The weather has become so unbearable in Mumbai that I wonder how I am going to survive for 2 more months. :-( I just hope and pray that Monsoon comes earlier than usual this year though I know it's no use wishing for the same. :-(

In the meantime I am dreaming of the patter of the first raindrops, the smell of wet earth and a sky full of dark clouds :-)

76 lives lost! And now everyone is busy pointing fingers at each other. I don't know why we are told that intelligence sources had warned against this and that only after the tragedy has happened. Who is responsible for disseminating such information and acting on it? Why can't a common person like me know the names of these idiots who are responsible for deaths of these 76 people? Can we use RTI to get it?

I have stopped watching news because my blood boils every time the slain CRPF Jawans are mentioned. What makes it worse is that I know that this rage is impotent :-(

आहे मनोहर तरी - सुनिता देशपांडे

सध्या हा महिना तरी मराठी पुस्तकंच वाचायची असं ठरवलंय. लायब्ररीत गेले तेव्हा सुनिताबाईंचं हे पुस्तक दिसलं. पु.ल. हे सार्‍या महाराष्ट्रासारखंच माझंही आराध्य दैवत. त्यामुळे हे पुस्तक वाचावं का वाचू नये ह्यावर ह्याआधीही मी विचार केला होता. कारण ह्या पुस्तकात बाईंनी पु.लं.चं जे व्यक्तिचित्र रेखाटलंय त्याने पुलप्रेमी नाराज झाल्याचं मी वाचलं होतं. पण पुलं. वरच्या आपल्या प्रेमाची अ‍ॅसिड टेस्ट म्हणून का होईना पण ते वाचायचंच असं ह्यावेळी ठरवलं. आणि खरं सांगू? वाचून बरं केलं असंच वाटतंय.

कारण हे पुस्तक वाचून पु.ल. हेही आणखी चार भारतीय पुरुषांसारखेच होते असंच मला वाटतंय. सुनिताबाईंनी दुसर्या कोणा भारतीयाबरोबर लग्न केलं असतं तरी त्यांना १०० तले ९६-९७ टक्के हाच अनुभव थोड्याफार फरकाने आला असता. त्यांनी स्वतःबद्दल फार प्रांजळपणाने लिहिलंय, आपल्या चुका, आयुष्याच्या अखेरीस वाटणारी खंत सच्चेपणाने लिहिली आहे हे खरंच. पण काही ठिकाणी उगाच नको इतकी स्वतःची स्तुती केली आहे असंही वाटून गेलं. परफेक्शनिस्ट असणार्‍या माणसाला 'पाट्या टा़कण्याची' सवय असलेल्यांचा त्रासच होतो तसा तो त्यांना झाला. दुर्दैवाने ही पाट्या टाकायची सवय भारतात जवळजवळ सर्वांनाच आहे ह्याचा मीही अनुभव घेतला आहे, घेते आहे. :-( असो. तरी एकूणात त्या कालावधीचं आणि त्यांच्या सहजीवनाचं फार छान चित्रण आहे ह्यात.

आणि ह्या पुस्तकाचं प्रूफ-रिडींग खुद्द पुलंनी करून दिलं होतं असं जेव्हा मला कोणीतरी सांगितलं तेव्हा मात्र मी अवाक झाले. माझी पुलंवरची भक्ती अजून वाढली. खरंच जगावेगळंच जोडपं होतं हे.

लायब्ररीत बाईंची आणखी काही पुस्तकं आहेत. ती मात्र मी वाचणार हे नक्की. :-)

नर्मदे हर हर - जगन्नाथ कुंटे

तसं बघायला गेलं तर मला साधू-संन्यासी ह्यांचं वावडंच. त्यांच्यावरचा लोकांचा विश्वास उडावा अश्याच गोष्टी आजकाल ऐकू येतात. पण झालं काय की नर्मदा परिक्रमेवरच्या एका पुस्तकाचं लोकसत्तेत आलेलं परिक्षण वाचलं आणि दोन मित्रांना त्याबद्दल लिहिल. दोघांनीही एकदम हे पुस्तक रेकमेन्ड केलं. मग म्हटलं वाचायलाच पाहिजे. :-) लायब्ररीत आहे का म्हणून विचारलं तर होतं मग आणलं घरी.

