Blue Rock Thrush

Hello Julius..What should we put as our ''Bird of the Day"?? and our "Group Name"...
Put "Blue Rock Thrush"...

         Hmmm...so here I am at the evening ceremony of 6th HSBC Mumbai Bird Race 2010..Julius,my group leader (an avid environmentalists with a vast knowledge on all birds,trees,nature etc.etc...),is on his way and all my other group mates Vishal, his wife Vaibhavi along with their cute daughter Anaya are yet to join me at the venue,Maharashtra Nature Park,Mahim...my other mates,Krishnan and his young daughter Tara and Hardip could not make it to the evening program...and am here sitting alone filling the log book with the birds we had spotted today...

Its the 6th HSBC Mumbai Bird Race 2010 which happens yearly once where all avid bird watchers and enthusiasts form groups of 5 or more and compete to spot the most number of bird species in a single given day in Mumbai..

My group started at 7 am from Airoli Mangroves where we spotted a lot of birds varying from White Throated Kingfisher,Indian Cormorants,Purple Sunbirds,Green Bee Eater,Black headed Ibis and lot more... Moved on to Airoli Bridge where we spotted a lot of Greater Flamingoes and Lesser Flamingoes Species,Herons,Egrets,Green Sandpipper,........

Further, we went to a spot in Thane where we spoted Huge Kites,Spotted Sea Gulls,lot of waders...here our group was done a reportage by the Doordarshan TV reporter...
In Airoli again we came to a spot where we spotted a convocation of Kites and other species..
Airoli hills,spotted Common Krestel...
The list goes on...and we ended up spotting around some 80+ bird species and called it a day..

After a meet with the organiser,Ravi Vaidyanathan, am seated here with my mates listening to the stories of the day from many people giving their speeches, a lot of school kids new experiences...
Prizes are given away with the 1st place going to the group who had spotted a whooping 144 birds..

After a heavy dinner here, we ended up the day with a casual snap of our group"Blue Rock Thrush"...

   Inset: From left..Vaibhavi,Anaya her Daughter, Julius my Group Leader, Vishal and myself

Soh-phie

             
                 30th March'09,it's early morning,still remember the road sign "Welcome to Meghalaya",the North-East of India welcoming me with its vast splendour and beauty.The hilly road is covered with greeny vegetations, rarely occupied by some people here and there.Some walking,some peeping from their huts,kids playing.I enjoy the drive with awe and wonder struck at the beauty of nature.

                           Our car passes through huge mountains on either side of the road,deep valleys,waterfalls,beautiful long bridges,tall trees.Stop in between for a few nature snaps and towards noon, we reach the beautiful city of Shillong,the capital of  Meghalaya.I can see the Army School,small roads,eateries,handicraft shops,houses and churches with lot of beautiful people.

                    We drive further to our destination,Cherapunjee which is said to recieve the highest amount of rainfall in the world.The city fades away beyond us leaving vast streches of the road with more vegetation on the sides with the going getting greener and greener.
We halt in a small remote village in between to pour some water to the radiator of our car and to strech our tiring bodies..Our driver reaches to a shop which is rather a home..I reach the inside which appears to be a mini tea shop.The ladies here are just gazing at us,my camera which i am holding ,giving beautiful smiles,feeling shy.How innocent they were!!! Just loved them..Had some hot chai..Took some snaps with them which I managed after coaxing them from their shyness though none of us understood each others language..They spoke some tribal language and I spoke Hindi...

Am off the roads again with our sweet sign language byes...

                   

In a few mins,its surrounded by mist ..Its just white all over!! And we can't dare to open the window's.We drive through it just with our head lights following the white patches in the centre of the road..Its deep valley on 1 side without any fencing...

With a few kms to cover,we vroom off to our spot.Its damn cold out here and foggy though surprisingly its not raining today..

                          For a few mins ,I stand still at a spot where I can hear a stream of water gushing downhill..I can't see anything coz of the zero visibilty factor here...

                                                                                There are a few small shops serving some traditional food where I have some rice,dal and bhaji and also boiled eggs...and small petty shops where tribal woman selling crafts and small berries..In one such shop, I find a tribal granny selling some peculiar different fruit which I haven't seen anywhere anytime in my lifetime..I enquire and here it is "Soh-phie",the name by which they call here..

