Mishti's musings

After being gracious enough to guest on my blog here and here, the kind Mishti has - finally - started his own blog.

Ladies and gents, head over to Mishti Musings and do read his wonderful post on how a Bombayite changed to a Mumbaikar.

"Please blog, please please blog"

Grabs of conversation from last Saturday's bloggers meet held at Soul Fry in Bandra

Bombay Addict (BA): Hi I'm Bombay Addict
Melody: You don't read my blog
BA: Yes I do, I commented on the time you bought a new PC
Melody: Oh, well why haven't you put me on your blogroll?
BA: Ah, er, um.

Amit: You know Sakshi is related to looks like Sanjay Dutt
BA: She's related to She looks like Sanjay Dutt* ?
Sakshi: You know I actually got a comment once which went "Yeh aapki Nargisi aankhen...you know as in "Nargis"?"
BA: Oh

BA: Why "Twisted Indifference" ? I mean indifference is like, well, you know, just plain indifferent, right ?
Sumit: My earlier blog was called "Indifferent boredom" (or something like that)
BA: Oh.

Vivek (Sumit's non-blogger but techie friend): I'm a SysAdmin
Someone: A what ?
Vivek: System Administrator
BA: You're the guy who decides what an organisation's employee can surf or not
Vivek: (blushes) Yeah
Someone: Oh ya, kinda like that pointed hair dude in Dilbert
BA: No, no man, that's the boss

BA: Heck you're one of those evil !@#$% who's blocked like so many pages at my org
Vivek: Oh, I'll show you to how get around that
BA: (excitedly) whoa ! cool ! how ?
Vivek: Do you have a piece of paper and a pen ? I'll write down a piece of code
BA: (even more excitedly) wow, wait, wait, I'll get you something
Vivek: No, no its ok, give me your cell, I'll type it there
BA: (handing over his cell) what's it man ?
Vivek: Its an anonymiser site
BA: (a dhat-tere-ki moment): Abbe saala, they've blocked all proxy avoidance sites at my org man ! Don't you have anthing besides that ?
Vivek: No man, can't beat the system then.

Vulturo: Ubuntu, OSX, HTML, RSS, CSS, Fzzz, Pthhrrr, Httrrr
Vivek: No, no ways no ways man. Hell no. Essdww, Ryyssx, Htthrr, kkxx
Sumit: No, don't even think about. They're techies man
BA: Ah.

BA: So, you were in Bombay during the riots?
Pragni: Yes, in Andheri.
BA: Good post. Don't get to read much of that kinda stuff in the sphere
Pragni: Why don't people write about it ?
Silence

BA: Nandan - man, that HT radio ad, it did really suck
Vulturo: What radio ad dude?
Nandan: (goes to explain the entire ad he posted about here, voices the whole thing)
BA: Psst, there's someone here who works with HT.
Silence

BA: So you still scared of flying ? Nice post though
Vijayendra: Yes
(Later)
BA: Kashyap and the crab !
Vijayendra: Why do you keep repeating what I wrote ?
BA: Because I like it man
Vijayendra: Ah.

Nandan: Oh God ! Blog, please blog, please - please blog !
BA: Eh ? what happened
Nandan: Man - check her out !
(hot chick - obviously a non-blogger - walks by)
BA: Oh God ! Blog, please blog, please - please blog !

There were loads of other conversations and loads of other bloggers like Akshay, Abhishek, Ideasmithy... sorry - I can't remember them all, but it was a pleasure meeting with you and a pleasure talking to you. A blast of a time.

Thanks Sakshi and Melody (their posts with photos linked) for organising it. Lovely job.

* For the record, and I quote from Sakshi's post, "For the freaking last time, I am NOT related to Sanjay Dutt."

Salaam Z-listers

Z-listers. No, doesn't sound good at all, considering the brilliance that goes with that term "A-lister". I am referring to bloggers.

There are some under-rated blogs that for one reason or another don't get the kind of attention they deserve. Kinda like real life, isn't it ? Or like movies, I mean come on, do you know honestly remember the names of the other guys in the Lagaan team? Ya, ya, you keep seeing them in other movies in other roles. But honestly, what review talks of the talented lot of Akhilendra Mishra, Dayashankar Pandey, Yashpal Sharma, etc. etc. ?

