Obama is coming..!!!

My friend Darshan Dodia (@darshandodia) has twitted some real funny humorous tweets:


* In name of God we clean our hearts; in name of festivals we clean our houses & in name of obama we clean our city !

* Finally colaba gets a facelift; plants r now watered, streets cleaned, debris removed, dividers repainted. THANK YOU @obama

* Obama shld make this a yearly trip to india. Atleast that way govt will be on their toes abt nations security.

Though it seems funny,we are like that only! In gujarati an idiom says "આગ લાગે ત્યારે જ કૂવો ખોદવા બેસે" meaning we start digging well when fire has already caught.We procrastinate. We don't care or bother at times or rather most of the times.

Another point to this issue is we do things as they have to be done only when somebody is watching. I had read somewhere Quality is doing the Best when nobody is watching.Obama is coming,let's clean our city.Prime minister or president is going to come,clean the place, repair the roads, beautify the surroundings. Why such showiness? Can't we always maintain all these things in order when some VIP is not visiting?

Also we are crazy lot. We revere celebrities like Gods. We treat them with utmost respect (and at times neglect the ones who truly cares for us).We get influenced easily.We have to learn maintaining self-dignity.We often forget about it when somebody of higher stature or position we come across.We shall treat every individual with same respect and care.

We need to stop being hypocrite and learn to be our true selves. God give us all power to do this!

Govinda Aalaa Re…

Hey, I am not talking about Bollywood film star Govinda. I am talking about ‘Govinda’ who burst the Dahi-Handi or Matki on Janmashtami Day. (For those who even don’t know what Janmashtami is – it was the day or rather night on which Shree Krishna was born. The next day is celebrated to enjoy this great event.)

All Indian festivals have a hidden meaning behind it which we have forgotten today but we love to celebrate, enjoy and hence we celebrate all the Indian (and some of the foreign) festivals pompously, with lot of enthusiasm and at times with lot of money too! But some of the festivals we celebrate completely forgetting the very idea behind the festival only to have fun and may be for some other dirty motives. Dahi-Handi is such one festival.

To celebrate Krishna’s birth is just one reason but why burst Dahi filled Matki? Do we know? There is an interesting story behind it. In Gokul, where lord Krishna spent his childhood there were lot of cows and there was lot of Butter produced. Neighbouring village of Mathura was ruled by demon Kans (Krishna’s maternal uncle) and all the butter produced in Gokul had to be exported to Mathura and the poor people and children of Gokul were unfortunate and could not enjoy their own home-grown Makkhan.

When Krishna came to know about this, he made a plan. This Makkhan or butter was stored in the Matkis tied in the homes of Gokul-niwasees. So what Krishna did was, he gathered his Gowala-friends (or Govinda) and made pyramid like structure and burst this Matkis filled with Butter (or Dahi which is not actually the correct translation of butter) and shared it with all his Gowala-friends so that it was consumed before being exported to Mathura. This was even the poor Gowala-Friends of Krishna who could not afford to have Makkhan, got to eat it! What a noble cause and what a great task!

But today, we celebrate Matki utsav with the prizes of Lakhs of Rupees. Who gains out of it? Sometimes Govindas are not even awarded with the prize money announced. The gain is of Politicians who have made the festival a dirty celebration by associating large sums of money with it and by making the whole city a battle ground on this day.

This year there is a prize of Rs. 25 Lakhs announced for bursting the Dahi-handi and that’s not all. There is going to be Gold Dahi-handi, bollywood stars, Laavani Dance shows, DJ, Prizes of Mobile and ambulance and plethora of other attractive prizes. What is all these for? Enjoyment, fun. And Politicians purely have ulterior motive of getting mileage and publicity. They encourage higher and higher pyramids made by Govindas (There has to be ten or more layers for 25 Lakh prize money this year) but if a Govinda dies or accidentally looses his limb or becomes handicap no politician would go and look after him and his family. There are insurance going to be provided to Govindas this year but what about the loss of life or a limb of a human being?

There are other problems like Traffic Jam, tussle between two or more Govinda groups, Drunk Govindas driving rashly and carelessly on streets causing accidents or other untoward incidents and more.

How women can be left behind? This is equality-age and this year even women Govinda Teams will burst Matkis and have claimed equal amount of prize money.

I love all Indian festivals and love celebrating them with enthusiasm and great fervour but hate this indecent, abnormal urbanized avatar of them.

Sachin Tendulkar Book controversy

A few days ago I came across a news piece on Sachin Tendulkar's autobiographical type book with collection of some rare pictures of his life. There were many salient features of this book such as only ten copies of this book were going to be published and they were priced at a whopping price of around Thirty Seven Lakh Indian rupees.(only good part was this whole amount was supposed to go for charity purpose) but
the main attraction (?) of this book was that each copy of the book was supposed to contain Sachin Tendulkar's autograph with his own blood!
Now this made me restless! I thought how Sachin Tendulkar could have agreed to do such a stunt? Though neither I am a sports person nor do I have any special liking for cricket, I surely have special respect for Sachin. He most certainly is a great Indian personality and is also a good human being. So definitely this piece of news about his blood-signed book made me think negative about the whole idea and Sachin himself. Look at the media power! It can surely change perceptions. I was not happy about this news.
After reading this news in all major newspapers, finally there was clarification by Sachin Tendulkar himself that he had not agreed to sign copies of this book with his blood and this false piece of information was complete rubbish. Now came the clarification from the publishers that they were misunderstood and misquoted by the media. If such was the case why the clarification came by Sachin first? This was a cheap publicity stunt. Even for a good cause one shall not rely on such petty measures. Media also has a responsibility. It shall verify the facts before publishing news but in today's cut throat competition that cares about veracity of any news item? 'We shall be the first to break the news' is the mantra of any news agency, news paper.
Thank God Sachin didn't sign the book with his blood!

