Undhiyu -Oondhiyu

Finally the way to people even readers minds, memory, hearts i don't want...is through their stomachs...looks like & i have resolved to make my blog worth a read. Considering the whole world is writing, despite loads written on all of this...so what...me too...

WInter time is good for delicious food acutally wc month & time isn't...i think food rules stomachs & people's lives. So come winter i will begin with the favourite Gujju dish -Oondhiyu.

This is a fantastic concoction of number of vegetables
Suran - white yam
Kanda - Purple yam
Ratala - sweet potato
small potatoes - these are modern additions...better than me giving you details of how small you should chop them
Surit Papdi - beans
peas
most avoidable veggie -Brinjal - my oondhiyu doens't have this...you want u can add
Rajali keli - Rajali variety of Bananas semi raw
lentils - spring onions and its greens

Ingredients

100 gms surti papdi, stringed, whole
100 gms chopped raw bananas, unpeeled
100 gms yam (suran) cubes, peeled
100 gms purple yam
100 gms small baby potatoes
100 gms sweet potato
100 gms small sized brinjals (baingan / eggplant), slit

4 to 5 green chillies, crushed
1 tsp grated ginger (adrak)
1/2 tsp crushed garlic (lehsun)
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania) leaves
1 tsp whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
4 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp asafoetida -hing
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ajwain)
salt to taste
1/2 tbsp sugar
lemon juice to taste or even tamarind paste....little
For methi ghatta:
100 gms finely chopped fenugreek (methi) leaves
1/2 cup besan (Bengal gram flour)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp grated coconut
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

Method

Form a paste of chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander,
Rub the chunky veggies with oil and masala paste.
Marinate for 30minutes.
Heat oil used for frying ghattas to proceed.
Add all the chunky vegetables, stir well.
Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Add papdi, turmeric, flour, ajwain and salt.
Cover and cook on low till the yam is almost done.
Add coriander, lemon, and sprinkle some water if required.
Add sugar, stir

for ghatas
Mix all ingredients, make stiff dough make small roundish oval shaped muthiyas.
keep oil to heat on slow flame...check by dropping the dough, if it comes up isntantly the oil is hot enough...else wait...deep fry till red coloured...
pdrain oil and mix in the Undhiyu

now for the health conscious avoid too much oil...else ensure there is decent amount...i won't suggest it.

I would also suggest don't go by this amount...sometimes you may or may not get some veggies...the paste is very important...that also don't make it wet. roast is in a frying pan...coconut, coriander the masala..put some goda masala -maharashtrians know of it...it adds to the flavour. Avoid sugar...put some jaggery instead...don't make it spicy...the flavour of vegetables are sooo delicious, you don't need spicy...eat it with hot fulkas dripping with ghee, parathas or even hot boiling rice...

khamang....my mouth is already watering...its like your urge to eat should match the orgasmic feeling...

Road to being millionaire

Now, I'm NO millionaire. My face also shows I'm NOT deprived. so am i neither here nor there? NO, no. I'm clear i'm on the path that is tread by millionaires.

How? Simply i think so. I don't strive towards it. I just happen to be there where the Millionaires go. ANd here i dont' mean those ones who have built hideous structures forcing themselves and their family members to live in them. No not these proclaimed millionaires or trillionaires. These are the ones who went first to Bhuj after the 2000 earthquake -because they claimed their roots were here & they wanted to start charity here. So even before the first buried was pulled out of the debris to give the dead a respectable farewell, the company's banner was put up proclaiming they had adopted the village. Its another story except us media and the army even relatives of teh dead weren't there. The company or its charitable people were completely absent.

And now MA is still competing with his younger sibling on mear ghar tere ghar se jyada bada hai..dekho meine kya banaya, tumhare pass ky hai? so younger billionaire sibling goes & builds yet another tallie scraper...these billionaires of a totally separate lonely sky scraping trip...

I'm talking of the few quiet millionaires who have shown the way in Mumbai. They were born with the qualities of valuing where they were born, from where they came and whatever they had they should give back to the society. The other day my young friend MI & I went on our daily walks. I saw Adi Godrej & asked the bawi friend if she saw the elite company we were in. "No who," she turned & saw AG's shoes.

This evening while returning fm Pune as i was on my back fm the toilet i saw a Rolls Royce whiz past in few seconds. A familiar face. Who sent his drive to McDonalds, rushed with his hands filled wt packets, sat in the navigator's seat & the person driving is one of the richest * sough after men on this planet.

Shahrukh Khan! Yes, after he went i overheard a man call his souse on cell & said, "You know who jsut went by? You won't believe, SRK. Its time i changed my cell. I wanted to capture, but sala this cell doesn't have a good camera. You have to help me choose."

I felt bad, i wanted to ask SRK about how long his tyres lasted on our Indian roads. Does he take his cars fm India to get a feel of phoren roads, or does he go to car rental agencies & then take phoren brand cars. yes, that once in a life opprtunity will come again.

I think i am on the right road. Haha definitely NOT to make that kind of money, but getting company of the billionaires on my path.

The difference is Adi Godrej at this age also walks. He exercises & like 2 mad women who do the same, he too walks up & down the steep slopes & stairs of Malabar Hill Perhaps keeps him so trim. I have hope that means.

But ofcourse in the mean time, i have to think big & work towards to that HUGE thought. what my commitment is & what is do, is a personal thing not to be publicised -another quality like AG. good so the path in front is long, but I'm' sure to reach there. yeah...seeing is believing, living it reiterates it....

Ratan says Tata

Now imagine if Indian politcs were to become completely transparent & we'd get to see or read the individuals & wc corporate honchos contributed to political parties booties...whatta fun it will be.

the need of the hour is we must know who all people, which companies & indivuduals have contributed to the party funds of all our political parties. Some regional parties like Shiv Sena came up through extortion. MNS claims its different, but its roots are very much sowed in Sena. Now they claim their president has construction business from where they divert the funds. All the more reason i would like to know how much is black money, how many 'favours' how many donations and of what kind.

One loyal funding family to the political world has been the Tatas. Like with their social commitment and helping the masses or poor, the Tata sons have always made a rather fat contribution to the election duty-given funds. Over a period of time from a Congress stronghold, Indian voters & political system oscillated between Cong held regimes - well they have been; to Janta party rule to the modern coalition party led regimes.

Even in democracy we have regimes, coz they all are thugs basically. Anyways the Tata sons stood strong behind Cong. Though they were compelled to fund Sena-BJP in Mah and later for NDA. see, the latest chmn Ratan Tata's reply to Rajeev Chandrashekhar. He makes it clear that there were maximum policy flip-flops during the BJP govt.

This all comes back to the 2G spectrum controversy. All i understand is that many telecom companies were given licences out of turn, they were favoured, cuts were taken & the telecom Minister made the most. what i've not understood is that did the others envy the cuts & wanted a share, they expected to get licenses, motives are NOT clear...even those of the media persons along with the PR lady named.

Howevre Ratan has said his Tata to all & sundry...politicians. He is losing it over the last few months i think. I admit to hainvg a high regard for the Tatas thanks to JRD the man & his policies. I've personally seen Simone Tata on innumerbale occassions at West Side, she comes in quietly, shops, buys products fm her own shop, guards don't recognise her. She pays & walks away all very quietly. I've seen her take a hair cut, pedicure in Lakme' salaon. She is a classy graceful lady.

Now this next gen Ratan Tata is a simple nice man. Kept his nose to the ground, despite all criticisms he continued building and more so expanding his empire. He also continued the Tata's tradition of being the 'solid silent types.' However he has moved with teh times. From being complete NO Comments, don't cross your boundaries, how he hired Radia and handed over all this Corp comm to her is still a mystery.

She mastered the art of building the wall, not just boundary. Media & Tata sons, all group of companies. However the one remarkable change we saw in the last decade, slowly but steadily was that RT began smiling, becoming more media savvy, however reluctantly. His business has grown, so has his confidence.

But i never understood why he opted for Gujarat. That he agreed to, despite being sooo very critical of the BJP, this is paradoxical. It confuses me. It is also way off the policy of Tata sons that they carried all these years. THey have been for pro-secular rest has been 'no comments,' being 'politically correct'so this sudden paradigm shift of being pro-Gujarat even if it were for Nano was a shocker to many Tata fans. Let's not forget Tata the name was famous in India, we know the singer Tata Young of Dhoom fame...was named after this group....

Now comes the whole telecom rada...every day a shocker after another. He said India is becoming a Banana nation - well late PM rajiv gandhi's 'humey banana hai' had nearly taken us to that level. Then screamed the BJP govt demanded cuts when tats wanted to float an airline. then RT kept quiet, but chose NOW to speak abt it. Latest he is screaming that BJP demanded cash.

The siutation is getting more & more interesting, though RT comes across quite pathetic. Only wish he would've spoken at the time these things had occurred. I always told my father there's NEVER a right time, its always now or never. Later no one will take you seriously. I can't help thinking like this, coz i don't connive. One can't be calculative & stroke when the iron is hot, one is often seen as oppotunist. Though this really nice, educated man says something which i've live by all my life - "I can sleep easy at night, knowing i've not paid money..." i do want to believe it...he may not. But yes he has hired somoene else to do his dirty work & well how she does!

daily news updates

Considering the blogs are too have become commercial i need to do something. I can NOT write abt sex & acts of love making or abt other crap...so daily news up dates.

Nicholas Sarkozy & wife Carla Bruni's visit to Mumbai
unlike in Delhi where Sarkozy looked tired, sleepy & looked bored wt the politicians around...well look at the men around women at least are better looking here...Lalus, Paswans, Singhs, Pawars where should he have looked...right besides him was his squeeze Carla so he reached his hand out...

In Mumbai they were sombre. first police gym for 26/11 memorial...tributes galore.
SO the poor J Yadav, RPF officer was called to stand aside. he told "madam , GM saab ko bola gaya humey bulayeeye..hum aa gaye, ab pata nahi kahan jaba hai, kisse baat karni hai...he stood b/w the Railways officials...he was NEVER called.

then Kaambir Kang the brave survivor of Hotel Taj looking older, tired was there to receive an award. Also Devendra Verma of Hotel Trident...2 brave citizens.