Or hear it from the man himself, Robert Scoble, who says

Are you worried about the elitism of A list jerks like me?
Then FREAKING LINK TO NEW BLOGGERS THAT WE HAVEN’T HEARD ABOUT YET!!!
That’s how you take down the A list. Link, baby, link! [via CofC]

Then something started here at Mack Collier's blog, the Viral Garden.
To quote him

Here's the deal: In an effort to bring more link-love to those blogs that I feel aren't getting their due, I've created a small list of blogs below that I've linked to. The idea is to create a meme built around giving link-love to the blogs that deserve it, and hopefully turn Technorati's system of using a blog's # of links to determine its 'authority', on its ear."

This was Mack Collier's list
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim

The list made it to India via Reshma Anand at Blogchaat, only she called it the Indi-list. This is her list

Engage Energize Evolve
On borrowed Time
witnwisdumb
Urban Junkie
Diagonally Parked in a parallel universe

The tag has been taken forward by-
Vi - Her post here and her links below
Eenauk
Stuutekeer
Stewart

Witnwisdumb - Post here and his links below
Butter Knives Outcorporated
Pixie Dust

To this, I now add my list
Kusum Rohra
Shruthi Rao
Jason's space
Punds at Full2Faltu
Abodh Aras

Updates:
Punds has carried this forward (thanks Punds!) and here's his list
Anitha Murthy at Thought Raker
Phatichar
Vedam
Windy Skies

Shruthi has carried this forward (thanks Shruthi!) and here is her list
Anitha at Thoughtraker (coincidence or what!)
Usha at Ageless Bonding
Raj at Plus Ultra

Usha at Ageless Bonding takes it forward, here's her list
Chennai Living
The Rational Fool
Mahadevan
Hiphopgrandmom
Hermitchords


So ? what say ? want to spread the link love ?

Technorati tags: India, blogging, Z-list, Indi-list.

Presenting - the Desipundit Blogathon

Update - they're back. Some changes, but they're back. Read this. Kinda makes the below obits redundant, but what the heck..


As promised here, today is the Desipundit Blogathon.

Hey Pat and team over at DP - if you can hear me - it might not be much, but this one's for you. All of you.

Shruthi: Goodbye, Desipundit and thank you: I was introduced to a host of interesting blogs - and after that, there was no stopping me. Endless topics, endless discussions - it was a whole new world out there! I became a serious blog-hopper, and very soon, started my own blog. It was thanks to Desipundit, too, that I got my initial readers. They were kind enough to link to a number of my posts regularly - and readership grew - pretty soon, I had my own blogger community, and I was, and am revelling in it. [Link]

Vijayendra: Exit Desipundit: For nearly two years now, Desipundit has been a daily read. I put my cup of tea on the daily newspaper and scanned Desipundit before starting work everyday. No more. Desipundit is closing down. I could rant and complain but I understand the people in charge will most likely be more pained than I am. I see the bright side. The idea made waves. It will remain. And in time, a new avatar...[Link]

Arzan: Desipundit: Au Revoir: It galvanised a whole bunch of Indian bloggers in India and the diaspora spread around the world into a loose knit community. It did wonders for my blog ratings, and more importantly fostered new friendships, which otherwise would have never existed. That I think is for me the most important thing, I take away from DP. The human link….the cameraderie over email…with people who I have never ever met, is more important than all the blog hits, and the adsense revenue and what not. Thank you DP. [Link]

Dilip D'Souza: DP into the sunset: I can understand that it has become a chore for its founders to keep doing this, especially given the pressures of grad school USA. Maybe it had to come to an end. But as always with such things, the taste will linger. [Link]

From posts earlier by these bloggers -

Shivam Vij: Desipundit no more - "Anyone remember blog melas? Go read some old ones to know how Desipundit changed the blogosphere. I do hope Pat is doing this knowing what Desipundit meant to so many of us, how we logged on every day, how issues like IIPM simply could not have been as big if it were not for Desipundit.[Link]

The girl from ipanema: Desipundit bids farewell - "So I'm sitting here, staring at the the bright yellow sun on the page. Furiously going through the archives...bookmarking each and every post i find interesting, funny, or informative. Lapping it all up, trying to file away as much as I can. Going about, leaving my last comments that say "Came here from desipundit" because, when will I do that again?"[Link]

Nilu: Why people blog: "Why do people read it? No reason. They just do. Sometimes, because they are bored and most other times, for the same reason that they do so many other pointless things. One could also argue, readers read it because it is the one-stop shop for the best of the Indian blogosphere." [Link]

The Desipundit Blogathon

Chances are you first came to this blog via Desipundit. If we've met in person, we probably knew of the meet after we read about it at DP.