My Tweets during Mar - May 2010...

Last week thr was a program-talk cndcted in a school in Bharuch on my book 'Mahek'-I was phone-interviewd 4 it.Felt vry good!
6:14 AM Mar 2nd

Didnt go 2 office as I ws nt feelin well ystrdy.Saw Natrang marathi film in the eve.vry good film,music,location,theme,dance.I liked it.
6:18 AM Mar 6th

Busy wid the work on my fifth gujarati book 'Internet Corner' series.Wd finish a day or two.
6:27 AM Mar 6th

Enjyd anther superb marathi film 'Harishchandrachi factory'.Simply loved it.Language nvr bcme barrier in enjyin a gr8 wrk of art of any form
4:51 AM Mar 7th

The workload in office affects your mood and vice versa.Ideally it shouldn't.why can't v follow all we undrstnd?
5:36 AM Mar 11th

How good U feel when U make others feel good..!Why then we all not always do things that make others happy?
8:12 AM Mar 12th

After two holidays of the weekend why still ye dil maange more..?!I always feel yet so mny things 2 cmplete.1more holiday shd hv bn there..
8:04 AM Mar 14th

Saw a movie Ramchand Pakistani ystrdy.Very beautiful short film.Nice location,costumes & vry good theme.Also enjoyed Metro again.
8:06 AM Mar 14th

Tdy was the silver jubilee of my blog-based gujarati column in JanmabhoomiPravasi.Also news of 2nd &3rd edition of my books got published.
8:12 AM Mar 14th

Tdy I was eagerly waiting for JanmabhoomiPravasi.Newspprwalla threw 4 othr pprs bt frgt 2 put Janmabhoomi only!Finlly I gt it in the eve.
8:16 AM Mar 14th

While shopping for GudiPadwa ystrdy broke my leg @ Devii jewellers,Andhri.Can't evn walk properly.Had 2 tk leave frm offc 2.sitting @ home !
11:24 PM Mar 16th

My loving mom applyin turmeric-salt-water paste on my swollen leg.How caring & loving moms are!Paste may or mayNot work bt my mom's love wd!
10:30 AM Mar 18th

It was World HouseSparrow Day tdy & I celebrated it!wd every dy put a small pan filled wth wtr 4 my fav brd sparrow & othrs.Pls save Nature.
11:06 AM Mar 20th

Watched LSD tdy mornin or rather wasted my precious mornin hrs.DevD & NoSmoker lovers would like it!Ppl mk anythin in name of offbit.A pity!
12:58 AM Mar 21st

Having fast & accompanying ur frnds 4 lunch @ subway joint is difficlt!Hd 2 c thm eatin nice-lukin,temptin sndwchs &fill myslf wid jst chip!
12:30 AM Mar 24th

Charges of food items @ joints like pizzahut,CCD,subway etc. r more 4 the ambience thr.It's cool,hip,young & relyxin!Prfct plc 2 pass time!
12:38 AM Mar 24th

A genuine smile can make ur day at the same time a statement or a question can make u feel really really bad ...
4:50 AM Mar 25th

Travellin long dist generates a kinda excitement...specially whn u r goin to meet ur wife aftr almost a month!Leavin 4 mahesana tonight.
5:00 AM Mar 26th

Have come here for my wife's Seemant(GodBharai) but would not be able 2 c the ceremony as husband can't c this ritual.Strange ritual!
1:42 AM Mar 27th

Aftr a lng time attnded an evenin Aarti in a temple.Somnath temple @Mahesana.I feel a cosmic energy flowin thru me whnevr I attend Aarti.
6:06 AM Mar 27th

Loud noise of gongs in an Aarti seems like sweet music to my ears.In Mumbai when does one get time to attend Aarti in a temple?But One shd.
6:09 AM Mar 27th

As I was in Mahesana whr 'EarthHour' was not follwd,I followd it in my own way.switchd off mobile.went 2 terrace & sat,walked & talked alone
8:17 AM Mar 27th

Mahesana 2 Ahmdbad is 2 hrs jrny.I wnted 2 go by bus sittin.Bt sundy rush so all buses came jampackd.Took pvt jeep.It gt punctured halfway!
5:59 AM Mar 28th

Goin frm Mahesana 2 Ahmdbd in a jampacked bus now standing.Hope I reach in time & don't miss my train frm Ahmdbd 2 Mumbai!
6:01 AM Mar 28th

Caught train frm Ahmdbd in a filmy style!9:5 ws trains dept. time & I rchd pltfrm @ 9 & hd 2 run entire lngth of train 2 ctch my lst coach!
9:21 AM Mar 28th

