Twenty- five Seven

No kites in this Sankranti sky

January 15, 2013
A train of diamond kites up in the air (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Sunday evening Hubby dear and I were walking down Marine Drive and I was amazed to see a sky almost bereft of kites. At this time of year, the sky is normally full of kites that ride high on thermals, going higher and higher till they become microscopic blobs.

An enthusiastic father trying to get his
reluctant kid to fly a kite

Kite flying during Sankranti has been a traditional Indian festival enjoyed by all – women and children included but for the past several years, the only kites I seem to find are those for sale in shops. I remember looking out of my window and finding little boys on open terraces, sometimes even atop a water tank, coaxing their kite to fly up high and bring down another rival kite.

A few desultory kite flyers

There were a few kite flyers on Marine Drive this Sunday and even less on Makar Sankrant the following. With no children at home to eat the sweets and the adults unable or disallowed from eating sweets, I didn’t bother with making the traditional sweets so Sankrant has become one more festival relegated to the past, another tradition that is dying out in urban India where children would rather kill happy pigs with angry birds rather than let that kite soar high in the sky.
Related articles
- Happy Makar Sankranti
- Happy Uttarayan 2013
You are the sunshine of my life

January 13, 2013

Radio is a medium that is familiar to those over fifty. The below fifty generation has iPods, and iPads and a whole lot of virtual music in their virtual world……….which actually makes me wonder if people listen to music in their isolated bubbles, how does it become popular? Considering how most kids are wired up these days, how do they share music without playing it out loud?

But that’s not my problem.

I love the radio and always listen to it while driving or while getting ready for the day. Besides, I always feel that the songs aired have subliminal messages – the Universe’s way of connecting me with the unconnected.

This morning while listening to Mumbai‘s Radio One, the only station that plays “pop” music or music that I’m familiar with, I heard the velvet voice of Stevie Wonder singing “You are the Sunshine of my life“. Immediately I went on to that wonderfully accessible treasure trove of music YouTube and downloaded it on my iPad so that I too could listen to it in the privacy of My Own Personal Space Balloon.

I love the lyrics of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t she lovely” another personal favourite that were written on a pregnancy manual I’d bought thirty years ago. It was a beautiful book , well written and wonderfully illustrated which de-mystified my first pregnancy . Unfortunately the baby that emerged from that pregnancy returned home one day and made me throw out all my books claiming that they were clamouring to “get ” her.

I feel bad that the sunshine of my life turned out so strange but hearing Stevie Wonder always reminds me of her and uplifts my spirits no end.

I wonder what subliminal message this song was today……………………
END OF SEASON SALES

January 12, 2013

Happy tired or tired happy, basically I am tired and happy.

Tired because I’ve spent a whole afternoon shopping

and

Happy because I spent the whole afternoon with Anna Shetty.

Garment District (clothing retailer) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is a vibe about Phoenix Mills which makes you really happy. At any given time the place is a buzz and with every shop with boards flashing SALE, the place is even more happening. And unlike most days when footfalls do not translate into ringing cash registers, the bi-annual sales actually see happy people with wide grins and shopping bags. Though End of Season Sale is a bit of a misnomer for there is really no season in Mumbai which ends – it just moves seamlessly from one hot day to the next………However, we have to move with the times and if the fashion gurus say it is the end of a season, who are we to complain? For finally Sales do translate into savings.

Gone are the days when sales meant a marginal discount on shabby merchandise. Today’s shops actually have stuff that you can wear and use without feeling apologetic about purchasing during a SALE. In fact the savvy shopper would do well to wait and strike bargain. Last week high end shops at the spiffy Oberoi Towers had fashionistas picking up Ferragamo and Jimmy Choos for half the marked price!

But like with every other deal do not forget : caveat emptor. This afternoon we picked up a garment at ZARA from a rack distinctly marked ALL Rs. 1399 ( or some such figure ) only to find that the garment was marked down only 10% unlike the promised 40 and we had to shell out Rs. 2000+. I was quite horrified as was Anna Shetty and we had half a mind either to insist that ALL was a collective noun which applied to each and every garment or return the piece . The surly sales girl at the counter told us that ALL meant that the garments started from the stated price but could vary…….Obviously she knows only Spanish.

Since Anna Shetty really liked the garment and it fitted her well, we went ahead and bought it rather than spoil a good afternoon by higgling and haggling……….but buyer truly beware – Do not get seduced by the tantalizing offer of 50% off – the January sales often have merchandise that you could do well without, or they could be marked wrongly or they could even be damaged.

p.s. And if you’ve missed this season’s sale, you can wait till July when the shops of Bombay are far better to hang out in than the wet and miserable streets!