Then Sarkozy made scathing & scorching remarks against Pakistan. He said, "It will never be tolerated or accepted that Al-Qaida and Taliban are given safe haven in teh frontiers of Pakistan."

"It is unacceptable that co-conspirators and masterminds who planned the 26/11 attacks are being protected in Pakistan."

carla stood behind...too serious & savagery talks were taking place...she stood in a white top & skirt behind her male squeeze. she didn't steal glances, far too serious stuff was happening. At one time Sarkozy sounded like he was firing. He realised he gone on a little to criticial ...

then he switched to the positive side of maintaining peace in the sub continent...need for good judicial methods & humane ways to deal with terrorists...

later in eve just when we thought we can call it a good day...go home early..bomb phat...blasts in Varanasi...

the police say there is a terror mail...all details of a mail traced to a IP add in malad west.

so, another round of blasts in India. Tomorrow cong was to respond to the JPC demand made by the opposition in parliament.

while life in state assembly too is tough...here too in Nagpur the opposition has demanded Jt probe in adarsh & oppn says sack all tainted babus..

wait to see will there be random arrests? suspects to be arrested? alfateh00005@gmail.com is the incirminating email add...

Police goof on customs sex party, sensible verdict

The High Court mid last week gave one of the most sensible judgements in a long time. Bombay HC acquitted all the customs officers who were caught with bar dancers for indulging n pornography. The judge further said that adult pornography when indulged in and recorded within one's private four walls is NOT illegal, especially when it is consentual. vv important landmark judgement. For those freakin' losers, over excited moral brigaders looming within our society and in police force. Who have become unncessary pains by intruding in people's private worlds -homes or parties. Remember i wrote a piece on this on this very blog 2 years ago.

How such swooping down on people's private party won't hold good in courts of law. I gave the reasons too. Consential sex, porno, party among adults is NOT a crime. Yes, it often is the envy of the neighbour, but it can lead to many legal issues for those who are intruding forcibly and the envious ones. Quite deserving, if you ask me. if behind their four walls and behind the curtains any individual is indulging in different forms of sex that are not violating the concerned persons rights or any legal issue then so be it. Nobody has the right to disrupt it.

I still think what is more pertinent is how is that all the customs officers of that branch got officials leaves on the same day? Who passed those leaves? Why were they passed? Did the holiday mostly casual leave impact on the customs official work, functioning? If so then how? Who supervised the work? Who funded this party? who paid for the bar dancers? Where did the money come from? Were the funds as form of any cuts or bribes? Or were they simply money of the individual officers. What about the booze, who paid for the alcohol. From where was it acquired? Who solicited it? who brought the bar dancers? Were there any middle agents? were the agents connected to the underworld?

If the customs officers themselves have contacted bar dancers-wc in all likelihood is NOT the scenario- then what was the modus operandi? How regularly do they splurge their money? is the money spent in the dance bars bribes? any kick backs?

Now as a citizen, more so a reporter i am more interested in the above questions rather than who slept with whom. Who cares, each one needs to mind their own business. It is NOT who sleeps with whom that makes for the story. What's important is how was it done? under what circumstances? Because if the underworld has certain consignments to be passed and that's why they sponsored, then it is VERY important to investigate this matter on the lines stated. Now the police goofed yet again. In the courts snooping in on pvt sex can NEVER hold good. The cops can't blame the courts and law for their lack of investigations.

http://neeta-coolcat.blogspot.com/2008/08/sex-scandal-involving-customs-officers.html

Season of scams

Haha did we think we've had like enough of scams for the year? Not really. There was first Adarsh Society scam. One age old scam that gained momentum yet again, thanks to the immense lobbying by a former chief minister of maharashtra who is now in Union ministry while he wants his MLA son to get a berth in the state.

Congress high command over stepped their line. On what basis have they sacked Ashok Chavan? Because he recommended his in-laws? That according to NO court of law is illegal or criminal. He is NOT involved in any breach of norms, or sanctioning by misusing his powers. The person to have done that is the man who managed this whole episode.

The real reason for 'scam' & uproar or outcry was that the plot where this multi-storeyed building has come up was alelgedly reserved for Kargil war widows. Now, this bit of news itself is a scam & needs to be investigated.....only because a leading newspaper said 'war widows' it was accepted as a seal. The papers show mention of the society including names of war heroes and the 2 names have little to do with teh kargil war. The 3rd in fact is a nominee. Interesting how this scam wreaks of Babus, armed forces officials & politicians who have breached environmental norms & other norms, like taken exrta FSI, etc. Sad part is there is always a scape goat and here it was ONLY Ashok Chavan, the others have gone untouched.

The 2nd is CWG, but i really don't intend to get into it. The key person Suresh Kalmadi's real misdeeds need to investigated even more. the whole Indrayani, shatabdi express started on Mumb-Pune line, the land amassed by Kalmadi and family is really not new. The Sai services agency which deals with Maruti cars is owned by Kamadi. Half of Pune Kalmadi's taken over, the other half mr Ajit pawar has. So the fight for corruption goes on.

The last one is vv important. The Barkha/Radia/Vir gate. Yes, the tapes leaks of 2 big names in Media. Vir Singhavi & Barkha Dutt. Now need i say more? The names are big, because the media, their respective news organisations have made them super personas. They made them feel good. Obviously the organisations 'also' have benefitted, although they may have benefitted the most. considering they have that much more information & are actually not just sources, they seem to be 'negotiating' the stakes have been more than one can imagine.

1.journalists can't have special immunity & say 'sources' said or fed rather. 2. Journalists can't cheat by saying we have creative freedom. 3. Don't deride people on your platform, we are ONLY moderators, catalysts we are NOT the hallmark that can seal any decision. 4. Journos are not above law-any law. 5. getting info & details is 1 thing. how it is used is altogether something else. 6. this info was 'used' bartered. it comes with a cost..7. the means used are equally imp as the end. 8. can journos determine who should or shouldn't be in any cabinet/ministry? 9. what are their stakes? 10. Journalist including editor reports, you opine in your columns only, otherwise report neutrally.

guess this all is forgotten...lol!

Social Network - film

I wanted to see this film, for the story behind facebook. The people, their dynamics, the aim in setting it up and the destination for this site. What was the premise on which this site began?

Revenge, one-up manship, competition, to get 'hot' gals on the site. What is the peronality of the kind of person; his/her mental, emotional set up. It all fell in place. A person who thinks he is god's gift to human kind, who isn't kid to competition, not at all innocent. Someone who has altogether NO skills for socialisation, plll absolutely ridiculing pre-disposition. Although i admit Zackeberg is amazingly intelligent.

The fact that he provalims his IQ, reminds me of yet another journalist who i know is contemptous of others with lower IQ. I however do admit this film took me NO where cinematically.

Some dude out of frustration types at extremely high speed punching his fingers into the key board. May be he thought he was John Nash when he wrote some formula on the window for public display...well we'd be taken to task had we to do it...that didn't stop us from scribbling on odd places.

So what was it that happened? besides chatter and banging on key boards, there were loads of dialogues. NOTHING was shown. I mean many Hindi films are a disaster, but this was pathetice. How can anyone give it excellent rating? How can anyone call it a brilliant film?

This Zuckeberg fellow is the youngest billionaire. Great, fantastic idea no doubt. Loner -sure and how! He's confused, can't take it that some most unexpected person, undoubtedly his ex-best friend has got admission to the most exclusive club. These were plain teasers to the Elite Harvard School we got no real insight into it. The twins uset their father's name. What's so significant? How does it make a diff to the dean or not? these were superfluous things touched upon. The fact is this kid did think big.

With little or NO social skills -well most software walas, don't have. Yet, he has taken the society to a higher level, the whole concept of interconnectivity, inter-personal relations, however superficial or deep have been taken to a next stage which is uncertain. most importantly one's private abso perosnal lives is on public display for the world to see. From personal feeuds to caste, community, national & international disputes become one. The world has become small. Out of nowhere your one time old flame, first love springs up, throws a surprise at you, totally leaving you rattled. It's helped share ideas, views...but none of it was displayed on cinema as i would have loved. Most randome people from the remotest corner of each country seem to be connected...why, how, when did this all expand??

No answers either real or cinematic....guess that's why it's ONLY a facebook

Baracked media

OK, so first in between all our Adarsh netas we were told to send 100s of applications, fill 200 forms, send 10 photos to various agencies some overt some secret. All for Barack Obama's coverage. This was immensely time consuming & frustrating.

When i gave the names of Juniors, i was well aware & in full senses that i did NOT want to be anywhere those venues where Prez's events were to take place. I have been a sceptic, according to Bellur N Srikrishna sir, 'lone dissent voice while others are going gaga." Yes, i had foreseen the soap opera unfolding. Major drama. Also have gone thru' it all far too often. I'm not excited & Kicked by such routine stories. Like on the 1st day at the airport-10 hours before that the chief minister & dy chief minister are asked for ID proof, despite letters acknowledging them as 'Honourable CM & DCM" had been dispatched. We lower mortals had to send I-Card, photo, Passport, state accreditation cards proof, etc, etc. suddenly reminded me of my MHADA-Press Club housing application days.

Then reporters who are covering the event have been called just 5 hours before the slated time. Now i remember when Bill gates had come & the PR fella who overslept wt hangover had called me 8 hrs in advance, and i had given him a real dressing down. Simple - my funda being no one is above the President & PM of this country, even then we aren't called more than 2 hrs in advance, cut this crap dude.. I did NOT want to get into another similar brawl situation. NOBODY is more important than oneself, i believe that IS the mantra for my survival today.

I decided to give gyan, do OB lives, though i DISLIKE it & do NOT think it is journalism. But yes if i can lend a perspective & try to give some analysis then yes, would like to do that. Especially the fact that South Mumbai was half barricaded. People's movement, I mean residents' lives were RESTRICTED. While on the other hand the Prez spoke of 'freedom, democracy.' Hope he saw & was told what arse holes his American security people along with our jack asses police made a mess of our lives.