There's a lot that Desipundit meant to me. Beyond the obvious benefits of traffic and beyond the comments that those posts attracted after the post got - as it's called - DP'ed.

No, DP meant more than that to me. It meant the perfect start to the day.

It gave me reason to believe that the Indian blogosphere smokes mainstream media. And how. It meant knowing that I'd discover some new blogger somewhere. Or at least a great post. Everday.

And I'm not even talking about how DP got together bloggers on the IIPM issue or reservations or the blog-ban issue. Even simply this hilarious thing.

Call it community, social networking or whatever. The fact is that Desipundit did mean a lot to me. Indeed it was the perfect start to the working day. So perfect I became used to it.

And referring to it in the past tense is really effed up. And like a lot of effed up things, its also true. I mentioned earlier that I've had it with posting obits about stuff I really liked and which just died.

So I won't call this an obit. It's a call for a blogathon. On Thursday 19th October 2006. If you think that DP meant anything to you, and if you think it's worth a post, then blog about it.

I know that many have already commented on desipundit's farewell post. Yet, if you do post about it as well on your blog, leave your link in my comments space or mail me at bombay[dot]addict[at]gmail[dot]com and I will keep updating this with your links and a brief extract from your post.

Farewell Desipundit

Update - also read this.


A few minutes back, Patrix at Despipundit puts this out.

We are shutting down DesiPundit. Although it has been a great experience, it requires time and dedication that I can no longer afford to give. Other personal and professional commitments must take precedence.

I still can't believe it.

I can understand the demands on time and our lives that blogging asks for. And we do it because we love it, even though we put other stuff aside at times to blog. Just like we put aside blogging some times to do other stuff. As bloggers, I think all of us face it at various times. I know how I've fallen back on my posting on both my blogs and it doesn't make me feel good at all.

But these guys are shutting down Desipundit. No!

I wrote an obit when Go 92.5FM died and I certainly do not want to be writing an obit for Desipundit ! I'm getting a bit tired of seeing things I like just randomly..you know..die.

Isn't there another option here ? Can't they hand over to some one else ? Isn't there any justice anywhere in the world ?

Update: It is for real. Here are posts from these Desipundits, which kind of puts things in perspective from their p.o.v.

Ash: [Link here]: But having thought over it, I think it is for the best to shut the blog down. The reasons are not emotional, but purely practical. It has frankly been taking way too much of our time. We’re grad students, and time is our most precious commodity. Personally, the next year in particular is very important. Spending a minimum of two hours a day reading a large number of blogs, every single day, is most certainly not the best use of our time.

Neha V [Link here]: Good things must come to an end. Or they become heavy, drag around and become irrelevant. Thus it must be, that the link loving Desipundit shuts down. Over the weekend, Patrix sent in a mail to the other Desipundit contributors about shutting DP down, and while some of us expressed surprise, it makes sense to close it.

Saket urf. Vulturo [Link here]: Desipundit was not merely a blog, It was a phenomenon. The kind of trust, the kind of devoted readership, and the kind of popularity that DesiPundit enjoyed was nothing short of sensational. It was a great experience for me, to be in the thick of things, especially when Desipundit was driving public opinion and creating awareness about contentious issues, e.g. the IIPM wars, or the recent campaign against Blog censorship.

Founder Patrix [Link here]: The decision to shut down DesiPundit was neither easy nor taken in any haste. To be honest, I had been contemplating it for quite sometime while also thinking of any alternatives that might do justice to the concept of DesiPundit. I may be villified for shutting down one of the desi blogosphere’s favorite destinations but trust me, the decision to do so was one of the hardest I have had to make in recent times and it gives me no joy to do so. I also wanted to gauge the reactions before elaborating on the reasons.

Govt's idiocy - banning blogspot

Currently traveling and regular programing to resume in a week's time.

In the interim I saw that the Govt has done a Big Brother and banned blogspot/some specific blogs. (I've been lucky enough to post so probably I can thank my ISP for that.)

As expected, the blogosphere is raising hell. Head over to
1. Bloggers against Censorship for the latest on this and
2. Desipundit's compilation of the blogosphere's finest venting their ire and
3. that tech guru Amit Agarwal, who - again as expected - has a list of answers to the various how-to's.