I pack some of these exotic fruits to munch on my return journey..they were green and red and tasted tangy and above all,I luvd it....From here we went to a lot of other spots,saw lovely kids going to school in such a cold weather...did shopping in Shillong and a lot of other fun... 

Our return was a terrific daring drive coz of the heavy downpour of rains,darkness without any street lights on the roads,traffic,valleys.

I totally loved the trip and words fall short to express them...It was totally a marvellous experience of a lifetime.....My soul always longs to go here again!!!! n I hope that day is not long...

Kala Khatta...the Bitter Truth

Kala Khatta- A traditional Indian tangy black coloured sharbat/slush or cold drink which is commonly available in most of the upper hemispheres of India..This is available in 2 variations..1 as a drink and another as an ice candy which is called Chuski..


One such Cold Drink shop which specially serves this drink is Kala Khatta Cold Drink House.This is located just opposite to the Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus,Mumbai.Herds of people gather here and drink away this energizing drink.Well...me too!!




The guy here adds the Khala Khatta syrup (syrup made out of the fruit called Jamun ),pepper,black salt and common salt with lots of ice.In less than a minute, glasses are passed onto the thirsty crowds who gulp it within a second..atleast i do..

Kala Khatta translates in english to "Black Bitter" ... he he.. :-)

The other drinks available here are Lemon Juice,White Rose,Orange,Sekonjbin,Red Rose and Pineapple..am yet to taste these though!


Truth is always bitter..is this the Truth??

Open ur eyes, C a new world

Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus,commonly reffered as CST is the main hotspot of Mumbai where some mint money,some throw money,some sell money,some buy money,some grab money,some make money and some beg money.Its all here.The 'M' city's business starts right from here..This is now a tourist attraction for tourists,a graveyard of memories for many who lost their innocent close ones to the bullets of some young teenagers on the 26th day of November'08..A feeling of turning the indian history pages when one walks on this platform which was blood stained once..

Here I am a few weeks before from now,got down from the local train in which I had travelled for nearly an hour.I walk a few meters when I notice a well dressed man in his 20's with a black specs and a long white stick which is painted red at the end.I slow a bit and watch him ,which he cannot and he waits for someone to help him amongst the huge hive of un-noticing people walking past him.I get closer,ask him if he needs help for which he catches my hand,asks me to take him out.I take him past the trains and the platforms,I ask him where he needs to go, says that he needs to go the office of Maharashtra Small Scale Industries, which he adds is close by across the vast road and he is here for the first time.

So,I walk him past the sidewalk and both ask some vendors about the whereabouts of this place.The vendors are not sure,but they give some directions [indians are very good in giving wrong directions.. :-) ].I take him from the subway to the other side of the road.On the way,I get to know that he is a MBA student and wants to open a STD telephone booth which the govt. is helping for handicapped people and so he wants to go to this place.We stop to a group of Policemen who say they don't know this place (they stare at each other as if we were asking the solution to the cube root of 599...what a shame!!! )..we walk to another govt. office nearby, ask 2 employees, for which they blindly say that they don't know..

The Blind friend, without losing any hope, says he will get the correct address and be back again 1 day.I take him back to the bus stop,ask a guy standing there to help him get in the bus and bid adieu to this new stranger friend...

On my walk, I think about me and all of us...how lucky are we and how uncommitted are we in life..This guy,though blind is committed to whatever he is doing..We need to learn a lot from these small lessons of life..
This guy Opened my eyes..i walked back happily of the small happiness which I got in helping this friend..

Try it..U will get a true real happiness..

Kala Ghoda..Black Horse

Kala Ghoda(Hindi) translates to Black Horse..

Kala--> Black

Add an 'a'

Kalaa-->Art

Yeah,and thats what it is basically.."The Kala Ghoda Art Festival"

This has been a common ground to all artists-be it music,theatre,art,photography,food,fashion,architecture and so on and so forth...Its rather a cultivation land where the artisians get their reap annually...


I have been attending this festivity for the past 3 years consecutively and every year,it has been a new learning and a new experience.Its really nice to see all different art forms and their creators at 1 single junction..

History goes that there was a Kala Ghoda Statue with King Edward VII,the then Prince of Wales at this location which was later moved to a diferent place.

