Twenty- five Seven

Yipee! My book is going into print

June 7, 2014

Yesterday morning when Armaity from Popular Prakashan called and said that the Business Development Manager Swapna Shinde wanted to meet me regarding my book I was wondering what it could be. My cookery book took ten years for me to write and another four years for it to get to this stage so I was a bit apprehensive. What could it be this time?

Well, I pushed the appointment a half hour earlier and went down the road to meet the publishers. Yes ! They were going ahead with the book and
They were going into print on MONDAY

A N D (drumroll and cymbals)

The book will be out on the shelves in the first week of JULY.
Namaste Mumbai

June 4, 2014

Well it’s way past my bed time and I’m still wide awake waiting at the Arrivals at T2 or the new airport. In the good old days, the ride to Sahar generally ended like an entrance to hell making you feel glad you were flying away. But now, the moment you take the underpass your jaw begins to drop till it actually reaches the ground as you reach P6, the level for Arrivals. The smooth ride, the well lit, palm lined road makes you for a while wonder whether you are in Mumbai at all.

But reaching P6 is not easy for a first timer as there are no signs at all indicating where is what. Once you reach the parking bay, you have to intuitively guess where to go. Luckily we are in India only and there are plenty of people to ask though their directions are vaguely decipeherable with their vigorous handshakes and the simple declaration that you go left only or straight only.

So first timers remember to take the parking ramp up to P6 especially if parking is available because that is where passengers arrive. Do not follow the signage for Fleet Taxis because then you land up in P4 as we did and then you have to look around for someone to ask where the lift is to take you up.

Luckily the lifts are spacious and the luggage trolleys don’t have a life of their own and actually move the way you want them to move so the luggage piled high actually stays put without risk of teetering over while negotiating a bend.

The Meeters & Greeters area is spread over the three gates ABC but currently only C and B are in use. There are two ticket booths on either end so that you can actually wait inside the huge waiting area rather than outside with the thronging millions. Typically only one booth was working but since I didn’t want to go inside it was ok and spotting passengers didn’t seem so difficult.
The huge outdoor waiting area is huge with three kiosks for snacks and beverages ( a small Aquafina cost me Rs.30) and there were enough huge bins to collect waste. There were two huge water fountains with colours that changed every now and then , and made such roar that sufficiently drowns the ambient sound.
There are rows of backless benches and the whole complex looks clean, slick ,chic and comfortable.

Finally, Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport has become truly international.
Look Ma – No Potholes!!!!!

June 3, 2014

English: An SVG version of :Image:Spinal cord direv.png, traced by Time3000 in December 2006 using Inkscape, original version created by ExplicitImplicity. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ever since I made this discovery I’ve been in shock! In fact it’s been such a great shock that I could hardly bring myself to write about it lest the Evil Eye cast his wicked look on it and bring it under his envious gaze.

But, I may as well tell you and share this amazing news :

Well, on Sunday morning i.e. 1st June, I was driving up the hill on Altamount Road ( or what is now renamed as SK Barodawala Marg) when I slowed down at the first expected bump and- hold your breath – there wasn’t any. As I approached the bend in the road, I braced myself for the bump on the hump and ……yes- it had finally vanished and I needn’t have prepared my spinal cord for a rude, rattly shake. Still unable to believe my luck, I continued in 3rd gear ( my favourite by the way) and went ahead towards Roman Stores, waiting for the ditch that remained after the Road Repair work was over and…..wonder of wonders it had disappeared! Well, I thought to myself, this was the road leading to the house of the richest man in India and he was entitled to a bump free at least for one day in a year. But, surprisingly the smoothness continued on to Carmichael Road ( also called Dahanukar Marg) past the Municipal Commissioner‘s Bungalow and well beyond. Now that’s something quite incredible. A whole road with no bumps, potholes, barriers, hawkers, squatters or even doggie poop.

Yipee! Finally there’s one road in this city that is not dug up, that has been properly filled up and which actually promises you a smooth ride. Of course it is a road which houses all the biggies like the Railway Head Honcho, the Port Trust Chief, the Governor of the Reserve Bank and millionaires by the square foot but even they had to suffer the bumps and uncomfortable rides that played havoc with their suspensions if not their spines.

But the downside of a good road is the speeding cars which will have no barriers to slow their tempo as they whizz out of their homes and zip down the road.

Moral of the story – Potholes are a necessary evil to counter speedmaniacs behind zippy wheels.

Yipee! My book is going into print

Namaste Mumbai

Look Ma – No Potholes!!!!!