Erly mornin my colleagues fooled me skillfully!I enjyd!Thn I also teamed up & fooled anthr teammmbr Antik!Sch inncnt prnks dn't hrm & r ok!
8:23 AM Apr 1st

It is so embarassin to keep smbdy waitin 4 u. Antik, sorry 2 keep u waitin 4 half-an-hour...
11:59 PM Apr 2nd

Pampered myself with a designer haircut @ JavedHabib's.Got a new hip kewl hairstyle!I wanna maintain it 4 a lng time this time.Gud exprnce!
12:25 AM Apr 4th

Aftr more thn 15days break due to hurting my leg,would strt gym again.Bck 2 Normal routine now after 3 days grt holidays!Gud Nite...
12:00 PM Apr 4th

Goin 4 a movie in theater (WellDoneAbba) after a long time!Its a diff & nice experience to enjy a movie in theater...
5:52 AM Apr 5th

Wht a film WellDoneAbba is!so mny messgs givn 2 society in a simple,light yet touchy way! Well Dn BenegalSaab! Well dn Boman,Minisha&Samir!
10:09 AM Apr 5th

Sm ppl talk & speak so loudly in bus/train.A lady on last seat is blabberin & disturbin all.A truly loud-mouthd woman!
10:15 AM Apr 5th

Added twitter application on my facebook so now My Tweets can be read from my facebook page as well...
10:56 AM Apr 6th

Enjoyd bhajji,sandwish & chai in MaitriBen & DeepaBen's cmpny @ jbims canteen.rmembrd my MBA days.School&College life is bst period of life!
11:25 AM Apr 7th

Got vry late from offc tdy.Hope 2 have a kool weekend.The week was quite hectic @ work.Wanna relyx for 2 days now!
9:34 AM Apr 9th

Goin 4 a re-union of my school friends.Would see most of them aftr 15 years!I think it wd b grt fun meetin pals of my alma-mater...
8:38 AM Apr 10th

Why weekend has to pass so fast??Did gym,read newspprs,met my school sir,surfd net,took a nap & wd c hindi play Chanakya now...bsy sunday!
6:12 AM Apr 11th

Chanakya - A good political,historical,hindi play...Very good performance by Manoj Joshi.I enjoyed!Good end of the weekend.Good night...
10:59 AM Apr 11th

First thing I do aftr wakin up everymornin is chant:karaagre vasate laxmi karamadhye saraswati karamoole tu govind prabhaate kar darshanam.
12:41 AM Apr 14th

I actually see laxmi at top of my hands,saraswati in middl and krishna at the bottom.wht can be better to start day than remembrin them??
12:44 AM Apr 14th

Thr r 2 more shlokas I chant everymorning,2nd:samudra vasane devi parvata stanamandalai: vishnupatni namastubhyam paad sparsham kshamasva me
12:48 AM Apr 14th

3rd shloka in Trikal sandhya: Vasudev sutam devam kansa chaanuramardanam devaki paramaanandam krushnam vande jagat gurum...
12:50 AM Apr 14th

Ystrday a gujju play with my voice was aired on AllIndiaRadio Samvaadita.But due to me being in Gujarat,I cld nt hear it.Dad has recorded it
1:08 AM Apr 15th

Its hot like hell here in Gujarat.In M'bai,sitting in AC offc all day long,can't mk out hw summer is & dn't evn wanna knw!!
10:17 PM Apr 15th

Have enjoyd many movies on the first day of release @ WideAngle - Mahesana.One more tdy:PaathShaalaa.With beloved wife & in-laws.
8:39 AM Apr 16th

Enjoying the overnight journey from Mahesana to Borivali in Aravali Xpress.Intrnt srfin,Readin&Music.Who says U cant enjy a jrny alone?
8:43 AM Apr 17th

Rehearsing 4 my gujarati play OmShreeMadBhagwat after a long time!V r doin 37th shw on Fri. @ Kalidas,Mulund...
9:32 AM Apr 21st

Goin 2 Mulund 4 my 37th show of OmShreemadBhagwat.we hv done shows in almost all theaters of Mumbai.Tdy 1st time @ kalidas.Excited!
6:16 AM Apr 23rd

I am reading The Professional by SubrotoBagchi & a Gujarati novel 'Karmachaari' by JeetendraThakkar prsntly aprt frm daily doses of
newspprs
1:14 AM Apr 25th

Trying to link twitter with my facebook page.Hope I succeed...#fb
12:12 PM Apr 28th

So mny things 2 do & so littl time!I wnt 2 lrn drivin but gym,office & other activities dn't let me do it!Hope I m able 2 do it in May..#fb
12:43 PM Apr 28th

Enjoying GoGreen even. orgnisd by my compny with Rahul vaidya's sweet musical songs...
8:06 AM Apr 30th

Ranakpur Exprss sucks!since lst 2 hrs it has rchd mumbai but movin like a snail & it hs stopped jst bfor borivali since lst 15 min..bored!!
9:54 PM May 2nd

Stranded due to stupid motormen strike..lakhs of travellers by mumbai local railway on streets now...me came upto andhri by bus.hp 2 rch Mld
9:11 AM May 3rd

@ant1k By putting lakhs of commuters in stranded state whatever action motormen have taken do not make them wise anyway.They r surely stupid
2:53 AM May 4th via web in reply to ant1k