This year too saw huge crowds pouring in and I happened to be here with 4 friends of mine, Vikram, Prasanna whom you know now and another 2 new intro's to this blog, SriKumar (a german consulting buffy) and Raghu(a guy with lot of Raghas in his green coloured iPod)..We attended 2 concerts of the music fest at the Amphitheatre,a US based band "Hurricane Bell" and "Dharohar",a Rajasthani folk group with British Beat Boxing..

Some songs of "Hurricane Bell" were too emotional and romantic which made me spellbound and the Beat boxer from "Dharohar" made some excllnt beats to which the crowd went cheering...

Also,saw many of the Art works,Photographs,Installations,NGO's and the hand made products stalls from different parts of India.

(inset:Myself N Vikram, other 3 guys went for grazing)

So,if ur a Kalaakar(Artist),don't miss to take a ride on this Kala Ghoda or the Black Horse...

"The End"

This is the end,Beautiful friend
This is the end,My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again
...............

And the song goes on.One of my all time favorite favorite song by Jim Morisson.


Most of us have got used to these 2 words by watching movies especially in indian movies...N if in a cinema hall,this also means --get the hell out of the hall and look at your own life 1st rather than the hero's..

Two days before,there was a traggic end to one of the thing which I had been using..
Sometimes our heart feels very heavy and grave when we have lost something dear in our lives...We long to be with it always even if its life span is over...
But in life, if we got to succeed, we got to move on leaving behind some greiving thoughts which blazes in our mind...

Plz take a look at its tragic end....

Not Visible???? Come closer to the monitor and see..

Yeah..its my SOAP... :-) and the extent of how close it was to me is clearly visible..

He he...

The point is - The End must only be a , (comma) and not a . (full stop) in your life....

Just move on....

MH-01 L-9037

So,here I am munching the last piece of the hot Khaari which I bought an hour back from Bangalore Iyengar Bakers.These guys make some mouth smacking delicious stuffs.
Anyways deviating from this Kaari (though I cannot), lets discuss what is this vehicle number all about!!!

The other day evening (uff...the day is not the point to think about),myself,Vikram and Prasanna(another very good witty nutty "Calvin & Hobbes" addict friend of mine) were walking along the Mumbai University Sidewalk,when I was just telling Vikram about the service which BEST is providing...You may wonder what is BEST???

Hmmm,if your a Mumbaikaar,every Tom,Dick and Harry would know what is this all about! Non-Mumbaikaars..here are the FAQ's..
1) What is BEST all about?
BEST stands and runs for Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking

2) What do they do?
They provide Electricity and run Public Transport bus services throughout Mumbai.

3) Why the heck are we talking about it?
To know the answer for this, you must continue walking with us!!!


So, back to our conversation on the sidewalk..Very few people know that BEST has busses called
"फिरते उपहार गृह" which vaguely translates to Mobile Food Center..This is a kind of bus where they have a mini kitchen where they cook and serve...
AGOSHHHH!!!!!! While the discussion is still tuned on, guess whats there in front of us???
It's none other than MH-01 L-9037 , the BEST Mobile Restaurant is here...

By now, you know what we would do!!! yes..we are inside eating Misal Pav,Batata Vada and Samossa,a pure Maharshtrian food which all boast about...

Forget the food, coming to the interiors, there are 4 fixed tables with the traditonal Passenger seats facing opposite to each other..only absence was the Bus Conductor and his tickets...

With a few flashy clicks,we are out on the street again having experienced what we discussed a few minutes back!!!! How lucky!!

JACQUELINE

Astron Martin, Becket, Bruckner, Classerville, Lone Monarch, Mighty Crusader, Native Night, Onassis, Star Alliance, Amazing Ray, Astral Flsh, Dear Lisa, Dancing Dynamite,Jacqueline....and the list goes on....But,have you got any idea about these and what are they??

Welcome to a 2nd World where people throng in thousands and thousands, they spend in countless 0's..Share Market would fail when compared to the Market here..
The Indian Derby...
Where the star performers are the shining Tall Horses...
Where the owners spend a fortune in maintaing the health and maintaning their Horses than their own...
Where the Rich and the Poor join,1 to become more wealthier and the latter to make some few bucks...
Where People of all ages bet and which is legal...
Where its business for few and Sport for some...
Where its Booze time for many...

