कितने काम लफ्जोमें जिंदगीको बयान करू
या तुम्हारा नाम लेकर किस्सा तमाम करू

(Forwarded)

A journey I hope to make one day....

http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/MLkW6825GCJn2p9CnwwEFM/In-the-heart-of-Telangana.html

Rogue Lawyer - John Grisham

John Grisham has redeemed himself in my eyes. And how! After the disappointment called 'The Last Juror' I had lost interest in Grisham books. But the plot, or should I say plots, in this offering looked interesting enough for me to give the author benefit of doubt. Innocent until proven guilty, right?

And I am glad I picked up the book. The cases - from that of an addict teen framed for the murder of two little girls, to a botched invasion of an elderly couple's home by the bumbling SWAT team and the kidnapping of the the daughter of the assistant chief of police - make this book a total unputdownable. So pick it up only if you can devote sufficient time to read it. Believe me, it will be pure agony if you cannot get back to it on a daily basis :-)

I hope we see more of Mr. Sebastian Rudd :-)

Raja, Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniya

I think the last 4 episodes of this show are going to be aired now. I am sad that it is coming to an end because I had come to love this show. Anyways, yesterday's episode was about the food in the Northern part of the country. Of course, there was mention of Biryani, Kebabs, Paratha and so on.....

Two interesting stories were told. One is about the छप्पन भोग or 56 dishes that are served to Lord Krishna in the Krishna temples worldwide. The story goes that when Krishna lifted the Gobardhan, the residents of Gokul took shelter under the mountain while it poured around them, some say for a week, some say for a month. All this while Krishna made sure that the produce of the mountain sustained them. After the rain subsided the people thanked Him by offering him a feast consisting of 56 dishes. Hence the छप्पन भोग. :-)

The second anecdote is about famous गिलौटी kebabs of Lucknow. It is said that the last Lucknow Nabab Wajid Ali Shah's teeth weren't in good condition, thanks to his royal lifestyle. But he still wanted to enjoy his kebabs so the chef was ordered to cook up a kebab that would melt in the mouth. The rest, as they say, is history. :-)

Oh, and BTW, the Dam Biryani which is such a favorite dish of so many people had its humble beginnings as the food prepared to satiate the hunger of all workers who were involved in the construction of Lucknow's Bada Imamwaada. Who knew?

व्हॉटसेप वर एक व्हिडीओ पाठवला होता कोणीतरी. परदेशातलं कुठलं तरी शहर. त्यातल्या रस्त्यावर प्लास्टीकचा छोटा हाडाचा सांगाडा लीलया नाचवणारा कोणी अनाम कलाकार. दाद द्यावी असं, नव्हे, आपल्या नकळत दाद जाईल अशी हुकमत. तो सांगाडा तो कसा नाचवत होता देव जाणे. निदान मला तरी कुठे दोर दिसले नाहीत. बहुतेक चुंबकाचा उपयोग केला असावा. मस्त टाळी वाजवावीशी वाटली आणि मग लक्षात आलं की अरे, आपली टाळी त्याला ऐकू जायची सोय नाहीये. :-( अचानक मीना प्रभूंच्या रोमवरच्या पुस्तकातले केवळ लेखिका प्रेक्षक असताना सुरेख खेळ दाखवणारा म्हातारा आणि खेळ दाखवूनसुध्दा फार गल्ला जमला नाही म्हणून निराश होणारा असे दोन्ही कलाकार आठवले. कोणीतरी फॉरवर्ड केलेल्या मेसेज मधले 'हुनर सडकोंपर तमाशे करता है' हे शब्द आठवले आणि आतून खूप निराश व्हायला झालं. :-(

'पिंग्याचा दंगा'

बाजीराव-मस्तानी चा निषेध करणारे जहाल व्हॉटसेप मेसेजेस आता जरा कमी झालेत असं म्हणे म्हणेतो काल एक आला. आणि शेवटी धमकीवजा संदेश - मराठी असल्याचा अभिमान असेल तर हा मेसेज फॉरवर्ड करा नाहीतर तिकीट काढून भंसालीचा गल्ला भरा - असा काहीतरी. वा! म्हणजे हा मेसेज आणखी दहा लोकांना पाठवला नाही तर मला महाराष्ट्रीयन असल्याचा अभिमान नाही? हे ठरवणारे हे कोण टोकम्मजी? मी एकालाही फॉरवर्ड न करता तो मेसेज डिलीट केला. आधीच्या सगळ्या मेसेजेस बद्दलही मी हेच केलं. आणि पुढे आले तरी हेच करणार.

मला असं नाही म्हणायचं की भंसालीने जे केलंय ते योग्य आहे. ह्या गाण्याचा प्रोमो मी फार उशिरा पाहिला. बेंबीच्या खाली नऊवारी नेसून (हे असं नेसता येतं हेही मला तेव्हाच कळलं!) नाचणाऱ्या काशीबाई आणि मस्तानी, भोवती शनिवारवाड्याचा सेट आणि वर पूर्ण चंद्र बघून का कोणास ठाऊक पुलं.नी म्हटलेल्या राधा-कृष्ण आणि वरून उडणारं विमान ह्या चित्राची आठवण झाली. कशाचा कशाशी सुतराम संबंध नाही. पण भंसालीला का दोष दया? तो पैसा करायला पिक्चर काढतो. इतिहास दाखवायला नाही.