@ant1k Also their strike is just for the purpose of pay hike.Not unfav. work condition.So u have to update urself first bfor tweeting...
2:55 AM May 4th via web in reply to ant1k

waitin 4 my office bus since lst 20min. + headache = not feeling good
6:38 AM May 6th

Shouted at my mother on 'Mothers Day' today and now feeling bad about it...'Sorry Mom' I wd say & she wd forgive me.Why mothers r so good??
1:45 AM May 9th

Internet Surfing is addictive.Evrytime I decide I will sit 4 half an hour only and I end up spending more than an hour & still not satisfied
11:53 AM May 13th

Mom,wife & sistrs r awy frm home.Me & dad havin mixed feelings of liberty & missing them.Also realizin women r really grt!
9:43 AM May 20th

I dont know how to cook,wash clothes,utensils,keep the home clean etc.etc.I strongly feel I shall learn all these,now whn my fmily is away..
9:47 AM May 20th

I wanna learn driving a bike and car too.I guess I would join a car training school soon...
9:48 AM May 20th

The new shfit concept in my office is amazin!for 10 days I have 2 go at 12noon.10 days @ 8am & 10days @9.30...Its cool,I liked it!
10:47 PM May 20th

I witnssd a terribl accidnt of a rickshaw getting skid & turned upside down in BKC.Hope driver & passngrs r safe.
11:11 AM May 25th

Heard abt Hindu-Muslim riots being strted again in Gujarat.Why cnt v humans live in peace rathr whn politicians wud let us live peacefully
9:18 PM May 26th

Let's Grow Up...

Every morning I take a bus from Bandra station to reach my office at Bandra Kurla Complex. There is a long queue at the bus stop, if buses do not come one after the other in time. Usually there are BEST officers at this bus stop to manage the queue and discipline. But one day they were not present. I was standing in the queue and bus came little late and stood little ahead than the place where it should have stopped. 5-6 people got in to the moving bus even before it came on the stop. Few more people who were not in the queue ran along with the bus and as soon as bus stopped tried to get in before all of us who were standing in the queue in the scorching heat for a long time.
Why are we such a lot? Why do we always need somebody to supervise us?
Didn’t those people who got into the bus without standing in the queue see us? Didn’t they know we were all standing in the queue from a long time and trying to maintain discipline? They should have at least respected that fact and should have waited till we all got in and then they should have boarded the bus. But the BEST officer was not present. So they took advantage of that fact and breached the discipline, broke the rules and didn’t care about the queue.
When would we get mature? I feel sad when we show apathy towards normal code of conduct in public. People spit anywhere on the roads, throw garbage, food and chocolate wrappers without thinking about it for a second.
These days there is a new trend in Mumbai. Every Monday night you will find lot many people on the S.V.Road walking bare feet individually or in groups. They start from Meera road, Dahisar, Borivali or Malad or Andheri or any suburb on western side and walk all the way up to Dadar to have darshan of Siddhi Vinayak. Now I don’t know how many of these genuine Ganesh Bhakts are. Many youngsters walk all this long distance only because their friends are walking. It is like a picnic for them. There are many noble people who serve these Ganesh bhakts water, ice creams, food etc. etc. at regular intervals along the entire path from Borivali to Dadar. They give these things in plastic cups. And the Ganesh bhakts after eating and drinking throw the plastic cups without thinking for a moment on the road. I have seen this many times and have got shocked to see their ignorance and apathy. Plastic is anyway harmful for the environment but the garbage they throw on the road makes our city dirtier and worse. I want to appeal the noble donors that they shall keep dustbins near their stalls where they offer the food, drinks etc. BMC shall also put dustbins at regular intervals on S.V. Road where people can throw garbage.
I think we all play some part in creating awareness about cleanliness and code of conduct at the public places. Teachers shall teach about it in the school and colleges. Parents shall talk about it with their children and they should first themselves follow the same so that their children can learn it from their behaviour. We educated people shall try to prevent ignorant and illiterate people from doing wrong in polite and good manner when we observe such thing at public place. Let’s all contribute towards this good cause and make our city and country a better place for living!

Effective Communication

I saw Hindi movie PaathShaalaa recently. The movie started with title credits. There were three things simultaneously going on, on the screen. There were names of main actors and of the people who would have worked day in day out for making this movie, being flashed on the screen with red big fonts. The images of newspaper clippings containing recent news related to schools & students (mostly or almost all) negative in nature like 'A student commits suicide’,’ A teacher beat student to death' etc. etc., were being flashed in the background. And at the same time, a nice music track was being played in the background. Now a normal human being can concentrate on one thing at a time. My attention was on reading the news item clippings and I missed reading all important names of people involved in making this movie. At the end of the movie as audience do not wait an instant after the movie is over so there also I could not read the names & credits. I didn't know who directed the movie and who produced it. This was major communication failure.
You should see how title credits are given in Shyam Benegal directed "Well Done Abba". Along with the picture of a well (central theme of this movie) was displayed with photograph and name of each and every character of the movie along with his or her real name. What a great idea! By this way director has also given due credit to all actors. And audience can also read and know each actor's real name. This is classic example of effective communication.
When you communicate with somebody the idea or message should reach the person or group clearly then only the communication is successful.
While making a corporate power point presentation also one has to use as simple a template as possible. If you use gaudy background or very flashy template, the central idea or message of the presentation may get lost.
Hope I communicated properly and my idea/message has reached you, dear blog-Reader!

