We have to be more responsible citizens...

A news story of my neighbourhood in Malad in today’s newspaper shook me. I was shocked to read that a thief was beaten to death by normal citizens like you and me.
I am neither writing this blog to favour the thief nor do I want to become a human-right activist. But the story of the dead thief actually shocked me.
There were three guys who broke into a house in a chawl in Malad at around 3:00 am and somebody came to know about them and he shouted and gathered the crowd. Two of the thieves ran away but one got caught by the mob and the mob does not have any sanity. They tied him upside down near the gate of their colony and brutally bit them. All of them, one by one. The poor thief all by himself. He was 30 years old and could not take the beating. Died on the spot before police came and took him to the hospital.
Now question here is: Did the mob do right thing? I am not at all in favour of it. A Life has been lost. Isn't it too much the penalty for a petty crime? I am not advocating any thief and would certainly feel angry at a person getting red-handed trying to rob or do any kind of crime. But who are we to punish? And that too such severe punishment which can end a life? Let police do their job.
In mob, the mentality is very bad. Any person joining the mob would not think and enquire the matter. He would simply join hands in beating the poor culprit. It’s sad. In train or in bus or on the street , you many times find such incidents where people gather and start beating one person who may not even be guilty sometime. This 'haath-safai' attitude I hate. People want to remove their frustration, their anger, their sadness, their helplessness. But is it fair?
In future, if you notice such a tamasha, Please intervene and save the person from the mob. I am not asking you to leave that person who may be guilty. But by doing this, you may save a life. Because mad crowd would not think much and may kill the person by severely beating him to death. You may ask the mob politely to stop beating and as a responsible citizen, take him to the police with the help of others in the crowd. If police is not around, you may even call emergency number of police (100) and ask for help. But for God's sake and for that suspect fellow's life's sack, don't let the mob take the control in its hands and let something undesirable, unjust happen.
May the soul of the thief, who died today rest in peace and God, please don't make him a thief in his next birth...

26 November

Today is 26th November. A date which Mumbai will never forget. Exactly 1 year back on this same date Terrorists attacked Mumbai and killed hundreds of innocent people. City was shaken. It was not only an attack on its people but was also on its vulnerability, its alertness, its security, its pride and its soul. The entire nation stood still and watched the drama which lasted for about three days. Police force lost its brave officers. Security forces sacrificed their brave heroes. Politicians didn't do anything. Who were at real loss? The people who lost their family members in this Blood-shed. Nothing will ever fill the void created in their lives by the loss of the martyrs who lost their lives in the 26 November episode.

My blood boiled when I read a couple of news items in the papers in last few days. One news was that JJ Hospital morgue can not withstand the stench of the deadbodies of the nine terrorists who got killed during the terrorist attack after 26-November-2008. Can you believe that? It has been a year and still the rotten corpses of those satans are still kept preserved in India. What do we want to prove? Their own country is not ready to even provide them land for their burial for which they claimed they were doing their Jihad. And after their clear refusal of accepting these dead-bodies also we are waiting for what? These carcasses should be immediately disposed off. But who cares?

Second news which made me angry was that there is a video game which is being sold largely and is being played by lot of Mumbaikars.
This video game is on 26-November-2008 attack. Don't we have conscience? It is a shame to earn money on such a concept. It is some kind of joke? some kind of fun?what do the game makers want to convey through creation of such a game? They are greed-blind but what about Mumbaikars who purchase such games and watch their children play such game or play it themselves? Rescue operation, shooting of gun, killing people - what does all these things in such a game give you or your child? Entertainment or Sadistic pleasure? I simply hated the idea of this game.

Third thing which irate and irritate me is the treatment given to Ajmal Amir Kasab by our government and legal system. Lakhs (now it must have summed to more than a crore) of rupees is being spent on the security of this man. Sorry, I used the wrong word. An evil like Kasab can not be called a man. He is worse than an animal. He had killed so many innocent people (he was from the duo who killed maximum people by firing indiscriminately at CST, Kama hospital and than on the road in south Mumbai also killing our heroic ATS chief and other brave police officers) and yet after a year he is alive and is being protected by our government and legal system. Such a heinous criminal shall be hanged in the middle of the road among people and shall be allowed to be killed in the most horrible manner by the public. That would not only set an example for the world but also would be seen as an effective step towards curbing the evil of terrorism.

There were numerous other stories of people whose lives were completely changed or shattered by 26 November incident. There was a 25 year old guy who got killed in Colaba near his own home. The picture of his sad mother holding her beloved young son's photo frame who had never hurted anybody in his life and was always ready to help others made the corners of my eyes wet. Major Sandip Unnikrishnan was the only son to his parents who gave his life fighting with the terrorists. The sentiments his parents might be feeling when they miss their brave martyr son makes me cry. There was a lady whose partial body got paralyzed and then there are some children who are now orphans.


