Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Mumbai Darshan - Thoda Hatke

When you receive an email from your boss requesting you to escort a senior colleague visiting India, for Mumbai Darshan ...one doesn't have a choice, right! So, when me and my colleague received the email from our boss, we had the typical expression of 'Oh no, please spare me from this' on our face. Not just because it will mean escorting someone you have not met before but also because you are totally not sure about what their interests are. But third and most challenging task being finding places worth visiting in Mumbai from a phirang's point of view.
But escort we had to....whether we liked it or not.

With 2 weeks in hand we had a relatively good amount of time to do our homework and figure out which places that could be deemed as worth visiting. Also, had enough time to drop her a email to know her interests and we found out that she was interested in Indian culture, its temples, monuments and history. Hmmmm.... this was getting difficult than expected. The choice set was getting narrower by the day.Having stayed in Mumbai for all my life suddenly I found myself in a tight spot. My colleague had the comfort of being an outsider (she is from Belgaum)with limited knowledge of the city so obviously she magnaminously bowed out of the situation and so the onus was on me to provide all the expert knowledge on the city. As always Google Maharaj came to my rescue and whipped out a handful of delightful places which matched our guest's 'requirements'. The Google list threw up around 25 places in Mumbai which were culturally and historically oriented. Felt a little a comforted and surprised at the same time.
Comforted by the array of choices available to me now and surprised with my ignorance... ignorance about my city's 'historical' side.
The tripadvisor website actually came up with 34 places related to our city's historical inclinations.
(Visit for more info - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g304554-Activities-c1- Mumbai_Bombay_Maharashtra.html#TtD)


After spending some more time going through the list I realised that out of the entire list may be only 5-6 places would be relevant and worth visiting considering the monsoons and time available with us.

The tourist's and my favourite Elephanta Caves was struck off the list almost immediately considering the rains and choppy seas, though it seemed the most obvious choice of interest for that day. Also some others could not make it to the list because of their far flung locations and time considerations.
After much head scratching the list was ready and which read as follows
Gateway of India
Price of Wales Museum (aka Chattrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya)
Jehangir Art Gallery
Colaba Causeway
Lunch at Leopold (an attraction post 26/11)
Fab India (for Indian shopping)
Rajabai Tower
VT Station
Asiatic Library
Flora Fountain
Banganga
Malabar Hill
Mahalaxmi Temple
Worli Bandra Sea link

With my borrowed knowledge of Mumbai city from my fave book 'Fort Walks' I knew I could answer any question about the city. Also,my experience of Mumbai with Odati's Mumbai cycle ride last year had equipped me with enough exciting dope about city's history and interesting trivia.
(For more info visit http://www.odati.com/viewactivity.php?id=s-14)

The day finally arrived and luckily for us the sun had decided to push aside the grey clouds beyond the horizon and make his warm and sunny presence felt. Good for us, as Mumbai rains are best experienced from the cosy confines of your home.

