Mission possible

Think Tom Cruise .. think him trying to climb the cliff, spreadeagle trying to get to the next toe hold. Cut to Mumbai .. his Indian twin making his daily "make it to work on time" mission possible. More people smashed together than the much cliched "sardines in a can", the poor soul holding to the ledge of the bus by a single hand, toe hold on to the step, the other toe holding on to a hole in the buses iron armour and willpower to hold on...

What makes it possible ... us !! letting someone else stick on inside your "personal space" (thats what the Americans call it, right !), the skill of the much maligned toe through ill-fitting sandals to hold on to naked iron holes and magic indian phrase thoda adjust karo please .. only we can do that !

sunday here I come ...

... done my deeds for sat evening .. two of my weekend friends (are'nt they the only kind found in Mumbai) are of to Bangalore .. and A had some "personal" work in bandra .. so I coulnt hang around .. and people say I stand them up !!

So what exactly did I do .. got stuck in a traffic jam, caught up on the phone during the jam, caught up with Massi and off we go to Vile Parle beach .. but with two "always hungry" souls around not before we had some chaat, rajbhog, kaju katli et al .. we know how to stuff ourselves with stuff ... pun purely intended .. hee hee ..

Surprisingly clean beach with sparse local populace .. and a few good looking bunglows .. next stop - shoppers stop .. a whole lot of window shopping and I let myself loose on the book store .. cant find massi anywhere .. aah there she is right in the middle of the recipe books .. :))

Home and some fantastic home cooked fish .. I am truly blessed ! :)

Better late than never

Been in my car and in Mumbai for the last two and half years now .. and yes have been breaking some rules here and there .. missed out a lane, talking on the cell, jumped a light .. and yes the pandus have been stopping me. And my answer used to be a crisp note between our shaking hands or within the car papers. It had to catch up I guess and this time it surely did :))

Just after I had withdrawn money from an ATM and on my way to "Gagan Freight Carriers" (dumping two boxes off to Amritsar) and reading an SMS on Jyoti being blessed with a baby boy, a traffic cop on a bike makes me get to a side .. cites me using the phone (huh !!, is that a crime) and then wants to see my insurance (which expired last year .. hehe) and then realizes that he has a fat cat when he sees my PB 02 Y 2790 number plate ... oops I am in deep shit .. he would have to take my car away, he says; 2000/- fine for this 600/- fine for that and 1000/- fine for that .. he rattles off .. hmmm (my right legs shaking though !!)
saar .. puhleeze saar .. i am from Delhi .. no Chandigarh saar .. off to Pune saar.. see my Chandigarh visiting card (realize I don't have even a single one) .. see my pollution certificate saar .. (oops ... thats last years) .. lets do kuch yahan pe he .. puhleeze saar I am late for meeting sir .. (meeting my maker am I .. and my leg cant stop shaking) .. then the bargaining begins .. 1000/- nahi saab .. thoda kam karo .. 800/- nahi thoda aur .. 600/- .. saab 500/- me karke naki karo na .. there goes my lovely crisp new note ..

ok .. that was a transaction but whats so ironical about that !! huh !! ..

Two and a half years I drive on mumbai roads .. escape the floods .. escape a madwoman whose honda city I had just rear ended in the middle of the night .. flooring the accelerator and a ex US marine sitting next to me and shouting "you are the man !!" .. drunk was he .. :)) so was I .. a flat tyre on the first day at office, none after that .. two suspension works .. loud music ... and no panga with the khakee crowd ..

.. and the day I sell my car and am to deliver it .. they finally catch up .. better late than never !!