Wednesday, June 25, 2003

Travelling in trains in mumbai may be a drudgery but it sure has it own set of endearing idiosyncrasies which is so peculiar to Mumbai. Often one might find loads of hawkers selling their wares at dead cheap prices. Also haggling is not a uncommon sight too. i remember this girl more or less my age, who used to daily be there in my train ( yeah, mumbaikars have their fixed trains for travelling, fixed seats in the trains etc.) selling bindis, earrings and other fashion accessories. She was very popular because she was this bindaas types and would not take shit from anyone. Also she had this popular way of selling her wares by singing hindi film songs. She used to be aware of most of the filmy numbers and was really good at that. As i progressed from my junior college to senior college, my college timings also changed and i soon lost a trcak of her. After a yri again happened to see her. I was shocked seeing her coz she was now a wife with sindoor on her forehead and mangal sutra dangling from her neck and a bulging tummy! I expressed my surprise to my fellow commuter who said that she was married off by her brother because according to him the only cure to her obstinate behaviour was marriage. I laughed at the reason and began enjoying her songs which were as usual loads of fun!
Today i saw her again, with a child in her hands. She was as usual in her chirpy bubbly self. Being married and having a baby seems to have no effect on her cheerfulness. She is still the same. In a span of 4 yrs. i have seen her transformation from a mischievous girl to a wife to a mother and she still doesnt cease to surprise me coz i love the way she adds zing to her life her bubbly attitude!
many a times it happens that a boring song which i would otherwise not bother to listen happens to interest me during train journeys when a bunch of kids sing to earn their living. Many of them are such good singers that they have this ability to make a boring song sound interesting. But it is a pity that such young children are resorted to earn their daily bread in such a manner. But nevertheless they make the tiresome journey worth for many passengers.





I sometimes think Indian media has this incorriglible knack of putting its foot in its mouth. Just a couple of days before Indian media went gaga as to how China has agreed to recognize Sikkim as a part of India and that an agreement will be signed to the following effect. But nothing like that happened. Infact Chinese officials had to issue a statement to clarify facts. Indian media for long has been indulging into speculative journalism and realms of newsprint and loads of time are being devoted to speculation in newspapers and news channels. I guess this is because of the increasing no. of news channels and their quest to be the first to broadcast the breaking news. I remember when Wisden was crowning the Indian cricketer of the century, the media was strife with speculations with some of the contenders being Sachin tendulkar, kapil Dev, Gavaskar etc. But a faux pas was committed by AAJ TAK when it publicly broadcasted that Sachin tendulkar was the winner when Kapil dev Bagged the coveted titile of Wisden indian cricketer of the century.
It was a great gesture from India's point of view with the Indian prime minister visiting China after a gap of nearly more than a decade and a half. Revival of trade links with China is a great step in boosting ecinimies of both the countries. But its not a win-win situation for india as the balance is strongly tilted towards China. China has gained the political approval of India by the latter recognizing Tibet as the autonomous region of People's Republic of China WITHOUT explicitily recognizing Sikkim as an integral part of India. The good news is only as far the trade relations are concerned. Gaining chinese recognition of sikkim being a part of india is hardly a matter of concern from an indian point of view. But China has scored with India recognizing Tibet which is sad becoz India didnt stand to gain anything POLITICALLY. Also i feel sad for a lakh odd Tibetans who stay in India and are fighting a losing battle to gain their homeland Tibet. India has always morally supported the Tibetans by giving their spiritual leader Dalai lama alongwith many tibetan citizens political asylum. The Indian Tibetans whom I have interacted with really want India to support their cause but i guess all's in vain now. With no reciprocal gestures as such by the Chinese, its advantage China all the way!




Monday, June 23, 2003

Very cool short story
Do make it a point to read it.




Well its that time of the year again!!!!!!!! RESULTS!!!! its result time everywhere. Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi everywhere. personally i am not in favour of the Indian format of examination. The fate of a student depends on JUST ONE EXAMINATION.
I mean this is just not done. Parental pressure to perform well is another bane of a students life. A student is declared as worthless when the marks are low which is a very sad situation. All this results into the increasing rates of student suicides immediately after the board results are announced. All this is beacuse the system is very faulty which is only performance-oriented ( basis of one exam) and which focusses only on the academic aspect of a students life ignoring the creativity which a child might posess.Its very frustrating situation.
Nowadays alongwith the newspapaers electronic media has also started to focuss on the results at various states thereby hyping up the whole situation which is totally unnecessary. the solution lies in changing our educational system. but what is the solution is a million dollar question and will it ever be implemented is a thing to ponder on.




Saturday, June 21, 2003

Well Pottermania is contagious!!!!!!!!!!! Harry potter-- The Order of phoenix, released today. Harry potter is Mgea best seller in India atleast coz not many Indians are spendthrifts as far as books are concerned. But estimates suggest a pre-booking of more than 70,000 copies in India which is not a mean feat! and it might very well go up.
An interesting incident happened toay. I happened to accompany my friend to a book shop-cum- stationery shop. Its a kind of shop wherein one wouldnt expect novels and all coz mostly one would find only academic books there. I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of copies of the 6th volume of harry potter out for sale there. I asked the shopkeeper if they are offering any discounts on the purchase of the book. I asked him coz I had seen at many places including some web sites wherein they were offering upto 20% discount. On hearing my query the shopkeepr started laughing. " We are not selling the book with any discount coz the sales are very good." I interjected in between that i know many shops where they are selling books with a discount.He repleid, " Wahan dhanda achcha nahi chalta hoga. hamare dukaan par sabhi books jald hi bik jaayenge ( those shops might be incurring losses but we are not coz the sales are very good here and therefore no discounts.)" I couldn't help but chuckle. harry Potter and low sale? it seemed like an antithesis in itself. The reviews seem to be favourable. I cant help but wait to read it. any ways seeya!



Friday, June 20, 2003

NDTV is my dream workplace! The good news is that they are looking for reporters. Cool news for me but makes no significance coz me still a student and an undergraduate. Interested people click here




A classic example of how people love and dread something at the same time. MUMBAI MONSOONS. After trying summers for nearly 3-4 months RAINS served as a perfect antidote. But as much as people have waited for these rains to come, RAINS in mumbai have evoked mixed reactions ( all courtesy the inefficient handling of crisis by the railways and the BMC) and i dont blame the people either. This is the reason why!
But the resilient spirit of Mumbaikars is noteworthy. Braving all the odds they were promptly at work even under trying circumstances. Amazing work culture!
Rains in Mumbai always evoke the feeling of romanticism. Therefore, even though there are problems aplenty during monsoons like water clogging, train delays etc. Mumbaikars brave everything as if just another day. dont u agree with that?






Thursday, June 19, 2003

Well!!!!!!!!! I am out with my blog at last! This is me Shobha, a wannabe journalist . i will share with you my thoughts on all the things possible on this earth! hope all u guys will enjoy it! bye for now. seeya later!