tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42157390077958986602024-03-13T13:53:21.673+05:30Discovering MumbaiAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-88377274185814962062013-08-14T01:56:00.001+05:302013-12-06T18:04:33.309+05:30The Wander Girls: Tours For Women Only!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Going niche
seems to be the mantra these days. And based on this Mantra, Mumbai based
entrepreneur, Hetal Doshi has launched ‘<a href="http://thewandergirls.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>The Wander Girls</b></a>’ which organizes
national and international trips and events, but only for women!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3Y11Fn7iULzSpOsyz2mMzDVhL-J6n79CFBxpkJHK9nkiEIDzNDYRPSYMHjZPiLWPl7Ngm_yNFX8hb3QtYMsnN1hK_PtZzCPQ94S0V2MeVIDCyMA1OPAxRBG_jChEwuCdxpEYTFKnnUfE/s1600/Travel+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3Y11Fn7iULzSpOsyz2mMzDVhL-J6n79CFBxpkJHK9nkiEIDzNDYRPSYMHjZPiLWPl7Ngm_yNFX8hb3QtYMsnN1hK_PtZzCPQ94S0V2MeVIDCyMA1OPAxRBG_jChEwuCdxpEYTFKnnUfE/s400/Travel+17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Only Women Allowed!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Wander Girls
(TWG) organizes women only trips in India and around the world. They also offer
trip planning services and India tour packages to International tourists who
are interested in travelling to India. Additionally, TWG also holds various
women only events in Indian metro cities with the goal of providing women with
an opportunity to meet and interact with other women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">The Founder<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">TWG was founded
by Hetal Doshi. A banker, entrepreneur, writer, and budding photographer, Hetal
has worn many hats to find one that best fits. Hetal has an undergraduate
degree in Finance, as well as an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University, USA. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Hetal has lived
in and travelled to different countries and continents like USA, Canada,
Europe, China, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and various South East Asian
countries. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUH-f5WUleQ8jcwRowuBVLyLjwPRs07QgIotm_HOFJcyrhTwAZKvXu6gWw5K12jnnudwIS-u9lo0LYsxqvAtDA9s1ZH-RV5Jy6nenYhuTpRonONYqBmZZy8aC3HTDDAqPrTLEAj2x_BGR/s1600/original+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUH-f5WUleQ8jcwRowuBVLyLjwPRs07QgIotm_HOFJcyrhTwAZKvXu6gWw5K12jnnudwIS-u9lo0LYsxqvAtDA9s1ZH-RV5Jy6nenYhuTpRonONYqBmZZy8aC3HTDDAqPrTLEAj2x_BGR/s400/original+logo.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Her travels made
her realize that she is happiest when on the road, alone or with a bunch of
friends, travelling to destinations that are yet to be discovered. She founded
TWG with the purpose of sharing this passion for travel and providing women
with social and professional networking options. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Hetal believes
travel is all about enjoying the journey and not simply reaching a destination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">What’s Unique?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With her
extensive travel experience and knowledge, Hetal ensures that TWG trips are a
carefully crafted mix of scenery, history, culture, adventure, local
gastronomy, getting to know the people, and shopping! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Our trips are
built keeping in my mind all the interests and activities a girl would want to
be a part of. Large tour operators don’t take this into account!” says Hetal. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The events
(Mixers and Meet-ups) are a unique way of bringing together and creating a
community for women and empower them in the social and professional arena.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">TWG trips are
comfortably paced thus allowing one to enjoy every single moment of the trip.
Whether one is looking for a short weekend break, a reading holiday, a
bachelorette outing, a getaway with girlfriends, a wellness vacation, a
shopping expedition, a fitness trip, a rural experience, or a longer trip to
various destinations, one will find something that resonates within.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKq8hR38T0YO94Qo4wIIcMBqfOq5QZZ1tn0HaDVbssGFUSqmC0NKdDA2MLW8vPqgG9tT0cwuntr7_jB1wWsCJo4YxuErTemorjfF5fPyNu5O1XA8AGuP_1qqzQT6xi9aHpSSiPPWHKmrs/s1600/travel+to+india+client+at+jaipur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKq8hR38T0YO94Qo4wIIcMBqfOq5QZZ1tn0HaDVbssGFUSqmC0NKdDA2MLW8vPqgG9tT0cwuntr7_jB1wWsCJo4YxuErTemorjfF5fPyNu5O1XA8AGuP_1qqzQT6xi9aHpSSiPPWHKmrs/s400/travel+to+india+client+at+jaipur.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Why Travel?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Hetal believes
that on her trips she has overcome her fears, learned to appreciate different
viewpoints, handle stressful situations confidently, and more importantly made
the most of every single moment. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">She believes
travel pushes us to introspect. It allows us to stay young at heart (thus ‘The
Wander Girls’ and not ‘The Wander Women’)! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Travel gives us
the chance to connect with people around the world. It allows us to disconnect
from mindless worries and refreshes our mind in the process,” she says.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Hetal and the
team at The Wander Girls believe that travel is their way of life. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwA1db_iM3fpHmbHlvlRkVVgGWO17wSTwJ6MWYShHf3bY296d2gmxKFGHqNJnW_PAFvI-C5iqMqFKIEnsLI4lSdDa5VyR52ol0AxnnBTRs5DA97CBGeAewoc6zhP02-SfZEIJSJJhzwChZ/s1600/yogbeach+goa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwA1db_iM3fpHmbHlvlRkVVgGWO17wSTwJ6MWYShHf3bY296d2gmxKFGHqNJnW_PAFvI-C5iqMqFKIEnsLI4lSdDa5VyR52ol0AxnnBTRs5DA97CBGeAewoc6zhP02-SfZEIJSJJhzwChZ/s320/yogbeach+goa.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Upcoming Trips<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">“</span></b><span lang="EN-US">In August end we have a
Road trip to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konkan" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Konkan</b></a> in the Monsoon. It’s a beautiful time to visit Konkan as
everything is verdant,” says Hetal. This trip will allow one to experience the
waterfalls, temples, forts, beaches, miles and miles of coastline filled with
greenery and mist!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In September end they have a trip to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Goa</b></a>.
Unlike most trips to Goa which simply focus on the beaches of Goa, this trip
will include Chorla Ghats in Swapnagandha Valley, walk through the heritage
area and Latin Quarters called Fontainhas, a night at a floating casino,
enjoying the Doodhsagar Waterfalls which is at its best in the monsoon, and a
whitewater river rafting experience on the Mandovi river, in addition to
churches, temples and forts!</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">More Good News!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Well, there’s
more good news for our women readers. The Wander Girls is giving a 5% discount
on their Konkan road trip to our readers! </span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Discount Code: SD5<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To go to The
Wander Girls website, click <b><a href="http://thewandergirls.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So what are you
waiting for? Call up your friends and get ready to explore the Konkan in
Monsoon!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You can also follow them on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thewandergirls" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Facebook</b></a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/twgtravel" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Twitter</b></a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com5Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595792699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561747 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-78074351310136494762013-06-14T19:55:00.002+05:302013-06-14T19:56:24.055+05:30Moojic: The Power To Play Your Music!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Are you tired of listening to the same songs whenever you go
out to a pub or cafe? How amazing it would be if you could play your favourite
songs at your favourite pub/cafe? Wouldn't it be the perfect setting for that special occasion, a birthday
treat or a date? If yes, then you are in for a sweet melodic surprise. Mumbai
based entrepreneurs Kumaran Mahendran & Neha Behani have come out with ‘<i><a href="http://www.moojic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Moojic</b></a>’</i>, a service that does just that.
No, we are not talking about some creaking old jukebox with flashy lights;
‘<i>Moojic</i>’ is a one of a kind service that lets you control the playlist directly
from your phone!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJG44Ca5x4tmGdTatO1ZuosRx9keTho3GOfSrv5Tyeq-9zdF7qxMXoAylj0eMOfmiFrJj8_uPgXVXqm0JSEXobd5C7AFv0EkwADw_zCgN_a7BEaOsqh7AE2PBgKqGDv-N3SOah0U5KR7q/s1600/moojic1%255B7%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJG44Ca5x4tmGdTatO1ZuosRx9keTho3GOfSrv5Tyeq-9zdF7qxMXoAylj0eMOfmiFrJj8_uPgXVXqm0JSEXobd5C7AFv0EkwADw_zCgN_a7BEaOsqh7AE2PBgKqGDv-N3SOah0U5KR7q/s320/moojic1%255B7%255D.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Discovering Mumbai had a candid chat with Anton, who works
for <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Moojician" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Moojic</b></a></i>. Read the following
interview to get a complete low down about <i>Moojic</i>
-</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>DM: Anton could you please enlighten us about your personal
and professional backgrounds?</b></div>
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<b>Anton:</b> I am mostly
known as "the guy who gets any work done" within <i>Moojic</i> (apart from coding!).</div>
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<b>DM: What was the inspiration behind
creating this service?</b></div>
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<b>Anton:</b> Two awesome friends, Kumaran and Neha, started their
career with two different industries. They had the jobs which normal people
will refer to as dream jobs. But they didn't want to do the same thing that
everybody does. They thought out of the box. They had an idea and they believed
in it. Both left their jobs, decided to do what they are passionate about
without even thinking what the future holds.
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVLHLr0fYqveI1M_ibbZQ-AeYHTfvpKtRI28PmAPaUa2nXLWyHz0VZjqrQGqfJv68j9abjhI3rUCcZp0pgt1h15RGMyD7-LMIT2V15PH-lUNLOaFIjHvh7KBikhVuz8r0sQWMzOif_7NV/s1600/N38A0722-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVLHLr0fYqveI1M_ibbZQ-AeYHTfvpKtRI28PmAPaUa2nXLWyHz0VZjqrQGqfJv68j9abjhI3rUCcZp0pgt1h15RGMyD7-LMIT2V15PH-lUNLOaFIjHvh7KBikhVuz8r0sQWMzOif_7NV/s400/N38A0722-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kumaran and Neha</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The idea was conceived in a coffee shop where they missed
the yesteryear’s jukeboxes. They thought how a jukebox would be if it was made
today. And <i>Moojic</i> was born. After 10
prototypes and one year of continuous feedback from every stake holder, today
you see a near-perfect solution that everyone loves.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>DM: How does this service work?</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Anton:</b> We have this device which plays music and which can
be installed in cafés and restaurants. The cool thing about this device is, if
you have a smart phone you can download our free app and you can request your
own songs. For people who don't use a smart phone, even they can request songs through
an SMS. So the endpoint is sitting in a pub or a café with your loved ones and
listening to your favourite music. How better could a date or hang out with
friends or a special moment get?</div>
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<b>DM: What kind of efforts went into setting up <i>Moojic</i>? What were the challenges that
you faced and how did you overcome them?</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Anton:</b> I became a part of this <i>Moojic</i> family when we were in the 6th prototype, which was very
different solution from what you see today.
And we already got some interests, clients were ready but we didn't have
a stable solution or application by then. We would just sit and work anytime
anywhere where we could find internet access. Of course there were times when
we would plan something and something else would happen. With <i>Moojic</i> things never went as we planned
for a while but we never stopped believing and yes since we are cool we never
stopped having fun too. There were even instances where we would just sit and
wait for the song requests to get added and when that would happen the feeling
that was incomparable. I can vouch that every single person with <i>Moojic</i> is passionate about what they are
doing. As a result we work incessantly till we figure out solutions. And look
who recognized us and came on-board as mentors - Rajan Anandan with Harvard
Business Angels.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Moral of the story: Be passionate about your work and keep
calm and rule the world!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuO_jupfr-gYIgoJ8cOuTFD5sJlkmrjKCpBDCH2vhycUK8-ouD40sxuOCn2f6Jm6aJ6dfSL4KWvFWw2r-V6teLk-F84bnxEz5SPWRe4DlNhJHCq_BhPUlkzahYk8mXWpQXO68qu9wJ0hAa/s1600/Moojic+Team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuO_jupfr-gYIgoJ8cOuTFD5sJlkmrjKCpBDCH2vhycUK8-ouD40sxuOCn2f6Jm6aJ6dfSL4KWvFWw2r-V6teLk-F84bnxEz5SPWRe4DlNhJHCq_BhPUlkzahYk8mXWpQXO68qu9wJ0hAa/s400/Moojic+Team.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Team Moojic</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>DM: What was the first reaction of the people who heard
about the service?</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Anton:</b> People fall in love with it! When someone hears about
our idea and what all our product does they just go wow! And when they see it
working they just go awestruck. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>DM: How did the venues react? Are they open to the idea of
letting people choose what music is played at their venues? </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Anton:</b> Most of the venues are just so excited about how
their customers would feel to experience it. All the owners of the outlets want
their outlet to have some feature which will give the customer a better
experience. </div>
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<b>DM: Can you share some memorable experiences from the
journey so far?</b></div>
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<b>Anton:</b> Memorable experiences! There are loads! But there’s
one that’s closest to my heart. It was my first unexpected client meeting.
Everybody at office was stuck with some work, so we a team of three guys headed
to the clients place on a rainy evening. The meeting was scheduled at 6.00 pm
and unfortunately we couldn’t make it on time because of the rain and the
traffic. We managed to get there by 6.45pm and the guy who we were supposed to
meet almost cancelled the meeting. We tried our puppy faces and finally he agreed
to stay for 15 minutes. All we had is 15 minutes to explain about our awesome
product. However, he just fell in love with it as soon as when he saw it with
his own eyes. The meeting which was supposed to get over in just 15 minutes
went to an hour and now he wants <i>Moojic</i>
installed in all of his outlets. A bunch of people who didn’t know what sales is
all about, almost cracked a deal for all of his outlets. </div>
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I feel that <i>Moojic</i>
has made us a better and improved version of ourselves every!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>DM: Few words about Mumbai?</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Anton:</b> I love the culture here. People value every single
penny and the nightlife is just awesome. Read this in a magazine which goes
like "If a person can survive in Mumbai they can survive anywhere in the
world" and I think it’s true!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Currently the service is available at Mocha Mojo, Ivy Wine
Bar, On Toes and will soon be available at other venues. No additional SMS
charges are applicable; you pay your regular SMS charges for availing the
service.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If you have tried out <i>Moojic</i> or if are planning to try it out soon, then do let us know your views at <a href="mailto:discoveringmumbai@gmail.com">discoveringmumbai@gmail.com</a> or
leave a comment here.</div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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You can follow <i>Moojic</i>
on <a href="https://twitter.com/Moojician" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i><b>Twitter</b></i></a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Moojician" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i><b>Facebook</b></i></a> and on <a href="http://www.moojic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i><b>Moojic.com</b></i></a></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com4Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-46008444001033271602013-06-13T12:07:00.001+05:302013-06-13T12:07:54.354+05:30What Spirit Of Mumbai?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The city received welcome monsoon showers last Saturday. But all the cheer of monsoon arriving before time lasted short, as the clouds had a rather shady agenda of their own. Rarely are opening showers so heavy. And like year after year, the city, especially the hallowed BMC was taken by surprise. It's a wonder how the start of monsoon always takes the BMC by surprise.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWlN95MVABXFgIWfBP2vVfGiog1VQlW8JZCZjI-Id-dFZTuRNPMszCSHCnxZ4MlrPBnwrYeNjmzulDY8_CfGJg7WoT6gCKMDlbqyP02Dy9gL8zit0UWbEFAtKDdc2sshOpx0SoZqGAm2I/s1600/mumbai%252Brain-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWlN95MVABXFgIWfBP2vVfGiog1VQlW8JZCZjI-Id-dFZTuRNPMszCSHCnxZ4MlrPBnwrYeNjmzulDY8_CfGJg7WoT6gCKMDlbqyP02Dy9gL8zit0UWbEFAtKDdc2sshOpx0SoZqGAm2I/s400/mumbai%252Brain-10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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So the rains came and surprisingly kept coming, lashing down hard on the obviously unprepared infrastructure of the great city of Mumbai, a truly world class city. Things started crumbling in world record time and the unpreparedness of the BMC and the railways was exposed to the world. Water logging was reported in many parts of the city. Train services were hit, especially those of Central Railways, with trains running as late as 30 minutes to an hour. Even though the rain waters didn't go down the storm water drains, BMCs annual tall claims of monsoon preparedness certainly did. </div>
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The city was brought down to its knees, or rather on its feet. But the icing on the cake is when the news channels start talking about the 'Spirt of Mumbai', that though water logged, the city and its citizens were not to be stopped. Ahh, we have had so much of this stuff, the spirit of Mumbai! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILDGyJYNJV_4UiH6XSalHWAqkxUUtrvOGxGJtUJGRCVjWTiA-KYQTpcB23ufc7IdbY-M8aLHhJ5-IKx0Mm-zTVujgKhN2thcSmeFujc3qudDo9FF433gbob5aTfJdVho7ysJczFNZ_czq/s1600/Rains%252Bcause%252Bwaterlogging%252Bin%252Bseveral%252BMumbai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILDGyJYNJV_4UiH6XSalHWAqkxUUtrvOGxGJtUJGRCVjWTiA-KYQTpcB23ufc7IdbY-M8aLHhJ5-IKx0Mm-zTVujgKhN2thcSmeFujc3qudDo9FF433gbob5aTfJdVho7ysJczFNZ_czq/s400/Rains%252Bcause%252Bwaterlogging%252Bin%252Bseveral%252BMumbai.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Being regular commuters, people who spend at least 2 hours travelling each day, we can tell you that all those people who braved the rains, water logged streets and densely crowded trains and buses, did so not because they were buoyed by the so called spirit of Mumbai. They took to the streets, walked their way through water because they had to reach work. If you have ever worked in Mumbai, then you know how companies treat employees who sight heavy rains as an excuse to skip work. We can vouch that most people would have rather stayed at home. But in a city where time and money matter more than human lives, taking an off when it rains heavily is not an alternative. Employers expect you to be on work because they pay you for that.</div>
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It rains for almost 3 months in Mumbai, and because the BMC will never get its act together to ease the situation, the same case will be repeated every time it rains heavily. And every time you can not take an off from work. We brave the elements of nature because that is how it has to be and how it will be. We don't have the luxury of skipping work. And we know it's the same with every person who is present with us in these crowded trains and buses. We know that when the city crumbles help might not come, most of the times, and so we have taken it upon ourselves to help our self and others through this predicament. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnlP-ANcRusyxvAM7dYXxQR0UusNCE_34gQF9LDOLi2p6k1cIstFB8iai25AfYlIDiTV0akuMVnaXkwuHydCZT7o0q0c86D8R1v9UUYdh_t9DS7ev-CTrdzTKvlpcWndwCD8lnKG3iwT9/s1600/170233975-10-jpg_091442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnlP-ANcRusyxvAM7dYXxQR0UusNCE_34gQF9LDOLi2p6k1cIstFB8iai25AfYlIDiTV0akuMVnaXkwuHydCZT7o0q0c86D8R1v9UUYdh_t9DS7ev-CTrdzTKvlpcWndwCD8lnKG3iwT9/s400/170233975-10-jpg_091442.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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What people call spirit of Mumbai actually comes out of a feeling of hopelessness. We have lost hope, faith and belief in the people who run the show in this city. But we have not lost our humanity, at least not completely. And that is why a Mumbaikar will help another Mumbaikar in such times because he knows that those who are supposed to help, will not. It's a basic survival instinct that you learn by virtue of living in Mumbai. You can call it whatever you want to - Spirit of Mumbai, if you like it that way.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com1Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-71827130565718467022013-06-10T23:44:00.002+05:302013-06-10T23:46:44.804+05:30Review: Royal China – Food Fit For An Emperor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Last Monday night, I and another food blogger were given an
eleven dish feast to test at <a href="http://www.royalchinaindia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Royal China</a> restaurant in Bandra.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Tough life isn’t it?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.royalchinaindia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Royal China</a> is far from the average Chinese restaurant to be
found in Mumbai. Far, far from
average. For one, the food to be found
there is authentic Cantonese cuisine.