Bombay Bloggers Meet - ekdum dhamaal

Driving into Infiniti Mall, Versova for my first bloggers meet, my mind was full of random thoughts. Will it be fun (beyond anything I’d thought), will there be pretty women (yes), will there be young nerds and geeks (yes), is Bipasha Basu really coming as our mystery guest (no), is food and daaru on the house (no).…and before I knew it I was staring at this big table in the middle of the place full of conversations, writing, yelling, laughing, talking. Fun. This had to be it. Bombay bloggers rock and how.

Mojitos, beer, cigarettes, abuses, flame-baits, flames, cameras, ice-cream, waffles, coffee.

And then the conversations.

Reservations, virginity, smoking, if-life-was-a-bad-word-what-would-it-be, The Times of India, IIPM, cooking, food, blogs, scum, low-lives, King Circle, Bombay, Kashmir, Pappu, ex-boyfriends, geeks, nerds, IIT, IIM, Himesh Reshammiya, Altaf Raja, Amherst, and much more. What else would you expect ?

I’ve heard of putting faces to names, but putting faces to words turned out to be a completely awesome experience.

So I’m in this corner that has Saket, Akshay, Divya, Evenstar and Vijayendra. Amit and Saakshi are at the centre, while the other side is occupied by Saket, Ideasmithy, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, John Nash (ok, ok that’s Gera, Parijat and Piyush), Selvin and Anthony. With that kind of a group, there are several threads of different conversations all happening at once. Immense fun.

We discuss reservations. Most are against it. I try to play the devil’s advocate, but Divya forces me out. Not good.

Next up – virginity. Woman bloggers Utd join me for a collective Boo! (I say "up yours" is still better) to all the men who demand virginity and consider it a personal matter of choice. And a vocal NO - demands for your prospective wife to be a virgin is not the same as demanding one of your same caste. (someone shouts flame!, flame !, flame!...I realized it was me).

Ideasmithy talks about how a blogger calling himself peskybuthonest is randomly going after women bloggers. It's good he didn't make it to the meet.

When I light up, I actually hear a woman blogger say “You know I think smoking makes a man look good”. Yes, this was real, but said party admitted to old-boyfriend syndrome. Said party also said “I suck at smoking”. I thought that was the pun of the day….no month. But she’s brave enough to try a puff and comes close to asphyxiating.

I catch the word “IIPM” and stretch out to ask Amit how we can shut it down. He says, well boss, they’re not doing anything illegal. Simple answer. I grrr and gaaaahhh, but admit he's right. He talks about the Times of India selling editorial space. I let off a few abuses. Unfortunately he has to leave to cover the India-West Indies ODI. IIPM and the TOI will have to wait.

Bombay. Ah finally. Akshay talks of Dharavi and its self-sustaining economy. Rattling of statistics from the Economist on how this massive slum is an integral part of Bombay that can’t be ignored. Evenstar talks of her trips, her photos, and why they have the patra on the overhead bridges (so that no one can spit on the tracks). She’s also leaving for Amherst soon. Sniff, sniff, I’ll miss her lovely photo posts.

Snap poll by self to everyone present. Delhi, Bombay ? Bombay wins obviously. But I did catch someone whispering to me “Dude, you’re asking this in a Bombay bloggers meet being held in Bombay”. I ignore him. (Delhi-lovers, this does not qualify as flame baiting).

Our resident geek. Mr. Gera (no, no first name, he insists) walks over to our side flaunting his baldness. I notice later he is also open to people fondling his bald pate, but only in downward strokes, not upwards, it hurts. Yes – you missed this. Google-bashing follows and webaroo DVDs (?) are distributed to everyone with the promise that IBM laptops will follow. Someone disses this idea saying “do you think we’re IIPM students!”.

If its Bombay, it’s Heem-esss-bhai (note the Gujju pronunciation). Divya groans saying she can’t take it anymore. I tell her to give in. Believe me its easier. He actually sounds good. When you can’t fight it, can’t resist it, try giving in. It’s not that bad. I go “oooooooooo”, am booed instantly, but find support in the new Bajaj “Jhalak dikhlaaaaaaaja" ad. I almost launch of into “Hai, hai, dil ki baat sun le, yaad sataye teri” and “A-a-a-a-aashiqui teri, ja-ja-ja-jayegi jaan meri”, but something tells me it’s not a good idea.

With the TGIF round coming to an end, Saakshi suggests coffee and waffles. No brainer. We congregate in the food court. More conversations.

