Saare April hum Jal jal ke jee liye

Scorching heat in Mumbai makes me sing:

Saare April hum
Jal jal ke jee liye
Ek pal toh ab humein
Bheegne do… bheegne do

Saare April hum
Jal jal ke jee liye
Ek pal toh ab humein
Bheegne do, bheegne do

Saari April hum
Jal jal ke jee liye
Ek pal toh ab humein
Bheegne do, bheegne do

Aa aa aa aa… a a aa aa aa … aa aa aa aa… aa aa aa aa… aa aa aaaa

Give me some cloudy sky
Give me some rain
Give me another shower
I wanna be a kid again

Give me some cloudy sky
Give me some rain
Give me another shower
I wanna be a kid again

Bijli ke bill ko
AC ne badhaaya
Short skirts pehenna toh khud
Mamma ne sikhaaya
Below 29 degrees hoga to capris, varna minis

Maar maar kar paani badan par
chipakte paseene ko hata daala
Overheated air ne poora
Poora epidermis jalaa daala

March to gaya
April bhi gaya
Ek pal to ab humein
Bheegne do, bheegne do

March to gaya
April bhi gaya
Ek pal to ab humein
Bheegne do, bheegne doooooo…

Saare April hum
Jal jal ke jee liye
Ek pal toh ab humein
Bheegne do, bheegne do

Aa aa aa aa… a a aa aa aa … aa aa aa aa… aa aa aa aa… aa aa aaaa

I could have never written the above (or should it be called spoofed) if it was not for Swanand Kirkire's lovely original lyrics for 3 Idiots and the super duper chubhti jalti garmi in Mumbai.

PS I hope it doesn't offend anyone / the filmmakers. If it does, I apologize and shall delete it.

List of survivors of Mangalore plane crash

Listed below are the names of the survivors of Mangalore plane crash (Source TOI):

  1. Putturismail Abdulla 
  2. Joel Pratap DSouza 
  3. G.K. Pradeep 
  4. Krishnan Koolikkunnu 
  5. Mayankutty K.P 
  6. Ummer Farook Mohammed 
  7. Sabrina Nasrinhuq
Please pray more names are added to this list.

Here are the Helpline Numbers

Helpline numbers - Mangalore Air India Express flight crash

Mangalore Helpline Numbers: 0824-2220422, 0824-2220424
Bangalore Helpline Numbers: 080-66785172 and 080-22273310
Delhi Helpline Numbers: 011-25656196, 011-25603101
Mumbai Helpline Numbers: 022-2279 6161
Air India Helpline Numbers: (044)-2256-0266 and (044) 2857-8167
Air India Express Dubai Airport Telephone Numbers: 00971-4-2165828 / 00971-4-2165829

The Dubai to Mangalore Air India Express flight with 166 people on board crashed today (Saturday 22nd May 2010) while landing killing 158 people (as per the news). The AI airplane (Boeing 737-800) had 166 people on board including crew members. Unfortunately, the plane overshot the touchdown point on the Mangalore airport runway while landing early morning today.

Helpline numbers source: IBN and ExpressIndia

What the Whack!

There have been so many incidents in my life where I felt like whacking someone. But then, I did not. Education and civic sense does that to you… damn the mannerisms! At the most, I end up calling up my friends and sharing the incidents with them. We discuss and debate and that is almost the end of it. Almost… because the memories occupy an un-deletable space in your mind!

Now thanks to Blogadda’s Whack this Wednesday contest (click on the links to know more about the contest), I ponder over those incidents and am ‘virtual’ly whacking those I couldn’t.

Train Mein Kachre-waali: This seemingly educated female took a window seat (you’ll know why) in the least crowded Vashi-Thane local train that was to depart in a few minutes. She removed a wrapper from her purse and shamelessly dropped it out of the window. I really had a bad day, so for the first time I controlled myself from stopping someone. Then the train left, she finished eating some chips and off went the wrapper. Now I was furious but kept quiet again. I never do that. I kept staring the female so that she feels guilty! And then she littered again!!! I asked her to stop doing so. Can you believe she said what’s wrong since she threw the kachra after the train left the platform! She started arguing and asked me to mind my own business. That was it! I gave her a good lecture but she didn’t care. She said she’ll litter all the more and I have no right to stop her… damn I so felt like slapping her as I stupidly asked her if she littered the same way in her house and she said YES!!!