Not the usual mish-mash of ‘fusion’ oriental food that is popular in
this city. I really do not like a
restaurant that can’t make up its mind. And although there are some set menus
available at lunchtime (for 850 Rs + taxes), it’s a la carte all the way in the
evenings. There is always a member of staff on hand to guide you through the menu,
and you can even look up pictures of all the dishes on an Ipad - if you need
help visualizing some of the more unusual items on offer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRlTJd3UI7d0kemPLY5KqPL_toL_RggF0_39AC6UnPH-0EU_FLKiTCUqlu_jwDppKqVtPCiU66kRzL1jIruR0W2Tac6tiNzwcXJnlpVASCP2bSGV9uo8Q4gABOEkHtpJzzMzZmuGma8q9/s1600/Prawn+Dumplings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRlTJd3UI7d0kemPLY5KqPL_toL_RggF0_39AC6UnPH-0EU_FLKiTCUqlu_jwDppKqVtPCiU66kRzL1jIruR0W2Tac6tiNzwcXJnlpVASCP2bSGV9uo8Q4gABOEkHtpJzzMzZmuGma8q9/s400/Prawn+Dumplings.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prawn Dumplings</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We kicked off our meal with a selection of delectable <i>dim sum</i>, which are individual parcels of
food traditionally served in steamer baskets or small plates. I’ve eaten a fair
bit of dim sum in my life – including at our very own Chinatown back home in
London. And I can tell you now – that
the dim sum we sampled at Royal China is world class. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">To begin with, four dim sum showcasing four different types
of cooking techniques were brought out to us: Steamed prawn dumplings (</span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">har gau</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">), chicken & prawn </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">sui mai</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">, roast pork puffs and fried
prawn </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">cheung fun</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">. The dishes were presented
with a flourish and placed on the Lazy Susan in front of us (a revolving inner
table that allows each person to conveniently access the dishes).</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLQQSMl4KfUXqARnZGo-SlEOS1iHvkoSYE9la4eSXja5DinTzu6sxu7vXwnPs8mGPBjNTLoFt16f5DXBwaIInnlwWL6Wc7eSvwKa6IzP1L9Y0vv4uGJmbV3L5UXEj62hedQeVp-RLZiL3/s1600/Prawn+%2526+Pork+Sui+Mai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLQQSMl4KfUXqARnZGo-SlEOS1iHvkoSYE9la4eSXja5DinTzu6sxu7vXwnPs8mGPBjNTLoFt16f5DXBwaIInnlwWL6Wc7eSvwKa6IzP1L9Y0vv4uGJmbV3L5UXEj62hedQeVp-RLZiL3/s400/Prawn+%2526+Pork+Sui+Mai.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prawn & Pork Sui Mai</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">When the lids were lifted off the bamboo dim sum baskets, a
waft of steam escaped carrying a fragrant hint of what was to come.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As I tried to grapple with the sticky prawn
dumpling with my chopsticks, I found the casings to be nicely elastic and the
prawns wonderfully plump.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The delicious quartet
of open-topped sui mai (a particular favourite of mine) were densely packed
with finely minced prawn and pork.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Admittedly, I had never had roast pork puffs until now – and
since sampling them here at Royal China, I am now a big fan; substantial triangles
of baked puff pastry encasing a moist char sui pork filling. These would make a great snack at any time of
the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxhnbKARpF7WwQ8i1HYlQpcME0Pf9g0vqadag1lWOHlnz9Dm3m7dejzFHAvGf6oOLymg3nGa2iG478N9VdxXJs8a-riVUvjEhuF5D5cDoY6PmxkIldxJyLLU65e-m9Iv__hyeS38JMamN/s1600/Roast+Pork+Puffs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxhnbKARpF7WwQ8i1HYlQpcME0Pf9g0vqadag1lWOHlnz9Dm3m7dejzFHAvGf6oOLymg3nGa2iG478N9VdxXJs8a-riVUvjEhuF5D5cDoY6PmxkIldxJyLLU65e-m9Iv__hyeS38JMamN/s400/Roast+Pork+Puffs.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Roast Pork Puffs</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The biggest surprise came in the form of the prawn cheung
fun. Cheung fun are usually long, cannelloni-like
f<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4215739007795898660" name="_GoBack"></a>illed rolls of steamed rice pasta that are divided into
bite size pieces. But these particular ones were unusual in that they had first
been deep fried in filo pastry and then rolled in a rice casing and then
steamed. So first you sink your teeth into a sticky outer followed by the
crispy inner. Novel! And I reckon this
cheung fun must be quite a culinary feat to prepare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyZMkGUfGTLoxpwTQCq55zr-ti32I21lNSbF5j3S-ba9xoPS4Hy0XoIrLBJdtN1v1fDMBym5Bx6tCsaokf2u4-iqNqD6BeTcweHhpjSj44FG0FhCHA0HDnhW_lvlA8-t6JOAKm5Lfs3ln/s1600/Cheung+Fun.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyZMkGUfGTLoxpwTQCq55zr-ti32I21lNSbF5j3S-ba9xoPS4Hy0XoIrLBJdtN1v1fDMBym5Bx6tCsaokf2u4-iqNqD6BeTcweHhpjSj44FG0FhCHA0HDnhW_lvlA8-t6JOAKm5Lfs3ln/s400/Cheung+Fun.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cheung Fun</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Next on the menu were a couple of deep fried appetizers – <i>Salt & Pepper Squid</i> and <i>Smoked Shredded Chicken</i>, the latter
making a change from the ubiquitous shredded chilli beef and making good
‘picky’ food to chew over whilst mid-conversation. The squid proved a little <i>too</i> salty for us (although we still ate
every last scrap!), but it was just a good excuse to rehydrate with more white
wine. Speaking of which, you won’t find
Sula on the menu either – Royal China serves from a list of handpicked Indian
Fratelli and International wines. I had a light and crisp French Sauvignon
Blanc to accompany my meal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVxng8ZxYyMMkegRHl8cfq5-lWSss3usQEY0ynw1Mhn5WNuHvtzJHk_aS-dUdJzv7kFutZZSTZgGjn43sR_LnBDIKAcLeoiobl2XrWQ-WcNf9glDZj3oPj_9-XCCy_OcmbchgB2OHiAbE/s1600/Salt+%2526+Pepper+Squid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVxng8ZxYyMMkegRHl8cfq5-lWSss3usQEY0ynw1Mhn5WNuHvtzJHk_aS-dUdJzv7kFutZZSTZgGjn43sR_LnBDIKAcLeoiobl2XrWQ-WcNf9glDZj3oPj_9-XCCy_OcmbchgB2OHiAbE/s400/Salt+%2526+Pepper+Squid.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Salt & Pepper Squid</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The piece de resistance for any Cantonese restaurant has to
be <i>Crispy Aromatic Duck</i>. Whenever Crispy Aromatic Duck is available, I
make a point of having it. But you don’t
often see it on Mumbai menus. So when
they presented it to us at Royal China, I was absolutely delighted. Again I wasn’t disappointed with the cooking. The duck was pink with sweet-scented, crispy skin
– just as it should be – and when rolled up into the steamed pancakes with the fresh
cucumber and spring onion and then topped with plum sauce, made me go into
dreamland! To be honest I could have
ended the meal right there and then on that high note. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtzh84pFmHyFjv6o6gmAPKT9EXVUt5yI0s0637zY03b0yarVDhmr33M3bmcRT36VIj4MYG3vPVrUPRbe-rOylza5rjdFlp7_ddeGreVgcGc3Huc38JS3sKhgCzttuTlcPveEsuj8tHtF9/s1600/Crispy+Aromatic+Duck.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtzh84pFmHyFjv6o6gmAPKT9EXVUt5yI0s0637zY03b0yarVDhmr33M3bmcRT36VIj4MYG3vPVrUPRbe-rOylza5rjdFlp7_ddeGreVgcGc3Huc38JS3sKhgCzttuTlcPveEsuj8tHtF9/s400/Crispy+Aromatic+Duck.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crispy Aromatic Duck</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But by this point, we were still on the wrong side of the middle
point of the meal. There are still six
main course dishes to sample as well as two desserts. Am I going to make it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Thankfully there was a nice breather and conversation time
in between courses. There is one thing that I can’t stand is having your food
brought out quickly and being made to rush.
There’s none of that here – the smartly uniformed staff provide a
service that is attentive yet unobtrusive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Again, the main courses (four dishes served with rice and
noodles) didn’t disappoint. But so much
food was brought out, that it covered the every spare inch of the Lazy Susan;
We were treated to many of Royal China’s signature dishes; </span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Chicken in Black Bean Sauce</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">; <i>Prawns
in Chilli Oil</i>; <i>Lamb with Ginger and
Spring Onion</i>; <i>Royal China Exotic
Vegetables</i>; <i>Egg Fried Rice</i> and <i>Hong Kong Noodles </i>accompaniments. The stand out dish for me was the Lamb – the
generously chopped ginger adding a zingy and uplifting element to the recipe. Plus the lamb was of the sheep variety – not
mutton. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2cgLtCWMmtb6mo_VybOZuODNtYmtXP56yl6wlvrFr7EBcBBpv29MgiWKMukpX3DjR4JuTJBw8KQsvbggoAcxMoZ9NclXZmsr6nh6mwOrHruOYkCgSKE7OYJt6tASHlzzAg9-S5EhHmQd/s1600/Main+Course.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2cgLtCWMmtb6mo_VybOZuODNtYmtXP56yl6wlvrFr7EBcBBpv29MgiWKMukpX3DjR4JuTJBw8KQsvbggoAcxMoZ9NclXZmsr6nh6mwOrHruOYkCgSKE7OYJt6tASHlzzAg9-S5EhHmQd/s400/Main+Course.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Main Course</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The mixed vegetable dish was also very
interesting – it contained at least four types of mushrooms including exotic
shitake and wood ear – as well as lotus root, tender asparagus, carrots and
baby sweet corn. The prawns were large
and succulent – a main course in their own right and accompanied by the chef’s
own chilli oil (available to buy at the cash desk on your way out), and the
chicken in black bean sauce definitely stands out amongst its competitors. What I really appreciated about the cooking
her at Royal China, is that the sauces <i>cling
</i>to the ingredients – you won’t find anything drowning in bright red gloop
and the food is never over-gravied. The accompaniments were excellent – fluffy
and non-greasy egg fried rice and non-gloopy noodles. Just as I like them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqRreZcOfR6F4mhXzScu9eIgUlk1W5Z-vekVhF4sKFhrxG4CY4Bsb9Ljhq6QAhVcrzOVCl4SqBPQyUSkgQAhlkkinfx9as9bdl3N0E6513PbJ3Ky6aXHN1VUz0SwXidebk-bhZN1dIFL3/s1600/Lamb+with+Ginger+%2526+Spring+Onion.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqRreZcOfR6F4mhXzScu9eIgUlk1W5Z-vekVhF4sKFhrxG4CY4Bsb9Ljhq6QAhVcrzOVCl4SqBPQyUSkgQAhlkkinfx9as9bdl3N0E6513PbJ3Ky6aXHN1VUz0SwXidebk-bhZN1dIFL3/s400/Lamb+with+Ginger+%2526+Spring+Onion.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lamb With Ginger & Spring Onion</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Incidentally, we are told that all the
Chefs are brought over from China to cook at this restaurant. It’s not the usual case of training up Indian
chefs and then departing for the homeland – leading to inauthenticity and the bad
cooking habits that I have commonly found in other foreign branded restaurants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Obviously by this time, I am fit to
burst. But there are two more items to
sample for dessert. Toffee Bananas and
Chocolate Mud Cake, both served with vanilla ice cream. Now, banana fritters are something I consider
myself an expert on. But at the same time, I can take them or leave them. After all it’s just a banana deep fried in
batter and covered in cheap sugary syrup right?
WRONG! First of all I need a fork
to hold down this toffee banana version – and then a spoon to crack through the
stiff, toffee caramel. Inside, the banana
was soft and squidgy. The whole thing was simply divine! We were fighting over the last remaining
toffee banana and surprisingly it ended up being the highlight of my meal. And I don’t even have a particularly sweet
tooth. As for the chocolate mud cake? It
was nice but I preferred the toffee banana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23RfYYOfIrnehxWfDu_AR1amcgU1TGi7EI3syFte5z1wuBXiPOyW1mairdC1oYlMKLDMdqt579ShxO4SAkqdkNCO5D3WGRlDygYcRUiLjbu1s8q2kNAe7u146iwCdOfExPJ5UjPUMa1B-/s1600/Toffee+Banana.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23RfYYOfIrnehxWfDu_AR1amcgU1TGi7EI3syFte5z1wuBXiPOyW1mairdC1oYlMKLDMdqt579ShxO4SAkqdkNCO5D3WGRlDygYcRUiLjbu1s8q2kNAe7u146iwCdOfExPJ5UjPUMa1B-/s400/Toffee+Banana.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Toffee Banana</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Overall, I found the meal to be
outstandingly good.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I have eaten at both
the much-hyped Hakkasan and Yauatcha but the cooking at Royal China more than
matches the standard of those two restaurants (personally, I find it better and
more straight-forward).</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">What’s more, the
servings at Royal China are generous – the same certainly cannot be said for Yauatcha!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The restaurant was busy for a Monday
night – with a mixture of couples and families and the odd businessman. The service was excellent and the ambience
was cosy yet elegant. “I’ll be back!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">(PS: Please note that
although we did not pay for this meal, I expressed to the marketing manager
that I only bother to write a review if I like a restaurant…in the interests of
making good recommendations to the expat community).<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">- BombayJules</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">To read other posts by BombayJules click <a href="http://discovering-mumbai.blogspot.in/search/label/Expat%20Corner" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><i>here</i></b></a> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Royal China is located at Bandra and Fort, for addresses click <i><b><a href="http://www.royalchinaindia.com/locations.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a></b></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-10440275936382819672013-05-30T23:42:00.000+05:302013-05-30T23:42:41.073+05:30Goodbye Premier Padmini!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On 28<sup>th</sup> May the state government passed a
resolution which may spell the end for one of the city’s most iconic landmarks –
the Premier <i>Padmini</i> taxis or what we
lovingly refer to as <i>kali peeli.</i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3XYKTaRKKIzv0_gKQLWXeCIKkd9q0iqA3nx6ALiYyc0XGMeBzgyPJL3GmyAd6antooQoM4x5T1g-gSX5zQvDQMAvZPBGq_kXrqBR2YVS7RaMxCD3BZlOe0qxd9nkc3mtz4SBj-CTEGE3/s1600/MG_4932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3XYKTaRKKIzv0_gKQLWXeCIKkd9q0iqA3nx6ALiYyc0XGMeBzgyPJL3GmyAd6antooQoM4x5T1g-gSX5zQvDQMAvZPBGq_kXrqBR2YVS7RaMxCD3BZlOe0qxd9nkc3mtz4SBj-CTEGE3/s400/MG_4932.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by blogs.reuters.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The resolution passed by the government has impacted the <i>Padmini</i> owners on two fronts. Firstly,
it has reduced the number of years a taxi can run on Mumbai’s roads from 25
years to 20 years. And secondly, the 2018 deadline to scrap all archaic Premier
<i>Padmini’s</i> has been reduced by 5 years
to 31<sup>st</sup> July 2013! </div>
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Since most of these taxis fall in the above 20
years age bracket, come August 2013, spotting a <i>Padmini</i> taxi will be a rarity in Mumbai! Now who must have imagined
that!</div>
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<br /></div>
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As per various estimates there are around 10,000 <i>Padmini’s</i> plying on the city roads and
this order is expected to impact most of them. Mumbai’s Taximen Union chief, Mr
A L Quadros while speaking to <a href="http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/cover-story/An-august-farewell-for-iconic-Bombay-cab/articleshow/20320554.cms" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mumbai Mirror</a> said that though the exact number
of <i>Padmini’s</i> that will run after the
July 31<sup>st</sup> deadline is not exactly known, the number will definitely
be quite small</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc5L3BxZJzeJf2GFRfAn85KKzWEfoUaduVOWd82o0iWm0S9WqQFrHfemBPc_WOdXg3v7AqhNaE2yIbr0Py2ZFCpSH9YRbxcSOVMMyAAFmGjpaMQCW7y1r1GixqbGtGW6rhC0TQDmh3i_H/s1600/4E9702B53EDD779D6EEEC29F668F_h498_w598_m2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc5L3BxZJzeJf2GFRfAn85KKzWEfoUaduVOWd82o0iWm0S9WqQFrHfemBPc_WOdXg3v7AqhNaE2yIbr0Py2ZFCpSH9YRbxcSOVMMyAAFmGjpaMQCW7y1r1GixqbGtGW6rhC0TQDmh3i_H/s400/4E9702B53EDD779D6EEEC29F668F_h498_w598_m2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Though this might come as sad news to many who consider
these taxis as nostalgic and an icon of the city, majority of the daily commuter will welcome the move
as the quality of travel in these ageing taxis had become quite unpleasant to
say the least. In fact a lot of people these days prefer to travel only by the
newer taxis. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The same resolution has also pegged the maximum age for auto
rickshaw’s at 16 years. </div>
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<br /></div>
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So take out your cameras and capture pictures or hitch a
ride in one of these iconic taxis before they too become a part of city’s
history like the trams. Ahh, we will so miss these beautiful taxis! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Would you miss them too or would you rather watch them get scrapped? Let us know what you think...</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwB4aOHzsahlVEdhTRzVQYWXXg-c4T07iRWRmpXo55qZY_9-NiGVv-vZy7VSHe-l4uy0u844sHBwQ_FUdaFiQSP0IQsydY6xn9vCQv3H0PLYMaLQmeVduyGNliySV7Riz_RsCNX8RhhiBE/s1600/Premier+Padmini+Taxis+Parked+in+Mumbai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwB4aOHzsahlVEdhTRzVQYWXXg-c4T07iRWRmpXo55qZY_9-NiGVv-vZy7VSHe-l4uy0u844sHBwQ_FUdaFiQSP0IQsydY6xn9vCQv3H0PLYMaLQmeVduyGNliySV7Riz_RsCNX8RhhiBE/s400/Premier+Padmini+Taxis+Parked+in+Mumbai.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by onlybombay.blogspot.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com1Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.877655900000036-33.7453558 -9.7395315999999639 71.8973232 155.49484340000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-60230574616460146612013-05-28T17:48:00.002+05:302013-05-28T17:48:36.914+05:30Let's Ban It!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We Indians have found the sure fire solution to all problems
that plague our society. And it’s such a simple solution that I wonder what why
this didn't strike us earlier!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgikff37EfLzUa5pYng4-CqjERaYWUohQ25jCdUFlxC9v009RwTAe1E15rnU30LtckaYN8SFuUugdMVJS3c5HEh2Zet9pjWPp5Zv2-IUPSm_0wqpUaQeB4Fk0dAgHxOdLREIu7DpuUyKsNX/s1600/M_Id_388928_BMC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgikff37EfLzUa5pYng4-CqjERaYWUohQ25jCdUFlxC9v009RwTAe1E15rnU30LtckaYN8SFuUugdMVJS3c5HEh2Zet9pjWPp5Zv2-IUPSm_0wqpUaQeB4Fk0dAgHxOdLREIu7DpuUyKsNX/s400/M_Id_388928_BMC.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">R.I.P. Lingerie Mannequins</td></tr>
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The solution is just two simple words ‘Ban it’! So easy, isn't
it? Just ban whatever you feel is not good for the larger society. You may
question who gives a person or a group the authority to decide what is right or
wrong for the entire populace. Well, who said they want to create a perfect
society or there being a democratic process about anything; these are an effort
to create an ideal society as perceived by some xyz VIP/VVIP or self righteous
people!</div>
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And in keeping with this tradition of banning stuff, the BMC,
an organization not known for its innovative ways of governance, came up with a
very smart idea to control the menace of sexual crimes in Mumbai. It decided to
ban all mannequins with lingerie from the windows of shops! </div>
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Whatever may be the reason or logic behind their decision,
we as good citizens should appreciate the BMC in coming out with a solution to
this growing threat. At least someone knows what to do about it; Delhi can
definitely learn something from the BMC! Now if the BMC could only solve some
other more perennial problems like pot holes, illegal hoardings, eh? </div>
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However this move has been percieved by some as anti poor and rightly so! The rich rapists can definitely get themselves aroused to
commit a sexual crime by watching Fashion TV or over the Internet or just buy a
DVD. But where will the poor go to feast their sexual desires, the dingy video
halls or front covers of magazines or those supplements in the
newspapers? Taking away from them a cheap source of sexual pleasure will leave them starved! This BMC does not care about the poor of the city! Or is it that the BMC
wants to say that only the poor become rapists? Who are we to doubt their
intelligence or challenge their good motives!</div>
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The twitterati has been very hard on the BMC; here are some
tweets for you –</div>
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@AListRap -<o:p></o:p></div>
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A nation terrified of vaginas. Terrified of a woman's
sexuality. Terrified of independent women. And the mannequins that look like
them.</div>
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@nowme_datta <o:p></o:p></div>
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Malika Sherawat is drawling right now, ' What did I tell ya?