मग एखादी मराठी निर्माता-दिग्दर्शक जोडी का नाही एखादा चित्रपट काढत बाजीरावावर? उच्च निर्मितीमूल्य असलेला. इतिहासाशी प्रामाणिक पण महाराष्ट्रीयनांसोबत अन्य भाषिकांना सुध्दा बघावासा वाटेल असा. नुसते निषेधाचे खलिते पाठवून काय होणार?

Can someone please explain to me why I need to declare my political affiliation if I have to get the KYC done for any new investment? What if I say I hate all politicians? Will I get the lowest NAV? Doesn't the government have anything else to do than make the already complicated financial lives of us citizens even more complex?

All through last week the drivers of the cabs that I took to reach office drove as if they had a death wish. I am sure I must have thought of all the Gods that Hinduism boasts of.

So I propose that RTO take a leaf out of SEBI's book and color code these cabs on the basis of the risk that the passenger will be exposed to while riding in it.

Red - You better keep wide awake (with your eyes glued to the road) unless you want to make a claim on your Personal Accident Policy

Amber - You can risk a glance at your mobile from time to time and can keep your hands off the edge of the seat

Green - You can catch up on that long-overdue sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and with all body parts intact

I just wonder if we will see any Green cabs around ;-)

दुष्मनी हुई नही है किसीसे अबके साल
लगता है इस बार कोई दोस्त ही दगा देगा

(Forwarded)

Sunset in Mumbai...........

लोकसत्तात दिवाळी अंकांचं परीक्षण दरवर्षी इतक्या उशिरा का देतात कोणास ठाऊक. ते वाचून मग अंक शोधायला जावा तर कुठेच मिळत नाही. मला 'उत्तम अनुवाद', 'दर्यावर्दी' आणि 'ऋतुरंग' असे ३ अंक हवे आहेत. मागल्या आठवड्यात तिन्ही अंक कुठेही उपलब्ध नव्हते. शुक्रवारी संध्याकाळी स्टेशनबाहेरच्या पेपरवाल्याकडे सहज म्हणून डोकावले. खरं तर देवानेच बुद्धी दिली म्हणायची. कारण मागच्या आठवड्यात त्यानेही नन्नाचा पाढाच लावला होता. पण शुक्रवारी चक्क 'उत्तम अनुवाद' दिसला त्याच्याकडे. मी लगेच झडप घालून उचलला. विचारलं तर म्हणाला की आजच आलाय. म्हटलं आणखी काही येणार आहेत का तर कुठले हवेत अशी विचारणा झाली. मोगेम्बो खुश हुआ! लगेच 'दर्यावर्दी' आणि 'ऋतुरंग' हवेत म्हणून सांगून टाकलं. आता उद्या-परवा विचारते.

पंकजा मुंडेंनी शनी शिंगणापूरच्या वादाबद्दल व्यक्त केलेली प्रतिक्रिया वाचून हसावं का रडावं तेच कळेना.

आपल्या देशात 'सती' ही सुध्दा आधी 'परंपरा' च होती.
'विधवेचं केशवपन' ही सुध्दा 'परंपरा' च होती.

त्याबद्दल मुंडेंबाईंचं काय म्हणणं आहे?

Matheran

ना किसीकी नजर बुरी ना किसीका मुंह काला
सबका भला सोचे ७३२९ वाला

(Seen at the back of a truck)

Elementary, Season 4

I went 'here we go again' when the Season Finale of Season 3 ended with Sherlock staring morosely straight ahead, high on drugs. I almost didn't want to watch Season 4. And the opening shot of the first episode seemed to confirm my worst fears what with 2 dead prostitutes on a blood-soaked bed with Sherlock sitting next to them. Mercifully, it was only a replay of probably the Jack-The-Reaper murders.

I wasn't glad that Sherlock and Watson won't be able to work with NYPD anymore. Going by the way the FBI agents have been portrayed across countless shows so far (and this one is no exception!), their stint with the agency wouldn't have been anything to write home about. So I almost jumped with joy when the duo decided to take up Sherlock's father on his offer and get back to working with NYPD.

Here's to the team and a lot of interesting cases :-)

Supernatural

I missed last 3-4 episodes of the latest season. I missed the first one when I was down with fever. Though Dean, Sam and Castiel (certainly!) are normally a sight for the sore eyes, I was so sick that I didn't even think about watching the episode. I just lay in my bed wondering if it would be better to die instead :-) The fever was gone by the next weekend but the fatigue remained and it was a task to concentrate on anything for more than 5 minutes. I am sure I would not have been able to follow the plot even if I had parked myself in front of the TV. Then I sort of lost interest in the show for the next 2 weeks. Enough of the angel-demon fights, enough of the darkness and if the world is coming to an end, so be it!

Still, I followed the plot on wiki. Looked like the Winchesters were back to solving cases involving the supernatural. Castiel seemed to be back to his usual self (what a relief!) and Amara was in Crowley's care. So I tuned in this weekend.

Sure, I have never understood the whole concept of an 'imaginary friend'. So the idea that there is a whole supernatural tribe associated with it was a bit hard to stomach (totally with Dean on this one!) but the moment it was revealed that Sully is Sam's imaginary friend, it was plain that the whole purpose of this episode was to guide Sam to do what he thinks he must do.

Okay guys, Lucifer and cage and whatever else you are going to throw at us, please don't stop working on these cases. Because though they border on being ridiculous at times, they also act as a kind of pressure valve when the whole darkness-about-to-engulf-the-world story goes too dark, at least for my taste!