Bombay meri hai Nostalgic stuff... quoted verbatim (almost) from Bombay... Meri Jaan. (http://www.fabmall.com/Stores/misc/frmMainFrame.asp?Files=FDL&catalogId=Books&ProductId=8129105160&ActualCatalog=Books)

While this song was first recorded in 1969, it still captures the spirit of Mumbai today. Similar to the Yeh hai Bambai mere bhai... dialogue from the 1955 movie Shree 420 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048613/combined


Bombay Meri Hai

Music: Mina Kava
Lyrics: Naju Kava
First recorded in 1969 by Uma Pocha and Chorus with Mina Kava and his Music Makers

Verse
Come from England, come from Scotland, come from Ireland
Come from Holland, come from Poland, come from any land,
If you're looking out for a pleasant holiday,
Come to Bombay, come to Bombay, Bombay meri hai.

Chorus
Bom bom bom bom
Bombay meri hai
Born bom bom bom
Bombay meri hai

Our ladies are nice, they are so full of spice
Come to Bombay, come to Bombay Bombay meri hai.

Wear a dhoti, put a topi and a small coatie
Mini or bikini is so good for you honey
If you ain't so gay then you can live the sadhu way
Come to Bombay, come to Bombay Bombay meri hai.

Verse
Puri bhaji, bhelpuri you can try and tell
Idli dosa, hot samosa you will like it well
Once you come to stay then you won't like to go away
Come to Bombay, come to Bombay Bombay meri hai.  ¶ 6:02 PM 3 comments

  Party weekend This weekend, the annual party begins in Mumbai and will continue for 9 days - as this weekend begins Navratri. While the original significance of Navratri is probably forgotten - except for a token 'aarti' at the beginning - it is a time of great bonhomie. Navratri is originally a Gujrati festival but in Mumbai it is a biiiig party as people from all religions, castes and communities participate.

For the uninitiated, though my mythological history is weak - I will try to explain what Navratri signifies. Navratri is the worship of a divine 'shakti' or divine force which is signified by the mother Goddess in her several forms. The most common forms worshipped are the forms of Goddess Durga (protector from evil), Saraswati (the provider of knowledge) and Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth). The objective is to pray to the supreme being to protect us from evil and bestow wealth, prosperity and knowledge (in that order :)))

Anyways, since we are done with the mythological stuff, getting down to the party bit. During Navratri, in Mumbai, most of the city and all of the suburban areas are lighted, popular singers of garba (the traditional songs) and Bollywood songs are roped in by various sponsors / organizers, large open grounds or enclosed halls are booked, entry passes are sold for exorbitant amounts, the people who participate start the music and dance late evening (having shopped for the beautiful traditional dresses that they wear a month in advance), sometimes the government plays spoilsport (as it is doing now) and does not allow the programmes to continue late in the night but Saturdays are always all night shows, the rate of abortions in the city goes up, the sales of contraceptives goes up and it is basically all fun and revelry. NOW, that does sound like one happening party!!!

For the off road traveler however, I would suggest a visit to some of the Gujrati heartlands of Kandivli and Borivli (north Mumbai) to experience the true spirit of Navratri. Most apartment blocks in these areas have more than a few Gujrati families, so usually these families get together and organize garba (the traditional dance) events in the buildings or in the grounds attached to the buildings. These are not commercial affairs and are therefore more traditionally organized. The ladies of the house usually sing the traditional songs themselves (no bollywood here, thankfully) and dance around a portrait of the goddess. Everyone from the building participates in the 'aarti' and the pre and post garba get-togethers are very social events. I believe, these 'building' Navratris represent the true essence of the festival. They bind the fabric of the society and promote goodwill - as any good festival should.

Anyways, the type of event is secondary, the important thing is to come to the party!!!  ¶ 11:29 AM 0 comments

  Not a good sport From the beginning, I've believed that there are two kinds of cheats in international sport... and I've always believed that one kind is worse than the other.

Ok, let me move from the vague to the specific - one kind of a cheat in sport is like an athlete who takes performance enhancing drugs to win, or like a bowler in cricket who tampers with the ball to get it to swing wildly and again, enhance performance. The athlete, or the cricketer cheats to win. I agree that cheating is still basically unethical and the superior performance achieved may not be due to superior sporting talent. However, the objective of the sportsman has not changed, he/she is still wanting to win, the desire is still to achieve the positive. While the cheater is an undeserved winner, I think this kind of a cheat is (only comparatively) better than the second kind.

The second kind of a cheat is the cricketer or soccer player who throws matches, who accepts money for personal gain, who sells himself & his team & his fans & their expectations, who might have a great talent but does not have any desire to achieve anything great out of that great talent apart from loads of money. I think, in sport, this kind of a 'cheat' (you could call him scumbag, load of **** etc) is much worse than the first kind. While the first kind atleast aims to win, to please fans and live their expectations and their adulation, the second kind not only underperforms deliberately but also sells out all that his talent stands for or all that he has (implicitly) promised to his expectant fans.

To make it clear, I do not support any kind of cheating or any other kind of unethical practice in sport, but this argument is just an attempt to differentiate between crimes and, primarily, to put one of my thoughts into words.

Any comments or arguments or feedback would be read with great interest.  ¶ 10:35 PM 0 comments

  Ruminating Sometimes when I am in the mood, and when, more importantly, have time on my hands, I like to dig some old unfinished thought-process and continue with it. I like to call it my personal kind of "rumination"!... Anyways, here's the thought of the day.

Victor Serebriakoff, the ex-president of Mensa, once wrote in a book, that human beings, in the course of their progress, encounter problems. They apply themselves and solve the problem and achieve progress. However, they soon move on to a higher level problem, which they take some time to solve... but eventually they solve it and move higher on...

I agree with his thesis, I believe the 'problems' that humanity faces are the 'challenges' that form the basis for the survival of the human race. Without these challenges, human beings may not have much motivation or incentive to progress and survive. These problems, or challenges provide most humans with their motivation to push ahead, and more fundamentally, continue with life. If everything were available easily, there would not be much point in trying to progress, would it?

On the optimistic side, I think there is still a lot of scope for progress, and a lot of scope for pushing boundaries. We still do not know much about outer space, or about the mechanics of the human mind or about how to create micro-organisms that could absorb greenhouse gases. As human being progress, and solve some of these problems, or challenges... all science fiction of today will become legitimate challenges of tomorrow. And it will be an exciting time...

A walk on the sun... anyone?  ¶ 3:45 PM 3 comments