These and such hundred other stories make me feel a potpourri of emotions. I feel pity, grief, anger, helpless, sad all at the same time.

When our netas will stop playing dirty politics and stop cribbing about completely non-important and trivial issues like deciding to build a statue worth millions of rupees in the middle of the sea or slapping an MLA for taking oath in Hindi or by forcing the vendors to put Sign boards in Marathi?

God, please give good sense to all of us and please make this city a better place for living...

My First appearance on T.V.

I appeared first time on Silver screen (Television) on SAB TV in a small but important role in the comedy serial 'Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashma' on 5th Nov 2009. It was very special because my first scene was with my Father , a veteran T.V. - stage - film artist Mr. Ghanshyam Nayak. See the Video.

Do you know Luke or chana-kulchawallah at Jalandhar?

It was a hot sunny holiday afternoon but I had to go to office. Not for work but for my annual day dance rehearsals. I took local train from Malad to reach my office at Bandra.As soon as I got into the train, something striking caught my attention.
I have got a strong liking for tattoos & body-piercing. I am scared to get a permanent tattoo made on my body somewhere but whenever I get a chance, I always get a temporary tattoo made on my arm or face(!) I had got a face tattoo made during an office-party. Also during my honeymoon I had got a henna tattoo made on my arm in Manali. I like aesthetically made tattoos made on bicep or neck or chest. Now coming back to the main story, the hands of a young guy fully decorated by permanent tattoo designs grabbed my attention instantly and I got a seat just beside this guy. I was observing the tattoo designs at that time an uncle sitting on that guy's other side ask him if the tattoos were real and when did he got them made? The guy replied the tattoos were real and he had got them made some ten years ago. I asked him didn't it pain to get both his full hands being punctured by needles? He replied yes it did! But only when the tattoo was being made. Never after that. I was first time seeing a real tattoo so big on a person sitting next to me. The faded greenish-black design pattern consisting of animals,trees,moon & other things were etched on that guy's hands & it was looking like that portion was swollen on that guy’s hands. I felt an urge to touch and feel it! But I can't imagine myself having my hands full with such tattoo.
I got down at Bandra. That tattoo guy also got down at Bandra. I started walking towards the auto-rickshaw stand and noticed him also going in the same direction. We took the same auto on sharing basis. On the way to my office I started communicating with him & came to know that his name was Luke. He worked for IBM & was on the way to one of his client’s office which was little further from my office building. He thanked me for sharing the auto as he didn't know there was sharing auto rickshaw concept here in this area. I also got to know from our conversation that he too was an engineer and he did modeling part-time and got opportunities as model due to his attractive tattoos. I removed a 10 rupee note I was supposed to pay, from my wallet and kept in my hand. I informed rickshaw driver to drop me near my office building and instructed him to take rickshaw further up to the office Luke wanted to go to. We again started talking and it so happened that my office building came and I got down and bade him a good bye only to notice that the 10 rupee note was still in my hands only! I felt very bad. What impression Luke must have got about me? I genuinely wanted to give my share of 10 Rs. But I had entered my office & by the time it occurred to me Luke also must have reached the office he was supposed to go to. I was already late in attending my rehearsals so I could not even go to search for Luke to give him the 10 Rs. Note. Point here is not the money. (Anyway 10 Rs. Is a petty amount) but I was thinking little deeper. In life many times the situation comes when time has moved and you realize you have made a mistake or an error but you can't do anything about it and all you can do is repent. But life has to go on! So I guess we shall not take such things too seriously!
But hey, if any of you know Luke, please inform him I didn't deliberately not paid that day, ask him to contact me...Luke, if you are reading this blog write a comment so that I can contact you back!
One more similar incident I would like to share with you guys. I was on family vacation in Amritsar and was going to Delhi by rail. The train had left Amritsar in the morning at around 9.30 and even though we were in ac coach, there was no arrangement of lunch.'Jalandhar Cant' station came at around 1.30 in the afternoon and ticket-checker had informed me that train would stop there for a good amount of time so I decided to get down and get some food for my family. I enquired at a nearby stall but nothing good and suitable for lunch was available there. I moved further. Actually I had to carry food for five people and I don't know why I didn't ask my wife or sister also to join me. I found a food stall where something called as 'chana-kulcha' was available at 10 Rs. Per plate. Anyway there was nothing more available so I decided to buy five plates of 'chana-kulcha'. I gave chana-kulchawallah 50 Rs. Note and ordered 5 plates of 'chana-kulcha'.He prepared 5 plates but I could take only two and asked him I would return and take the other 3 plates later. I just turned and noticed the train moving. I had come quite far from my coach. With two plates of hot 'chana-kulcha' in my hands, I ran but could not make out how far my coach was. In a jiffy I took the decision to get into nearest coach. And literally jumped into that nearest coach. I could neither take food for all my family members nor could take change of 30 Rs. Back and was here in some coach which was not even mine! Moreover due to the coach which I had boarded now was non-ac and hence It was not internally connected to my ac coach. There was one more girl from my coach who also had to board this non-ac coach as the train had suddenly started. We thought we would have to wait till the next station to go back to our original coach but my wife had already created a scene there and the TC had to open the shutter between the ac and non-ac coaches and we came to know that after running at 'Jalandhar Cant' station we had caught the coach just next to our ac coach. We were re-united before the next station only!