Then our own journalist community. One real bunch of jokers. We are incestuous, plain bitchy & somehow don't seem to grow up. One bunch of Bhaiyya journalists stood on the side gossiping galore. It didn't require rocket science to know they were bitching abt me & another colleague. with heads turning that would've given them a sprain, it was evident they had little work and knowledge. It is good that there are so many journalists one can easily AVOID. More the merrier..

And like as if i've retired i had some of them telling me how "its amazing to see you've got back to tv!!" lol...ofcourse today's tv is all about sharing, exchange of videos, news. That's what we had to do.

Then our news channel. NewsX is rather not so well distributed or in no 1/2 ranking. So we weren't called to most places. We believe in hand to mouth existence. So we have 5 reporters including me the head while most channels had 30 to 50 battalion of reporters, seniors, etc. We still did NOT miss anything. We still got Ratan Tata on tv. We still managed to get everything. Word of appreciation, none.

the funny part was also irritating trying to get toilets. I've crossed all boundaries of patience & holding back. i will NOT. I know there are some faggots on the loose who read my blog & leave nasty comments. But let me tell you i'd rather show my i-card & get into restaurants or residential houses requesting to use their toilets rather then damage my kidneys. I don't want to put myself through any unnecessary problems.

I struck a rapport with a elite restaurant, today was bad. Sulabh & azad maidan. Pathetic. But the way the police had PREVENTED us to move around it was sad. Thankfully we captured on camera Vivek Vaswani arguing with the cops at Nariman Point junction. He kept asking them show the route to get home. Why have they done this. They stopped vehicles from plying normally, stopped public from moving on our roads. We pay tax for this. Hello have the politicians forgotten?

And our police. LEss said about them the better. We heard Obama talk of freedom, rights, democracy. All of it was curtailed by his secret service people & our bloody cops. The good part was the communists comrades put up a demo of protest. Mumbai police who otherwise wld've shoved them with batons, allowed them to put up protest they too were miffed to miss their diwali.

we were sama dukhi. NO diwali, out on the streets fm wee hours in morn. Oily, spicy, intestine burning food that units are given. I struck a rapport with restaurant, so finally ate a Lasagne. Yess...needed it, with some mushroom soup. THE only fine point in 2 days of sun-burn. Skin is in patches, looks like disease. My legs feel they are separate , disconnected from rest of my body. I need rest, oil, heat pad & a good foot massage!

Oba-mama

Ok, where do i start? I do't know if I am happy that Barrack Obama is coming to amchi B'bay. For lot of reasons. I do not thing that this visit is going to improve politics, policy changes -like helping agriculture to boost, economy to give more space to our poor, create more jobs for non-qualified for small plot owners cum farmers toiling for SURVIVAL; it will not help getting more income for those who are being outsourced at one tenth the pay for some god forsaken American company.

More so Obama's visit won't aide FDI in media, they won't be coming down to India to set up shops, they still prefer China which dictates terms & doesn't seem sooo spineless like us Indians.

Obama's visit will add to plenty of our woes. Want me to get started? I'm really wanting to give it out. We Indians have NO concept of security, protection, body guards, using intelligence to judge, anticipate & quell. We believe in RESTRICTION. So we have baton-wielding police who HAVE to only maintain law & order. Who are NOT trained for terror combat, intelligence gathering, being clas A detectives, intercepting. Please we believe restrict movement, keep out own people away & STOP even a fly from getting near Obama.

Our reputation is widely known. What false pride we gloat in about democracy? We have failed to provide safe drinking water to our poor since the birth of our independence. SO Obama even brings his own water. Wow! Hope the over awed by Obama Americans see through the expenditure of this trip which is gonna cut deep into the US tax payers pockets.

Also, i am told there are 16 technologies exclusively with US, they happily give it to some countries including China. We are NOT favourites bhai log. We get ONLY 6 technologies. NOt all of IT even is given to us. Pittance or peanuts that is outsourced from us at appallingly low costs. It would shame their policy makers to pay an American citizen, but we are Indians you know.

Ok, i still do NOT agree to the American policy overall on counter-terrorism. It is the world is either with them or against. Boss, i give a damn. I'm NOT interested in your country's woes. We have enough to worry of our own. You had 1 9/11 & for 700 generations you won't let us forget, NOT that we even want to. But let me remind you we've had 9 times more terror, extremist attacks. Far worse & violent. Including a Kargil war. Far worse or rather worst has been Bhopal gas tragedy.

While this Warren Anderson frolicks in Panama islands is spotted despite Interpol order then how does it rate him any better than Dawood Ibrahim or Tiger Memon? They were responsible for '93 blasts. Anderson fled & worse still was allowed to flee by ball-less, gaand fattu politicians who let him free out of India. Three generations of gas tragedy victims are physically affected, forget the mental, emotional & psychological scars. Worse still they have got NO justice. And if we raise this issue, the American officials tell us, "There are no permanent friends or enemies." You must learn to forget & move on.

Boss, the most famous words of an American scholar are, "DOn't forget your history." Why should i forget my history? the truth especially? Will Obama hand over Anderson to India?

Why should he force us to support America over Iran? They first allow Saddam to go out of hand, then bump him off without a trial. Then give us Anderson, we too will bump him off. Without a trial for chemical leak, as worse or more than chemical warfare which was NEVER proved.

They want a hardocre islamist regime to fall in Iran....why? Let their people decide. Why is US interested in the middle east? Why becoz all American presidents have benami shares in oil companies? Why bcoz the US & jew economy runs on oil warfare & Anti-Islamist war?

I don't know soooo many scores of answers. I don't hold Obama responsible for them. But i do hold their country's faulty policies. They arm twist us to reduce creidt rate, reduce interests on all our savings, FDs, privatise everything & now they re-consider it wanting to revert to nationalised banks! huh...do they think we are uneducated, illiterate, ill-informed population?? I don't know really speaking.

They force some ridiculous policies like large dams wc we protest & are termed anti-development, some SEZ scam which covers green arable land, for mortals it means agricultural land. They want cement jungles & then cry hoarse about climate change. Hello our tribals aren't fools. They are being organised & then you're termed Communist. I give an ant's arse. I do oppose these half baked ideas & policies.

Why should a land holding, poor, illiterate hand-mouth existence farmer wash someone else's toilet & clean their fucking shit? DO it ourselves. The farmer holds piece of land. He deserves more respect, defintiely 5 times market price, bcoz any company would make 10 more profits. But then it is termed as conspiracy.

I only know the poor are icnerasing by the day. India is only IMPORTING. we have NOTHING to offer to the world. Those educated want their children to study & run abroad by 'hook or crook.' It is sad.

SO we bend forwards & backwards. Call Obama. Prostrate before him, pao padao, let them arm twist us & we spend over 200 crores on his visit while millions starve.

Obama is competing in a beauty contest? He says, "One leader I would've liked to dine with was Gandhiji." World peace! He won it too...hahaha

Vata Pornima

CD, papa i missss you. Remember how we fondly would bitch about all those girls who'd go to a vatacha zaad, tree & tie a string in your name. You NEVER married anyone. However all your girl fiends hallucinated being married to you, something that drove you faaaar away fm them. They didn't learn to leave you free.

Every Vata pornima i remember how u'd call, "Mama today is vat pornima, don't meet me, don't make fun of my girl firends ok, i too won't also bitch about them. They are going to starve," and we'd laugh..."aai ga. Mama what to do? how to stop them?" finally we'd conclude they are such a waste to lose one's mind & sleep over. I'd tell him, Papa I am going to tip-off friends of trees against your girlfriends. They all need to be arrested "karan tya zadala ghatta avaltat." They tie the tree so tightly in the name of CD, that they choke the tree ya.

Vata savitri pornima was one of the most entertaining day for my bachchu, Papa & me. It was actually traumatic for papa because all the things he despised; that which women should NOT do, his girl friends would end up doing. causing him much distress. He never acknowledged them publicly, these girls shared one space of the remaining in his life. So he never tolerated them trying to display brazenly that they actually shared his life, when no one could claim that. Women are diffuclt species & they find it tough to understand these things about males, wc cuts across all race -animals, bords, humans.

Each person close has some space in that man's life. No claimants. So when husbands actually expect their women wife, mother, MIL, etc to fast & do this kadwa thing, it's a hypocritical act on their part. They are actually lying. This is just an act they want on the part of the women married in their life to claim it. They don't appreciate it otherwise. Why then do they indulge in such rituals? They do not appreciate public display of affection or even signs on part of their wives to show they are a coupple, but Karwah chauth, is a must.

Now Papa's gone, 2 years since his death. DO these women still go & tie the string around vata tree? Do they still fast? Do they still compete with each other to want such a man as their husband in every birth, despite the fact he was UNMARRIED? sad...pathetic...the women suffocated Papa when he was alive wt their antics, shamed him actually, it was just that he had a wonderful sense of humour & that saved him...our total bitchy cynicism that kept our wit going without losing it...miss you CD/Papa

My Blog, my rants, my thoughts

Firstly, i am born free in a country that upholds democracy & believes in freedom of speech, thought & expression. Those wanting to read this blog are doing at their own FREE will. Please get going & move on, shut it or turn a blind eye. Why are you reading? What holds you to my blog? Your free will.

Now people luuv to write crap. Most welcomed, that also has a certain value especially if they are their own thoughts on their own personal page. But when these crap thoughts are posted on someone else's blog as reaction...cha cha cha, you've crossed all lines of decency. Thanks i will tell the person, you've helped me to arrive! I've landed it means!

Also when one is sooooo itchy, leaves a nasty remark, have bloody I'd say f**&^%$# balls to leave thy name. Why is thou art so fearing? Of what? Whence shall thy get the required strength? Did none tell thine these British words and lang is now redundant...for the archaic lang thinkers like the one who has left a comment it means its NO more in active spoken or written use.

so in case anyone has any problem, i'm sure all have a bad hair day or bad day, bad weather day...not necessarily, but some seem to have it ALWYAS, they kindly FO fm this page & the blog entirely. It is NOT meant for these dukhi atmas. Sad souls who are angry about the world in general.

