kasmenon

To Lanka with love ,  kuch kas :  It was a Jet airways flight that took me to Colombo. The only good part of the journey was the hour and half I spent in the club Lounge of the new Mumbai airport terminal, T2 . Lots of food, plush seating, a slice of history if you do take a stroll outside the lounge area ,all tastefully designed. Lots of shopping options in case you are that type.  I, for one, found a nice cozy corner and excellent reading material and waited. The flight was uneventful. The  devote Muslim gentlemen next to me spent most of his time praying. I realized that it made sense, as soon as the pilot landed his craft in the tarmac in a manner indicating he was not sure if he should land or take off. The hostess, in her practiced accent , announced that we had landed much before the scheduled time. Considering we were 20 minutes behind she probably meant that they got you to your destination in the first place, thank you.  The Taj hotel cabby de...

I rebel so that you may survive….kuch kas It began just like another day at school. The good old headmaster , nicknamed Drago, if my memory serves me right, had finished explaining the intricacies of the polynomial equation when the high pitched bell rang, calling an end to the math period. Out he went and soon enough few us followed. To go to the loo was the standard official reason. The minutes before the next period and away from the preying eyes of the Principal, was fun time. Pranks committed, the list of which will take reams of electronic space. Cricket scores, transactions involving buying hot botata vadas and roasted peanuts from the telewala who peddled it in front of the school, are few unmentionable ones. The logistics of how the botata vada exchanged ownership was as intricate as the Mumbai dabawala business system.  The class monitor, who occasionally happened to be yours truly, was part of the game. That was my way of getting the thugs to behave at other times....

Cirsa 1972. A Mumbai suburb with predominantly middle class inhabitants , a mix of Gujarati, Maharashtrian , south Indian and the necessary anglo Indian Mary, Janet and John thrown in for good measure. It was the usual short walk from School. While the late evening hues bathed the land, the dark clouds hovering across the skies meant imminent rain. It also meant a delightful and complete drenching. Soon , slow and tiny droplets of water fell on my face . I hummed ". Rain drops are falling on my head " and walked briskly. It turned into a deluge. With B J Thomas on my lips , I trudged along, gleefully enjoying the rain. The new notebooks, probably, felt my joy too! After a quick wash and drying upon reaching home, I was ready. It sat there majestically as usual. The baby with finger on her cheeks was her brand logo. Hope I got the gender right! Occupying the pride of place, up on a special wall mounted stand. The Murphy radio was any family's window to the outside ...

kasmenon: Red yellow and Green kuch kas : My car had stopped at a traffic signal. The types you find in this crumbling but upbeat city,  constantly reminding you that you are not su...

My car had stopped at a traffic signal. The types you find in this crumbling but upbeat city,  constantly reminding you that you are not supposed to be on the road and now that you are , would you  please wait for eons to pass by! This one counts from 1 to 130 and don't ask me in what units. Probably no one knows or cares.  A  score and few of these I sometimes encounter, if my work takes me away from my office down town. These breaks  are  , by design,  utilised to take a break from reading the Economic Times. A different world exists here. A world that, probably, employs business processes which are miles ahead of the e-commerce firms. There was one guy, who would have barely seen 18 winters, trying to assess if I was the right guy who can buy the pack of American apples he was pedalling. At times, I had seen another offering upholstery material, yet another the latest pulitzer winning hardcover or  vegetables , name it and you can find them. T...

I had taken the liberty to put down some thoughts that came my way during a few journeys and experiences. I forwarded them to those who am in touch with, using several means available these days. Facebook , twitter , whatsApp and good old  email. Information explosion and thoughts shared @ the speed of light!  In  this crazy world which is shrinking to atomic scales at break neck speed in terms of keeping people connected, it would have been foolish if one does not swim with the tide. I have had quite a few who expressed pleasant opinions and then again few likes in response. I felt that while there cannot be a bar in expressing my thoughts , I must allow those who notice that I have put forth some of these thoughts to have an option of not reading it too. Probably blogging is the right way. Thereupon my new journey begins.