वाचायला सुरू करण्याआधी सहज पुस्तकाच्या किती आव्रृत्या झाल्या आहेत ते पहात होते. सातव्या आव्रृत्तीपर्यंत पोचतो लेखक "जगन्नाथ कुंटे" यांचा " जगन्नाथ कुंटे (अवधूतानंद)" झालेला होता. मग पुस्तक वाचावं का वाचू नये हा विचार करण्यात पाचेक मिनिटं गेली कारण ह्या आनंद वगैरे स्वामी मंडळींची मला अ‍ॅलर्जीच. भरीला भर म्हणून आतल्या पानांत कोणा २-३ महाराजांच्या तसबिरी पण होत्या. तरी एव्हढं आणलं आहे तर वाचू म्हणून सुरुवात केली.

प्रथम काय खटकलं ते लिहिते. शूलपाणीच्या जंगलात लुटवून घेणे हा प्रकार अजब वाटला. एके ठिकाणी लेखकाने त्याला खायला देऊन अद्र्ष्य झालेले लोक आणि त्यांची झोपडी ह्यावर लिहिलंय ते वाचून हसावं का रडावं हे कळेना. पुढे एका अव्याहत नाद ऐ़कू येणार्‍या माणसाबद्दल उल्लेख आहे - त्याला काही कानाचा प्रोब्लेम असावा अशी शंका आली. ही साधनेची उच्च पातळी आहे असे लेखक म्हणतो. असेलही. पण हे पचायला कठिण गेलं एव्हढं मात्र नक्की. तसंच अश्वत्थामा दिसल्याचा उल्लेखसुध्दा झेपला नाही.

पण लेखकाने पुस्तकभर विनोदाचा वापर सुरेख केलाय. त्यामुळे ते कोरडं आध्यात्मिक पाल्हाळ झालं नाहिये. एव्ह्ढ्या वेळा परिक्रमा करणं त्याला कसं जमलं देव जाणे. माझी वाचूनच दमछाक झाली.

एकूणात परिक्रमा नर्मदामाई करवून घेईल अश्या विश्वासावर बायकांना तरी हे करणं अशक्य आहे असंच माझं मत ह्या पुस्तकावरून झालंय.:-( लोकसत्तात ज्या पुस्तकाबद्दल वाचलं होतं ते मिळालं तर नर्मदा परिक्रमेला आजच्या काळाचं परिमाण लाभेल. पाहू कधी वाचायची संधी मिळाली तर.

दोन मराठी पुस्तकं नुकतीच वाचली - एक जगन्नाथ कुंटेंचं "नर्मदे हर हर" आणि दुसरं सुनिता देशपांडेंचं "आहे मनोहर तरी". उद्या-परवाकडे नक्कीच त्याबद्दल लिहेन. सध्या पु.लं.चं 'वंगचित्रे' वाचतेय. ४-५ वर्षांखाली वाचलं होतं. पण पुन्हा-पुन्हा वाचलं तरी समाधान होत नाही :-)

I could not believe my eyes when the other day I saw Salman Khan in a Wheel ad. Don't get me wrong, in this day and age, it's no wonder to see a so-called celebrity marketing a product. But I guess I would have expected Salman in a car or at least an electronic product - say a cell phone or a TV - ad. Watching him in a detergent ad was what threw me off-balance. :-)

In any case, I have never understood why I should buy a product because a celebrity is endorsing it. But then that's the subject of yet another post! :-)

Heavens! Doesn't the media - news and print alike - have anything else to report? Why is everyone so ga-ga over Shoaib Malik and his marital woes? Is this what we are supposed to endure till he and Sania get married? :-( And on top of it, everyone is concerned about whether she will continue to play for India or will switch allegiance to Pakistan after her marriage. Who cares? I mean it's not that she was winning titles left, right and center. So why this debate?

Time for a forwarded sher:

तुम्हारी याद जहा आते आते थक जाए
तुमही बताओ कहा ऐसा घर लिया जाए

Have a great week ahead friends!