Haath Ki Safaai: Recently, there was a car and bike accident just in front of my building. The person driving the car did not hit and run, but stopped it a few feet away. He clearly felt guilty and wanted to help the biker who was lying on the road, perhaps unconscious. But within a few seconds crowd gathered. The car driver tried to come out of his car twice, but the crowd looked furious and he stayed inside. Instead of rushing the victim to the hospital immediately, people approached the car driver who appeared to be pleading but then one person slapped him hard and you know what Haath Ki Safaai follows in such situations. I so felt like going downstairs and whacking the crowd. I did do what I could in my capacity. But why don't people simply call up the police if they really care? Or allow the person to take the victim to the hospital if he wants to?

Stubborn Rickshaw Driver: I had a super hectic day and reached Goregaon station around 9 pm with lots of heavy baggage. As always, rickshaw drivers kept refusing to go to Bangur Nagar. I was feeling very giddy and eventually sat in a rickshaw even when he refused... he wanted a very long-distance passenger. I told him that he has no right to refuse and he must at least consider that I am feeling very sick. The argument gained momentum; I lost it and refused to get off. The stubborn rickshaw driver said he won’t move and I can stay for as long as I wish. Damn he did not move at all for long! I had to step out in tears, feeling miserable and cursing him.

Some Aunty: My dear granny passed away a few years back after prolonged illness. It was that time when we all sat around her just before she was supposed to be taken away. And then, I heard some aunty seated behind me asking someone “Annu ke liye koi ladka dekha?” “Iski shaadi kab kara rahe ho?” I did not see who she was, I did not want to. Definitely she was someone elderly… but hello… I just lost someone very dear and was she there to mourn or to indulge in some marriage celebrations? Grrr…

Kaatil Kasab: I feel like whacking him for obvious reasons. More so, I want to whack the cruel masterminds whoever and wherever they are.

My best friend's birthday!

Today, 20th May, is Ranjeeta's birthday and I dedicate this post to her. Ranjeeta / Ranju is my best friend from school and now that she is in the US and I'm in Mumbai, I am missing her birthday yet again ;) So comes this blog post :)

As with most of us, I've had many many good friends, but with passing time contacts decreased and some friends are now completely out of touch. Except, of course, Ranjeeta, my amazing college friends and some great ex-colleagues. I remember how I wondered if we'd be able to stay as friends for long when she first left Mumbai for her Engineering studies elsewhere in Maharashtra.

But, touchwood, we wrote to each other regularly. Those were not the times of the internet and the traditional pen & paper letters did wonders (alright, we aren't that old, I'm talking about 1995)! I still treasure those blue inland letters and 3-4 pagers! Then she used to come during vacations, we used to spend great times together and she would leave. Initially, as my contacts with other school and friends started decreasing, with every passing year I had this feeling "Will we stay as friends forever?" And each year she would scare my fear away. The letters continued and there wasn't any gap. Then came our career... and she went abroad for the first time for a few months. And now I wasn't worried about being in touch with her anymore... I was sure we would! And we did. She had frequent visits abroad and her narrations of the places and the life in various parts of the world made me feel as if I was there too. The best part was the internet and Google talk :)

Ranjeeta missed my marriage, but she would call me frequently. At least I got to attend her wedding! How I felt like her soul sister being there all the while! And then came the day she had to depart to the US with her sweet and caring husband. I hadn't ever sobbed in her presence whenever she left. But this time I couldn't hold it back as I bid her farewell and told her I won't be coming to the airport. She assured me we'll stay in touch like always. I had no doubts. And we did!

18 years of great friendship. Amazing understanding. Not a single argument. Lots of birthdays missed. And one lifetime guarantee - best friends forever! I am lucky to have met Ranjeeta in my life - she's a gem of a person with a heart of gold, really caring, loving, making you feel better when you are low, motivating you when you wanna make it big in life, a great daughter, great sister, great wife... and a true friend!

Love you Ranjeeta! May you have a lovely birthday and a great and happy life! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hey, aren't you gonna wish the lovely person too?

Game baja daala!

My husband loves games... and unlike other women, I love this! Before marriage, when I felt like playing computer games with someone, I had to go on Zapak for multiplayer games. Not anymore. Coz Mrinal is the complete PlayStation, Nintendo and computer games guy! And now we play together... no need to find strangers online anymore!!! Another great thing is that now my special occasions gifts range from iPod Touch with great games already added to Nintendo to gaming CDs!

