Supernatural - Season 8 Finale

'If Sam carries out the 3rd trial, he will die' declared Naomi (I am still not sure who she was!) and I said to myself, here we go. The writers have stuck to their habit of bumping off one character or other in the season finale. But fortunately, Dean stopped Sam at the 11th hour - thanks to Castiel. Unfortunately, that means Crowley will live and that is making me mad as hell. Would have loved to see him (and his kind!) shut off in the downstairs basement for good!

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that Cupid chose to appear in the meat suite (Crowley's favorite word!) of a woman. I mean isn't Cupid supposed to be a "he"? It was also disappointing to see that his bow was small enough to fit in the hollow of his palm. Here I was picturing a golden magnificent instrument! Well, as long as it gets the job done I guess.

Wonder what's the deal with Metatron. Anyways, since the demons haven't been shut off in hell and the angels are falling out of heaven, season 9 must be the case of 'Earth, the final conflict' :-) I just hope Dean, Sam and Castiel are around till the season finale.

I remember reading somewhere that the show is supposed to have 10 seasons in all. Hope God will make an appearance in the Series Finale at least. :-)

The Osterman Weekend - Robert Ludlum (Spoiler Alert!!)

At first, it felt as if I have stumbled upon a sequel without reading the first novel in a series. Usually you get a sense of the storyline in first couple of pages but nothing made sense here. Why were the cops, out on a routine patrol duty on a Sunday afternoon, making sure that particular residents of Saddle Valley noticed their continued presence? Why were the Tremaynes, Tanners and Cardones rattled by it? Why was there so much tension about the weekend visit by the Ostermans? What in the hell was Omega? And where in the world did the CIA fit into this enigma?

I was seriously considering abandoning the novel but decided to go on for few more pages. Slowly, the picture began to emerge. So there is John Tanner, a hotshot in some network channel and his wife Alice. They are all set to receive the Ostermans who are flying down for one of their weekend visits. Then there is Richard Tremayne, a lawyer and his wife Virginia. And Joseph Cardone and his wife Betty. All four couples are looking forward to the weekend - until CIA happens. Enter agent Fassett who gets hold of Tanner and informs him of an international conspiracy, Omega, in which one, two or all three of his friends might possibly be involved. He asks for Tanner's help in trapping Omega, fully acknowledging the fact that by doing so Tanner could be putting his family at serious risk. Of course, a full protection is assured, as is routine in such cases. John Tanner finds that saying 'No' is not an option whatsoever. And thus the game begins.

Ludlum has succeeded in keeping his readers off-balance by a series of dramatic events. But somehow, and I cannot put my finger on the exact reason, I didn't much like the novel. Omega isn't satisfactorily explained in the end thus leaving the reader wondering about what the whole hoopla was all about. :-(

पुढल्या वर्षी लवकर या

Tired of the same recipes for cooking daal? Try this one by Sanjeev Kapoor - Thikari Ki Dal.

I read somewhere recently that the poverty has come down to 22% in India. Really? What about the girl who sells lemon-green chillies (used in cars to ward off evil eye) at the traffic signals? I doubt she is able to sell all her stuff by the end of every day. Then there is a young boy who carries around a tall stack of books at the same signal. I never saw anyone buy a single book from him - myself included.

Last weekend I was out in the evening when it started raining suddenly. I didn't have an umbrella so I took shelter just outside a shop where a couple of people were already waiting. A pandal of a community Ganeshotsav Mandal was nearby. I could see a guy selling balloons just outside it. He hadn't left his post and so was soaked thoroughly. I doubt if he would have got a chance to run home and change into a dry set of clothes. As a strong gust of wind toppled the pole on which he had strung his balloons, one of them got loose. He had to run for quite some distance before he could catch it, soaking him further. He must have been there right till the time the pandal closed for the night. And though I have no idea about the amount he must have earned by then, I am pretty sure it must not be enough to earn him a place in the 78%.

And what about that old lady in the market who sells dry spices like cloves, cinnamon and coriander seeds?

I bet I am not the only one in Mumbai who sees so many people who are definitely poor and the situation in other metros isn't very different from that of Mumbai. If this is the case in the metros, I don't want to think about the state of affairs in 2nd or 3rd tier cities or villages.