I chat up with Parijat – one of the IIT lads. He amazes me with his clarity on what he's going to do and what he wants in life. We have a brief discussion on IIT, IIM, investment banking, etc. Also turns out that he and Piyush are also school pals from Jaipur.

Anthony talks about his cooking blog and how it gets 700 page views per day. I couldn’t talk much to him, but I’m seriously considering taking up cooking classes to increase traffic on my blog.

I tell Saakshi I liked her post on the Akbarally employees. We lament their state and the indifference of the media in reporting their case. Sad and true.

Finally, and woefully, it’s time to leave. Given the crowd and the chaos and the fun, I missed out on further conversations with Saket, Saakshi, Anthony, Selvin, Vijay and Ideasmithy. I look forward to all of it and much more in our next meet.

Phew! For all the three hours that I was there, it was one fantastic event that has left me thirsting for more.

Bombay bloggers – you rock.

More posts on the event
Amit Varma
How many roads
Parijat
Saakshi (with photos of the meet)
Vijayendra (talk about silent waters running deep..)
Selvin
Anthony
Vulturo

Bombay's Diaries, part 3

I’m concluding the Bombay’s Diaries series with Part 3 which has another five posts on all feelings Bombay among bloggers. The posts are about a bus trip, fishes drying at Carter Road, Bombay’s real nightlife, matka and a Chennai-ite’s view on Bombay.

Anil Purohit runs a lovely blog with lots of posts on Bombay, making it tough for me to pick one. The one I’m linking to is about Anil’s trip on BEST bus route no. 496 to SEEPZ. “The conductor, a middle aged Maharastrian man, lean build, wore his uniform with the first button unbuttoned, showing white vest wet from sweating at the neck, and used his sharp voice to good effect in goading people into making space for new arrivals getting in. He looked the kind who did no one any favours nor expected any in return, and wouldn’t be bothered with socializing or getting into conversation of any sort. The kind who felt strongly about morality but wouldn’t say anything about it unless in close company.” [Full post is linked here].

Extempore takes a friend down Carter Road and tells us the meaning of “koliwada”. “Wondering what a koliwada is? Allow me. The original inhabitants of Bombay are the kolis, a community of deep-sea fishermen and a koliwada is their settlement along the shore. Mumbai, the official name of Bombay, originates from Mumbadevi, the patron goddess of the kolis, enshrined to this day in Dongri. A number of well-known areas also owe their names to the original koli versions. For example, Kolbhat is what we know and love as Colaba. :-)” [Full post, with some nice photos are linked here]

Mukta thinks comparing places to Bombay is not fair. And that Bombay is aloof, distant, yet complete. Touche. “So I don't really get belligerent when people say how much cleaner the other places are or how much warmer the neighbors. It is mostly true. I also listen quietly when people comment on how rumpled Bombay's fashion is - how tackily wearable the clothes and how impossibly practical the accessories. Fine. Sartorial elegance is a flippant virtue.” Her anger on a TV show sparks off a brilliant post on Bombay’s nightlife. No, not the party variety, but this variety. “There are plenty of people in this city who don't go to pubs or clubs. And yet, these people will vouch for Bombay's 'night life' - because 'night life' in Bombay isn't about exclusivist alcoves.” [Full post linked here]

Matka ! Remember a young Paresh Rawal debuting as “Annubhai” in “Arjun”? Yes, he was running a Matka “den”. Satish explains the intricacy that is Matka. “Matka is a form of gambling that originated in Mumbai or Bombay as it was known then. It started around the same time as the closure of the cotton exchange figures of opening and closing that used to be transmitted to India and was gambled on. It was started by a gentleman called Ratan Khatri. The way it operated was very simple.” [For more on this simple addiction, read his post linked here.]

1$ Saint, a Chennai resident, wonders what Mumbai has for him to shift base. “My family friend and I were taking a drive to drop her son off at Dhirubhai Ambani international school. I’m quite and yet to wake up completely, I’m looking out the window admiring the empty road which would soon disappear to the naked eye. Unexpectedly I have a question shot at me “So when you shifting to Mumbai?” I wonder why I was asked that question. But then I begin to answer it in my mind. What does Mumbai have that I must shift base? I go back city storming.” [For eight facts he notices and his final decision, read the full post here.]