Even mannequins are not safe in this regressive, hypocritical Indian society'</div>
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@SachinKalbag<o:p></o:p></div>
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No mannequins in Mumbai? You mean the vulgar looks at women,
sexual crimes, treating women like commodities... all will end now? Yay!</div>
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</div>
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@True_Taurean<o:p></o:p></div>
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Skirts,late working hrs,education,clubbing,Chinese
food,burger, mannequins.Everything causes rapes except men!</div>
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And this next one seems to be very popular -</div>
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On news channel: BAN MANNEQUINS BECAUSE THEY LEAD TO RAPE! </div>
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On sports channels: IPL cheerleaders dancing in slow motion
and squirting Pepsi</div>
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<br /></div>
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So what are we going to ban next? IPL? Naah, loads of
politicians mint loads of money from it. Item songs? Naah what is a Bollywood
movie without one! Mallika Sherawat? Well, that could be a good thing!</div>
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What would you ban if you had the power to ban something? Let
us know.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com1Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-60455468910745124622013-05-28T10:37:00.002+05:302013-05-28T10:37:33.789+05:30The Week Guide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wondering what to do post office hours this week? Need a midweek break from your mind numbing work? We have curated for you a list of events happening around the town this week. From comedy to drama to music and dance, here's our list of events that will keep you in shape this week! Why wait for the weekend?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4zFkALs-qeKkvo984IXU1GHcZm3LxpKe7mt0iu-9cJUN_eVjkaq6U090SLA-IgMh4dGIquKo83SsLZvjfsQ9cPHS-FFUNlKvZge9ULTfs-_K5jjrHJS3wjw75TyzIxl4kbBpkROVNjt-/s1600/368386f9-0ac3-40ea-9a65-ee01f398ade5wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4zFkALs-qeKkvo984IXU1GHcZm3LxpKe7mt0iu-9cJUN_eVjkaq6U090SLA-IgMh4dGIquKo83SsLZvjfsQ9cPHS-FFUNlKvZge9ULTfs-_K5jjrHJS3wjw75TyzIxl4kbBpkROVNjt-/s400/368386f9-0ac3-40ea-9a65-ee01f398ade5wallpaper.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Comedy</u></b></div>
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<b>The Class Act</b></div>
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Tue, 28 May; Time: 8:30 PM</div>
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Where: Canvas Laugh Factory, Palladium Mall</div>
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Cast: Sajeel Parakh, Danesh Irani, Meherzad Patel, Danesh
Khambata, Lucky Vakharia, Afshad Kelawala</div>
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Written and directed by Meherzad Patel ‘The Class Act’ is a
satirical take on religious stereotypes set in an acting class. The class is
conducted by a certain Mr. William who has to deal with the egos and hassles of
five ``actors``- a loud mouth, bike-obsessed Parsi; a Hindu theatre veteran; a
young Muslim boy; a straight-from the-beaches-of- Goa Christian, and a
glamorous television actress<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Tickets: Rs. 400/- Click <a href="http://in.bookmyshow.com/events/The-Class-Act/ET00014333" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i><b>here</b></i></a> to book</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b>Lights Camera Punchline (A)<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Wed, 29 May; 8.30 PM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Genre: Stand Up Comedy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Where: Canvas Laugh Factory, Palldium Mall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Cast: Varun Thakur<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Varun Thakur dissects the life of a struggling actor who is rejected
daily Bollywood casting directors as well as rickshawaalas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Ticket: Rs. 400/- Click<a href="http://in.bookmyshow.com/events/Lights-Camera-Punchline-A/ET00014137" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> <b><i>here</i></b></a> to book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b>Atul Khatri, Sahil Shah, Azeem Banatwalla (A)<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Thu, 30 May and Fri, 31<sup>st</sup> May; Time: 8:30 PM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Where: Canvas Laugh Factory, Palldium Mall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Genre: Stand Up comedy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">What could be a better way to relieve yourself of a cumbersome week than
spending some time at the Canvas Laugh Factory! So let loose your inhibitions
and laugh out loud with Atul, Sahil and Azeem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Tickets: Rs 600/- Click <a href="http://in.bookmyshow.com/events/Atul-Khatri-Sahil-Shah-Azeem-Banatwalla-A/ET00014790" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><i>here</i></b></a> to book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b><u>Music<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b>Ranjit Barot And The Resistance<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Tue, 28 May; 10.00 PM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Where: Blue Frog, Lower Parel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Genre: Concert<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Ranjit was born in a family that breathed Indian classical music and
dance. He took to drums at the age of 12 and became one of India’s leading
artists on drums at the young age of 17! Watch him perform with talented
musicians like Tala Farral (Saxophone), Aditya Benai (Guitar), Harmeet Manseta
and Hitesh Modak (Keys), Mohini Dey (Bass), Sharmisttha Chatterjee and Shabab
Sabri (Vocals).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Tickets: Rs. 350/- Click <a href="http://in.bookmyshow.com/events/Ranjit-Barot-And-The-Resistance/ET00015225" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><i>here</i></b></a> to book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b><u>Theatre<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b>Time Boy<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Thu, 30 May and Fri, 31<sup>st</sup> May; Time: 11:00 AM and 03:00 PM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Where: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Language: English<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Cast & Crew: Divya Jagdale, Nivedita Pohankar, Hidayat Sami , Aditi
Pohankar, Vinit Sharma, Amit Singh, Prachi Mashru , Sunny, Amruta Sant<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Genre : Drama</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Directed by Makrand Desphande ‘Time Boy’ is the story of Murli, a 7 yr
old boy who can`t wait to find out what he is going to be as a grown-up. After
debating many ideas he finally surrenders to his curiosity and decides to fight
time by making a quick trip to the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Tickets: Rs. 200/- Click <a href="http://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/Time-Boy/ET00009509" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i><b>here</b></i></a> to book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b>Sir Sir Sarla<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Thu, 30 May and Fri, 31 May; Time 9:00 PM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Where: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Language: Hindi<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Cast & Crew:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Makrand Deshpande, Aahana Kumra, Sanjay Dadhich, Faizal Rashid, Romi
Jaspal<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Genre: Drama<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Written and directed by Makrand Deshpande this is an unfelt, untold
story of a professor and his students, after they have graduated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Tickets: Rs. 300/- Click <a href="http://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/Sir-Sir-Sarla/ET00011526" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><i>here</i></b></a> to book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b><u>Workshops<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b>NCPA Summer Fiesta<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Till 31</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">st</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> May</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">NCPA’s Summer Fiesta is a collection of workshops like Science Fiction
Writing, Stage Fright, Animation and Puppetry as well as Plays and Dance for
kids of all ages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Click <a href="http://in.bookmyshow.com/concerts/summer-fiesta-tickets/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><i>here</i></b></a> to book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b><u>Dance<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b>Roots<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Thu, 30 May; Time: 7:00 PM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Where: Experimental Theatre, NCPA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">A Mayurbhanj Chhau & Contemporary Dance Performance by Santosh Nair
and Sadhya Unit of Performing Arts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">If you would like to try something different this week then head over to
the experimental theatre at NCPA. Mayurbhanj Chhau is a martial art form of
Orissa which draws from a wide range of subjects like martial craft, mythology,
stylized gaits of birds and animals, history and daily activities and
imaginative themes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Tickets: Rs. 200 – 300, Click <a href="http://in.bookmyshow.com/ncpa/Roots/ET00015009" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><i>here</i></b></a> to book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-79206446876304685542013-05-27T15:51:00.001+05:302013-05-27T16:06:46.374+05:30Colaba Causeway Shopping!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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What happens when you take a <a href="http://www.shubhisrevels.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fashion blogger</a> with a brand new camera to one of Mumbai's most famous shopping streets? Read on to know -</div>
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Hello to all
the <b>fashion lovers<i style="color: #e06666;">
</i>o</b>ut there! I was feeling really bored and useless the
other day, and decided that my new camera needed some exercise, and my soul,
some <b>shiny stuff</b>! And that's when you head straight to<i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colaba_Causeway" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Colaba Causeway</span></a>!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUklekJiKHSFE7H5wFoiJ1gwjfKzb6vOin26HNOCXCipnTlvRH7P4HQ2C6aldB0sRHqMnlgKGy62qRtFYJDpbrFw1IGp2bS4xRX7qeTgSZFVfG5tq8zxu6UI8DjBsofUBbYThgI1DMEeO/s1600/Colaba+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUklekJiKHSFE7H5wFoiJ1gwjfKzb6vOin26HNOCXCipnTlvRH7P4HQ2C6aldB0sRHqMnlgKGy62qRtFYJDpbrFw1IGp2bS4xRX7qeTgSZFVfG5tq8zxu6UI8DjBsofUBbYThgI1DMEeO/s400/Colaba+1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i><br /></i>
It is a lane (a causeway actually) running under old buildings, a block away
from the Arabian Sea! Okay, weird geographical description, check out
the map! Tourists from<i> all over the world</i> are a common sight here,
wearing their newly purchased Bohemian Best!<br />
<br />
The atmosphere is lively with the vendors trying to sell their wares to the tourists
(at sky high prices) in broken English, and the flute sellers and drum sellers
playing their music, and so many colourful and shiny distractions!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here are some wares on display:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhma3UhMEEwgfrXAZQPgvc7aKsBJanGfDZHwgvx1SeQ9ty04dabaMLYqIBiZMfqN_btdgByZdqiNhi8pNPQ94cqCKMFI9amZwpXJw8xEdRMLmjE7BXRN80LOp5-JLfuOsYsu_uMyDAVYk0k/s1600/Colaba+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhma3UhMEEwgfrXAZQPgvc7aKsBJanGfDZHwgvx1SeQ9ty04dabaMLYqIBiZMfqN_btdgByZdqiNhi8pNPQ94cqCKMFI9amZwpXJw8xEdRMLmjE7BXRN80LOp5-JLfuOsYsu_uMyDAVYk0k/s400/Colaba+2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antique Knick-Knacks!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge64ao5EgwF9YHdiFJMwwkRPYIAFfMloKmYHcG_tyQ8_-ZPf4hUlZNPHUXbjMNrcm0nB1ZVCVy1lTYFMhrgUCKYTcoyw5O97BeTVBjrmedZDWFTnEhlcJrUOoMXLlniV56h8U0nVYiBWPe/s1600/Colaba+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge64ao5EgwF9YHdiFJMwwkRPYIAFfMloKmYHcG_tyQ8_-ZPf4hUlZNPHUXbjMNrcm0nB1ZVCVy1lTYFMhrgUCKYTcoyw5O97BeTVBjrmedZDWFTnEhlcJrUOoMXLlniV56h8U0nVYiBWPe/s400/Colaba+3.png" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jangly Bracelets and Chunky Bangles...by the truckloads!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sdyK5cOnIvSy9WOINix8bvgHjut5dbmjXKkEutj3-hn0S4BBLadtm2DWgCOaDOfnF7keUrZAPz0nBweoyJsw5z1shBBgsQ_8NWUzrQ4TyieitAniN1-V-_I-S_-LUjFD-dYijse8y6Ua/s1600/Colaba+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sdyK5cOnIvSy9WOINix8bvgHjut5dbmjXKkEutj3-hn0S4BBLadtm2DWgCOaDOfnF7keUrZAPz0nBweoyJsw5z1shBBgsQ_8NWUzrQ4TyieitAniN1-V-_I-S_-LUjFD-dYijse8y6Ua/s400/Colaba+4.png" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flutes, anyone?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFRTu8F-dOR_BzSqh_YWnpupYO00yWz6gBZ9AB40b1dk6c_yGLlyHeZpp8Siya3H_EQowrudfh_bbne_DZd0apnOtqvVnwyM0iJ0uq2i7IaQRDO99I3PTM_zxH5BvyzUkw3tQTSVPf2WE/s1600/Colaba+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFRTu8F-dOR_BzSqh_YWnpupYO00yWz6gBZ9AB40b1dk6c_yGLlyHeZpp8Siya3H_EQowrudfh_bbne_DZd0apnOtqvVnwyM0iJ0uq2i7IaQRDO99I3PTM_zxH5BvyzUkw3tQTSVPf2WE/s400/Colaba+5.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'<i>Designer</i>' Purses and Handbags!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB44q3E68VOyTfvQngRG2rCP_bbXt1Qnb4_drkzPAAXWjIw0x8ePxZii1JoFsIY7CgwpHdjsJ1nXEtBQ8H-vAlUlZYAuvRQNdmgLDpRTiTzrp6-FBMlGSkcgZpDrSHH0VymKB2foZb77b4/s1600/Colaba+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB44q3E68VOyTfvQngRG2rCP_bbXt1Qnb4_drkzPAAXWjIw0x8ePxZii1JoFsIY7CgwpHdjsJ1nXEtBQ8H-vAlUlZYAuvRQNdmgLDpRTiTzrp6-FBMlGSkcgZpDrSHH0VymKB2foZb77b4/s400/Colaba+6.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aaaah, beads!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEt6uXjlFS8A2ZL8hww8ITS1w28RCITQ2KVZ2RfzhltmwloBe4alnWQs0pxqBTeA2qwJ6h4GETOF42vaCJv5PBgxBFBRaOuX2FrsMDmMruWn5c4T4Aiaf24DVCfY8jbz7XoIfPBaO0Aipg/s1600/Colaba+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEt6uXjlFS8A2ZL8hww8ITS1w28RCITQ2KVZ2RfzhltmwloBe4alnWQs0pxqBTeA2qwJ6h4GETOF42vaCJv5PBgxBFBRaOuX2FrsMDmMruWn5c4T4Aiaf24DVCfY8jbz7XoIfPBaO0Aipg/s400/Colaba+7.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colourful Chappals (Flats)...Which is your pick?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXN-eYGIcDJHi1rAAHDO-eH-on3XE0y4RZFy6XIGm3Wk8sLLTp1sfoB8jgGP-etxHtpdj9v8X-X36n58WEvMLF3MjopiGHJYnK3KwdZ5KyLHpNm-m1rC6dms5GMUk1anb4ggHHZiiscFor/s1600/Colaba+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXN-eYGIcDJHi1rAAHDO-eH-on3XE0y4RZFy6XIGm3Wk8sLLTp1sfoB8jgGP-etxHtpdj9v8X-X36n58WEvMLF3MjopiGHJYnK3KwdZ5KyLHpNm-m1rC6dms5GMUk1anb4ggHHZiiscFor/s400/Colaba+8.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now that's a LOT of earrings! It made my head reel just to pick one to buy!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGv4KEFmJgOCaKa8LWshwHkY9z9VVOT7usRPGyCaMswM3yYmzCJLx_FqPVrAyEFOrMc3CbVB_mocSGMK-Lx9xbktxu9QRP6uvEqD1byh7JAQXTTlm5hhwBrOVq_cLl5tTYP_KcDZU0AsQ/s1600/Colaba+9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGv4KEFmJgOCaKa8LWshwHkY9z9VVOT7usRPGyCaMswM3yYmzCJLx_FqPVrAyEFOrMc3CbVB_mocSGMK-Lx9xbktxu9QRP6uvEqD1byh7JAQXTTlm5hhwBrOVq_cLl5tTYP_KcDZU0AsQ/s400/Colaba+9.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's all about finding a good bargain!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisa2UqSKViUoy6NjIlQ7FMJ0HDzYWhIfnOXvwHuarfzEJfOXl6xNcC8d0QPN2P92-YxpqW8RlKPeZ7qCSPj3QHn6-hWTCip6cHjbgQ3_1v_PRzmp6T4x7WgmbInqckgnEbo9aU0U1xnQij/s1600/Colaba+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisa2UqSKViUoy6NjIlQ7FMJ0HDzYWhIfnOXvwHuarfzEJfOXl6xNcC8d0QPN2P92-YxpqW8RlKPeZ7qCSPj3QHn6-hWTCip6cHjbgQ3_1v_PRzmp6T4x7WgmbInqckgnEbo9aU0U1xnQij/s400/Colaba+10.png" width="265" /></a></div>
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The interior
of <b>my favourite seconds store!</b> I swear I get dreams about
this shop...especially if I want an outfit badly but I cannot buy it right
away! It has a lovely laid back atmosphere and has <b>70's
Pop </b>playing full volume in the background! So <i>upbeat! </i>This
time they played<i> Dancing Queen</i> and I swear I twirled in the
mirror right in the middle of the shop!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I loved a military print cardigan,
which would look so chic, <i>belted</i> at the waist! But I ran out of
money buying other stuff (<i>Sigh!</i>) Still dreaming about it...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmvcIGGmmhekj8qgja0tQmY6OIevOI0fuozpzKbTSlj_iQuiVEmwvhjgqzQtTk_G7-BPpPEOEOR5loGWda-XQ4L9clOCNHpirIpuWi91RaQ3pnI8mM8lWl-ukKbC0nNxQMZuQvqC5RhHk/s1600/Colaba+11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmvcIGGmmhekj8qgja0tQmY6OIevOI0fuozpzKbTSlj_iQuiVEmwvhjgqzQtTk_G7-BPpPEOEOR5loGWda-XQ4L9clOCNHpirIpuWi91RaQ3pnI8mM8lWl-ukKbC0nNxQMZuQvqC5RhHk/s400/Colaba+11.png" width="266" /></a></div>
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Hope you
enjoyed the post! Trust me; I put as much heart into taking<i> <b>nice pictures</b></i>,
as I did into the <b><i>shopping</i></b>! (<i>Well, almost!</i>)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Your
comments on the photographs will be most welcome!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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-Shubhi</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="il">Shubhi is a fashion blogger who writes her thoughts on fashion at</span> <a href="http://www.shubhisrevels.com/" target="_blank">www.shubhisrevels.com</a>.</div>
<div>
She believes in expressing her creativity through fashion!</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com2Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-50847722411452611392013-05-25T16:32:00.000+05:302013-05-27T16:01:35.868+05:30A Very Fine Food Walk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Our expat blogger <a href="http://bombayjules.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BombayJules</a> went around Dadar on a food walk to savour Maharashtrian delicacies. Here's what she discovered - </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">For an expat
dining out in Mumbai, it is all too easy to only frequent well known
restaurants and Sunday brunch locations. Ones which can be considered 'safe
options' that cater well to our western constitutions. But what about trying
out some of Mumbai's more traditional eateries, the kind of places that are
part of the very fabric of the city?</span></div>
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Mumbai is
without doubt, the most cosmopolitan city in India - but it is also the most
itinerant. Over many decades, millions of people have flocked to the city
from rural villages all over India, each one bringing their own traditions,
faiths and recipes. Nowhere else in India will you find such a variety of
regional cooking; rich meat curries from the Punjab; coconutty prawn curries
from Kerala; vegetarian <i>thalis</i> from
Gujurat; Irani influenced Parsi berry pulaos; the Portuguese balchaos of Goa.