Earth Hour This Saturday...Batti Bandh Please!!!

Citizens from across the globe, in hundreds of cities around the world are switching their lights off on March 27 , 2010 for one hour, from 08:30 PM to 09:30 PM, to raise their voice against Climate Change.India is also going to be one of the participants of this program.Tell your family, friends and colleagues about WWF Earth Hour, and ask them to join in and switch off for a healthy planet.

If you are thinking what would one do during this dark one hour...then my friends....there is lot that can be done...just a few creative thoughts...

---> You may sit with your family members and can have a candle - light talk/dinner/ antakshari session...!!!
---> You may convince your other locality friends and play some game in your area in this dark hour!
---> Sleep! (its winter so fans are anyway not required!)
---> Don't do anything ...!just sit idle/ meditate/ make the plans for what to do onthe new year eve!
---> Talk with your other friends/relatives on your phone/mobile
---> Anything which you can think of doing in the darkness!!!

Please be a part of this drive...and spread awareness about Climate Change/Global Warming....save energy...and Be Responsible.....!!!

Read my previous posts on past Earth Hour initiatives at :

http://vikasgnayak.blogspot.com/2009/03/batti-bandh-switch-off-on-28-mar-2009.html

http://vikasgnayak.blogspot.com/2007/12/batti-bandh-on-15-dec-2007.html

Today's Politicians Vs Mahatma Gandhi

I saw Mayawati's pictures in the newspaper with the garland of currency notes worth of Lakhs of Rupees. The report said just a week back she was presented with the same kind of Crore Rupee worth garland and a leader of her party also announced that Behenjee will be now greeted with same type of currency note garlands in all future occasions. This is the same Mayawati who had been in news a couple of months back for getting erected crores of rupees worth statues in her state Uttar Pradesh. (When our leaders would be in news for all the right reasons?)I could not help myself from drawing a comparison between today's leaders like Mayawati and the great father of the nation - Gandhijee. 'Dalit ki Beti' became 'Daulat ki Beti' as rightly quoted in the newspaper and Gandhijee even left the routine clothes & chose to wear just the khadi dhoti for poor country people. Former the showcase of ostentation & wealth, latter true living-example of leadership. How can I even compare the two?
At least Mayawati did it publicly. (Again let me clarify, by no way I am trying to justify wearing garlands of currency notes. I strongly oppose this idea.) There are so many other politicians (I will not use the word ‘Leaders’) who do take bribes under the table and are totally corrupted.
There is another breed of politicians who simply love to remain in news for all wrong reasons. A couple of days back, BNHS (Bombay Nature History Society) head-quarter was attacked and the word 'Bombay' in the name was replaced in the night by some shiv sainiks (how can they be called sainiks. Do they protect people in anyway?) by a board with a board bearing word 'Mumbai' in Marathi script. What good it will do to public at large? They just want to be in limelight by keeping the flame of their so called Marathi-issue burning. Do they think that this kind of acts will help them increase their vote bank? Strong supporter of Marathi-cause Raj Thackerey, even after a few years of the name change 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus'(CST) from old 'Victoria Terminus'(VT) kept referring to CST as VT in his public address not single time but multiple times. This is clear example of his double standards. The issues created by his sena or shiv sena are simply vote bank gimmicks and they have nothing to do with true Marathi pride or whatever they claim. Children of some of these sena workers are not studying in Marathi but English medium schools. They keep protesting people from other states, caste and communities coming to Mumbai and threaten organizations and companies to give priority to local Maharashtriyans but have hired non-Marathi people personally in their houses and offices according to recent news. Mahatma Gandhi practiced what he preached. But why again am I even talking about a legendary like him while discussing about the petty politicians of today. There can not be any comparison between them.
I wish younger lot among today's political field players like Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora, Agatha Sangama come forward and do some good work to take India at a new height of development and success.

My Tweets in Jan - Feb 2010...

* Happy New Year to all the Twitters!!! Happy 2010...
11:46 AM Dec 31st, 2009

* What a unique way to start a new fresh year!I have almost completed 2 shows of my play out of 21 tobe performed in a row in 7days...enjoyin!
5:42 AM Jan 1st

* 5th shw of our Bhagwat play attended by VaishnavGuru VaishaliBetiji.She blessed us all & liked our shw.we all r vry happy!
6:55 AM Jan 2nd

* 3days of Bhagawat Mahayagna almost over.
6:29 AM Jan 3rd

* 3days of Bhagawat Mahayagna almost over.V have finished 8 shows in a row & yet 13 more to go!v r completely 'Bhagawatmay'!Bhagwat rocks!
6:32 AM Jan 3rd

* Almst the entire team of Bhagwat is staying at bunglow in Borivali.It's like picnic & loads of fun!fighting 4 bathroom now..!
7:11 PM Jan 3rd

* Having group break-fast, lunch or dinner is so much fun!Maharaj made a tasty dinner lst night&nice theplas for breakfast now!
8:38 PM Jan 3rd

* It's a mammoth task 2 do 21shows in 7days in a row.Lot mny un4seen things nvr-thot-of crops up.Bt v completd 13shws alrdy.Hop 8mr go nicely