Thanks everyone for your enthu. I will never ceased to be amazed at the different emotions this one city evokes from its denizens and from people visiting it. Here are the links to the earlier parts

Bombay's Diaries, Part 1

Bombay's Diaries, Part 2

Bombay's Diaries, part 2

Part 2 of my Bombay’s Diaries series (Part 1 is here) contains five bloggers experiences of all things Bombay - its people, its places, the names of these places and even a riveting fable (thanks for the tip, Vij!). There’s also a lethal reality check post on local train travel (thanks Anon). Take it away, desi bloggers.

Delhi-ite Zombie lists ten reasons why she loves Bombay. “I have been to Mumbai only once but I know if I ever have to leave Delhi, Mumbai would be the place I would love to move to. I seriously believe I was born to Mumbai...Delhi was an accident called Fate.” For her ten reasons and an A-to-Z of Bambaiya language, click here.

As part of his Bom v/s Del series, here's Dhoomk2’s take on Bombay's people. “The proudest moment of a Bombay person's life is when the taxi-driver delivers exact change, in multiples of Rs. 1. This happens only in Bombay (obviously, they discount the Kolkata bus conductor, who gives out 10 paisa, as the economy there has a different currency altogether). The second proudest moment comes when they travel in well-packed trains at 9:30 am in the morning and get occasional glances of the sea. This experience, however, is more the stuff of legends than reality. Anybody who complains about the fact that they were pushed in by the crowds and therefore couldn't really see (anything, leave alone the sea) is a Delhiite.” Read the rest of his post here.

Vijayeta talks of the five stages of becoming a Bombay convert, which also correspond with the five stages of death. “Bombay. 4 A.M. But then, the city never sleeps, or stops or some such line about Bombay, That Woman couldn’t really be too bothered to recall. It was an early morning shoot for a music video. And there was a minor traffic jam on the Western Express Highway. At 4 AM. That Woman sat in the cab, suddenly surprised at her nonchalance about the traffic jam. This should have unsettled her. But it didn’t! Was THAT happening to her too?...... Bombay is one huge impending deadline and a barrage of new assignments, and if there is anyplace that will make you feel guilty for not getting around to something, it’s Bombay.” For more of her fascinating story, click here.

With a profile that starts with “Born, brought up and bred in Bombay”, I’d have been a fan of Abodh anyways, And he’s also the CEO of WSD India. In this post, that’s almost a walk around these places, Abodh echoes one of my frequent thoughts about this city when he says “Living in Mumbai, we must have always wondered the origin of names of neighborhoods that we reside in or have visited.” And no Abodh, I didn’t know that “Mazgaon : The name was derived from 1) Maza gaon- which means my village in Marathi 2) Maccha Grama – which means a fishing village.” To discover the names of some other places, click here.

A post like this is a good reminder of the shocking indifference of Bombay’s people. Atanu Dey says “Mumbai is what I would call the Triple Point of the World and indicate it as Zero Degrees Human….. Sardine cans have been put to shame when they are compared to Mumbai locals. Those trains are designed to carry about a thousand people. They routinely transport about five thousand people instead. And most of these five thousand make it to their respective destinations.I say most of these make it home because a very small insignificant percentage don’t survive the journey.” For more on how people are disposable, click here.

Bombay's Diaries, part 1

This was an idea I got during the big Bombay v/s Delhi debate on Dhoomk2’s blog.

Bombay evokes strong feelings among everyone, including bloggers. Love it or hate it, you can’t ignore it. So, I thought of starting a small blogroll linking up various interesting posts on Bombay all over the blogosphere. I’ve called this series “Bombay's Diaries”.

Disclaimer – I’ve picked up some posts from obvious places like desipundit and Mumbai-metroblogging, besides Dhook2’s above series. Others I’ve googled on blogger, and some others I’ve stumbled upon by plain chance (!). Errors and omissions are entirely mine.

Here’s part one consisting of ten lovely posts on the city I'm addicted to from the Indian blogosphere.