The list is endless. The most well known of these food styles can
be found at the best Indian restaurants in town. But in order to get right
under the skin of itinerant Mumbai you have to dig a little deeper - by going
right to the soul of the community.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lately, Mr
Jules and I did exactly that by joining a 'Finely Chopped Food Walk'. <a href="http://www.finelychopped.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Finely Chopped</span></a>
is actually a food blog and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Finely-Chopped/120204191330947?fref=ts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Facebook</span></a> page with a huge following that is
lovingly written by Kalyan Karmakar - a guy who works in market research whilst
penning all things food related in his spare time. As the blog became
more and more popular - and supported by the explosive growth in dining out -
he created the concept of the Food Walk. The aim of which is to take a group of
people right to the heart of regional cooking; to experiment with cuisine at
local restaurants (where you may not even find a word of English on the sign!),
to walk around an area and shop for ingredients along the way, and to get
people to meet other people with similar food interests - A forum for
discovery, discussion and enjoyment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dadar was the location of walk -
an epicentre for 'typical' Maharashtrian cuisine. Previously, the only
Maharashtrian food that we had sampled was of the Mumbai street food variety -
Wada Pav, Sev Puri, Pani Puri etc., nothing particularly 'substantial'.
Maharashtrian cuisine itself, being the cuisine of Marathi (and hence Mumbai)
people actually covers a wider range of districts - from Nagpur in the
very North, to Mumbai and Pune in the middle, Kolhapur in the south and the
Konkan coast down the west side of India.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZOZZbank1GnXa7_CrJvj9abCKgQwv4QkPaSf_Rse2AczLu-QlgRN5hLhhyVlNw7W4wb6UMs6FPjet2IwoHDYeBkERI1QbxdH6HIvf1Fj_989IAGnBcKZxSOl8Q5AntrCUJTyI_9OgmjJ/s1600/Food+walk+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZOZZbank1GnXa7_CrJvj9abCKgQwv4QkPaSf_Rse2AczLu-QlgRN5hLhhyVlNw7W4wb6UMs6FPjet2IwoHDYeBkERI1QbxdH6HIvf1Fj_989IAGnBcKZxSOl8Q5AntrCUJTyI_9OgmjJ/s400/Food+walk+1.png" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The group of 14 introducing themselves in Aaswad, a mixture of expats and locals. Kalyan at the helm and resplendent in orange</td></tr>
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Within 30 minutes of meeting at
the first eatery - Aaswad - we had already been introduced to a diverse group
of 12 other individuals - including a travel writer, a physician/<a href="http://thesassyfork.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">food blogger</span></a>,
a corporate lawyer and even an American ex-fighter pilot!! A refreshing
drink was swiftly brought out to get things started - Panha - which is a mango
juice infused with cardamom and saffron. As Kalyan proceeded to give us a
commentary on the origins and ingredients of all the dishes we would be
sampling, the food began to arrive: crispy and flat Thalee peeth pancake;
soft batata (potato) vada fragrant with mustard seeds; rice-crispy like sabudana
vada; delicious, sweet mango aamras puri; and lastly, a refreshing amba daal
salad. (Some detailed in the pictures below). My eyes were already
beginning to feel bigger than my stomach!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnk77-67E7rOyHktnnoO7kzmbX6y1v2lHoL7gJuhdDyDkmYACqbYjBKOPXMn_mIw76BdNthloR6NaXjL3CWnv9Wskh3HvnkjLPfaD1rICgsWLtE4u2fYa99rQ2C33x68Wb24lqF5gfdXw/s1600/Food+walk+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnk77-67E7rOyHktnnoO7kzmbX6y1v2lHoL7gJuhdDyDkmYACqbYjBKOPXMn_mIw76BdNthloR6NaXjL3CWnv9Wskh3HvnkjLPfaD1rICgsWLtE4u2fYa99rQ2C33x68Wb24lqF5gfdXw/s320/Food+walk+2.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thalee Peeth - Flat and crispy and tasted a bit like onion baji. Dip it in white butter and yoghurt first.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVQlRveZSoNcT-5RICtGU6-_rPh_suldHDabUkKIwVxM0LHiVoZ9FznbMyj8cp4b-t7xUzIrOe7_fIvUo2Ii_B9xEjUzUMwZaceUSEV3tgYoSCDD32ykTQ9IoUHB6EEPT1QPlggGm8o0D/s1600/Food+walk+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVQlRveZSoNcT-5RICtGU6-_rPh_suldHDabUkKIwVxM0LHiVoZ9FznbMyj8cp4b-t7xUzIrOe7_fIvUo2Ii_B9xEjUzUMwZaceUSEV3tgYoSCDD32ykTQ9IoUHB6EEPT1QPlggGm8o0D/s400/Food+walk+3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy Batata Vada broken open - have it with a sprinkle of chilli and a dollop of cocunut chutney</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqsfVcgVoWZSwEZit_968Xh5-UJyzolZWaCuaJ43LMFQDTMQib-kmX6yXIToEpxpEiHN6TgnCed3bfptJd4Rn7K4ROkCnMysjx96DVuOoklN5BfNY71wSIrO1gigmgflwhAe2wEumoJDW/s1600/Food+walk+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqsfVcgVoWZSwEZit_968Xh5-UJyzolZWaCuaJ43LMFQDTMQib-kmX6yXIToEpxpEiHN6TgnCed3bfptJd4Rn7K4ROkCnMysjx96DVuOoklN5BfNY71wSIrO1gigmgflwhAe2wEumoJDW/s400/Food+walk+4.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sabudana Vada - Fried dumplings of sago. Crispy and wholesome</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdHJHQrZ6_owCBYU_5JMAl1g8bWr1YFvP-wJNbOyQVD-pDI6lB-mlHfSSvJ-bwWpb11il9ta1kD5nyOBcuA7kdfL2RY8tt5q9V3OZ9u9dsbB-GZZk083X3esRnLPx2Gol4GEIlPg2tXQ1/s1600/Food+walk+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdHJHQrZ6_owCBYU_5JMAl1g8bWr1YFvP-wJNbOyQVD-pDI6lB-mlHfSSvJ-bwWpb11il9ta1kD5nyOBcuA7kdfL2RY8tt5q9V3OZ9u9dsbB-GZZk083X3esRnLPx2Gol4GEIlPg2tXQ1/s400/Food+walk+5.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Divine Mango Amraas Puri - mango pureed with a bit of milk in which to dunk puris - which tasted like donuts but better!</td></tr>
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After spending an hour or so at
Aaswad, we moved out of the restaurant and across the road to visit a local
spice shop. The shopkeeper allowed us to smell the various fragrant
spices and tangy pickles and we were even able to taste one or two of them.
I purchased a meat rub with a sophisticated hint of star anise - a good
sized packet for a mere 35 Rs. A stallholder at Crawford Market had
previously tried to rip me off for 300 Rs for a small bag of madras curry
powder, so I was even more pleased with my purchase.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhKvWOQuUHtRohuPaYOdwcOSoO1IoGLLnD1qOYhULhhYeKmFhGkyL-JkWQSjcg7k6ns3oDamCgxFYa_VJpD9mEw4rbM5m3cVTu20rQ2OSH7-t3jYxjOnAQv6zW5mnlAZBFZwaRWxCHwD6/s1600/Food+walk+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhKvWOQuUHtRohuPaYOdwcOSoO1IoGLLnD1qOYhULhhYeKmFhGkyL-JkWQSjcg7k6ns3oDamCgxFYa_VJpD9mEw4rbM5m3cVTu20rQ2OSH7-t3jYxjOnAQv6zW5mnlAZBFZwaRWxCHwD6/s400/Food+walk+6.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spice Kiosk across from Aswaad - smelling and tasting before buying</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYUzMu7vFgmXggN8eZHXWCDuXEOy-Viled8NPvAeRsnFyV0KkUQgK-9VG3Ip8Kwvf7_MDG6lCKUKLyWCTOzEkX4UftMVnPKQGiF33847JB9-cDp1DEg1255InLCklxMRLnmNboYKKbgU5/s1600/Food+walk+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYUzMu7vFgmXggN8eZHXWCDuXEOy-Viled8NPvAeRsnFyV0KkUQgK-9VG3Ip8Kwvf7_MDG6lCKUKLyWCTOzEkX4UftMVnPKQGiF33847JB9-cDp1DEg1255InLCklxMRLnmNboYKKbgU5/s400/Food+walk+7.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colourful Pickles</td></tr>
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Then we moved on to the next shop
- the very charming Kokan Bhavan - which specialises in ingredients from the
Konkan coast. In particular, the juice of Kokum which is a berry unique
to the region and which is used in curries and sherbets. We bought two
large bags of papads for deep frying, a rustic looking mortar and pestle (for
grinding our spices properly!) and we were given a bottle of the Kokum juice
free of charge. We are going to experiment with this juice to see if it
makes a good gin cocktail!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQtBSY_nJHs4sr7wspNb6sy0XZMFvT-fPBn0At3u1OsGsp4WaCu0zCIBN-T0ls_dhlBjc5dtvdzRq4tmGZb_6KMtjgf3YHRL6H0TU25UXeZlpk1aWows3PHh_YzrhnxjFevklNsaxZqGh/s1600/Food+walk+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQtBSY_nJHs4sr7wspNb6sy0XZMFvT-fPBn0At3u1OsGsp4WaCu0zCIBN-T0ls_dhlBjc5dtvdzRq4tmGZb_6KMtjgf3YHRL6H0TU25UXeZlpk1aWows3PHh_YzrhnxjFevklNsaxZqGh/s400/Food+walk+8.png" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kokam Juice - perhaps a nice mixer for a gin cocktail?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoiBrcRBuyY3gG4YSTgyebsyuUgsXkfZLNgE984-4-7ye_pfK9-OG-5aQwVXcyqPfbGNpSAMG0VqctnFVz3v5u8wA848Iy6u_U9gFOseOu0Kl1FNhiDJlGxioxXoIQ-dUbXAy9R-DSmmU/s1600/Food+walk+9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoiBrcRBuyY3gG4YSTgyebsyuUgsXkfZLNgE984-4-7ye_pfK9-OG-5aQwVXcyqPfbGNpSAMG0VqctnFVz3v5u8wA848Iy6u_U9gFOseOu0Kl1FNhiDJlGxioxXoIQ-dUbXAy9R-DSmmU/s400/Food+walk+9.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spices at Kokan Bhavan</td></tr>
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Next we
moved on to Prakash restaurant for a short stop and a taste of 'missal' - a
spicy concoction consisting of mung beans, potato, curry powder and topped with
sev (crunchy gram flour noodles like you find in Bombay Mix). This was a
bit too chilli hot for me but it was nicely washed down with Piyush - a bit
like a sweet lassi and totally delicious.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja40Qd4YAERIVPuPG8ByQPdWaeKeju8H_S0SpkxBUaOCL8Ko2MR-G-PMBHOK5DGzbGJB-gRkBBJCspO3WvymOp9f-Gpxh184QTFh_2Ided-wDIBQc8vX4EA7TpEEBw5_qzR3tqJIhyWyjM/s1600/Food+walk+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja40Qd4YAERIVPuPG8ByQPdWaeKeju8H_S0SpkxBUaOCL8Ko2MR-G-PMBHOK5DGzbGJB-gRkBBJCspO3WvymOp9f-Gpxh184QTFh_2Ided-wDIBQc8vX4EA7TpEEBw5_qzR3tqJIhyWyjM/s400/Food+walk+10.png" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiter at Prakash serving us sweet and refreshing Piyush</td></tr>
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Our final destination (which was
just as well as I was almost at bursting point) was Sachin restaurant - serving
traditional veg and non-veg Gomantak food. Gomantak is a style of cooking that
belongs to the Saraswat community from the coastal areas of Southern
Maharashtra and Goa and is therefore very seafood based. First to come out
was the Sol Kadi - a salty coconut based drink that most of us unfortunately
did not like - worth trying but I think it is an acquired taste. Then in
quick succession - prawn fry, Bombay Duck (Bombil fish) Fry, and Sukha Mutton -
meat cooked in a most unctuous and deeply flavoured sauce.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rC4nrp-OIoxhsEMTWiF5Mf5SWDssf-g6H1yEXlr81HD5acNwf2ByAuYrBWWbuHDoUZXQdD3_y70GfnMx4qvXSLqny1qBlgLlEM4zaXcNIQhyp_Y_vUeOU00ZF5_wZ86HbM_h5-s03f8N/s1600/Food+walk+11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rC4nrp-OIoxhsEMTWiF5Mf5SWDssf-g6H1yEXlr81HD5acNwf2ByAuYrBWWbuHDoUZXQdD3_y70GfnMx4qvXSLqny1qBlgLlEM4zaXcNIQhyp_Y_vUeOU00ZF5_wZ86HbM_h5-s03f8N/s320/Food+walk+11.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The not so popular Sol Kadi - Salty and Warm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAVaJL1SEhtiw_5lGJ5WnmVjyXE0ge5biGgGPmUKm5MPonitn1LdXG0Hjdtj6MB88onvyIDL-RvYSyaSB0AJF0TPtcL6ys_2EtktWjMAY_HQdRiADaWctIRLn8QMTktXDTQ2jGew9Q_T4/s1600/Food+walk+12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAVaJL1SEhtiw_5lGJ5WnmVjyXE0ge5biGgGPmUKm5MPonitn1LdXG0Hjdtj6MB88onvyIDL-RvYSyaSB0AJF0TPtcL6ys_2EtktWjMAY_HQdRiADaWctIRLn8QMTktXDTQ2jGew9Q_T4/s400/Food+walk+12.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prawns Fry - who can resist something so crispy and deep fried! Yum!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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All the
while we were receiving a detailed commentary on the food - their origins and
ingredients and some of the history of the restaurant owners. Kalyan
really knows his stuff and is so enthusiastic about the food, you can't help
but enthuse with him! We left the restaurant thoroughly but pleasantly bloated,
holding a complimentary box of sweets to have later. We really enjoyed our
outing and it made such a change from the usual slump on the sofa in front of a
Sunday night movie. Not only that, but we met an interesting and diverse group
of people, experienced completely new tastes, found new places to shop and we
also came to appreciate Dadar for being a community offering a quality food
culture. A place that would have otherwise remained hidden to us forever.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can't wait
to go on another Food Walk. Kalyan also mentioned he may be offering
cookery lessons during the quieter monsoon period...watch this space as I will
be first in the queue for that!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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</div>
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In order to
get on a walk – keep tabs on the Finely Chopped website (www.finelychopped.net)
or email Kalyan on <a href="mailto:k.finelychopped@gmail.com"><span style="color: blue;">k.finelychopped@gmail.com</span></a> to see when the
next walk is coming up. We paid 2,000 Rs each which included all restaurant
food, a few freebies and bottled water. The outing lasted just under four hours
(6 to 10pm).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<a href="http://bombayjules.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> <b>BombayJules</b></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">BombayJules is a British Expat who has been living in Mumbai with her husband, for almost a year. Since moving to Mumbai she has been involved with an NGO which deals with malnutrition in babies and young children. Through her blog, she tries to document her experiences of Mumbai and write about things that might be of interest to other expats as well as the folks back home. She also writes about her travel in India. She feels truly blessed to be able to have this wonderful time in India.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can follow BombayJules's blog<span style="color: #444444;"> </span><a href="http://bombayjules.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-73456055384425205182013-05-25T10:43:00.001+05:302013-05-25T10:43:06.857+05:30Event: Knock, Stork and Baby<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>What</b>: Knock, Stork and Baby</div>
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<b>When:</b> 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup>
June 2013; 10 am to 10 pm</div>
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<b>Where:</b> CIDCO ground, Sector – 19,
Sanpada, Navi Mumbai<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYoCy33BCNlvwYMUzdgFg33fMI6fy9mHhTHqhyphenhyphenvtIJ-cOkBxdiL2Ith2jqrliU5P7LprZU-RQPD5VpQGdBPwWI1PjFCUYga_9D3e31UbNC36TeJRhpRrUOr_6XqkgnenJVbVFYGyI7W8V/s1600/KnockStorkandBabyFestivalInvite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYoCy33BCNlvwYMUzdgFg33fMI6fy9mHhTHqhyphenhyphenvtIJ-cOkBxdiL2Ith2jqrliU5P7LprZU-RQPD5VpQGdBPwWI1PjFCUYga_9D3e31UbNC36TeJRhpRrUOr_6XqkgnenJVbVFYGyI7W8V/s400/KnockStorkandBabyFestivalInvite.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Parents take note and mark the
dates 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> June in your calendars for a one of a
kind event – a comprehensive kid’s carnival ‘Knock, Stork and Baby’! </div>
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<b>What is it about?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Organized by the Smoking Mirror
Private Limited, this carnival will cover everything of importance for a child;
from health and hygiene, food and nutrition, sports and play, education and
learning, schools and hobbies. The carnival will provide both parents and
children (aged 0 to 15) interesting options like group discussions, workshops,
vocational fun, new-fangled learning concepts, tips on parenting and also some
special retail therapy!</div>
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Celebrity actress and mom
Perizaad Zorabian Irani will be inaugurating the carnival and will host the
very first workshop; SuperMom Diaries – a session on how to provide a vent to
the angst that working mothers face every day regarding work and home balance</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Why the need for such a festival?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Renowned writer Khaled Hosseini once
said, “Children are not colouring books. You do not get to fill them in with
your favourite colours.” But that is exactly what happens. Parents often burden
their children with the task of completing their own unfulfilled dreams! There’s
too much pressure on children, so much so that their childhood often passes by
in a buzz of activity – to break this, change this and to make any and every
iota of difference – is the Knock, Stork and Baby Festival…</div>
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The founders of Smoking Mirror
Private Limited came up with idea of this carnival as they felt that not enough
was being done for the future of our kids. Hence, they felt the need to
initiate a scenario where parents and children together with experts could have
a meaningful exchange of ideas, experience and such.</div>
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So don’t forget to visit the
Knock, Stork and Baby festival on the 1<sup>st</sup> of June with your kids to
have wonderful discussions about parenting and whole lot of fun for the entire
family, especially your kids!</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com1Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-18203432620395359542013-05-23T21:22:00.001+05:302013-05-24T11:49:33.549+05:30Samved - More Than A Fusion Band!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="text-align: justify;">Music these days is all about
experimentation, about crossing over the boundaries of your genre, your style
and collaborating with other styles to create a marvellous new kind of music. Fusion
bands are a rage these days. But there are fusion bands and then there is
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/samvedmusic" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Samved</a>. Their music is a blend of classical Indian music with modern electronic
music to create a fusion which will leave you spell bound with its soulful feel
and refreshing sound. Samved recently got nominated for </span><a href="http://www.planetradiocity.com/rcfa/vote.php?cid=4" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Radio City’s FreedomAwards</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> from among 700 bands. We went behind the scene to understand how a six month old band has
scaled great heights in such a short time!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMd_db44Ma1SopMVRNIWBfARrDzK-0wsdsHiRnJbtSES9ZWBjma6gPWKGqZ2GYfwS6afXADZn42ENpEZ8wMVrdhO5LenLoF3SfUoyPGa2ust6az0rxj6BNB_h24usXxFWZ2UwqyrvBAk5e/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMd_db44Ma1SopMVRNIWBfARrDzK-0wsdsHiRnJbtSES9ZWBjma6gPWKGqZ2GYfwS6afXADZn42ENpEZ8wMVrdhO5LenLoF3SfUoyPGa2ust6az0rxj6BNB_h24usXxFWZ2UwqyrvBAk5e/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samved (L to R: Kirti Das, Sangeet Mishra, Ritwik Joe, KK, Zeeshan Khan)</td></tr>
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<b>Samved – The Band</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/samvedmusic?feature=watch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Samved</a> is a collaboration, which