We finally met our firang guest ....yes, ....at the pre decided time at the hotel she was staying. After a brief exchange of greetings and introductions it was absolutely clear to us then onwards that our day was going to be enjoyable and pleasant. Our apprehensions were laid to rest and we knew that our anxiousness of so many weeks was completely uncalled for. She is one of the most pleasant and warm person I have met till now. She has the personality which makes you feel comfortable and at ease. Absolutely no hang ups and attitude issues. May be her job profile has shaped her personality or may be she is naturally like that....I don't know. But all I can say is the day was well spent and passed like a breeze.
We had our share of laughs and interesting moments which were amusing more so for her. We were at Jehangir Art Gallery, walking down the hall appreciating the unique art and displays. Suddenly a family with their little son and daughters swooped on Brantlee and requested her to pose for a photograph with their little son. It seemed a little awkward but flattering at the same time for Brantlee, we felt at that moment. She felt like a celebrity that we could tell from her brimming smile. After couple of pictures, this time the entire family wanted to pose with her. She readily obliged, again. And after lots of thank yous and byes we moved away from them. She could not get over the situation very easily and then I explained to her the fascination we Indians have for white skin. That explained her brief celebrity moment. I must say she had a very keen eye and great observation. She asked a lot of questions about things which seemed new to her and we were also stumped for answers couple of times.
When we told her about reincarnations of Gods in various avatars, she wanted to know about re-birth and whether we believed in it. If yes, then did we know who we were in our previous births. A typical question of a logical and agnostic mind unfortunately for which we did not have exact answers. Another time she asked us the relevance of the lemon and chillies weaved together and hung below the cars bumper. Then she saw a woman with a monkey and she wanted to know if we kept them as pets as well. I think after seeing the array of the animals with cows included on the road, she wanted to hear a 'Yes' on that probably but was clearly disappointed on hearing the answer. At Prince of Wales museum she was mesmerized by the innumerous gods we worshiped across India, more so with Krishna and why he was called the Blue God and how he died. She obviously had great fascination for Buddha, spiritualism and whether India had good relations with Tibet. We were not surprised to know that she practiced Yoga. But she definitely was shocked when she came to know that none of us in the India team practiced Yoga. May be she thought Yoga was way of life for us Indians, but she was mistaken. That's when I understood that as Indians we easily imbibe lot of unnecessary/unhealthy fads, habits from the West but the West however tends to borrow the best from what we have to offer.
She knew about the 26/11 terrorist attacks and wanted to know who was the main target for the attacks considering a lot of foreigners also got killed, especially the Jews. Being American, I think she was seeking some pointed answers.

Traveling in the car passing by rows of trees she was intrigued by the white and brown stripes uniformly painted on some trees and wanted to know why it was like that. She thought it had some religious significance. I must say she was studying the Mumbai city landscape very studiously and almost expected logical answers for every unique characteristic. I guess since it was her first time in India, she was hungrily devouring all the sights that the city had to offer not to mention the people and their clothes and wares.
And lastly on our last leg of the tour when we were going towards Banganga Temple she was approached by 2 young boys who thrust her with a piece of paper and asked her for her autograph. I guess by then Brantlee had got used to her fan following and 'celebrity' status so with great panache she signed off on the paper the boys had presented her and walked off with a bounce in her gait. What she didn't see was the disappointed expression on the faces of those kids as if they had expected something more. Well, expect more they did. As that the paper was not part of a autograph book but meant for donations collected towards some institution.

Thus with numerous such vivid experiences packed in our minds, the day came to an end quickly. A wonderful day which started with lot of apprehensions unwarranted but later made eventful and an absolute delight,thanks to our lovely guest Brantlee who we wish will come back again soon.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Conversation with GOD!

An interesting piece I came across which I would like to share with all...

Conversation with GOD!

God: Hello. Did you call me?

Me: Called you? No.. who is this?

God: This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.

Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something..

God: What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.

Me: Don't know. But I cant find free time. Life has become hectic. It's rush hour all the time.

God: Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

Me: I understand. But I still can’t figure it out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.

God: Well I wanted to resolve your fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.

Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?

God: Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.

Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?

God: Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That's why you are not happy.

Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?

God: Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty..
God: Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?

God: Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don't suffer. With that experience their life becomes better not bitter.

Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?

God: Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test
first and the lessons afterwards.

Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why cant we be free from problems?

God: Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to)Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.

Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we are heading.

God: If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.

Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?

God: Success is a measure as decided by others.. Satisfaction is a
measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than
knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the
clock.

Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

God: Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have
to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

Me: What surprises you about people?

God: when they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they never ask "Why me". Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth.

Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I cant get the answer.

God: Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

Me: How can I get the best out of life?

God: Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

God: There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.

Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat. I am so happy to start the New
Day with a new sense of inspiration.

God: Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don't believe your doubts
and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to
resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

"Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be."