So here I am at the Mc Dowell Signature Indian Derby at the Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai along with Vikram..After initial ticket tearings by the official ticket tearer,steped inside.
The moment I stepped in, I was wonderstruck whether I have landed in a wrong place instead of the Race...A closer look at the things happening here took me back for a second!!!! There were people all around in crowds raising their hands with bricks of Green Gandhi Currency notes at the betting counters...I am the only Odd man out gazing at everyone and standing like a fool...There are giant Tv Screens,TV's wherever I turned...Big Boards with lot of numbers looking worser than my toughest high school maths book...All people have a small pocket derby book.A small peep into someones,I find many names and numbers in it and all of them are busy studying it as if they are appearing for the IIT exams.A little walk,I am in front of the race course where there are still more people sitting in the pavillions,some sitting with suit-cases(may be they have come from a far off city or may be its full of fresh Gandhi bricks).

The best thing I saw --An old bearded Sadhu clad in Saffron Dress sitting with the Derby book and a pen and trying to bet on some Horse.May be his gods have asked him to try his luck on the horses instead of ideally sitting and asking them.

Also,here are these group, who were born with feathered Hats,Coolers,Rich Fabrics rich in Animal Skins,Imported Cars,who even din't knew their mother tongue or any indian mother's tongue being here after a hour long bath in the best imported Perfumes from their legendary forefather's Perfume factory gazing at the same Horse that the normal poor man is also gazing.

In a few minutes,the Jockeys arrive seated on the main stars of the day,shining brown and black...All gallop to the starting point of the race.A shoot and the stars are out their in the grassy field galloping at the speed of light.People howl at the top their voice....Commentators swallow their mic...Gigantic screens give a closer look...Timers ticking in microseconds..and hey..by a small minor fraction of a second,Dancing Dynamite is declared the winner with David the Jockey who rode it...All who had bet on him are very happy of the new additional hard earned money they have added to their bank accounts...
The following race, Dear Lisa wins.The final race of the day has reached with the horses out there..Jacqueline is the 1 in every serious beters mind...Back in the market,everyone are glued to the TV's in front of him or her....A few seconds after,ther's a huge uproar as if India had won the one day international cricket with Pakistan...JACQUELINE has made it with Hughes the jockey!!!!!!
Some have made Jackpot by betting on around 6 races together...
Some have become bankrupt by betting the whole money earned in their lifetime...

Moral: Earn Money, Save Money, Bet the saved Money and Lose all those Money

"Panchvati"- The Gujurati Feast

Well,today aftr a heavy lunch of some excllent Chicken Dum Biryani(will be in another part of Biryani Dreams soon) and dozzing off in the noon, woke up to Vikram's Phone call abt the evening plans..

As it was alrdy late,we planned for a nearer place n met up at Vashi,Navi Mumbai for some shopping at Inorbit Mall.We were shortly joined by another good friend of mine, Kaushik, a comic character..
Shopping --> Unsuccesfull as always!!! ended up buying nothing.....
Also to mention,incidentally we were introduced to Kaushik's mom n dad who had come to the mall..

After a short while, we 3 ended up planning for the dinner at Kerala House,the malayali food which I love.....(well,tell me what I don't like!!!)
Ohh no!!!! It was full and we had to wait..Being impatient and coz of hunger..we decided for Bharat Tarachand, anthr exclnt hotel chain with tasty food..While these talks were on, Kaushik suggested Panchvati, a gujarati Hotel in Inorbit mall itself..So we were off to the place in a jiffy..

We were welcomed by a guy dressed in a traditional gujurati attire with a colourfull turban..

With big plates and katori's (mini vessel to hold curries and vegetables) in front of us,off came the innumerable waiters with various authentic guju dishes...we were served with Dokhlas,spicy Green and sweet red chutney,Dal,Khadi,dry Ladies finger, Panner curry,Potato Curry, an unknown vegetable curry :-) , Pattice, Chappathis, Bhaakri,Puri,Dahi Vada with excllnt dahi,spicy garlic and chilli chutney,Dal Kichdi with ghee, Rice with Dal,Pappad, Buttermilk, and for desserts, we had Sheera and Fruit Custard...

Have i left something!!! may be i have..