These two experience - stories I shared with you all to tell you all how I felt after each one. After realizing that the 10 rupee note remained in my hand only and Luke had gone ahead. After realizing that the train had started moving and I had yet to collect food for my three family members or the excess money I had paid to the chana-kulchawallah! If you also have experienced something similar, please share!!!

My Fishes & My aquarium...

I am a great Nature-Lover. I love birds, animals, flowers, insects etc. And it was my strong desire to have an aquarium at my home. I fulfilled this wish few days ago. I have a small aquarium at my place now which is home for three lovely cute fishes!

Actually the count of fishes should have been eight. But I have to share my grief of loosing my five little cute pets and also have to confess that I was responsible for the loss of the lives of these small lovely creatures. Hereby I also intend to share the lessons I learnt to have an aquarium at your home. My this blog will give you some very important tips for the maintenance of an aquarium at your home.


I had set up a small aquarium at my place in the small water-tank made up of transparent glass. I had filled it with water and decorated it with the shells and conches I had collected in the past. I had a small water-bubble-pump also placed inside the mini-aquarium. I had done this two-three days prior to bringing my first four fishes home. I bought them finally one night and brought them in a small plastic bag. I feared they should remain alive till I reach home from the shop and put them into my mini-aquarium. They did! I had bought four fishes. A pair of Tangerine and another pair of zebra. Tangerines were beautiful reddish orange in colour with a niddle-like tail protruded and zebras were grey coloured small and thin types. I cut the plastic bag carefully and slid them into their new home. They started moving fast in zigzag manner, getting acquainted with their new home perhaps. I loved watching them. I had a feeling of great satisfaction having fulfilled my wish of bringing home my own little cute fishes! I gave them some fish-food which I had purchased from the store. It was fun watching them galloping their food hungrily. I had read somewhere that it is good for Blood-Pressure patients to watch Fishes in an aquarium for sometime daily. I thought my mother should everyday watch my little cute fishes to keep her blood-pressure under control.

The red tangerines were calm in nature while the zebras were pretty agile and were constantly moving very fast here and there. I was happy to have indulged in one more new hobby by bringing my new pets home.

Next morning, I checked my aquarium first thing in the morning after waking up and was shocked to find one zebra-fish floating upside-down at the surface of water in my small aquarium. It was actually the dead-body of my first lost fish. I was in pain. When a fish does not move at all and floats upside-down, it is dead. I took out the dead-fish in my hands and tried to examine its smooth little lifeless body. I found a scar on the stomach and took no time to realize that the good-looking conch with needle-like thorns must have hurted my little cute fish and had costed her life. I felt sad for realizing this so late that I had already lost one my fishes till then.
Never keep anything needle-like or thorn-like in your aquarium which can actually hurt your fish and take its life away. I immediately removed the conch with thorns on its body out of my aquarium. I threw the body of my first dead-fish on the roof of my home so that a bird can eat it and my fish-dead body can be of some use after its death. The sight of lone zebra left now in my aquarium was disappointing.


In a few days, I bought another pair of Orange and black Mouli fishes. They were very small in size and looked beautiful with the orange body and black tail and a few black spots on the body. My total five fishes stayed well with each other in their little abode.