And now that we both are on vacation, it's like those summer holidays again. Looks like soon our daily conversation vocab would include:

  • Let's have "Fruits" for breakfast, we'll get more energy
  • I'm worse than a cat, I've just got "1 Life"
  • There's water shortage today, let's "Tap it" to fill buckets
  • Shopper's Stop has announced Sale, let's "Run"
  • Let's "Jump" for dinner
  • My "energy is low"... time to go to sleep

And humans could fly! But could they all land safely?

We humans always wish for things we don't have. So once we wanted to fly. Some people felt it's absurd, but Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, designed their first aircraft and then many others made inventions... and humans could fly up above the world so high! Great... really?

Ever since we started flying, there have been thousands of plane crashes. Humans always wished and prayed that they could fly. Who spoke about landing safely??? Over the years, newer and better air carriers kept coming up. Why wasn't so much emphasis given on 100% safe landings?

Listed below are some statistics compiled by ACRO based on aviation accidents of aircrafts capable of carrying more than six passengers, not including helicopters, balloons, or fighter airplanes. Source - Wikipedia.
year deaths no. of accidents
2009 1,103 122
2008 884 156
2007 971 147
2006 1,294 166
2005 1,459 185
2004 771 172
2003 1,230 199
2002 1,413 185
2001 1,534 200
2000 1,582 189
1999 1,138 211

I know I'm not proficient enough to design a foolproof something. But among millions and millions of us, isn't anyone capable of designing a crash-free aircraft???


Today (12th May, 2010) at Tripoli airport, a Libyan plane from South Africa crashed killing all 105 people on board. All passengers and crew members died! Geniuses in the world, please come up with something so that flying becomes a really wonderful and stress free experience. So that we need not pray for safe landing every time we take a flight.


My condolences to the families of those who suffered such loss.

Housemaid, housemaid, come again!

Yeh daulat bhi le lo, yeh shoharat bhi le lo
Bhale cheen lo mujhse meri jawaani 
Magar mujhko lauta do meri woh bai
Woh chamakte huey bartan, woh room ki safaai

And this one goes too!!! Finding a housemaid / domestic help in Mumbai (esp Navi Mumbai) is a tough task. Finding a good, tikau and reasonable one is tougher than finding a kumbh ke mele mein lost brother! The latest was the best housemaid I ever came across ever since I shifted to Navi Mumbai. She's really sweet, great at her work and does not indulge in gossip! And for some reason, she disappeared and it appears she might not join back.

Now if it was just our family in the building looking for some help, it would have bean easier. But considering that the nice female was employed in many households in the same building, the competition is tough. And obviously, the other housemaids working in the 'lucky' homes (who still have them) are taking too much bhaav... bhaav as in importance as well as money-waala bhaav. After all ladies from at least 5 flats in the building are vying for their services! I'm optimistic that I should be pessimistic about having a new housemaid in the next few days. So if you notice me being less active online since the last week, it's coz of the household chores machaaying shor! Gotta go now, time to take care of utensils...

Money comes, money goes

Money comes, money goes, unless you are some moneyratnam!

- Annu's pravachan

Happy to find the Giant Robot show video!

How we loved to watch GIANT ROBOT as kids. Found this cool Giant Robot's great video thanks to Mrinal!

Watching sunset daily until...

I have always loved watching the sun set. Actually, I even love sunrise but then I can't remember when was the last time I woke up so early in the morning ;)


Coming back to sunset... I was quite a studious student always. So most of my time before and during exams went studying for insane number of hours (don't take me for a nerd, I was very much involved in games, fun and extracurricular activities too). And I used to take many breaks while studying. The sunset time break however was the most relaxing and pleasant one. I would just stand by the balcony and watch the sky playfully changing colors as the sun ended its journey for the day on our side of the world. Those 10-15 minutes refreshed me a lot and helped me study better. Those were the days I would reach the terrace just in time to watch the sunrise ;) How I loved studying and having fun with other friends on the amazing terrace our building had!


 I got married little over an year ago and was in for a surprise when I first saw our room. It has an amazing sunset view and yes, mountain view as well!!! The balcony directly faces the west and I love the sun swaying northwards and southwards (uttarayana - dakshinayana) as seasons change.

But soon it will all change :( There's this 14-storey building coming up right in the way. It's b(ro)ad enough to cover the entire uttarayana - dakshinayana route the sun takes. Every month the building completes one level. Now I'm on the 7th floor and the construction has reached it's fifth level. Slowly and gradually, the sunset view will disappear. I can feel how construction (due to increasing population of course) is really coming between us and the nature, right?