Also, the commentor seems to have taken my blog personally. Also it ain't a grouse or rant. Someones' gaffe is my humour?? haha this person doesn't understand wit, intelligent wit dear. Also is it a gaffe, i'm no judge. Yes, i've called it bad english but does saying, 'are we on the same page' a gaffe? Well intellectual accepts it as a gaffe. hahahaha....

such fun, i always had got attracted to the internet when it first came to India in 1996. I got onto to forming my own email id, own internet page wc i tried to design, tehn it got lost in the web wrold...then internet improved, we got more facilities & options increased. That's when in 2004/05 we got Blogs. Slowly by early 2009 twitter came along. Wow! how twitter has helped us. Blessed are those who come onto twitter...blogs are any person's own thoughts, anyone talking aloud. If anybody feels hurt take a long walk, clear your own clogged mind & write your own thoughts honeys....feel bad you're left to your sadness, this Blog ain't for your types. feel free & happy to read. You are NOT compelled to write any comment for me...definitely NOT personal.

Young student makes KGF follow law

2 individuals who have been meticulously following the Silent Zone laws are Sumaira Badulali and BM.

OK BM is a student, elite from SOBO, but one who has his head firmly planted on his shoulders, till now at least. BM knows the law and has a good legal mind advising him. What i like to highlight & note is that BM has read, kept up with the law & unlike most citizens has the courage to follow the issue to the last bit.

NOw we all were kicked and supported Kala Ghoda Festival, alias KGF for years. In the interim period many orders & laws were passed by the Bombay high Court to ensure that somewhere the residents get their some rights. Like a safe & peaceful environment So we got Silence Zones. The notified areas have been stated by the HC in its 2005 order. Within certain radius of the court, educational institution, etc. So while the court is strict with Shivaji Park, Girgaum Chowpatty, all were caught napping as KGF organisers roped in children of IPS, IAS, Elite richie rich of SOBO. Quietly the children used the powers of their fathers, even if retired commissioners of police or BMC or whoever.

The sleathy methodology used took most unaware. However Sumaira was followinf the order & more one student who lives in the KG area. Now the KGF organisers till now have irganised those same stalls of handicrafts wc you see in any handicrafts exhibition, same wares sold for years on, once in a while thai massages, or some such modern relaxing techniques, while evenings are filled with numerous dance, music programmes. Look we are Indians & we are proud to be like this only.

So we surely want loud dhichak music. That rest of the things NEVER change, even the audience, general public NEVER brought it to the notice of the organisers. We are generally a culturally & socially a deprived lot, especially the SOBO crowd. So the KGF saga continued. Meanwhile BM a student of SOBO college began collecting his facts. He asked Colaba police station whether they had given any permission to hold KGF. They categorically said NO. However they are under compulsions from 'some senior officers.' "Humare naukri ka sawal hai." Said these policemen. Everytime the KGF organisers would send their letters the Colaba police would ask reg directions of the HC & norms of Silent Zone. They have been consulting Sumaira, who too has raised objections.

Finally BM lodged a complaint. I covered teh story & published in DNA. Both were happy that the issue was out in the open. Why do we have double stnadards for KGF? we were then told by cops of 'connected' people on the committee. My one time friend has formed a band & i featured him/his band. I had the courage to call & tell him look i'm doing this story & your venue may change. He was bound to be angry, but that he shld've been angry at me was most preprostrous and ridiculous. I at least had the courtesy to inform that the concerned individuals are taking the KGF organisers to court for Contempt. It is NOT a small crime.

Finally the KGF organisers called me apaologised asked me to relent to their demand for the last time..i had a story again, mind you. I also knew I was NOT the least interested in trying to convince a 'friend'instead i'd rather be accused of upholding the law. RTI application, letters & queries have revealed a lot. the whole nexus of officials, cops & their relatives on the committee. This time BM & sumaira have ensured the KGF will shift its venue.

Yes, it is a vitory of right, of the 2 citizens who have relentlessly pursued the matter. We have received immense flak. been accused of depriving citizens of good entertainment. Now wait, that is highly subjective. Because this so-called festival provides everything but 'entertainment.' It's also hilarious how people insinuate that these 2 aided by me have vested interests. Sure, what?? sumaira & I do NOT even live here. BM does atleast. Then a leading newspaper here, HT even went on to printing a full fledged articles mentioning their 2 names when the reporter hadn't even spoken to either. Well. phono journalism. i don't know...but this exprience has been quite a experience.

New Vocab

Nowadays people have begun using new lingo, cliche's vocab that really bounces way above my head. I was asked, "i simply want to know are we on the same page?" How would i know, I think to myself? What page number are you on, lady? Gentleman? Ok, earlier they would say, seems like we are out of synch.

ok so, i adjust to being out of sync, out of tune or basically say it, disagree with you. More so i beg to differ. Now i'm sure people will say, What's this British English I beg to differ? Beg your pardon. But few know, obviously it will mean only a few, considering the level of comprehension and knowledge of a language that people possess. However what most would not know is the intensity of sarcasm that can be felt when we say, Beg your pardon. anyways... so now people say, aain? what? sorry?? most misused word in eng lang is sorry...however when a person needs to apologise, they struggle hard to find the word and say, "I am sorry."

so now i look blank when Jenny or Johnny say, "Are we on the same page neeta?" I look lost in the woods. So it infuriates the other person even more. Now how to explain to people that i day dream? I envisage spoken languages in my mind the sounds make me open mental windows to the gush of the winds..called words... I first envisage how do i know this person is on the same page as mine? Which novel or book are we talking about? What is the number you are on? are you imprinted? or are you being typed a letter at a time? Then i see a roll of papers rolled so thick that i wonder do i unwind it? What will happen if the roll falls down? what if I Open it fully and spread it on the ground and search for this person's page? By then the person is shouting...neeta, can you understand?

Then i see myself opening the first pages of a novel. I read, "Prologue" and realise this person's monologue is continuously ringing in my ear like a sad bell. How to tell the person, plll you sound out of tune? So let it be and nod silly. But i'm still mentally on that roll of paper. I think to myself I am not any ink or word, then how can anyone ask me, "hope we are on the same page?" Huh....

who coined this lame phrase? I'm sure it is a journalist, that too some Indian jerk. Short of words, limited vocabulary, journalists really don't know how to conduct conversations, speak properly, articulately and 'talk to' people. hence the huge divide. We need to speak people's language. In other times of our lives we may speak and read British english, or even Hinglish. But then other times I can't be on the same page.

Oh ya between the page and sync was wavelength. Now do i see waves flowing or blowing between 2 set f ears? No then what's this was we on the same wavelength? what rubbish we speak and pass of as modern language. I mean i understand making color of colour. But excuse me i am sick and tired of listening to words whose sounds have no meaning, can depict something polar opposite when we envisage or imagine about it.

Imagine if the person is still on the prologue and I have reached epilogue? aah... now i like that...while that person is busy struggling searching for the words...so involved in oneself that they can't even start the novel, forget finish reading it.

Knowing proper English

Have you seen teh latest 'We are the black berry boys' ad friends? Pl do. Firstly they are trying to promote an uni-sex ad, where men first then half way through the song young gals sing "we are the Black berry boys." but now here i want to point out one major blunder.

Suddenly a fizzy haired bemruda wearing girl says, "V are the black berry boys." V because she bites her we instead of blwoing a kiss in the air. Now i just read Chetna Prakash's blog on Mayank Shekhar writing words, metaphors that are erroneous. Well i want to add to it, one is a writer & this is a very popular ad. Yet all promote english which is either written incorrectly or spoken with incorrect pronounciations.

Why, even leading news channels have well known faces or anchors making all sorts of error while speaking in English. And what is more glaring os the fact that English for these sorts has been their first language. it is a shame then. Simply because their primary work is to speak, write or make ads in their first language. That being English...i can defintiely forgive those for whom English has been a second, third or even last lang in their schools.

But when one learns & educates in a particular the basic expectation is that they stick to writing, speaking it correctly. it is simply horrifying for me to see this on a daily basis. That anchors who are now role models for young, lost, dim witted wanna-be journalists then one would at least think these anchors will speak english properly. But like most realities in India english speaking is one!

Now the fizzy haired girls bites dammit, really hard into her lip & sings, "We are the black berry....wc ACTUALLY comes across very very evidently as Ve are the...! lol! Imagine a young girl or boy watching this ad seriously they will believe that W is to be pronounced as V.

Now my dear old Ms Sethna, our English orals teacher will hit the ceiling if she has to witness any of this. imagine to her horror to see such major gaffes? I wonder what the video editor, online editors, the people present at the lcoation were doing when the ad was shot. hahaha...

worst of all....all of this goes unreported, is easily accepted & no one really seems to be seriously concerned? why is it that NO news editor, copy editor subs the copy of the reviewer/critic Shekhar? Why hasn't this ad been called back? Why aren't the anchors pulled up for their pronounciation blunders? They expect & demand great quality from others, but they don't necessarily match up to those standards.

Nurturing friends

I've only read about florence Nightingale...today i can proudly say i know two of such. Well I'm not one to hug & bring tears to my eyes, get emotional...But i'd like to tell the world I'm proud to have 2 female friends who saw me through my worst phase pf 2 days. The 2 days of 103 & 104 degrees temp fever made me realise how my life will be in my old age if i don't have anyone.

The day i spoke to my firned ND & told her i've left the pathological lab which refused to take my blood sample, i had no idea i was already having 103 deg fever. I knew i was thoroughly unwell, because i was shiering like someone who was given an electric shock. I'd not shaken like this even in Gulmargh when i went one December!

SHe felt listening to my voice that i really must be bad. I'd taken a quilt & was lying down on the sofa when i spoke to ND. SHe had a gut feeling something was wrong & smsd saying she's coming...i was in touch wt her & my family doc. ASked ND to go straight to doc's house while it was raining...ND came home & tucked me away while she lay down reading...we waited for the people fm the lab to come to take my blood samples. ND was keeping track of everything we called the lab, doc & she went to the lab for the report & then to the chemist. Meanwhile she called SK another darling frnd...they came for dinner...the 2 kept a watch on me..while putting ice packs in between, making me dirnk lots of water & took over the running of the kitchen, looking after me...they were god sent.

