Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

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  • Sweet revenge

    “And before I knew it, I had hit ‘Send’.”

    There was a brief nod before Doctor Shah said , “Young man, you’d better start from the beginning.” And it all just began to pour out.

    Here I was Prashant Gupta, a Forty something  CFO of  MNCorporation,  sitting in the plush office of Doctor Sudesh Shah telling him the story of my life.

    “Before I go ahead Doctor, let me assure you that I never meant for all this to happen. It all happened when I came home unexpectedly from work.

    “Till a few months ago, I was living the life of my dream, happily married to my childhood sweetheart Savita and the father of two simply adorable children. We were married for ten years , my kids were doing well at school, I had a great job and my wife was following her passion with her own little business of interiors.  We were truly living a charmed life. Or so I thought.  You know how it is at work. As I went up the corporate ladder, the hours became longer and Savita used to joke that I loved my job more than I loved her and was more familiar with airport lounges than my own home. Even the children started singing the same song .

    Doctor, I tried hard to keep everyone happy.  It was tough. My boss was a bitch and refused to let me off early. I think she was a sadist and the more I told her I needed to go home early, the longer she’d keep me at work. So you see in July I was away in Delhi for a meeting and was supposed to return home late the following day. But the meeting got over early and I wasn’t expected back at work so I thought I’d surprise my wife by returning home earlier than expected. I went straight to the airport and got the last seat on the earliest plane back. I knew the kids would be at school and I was happy that I’d  be able to spend the whole day with Savita. A day which would be a bonus.

    I was excited and could hardly contain myself . I was dying to see the surprise on her face as I went home. I didn’t ring the door bell because I thought I’d surprise everyone at home and was amazed to find the living room empty. Our bedroom door was shut so I thought Savita must be inside, probably watching TV or just lounging around or even meditating.Not wanting to frighten her, I slowly opened the door and I got the shock of my life. There was Savita in our bed with the Yoga teacher! Luckily they were too busy and didn’t see me. So I hurriedly shut the door and went out of the house. I felt sick and threw up in the potted plants in the passage.

    I wanted to run down the stairs and all the way to Delhi but somehow I braced myself and rang the doorbell. Within minutes Savita came to the door and I put on a smile and said ” Surprise!”

    “Oh my God Peechoo!” she shrieked and was all over me like an over eager teenager. ” I’m sooooo happy you’re back. What a lovely surprise,” and she dragged me into the house.  It was  hard for me  to control my emotions but I managed to act equally delirious at seeing her and was amazed how she could switch so seamlessly from one man to the next. ” I’ve just finished my Yoga class,” she babbled on and on as the Yoga teacher appeared behind her. It took a superhuman effort for me to prevent myself from strangling him and hugged her back instead, more tightly than I normally did.

    ” Ok Madamji, I’ll see you on Wednesday,” said the Yoga teacher as he slunk out of the door and Savita literally jumped into my arms. ” You can’t imagine how happy you’ve made me darling…..It’s been so long that you’ve done something so impulsive and loving,” and she plastered my face with hundreds of kisses.

    I can’t tell you doctor, how I managed to control myself. All the while she went on and on about how excited she was at seeing me, how thrilled she was that I came home early, while all along my head was pounding as though it would burst. Somehow I forced myself to be equally enthusiastic and passionate about seeing her. But all along I could see that scene in my head – the two of them cavorting in our double bed!Strangely enough, that night we had the best sex ever but my mind was spinning out of control.

    After much thought, I decided to get my own back. I had to burst Savita’s bubble as she had so callously burst mine. I wanted to shame her as she had shamed me. I thought for days what I could do when suddenly the thought struck me. As soon as the children’s school broke up for the mid term break, I sent them all off to Singapore. They were thrilled to go and so was I. I got the detective agency to install some CCTVs in the house to record all the goings on in my home.

    A month later I looked at the tapes and once again I nearly gagged. It was like seeing a porn flick and the star of the show was my beloved wife Savita, the respectable society lady with the perfect family. I was livid with rage and could hardly stop my hand from shaking as I uploaded all  the clips onto my computer and sent it as a Must See to all those on our mailing list, both her friends and mine. As I added each name, I felt my anger slowly dissipate. I almost had a change of heart but I couldn’t get her perfidious act out of my mind and before I knew it, I had hit ‘Send’.