started in July last year, between performing musicians and friends KK, Zeeshan
Khan, Ritwik Joe, Sangeet Mishra and Kirti Das. On the electronic side are KK,
a 15 year veteran of the music industry, and Ritwik; Zeeshan, belonging to a
famous <i>gharana</i> of classical music,
provides the vocals, while Sangeet on the Sarangi and Kirti on the percussions
add the classical Hindustani music to Samved’s sound. </div>
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The group’s formation began when
KK suggested to Ritwik that it would be cool to add classical vocals, that of Zeeshan,
to an electronic song that he had composed. The three met, jammed and their
group was up and running. However, just classical vocals and electronic music
was not their complete idea of Samved. “We wanted to add performing artist’s to
the group,” says KK. And that’s how Sangeet
and Kirti entered..</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeOKQf876gPdz2m62KGkGWFkG3jlZ46wn15PPSf92bcch5mSAGCBoitvf3YzCMk8kQmyvhE8HLPvTPA7NWt5flJS_ZXqP6nPZZsVuXpJen3zbDbuRzJFkrrCjP4cmpq16uAFRN6gW5Yfa/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeOKQf876gPdz2m62KGkGWFkG3jlZ46wn15PPSf92bcch5mSAGCBoitvf3YzCMk8kQmyvhE8HLPvTPA7NWt5flJS_ZXqP6nPZZsVuXpJen3zbDbuRzJFkrrCjP4cmpq16uAFRN6gW5Yfa/s320/1.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>
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“Fusion is still a very empty
genre,” says KK, on being asked about their motivation to enter into the genre
of fusion. “With electronic music we want to hit the dance section. We don’t
want to want to be in the fashion or lounge category. Samved’s music is very
upbeat, stylized and a very today’s sound,” he adds. </div>
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<br /></div>
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One of the most important things
to ponder upon when forming a fusion band is the kind of instruments that one
wants to mix together. “Most of the fusion bands go with Flute and Sitar,” says
Ritwik, “We decided that we will go with Sarangi, as the sound of Sarangi goes
extremely well with samved’s music,” he further adds. Also Sarangi being a
dying instrument, with just 40 odd players in the country, it is their mission
to promote this heritage of Indian classical music.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZsdaWjkv7PEi1mnFURwVZ2wuAX25shqeHr625kHx3wqXqVGhKSjKT4kQXzqCu7pZCIx849vCvUU6gdVrGWqSf0rYZAJipuW2qwfai5bI2-iwGz6MJypDTdViS4IBXJ273bDMJoh9fG2_/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZsdaWjkv7PEi1mnFURwVZ2wuAX25shqeHr625kHx3wqXqVGhKSjKT4kQXzqCu7pZCIx849vCvUU6gdVrGWqSf0rYZAJipuW2qwfai5bI2-iwGz6MJypDTdViS4IBXJ273bDMJoh9fG2_/s320/2.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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It’s not just their music that
has heavy influence of Indian culture. Everything from the name of the band to
its symbol has roots in Indian culture. The name samved was Ritwik’s
brainchild. “Samved comes from the veda Samved which talks about the power of
sound,” says Ritwik. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The First Album – <i>Rlung Ta</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Their first album ‘<i>Rlung Ta</i>’ was practically done within a
matter of few hours! “Ritwik and I sat together and decided on almost 10 tracks
in two hours!” exclaims Zeeshan. The group went online with their first track
‘Love Science’, in January this year and the feedback ever since has been
phenomenal. “People from the classical music fraternity keep calling me to
praise our efforts for bringing focus on Indian classical music in a better
way,” says Zeeshan. In just six months their Facebook page has got a very
healthy following, most of whom are hardcore musicians and performing artists.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRi2WUOM5B_f9YZswLEsCe6pLR9b7AuJmL_XNSc65n342UYIaWPg2mTubBKS5L-ULA7rkk0797vRSvVynEA5GWoaB6Tbifo0kBxZq3HoWGGZQIu8FiCw6b1wkxYnCqY2u2pXbzgTDm1Bq/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRi2WUOM5B_f9YZswLEsCe6pLR9b7AuJmL_XNSc65n342UYIaWPg2mTubBKS5L-ULA7rkk0797vRSvVynEA5GWoaB6Tbifo0kBxZq3HoWGGZQIu8FiCw6b1wkxYnCqY2u2pXbzgTDm1Bq/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The biggest mark of appreciation
of their music came in the form of nomination for <a href="http://www.planetradiocity.com/rcfa/vote.php?cid=4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Radio City’s Freedom Awards</a>. Their
song ‘Love Science’ was chosen in the 5 nominations for the Best Song Award in
the Folk Fusion from among 700 bands. They are vying for the award with the
likes of Sonu Kakkar, Shankar Tucker and Vivek Rajagopalan. The guys say that right
from the start they were sure about the quality of the music and the nomination
has vindicated their self belief. Since the nomination they have been getting
calls from random people telling them how much they have been impressed with Samved’s
music. “<i>Yaar tera music bahut accha hai,
kuch toh naya hai</i>; these are a few things that people have been saying,”
says an excited Zeeshan.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/UIboruFa7OI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b>The Road Ahead</b></div>
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Samved has so far put up 5 of
their 7 songs from the first album, on their Facebook and Youtube page. “We are
in talks with a few music labels and we plan to release the album soon,” says
KK. Once the album is released they plan to go on all out promotion of the
album for the next one year before releasing their next.</div>
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However, work on their second album
has already begun. “The plan is to take the second album a level higher by
featuring new artists, new instruments and vocalists,” says KK. For a few of
the songs they have roped in <a href="http://discovering-mumbai.blogspot.in/2012/12/from-paris-to-bollywood.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Christie Bourcq</a>, a French actor, dancer and singer
to lend western female vocals. </div>
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<b>Samved – The Project</b></div>
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Samved’s biggest differentiating
factor is the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/samvedmusic?feature=watch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">project</a> that they are running alongside their own album. They
have got some of the best Indian classical musicians to record video tutorials
that will teach people how to splay classical instruments and various raagas. “Our
mission is to promote Indian classical music in the best way possible. We have
the likes of Imran Khan and Sabir Khan in these videos. The classical music
fraternity has showed us great love and support for this project,” says Ritwik.
The group will be following this with tutorials on electronic music which will
feature renowned international electronic artists. So do keep an eye on this
page, if you are a fan of Indian classical or electronic music!</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/QaWOYuNci9w?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Like we said at the start, Samved
is not just a fusion band; it is much more than that. It is a mission to
promote Indian classical music; an effort to extend its appeal to the younger
generation. Through their project they are trying to spread the knowledge of classical
music to a wide audience and they hope it will inspire people to take up
classical music. “If through these videos even one person stands up says that I
want to learn Sarangi, then I will feel that my mission is complete!” says
Ritwik.</div>
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You can follow Samved on their
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/samvedmusic" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/samvedmusic?feature=watch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Youtube</a> pages. And if you liked their music, then don’t forget to
vote for them on the Radio City website – <a href="http://www.planetradiocity.com/rcfa/vote.php?cid=4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com1Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-31752015495169384562013-05-22T13:50:00.001+05:302013-05-22T14:05:57.496+05:30Expat Corner: The Mumbai Dabbawalas - Dabba Dabba Do!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We have a new blogger on Discovering Mumbai. The ever inquisitive British expat blogger and columnist <a href="http://bombayjules.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BombayJules</a>. Recently she travelled all the way to Churchgate Station in south Mumbai to observe the
famous Dabbawalahs in action (Dabbawallas, Dabbawallahs, or Tiffin Wallahs).
Here’s what she has learned about the famous Tiffin delivery service of Mumbai!
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p>You can follow her blog - <a href="http://bombayjules.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> </o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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For the
readers back home, a Dabbawala is a person whose sole job it is to collect home
cooked '<i>dabbas</i>' - basically packed lunches - from the homes of office
workers and deliver them to said office workers via different modes of
transport. After the packed lunch - or <i>tiffin</i> - has been
consumed, the Dabbawala will re-collect the empty box and take it back home to
the person's residence. Each tiffin box usually contains two or three
containers - mostly carrying traditional Indian foods such as rice, veg curry,
chapattis and vegetables. No doubt with a fraction of the calories of a
Pret-a-Manger sandwich.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZE-ZIRbuH784LahRl7WsCehtrx3AR3RstHcQMDlOwMeXtefohKp6-0YNBJpipQuSPmScf5gzSxs8KcAWOcY3b4XCxh9CwWNnrvqMUoVQSbbtKP-Po5s0wvqzr5YS1BTCUGiLan2TFsFUK/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZE-ZIRbuH784LahRl7WsCehtrx3AR3RstHcQMDlOwMeXtefohKp6-0YNBJpipQuSPmScf5gzSxs8KcAWOcY3b4XCxh9CwWNnrvqMUoVQSbbtKP-Po5s0wvqzr5YS1BTCUGiLan2TFsFUK/s320/1.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dabbawala
in his pristine white uniform</span></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="line-height: 17.25pt;">Every day, about 5,000 semi-literate Dabbawalas deliver a staggering
175,000 - 200,000 tiffins to Mumbai's office workers, using a colour and code
marking system to ensure faultless delivery (codings, that would apparently
baffle the most advanced of cryptographers). In fact, Harvard has made a study
of this incredible delivery system due to the fact that mistakes only occur at
a rate of one in six million - all done without the use of IT and cell phones.
Beat that Tescos! And not only has our very own Prince Charles and Richard
Branson been to meet the Dabbawalas of Mumbai, but back in 2004, the President
of the Tiffin Suppliers Association addressed a group of 50 management gurus on
the finer points of logistics management. Further, Forbes also awarded it a six
sigma performance rating! (OK I don't know what that is but it sounds
impressive huh?).</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are many persons in the dabba chain between home and office - and
the deliveries are made using a kind of relay system: A Dabbawala will collect
around 30 lunch boxes at around 9-10am - he will then distribute these to other
Dabbawalas at the train station dependent upon the final destination of the
office worker. On the train journey into the city, each carrier can transport
up to 40 packages on a long tray that they balance on their heads. At the main
terminus at the other end (in our case, Churchgate station but also commonly
Mahalaxmi or Victoria Terminus), the dabbawalas stream off the train at around
11.30 am where they re-group outside the station to organise the onward journey
of the lunches. The onward journey is usually by cart, bicycle or on foot
through the heavy traffic. An amazing spectacle! The journey is then reversed
upon collection of the empty tiffin boxes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkI1IdxGDtu0KhLlZWU7u4MwGmnm8yKx-ptlVmfGAS-4yRTkJ6WvfxXlqRvMfvkkLBNQv8xWoemcZIFBq4yb4tscmZqujcLGH9EFg9YzcoE38g5rh3VemijrUxh97Yfj6N_nLAfOyaxgdo/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkI1IdxGDtu0KhLlZWU7u4MwGmnm8yKx-ptlVmfGAS-4yRTkJ6WvfxXlqRvMfvkkLBNQv8xWoemcZIFBq4yb4tscmZqujcLGH9EFg9YzcoE38g5rh3VemijrUxh97Yfj6N_nLAfOyaxgdo/s400/2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dabbas
being collected and sorted for their onward journeys at Churchgate Station.<br />
We got told off by the police for trying to take pictures inside the station so
we couldn't get any good shots of the Dabbawalas streaming off the train.</span></td></tr>
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Now you may well ask yourself (as I did), why on earth these office
workers don't just take their own packed lunch into work - as is the norm in
the rest of the world. Well having done a little bit of research on this, I can
tell you the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Genuine, cheap and hygienic home cooked food guaranteed:</b> For the majority of Mumbai workers,
restaurants are way too expensive to be a daily solution. On the streets,
numerous outside stalls sell for a few rupees different types of snacks that
you have to eat standing on the pavement in the middle of the crowd and
sanitary cooking conditions are not guaranteed!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Food diversity of Indian people:</b> With the diversity of Indian eating habits, it is very difficult
to answer the specific need of each employee in a same place. “Veg” and “non
veg” are usually the only two options that canteens are able to give, without
taking care of all the different regime between religion, castes or geographic
origin. By delivering to each employee his tiffin filled with food prepared at
his home, dabbawalas solve the problem.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Time shortages:</b> Many
Indian workers have to leave very early in the morning to make their long
commute to work - before 7am at least. It is enough that the individual or the
Indian housewife has to get up, get their breakfast ready and send the kids off
to school. The Dabbawala service affords wives a couple more hours to prepare
their husband's lunch - cooking it and packing it before it is picked up from
their home at between 9am and 10am. Not only that, but on the extremely crowded
trains of Mumbai, it means that workers can move unhindered - with both hands
free to fight for precious space.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Dabbawala as postman: </b>In the days before mobile phones, housewives could send messages to
their husbands in the tiffin package. And messages could be sent back from the
husband upon collection of the empty box. (Probably 'do this, do that!' rather
than 'I love you'...!).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Dabbawala as status symbol:</b> For those households who cannot afford servants, having a
Dabbawala deliver your lunch is seen as the first step to having staff. After
all, the service is a mere few rupees a day - and is therefore a service that
doesn't break the bank of ordinary workers. Especially in Mumbai where life is
already so costly for middle class people. The service generally costs about
450 Rs a <i>month</i> (GBP 5.50 or $8) and the ingredients themselves
- very little.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So lesson over, here are more pictures!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKXpiPHP1fIByRAcAUuCPVo2qoQLXFzBFG8gVF-QHKKeqe5v5y_jcwGIy3mHqzqK0TXProDUTskHrGrfT9niZplnZjPY5ofOwxyk039zUy2V3H3FC3yUldv7oO9iUlSMKUrrLQA3GfiJR/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKXpiPHP1fIByRAcAUuCPVo2qoQLXFzBFG8gVF-QHKKeqe5v5y_jcwGIy3mHqzqK0TXProDUTskHrGrfT9niZplnZjPY5ofOwxyk039zUy2V3H3FC3yUldv7oO9iUlSMKUrrLQA3GfiJR/s400/3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With
re-distribution of the tiffins organised outside the terminal, they fill the
cart and head off to nearby offices</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHxhqbCzE9C2LynzxZc8qEM01KsGaUUkxu1qXF1XWfVqBKM7S1qKa8Ze4Wfmlb8mmNe0jsPTzkukkEwbVXrzGW_fwJInXSLxMXMcO7clcqmkgCQ0kA-95qKI67N454WytXHaLlp2ST5Xv/s1600/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHxhqbCzE9C2LynzxZc8qEM01KsGaUUkxu1qXF1XWfVqBKM7S1qKa8Ze4Wfmlb8mmNe0jsPTzkukkEwbVXrzGW_fwJInXSLxMXMcO7clcqmkgCQ0kA-95qKI67N454WytXHaLlp2ST5Xv/s320/4.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Traditional
tiffin boxes...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8eASwUWw8pnGVS22E9dpoPJ_f_xoAdXV58gzkQETMinu_la-IAxsErZm2lao8YX9NX054EAHkiCxUloCNvFE553QEr_UN3MiZvY0m99_CUAebrK4O4y7XILwEgTs3vgpFESPeujL2MhqK/s1600/5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8eASwUWw8pnGVS22E9dpoPJ_f_xoAdXV58gzkQETMinu_la-IAxsErZm2lao8YX9NX054EAHkiCxUloCNvFE553QEr_UN3MiZvY0m99_CUAebrK4O4y7XILwEgTs3vgpFESPeujL2MhqK/s400/5.png" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.....a
bit fancier and more colourful these days...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB03g7yXpRBeyfTWKvhAQc18TRuQM1WRVly9kbMwAxHwrwpDAPcvXCQ_2xk75aHIOGXB2eacaCcukUZAxRPK-unRD081FX3dUeKb2sI_bcHQS96UeNBqdzMueF6eOLxwLaWXMqGk4OYBt/s1600/6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB03g7yXpRBeyfTWKvhAQc18TRuQM1WRVly9kbMwAxHwrwpDAPcvXCQ_2xk75aHIOGXB2eacaCcukUZAxRPK-unRD081FX3dUeKb2sI_bcHQS96UeNBqdzMueF6eOLxwLaWXMqGk4OYBt/s400/6.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Each
tray can hold up to 40 lunches - try balancing that lot on <i>your </i>head!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ol1fMM3fi_H1tah13i_aH-q4kE7K7i_0Ife5QXOmaevhE_rOomIdYEpIppNzAXMwf58zBTvRfWbfX0GO53MYqAr6d0RL76p-7ar-J-HsmBKgA4ezfbMGTpvhEQGKXtE5FHjCsoHYft6x/s1600/7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ol1fMM3fi_H1tah13i_aH-q4kE7K7i_0Ife5QXOmaevhE_rOomIdYEpIppNzAXMwf58zBTvRfWbfX0GO53MYqAr6d0RL76p-7ar-J-HsmBKgA4ezfbMGTpvhEQGKXtE5FHjCsoHYft6x/s400/7.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">These
guys have three lots of trays - about 120 lunches which they will push through
the Mumbai traffic on carts. Dabbawalas earn just 4,000 to 5,000 Rs a month
(GBP 50 / $80)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZUWTN9_t4FGyjbP5punFIOc7YIZ7anbvMK39qPLzXuT-7wyoZBQM9kccJO16n4f9VGWQeAL6SRz5Yoh-06_i8s66SNR0suBFGDVWw4yNjdmjQli91iiqzayoLQ7ZKwFWnFyoWLfOjGIk/s1600/8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZUWTN9_t4FGyjbP5punFIOc7YIZ7anbvMK39qPLzXuT-7wyoZBQM9kccJO16n4f9VGWQeAL6SRz5Yoh-06_i8s66SNR0suBFGDVWw4yNjdmjQli91iiqzayoLQ7ZKwFWnFyoWLfOjGIk/s400/8.png" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Biting
off more than he can chew?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBH-wvIzq1Lx6W1pII6WiN_OFA9hfPHlWdYvD2MM9I0nW_HeVGFJmdxCv2Zxv8yO-9JbDInnEAlsr0YMxgSxB5TtuH1rSAvNNy4py76WVcR3yF10oXCNlH4RXs1owOf9osi5nT1wwh24BP/s1600/9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBH-wvIzq1Lx6W1pII6WiN_OFA9hfPHlWdYvD2MM9I0nW_HeVGFJmdxCv2Zxv8yO-9JbDInnEAlsr0YMxgSxB5TtuH1rSAvNNy4py76WVcR3yF10oXCNlH4RXs1owOf9osi5nT1wwh24BP/s400/9.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Competing