Ofcourse our debates, arguments & friendly fights or taunts continued...that's the fun of our friendship. by the time we slept it was late...then they kept putting ice packs...by midnight i heard SK in deep sleep, by then i was covered by a shawl, under a quilt & went into the kitchen with immense shivers. At one point i didn't know what was happening. Ofcourse as usual i got up to go to the loo few times with the amount of liquids i was drinking.

Between 12.00-4.00 i waited & eventually woke up SK. Poor thing she brought the ice pack & then neeta...we slept on for a while the domestic help & eventually the cook came. I knew SK was looking tensed...ND showed nothing but i can understand. ND told me later she had panicked seeing my body colour that morning. I was completely red in colour. All I knew is that my head ached & felt the brain would splinter in million pieces..i feared cerebral malaria. You never know…

We waited till 8.0am when ND called the doc. I was irritated. I'd never experienced such splitting headaches before in my life. She threatened me & said 2nd dose of Malaria pill & i have to show some improvement else i'd be sent to the hospital. ND & SK asked me...i said NO way had i got any money, it would take time before i was receive money fm DNA. AS for hospital no way. ND kept saying “you have to mentally toughen yopurself…else we can explore having a nurse over..” both options were a BIG NO No for me…meanwhile the leaking was on….Then i agreed with ND's plans of going to her house. SK too offered, but i knew ND's family was there...except i didn't watnt to add more to the crowd there...

Our other friend DD sent us a car. Hers this one decision really motivated me to pack completely & mentally prepare myself to stay away for 7 days. It was the first time i wld be staying at any friend's house for so long. We went to the doc, her daughter my abso sweetheart who i've held as a baby now studying medicine was there to help her mother in the OPD. My headaches had reduced temp was far less & then doc said if i drink 4 litres at least, eat & rest well i'd be set for mond following week.

Hats off to ND & her old mother...believe me that stay was like a holiday. Sund-mond were still not good. Tues afternoon she put ice pack till then i had temp. Everyday altaf wld call & something new i'd learn abt malaria..ND was by my side. SHe even postponed her social activities..tho i thought she shld've gone..i was to rest.

This lady is care personified. ND. Every night & morn she would boil water & ensure i drank 4 litres without fail. She would see the clock & give me nachni porridge wt fruits, food every 2 hrs. She'd check on me & I'm sure i must've stretched her patience, endurance, time line, gen space...but she was truly fantastic healer...my only best wishes are for her always...she deserves all happiness & success...she has taken such care i told her she can take over the kitchen in ourold age & i will tend to the gardening :) haha...

Her aai was abso great company. She saw me & was like "What will happen to us if u fall ill.." every afternoon we both wld have our chaha....i really enjoyed having tea with her. ND's sister too...despite all her famiy responsibilities...other chores she wld ask, plan & cook for ever meal something tasty & diff. They took real warm care of me...i really did NOT miss aai-baba...i mean the Deshpandes did everything to help me recuperate asap.

SK came for 2 days..when she saw i was ok gave some silly translations to do...then she disappeared only to learn she was bitten by a dog! She came to cheer me up in her style...after that i miss having chaai at & with the Deshpandes. I go when i can, like on narali pornima...may be i ain't vocal but i know how these 2 friends have really helped me thru those 2 days...love them...they know that..ya Neeta style..still...i'm glad to have them as friends....

Moving ahead in elite world

I have a high regard for those people who strive, they take a risk & without fear of the consequence, but have dared to move ahead. Here are 4 of my journalist friends. They are all hard core Maharashtrians, who worked in Marathi newspapers. They took the decision of taking that BIG step & moving into the English media, with the tide. Suddenly in 2004-2005 there were lot more openings, more & more reporters from regional media were being sought after by the elite English media editors.

Simple logic, the real reporters who know the pulse are from Marathi -regional media of the state & hindi. Many may not agree or like my view, but it is true & one can see from their contacts, sources & articles. Most of all the backgrounds they have come from are soo typical Marathi & the odds they have battled to get to where they are today, is most credible. I think all Sainiks..whether Shiv Sena or MNS really need to take lessons from these 4. I always say we all who are better equipped, have access to information & knowledge need to help people like these 4. They are so UNLIKE typical maharashtrians, though let me tell you they still live & breathe in their traditional localities. They may have invested in new apartments but haven't forgotten their roots or traditions. And i soooo luv these 4 friends for being themselves -simple, Marathi boys who are not whiners.

KT who started with Maharashtra Times, moved over to Midday a tabloid, then DNA (like many of us) & now as deputy bur head, India Today. He has come a long way. seniors were extremely critical of his jump from DNA to a national magazine Ind Today. However i beleive one must move & take the risks rather than wait & regret that they missed the bus. KT has done some v good stories in his career & more so he adjusted to writing in english, learning to write crisp stories. With some initial diffidence he can talk confidently with the editor, desk persons in English. The move as i saw will help him develop a writing style & help him think originally in English, rather than think in Marathi. The fact that he has taken this bold move i think will help him tremendously. The first case in trying hard & going beyond one's Marathi roots. KT is fm Dombivli-hard core middle class Marathi Brahmin suburb of Mumbai. His family too is traditional & he is proud of his roots. But unlike travelling up & down & getting stuck in a cacoon which becomes a protective shield, he has moved on to take more challenges.

Second is PM. Typical proud, loving personality & true blood Maratha. Like many Maharashtrians he has his fat-fati, is tremendously low profile & wears his ray bans like all Maharashtrains like goggles. He worked in Loksatta, Sakal marathi papers & moved into a leading Tabloid Mumbai Mirror when it launched. Has good contacts in the political arena & still holds himself back. PM does some good civic stories. This is one Marathi reporter who has great contacts & still doesn't tap them for greater stories. He has a treasure of information & knowledge. More interesting is the fact that the politicians he knows are of state & national stature, but NEVER & i push him for not giving those kinds of stories..if he did he will get mroe success. Diffidence, staunchly maintaining low profile. Often that makes him look like he's underperforming, actually he's just chilling. He'd rather stay away from the mad rush. But that often tends to make seniors ignore him & his talent. He also has stayed away from covering political beat full fledged, wc is not correct. I don't know what he fears, because i do think with the contacts he has he will do more justice than others... PM is a silent worker, amicable & great company to be with. The envious English-speaking elite journalists however have always tried to put him down. Pass rumour he can't write to save his skin. But my fight with these types has ALWAYS been, he is a reporter. News organisations have a desk, its their job to re-write a good article. Reporter is hired to go out & get a good story. Yes, unlike KT, PM needs to be pushed, he needs cajoling, sometimes a pat on the back. He lives in Kalachowkie so traditionally Marathi, those hard core Bombayites would know. This feeling runs in his kid daughter too. Although PM has bought a new house, she has made it clear to the father she wants her grand parents & friends & Kalachowkie is the area where their true 'home' is. I can see him smile as he reads this...

SM, is another friend who read my previous -blog on 'Learning Marathi' & sent me a sms saying, "Liked ur article on blog...inspired..want to learn english..m so weak in lang..." This is one friend who I admire loads. SM worked in Saamna. He moved to Midday & I remember half the world pulling him down. Having lived in a BDD chawl, his whole upbringing is traditionally Mahrashtrian. He went into journalism with the ideology he grew up with. His parents too have toiled hard. Today he has invested in a nice house at nana chowk, but he is still simple man with tall dreams.

SM moved in English tabloid Midday when all the Maharashtrians told him, "bagh ghasarlsheel" You will find it tough..he still went ahead. What i like about SM is that he calls if he is stuck with words, framing sentence or paras. He hasn't developed the ego that prevents him from asking & thereby learning. He went a step ahead & asked me to give him a nice eng novel that will help him learn more. This attitude has helped SM a lot. He's still soooo simple i'm relieved to see that. He is a helpful person & shares sources, nos & has brilliant ideas. I am glad if he sticks in media as he has moved well with the times. His wife too is in broadcast media & though in Marathi, she too is a formidable journo. Both helping each other & learning at the same time will surely take them forward. What i like most is that he asks & wants to learn more...

lastly but not the least...is SA. He's my dear. He has come from abso poor background, child of a worker. He has come up only on merit & hard work. I am not at all surprised that he says, "Pahila dev, aai-baba ani nantar baki sarva." For this statement & belief in himself, i have utmost regard for him. Also for his tireless effort to work hard & excel. Today he is the best health reporter in Mumbai city.

His beginning may have been small but his dreams, ambition, attitude, hard work & goals have never been small. His connections in health sector, doctors or now in life are the best in the city. He has earned a well deserving name for himself. He has only struggled to achieve it. He NEVER hesitates to call & ask me, health experts, seniors if he is stuck for some word. He is the star reporter of Mirror who moved to DNA. His climb is credible. Saamna, Mirror & now DNA.

He's gone everywhere on his terms & conditions. He has shown he is capable of great stories, political, helath or bazars of the city His rivals, many eng speaking elite, snoots have scorned him. The buzz when he bgan having concrete talks with DNA was "neeta SA is coming to DNA lets see how long madam will tolerate him. He hasn't mvoed with the times, changed, he can't write a word of English." Is it? have these spreading the rumour work with him? Have they seen his copies? Have they chalked his progress as a reporter? No. Then another 2 reporters told me, "He butts in other people's beats na? He does stories fm all beats na?" Why this fear & insecurity? Because when you are very good, have the talent then others are bound to be scared. I am glad that these girls are talking abt SA like this. It shows he is capable of great work.

Also, SA's attitude reflects on his middle class Marathi roots. He is thankful to those who have helped in getting good stories. He calls them once a month, keeps in touch with them. He has the people's skills. He is also enterprising. More so he has never forgotten his poor background. He has been helping other poor children minute he started working as a journalist. He teaches the kids at the night school. He helps as many poor children as he can for health, medical issues. He helps others too. He is clean hearted good lad who wants to do well. He hasn't shed his childhood friends, his background & is never shy of saying it. He doesn't hide his colours, Marathi ness. He has a fine sense of humour & rapatoire whereby he can even make fun of english taught & spoken in Marathi schools.

These are 4 Marathi friends whom i have a high regard. I've always maintained, these are the kind who need all our help as seniors in the field. Their efforts to excel in English news field & not at the cost of their values, ethics & backgrounds is such a big feat i truly am proud of it.

