Ratnagiri-Mumbai Passenger Train – Never Say Never Again

To me, only railway journey gives a real sense of traveling.  Like an unorganized picnic, so many people have decided to travel on the same day at same time resulting in an unsaid excitement and energy in the air. Even most reserved passengers ultimately give in to this excitement of other co-passengers -at least by the time when they are about to reach their destination. It is this so much happening in every train journey that fiction writers have used this animation on wheels as a backdrop to pen drama in their stories.  The essential ingredients of this train drama are -

1. A train that knows where it is going, a definite time span to fold and unfold mystery
2.  Numerous varied travelers that all count as suspects or can add to the confusion.
3. A detective,
4. A chaiwala who knows it all,
5. A passenger without ticket
6. A dumb TC (or just a TC…)

-as much as you can stretch your imagination, go wild!!!

Not Just Words

http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorial-views-on/RajdeepSardesai/An-Ajit-joke-falls-flat/Article1-1046667.aspx

By far, according to me, this is the best worded article by Rajdeep Sardesai  on Ajit Pawar’s thought-numbing statement. Those weren’t just wrong words and wrong timing…. it is plain arrogance and apathy that is born out of a life-style so different from common Indians of the country.

Almost every area of our country is ruled by these kings (read mafia) of new times. If you are really really lucky, your ruler could be one who believes in being accountable to the people.  Come accidentally in their way and know how limited democracy we enjoy in our country.

Sabudana Pulao and Biryani

This Sunday I made a Sabudana Pulao followed by Sabudana Biryani next day. It was a long pending thought of attempting Sabudana dish with onions. My dear friend and brother Uday inspired this thought. Watching numerous sabudana khichdi pictures on a food group reminded me of a very memorable Sabudana Khichdi attempted by my brave bro. So many must have thought of it but my brother actually tried it. I and my friend Anu, now his wife, went along with it because those were otherwise very dull times. Also we both sensed that if this fails (which we saw it coming and hoped…) we would have a lifetime trump card to pull his leg and a weapon as reminder to counter future attacks on our cooking mishaps.

When In Ratnagiri….

Prologue

Can I start travel/food writing with my hometown? I’m penning down some of the reasons, why I thought it was appropriate to do so. If they convince you good otherwise I’m writing anyway…

-          I wasn’t born here  (lame one, I know)

-          I rarely visit the city now (hmm…)

-          Get jitters on previous night of the travel like to unknown places (at the thought of a house welcoming us with cobwebs and having to face other unpredictable challenges)

-          The unknown faces in the city now exceed than known ones

-          Every time I go it is a new city with new showrooms, new constructions, added lights and though the soaring rickshaw fares shock me I don’t argue like I should be in a hometown (now that I doubt I could even if I lived there  ).

Two and a half decade back when we landed in this  city district it looked a little more than a town -quaint, charming with lazy afternoons and event less nights. Spread over few hills, Ratnagiri had a bad TV reception and so very few homes had television sets. Luckily, in first few months of our life there a television tower was erected and we bought a T.V. Once in a while we headed downtown to check the restaurants.

Republic Day Part 2 – All for a Movie

I was in Gujarat then when Aamir Khan’s movie Fanaa was released. I wanted to see the movie but I couldn’t as Mr. Narendra Modi or his supporters decided I should not. Something like a parent decides and sort movies for their children – good ones, bad ones. Here I was a grown up and my parents wouldn’t mind you see. They thought I have come of age and I can decide it for myself but Mr. Modi’s supporters didn’t think like that. And there wasn’t anything objectionable in the movie to object. Those were the days when Mr. Modi was katti with Aamir Khan. Because Aamir Khan said something in support of Medha Patkar and for Narmada Bachao Andolan and it is believed that Ms. Medha Patkar, the leader of Narmada Bachao Andolan, is not a friend of Mr. Modi.