After ten days time, I had to replace the water as it had become dirty. This shall be normally done in a fortnight’s time on regular basis. I had not consulted anybody before doing this routine thing for the first time with my aquarium which was my second biggest mistake. I took some water in a bucket from the running tap and after removing my fishes from the aquarium with the help of a handheld fish net, kept them into this bucket. All the five fishes seemed scared and were moving in frenzy into the bucket. Little did I know that after 20 minutes or so I would find only four of them in living state. I cleaned the water-aquarium-tank thoroughly. Also cleaned the stones, pebbles, shells and conches and kept them back in fresh tap water filled tank. As soon as I saw the bucket where I had kept my fishes, I got second shock upon finding another zebra fish dead. I was sad and thought there were no objects which could hurt any fish in the bucket. Then how did it die? But I didn’t know the very source of life for a fish could also kill it.
You shall never put fish into fresh tap water as it is chlorinated and little fishes can not consume it to breath. I threw the other zebra fish dead body on my roof top to be eaten up by a hungry bird. I had not yet realized the reason why this fish had died. I kept a close observation on my other four alive fishes. None of them were as energetic as before in spite of me putting them into fresh water and offering them some food. One of the Tangerine’s was also on the verge of dying. She could not remain steady and swim. Her body turned automatically upside-down. But yet it was alive. I was restless. I didn’t want it to die at any cost. I consulted a neighbour who used to keep fishes at his home in the past. He suggested that fishes shall never be kept in fresh tap water. Water for the aquarium shall always be kept idle for a day or two so that all the fluorine content in that water diminishes and finally it becomes chlorine-free and fit for little aquarium fishes. He also advised me to buy liquid solutions called De-chlorinator and anti-fungal liquid for better and healthy living state of fishes. I immediately purchased them and put a few drops of both into my aquarium. Luckily the tangerine fish that was sinking sometime ago was still alive. After putting the drops of these liquids, the fishes were feeling little better and were in a better state. Yet they were not fully energetic and agile as before.


The next day I found two Mouli fishes dead. I felt helpless and sad. Same process of throwing the dead little fishes on my home’s roof was followed. Now there were only two Tangerine fishes left in my aquarium. It looked empty. I bought another pair of Hockey fishes which were again very cute and unsteady! They constantly moved here and there in my aquarium making it full of life! The speciality of this breed was that they had a transparent grey body with a black long patch across their body in the center and this patch turned at their tail to make it look like a Hockey-stick. That is why I guess their name was so. The black patch was changing its colour. That was another surprising thing about Hockey-fishes.


The four of my fishes stayed happily. This went on till a month or so. And one day a strange mystery took place. Upon returning from office that evening I checked my aquarium to find only three fishes inside. Two Hockey ones and one Tangerine. One tangerine fish was missing. Now this fish was not very small in size. So if it had somehow managed to jump out of the water then I would find its body lying nearby the aquarium. But I couldn’t find anything near or far from aquarium. I was surprised and shocked. I tried hard to find it. A though occurred to me. A lizard could have come from the nearby wall and some how managed to eat my lovely tangerine fish. It seemed very very difficult but not impossible.
I asked my wife, my sister but nobody had any clue where my tangerine fish had disappeared. I inspected the water tank thoroughly. Checked the conches carefully. In a large conch, many times I had found my fishes resting but it was open enough to hide a fish. Another few conches were having long bodies but very small opening on their head. I shook all the conches well to check if the fish had gone inside any of them, but could not find anything there. Now it had become a mystery where my little cute dish could have gone?


Another four-five days passed. I shared my disappeared fish-mystery-story with most of my friends-colleagues and everybody was surprised but nobody could suggest me where my little cute fish could have gone.
Finally the day came when I decided to replace the water in my aquarium. My wife was also helping me this time. Before removing my three lovely fishes out of the tank, I started taking out the conches from the aquarium tank. I don’t know why but I shook each conch thoroughly before removing it out. Third or fourth conch which was a very long and slender with a pointed head and a small opening came in my hand and as soon as I started shaking it, some orange coloured substance fell out of it into the water with very bad stench. There was my cute not-so-little tangerine fish. Why it had to go inside that conch? I felt a shock upon seeing that orange mass which was not even solid now, falling into the tank. That sight still haunts me. That orange thing falling into my water tank from the conch. How did a big fish go into that conch through a very small head, is still a puzzle. I had shook all the conches that first day my fish got missing but I could not find it there. I had even taken that conch inside which my missing fish was entrapped, into my hands and had shaken it with the fish present inside that conch but it didn’t, rather couldn’t come out. Perhaps it had already died then or was it alive? Whatever be the case, I could not save it. Lesson number three is never ever keep any object in your water tank where your fish can go into but can not come out. I lost my beloved fish due to this silly mistake. I had not thought at all that fish would like to go inside the conch. That sight and stench made my wife also ill. She got a headache and vomited the whole day. I was sad and disappointed too.

It is easy to have a hobby but difficult to maintain and give justice to it. Also you should do your homework thoroughly before taking on any new hobby.

Now my three fishes are living happily in their tiny aquarium. I lost my five fishes but now would not loose any as I have learnt my lessons.