Akshay Mahajan walking through Dharavi. “Ramshackle corrugated tin, plywood, plastic, pukkah bricks, sheets of asbestos, sweat, toil, people and garbage make Dharavi, just like piles of earth, sand, clay and other materials make ant hills. It is hard to find an idle soul in Dharavi, it is a cesspool of activity, buzzing with energy and ingenuity, always fighting, always dreaming and looking to the future. It is then that I realised that the only idle soul in Dharavi was me". [more here]

Lazyreader on traveling in Bombay’s local trains – an experience bound to evoke strong feelings. “The process of traveling successfully on a train in Mumbai (Bombay) is one that requires cunning, shrewdness, strategy, agility and a killer instinct. All seats are not the same. Window seats are best, followed by middle seats and finally aisle seats. This is because, as the train fills up, crowds push down on the chap in the aisle seat, the effects of which can be felt right up to the middle seat. no matter where you are on a Mumbai Local, you still have a long way to go."[more here]

Punds swoons over Mumbai’s rains – “For some strange reason, the first rain was always supposed to be on 8th June. No particular reason. Even if it was the first drizzle, it had to be 8th June. This year the monsoons are late. When the rain pours and the cold wind blows and everything becomes wet, that is the time when you make your trip to the near-by Vada Pao stall. One of my favorite pastimes during heavy rain when going out is restricted was listening to music. The old Kishore Kumar songs are my favorite. Not many songs have been able to portray Mumbai rain with all its beauty." [more here].

Sonia Faleiro describes her ordeal in finding accommodation in Bombay “Marshalling all forces in search of flat No. 5, has led me to conclude that far from being the City of Dreams, Bombay is actually the City of (Renters) Screams. For no matter how hard you work or earn, when it comes to renting a home, you cannot but feel inadequate. You gleefully move from a one bedroom to two, then realise your three-year-old nephew couldn’t kick a ball without having it smash back into his face.” [more here]

Kaushik Ramu talks of the swarming life in Bombay in a moving post. “I belong nowhere, but Bombay gives me places I can call my own, in my own quirky ways, in a crowd of a millions. I have walked around Fort in endless, aimless patterns, in the heat of the day, in the dusking glooms, in the solemn yellow daubs of night. Where I pause, letting the eye linger on high Victorian friezes, I sense the heart of this large amoeboid form , and its throbbing, bustling beats.” [more here]

The Atticus Diaries has a wonderful post on his conversation with a cab driver from Santa Cruz to Churchgate “We share a strange kinship – I and these skilled jockeys of black-and-yellow warhorse Fiats! We have left families far behind – a loving mother in Chennai, kids in Bulandshar, parents in Jharkand, a nine-year old daughter in Varanasi, love in Bangalore… And here in Mumbai, we ride the streets in search of a brighter tomorrow where our suns will rise on togetherness and love.” [more here]

Govindraj Ethiraj gets stuck on the Western Express Highway and coins the term “sequential jam phenomenon”. "You return to Bombay, after more than a month outside and hope that life is a wee bit simpler. In the city in specific and country in general. After all, the term developing nation ought to mean development. Actually, it only gets worse. I now have a term that defines the attempt to move from point A to point B: its called the sequential jam phenomenon. And I suggest you factor this into your calculations." [more here].

Dilip D’Souza walks around to discover villages in Bombay, and finds Chimbai. And Ramdas. “From Chimbai, the small Bandra fishing village where Ramdas lives, to Dadar is easily 5-6 km. That Ramdas biked that distance and back, twice a day with large loads, impressed me greatly. Chimbai is known as an old fishing village. By now, it is just another part of Bandra, if a more crowded and downscale part of this upscale suburb. But even so, you'll find women every day, sitting on either side of the lane through Chimbai, calling out from behind little makeshift tables piled high with fresh, dripping, aromatic fish.” [more here]

Vazu the terrible has an unnerving experience on a wet day, only to discover there is honour among thieves. “Mumbai is one hellava place. You will find the most stunning of all experiences. Some things that make you think, "Is this place for real ?". I started recounting all my experiences only after I left Mumbai…. In all this hungama (chaos), I realised that I dint even know the name of the friend-in-misery. The city seemed to me like one big karma wheel throwing your karma back at you.” [more here]

Evenstar finds co-passengers pushing hankies to their noses as they pass Mahim Creek. “Between Mahim & Bandra lies a place for Mumbai to clear its bowels and sins, depending which side you are on. Mahim Creek, popularly known as 'Bandra ki Khadi" lies between Bandra & Mahim. In the train, conversations become hushed, handkerchiefs are promptly put over noses, and most smiles disppear on days the odour is too strong. And then Mumbai begins dumping its secrets into the murky waters.” [More here]

Addicted to Bombay

As part of a lively debate on his Bombay v/s Delhi series, Dhoomk2 asked me to put in a post on Bombay. This is my attempt.

Bombay is a drug. Prolonged use is lethal. Highs include money, wealth and success. That's what draws the droves into the city everyday. From the uneducated exile arriving at VT with Rs10 in his pocket dreaming of becoming a film star, to the IIT-IIM grad arriving at the airport dreaming of heading Citigroup India.