* Since last four days we are cut-off from the outside world & r living a new diff life.completd 14 shows of Bhagwat in lst 4dys.7 more 2 go
6:37 AM Jan 5th

* Rehearsing @2 in the night for tmrw's 2 hindi shows of 'Bhagwat' aftr havin group-dinner with team.last 2 days of our mahayagna left now!
1:13 PM Jan 5th

* Last night here @Mangalya Bnglows & we-bhagwat team having grt time!tmrw last day of our Bhagwat Mahayagnya.We wd miss being tgthr a lot...
12:00 PM Jan 6th

* 21st show of OmShreemadBhagwat will start in a few minutes!In a few moments 7 day Mahayagnya will b ovr.we wd miss it like anythin!
7:17 AM Jan 7th

* I felt as if I hv cm into a new diff. World tdy aftr staying disconnected from routine life 4 Bhagwat Mahayagnya.feeling vry vry different!
5:09 AM Jan 8th

* change is the only constant in life.wht wd we be & hw wd life be without change!we shd embrace change, for good...
5:12 AM Jan 8th

* Though I enjyed evry bit of Bhagwat Mahayagnya - 21 continuous shows in lst 7 days,I feel relyxed now.evry thing shall come 2 a graceful end
5:16 AM Jan 8th

* sight of setting,orange sun is so beautiful!Look like a bindi on sky's forehead!I guess I shd leave office early evrydy 2 enjoy this sight!
4:44 AM Jan 11th

* A blind man with his stick was passing frm opp. Pltfrm on malad stn.Kind of funny & long stare a lady standing thr gave him made me laugh!
8:25 PM Jan 11th

* Pretty excited to run in tmrw's marathon.goin now 2 cllct the running kit & feeling the flair here already on the way..!
2:25 AM Jan 16th

* Oh this goodie-running-kit contains so many good items!I jst took a long walk on marin drv promend up2 chrnird flaunting my cute goodie bag!
5:09 AM Jan 16th

* Its a wndrful experience 2 enjoy sunset sitting at marine drive.u feel as if u r in a diff. World!
5:10 AM Jan 16th

* Yippeee...I am going 2 run Dream Marathon Mumbai'10...So mny othr runners in thier sports-corport wear on Malad stn as well as in the train!
5:59 PM Jan 16th

* Mumbai has caught Marathon-fever!!!The excitement is in the air and in the spirit of Mumbai now!!!
6:01 PM Jan 16th

* Marathon was a gr8 experience.After it I have become health conscious & started enjoying walking..!
5:38 AM Jan 19th

* U feel good when u rise early & start ur day early in the mornin.A walk in fresh morning air charges u up!why I don't wakeup early everyday?
6:07 PM Jan 21st

* Had an incredible experience enjoying 3D Avatar @imax wadala.Mst watch.Superb.Outstanding.Absolutely Amazing!See with ur family,a gr8 gift!
10:14 AM Jan 24th

* Wearing smthin different ocassionally @ office gives gr8 change & a nice feeling!I always enjoy it!Tdy my whole team supprtd me!It ws fun!!
8:13 AM Jan 25th

* Tdy me & my team wore white kurta-pajama & tricolor dupatta(specially designed for tdy) in the office.We got special attention by evrybdy!
8:10 AM Jan 25th

* I love indian carnatic music vry mch.It has power 2 touch ur soul & tk u 2 a diff. World.enjyin MorningRaga songs now which r dear 2 my hrt!
Jan 25th


* Finally I got connected to internet thru my mobile while roamimg in gujarat.Feeling gr8!wd chk my mails & then tweet!ciao!
9:12 AM Jan 31st

* Joined gym after more than 7 years from 1st Feb. All my muscles paining a lot today but hv no cmplaints abt it!Soon I will b in shape!!!
6:44 AM Feb 4th

* 3rd edition of my first three gujarati books & 2nd edition of my 4th gujarati book r being publishd.Yippeee!I m 2 glad!!
7:17 AM Feb 4th

* Why this happns always @busstop?whn we r waitin 4 a specific bus,it will nvr come 4 long time.At othr times same number bus comes in lots!
5:57 AM Feb 6th

* This also happens invariably tht whn v hv 2 rch sm plc in time, we get late,get stuck in traffic & so on..!
5:58 AM Feb 6th

* @antik: smbdy commented me on my tummy on annual day of NSE.That motivated me to join gym!Also I wanna sty fit...
7:42 AM Feb 6th

* Jst visited a temple whr SandhyaAarti was going on.Dholak was being played by a lady & so were Manjiras.Aarti singer was too a lady.liked i!
7:48 AM Feb 6th

* It's vry good tht Rahul Gandhi trvlld by m'bai locals bt he shd hv tried ctchin local frm malad durin mornin peak hrs.He cdn't ctch it only
8:33 PM Feb 7th

* It's unfortunate tht 'My Name Is Khan' could not release in M'bai.I saw it tdy in Mahesana-Gujarat.It's a wndrful movie.Mst watch.Don't miss
9:50 AM Feb 12th

* I was wrong in writing MNIK couldn't release in M'bai.But I m happy to knw that it did.It was 2nd slap on sena's face!Hope this wake them up
1:24 AM Feb 13th