with the traffic for space</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEp4uBMeNa9K3mEVXHyxy70wlPESg7NVEPWrLCseOw1ZbbsRW0rHkoFQSWOsCK6RBBl6bvGNfCq6ktGgR5SKRyGwzLFtP1H8z8x9oYRtCSt9mV5trxvwfZJ3E2l-4WAr2YAKgT37k1t1AK/s1600/10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEp4uBMeNa9K3mEVXHyxy70wlPESg7NVEPWrLCseOw1ZbbsRW0rHkoFQSWOsCK6RBBl6bvGNfCq6ktGgR5SKRyGwzLFtP1H8z8x9oYRtCSt9mV5trxvwfZJ3E2l-4WAr2YAKgT37k1t1AK/s400/10.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
code (http://www.cookatease.com/)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
-<a href="http://bombayjules.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> BombayJules</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
BombayJules is a British Expat who has been living in Mumbai with her husband, for almost a year. Since moving to Mumbai she has been involved with an NGO which deals with
malnutrition in babies and young children. Through her blog, she tries to document her experiences of
Mumbai and write about things that might be of interest to other expats
as well as the folks back home. She also writes about her travel in India. She feels truly blessed to be able to have this
wonderful time in India.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
You can follow BombayJules's blog <a href="http://bombayjules.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-82331688010309704612013-05-20T13:15:00.000+05:302013-05-20T18:00:25.149+05:30The Train Species!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Daily,
the Mumbai local trains carry millions of people to work and back home,
carrying a passenger load nearly 3 to 4 times over its capacity. But what’s
really interesting about the locals is not the sheer complexity of the railway
system but the people who use it for commute. The overstuffed, overcrowded and
congested insides of the trains are a different world altogether. It’s nothing
like the outside world! And in this unique environment you will find species
that are exclusive to the world of Mumbai’s local train.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Hop on
this train ride with us as we take a look at these special ‘Train Species’! You
will certainly be able to relate with many of these train species!</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtk5luOifsxRnuiLwRFDm1kL_3M5zrpwFz2V9jMrpwNJO1FR-4ouPFPuo1-9KHAJvlLyE9Ihhedz9wAhREEu1JQyR4rpq6M9pYkwjOHI1nohFSurImTdnd0eCoOLnbOU9W7JHP5lMUlIM/s1600/local-train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtk5luOifsxRnuiLwRFDm1kL_3M5zrpwFz2V9jMrpwNJO1FR-4ouPFPuo1-9KHAJvlLyE9Ihhedz9wAhREEu1JQyR4rpq6M9pYkwjOHI1nohFSurImTdnd0eCoOLnbOU9W7JHP5lMUlIM/s320/local-train.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Reuters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Homo - Connected
- Sapiens<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">This
species is always connected, constantly fidgeting with their cell phones. They
survive on a diet of Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook and other apps. This is a very
reclusive species which likes to stay within their burrow. The only time you
will see them coming out of the burrows is when their cell phones lose network
or when their devices run out of power. These kinds can be spotted from a
distance thanks to thin wires black, white, red or even blue hanging from their
ears! Do not try to strike a conversation with them as they hate to be
disturbed from their solitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Homo - Chatterbox
- Sapiens<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">This specie’s
most recognizable trait is their loud voice. They can be easily spotted even in
the most crowded trains as they keep shouting into their cell phone, and in all
the commotion inside the train, trying to make sense of what the person on the
other end is saying! They do not care that the whole compartment, hundreds of
people that is, can listen to every word of their conversation! This species
can be a very irritating one!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqloer-mBeDwCJahT3S7mRke00qnx0xS1_2EIoI7Y5rklOF3-dQw-Nu32_B4iY943tFjW6Ma81dOCwxBZIRbrUfcgtFSyWAmvoRCUEVI03tTVmGGRdBLZnCS5gMJmbFubXK0noQF-DFCh/s1600/local2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqloer-mBeDwCJahT3S7mRke00qnx0xS1_2EIoI7Y5rklOF3-dQw-Nu32_B4iY943tFjW6Ma81dOCwxBZIRbrUfcgtFSyWAmvoRCUEVI03tTVmGGRdBLZnCS5gMJmbFubXK0noQF-DFCh/s320/local2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Homo - Gyaani
- Sapiens<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Members
of this species can always be found in groups. They are presumably very smart
as you will always find them talking about topics like business, finance, stock
markets or politics. The leader of the pack is the one who is supposedly the
smartest and the loudest and the one giving away most of the <i>gyaan</i>. It is considered wise to listen
carefully to their conversations as you might end up benefiting from the <i>gyaan</i> being disbursed! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Homo - Hangout
- Sapiens<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">This
species takes the meaning of the term ‘hanging out’ in its most literal form.
Members of these species can be found hanging on the doors of the trains; in fact
they can also be found hanging from windows, on rooftops and in between two
bogies. As anyone who has travelled on locals will tell you, hanging is a very
special skill. Many even categorize this as an extreme sport! This species can
also be found in groups which are very co-operative, changing position from
time to time letting other members of the clan to hang too. These people are
very protective of their areas and always ready to fight to protect their right
to hang! The most surprising thing is that they will hang outside even if all the
seats are vacant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLFF-omuoGWosMDYLXtYDfXC2P-tfX4t-SdxOp6dEM9svu2j0YJ3LitIpQPLyJ79Wqji7qqr6nowOviqYC-OQpGFK5z0vGQQSiM10BaJznK_n_NWEV9DOJ6arYgD0YeSIgK5FpVxbLzsG/s1600/mumbai-travel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLFF-omuoGWosMDYLXtYDfXC2P-tfX4t-SdxOp6dEM9svu2j0YJ3LitIpQPLyJ79Wqji7qqr6nowOviqYC-OQpGFK5z0vGQQSiM10BaJznK_n_NWEV9DOJ6arYgD0YeSIgK5FpVxbLzsG/s320/mumbai-travel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Homo - Pissed
off - Sapiens<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">This
species is most often found during the peak rush hours. Always in a bad mood
they are ready to pick up a fight at the slightest incitement. Reasons for the
pissed off mood can be many but generally accepted ones are – fought with wife
in the morning or was screwed badly by the boss the boss at office! It is in
one’s own interest to stay away from this extremely volatile and hazardous
species.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Homo - Reservation
– Sapiens<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">This
species prefers to live in large groups and forage in carefully demarcated
areas. This group has the power to do what others can’t i.e. reserve seats in train
that has no reservations. Their groups are a tightly knit pack and they will
fight ferociously to protect their land! If you are new to the local train
jungle then your first step should be to try to sneak into one of these clans.
Apart from the benefit of a guaranteed seat, other gains include breakfast and
sometimes a whole lot of prayers!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Zdby6WjfrxFvcZ-we06kTtEZd8aVYthJBDr0CV_8qBNWemyuk2kJ2sW62gN334wIDUhyphenhyphen7-Mrn4Cxu2TBvjjEUv6l2NPXYpXoB3OnRsjDRwBv1-Jvq1px5QCQbE7RjME-WZnqDrMYKF_d/s1600/Local-Trains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Zdby6WjfrxFvcZ-we06kTtEZd8aVYthJBDr0CV_8qBNWemyuk2kJ2sW62gN334wIDUhyphenhyphen7-Mrn4Cxu2TBvjjEUv6l2NPXYpXoB3OnRsjDRwBv1-Jvq1px5QCQbE7RjME-WZnqDrMYKF_d/s320/Local-Trains.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Have we
missed out on some regularly seen species? Do let us know through comments or
write in to us at discoveringmumbai@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">For more
articles by ‘The Wandering Mumbaikar’ click <b><a href="http://discovering-mumbai.blogspot.in/search/label/The%20Wandering%20Mumbaikar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com5Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-3667144256734037752013-05-18T12:05:00.000+05:302013-05-20T18:01:36.111+05:30Mumbai - The City Of Scams!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Coalgate, Railgate; we have become so used to these terms
lately. Wherever you see, in newspapers, on TV and radio, people are talking
about some or the other scam. Recent times have been very turbulent for the
country, with many high level scams worth thousands of crores of rupees being
exposed. So we decided to have a look at some of the scams that hit our very
own city in the recent years. Here is a list of few of these scams! Let us know
what you think about them.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Mumbai District Central Co-operative Bank scam</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCb-C6kgj0_Zc57dGJ6k6qMEfJIc5DPmhHM_IlQwPl5NoX-Sr4UwOkgIzmBXedIhFbnectNzcICONSYG3i34igXzts40VTDiijQk_JZa_fyv5AYnfKZVmkwWuv1ekE4-5kQbTQJjXrj44/s1600/Co_operative.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCb-C6kgj0_Zc57dGJ6k6qMEfJIc5DPmhHM_IlQwPl5NoX-Sr4UwOkgIzmBXedIhFbnectNzcICONSYG3i34igXzts40VTDiijQk_JZa_fyv5AYnfKZVmkwWuv1ekE4-5kQbTQJjXrj44/s320/Co_operative.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We have always stayed away from co-operative banks, as we
could never trust them in terms of their governance. And we stand vindicated,
thanks to this particular scam! In April, this year, news broke out that 22
credit societies have been accused of duping the Mumbai Disctrict Central
Co-operative Bank of around 60 crore rupees!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
How did they do it? Apparently the perpetrators of this
scam, carried out over a period of 5 years from 2006 to 2011, forged documents
of almost 400 members to avail loans amounting to approximately 88.49 crores!
And this fraud was uncovered only after these thieves were unable to pay back 61
crores of the loan amount to the bank.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Few of the credit societies involved were – <b>Ashray
Co-operative Credit Society</b> and <b>Jeevhala Co-operative</b> Credit Society. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Traffic Booth Scam</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nE8sEXoBADMgzbWp3DOXmP5kT8K6IQtYKObRH_-VIPhGXL0hosbXxb92O1jfup0TwL8qS8zqwcIlPtK5rGixH9foAjKQhWx0f3g2PMdorfP6YG9LjuIEbvE-8aIhz-2Se4ybVS7Ll4yp/s1600/309502_286598564683834_976829559_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nE8sEXoBADMgzbWp3DOXmP5kT8K6IQtYKObRH_-VIPhGXL0hosbXxb92O1jfup0TwL8qS8zqwcIlPtK5rGixH9foAjKQhWx0f3g2PMdorfP6YG9LjuIEbvE-8aIhz-2Se4ybVS7Ll4yp/s320/309502_286598564683834_976829559_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Social activist <b>Indur Chhugani</b>, in 2007, filed a PIL in the
Mumbai High Court seeking investigation into an alleged scam worth Rs. 1200
crores involving the Mumbai Police, the BMC and a private advertising company
by the name Clear Channel Mumbai Pvt Ltd.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The said advertising company was given the rights to build
traffic booths across the city which could then be used for advertising
purposes. The PIL claimed that these booths generated around Rs. 10 crores in
revenue (advertisement costs at these booths ranged from 60,000 to 3 lakhs a
month) and the entire sum was pocketed by the advertising company and corrupt
police officials. Not a single dime reached the government quarters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The PIL further claimed that the Police and BMC favoured the
said advertising company as no tenders were invited for this project. Further
it was also observed that these booths were rarely used by the policemen and
were just a ploy to make advertising revenue.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In 2011, the High Court scrapped the project.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Slum Rehabilitation Scheme Scam</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzvkoK_R7hdD7N-nPLc-65uIuGKxoIte9tUg3ZBaRTJVMkGQB3qFZNCJIls1EebKC8UzK-Xa0mi3YaKVd_qNpolko8hBpUnJjcNfkLM4taPuRmUkXEoACczgUYcRZOyCnwT1G9wxt28qQ/s1600/mhada+BUILDINGS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzvkoK_R7hdD7N-nPLc-65uIuGKxoIte9tUg3ZBaRTJVMkGQB3qFZNCJIls1EebKC8UzK-Xa0mi3YaKVd_qNpolko8hBpUnJjcNfkLM4taPuRmUkXEoACczgUYcRZOyCnwT1G9wxt28qQ/s320/mhada+BUILDINGS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The Slum Rehabilitation Scheme run by the <b>Slum
Rehabilitation Authority</b> (SRA) was conceptualized with the noble intentions of
providing free homes to the millions of slum dwellers of Mumbai. However, over
a period of time the scheme and the SRA got embroiled in a number of
controversies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Under the scheme the builders had to give tenements to all slum
dwellers free of cost and in return the builder got extra FSI which he could
sell at market rates. Most of the builders would fraudulently increase the
number of slum dwellers and bag extra FSI. This allowed them to build more
apartments and sell them at market rates. In a number of cases BMC or SRA
officials were the benefactors of these extra apartments.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A major example of this scam was 2010 expose of the
<b>Prabhadevi Co-operative housing society</b> developed under scheme, wherein the
builder fraudulently increased the number of tenants to bag extra FSI, value of
which was calculated to around 4,500 crores back then!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Adarsh Housing Society Scam</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPO9s3oEjtIywsDZZZK_drYX6oKFiL2bDrC7qfh59JB_RROFA4qplv9FpkyV7fDI-ukq7UHGjXybnVRXn2ChYYRIYEPLE0Uaeir41pkMmtUdgVHATpuWK0J-2gd2k47yAXYMiJjFGccJyo/s1600/220px-Adarsh_Housing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPO9s3oEjtIywsDZZZK_drYX6oKFiL2bDrC7qfh59JB_RROFA4qplv9FpkyV7fDI-ukq7UHGjXybnVRXn2ChYYRIYEPLE0Uaeir41pkMmtUdgVHATpuWK0J-2gd2k47yAXYMiJjFGccJyo/s1600/220px-Adarsh_Housing.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Adarsh is arguably the biggest scam the city has seen in
recent times. The scam involved high ranking officials in the Army, the BMC and
the State government. Then chief minister of Maharashtra, <b>Ashok Chavan</b>, had to
resign from his post as he was one of the accused in the scam.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Land to develop the Adarsh housing society was handed over
in 2000 and this project was meant for the widows of Kargil war. However,
officials in the army and state government had other, not so charitable ideas.
The Adarsh project plan was modified to accommodate the greed of many people.
What was meant to be a 6 storey building, ended up being a 100 metre tall tower.
Regulations like CRZ were violated, environmental clearances and NOC’s were
obtained through manipulations. In the end the people for whom it was meant
were pushed out and high ranking army officers and politicians ended up
gobbling all the flats in the building.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The biggest learning of this saga was that people at influential
posts within the system could collude, manipulate the system and exploit public
property for their personal gains so easily!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Railway Bribery Scam</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWDmcwpbzdlNleYWbV0277QLx0h4Eo58PmNzIeLRA3TeXIE1VyEOd9D6gJDeFokzVlJ6BKW0Obymb1PmIP0rSnh1F2cu3D6Thzg7b408pPmCehWl-c8AZOjJ_OvDGNgsO-IHlip3aqArC/s1600/Mahesh+kumar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWDmcwpbzdlNleYWbV0277QLx0h4Eo58PmNzIeLRA3TeXIE1VyEOd9D6gJDeFokzVlJ6BKW0Obymb1PmIP0rSnh1F2cu3D6Thzg7b408pPmCehWl-c8AZOjJ_OvDGNgsO-IHlip3aqArC/s320/Mahesh+kumar.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The Railway Bribery Scam has its roots in Mumbai, as it was
the GM Western Railway, Mr. <b>Mahesh Kumar</b> who bribed the nephew of erstwhile
Railways Minister <b>Pawan Bansal</b>. Mr. Kumar was caught paying a bribe of Rs. 90
Lakh to Bansal’s nephew, while the total amount committed was Rs. 10 Crore! 10
crores might sound small, compared to 2G and Coalgate estimations, but it was
significant enough for the opposition parties to stall the functioning of the
parliament and demand resignation of PM Manmohan Singh. The congress spent
jittery nights on this issue till finally they convinced Mr. Bansal to resign
from his post. The PM’s image took a lot of beating as Bansal was one of his
close aides.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We were at a meeting of RTI activists a few days ago and one
of the members claimed that the former GM had been involved in many other cases
of wrong doings earlier also, but no action was taken against him yet. We guess
justice finally caught up with him!<br />
<br />
-The Wandering Mumbaikar</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595789699999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561777 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-86372211301318292592013-05-08T19:40:00.001+05:302013-05-20T18:04:03.411+05:30Unjunking Junk Food<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">For most of us eating right is
the mightiest challenge that we have ever taken on. Especially for those
working in 9 to 5 jobs, taking time out of busy schedules on weekdays to go to
a gym and sweat it out, is a tough task. Also the fact that our worlds are full
of junk food, and people short on time invariably end up surviving on a diet of
junk food, adds to our helplessness. While exercising might be tough, the
easier way out to control your weight would be to control your food habits,
avoid the junk. And to help you out in this endeavour two young entrepreneurs,
‘Divyesh Panchal’ and ‘Yash Bhatia’ have started a company by the name of ‘<a href="http://www.facebook.com/justunjunk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">JustUnjunk</a>!’, which gives you the goodness of “Unjunk” food with the taste of the
junk! Doesn't that sound so enticing?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_fViULMurd3R7Z9QoIsL-IBbhrcnpa79AJ_9NaAdQ3Pijfps2vq_V9RGvdkdoN16JPq9-YFvmGqLKNcMPxRG-mGhh8leVzR3aOsMG3x-a_IEAdzal6yllVNq-8WawqVL_O6h3Xmli-HU/s1600/Divyesh+Panchal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_fViULMurd3R7Z9QoIsL-IBbhrcnpa79AJ_9NaAdQ3Pijfps2vq_V9RGvdkdoN16JPq9-YFvmGqLKNcMPxRG-mGhh8leVzR3aOsMG3x-a_IEAdzal6yllVNq-8WawqVL_O6h3Xmli-HU/s1600/Divyesh+Panchal.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Divyesh Panchal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
Divyesh, is a Bachelor in Hotel
Management and an MBA in marketing. Before starting Just UnJunk! he was worked
with Vodafone. His partner ‘Yash Bhatia’ also an MBA was working with him at
Vodafone for the same boss. Both young guns always had an urge to start their
own venture. Food and Beverage was very close to Divyesh’s heart, his graduation
being from that field, and they both decided that it was the perfect industry
to get into for them. Thus was born <a href="http://www.twitter.com/justunjunk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Just Unjunk!</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i>
<i>“The normal food available for the aam aadmi has always been junk food.