For this, they are willing to endure a painfully low “quality of life”. As is oft said – “People in Bombay don’t live, they exist”. Commuting in jam-packed trains or stuck in traffic jams. Walking over perennially dug-up streets, choking from the dust in the air and nearly drowning in the rains. Living under a polythene sheet supported by two poles, with a gutter flowing below you, and sharing that space with three others. Or staying in matchbox-sized flats paying rents that could feed an entire village. And dreaming of buying an apartment at a price that could feed a hundred others. It's all part of the dream.

So, then what is it? What is that keeps everyone going? X factors, sex factors, Y factors and why factors. Here’s my take.

Welcome to the jungle. Bombay throbs with activity. Enterprise runs in its blood. From the fish markets of Sassoon Dock to Lion Gate, to the Stock Market to kapda bazaar, Dawa bazaar, Chor bazaar, Null bazaar..to the tanneries in Dharavi, the tabelas of Jogeshwari, Film City in Goregaon...and on and on. Each place an industry on its own. Each place with thousands of people chasing their dream.Too many places, too many people, too little time..too many dreams. All in one city.

For all its crowds, Bombay also gives you privacy. Even if you share it with a million others, your space is still yours. With the sea as your constant companion. For each harried commuter that pushes you to get ahead at Churchgate station, there will be many others who won’t care as you ponder life’s vagaries over a sunset at Marine Drive. Or Chowpatty. Or Worli Sea Face. Or Carter Road, Band Stand, Chowpatty and Juhu. You will come here again when you fall in love. And probably when it’s raining.

Bombay doesn’t believe much in sleep. Its lifelines – the local trains – sleep only for three hours. Buses, I’ve heard even less. You can find a taxi almost anywhere at any hour. The driver won’t fleece you, unless you’ve taken him from the airport.

When the trains do wake up at around 4am, life’s already gathering pace. On the first trains out, you’ll find a man with a large basket of gendas (marigolds) sitting next to you. He’s headed to Dadar’s flower market, where there are already hundred others lined up on the roads. Once he’s gone, you’ll be joined by the newspaper-wala grappling with a bundle of papers under his armpit, defying various laws of physics. There’s even a good chance now, that you could be joined by dance bar girls. Perhaps you won’t recognise them. Away from the dance floors they rule, and devoid of their make-up, Roshni, Chandni, Huma, Rupa and Mona look like the girls-next-door. They are.

Dance bars. That quintessential part of Bombay nightlife. No, dance bars aren’t about sex. There isn’t any. Dance bars are about the yearning. And the money. It’s about the garlands of Rs10/100/500 notes (depending on which one you visit). After showering garlands of marigolds on his God, the same man now showers garlands of currency on his girl. And oh, how he yearns for a smile from her. It’s the only time he realises the true meaning of “Salaam-e-ishq meri jaan zarra kubool kar lo, tum humse pyaar karne ki zaraa si bhool kar lo”. The mohabbat ka maara to his maseeha.

And then the people. Bombay belongs to its masses. Bombay belongs to Sailu, the nariyalpaani-waala, who personifies the typical quiet do-gooder in our city. Bombay belongs to the street kid who peddles a whole array of books at traffic signals. And then asks you for a lift from Mahalakshmi temple to Worli Naka. He’s not worried if you refuse. This is Bombay and he’ll get his lift. His day is over. It’s time to study. Under the streetlights on the road next to the Doordarshan TV Tower. And there are many others like him at the steps of Asiatic Library. They will make it in life. In their own way, all of them will. If they will, so will you. This is Bombay.

Money, wealth, opportunity, lust, agony, ecstasy, crowds, loneliness, privacy, space, fun, people, food, Gods, demons, poverty, affluence, effluence, greed, power, movies.

Life. Bombay.

Suketu Mehta took 584 pages to narrate his Bombay stories. And his publisher is now thinking of a companion volume with the stories that didn't make it.

Me? I think Bombay can’t be defined and is beyond description. Just like the high you get from a drug. Bombay is a drug. And I’m an addict.

AIDS awareness films

If you're interested in and support the cause of AIDS awareness, please do view TOGJ's short films and his blog on this issue.

I strongly believe that the Indian blogosphere should link up as a community to highlight these important issues, and perhaps when/if possible even fund worthy causes. We are a large and growing community that can make a difference.