* @antik : look who is talking. Ishqiya ka plan banate waqt kisi ne mere baare me socha tha?btw, how was it? Or let me ask did u guys go 4 it
1:28 AM Feb 13th

* Can u write ur mind truly & opnly on an open space like this?atleast i dont think i can!wht if the prsn about whom i write,read it?
6:55 AM Feb 16th

* A good song /music can enhance ur mood!A song from khamoshi did it to me!I m cheerful & happy since morning!
11:48 PM Feb 17th

* Two holidays of the weekend now!what a relief!How life would have been without weekend holidays,I wonder!!
8:05 AM Feb 19th

* Going 2 attnd 9thGujarati Transmedia Films&Stage award night tdy with my dad.Would be thr between a gamut of gujju entertainment industry.
4:50 AM Feb 20th

* Things gettin bck 2 normlcy in offc now.Omkar rtrnd aftr 2.5mnths typhoid brk.2new ppl joind my team.We got a new SnrMngr too...
8:24 AM Feb 24th

* Today I spent the whole day with my loving wife Ami.Did holi darshan,learnt littl scooty drivin &saw kismatconn.day was good!
10:23 AM Feb 28th

* Lst 2 lst holi @ GoraiBeach,lst holi with my OmShrimadBhagwat team..bt nt celebrtin holi this yr anywhr :-( nyway,Hppy&clrful Holi 2 all!
9:07 PM Feb 28th

Verdict of a gang rape case...

A rape case verdict came in just two months time in a very controversial gang rape case of Surat in Gujarat. I was very glad to read this news when generally in India any legal battle takes years and many times the genuine people never get justice in their lifetime. Ruchika case recently in news is the best example of this. Even Neeraj Grover murder case or Shiny Ahuja rape case in spite of having been occurred in metro city like Mumbai yet continue with series of hearings only. Many such cases garner lot of media attention but then with time media interest fades and these cases creep into oblivion and get erased from public memory. How many of us remember about Abhishek Kasliwal case or Patrawala kidnapping and murder case? Many such cases do not see light of the day after a period due to lack of strong evidence or due to strong political link of the accused. In such a grave scenario, a gang rape case where a police officer's son and his other two friends are the criminals and the victim is a poor young girl of class12, getting verdict in the court of law is more than a welcome change.
Rape is the most heinous crime where the victim has to suffer the repercussions throughout life. Society is yet not mature enough to accept rape victims with grace which is a pity. Many such victims commit suicide or if the raper is influential then the life of victim becomes worse than hell.
Few days back I had read news on a rape victim nurse who had been raped 36 years ago in a hospital by a ward boy and she is in the comma till date. The ward boy mercilessly tied a metal chain in the nurse’s neck so that she could not shout and raped her. This caused the shocked and traumatized nurse to go into the comma. The ward boy was caught and was given the punishment of seven years imprisonment. But the poor nurse is still suffering with her life like a vegetable and after 36 years of this terrible incident yet she hangs between life and death. She was 28-29 years of age when she was raped and today she is above 60 and her family also has left her on her own. The hospital has given her a special ward and the nurses look after her.
Every day you read in the newspaper about some minor or some child getting raped these days. 2-3 days back I read about a young guy who went to some person for seeking a job and upon finding his 15year old daughter alone, forcefully entered the home and raped the girl.He was caught by the neighbours and later repented. It is a weak moment of impulse in which man commits such a gruesome and abhorable crime.
I feel girls today shall become bold and brave. In a situation like that of a rape in fact they shall become stronger and protest and defend themselves bravely. If they get frightened or scared, the Satan in the form of man will succeed in committing this inhumanly crime. But if the girl under attack protests and give a strong blow on the nose or a strong kick in between his legs, the rape may be avoided.
I would end this blog with the prayer to God to give sanity to all humans to be good with others around them and with the hope that like in the gang rape case of Surat, Indian judiciary system improves and give faster verdicts.

Smile Always...

I have the habit of listening to music while travelling by train. Even if I am writing my blog or reading something in the crowd of co passengers or while I am feeling the air on my face while standing on the footboard of the train, my nokia headphone earplugs are in my ears and some music is always on. I have a huge collection of my favourite tracks saved on my nokia phone which I play in random order. It’s fun to hear a song from your favourite collections only but which one that would be decided by the phone software! Sometimes it plays just the perfect songs which suit my mood at the time of listening. I keep adding a few new songs regularly to my favourite collection so that I get to hear new latest favourites as well.
Today I caught the train for going to office and started to play music. After a song or two, the familiar tune started to play which I had heard long time back. It was from one of my favourite movie 'Khamoshi - The Musical'
I had loved this movie a lot and today also whenever I watch it, I cry every time I see & enjoy it. The song was 'Re Moj me le chalo mil ke Baajaa Re Raja Podhe Sambhaal...'.
What a brilliant idea was shared by Mr. Bhansali through this song. Those of you who have seen the movie would already know the sequence. And for those who have missed this beautiful emotional film, let me briefly tell you about the song. There is this Christian family consisting of five members: husband and wife both can neither speak nor hear their two cute children and the old wise and loving granny. The family is very fond of music & even though the couple is neither able to sing nor hear the melodious tunes emerging out of their piano, all of them count it as their precious possession. Granny sings some very beautiful songs and plays piano for her beloved grand children. Bad times come and the family has to decide to sell their proudly owned piano. Do children understand the complexities of life? They cry and are not ready to easily part with their favourite piano. Then comes this very nice song where granny explains the children in the language their little minds can understand. She asks the men taking away the piano to carry it slowly and with care as the king piano is sleeping she says! Then she tells her grandchildren not to cry as so far only she used to sing and play the piano but now entire world would enjoy the melodious tunes of that piano and would sing along! She even ask them to smile and bid a happy farewell to their beloved king piano. What a noble thought!
Kavita Krishnamurthy has done complete justice to this touchy song. The peak of the aalaap at the end of the song is a perfect graceful end when even the granny who consoled and convinced her grandchildren to be smiling all the times but who shall she share her grief with? This agony of her loss of the priced possession-the king piano makes her cry too and those feelings are expressed in the best way in the enthralling aalaap by kavitajee.
All I have to say at the end of the blog is keep saying 'All is well' and keep smiling always!!!