    Now doctor, this wretched lady has now not only served me a Divorce notice but she is claiming that I have publicly humiliated her and caused her mental anguish and torture! I just can’t bear it any more……..

    This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

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  • Ganesha Celebrations – Then and Now

    A 121 year old tradition

    a 121 year old tradition

    Lord Ganesh, Remover of all Obstacles  and Purveyor of Happiness has been worshipped by Hindus at the start of every “Pooja” or prayer service to mark any important occasion. This pot bellied, elephant headed God is much loved by all because of his cheery countenance and love of food. While we have been welcoming him into our homes for ever and ever, it is only in the last 121 years that he has been brought into a neighbourhood or community for a celebration that combines faith and culture. The oldest Community Ganpati in Bombay is to be found in one of the chawls or tenements off Khadilkar Road, a small road off Girgaon‘s main road known specialising in printing cards for weddings and other occasions.

    Ganeshas in Competition

    Started originally by Lokmanya Tilak to circumvent the British law that prohibited mass gatherings in public, this little act of defiance has struck a chord in Mumbaikars and several other cities in Maharashtra and for ten days, the clay idol of Ganesh is installed in a community amid much celebration and worship. Over the years the idols have grown as have the festivities till today it is recognised as a competition which is sponsored by the Old Lady of Boribunder aka the leading English Newspaper in Mumbai  “The Times of India“.

    Fort cha Raja

    IcchaPurti Murti
    The “Cavelike” entrance to
     the Fort cha Raja

    Each locality dubs the idol as the X cha Raja, or Darling of X X being the area or road where the Ganesha can be found. Thus we have Lalbaug cha Raja ( the most famous of them all) and Fort cha Raja ( the largest Ganpati in the Fort Area) . When my children were young, I would often take them round to the pandals in our area and seek His Blessings. However, as life got busier for all of us, I would only visit those pandals which literally came in my way such as the one at Bhaji Gully, the one round the corner at Gowalia Tank or even the one down the Sophia College Lane.

    Chandeliers at the Palace

    Today I made a special trip to the Icchapurti Ganesha at the junction opposite the GPO because this is one of the finalists of the competition. Moreover, today this traffic junction is going to be renamed IcchaPurti Ganesh Chowk as this particular idol is known to grant all your wishes!

    Recreating the grandeur of
    the Mysore Palace

    I had a beautiful darshan of this tall majestic idol who was kept in a pandal that was supposed to be the Mysore palace. The policemen outside told me to visit the Fort cha Raja since it was the biggest. Since I had car parking I took their advice and saw the huge Ganesha hidden inside a cave.

    On the way home I popped into the first ever Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav which remains true to its original intent – to bring the people of Keshavji Naik chawl together to celebrate the presence of  Lord with cultural programs. This tiny little idol with the simplest of decorations and absolutely no fan fare quietly presided over His devotees who were still sleeping after a night of celebration

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  • Personally shopping

    There are four kinds of shoppers :

    My mother is a compulsive shopper. Much like Alice in Wonderland, she imagines every article in the world is imploring her to ” Buy Me” and the words “Let’s go shopping” are enough to bring her on her feet and rarin’ to go. She’s found shopping opportunities where there were none and while growing up we’ve carted around vegetables bought on the way from or to different places on the way home – ripe strawberries from Mahabaleshwar, stinky,heavy jackfruit from Goa and even rasagullas in an earthenware pot from Kolkata. She always kept a cloth bag handy to carry the stuff she bought and when that was full, she’d remove the cushion (kept in the car to help her drive) from its cover and stuff that with onions and potatoes !!! This passion to shop is not restricted to vegetables but covers the entire gamut of consumables from jewelry to knick knacks.

    And then there’s the shopper like my father who hates shopping and actually strains at the leash outside a shop, scowling and shuffling waiting for his shopaholic wife to finish her purchases. Shopping with him is a pain because he makes each step seem like Chinese torture. So he tells my mother to shop for him instead with  such specific instructions like buy only this from this shop and only if it costs so much…….blah, blah and even more blah…..so that even she, a compulsive shopper is reluctant to do his shopping.