We ate all these with many servings as much as we wanted to our hearts content...oops,to our stomach's content!!!!

I just loved the taste..and not to forget,I had a lot of Fruit Custard(i luv it a lot!!!!)

Towards the end,our pace slowed down..I even suggested them that we can have a small walk around and be back to have more!!! :-)

We chit chatted for a long time with our other friends memories and jokes about them..I was like..unable to move my ass...well,all of us were in the same situation after such a heavy yummy and tasty food..(I said... may be we would need an ambulance to take us!!! )

At the end,it was a nice meal and fit to be tasted along wit Friends,Family and close ones...

Charges per head : Rs. 225

ScoreCard:
Food --> 9/10
Ambience --> 8.5/10
Service --> 8/10
Value for Money--> 8.99/10
Free --> Mineral Water Bottles

Extra Charges --> Ambulance Service

The Biryani Dreams-Part I

God only knows why am i so much fascinated about Biryanis...Just the sole utterance of this word makes my mouth water and makes me go crazy..So,here i am reading some article of some must Do's in Mumbai..Guess what??

Well look at it for yourself!!!


"Eat biryani at Delhi Darbar
Jafferbhai’s Delhi Darbar, at the bottom of the city’s red light district, serves up some of the best biryani south of the NCR. Made from a recipe devised by proprietor Jafferbhai Mansuri’s grandfather back in 1900, the Delhi Darbar’s biryani maintains the same wonderful aroma and taste time after time.Near Gulshan Cinema, Grant Road"

Jafferbhai's Delhi Darbar is called the Biryani King of Mumbai..

So,the next immediate thing--> Fix my Day and Date for the mission.

My Accomplice--> Vikram Gangula (stupid to the core just like me & the 1 who does all the crazy things most of the time with me...)


To reach this place,it nearly takes more than a hour by the local train from my place.So,we reach here with an empty stomach from morning just as the way doctors ask us to do before performing a medical test.Well,in our case..itz just to fill up every nook and corner of our stomach..
__________________________________
"Mission Jafferbhai's Biryani"Drama Begins:

Act1:

"Waiter... 1 Chicken Biryani Half Plz"
....
"Waiter... 1 Boondi Raita"
....
"Waiter... 1 Mutton Biryani Half "
....
"Waiter... 1 Mutton Kheema Biryani Half"
....
"Waiter... 1 Boondi Raita"
....
"Waaaaaaaiter... 1 Prawns Biryani Half "

Act2:
"Waaaaiterrrr... Plz pass the menu..."

Hmmmm..Sweet..Sweet...Sweet...

"Waaaaiterrrr.....1 Firni with 2 spoons Plz"

_____________________________

Mission Successfull...

ScoreCard:

Food --> 8/10

Ambience --> 7/10

Service --> 8/10

Value for Money--> 6/10 (qty. is very less....especlly for us...)

Free --> Small Onions marinated in Vinegar

Inset: Mr.Vikram, Mr. Mutton Biryani & Mrs.Boondi Raita, Mr.Rj

Well..this is just "The End" to the Begining....

"L" board for Life

Caught in a Time Machine...a Time Wrap...Empty Headed...Dumbstruck...Sleep Disorder...Highly Self-Motivated...Traveller...Philatelist..Guitarist...Photographer... Foodie...Art Admirer...Trekker...Biker...Adventure Freak...Movie Watching Maniac... a Little of this...a Little of that...BLAH...BLAH...BLAH... and of course, BLAH...BLAH...BLAH...BLAH...


BLAH...BLAH...BLAH...

BLAH...BLAH...BLAH...

BLAH...BLAH...BLAH...

OMG!!! What am i !??!...an unstoppable radio piece announcing the way some cartoons behave?/?.....Oh no...its all abt me!!!!
If it was a book,it would be titled "The Black Book on the Height of Stupidities"

Just an "L" board trying to learn everything,Tasting the different facets of life,Trying to put 1 leg in Far east and another in Far West (North & South??? Well,assume the other parts of me...Who knows..!!)

Wanderer--> The word which was found just for me...Better replace the word in Dictionary with my name..

And yeah...if any of these symptoms are there for you as well, you have landed on the right page.Welcome to "Live Rj Style", my way of living..

OMG:Oh My God