Aug 2

Sometimes one plans something, but life has other plans in store for each person. I never would've have imagined 2 of my best friends would NOT be around despite making big plans & promising to be there for each other. Yes, old age plans of taking care of one another other.... god or nature or life had other plans for these two angels of mine -Kartik & Chetan. They left me & went off...

First Kartik passed away..one of Chetan's best plays (i think it brought out all his energy, chutzpa & passion) Jungle mein mangal was staged...Then Chetan fell ill severely & we'd talk of a lot of things, as usual reg our life, plans, future...He told me not to pin my hopes on the Rotary intnl scholarship since it would be time consuming. He insisted i go back to television. He'd say, "I don't know what u will do & where u will go, but go back on tv...u're made for it...do some old people's ads & he'd burst out laughing, But you shld go back to TV." he left us all & this planet...in that one yr i got selected for the Intnl Rotary scholarship, they wanted me to go for the 2 yr stint, i opted for 4 months..returned to salary cut, pay loss of 4 months, but had managed to retain my job..wondered what I will do...

this Aug 2, was the 2nd anniversary for Chetan. It was my new job as i was to return to tv news! Yes i know chetan wld've been thrilled to bits...kartik wld've said here goes my mama again...no one will marry her...abso nutty...Chetan's eldest bro' Milind was over the top (He is on occassions...but listening to the joining date he was near to tears). He had insisted Aug 2 shld be my joining date & told him its the HR of NewsX that has to decide. I was all mixed in my stomach wt all sorts of emotions...

butterflies, wc i think is a v good indication for me. That means i'm not confident or over confident...little extra alert..weak coz i was getting fever...apprehensive because of the new place, abso new environment. After 5yrs i was being my old self wanting to take a risk despite a huge EMI...plus slightly emotional, though it can never be seen on my face....it was Chetan's 2nd anniversary. There was some play planned by Avishkar for that day, but there was NO way i was going there. Guess nature had other plans for me.

I fell ill, got malaria & began shivering in the office itself. I was weak, got no time to think at all. I remembered the date...but I am a little finicky about these events...i believe life has to go on...there is not a single day of my life that goes when I don't remember Kartik or Chetan. Their photographs are atop of my book shelf...i see their faces before i shut my eyes at night..i strongly they are seeing from top...my angels that they are..but last few weeks i have been feeling little lost..i miss them, i miss talking to them..most of all Chetan..

i also feel scared off late..i've been around..there for family whether parents, siblings or Chetan/Kartik (they were my family). But i hope i will have someone to be there for me...hope i am not left alone..it gets lonely sometimes.

Learning Marathi

Of late in one week 2 women friends have shown interest in wanting to learn marathi. They have begun staying in Mumbai after a long gap. One Bengali who was born here, lived for a while & father being in govt services moved around. She lost touch of school Marathi. She asked me online, "How to say happy b'day in Marathi, Neeta." I smiled told her its said, Vadhdivsachya shubhechcha."

She asked me whether i will speak to her in Marathi. I was happy to see the enthu. She said she is scared to speak in Marathi because she fears she will make mistakes. I told her if we don't mistakes S then we will never learn. That is about every aspect of our lives. Our whole schooling & correcting methods are DONT, NEVER, IF THEN..punishment. WRONG means bad...hey common we ain't robots. So she is trying now.

another friend, colleague, who sat behind me again another S has been quietly learning marathi on her own. She chats wt me, asks for few words. In fact she has bought a learn quick marathi, or easy to speak marathi book. She asks few words on chat or when we meet. She is a Jain who lived in Kolkatta & can speak few languages. This S has in fact gone a step ahead. She has in fact told her father that since she lives here he shld send all her tax papers, so that she can file her IT taxes, returns fm here instead of West Bengal.

This is their Karma bhoomi & they want to keep it that way, silently. DNA has a lot of good & nice people. Really. The new HR head is a relief, considering we've had a track record of all sorts, especially typical bengali, this H Ghosh is like god sent. He doesn't encourage Bengalis who show familiarity to him. Begin speaking in Bengali instantly, or say where in Bengal, Kolkatta you are fm, I'm fm so & so place, blah blah. He says his janma bhoomi is West Bengal, but his karma bhoomi is Mumbai. He speaks chaste marathi & loves Mumbai.

These are noteworthy efforts. They won't go down in history record books, but surely we Mumbaikars need to appreciate their efforts. Somewhere i feel them being women too makes a difference. Do i sound biased? may be. But experience doesn't contradict me. Women take that little extra effort to adjust to new environment, learn something new, equip if that creates a sense of semblence, serenity & equilibrium. Ok won't elaborate on this too much. More so these MNSs, Sena types instead of spewing venom in the name of Marathi shld go & give bouquets to such silent residents who want to make Mumbai their home.

When i went to Bangalore in 1999, i would carry a notebook, stop all & sundry to jot down words in Kannada. Being the bureau head of a tv channel i had to pick up the language ASAP, like yday types. Coz the leading politicians feared a Thackeray type there called Vatal Nagraj. He toh does vatola of everything.. destructs. I had already learnt few words, kept my ears wide open. So that i could at least grasp the gist. Yes, i have an ear for language & more the tones. somehow across languages some sounds convey the same emotion.

Kannadiga people appreciated that i took that effort of noting, asking & making mistakes. But believe me it was easier to make mistakes in Kannada than Marathi. I'd laugh with them when i made mistakes. More so many males liked i asked them to teach some abuses in Kannada. Obviously because one must know abuses in everylang. It says a lot..

however When i began speaking in Marathi, made mistakes it was seen as worse than killing a human!

Now people won't believe if they heard me speak Marathi today. That once upon a time (no i don't believe in fairy tales) i really didnt know how to write or speak in chaste Marathi is something im not ashamed to say. I would listen to the pronounciations & then write what i'd heard. so, instead of writing bolayala, i'd write bolaila, because that was the sound that fell upon my ears. Father thankfully gave up on me in childhood-see where i've reached today- he once saw my music notings i'd written sa-re-ga-ma in English phonetics & he lost it. His temp reached sky level & whatever happened thereafter, i have blanked out ...

Then many would make fun of me, haha..its not like that..arey you don't even know? How badly you speak...do u have any shame? Arey ur a Kolhatkar, Brahmin. Initially i would get hurt, then my horns would come up toink. Excuse me Marathi is NOT my mother tongue. It is Gujarati. My mother is fm Billimora & wrote, spoke lived Gujarati. I infact learnt Parsi-Gujju vv Bilimora types. Then my entire schooling was in a British Eng school. Pl NO convent. so Marathi was a 3rd lang for me. Yes, third lang. What we were taught was mughlike a parrot & puke in the exams. Where was the learning?

Unlike most others Chetan & Kartik wld be most encouraging. Papa made me buy plays, books, said start wt easy poets, writers. His father dada was toh great person. He'd say jaude loka boltat, tu prayatna karit ahes hech khoop zala. Tu kiti utkrushta Hindi boltes...come more on tv..adorable i tell you. mother wasn't concerned, other typical Baman neighbours would make snide remarks & evetnually sent their kids to the same school as ours.

At home speaking to aaji was NO issue. Or writing letters to her. She'd listen to my sister & me fight..argue...she's say say kay stupid, idiot, donkey monkey bolta ek mikina..marathi bhanda ki..My aaji, granny was a doll personified. I'd have killed someone & she would still have protected me like i was an innocent child. So she wouldn't pull me up. the childhood days the Father was on another planet, I say fm Hitler's planet. Baba is polar opposite today. We sat down & did translation of Srikrishna commission & India's riots cases post Babri masjid demolition. A person wanted those translations, every morn baba & i wld sit at the table & work..with all fights, arguments, snide remarks he against Muslims, me against the Hindus, especially Bamans.

Mother aai was the best. She'd say jaude mala he yet nahi tevdha jar ka ala tula,khoop zala. So learning marathi was daunting for me early in life. then because i spoke chaste, eloquent English i was derided, looked own upon. It is easier for these ladies. Maharashtrians are less mean to these women. Like most indians they too are victims of symbolic gestures.

One who shows enthu, tries needs to be helped & encrouaged i feel.

Devastating Malaria

You know when we were really tiny, many would split into giggles if someone told us they got malaria. hehehe she got loveria...now she says malaria. I can well understand their angst. On 31st July i was under weather. Went out wt Ranjib & Sujata to do merry, get wet & enjoy the last day of working with DNA.

On Sund i was more under weather, bones ached & felt as if im getting the flu or viral fever. Same symptoms. My cousin came to give me a nice box massage wc just leaves me relieved all dead to the world. By night i'd eaten early, taken steam, had a crocin & went to sleep. I felt the fever rise. Being alone - yeah its a pain, missed aai & baba- had to be more alert & spoke to family doc cum family friend reg what to take.

Was under pressure, had not signed up for the new job & Aug 2nd was my D day. to join at NewsX bureau as Mumbai head. However there was lot more oending work. Since few days there had been severe water seepage fm the ceiling & walls in the toilet & loo. I kept putting old chaddars, cloths..water got collected & i was spraying the anti-pest spray...feared mosquitoes coming there.

By monday i was kind of shivering & 2 friends had psyched me into going for blood test. First day of a new job as head of Mumbai. My apetite was fine, but health was bad. I began shivering, covered fm head to toe, covered my head wt pull over hood & then 3ish i left office. I walked into Bio-Tech pathology lab & asked them to take my blood sample.

They say when you have malaria fever & shiver that is the time to get your blood tested. The dr Mayur Parekh outright refused to take my blood. I was shaking & said why don't you realise, can't you see im shivering, have 103 deg fever. No he refused outright -prick- he can't turn down customer who's come suo moto. ALso its my body, my blood what's a risk in that? That rude pathologist insisted i call my family doc. He wanted to talk.. my doc had just returned fm hard day & was in the kitchen, i had no energy. Came home opened doors & windows for light & air, took a blanket & fell on the sofa.

My fever was Fluctuating b/w 103-104 deg temp & headaches that made me think my brains wld split into tiny particles. I was scared i'd get celebral malaria. What's wt our city? why are we in this world still being stung by mosquitoes? The repairs contractor in my bldg got the sound hearing of his life. He came to my house wt his long drawn face.