NaaD Media

Have you listened to the sparrows twittering on the window-sill only to wonder if you will be able to hear them 5 years down the line?

Have you thought nostalgically about the ice-cream vendor who used to come to the grandparents' place every day during the summer holidays?

Have you wished you could somehow bottle up the sounds of the railway station for the days when you so wanted to take a vacation and simply could not get away?

Then you should check out NaaD Media's site http://naadmedia.org/. They are into archiving such sounds which are in the danger of becoming as extinct as the Tigers. You can register and start uploading your recordings.

What are you waiting for? Whip out those mobiles and start recording! I know I will. :-)

Gladdening Ads!

Here are some ads that I feel like watching again and again and again...

1. Vodafone Zoozoo

Ow, aren't they cute? My special favorite ads are the Egyptian Mummy and Train Schedule. :-) Long Live the Zoozoos!

2. Metlife

From the dancing granny to the blackmailing grandson, this one gives the message loud and clear. Brilliant!

3. Havell's

I had liked their earlier ad on wires and the new one is equally nice.

4. Bank of India

Love both the ads - the one in which the elder brother is scolding the younger one for his disappointing performance in the cricket match and another in which the wife scolds the husband for not taking his medicine. One might argue that these ads don't have much to do with the Banking services but at least they don't sound far-fetched like the ICICI ones.

Having said that, I like the ICICI ad in which they bring out a Laddoo to wish the customer on his birthday. While this one sounds realistic enough, I would rather prefer higher deposit rate than a laddoo for my birthday ;-)

Maddening Ads!

Okay, here is the latest installment of ads that have been making me angry, frustrated, sick and well, MAD as hell!

1. ICICI - khayal aapka

Can someone please tell me in which branch of the bank does this dude who speaks for hours with the old lady sit? I would like to visit the same and see if he can do some of the normal customer service tasks in one tenth of that time. C'mon guys, be realistic. The Indian populace can put up with fantasy in Hindi movies but when it comes to money, please tell us as it is. And in the case of ICICI, it means getting the tokens and cooling your heals for 15 minutes, if you are unfortunate enough to have to visit any branch.

2. MicroMax

This ad will infuriate anyone who has been brought up with the belief that you should not waste food. And the insane way in which Akshay Kumar keeps laughing throughout makes it worse!

3. Docomo

I used to like Docomo's ads but the latest one where this guy dumps his girlfriend because another one is eyeing him from across the room does not make any sense.

4. Coke

God! The way they have mutilated the beautiful song 'tum jo mil gaye ho' is simply unpardonable! And I am yet to see a city bus where there is room and time enough for people to exchange real and virtual coke bottles. Someone please make these guys travel in a Mumbai bus.

5. Pepsi

I had liked their ad in which Ranbeer Kapoor craftily manages to gulp down the Pepsi that's meant for the "Dictator". Their latest one, though, came as a sore disappointment. I understand that the plot is yet to develop but I don't see anything promising. Hope I am proven wrong. BTW, what is Sanjay Dutt doing in that atrocious costume?

Here is how a tiger is killed in Ranthambore। First, the poachers lay leg traps on the tiger’s usual routes. They scatter small stones around the trap, knowing that the fastidious tiger will try to avoid these tiny stones. Its leg gets caught in a trap; when it moves, the second trap snaps shut. Now the tiger is in pain so it sits down. The poachers tie a spear to an 8ft-long stick and appear. When the tiger roars, they spear its mouth so it begins to bleed. It roars again. More bleeding. When the tiger’s pain gets too much, when it tires from the roaring, they beat its forehead with a stick strengthened by pouring lead on it. They may use a small knife to blind the tiger so that they can spear it to death more easily. The tiger dies an agonizing death.

I had bought the Saturday edition of The Mint because it seemed to have lots of interesting articles on food. Instead, the first column that I ended up reading was Shoba Narayan's "The Good Life". (Be a conservationist) The above lines are from the beginning of that column. I feel sad and impotently angry. :-( Living so far away from these sanctuaries, I don't know what I or the likes of me can do to put an end to this.

If you have any ideas or are already working for the same, do let me know.