Somehow, 22% seems like a number pulled out of someone's hat. :-(

ठिकठिकाणच्या गणेशमूर्तींचं दर्शन घेताना एक गोष्ट प्रकर्षाने जाणवली. माझी भक्ती पूर्णपणे सगुण आहे. बाप्पाचं रूप कुठलंही असो, कितीही वेळ मूर्तीकडे पाहिलं तरी मंडपातून पाय निघत नव्हता. प्रत्येक मूर्तीसमोर ठेवलेल्या छोट्या मूर्तीच्या पायांवर हळद-कुंकू वाहून स्पर्श करताना एक वेगळंच समाधान मिळत होतं. निर्गुण भक्ती करायची तरी कशी? खरं तर सुंदर आरास केलेल्या मंडपातल्या सुरेख नटवलेल्या मूर्ती पाहताना एकाच वेळी सगुण आणि निर्गुण भक्तीची शिकवण एकच धर्म कसा काय देऊ शकतो ह्याचंच मला आश्चर्य वाटतंय :-)

दरवर्षीप्रमाणे नेहमीच्या सार्वजनिक गणपतींचं दर्शन घेत होते. एका वाडीत जवळच्या मैदानात नेहमी गणपतीची स्थापना केलेली असते. ह्यावेळी पाहिलं तर नेहमीपेक्षा मोठी मूर्ती दिसली. दर्शन झाल्यावर तिथे असलेली एक बाई पुढे आली आणि हातांवर प्रसादाचे साखरफुटाणे ठेवले. मी आपलं नेहमीच्या सवयीने 'Thank You' म्हणाले तर हसली आणि म्हणाली 'काय हो, देवाचा प्रसाद दिला तर Thank You म्हणताय'. मीही हसले आणि म्हटलं "ह्या वर्षी नेहमीपेक्षा मोठी मूर्ती आणलीत' तर म्हणाली यंदा आमचं २५ वं वर्ष आहे. किती अभिमान आणि समाधान होतं तिच्या चेहेर्यावर. मग म्हणाली आज रात्री भंडारा आहे, जेवण पण आहे प्रसादाचं, या तुम्ही पण. आता तिने म्हटलं म्हणून मी काही लगेच जेवायला जाणार नव्हते. पण तिने अगत्याने सांगितलं ह्यातच सारं काही आलं. सार्वजनिक गणेशोत्सवाचं मांगल्य कुठेकुठे अजून शिल्लक आहे हे पाहून बरं वाटलं.

ह्याउलट आजच्या लोकसत्तातली लालबागच्या राजाबद्दलची बातमी वाचून कसंसच झालं. तिथल्या कार्यकर्त्यांची दमदाटी म्हणे फार वाढली आहे. बायका, मुलं, वृध्द काही काही ना बघता लोकांना दर्शन झाल्यावर ओढून बाहेर काढतात म्हणे. ही दरवर्षीची तक्रार आहे. पण ह्या वर्षी कोणीतरी ते दृश्य चित्रित केलं. आता ह्यासाठी लालबागच्या राजालाच कशाला जायला पाहिजे. सिध्दीविनायक मंदिरात हेच करतात की. तुम्हाला देव दिसतो न दिसतो तोच खेकसायला लागतात 'चला पुढे चला'. जसं काय आम्ही गाभार्यात राहायलाच आलोय.

कुठेतरी ह्या सगळ्याला आपणच जबाबदार आहोत. देवाचा बाजार मांडलाय आपण. आपल्या घराजवळच्या मंदिरातला गणपती आणि सिध्दीविनायक ह्यांच्यात काय फरक आहे सांगा? आपल्या घरातल्या देव्हार्यातला गणपती हा गणपती नाही का? मग दर मंगळवारी सिध्दीविनायक मंदिरातच जाण्याचा हट्ट कशासाठी? अंगारकीला आदल्या रात्रीपासून रांगेत उभं राहण्याचा अट्टाहास का? जरा विचार करून बघा. कळतंय पण वळत नाही अशी स्थिती आहे आपल्या सगळ्यांची.

अश्या देवळात देव तरी राहील का?

Bizarre Signboards #5

Hoker's ->Hawkers

Primises -> Premises

Ganapati Bappa Morya