This is ridiculous..we are in astate of unaccountability is all i can say. Anyways the good samaritan friends were up the whole night putting ice packs to bring down my fever. Crippling to say the least. Im glad to be over it. Main reason - doc threatened to put me in the hospital. I've been weak for a week. Gaining strength by the day.

Being the change i want

Mahatma Gandhi had once said become the change you want. I decided this year that it will be 5 years since i've worked with DNA, my longest stint so far. This would be the final year if i'd be compelled to cut my cake. (I took off to the jungles to see tigers so was spared that public cake cutting embarassment). I'd decided i HAD to get a better, more paying job than at DNA. I had reached my maximum, had done well & want to do something more.

To achieve this i worked to believing that i HAD to change...i must. New look (new hair cut), new belief, assertion

Well, i have a strong belief after i once read years ago a comment fm a very senior journalist in the west. "After working for over 10 yrs in the industry and that too with ethics, all you get is a watch or clock...wc costs peanuts to the company." So i kept this statement in my mind.

I would not stay more than 3 yrs on an average. I experimented, risked shuttling between different mediums & languages. I switched from Broadcast to print at a time i wanted to take stock of my career & self. I needed a grip on my health, life & the innane work i was doing. I was NEVER trained to be a 'byte-taking' journalist. But realised i didn't fit in the current scheme of things. Wc was temporary, byte oriented.

My dear friend J was keen i switch to prove i still have the mettle. I am formidable journo that he knew of me....so he asked if i'd join DNA. i'd avoided the newspaper like hell. Some people i didn't want to work with I wasn't sure if i wanted the same daily nonsense. I wanted time to write good stories, do good investigative work & have some fun in the profession that i had CHOSEN...to work passionately.

SO the best kind of work i got to work for the weekend issue. Take a good responsible position & got that much of work too. I was given the free hand to do specials. It is not frequently that a journalist gets a byline in the launch issue and i got it! Besides got a front page byline for 3 consecutive issues from launch. So i've actually achieved all that a journalist can dream of!

Got to do some really good specials, cover stories. Moreover had editors who pushed me took pleasure in pushing myself, increasing my benchmark & most of all stood by me...they showed faith in me. They heard me out if i said there was some story or news wc needed to be highlighted. They also wanted the best from their staff.

times they r a changin' as Louis Amstrong sang....now its time to leave a place where many of us had big dreams for DNA. They instilled faith in us & made us believe we will be doing something different. We would create a newsy new paper. Well we weren't off target. But we made mistakes, of hiring, constant change, confusion with whats news or not, presuming on behalf of our reader, constantly sending mixed signals. Besides constantly changing bosses...that is a trend wc this organisation management needs to get rid off. This is a menace wc has caused more harm than good.

Now that was NEVER part of my package deal or contract that i will be compelled to adjust to a new boss every 6 months. TO re-prove myself, talent, news sense. NO. Sorry bosses who have their own favourites, likes dislikes, yes boss types. I must've NOT liked most of those bosses but my commitment to my job was never less than 100%. But there is a limit. A point of "this is it....can't take more..." that's where i reached.

But instead of getting into the negativity i decided to make the changes within. Im glad i did it. went to the jungles, saw tigress who sealed my decision to quit! "If its tiger, its change," said Jaideep my pal... & I quit DNA..now where ever the paths take me i will go....

Inception & salt

Now a lot has been said about Inception the film. I like what my buddy said, "Its a dream in a dream in a dream...." every minute was gripping. Every scene vv important. Leonardo's grown in every stature as one of the most formidable actors in Hollywood. Truly he has...what a choice of films he has made....!

The whole concept of putting a seed of thought, concept, Idea in someone else's brain. Wow...then going into the mind of the individual. In fact once a film called Matrix came by. Similar lines...but yet i thought somewhere Matrix was far toooo techie based. Nice stunts, hung upside down types....hung by ropes. Inception was to do with the mind, technology & concept. Yet it was human oriented. The techno did not take over precedence over mind or the person.

I liked how staying in a limbo the chinese man remains old...what happens to the memory? That wasn't really highlighted. Again how memory interrupts the whole dream-tech ride. Nice. I definitely thought it amazing, brillanto.

Now comes Salt. It was fat too salty & nauseating. Will that poutankar Jolie lady STOP pouting? her mouth is always open & pouting...plllll its sickening.

NOTHING in that film. What lady James Bond that too anorexic & NOT good looking? Stunts alone don't make a film. Bruce Lee & Jackie Chan have shown the way loooong ago. It was nice twist though. Quite predictable, as the Americans are obsessed with themselves. They won't ever let any anti-American, whether spy, alien or otherwise ever win the stakes. It's well shot, great stunts, good camera...but sorry NOT great film.

Receiving juicy mail as response

Getting a response to one’s articles or news is something I’ve always looked forward to. Often it is hate mail, especially if I’ve written against the right wing fundamentalists, or written human interest stories on the families of TADA detainees. Once when I wrote about the security wall around Siddihvinayak Temple impacting on real estate prices I got the most entertaining reactions from some devout followers. Some questioned my eblief system and some thought I was doomed.


Then there have been many a Marathi Manoos who has given vent to the angst they have held in their hearts when I have questioned the politicisation of the Marathi language and identity issues. They have attributed my questioning and investigating the issue as effect of convent schooling, only because I went to a ICSE English school. The joke is my school was a Protestant!


Even if Manu (of Manusmriti fame) were alive wouldn’t have thrown such choicest names at me, the way many a Brahmin has, because I have questioned the community’s fence sitting attitude always. Some readers send couplets to me hoping some sense will dawn on me and I will eventually get enlightened about how those politicians who beat a poor bhaiyya in the name of Marathi are the true messiah. If only their wishes were to come true.


The readers often also tell me how the paper has to be run. They have elaborate plans and ideas, which they expect me to convey to my editors. Like most Indians who know before hand if Sachin had to hit a particular in a particular way he would’ve scored triple centuries, similarly they insist if the paper ran on the lines of their suggestions then we’d be number one in the country. One reader recently asked why don’t write on the sex lives and personal lives of those in public life.


Whenever I have written about cooperative factories, agriculture or on Girgaum I have received a lot of response from readers. It is nice to see how curious and open readers are to new ideas and learning to imbibe new research. When I wrote on a private company doing research on paddy and other crops, many readers called and wrote asking for details, from remote places.


Receiving emails is one thing, but I don’t know why readers’ response to agriculture has always come in form of inlands and post cards. I have actually stored these for keep sake value. In fact one senior citizen wrote on a post card on the article I wrote on Alphanso mangoes. He said he appreciate the number of places I stated where the Alphanso mangoes are grown. He wanted to test only one from each place. The only hitch being he is old and immobile so if I could do him a favour of getting one mango from each place and sending it to him for testing! I thought of booking a seat for him on the Konkan Kanya train to taste the amcha mango.

'Crime' being single

When I resolved to become a journalist I was too naïve to realise that as a journalist I won’t be considered only as a working woman. There are many related issues which I would face suddenly without being prepared, while I braced myself for reporting only. I have never understood till date how my marital status affects me as a reporter. Especially when dealing with the police force at any level. Strangely the politicians who otherwise keep an eye on the reporters’ ‘weighty’ issues never show as much curiosity regarding our marital status.

With the change of guard every time I hope that the traditional mindset will change. But instead I’ve had to sharpen my skills to deal with this personal question. I have changed from being tremendously defensive and slightly aggressive because I don’t think my single status is for public consumption. And now I’m totally humorous, poke fun at myself and the questioner.

In fact one police inspector source would call me at odd hours to give news and I’d say family will not like. Promptly I was asked for residence address, whether the husband was nice, number of children and if he was a good father. Astounded I said I can’t talk at that hour. In fact another asked if I had few children because he thought I looked motherly. Now what that means I’m still to understand.

In fact in true police style I would be asked, bang in the middle of an interview taking me off guard. In fact one former director general of police was keen on finding me a suitor. I feared he would soon register my name with a matrimonial bureau. So I began exchanging notes with few women police officers.

So few days ago I met up with a senior lady police officer and we as usual were sharing our laughs and little gossip. I told her it is time I tell any inquisitive male police officer who asks me if I am single that I am either a divorcee or a widow. She laughed throwing her head back and said, “Oh so you too are subjected to queries regarding your marital status?”

The lady officer said how women have been the subject of gossip and talk within the male journalistic and police fraternity. Continuing in a lighter vein she asked me to declare that I am a widow because at least then the officers would show some sympathy. The lady officer cautioned me if I said I am divorcee I would become a butt of more loose talk and would be declared the cause of the break up.

And I realised I wasn’t alone. They too were put through these queries which made to the corridors giving enough fodder to us journalists. In fact one very senior officer gave me words of advice and cautioned me never to make friends with policemen. “We can never be friends, we are always police,” these words guided me through out as a reporter. In fact few months ago a senior police officer threatened to call me late at night to his office I told please do call other journalists too because I was confident he didn’t want to give exclusive news to only one newspaper. He never bothered to meet me after that.

13, Awantikabai Gokhale Cross Lane

When I was asked to concentrate on covering Samyukta Maharashtra special, it was a reporter’s instinct that told me I am likely to meet some real true unsung heroes, besides getting good stories.

It truly was a daunting task to sift through the files in the archives nearly everyday because I felt as if I was frozen in another time zone. I got a few names from the files but I wasn’t prepared for the total unavailability of records or lack of documentation of the people involved in Samyukta Maharashtra Movement.

Many who participated in the movement are not alive anymore. Many textile mill workers have gone back to Kokan and many more have moved out of Girangaon. However, what was more challenging was to find out addresses of those still around. My search for history and faces to match it was challenging. Among the first few people I needed to contact was Roza Deshpande, comrade SA Dange’s daughter. Dange’s old house has given way to a shopping centre.

One late evening I began searching for Deshpande’s address. I was confident that Dange’s house was in Dadar as a Maharashtrian I would find her new house easily. When I enquired at the spot no one had ever heard of Dange, forget Deshpande. “Kon Dange? Mahit nahi,” was the reply I got everywhere. The police station was not near, the post office was shut being late and despite scanning every floor of the two surrounding buildings I had not hit upon the right source.