It is cheap, quick and available everywhere,</i>” says Divyesh. Healthy food,
on the other hand has always been perceived as expensive, boring and thought of
as something that you can’t have daily. “<i>We
saw a clear gap between the junk and healthy food and decided to service this
market,</i>” he says. Right now their target markets are the corporates. The
duos aim is to make affordable Unjunked food for the masses, while ensuring
that the taste factor is not compromised. The whole idea is to ‘Unjunk’ the
‘Junk’ food. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
To start out, they decided that
soups was the best category. “<i>India is
not a soup drinking country and the mostly we have soups when we are having
Chinese or when we are sick! However, soups are the best way to have vegetables</i>,”
says Divyesh. Though they do offer the healthy versions of the ever popular
manchow and tomato soups, surprisingly, their flagship soups are that of lentil
and carrot. Price range for the soups is 20 to 30 rupees and these are served
in glasses. They believe that soups are a very good alternative to the numerous
cups of tea that people have in offices, which causes acidity. “<i>Our ultimate aim is to replace those
coffee/tea vending machines with freshly prepared soups,</i>” he says.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9VlWl1rtDnZmkFLsD09OUke2qR2wUEmBY8nzLGQ_7k4mt5t9f8C7mafD4jhI4z_pOW90UrEAK8tWJCl42UnDTfx2ph26BS8BelhXbfEAlaBi-BFKPU39ojY-AyAi_WB6KniA-RZKr3_x/s1600/Yash+Bhatia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9VlWl1rtDnZmkFLsD09OUke2qR2wUEmBY8nzLGQ_7k4mt5t9f8C7mafD4jhI4z_pOW90UrEAK8tWJCl42UnDTfx2ph26BS8BelhXbfEAlaBi-BFKPU39ojY-AyAi_WB6KniA-RZKr3_x/s320/Yash+Bhatia.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yash Bhatia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Apart from soups Just Unjunk also
offers juices and salads. The juices are available in a variety of combinations
like orange, mausambi and pineapple or apple and guava and vegetables too. Even
the salad options are very innovative with an attractive price range starting
at 30 rupees for veg salads and up to 60 rupees for the non-veg salads. Salads
are pivotal to their entire product stable and have immense differentiation in
the way of presentation and taste. They do not have quintessential Ceaser and
Russian Salads but altogether innovative range of salad that can seduce any
Indian palette. “<i>All Sprouts” to start
with, is served with a soup dressing while “Reshmi Murg Salad” has a
scrumptious finesse of Reshmi Tikka”</i>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The duo constantly works on
creating new dishes and they have a host of ideas lined up. People usually have
chips and biscuits in between meals and they would like to offer roasted
version of chips along with delicious dips. “<i>We have just launched the ‘Unjunk Bhel’ which retains the essence of
the normal bhel, but uses roasted chiwda instead of the normal kurmura based
bhels</i>,” says Divyesh. They are also looking at starting foot-longs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Just Unjunk! is currently serving
their previous employer Vodafone, a customer base of around 700. The plan is to
expand their service to another 10 – 12 corporates by next year and a half. Marketing
right now is very low key. It’s more of creating awareness among the customers
about the kind of right food options available to them through Just Unjunk!. They
have also worked out various combos like soup and salad combo that people can
substitute their meals with. Since they are servicing their previous employer,
most of the marketing has happened through word of mouth. The response they
have received has been very encouraging.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The journey so far has had its
fair share of challenges for Just Unjunk!, the biggest one being the perception
towards health food. The fact that people have always thought of health food as
an expensive option has been a big roadblock for the duo. F&B industry, due
to its very nature, has also presented them with a lot of challenges. Inflation
and fluctuating prices have been a big headache for them. Fluctuating prices
ensure that the profits do not remain stable and it also gives the vendors more
bargaining power making procurement a hassle. Then there was also the criticism
from a lot of people when they decided to quit their jobs and jump into
entrepreneurship.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
On the personal front, the whole
experience has been very enlightening and enriching for Divyesh. “<i>I would like to be a motivational speaker
one day,</i>” he says, explaining how he would like to share his experience,
the lessons he has learned with all those who too would like to jump into
entrepreneurship. The biggest lesson for Divyesh has been perseverance. “<i>You might have a good idea, but if you don’t
have the perseverance to stick to it, then you might end up being just another
player in the market, rather than being the one who wants to change the world”</i>
he believes. He also believes that it is never too young to start your own
venture, “<i>Steve Jobs took his company
public at 25”.</i>Running Just Unjunk! has been a challenging and exhausting
task, but Divyesh has relished every second of it and looks forward to bigger
challenges to overcome in the future.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
With their youthful energy and
innovative ideas the guys at ‘Just Unjunk!’ are surely going to change the way
you look at eating food, they are going to make it tastier and more exciting
than you ever thought it could be. And they are going to do this by ‘Unjunking
the Junk’!<br />
<br />
What do you think about Divyesh and Yash's idea? Do let us know your opinions.<br />
<br />
You can check out more about Just Unjunk on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/justunjunk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/justunjunk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595791199999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561762 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-64733482796859644772013-05-08T00:49:00.001+05:302013-05-20T19:47:53.761+05:30Warning! Just Skip This Notice and Move Ahead<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Two days ago a trip to the Aksa beach turned tragic for a
few friends. While two boys lost their lives, one was saved and undergoing
treatment at the hospital. That Aksa is a dangerous beach is a well known fact.
Over the years many have lost their lives at this piece of Mumbai coastline.
The question then is why do people choose to ignore all warnings and put their
lives at risk?<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbFrRk7jHedOqg_lursuCWKc7C2r8k6o8KOzmRNT5TVEYEYWjZYNbf1hiJzLJx4Bt4C07aYnVNktzGwGatMVF1x-4O4eyLu3SKECSulNNISoEAhUH_PBzkOgwaMkC4RYA9EMrtAk3Ehvn/s1600/alcoholism-warning-signs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbFrRk7jHedOqg_lursuCWKc7C2r8k6o8KOzmRNT5TVEYEYWjZYNbf1hiJzLJx4Bt4C07aYnVNktzGwGatMVF1x-4O4eyLu3SKECSulNNISoEAhUH_PBzkOgwaMkC4RYA9EMrtAk3Ehvn/s200/alcoholism-warning-signs.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a>This behaviour is not just limited to the beaches. Look
around and you will find examples aplenty of how we have utter disregard for
our own safety. Do people feel that the government has no other job than
putting up these signs everywhere? No, they’re meant to keep you safe and
following what’s written on those bright red boards might just be the difference
between life and death.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The most classic example is the Mumbai Suburban railway.
Number of people meeting fatal accidents on Mumbai’s tracks hovers between
3,000 to 4,000 annually! Out of these 2/3<sup>rd</sup> deaths are caused due to
people trying to cross railway tracks. Other reasons include electrocution
(usually due to travelling on roof tops), falling off the train and being hit
by poles and other objects while leaning out of train.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
While it is true that the safety standard of Indian railways
is nothing to brag about, to be fair to the railways, we do know how much
efforts they take to create awareness of major hazards. The PA systems on
stations are constantly blurting out warnings, advising people not to travel on
roof tops (remember the 25,000 Volts warning) and foot boards, not to cross
railway tracks etc. But in our haste we certainly always overlook these hazards
and throw ourselves, needlessly, into harm’s way. And how do we defend our
acts, by using “Mumbai is a fast city” and “Boss time is money in Mumbai” and
other crap one-liners!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Another instance that comes to mind is warning signs on
roads. Things like speed limits, accident prone areas etc. An example close to
home is the case of JJ flyover ban for two wheelers. The JJ flyover is a
marvellous piece of engineering and it’s got curves that can make most Bollywood
actress jealous! These very curves are also the reason for a large number of
mishaps on this bridge. In the five years before the ban in 2010, 23 deaths
involving two wheelers were recorded! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I am pretty sure there were speed limit signs on that
bridge, well I have used it many times and I know that they do exist. You may
argue that the speeds mentioned are mostly absurd, how can one drive at a speed
of just 30 Km/hr? And while the authorities might be playing a lot safer when
setting speed limits, you should also understand the perils of driving at
speeds way above the limit. However as the figures suggest, not many of us take
the speed limits seriously. And it’s no surprise that between 2010 and 2012,
550 cases were lodged against two wheelers for using the banned bridge!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It’s not just two wheelers that are a cause for concern,
four wheeler drivers are even worse in breaking laws. I fail to understand why
so many people just can’t get used to the idea of using a seat belt! Haven’t we
all been educated about the virtues of seat belts? People it’s not a piece of
decoration for your car, it’s for your safety! And please don’t give us the
shit of how good a driver you are and all; cause it’s not always your own
mistake that causes an accident. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The best act of defiance, however, is driving under the
influence of alcohol. We Mumbaikars excel at it. In fact we are so good that we
even know the exact location where our smart policemen lay waiting to intercept
drunkards behind wheels. How easy it is to give them a slip! Well Mr.
Alcoholic, if you read newspapers then you would know how many people die on
roads due to alcohol. And one day you might be one of them!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We Indians just love to break laws, but the sadder part is
that we are so damn proud about it. We drink and drive and we narrate stories
to our friends, stories how we bribed the <i>mamu</i>
and got away so easily. We love to cut corners every now and then. But we fail
to realise how cutting corners can bring us close to death. You might break and
cheat the law and get away, but I doubt if cheating death will be that easy, my
friend.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Coming back to Aksa, a gentleman wrote to an English daily
suggesting that the government should completely stop people from using Aksa
till it can make provision for their safety. This might actually be the last
resort that we, because no matter how many warning signs you put up it is never
going to stop us Indians, isn't it?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
You might as well put this up - </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkHphAXJL-xV9dcJAzGPj9CFZw2eTI0dMVGcyDIljOY674Vd9OsAwFTSTKJYc0U9cuSTKyIHzNmqKuToG9SFK572qlGf2cRqx0P3ZzLnMdL9nENgtkjV5fkrnG_149FcDb1aOcnZlah5S/s1600/warning_sign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkHphAXJL-xV9dcJAzGPj9CFZw2eTI0dMVGcyDIljOY674Vd9OsAwFTSTKJYc0U9cuSTKyIHzNmqKuToG9SFK572qlGf2cRqx0P3ZzLnMdL9nENgtkjV5fkrnG_149FcDb1aOcnZlah5S/s400/warning_sign.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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For other posts by The Wandering Mumbaikar click <a href="http://discovering-mumbai.blogspot.in/search/label/The%20Wandering%20Mumbaikar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.595791199999997 72.232208900000032 19.5561762 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-64027090590617359742013-03-25T01:04:00.000+05:302013-05-20T18:04:21.922+05:30Event: Water conservation awareness campaign ‘Paani Ki Pehchan’ by Podar Jumbo Kids<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We are all aware about the severe
drought situation that parts of Maharashtra face this year, courtesy the
various forms of media. People from all sections of society have come out to
spread awareness about the dire situation and its consequences. And as we
approach the festival of Holi, the calls for conserving water, of celebrating a
water less Holi, have been gaining strength. This cause has now been joined by kids
from the Podar Jumbo Kids institute and these kids have begun creating
awareness regarding water conservation through a campaign which was launched on
Friday, 22<sup>nd</sup> March on World Water Day at the Santacruz Skywalk.</div>
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Young enthusiastic kids,
accompanied by their parents, braved the noon heat and stood dressed as farmers
with placards to spread the all important message of water conservation. The
campaign, aptly titled ‘Paani Ki Pehchan’ aims to spread the message of water
conservation through various means. “We have come out with a story book called ‘Lappu
and the magic of paani’ which will inform children about the significance of
water conservation through the story of Lappu, a kid who comes from a drought
hit village of Maharshtra,” said Swati Vats, Director, Podar Jumbo Kids. The story
of Lappu and its message will be spread to the public through puppet shows at
various locations like schools, housing societies etc. </div>
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In support of the water less Holi
cause the institute has come out with another story in the form of a comic
strip called ‘Holi with Golu and friends’ which tells kids how they can
celebrate a safe and healthy holi and conserve valuable water at the same time.
As a part of this campaign children will also visit various 5 star hotels in
the city and ask them to request their guests not to use bath tubs as it is a
sheer waste of water. </div>
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‘Paani Ki Pehchan’ is not just
limited to Mumbai; kids from all the centres of Podar Jumbo Kids, across Maharashtra
will be a part of this campaign to save water. The institute is also collecting
signatures from citizens in support of the water conservation drive and this
will be presented to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan by kindergarten kids
from the institute.</div>
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It is very encouraging to see
these kids come out in support of this noble cause. It is the responsibility of
all adults to ensure that kids are taught the right lessons when it comes to issues
like water conservation, like they say ‘catch them young’, so that they
understand their responsibilities towards the environment. Children need to be
taught that conserving the environment is in fact a step towards ensuring a
better future for themselves. The kids at Podar Jumbo Kids are doing their bit
for the environment; hopefully through their campaign they will be able to make
aware many more kids and adults about their responsibilities.</div>
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Discovering Mumbai too supports
the cause of Water-less Holi.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com2Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-69289860224884317892013-03-12T23:50:00.001+05:302013-05-20T18:05:34.838+05:30Event: The Broadway Funnies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Event:</b> The Broadway Funnies</div>
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<b>What:</b> A comic musical based on famous Broadway compositions</div>
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<b>Who</b>: Delna Mody, supported by
Winston Travasso; Nadine Jo Crasto on the piano</div>
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<b>When:</b> 20<sup>th</sup> March, 8.30 PM</div>
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<b>Where</b>: The Comedy Store, Level 3, Palladium Mall, Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai<br />
<b>Tickets: </b>Book My Show - click <b><a href="http://goo.gl/A05bD" target="_blank">here</a></b></div>
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We got invited for the media preview
of a comic musical called ‘The Broadway Funnies’ and being the explorers that we
are, we thought it would be a wise decision to go for this event. ‘The Broadway
Funnies' is a show by <b>Delna Mody</b>, whose previous shows include Good Morning Miss
Kathya, Life Through The Songs We Like, Stop-Gaps in Widening The Street and
playing Maria in Raell Padamsee’s The Sound Of Music.</div>
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The preview was held on Monday at
5.30 PM at <b>The Comedy Store</b>. As we found our seats, Delna was already on stage,
in a bright red outfit with some intriguing props, a cowboy hat, a whip and
other stuff! This really set the tone of the show for us; and we were ready for
an interesting show to unfold. </div>
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We were treated to eight comical compositions,
the complete show, we were told, will have sixteen! Here’s a little dough about
the compositions that we had a chance to listen to -</div>
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<b>Paris Makes Me Horny</b> - The song
of a blonde who loves Paris for the simple reason that it makes her feel sexy,
horny. Expect quirky descriptions of
cities in this one e.g. Oslo is too slow, Helsinki is kind Kinky, London is
good only for a day etc. as the blonde describes her love for Paris.</div>
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<b>100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man</b> - We
found this one pretty interesting, the bottom line being, to lose a man don’t
act dumb, please act more knowledgeable than him and he is sure to run away
from you. The lyrics were smart and entertaining.</div>
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<b>Good Thing He Can’t Read My Mind
</b>– A song about how women sometimes do stuff they hate, for the man they love. </div>
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<b>Not Getting Married </b>– A soon to
be bride is having a nervous breakdown on the wedding day and wants to call off
the wedding.</div>
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<b>Anything You Can Do I Can Do It Better</b>
– The best of the pack! This is about a duel between a female and a male
cowboy. Both Delna and Winston are at their best in this one.</div>
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Delna has definitely picked up
some nice compositions from Broadway and with her singing and acting she has
executed them beautifully. Talking about her singing, being the trained singer
that she is, she hits the high notes as comfortably and perfectly as her low
notes. The supporting members, Winston and Nadine, also deserve a special
mention. Nadine, at the piano was fantastic and is a fine talent. We heard that
she has been accepted at the Royal School of Arts, London. Though Winston is in support, he does deliver a
powerful performance in ‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better’. </div>
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We found ourselves laughing
through most of the show. None of the compositions felt like a drag; they were
all long enough to be entertainingly hilarious. But our favourites will have to be ‘Good Thing He Cant
Read My Mind’ and ‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do It Better.</div>
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We think you should surely give
‘The Broadway Funnies’ a try for its fun lyrics and a powerful performance by Delna. So if you would like to add musical notes of laughter to your evening then mark
20<sup>th</sup> March on your calendar for a date with ‘Broadway Funnies’ and
Delna Mody.<br />
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You can buy the tickets <b><a href="http://goo.gl/A05bD" target="_blank">here</a></b> </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-55682907286671539352013-03-04T00:56:00.003+05:302013-05-20T18:05:14.736+05:30Games People Play!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We have all played board games when we were
kids. All of us still have some beautiful memories from those days, when we
played those games for endless hours with our gang of friends. With time,
however, we moved on to other forms of entertainment like playstation and those
board games were left inside the closet, forgotten. Not everyone though moved
on; a few grown up Mumbaikars are still crazy as hell about them. And two of
them, Kumar Jhuremalani and Mihir Vora, have in fact created a platform for all
board game lovers called ‘<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BoardGamesBash?fref=ts" target="_blank">Board Game Bash</a>’ (BGB).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>The place for board game lovers</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">BGB is a meetup group for board game lovers
founded by Kumar and Mihir. If names like Boggle, Taboo, Anomia, Funglish ring
bells in your head or if you are someone who would love to play new board games
then BGB is the place for you! There’s something for everyone at BGB, from
simple fun light hearted games to the classics and also the strategic games for
the serious gamers. Events are usually held on Wednesday evenings, providing a
much welcome break from one’s work life. These events usually take place in
cafes around the city or at the amphitheatre on Carter road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>The beginning</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kumar, professionally, is a digital marketing
consultant specialising in social media, product management and photography.