    These two genes obviously nullified each other in my DNA because I am a practical shopper. I only shop when I have to and I only buy things that I need. Unlike my father I enjoy visiting the shops and unlike my mother I don’t buy for the sake of buying. I actually find shopping enjoyable when I’m in the mood for it and enjoy discovering cities through their shops and marketplaces. I love people watching and find shopping a great way to pass time.

    But the shopping gene seems to have mutated into a sterile compulsive shopper in the case of my daughter who cannot deny her inherited love of shopping but whose  busy lifestyle has become more an excel sheet and shopping is factored in as one of the jobs to be done… She is the kind who surfs the net for all kinds of deals from essentials to holidays and is adept at shopping online. She has cupboards full of clothes with price tags intact and shoes unworn, all because she is an online bargain hunter.

    Shopping portals or shopping malls?

    But shopping today is not the laid back easy way it was years ago – when you could walk down the market without being pushed around or shoved. When you could make a game out of bargaining and ask the shopkeeper to keep a thing for you while you looked around before making up your mind. When you could park your car right outside the shop, quickly jump in and make your purchase and dash off. Today shopping is quite a head ache. Even if you go to a mall or a supermarket, it is hardly convenient to shop . You have to get a parking spot, then you have to get the items that you want and finally you have to wait in a line to pay and then cart the whole stuff home!!! This is quite tiring because somehow you can never get all the things in one place at one time. There’s always something that out of stock or not carried by that store. So going from shop to shop is par for the course.

    With shopping malls bringing in standardisation in terms of merchandise, shopping has become more manageable but with the cookie cutter malls there is very little to distinguish one mall from the other and shopping can become monotonous and boring.  While its comfortable to shop in air conditioned surroundings, the mystique of the local bazaar, the charms of various shopkeepers, the character of each stand alone store makes shopping more an entertaining experience than a mere shopping experience.

    What are you shopping for?

    If you are shopping for groceries I think shopping portals are better than shopping malls.  I mean Surfexcelmatic is the same whether you buy it in shop A or shop B. So for articles such as these online baniya is the best. All you’d do is register yourself on the online shop, fill in your shopping list, swipe your card or choose a COD option and voila just wait for the shop to deliver!

    But I wouldn’t extend this to other areas. Durable consumer goods like refrigerators, toasters ovens or gadgets that need to be used before a consumer decides the product is right for him still require an actual touch and feel experience. In fact I would go one step further – the gizmo companies would offer a trial period without any strings attached to potential customers – some even going to the extent of letting you use several competing brands and models to zoom into your preferred option. I’ve just recently bought an android phone and it is only after using it did I realise what I really want in an android so my next purchase will be better informed. However technology too will have changed by that time so I think the best way to make a purchase of a gadget or gizmo is to allow the customer a trial period….. especially when the article is expensive.

    Be better informed

    Even if I don’t shop online for books, gizmos and high ticket items, I definitely surf the net for all the options that are available to me. Since most shop attendants are ill informed about product specifications, there is nothing like finding out beforehand what is available in the market and what you would like to purchase

    Virtual or Real?

    Since I like the experience of walking around a city, I would still like to shop in local bazaars especially for fresh produce like vegetables and fruit. For groceries and toiletries I would go in for online shopping after having checked out what is available on the supermarket shelves . With parking in metros almost impossible I think egrocery is the shop of the future. I like trying out clothes, shoes, flipping  through books, spraying perfumes or testing nail polish but once I’ve decided what I like, I think I’d go for the click of a button over the hassle of shopping. In fact, my virtual shop would also have a feature which would alert me when my groceries are about to finish or when my mediation needs to be replenished… My virtual shop would automatically inform me about bargains and discounts without clogging up my mail box with unnecessary messages.
    So essentially I will be the Middle of the Road shopper combining the dirt and grime of regular shopping with the slick, efficient convenience of the virtual shop. And that’s how I feel shopping will be in the future – a mix of the real and virtual.

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