It was sheer journalist’s instinct that I decided to speak to a small tapri shopkeeper. Raju has a tiny stall and sits behind hanging cellphone covers, jackets and other accessories. The minute I enquired whether he would know Deshpande. Raju was forthcoming and gave me all the details of “Roza tai.” And he added, “Please tell her Raju directed you to her.” I thought that was nice. Deshpande was another person who directed me to many others.

Deshpande also gave me addresses of places and told me some do not exist anymore like Laxmi Cottage, which was pulled down and a building has come up there. Many houses of many mill workers or even mills that now have given way to sky scrapers. The initial phase was frustrating to get to the right people, but once I did there was no looking back. This reminds me of my school days when a renowned film maker out of the blue was directed to our residence by few neighbours from Girgaum.

The film maker planned to make a film on Raghunath Dhondo Karve, a visionary social reformer. Karve was pioneer in family planning and birth control. Karve’s views seemed blasphemous at that time and according to my father and old residents Karve was even ostracised in society. They lived a lonely life. The filmmaker was only informed that Karve ‘reportedly’ stayed near Opera House. Then began his search, he thankfully met an old resident who knew my father said he was among the oldest residents here so to check with him. Till I too wasn’t aware that our family for over 70 years has lived in the apartment right above Karve’s. Later after Karve’s death, his flat was bought by a spiritual person who became more famous than Karve.

The filmmaker wanted to capture Karve’s house, books, his instruments and arte facts. Today, there is no Dange’s or Karve’s house or documents indicating where they lived. I realised through my years as a journalist that I didn’t even know I have always lived above history!

Tiger trail

When i was in school, which was really long ago, i'd read the book by Jim Corbett on the tigers. His description upon seeing a tiger was what i had kept in my mind always. To hope i too see a tiger in it'e eyes when IF & when do see one. June 3 -7, i was on way to Tadoba tiger reserve... forest in Chandrapur. It was sheer determination, I wanted to see real tigers yet again before they become extinct. Unlike other tiger reserves, Tadoba has NO forced sighting of tiger. It's sheer luck, by chance....

I was determined to go under any circumstances. I was fed up on my job, my work profile & fed up of petty politics. Instead of whining & complaining i thought, yes let me see beyond humans. I've always loved a tiger & tried to trail wherever, like in Chitwan when i went way back in the early 90s. So here i was alone exploring, just with a gut feeling i WILL see a tiger.

My aai, (mother) was hell bent on not letting me go, just for the records the temperatures in this area were varying between 48-50 degs. Deaths of people, monkeys, other animals were reported from Vidarbha region. This was my chosen destination. I packed 8 bottles of nimbooz-ready made lemon juice available, electral, 20 bottles of water. My bag nearly bogged down my shoulders wt the sheer weight of these bottles. All for the tiger.

My start to the journey was hilarious. After a mix up of train timings my friend told me i had only 45 mins to reach the VT station. I hate uncertainities, i plan travel rather tediously, well in time before departure. This was rush, rush. Reached in time for Nagpur train. My friend & colleague Jaideep one fo the finest reporters in young Vidarbha region. He arranged everything for me...i took a car & left for chandrapur, however the forest officials had just left back for nagpur. It was merry go round for me going fm pillar to post to get inside. Finally i made it to the forest fm Kuthvanda gate. Now ONLY at Tadoba have they divided the number of vehicles across the 5 gates. But the problem is vehicles that need to be allowed should be only gypsies. However public use all their political clout, access to officials & ministers & then they all come in their own petrol/diesel vehicles.

The first eve was doomed. Everyday on every trip i spent Rs 1500/- nearly. I didn't ask the officials to take me in their vehicles, because that would mean it wasn't seeing by chance. Till then i saw NO tiger...but what a terrain! Parched, dry, pinching my insides. Skin felt torn, head splitting wt the heat. I kept sipping water. Thankfully visiting a forest is no mean task. It also means getting to see innumerable birds & animals that we otherwise can't. So while the tiger was away the monkeys, bulls, deers of all varieties, birds were at play.

On 2nd day early morn was a monkey show ONLY for me. i told the official they have to let me in their vehicle. I saw 5 youth wt cameras. I smelt a rat. I too had professional cameras, not a single but 2 cameras. He was trying to postpone my visit, the field officer & i realised if i let go of that chance i'd never get it again. Unfortunately for that officer, he was calling out to those 5 youth, while the gypsy owner signalled me. He said the officer was calling me, i went ahead & finally my friend Jaideep called. I told him the whole story & he was like just go ahead.

The officer asked me to sit rt inside in the gypsy. I said no, im a lady i can't get squashed between all the men. Honestly it wasn't a excuse. When realised there were 5 men, i made immediate calculations & realised that i'd NOT get any chance to click a single pic. They trouped in & i shoved them inside in the back seat.

Finally we went to the water hole, where grandly sat a tigress wt her 2 cubs...she gave us ferocious looks for a few seconds, then when the jeep was turned off, she sat quietly keeping a watchful eye over her cubs. These were one & a half yrs old. They looked fully grown. They were awesome. By then, i'd forgotten all about my thirst, immense heat & blistering sun. It all got eclipsed in a fraction of a second. I recently told a friend that i was headed to the jungle to meet my 1st love, the tiger. Truly i think i love this animal more than anything else.

The cubs were happy soaked till their necks in the water. Believe me if we humans find 48 degs & humidity that day was over 65% hot, then it's twice more for those animals. I was stunned by their beauty. We moved reverse, came closer when i got a better view & then one cub got up fm the water to give me that 'tiger' look. That cub was signalling me that 'look don't forget i'm a tiger!' then he went towards the mother to climb over her & play wt her. The tigress was just too watchful keeping an eye over her other 2 cubs.

We came out i wanted to dance around like the bhalu to express my immense happiness. But more was to come, which i didn't know. By then i was relaxed, i'd got something that most don't easily get. Yet i felt the Jim Corbett experience had eluded me. By then I'd happily seen 8-10 varieties of deer species, bisons, plenty of birds, peacocks, bear that ran amok right up til the gate, monkeys, especially the black faced ones, the langoors. So on & so forth.

The officials had booked me in the director's room at the rest house. It overlooked the lake at Kolsa. It was truly beautiful but everything was hot. Even the ground was hot that day, it was immensely sultry as there had been few showers inside Moharli gate & village. Next day early morn i reached Kolsa gate & the guide Rajesh took me around. Around 10.15am there was a buzz among drivers & vehicles that a tigress had sat in numb 2 water hole when she heard a vehicle & had gone inside the jungle. We waited there. Thankfully one professional group of wildlife specialists were there. They were keen enthusiasts who could shut up loud public, noisy vehicles and abso listless public that had no idea about dos & don'ts of a jungle.

We stuck behind their vehicle. We sat watching as every minute in that heat seemed as if i was in the middle of a lava, or crater. The heat was killing. On top of that i had climbed out & sat on the window after rolling down the glass. I kept both the cameras handy the manual & digital. That tigress was a treat to the eyes! to say the least. She walked stealthily popped her head out, looked around & went right back. She must've really got pissed off by the human beings. But its summer time, the tigers & bisons can't stay out of the water for long.

It was then i recollected Jim Corbett's words. All that i had read came to my mind. Jungle & especially tiger trail teaches one a lot. Mainly being patience. I had all the time in my life I'd come for this purpose ONLY. The public in other vehicles was getting impatient. I tell you we city people should be disallowed from jungles if we can't behave ourselves. Then the professional foursome hushed everyone. They told me, 'These are sarcastic bastards who want to tease the tigers.' it's true to a large extent. Then madam tigress came halfway out. I was dumbfounded, absolutely silenced. I only wanted to see her. My first instinctive action was not to rush for the camera, instead i remember saying, "Wow! she's gorgeous." If the US army has a weapon called stealth bomber, its a name abso apt for the tigress. She moved with such conviction, majestically she commanded attention & yet so agile, silent, its amaZing.

She went around from behind the water hole she moved in, keeping an eye on us all. Then the profnals requested all cars to wait for at least 10 mins silently. Just then one jerk's car wt automatic lock made some sound. His defense was, "what can i do?" He drove right behind us disturbing the tigress. She was losing patience. Predators are of cat family & they like their space. They need to be left alone, i believe in it & follow the same attitude. My mother always says 'Neeta you must've been a cat in your previous birth." she thinks i'm vv cat like.

Then the jerk behind us honked & that was it, another impatient bimbo put his gypsy in motion. They tried to blame my driver for the noise, but all knew it wasn't us. The tigress had had enough of us humans & went inside the jungle. By the time we went to th rest house in a huff the guard told me he had taken action on the guide & fined the vehicle for breaching the rules. Those tourists left in anger..like i give a shit.

Our guide was one great human. He knew his jungle well. He told me "Madam you come by 2.45pm sharp at the gate, we will go inside. I guarantee you the tigress will be at the water hole." We saw many birds & animals, including mountain rat, Ghorpad. Yes, same one fm Shivaji's story days. We went on water hole trail & there she sat inside the pond. She sensed us, in few secs got up quietly & went inside. I got her pics. Then she looked harassed by humans, sounds & more so the heat. She was thirsty & wanted to cool off. So we waited patiently at a distance. This was abso EXCLUSIVE. Tigress sat wt her head down abt to sleep. Then came trail of pvt vehicles. Their car nearly fell on one side as the elders, kids squealed loudly...look tiger tiger..kuthe...toh bagh..tithe...it was like a zoo. The tigress surely must've thought we are all from some zoo. stupid, ridiculous the whole atmosphere was.

Then word spread around that we were the only ones to see the tigress. suddenly all & sundry came to ask when next will we see a tiger, was it male, female. blah blah. We had our show. We were fed up & we had had our fill. Meanwhile Anil driver & rajesh guide got into a competition to tell me whose luck had rubbed off on me. I was like i'm really lucky to have 2 people's luck rub off on me!

I know one thing for sure, this is one majestic animal, tiger/tigress & i had a dream that i'd see it walk past me. It happened. It was magical, i have no words to describe that ultimate pleasure.