be only to spend some time back in the Ashram, in the day and sit by the Bay of Bengal, watching the limitless sea in the evening. These are enough reasons for me to visit Pondicherry again.

(PS: while visiting Chennai, do NOT miss the Idlis and the Dosas.)

After I saw Iqbal, I thought I could very well update my last post on the movie since I think it is a well made movie. I have always believed in Kukunoor’s abilities as a director and this time too, I was not disappointed. The best thing about the movie was that unlike other movies that are based on a theme like this, this movie does not evoke emotions because our Hero is deaf and mute. In fact, chances are that while watching the movie you might forget, for once, that he is handicapped at all.

The reason why I did not update my last post on Iqbal and am writing a new post here is because I thought there could be a connection drawn between Kukunoor’s magnificent movie and Anand Vasu’s excellent and thought provoking article on the state of Indian Cricket Selection process here. The author is Cricinfo’s assistant editor.

Mr Vasu’s article proves that cricket is not just a mere sport in my country. More than a sport, and not only a religion, I think it is an industry. There is more to it than what meets the eye. I urge you to read it here.

The machines that interest me do not work on land. They work in either the Sea or the Sky.

I have been collecting warplane models for some time. Recently an “aviation” store has also opened near my office, making money matters worse for me since the last time I got my salary, it was my first destination. Anyway, here are the pictures of my fleet. These models stand on my desk.

This is the Scout 4 Ranger/Fighter Airplane used by the US Navy.

Above: The Messerschmitt 109-G, also known as “Gustav”, an example of magnificent design of the German Airpower. Played a major role for Germany in the battles against Britain during WWII.

Above: The B-24 “Liberator” of the USAF, could be easily called the “mother of all bombers” was in service till 1944. 4 Engines and a top speed of 450 kmph.

Above: The AV-8B Harrier II- A part of the modern fleet. One of the best Aircrafts a navy could ever have. It’s unique ability to take-off/land vertically using the VTOL and the STOL ability using the Ski Jump is a big advantage, besides having a top speed of 1100 KMPH. Originally a Royal Navy product- a previous version of this, the Sea Harrier, is now also maintained by the Indian Navy. I had the opportunity to take a good look at its cockpit while my visit to the Indian Navy vessel, INS Viraat (prev. HMS Hermes of The Royal Navy) some years back. By the way, INS Viraat can accommodate upto 30 of these.

Soon I will be publishing pictures taken of real aircrafts.

According to news going around, Danish Band, Michael Learns to Rock- more popularly known as MLTR, is due to perform in Bangalore on the 25th of September. The Band will also perform in Bombay.

Romantic ballads of this band have been the prelude to Boyzone listening era of my life before I went on to the likes of Oasis and U2. Though I haven’t listened to MLTR in the last few years, I can safely say, MLTR, Boyzone, Sting, Bryan Adams and U2 are some bands that I have listened to so much, that I remember most of the songs.

Of them- Sting and Bryan Adams have already performed here. MLTR will be coming next month. I am sure to be there.

But when will U2 come to India?