Quality experience in Shatabdi Express...

Quality makes difference. In a regular long distance train in second sitting coach you can reach Ahmedabad from Mumbai in less than 200 Rs. while in AC chair car Shatabdi it would cost you 675 Rs. But you should have this experience once to understand how quality makes difference. I had to travel by Shatabdi a few days back and I started having a pleasure as soon as I boarded the train from Borivali. May be the train had recently got the new coaches. The new coach in which I got in had an airplane like look and feel. The wide thick glass window, transparent thick plastic or acrylic made overhead stand to keep your luggage, the pullable curtains, the lamps above your seat for use in dark or at night, the toilets, the door, the seats in 2s and 3s and the passage between them all the things were classy and would make you feel as if you are travelling in an airplane. Infact the speed of this train is also faster and it takes only 6 hrs to reach Ahmedabad while other regular trains take 9 hrs for the same journey.
It was early morning when I boarded the Shatabdi express and I could enjoy beautiful sun rise view near Vasai-Naaigaon creek. It was a marvellous experience to enjoy this sight from the thick glass-window seat of an AC coach of Shatabdi. Moreover we were served tea-coffee at this time only and the train slowed down so I perfectly enjoyed sun rise experience holding tea cup in one hand and newspaper in the other! I had hardly finished tea and the breakfast of Upma with coconut chuttney and bread slices with Jam & butter was served. My fellow passenger was a young guy from Mumbai with whom I enjoyed having discussion on varied topics from Pakistan to politics and movies to our school lives! He narrated an interesting activity from his school life. He had done his schooling in Rajasthan and every day in his school a student had to tell a small story in front of all fellow students. This not only gave students an opportunity to hear very good stories every day and thereby learn good lessons of goof life but also gave them a platform to speak thereby honing their oratory skills and boost their self-confidence. I feel every school shall follow this process. (Teachers or principals of any school reading this blog please try it out in your school!)
Chocolates and tetra pack of fruit juice served kept us refreshed while we were having interesting conversation. After some time my fellow passenger friend went to sleep and I started reading a short story book I was carrying. I overheard the conversation between an old lady and an old gentleman sitting right behind us. She was discussing traits of Gujarati community in general and was saying that she had studied in a Gujarati medium school. The thing that surprised me was that she was saying all these things in fluent English! She also informed the old gentleman that she liked reading good Gujarati literature books in her free time. I was impressed by this lady and introduced myself to her and gave her to read the book written by me for her feedback and review. I was carrying it because third edition of my books is being published soon and I had to finish proof-reading. She read some pages of the book and liked it. She also immediately recognized my father even though I have not mentioned anywhere in the book about he being a famous actor. She recognized him from my full name printed as author in the book and asked me about our gujarati folk drama-art Bhavai and discussed about it with the old gentleman sitting beside her.
Bread sticks with butter and tasty tomato soup came next immediately followed by not very delicious but ok-ok lunch and I ate so slowly that I missed ice-cream!
It was a very pleasing journey which ended with some responsible thoughts about two observations I made during this journey which I wanted to share with some railway authority also but which I could not as I didn't meet any of them after these thoughts occurred to me. One was about the water bottles. Every passenger travelling by Shatabdi is given a mineral water bottle which is already kept at his seat.70 passengers per coach in total 12 to 15 coaches (I didn't exactly count how many were there so it could be even more also) makes the count of bottles to around 840 to more than thousand! Now I noticed that more than half of these bottles were only half used and kept at the vacant seats when passengers left the train. If this water is not reused then it would be surely a significant loss. So I would request any concerned railway authority reading this blog or anybody who can make this message reach the right authority please do convey it to reuse this unused water and not waste it. Second observation I made was about the huge use of electricity in lighting more than 30 tubelights in my one coach only (please do the calculation for all the coaches of the train yourself now!) in bright day light. Since the time I got into the train till the instant I got down for more than six hours all these tubelights were switched on and there was no need of doing so when the sunlight entered through the thick glass and nobody had used curtains to stop it from illuminating the coach naturally. Even if alternate or a few tubelights are kept switched on during day time, it would save substantial amount of electricity/power. We all have to be responsible citizens now in order to survive on our mother earth before there is scarcity of the valuable resources like water and electricity. Spread the message and act now to save water and electricity!