“I’m a geek; I think that should explain my love for board games!” he says.
Mihir on the other hand works for the Government of India, “I am married and
have a kid, who I have managed to hook onto board games,” he says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRjZoTLiYp44jAdplCDwJJjQxVmytS6fTisoM243icRkpNuU_av48qad3T7rKWwna-1PykwT3rUWT8i8as4GRe7opuQyNEK2PG8q0f_6Dteuv8OGVQQrA3txHI7RtPLX1DyFUxS3aMpaB/s1600/426966_319804254733490_560749005_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRjZoTLiYp44jAdplCDwJJjQxVmytS6fTisoM243icRkpNuU_av48qad3T7rKWwna-1PykwT3rUWT8i8as4GRe7opuQyNEK2PG8q0f_6Dteuv8OGVQQrA3txHI7RtPLX1DyFUxS3aMpaB/s320/426966_319804254733490_560749005_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Both Mihir and Kumar say that they were sort
of bored with the usual scene in the city, which involved either clubbing,
going to a lounge or a coffee shop. “There wasn’t any alternative or anything
different to do in the city; that’s when we decided to start BGB back in 2009,”
explains Kumar. “We decided to do something we all liked and meet outside in
public and just do it,” adds Mihir. And so began BGB on a Wednesday evening
with a facebook update and a few SMS being sent out. Around 10 people showed up
that night. “It wasn’t even really planned; it was just a bunch of us meeting
up on Carter Road to play a few games,” says Kumar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">They had never thought that BGB would grow to
a large extent, the group has almost 1600 plus members on Facebook, but now that it
has, they are doing all that is possible to grow it even further.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFynB32aZQ4S9g42o77ulBWtjENPisqC8G9EKwDITT516hyphenhyphen5PPob9znVqblOBn5AdwfP_KWGbxRfT8yKa0wu-a1u6NG0nH3SULkmnOto5s1jdT9YfCFQ1nXma8vN1AKXlrUMfkCinA4bK/s1600/252552_191558874224696_7877728_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFynB32aZQ4S9g42o77ulBWtjENPisqC8G9EKwDITT516hyphenhyphen5PPob9znVqblOBn5AdwfP_KWGbxRfT8yKa0wu-a1u6NG0nH3SULkmnOto5s1jdT9YfCFQ1nXma8vN1AKXlrUMfkCinA4bK/s320/252552_191558874224696_7877728_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>The events</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">At Board Games Bash the events are of three
kinds, from basic games to the outright serious ones<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Under The Stars: This was the event format
with which BGB started out. “Over here, we bring just a handful of games and
modify the rules to let everybody play them, while splitting them into two
groups,” explains Mihir. The usual games are Taboo, Pictionary, Blurt and other
simpler card games. This event is usually organized at the amphitheatre on
Carter Road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Board Games Bash: “It’s the usual fun, party
and crazy event that happens the most,” says Kumar. This event involves around
20 to 30 games and is held at cafes around the city. “These games get quite
crazy and people will be laughing or screaming hysterically all throughout the
night,” adds Mihir.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlyuUIrmYjPI5Lvbei0SLwXn5EnQPY1D_HJyRinqZMnm0zk5rco8xhND-lJWVCk3tFPBgydpBP2v-kIN9yvACkZcOD7ix1ieLftzIFeQ-sg5hvUx5SnasyItVSchc-Qu13-z4DdnfItv6/s1600/398372_304864499560799_668628064_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlyuUIrmYjPI5Lvbei0SLwXn5EnQPY1D_HJyRinqZMnm0zk5rco8xhND-lJWVCk3tFPBgydpBP2v-kIN9yvACkZcOD7ix1ieLftzIFeQ-sg5hvUx5SnasyItVSchc-Qu13-z4DdnfItv6/s320/398372_304864499560799_668628064_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Strategy Night BGB: This is for the lovers of
intense strategy games. “We warn people in the event description that these
games are not to be taken lightly and can last anywhere from 20 minutes to 6
hours!” says Kumar. However, they set cut-off times at 2 - 2 and half hours.
“These games are meant for those who love challenges and love to solve
problems,” says Mihir.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>The Challenges</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Getting people to attend is the least of our
problems,” says Kumar. In fact a lot of times they have run out of space for
the attendants. The real challenge lies in notifying people about upcoming
events, they have tried their hands at Facebook groups and pages, but they feel
that both tools have a lot of limitations. “Now facebook requires us to ‘pay’
to get our fanbase notified about our event!” exclaims Mihir. Although BGB is
present on Facebook and Twitter, their strongest marketing weapon is still word
of mouth. “It’s like once you are hooked, you keep coming back for more!” says
kumar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There were also times when a few venues tried
to copy the format. However, all such attempts proved rather unsuccessful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWQr0qO0Y_35Kmwuez0R3Bj_gUurueNJPDaMotQDm3zuscnXv48_IpQEzyuLPQBOxl7lKJGJk6ZWUkoGPmDI6ApU20sir2hMjBVCuNoXcsdx-twSNdFK5YD9FtOkMwtfpzXrVABtvA4mt/s1600/404288_304864322894150_1889279686_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWQr0qO0Y_35Kmwuez0R3Bj_gUurueNJPDaMotQDm3zuscnXv48_IpQEzyuLPQBOxl7lKJGJk6ZWUkoGPmDI6ApU20sir2hMjBVCuNoXcsdx-twSNdFK5YD9FtOkMwtfpzXrVABtvA4mt/s320/404288_304864322894150_1889279686_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>The road ahead</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Everybody loves board games! People want to
relive their childhood through these games and that’s just an awesome thing to
do”, says Kumar when asked about his learnings from the journey so far. The duo
says that the next step for BGB is to go beyond its fanbase and organize events
for other like corporates. “We did a tie up with Phoenix Mills for last year’s
No TV Day and would like to do more such events as well as take BGB to a
corporate level,” they say. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you too have been harbouring the love for
board games for a long time not knowing how to express it, then now you know
where to head. There is no membership fee, all you need to do is show up! So
are you game? Just head over to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BoardGamesBash?fref=ts" target="_blank">Board Game Bash</a>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-69337926081954894632013-01-24T19:58:00.001+05:302013-05-20T18:04:59.263+05:30Not Your Regular Meet-up Group<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mumbai is a tough city for
singles! For people around 25 and single, things are nastier, as everyone
around you is getting married, leaving you alone on weekends! Mumbai is also
full of people who are bored of hanging out with the same faces every weekend,
at the same place. Well, if you belong to any of the above groups then we have
good news for you! Few months ago a bunch of Mumbaikars, who too went through
all the above and decided that they had enough, started a group by the name
‘<a href="http://covalence.in/" target="_blank">Covalence</a>’. Don’t mistake it for a dating platform, it definitely isn’t one.
Covalence is this supercool place where you have the opportunity to meet other
supercool people from the city. Sounds interesting? Read on…
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLXqInoa-9woeAI02ZVM1bbwbkbEZuUijDbIITv_M1PXY_a0SJbR-h7Hor9Nj5FoOXI5rlp8_6veTip-ybwrHLNa1TL4xYh8cNuhPOZVBjOAVuNQ-pNNLXK8rE4f9rY_et0QbbtrSTxNr/s1600/Covalence+Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLXqInoa-9woeAI02ZVM1bbwbkbEZuUijDbIITv_M1PXY_a0SJbR-h7Hor9Nj5FoOXI5rlp8_6veTip-ybwrHLNa1TL4xYh8cNuhPOZVBjOAVuNQ-pNNLXK8rE4f9rY_et0QbbtrSTxNr/s1600/Covalence+Logo.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://covalence.in/" target="_blank">Covalence</a> is the idea of three
Mumbaikars, Riday Thakur, Neha Majithia and their silent partner. All three are
born and brought up in Mumbai. Riday is an Engineer and an MBA, Neha too is an
engineer and their silent partner happens to be a dentist. Having studied
abroad and returned, they found their social lives in a stagnating phase, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we were all in the same boat where our
social lives had stagnated and we weren’t meeting any new people,” </i>says
Neha. They saw themselves struggling to find people to hang out with. But they
felt that they couldn’t be the only one out here in Mumbai who were having the
same feeling! That’s when the trio decided to take matters in their own hands,
culminating in the formation of Covalence.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We started it off as a social experiment to see what kind of response
we would get,” </i>says Riday. They were clear there was a dire need for such a
platform, as everyone they spoke to seemed to be caught in a similar situation.
The setup required some basic investments in terms of the website and the
backend. Initially they were a bit apprehensive, thinking that people would
have qualms about turning up alone for the events. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It is a break away from the social norm. People in India are always
more comfortable being accompanied by at least one friend,”</i> says Neha.
However their apprehension was soon laid to rest, as most of the members didn’t
show any such concern. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjQuRKA6UL-YxljUb3GXAvfhJlt1U4mF-FTOIgZSDLCNC4I6zJ8qE4H63R3_bvidfJ4MX-XGoEo2FEUAI5ntgvpVeE7StUUYW-3QNn3jlwbsljafcUrK4druL6dFEAJS1fSqO5tjMfpFU/s1600/Covalence.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjQuRKA6UL-YxljUb3GXAvfhJlt1U4mF-FTOIgZSDLCNC4I6zJ8qE4H63R3_bvidfJ4MX-XGoEo2FEUAI5ntgvpVeE7StUUYW-3QNn3jlwbsljafcUrK4druL6dFEAJS1fSqO5tjMfpFU/s400/Covalence.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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To explain to you what <a href="https://twitter.com/CovalenceIndia" target="_blank">Covalence</a>
is, let us tell you what it is not! First and foremost, Covalence is in no way
a dating service! “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s not only for
singles, we in fact have more than a few married members as well as members who
are in relationships,” </i>says Neha. It is also not a business networking
group, they do not encourage members to exchange business cards or sales
pitches. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Our environment is relaxed and
meant to be purely for interesting conversations with strangers,” </i>he says. Privacy
is of umpteenth importance at Covalence, so don’t expect them to share contact
details of other members. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We want to
maintain the anonymity of our members at all times and give them the discretion
of sharing their contact information with whomever they want,” </i>says Riday. </div>
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Their first meet-up was
organized at Salt Water Café, Bandra. The number of invitees are limited to 40,
a number that is small enough so that you can meet everyone by the end of the
event and big enough so that you have a good variety of people to talk with. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We always maintain a 1:1 ratio of men to
women and try and keep the professions of the people attending diverse,” </i>says
Neha. The kind of people that you can expect to meet at Covalence is pretty
exciting, from professional cheese consultant to Women entrepreneurs, the
backgrounds of members are diverse and interesting.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46yGs7H8sjuKGPCv9ANNQCdRTHOPwscgaBLW1jByg_XGvqXOMwKFWvtfmhETfQgHD6_7yjrICPuM4YLXvq2hyNxWPyoEfWJ6diETBCDBZ9z3OxnsGluSUp4PFVzbsZWE2IJ4DlQC1VGTu/s1600/neha_majithia1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46yGs7H8sjuKGPCv9ANNQCdRTHOPwscgaBLW1jByg_XGvqXOMwKFWvtfmhETfQgHD6_7yjrICPuM4YLXvq2hyNxWPyoEfWJ6diETBCDBZ9z3OxnsGluSUp4PFVzbsZWE2IJ4DlQC1VGTu/s320/neha_majithia1.png" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neha Majithia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Covalence.in?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">Covalence</a> is three events old,
but that’s like 120 interesting people and experiences! “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The
good part is a considerably long list, people showing up on time and taking our
emails seriously was definitely a plus,” </span></i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">says Riday. They are particularly
proud of their selection process, a guarded secret, through which they have
been able to pick out really intellectual, diverse and interesting people. Some
of the members who attended the events eventually became their friends. They
have had one or two issues two, like people dropping out at the last minute
without genuine reasons. They have a zero tolerance policy to keep this in
check, “</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unfortunately we’ve had to
use on a few people,” </i>says Riday.</div>
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Covalence is still very young,
and the trio are using these early days to pick up valuable lessons. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hosting events is a constant learning
process and we’re constantly making small adjustments to the make-up of each
event,” </i>says Neha. They are trying to find the right balance of money,
experimenting with new locations and different parts of the city. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We’re also trying to keep our events
interesting and have a differentiating factor for each event,” </i>she says. Based
on their experiences and learning from the first three events they are working
towards the future. Right now they are focussing on growing the member base,
have more interest specific events, diversify outside of bars and hopefully
spread Covalence to other cities. The future definitely looks bright for the
bunch!</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GaCa3WDkvd79o-_q3vbGYOxmFlwGaj_BbHokucLqyJe21gXtpOF5ZJXOvwyypBFN74rc8mbo4TeSuHqGIXTiUk0W3vij8Sqj1uFXcei8O_q6bOESR2sxnZfQc8rWnHnbhHuQyRStE85P/s1600/riday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GaCa3WDkvd79o-_q3vbGYOxmFlwGaj_BbHokucLqyJe21gXtpOF5ZJXOvwyypBFN74rc8mbo4TeSuHqGIXTiUk0W3vij8Sqj1uFXcei8O_q6bOESR2sxnZfQc8rWnHnbhHuQyRStE85P/s320/riday.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riday Thakur</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So what do these three
Mumbaikars, who are providing other Mumbaikars the opportunity to rediscover
their city through meeting new and interesting people, feel about their city? “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Born and raised in the city, we don’t see
ourselves living anywhere else. The city is constantly evolving, has fantastic
energy people and the things we hear people do are constantly surprising us. We
hope to play a small part in changing the social scene here in Mumbai, to do
away with the stigma of talking to random strangers and hope people become less
judgmental. We would like to think we’re helping Mumbai become a more socially
interactive environment,</i>” they say. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can vouch for this, having been to their
event and having observed Covalence at work. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
These guys are changing the city
one event at a time, and if you too would like to be a part of it then head
over to <a href="http://covalence.in/" target="_blank">Covalence</a>. PS: Put on your thinking cap, the registration form happens
to be a bit tricky!</div>
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<br /></div>
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You can also keep in touch with Covalence on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Covalence.in?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/CovalenceIndia" target="_blank">Twitter </a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com1Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-12583562431552526802013-01-23T22:33:00.000+05:302013-05-20T18:06:33.332+05:30Giving Stars That Perfect Look<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The best thing about being an
actor is that you can play so many different characters. While we enjoy the
various characters our stars play on screen, the work that goes behind the
screen is something that is often overlooked. Making the characters look real
is not just about acting it’s also about the look. Creating that perfect look
that makes the character real, believable and lovable is a strenuous task
performed by talented makeup artists. It’s only because of these professionals,
the stars we love look the way they do. Discovering Mumbai presents <a href="https://twitter.com/soninamrata" target="_blank">NamrataSoni</a>, an award winning makeup artist and hairstylist, who has worked on films
like Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om and many others.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSjMIJ5SLwtCKUs2VKWVWW6-f8CJQyxoSXFHlpzrZpkQRkFFq7N3pZKqVZZOpwr_I-oQEZcJZtDqPeYR8NlqXJv3naO5TIQmq1u439fJMoBPjooQ9ULdfgQKAnlanFHO42kwRtbuDEV6y/s1600/my+elle+profile+pic+compressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSjMIJ5SLwtCKUs2VKWVWW6-f8CJQyxoSXFHlpzrZpkQRkFFq7N3pZKqVZZOpwr_I-oQEZcJZtDqPeYR8NlqXJv3naO5TIQmq1u439fJMoBPjooQ9ULdfgQKAnlanFHO42kwRtbuDEV6y/s320/my+elle+profile+pic+compressed.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Namrata Soni, picture courtesy Elle magazine </td></tr>
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Namrata is Mumbai girl from the
western suburb of Juhu. She completed most of her schooling from Good Sheperd
International School in Ooty. Later she returned to the city to continue her
education at Jai Hind. College was the time when she started to develop
interest in makeup and hair styling. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">While
in college, just to ensure that I didn’t while away my time just hanging
around, I started going to work at Colleen Khan’s salon</i>,” says Namrata. To
enhance her skills further she got enrolled for Marvie Beck’s makeup course.
While the course did teach her a lot about the field, she felt that her thirst
for knowledge had not been satiated. Namrata then decided to pursue further
studies in makeup and hairstyling from London. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It was the best thing that I could have done! It gave me a sense of
individuality, it made me who I am today and it was a brilliant experience,” </i>says
Namrata. </div>
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Armed with all
the latest knowledge acquired from London she stepped into the industry. But
even a degree from London doesn’t ensure an easy ride here. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It was tough at start. I had to do
everything from making coffee, cleaning brushes; I was doing everything and
getting the flak for everything!”</i> In order to bring her work to peoples
notice she had to do a lot of free work. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
have spent hours outside the offices of art directors for an interview,</i>”
she says. When she looks back at those days she feels that it was the best
training period that she could have had in her life.</div>
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Namrata’s first big break came in
the form of Main Hoon Na. Very early in her career she was working on Shah Rukh
Khan, Amrita Rao and Zayed Khans hair. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
was working with extensions which were very new for me. It was very
challenging, as it used to take 6 to 7 hours for the extensions on Zayed’s
hairs,</i>” she says. The biggest challenge was the long working hours on a
movie set, which easily stretched to 14 hours a day. Also her shoot timings,
which would sometimes require her to wake up at 4 AM or come home very late in
the night, had her mother worried. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I was
travelling alone in autos, buses and trains; my mother was very concerned</i>,”
she recalls.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6AMXsnMBB2tl5vI9seluotpfv-_s4zLyeVIMAOSfymQAdhbBczC2AJbm9FYcECnFQqZ-PkYBcPDNT1w6-o-J9AsT2KjZKakt0mVaTR3tsAg2KUNcLudypBWBtmk0hujYvsKmOBqOX7q31/s1600/nsjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6AMXsnMBB2tl5vI9seluotpfv-_s4zLyeVIMAOSfymQAdhbBczC2AJbm9FYcECnFQqZ-PkYBcPDNT1w6-o-J9AsT2KjZKakt0mVaTR3tsAg2KUNcLudypBWBtmk0hujYvsKmOBqOX7q31/s320/nsjpg.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Namrata with her IIFA Award for the movie Om Shanti Om</td></tr>
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Her most exciting and memorable
projects have been Om Shanti Om and Aisha. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">With
Om Shanti Om I was working on prosthetic makeup, which was new for me</i>,”
says Namrata. However, Farah Khan showed a lot of faith in her, which in turn
helped Namrata execute her work to the best of her capabilities. Aisha on the
other hand was all about fashion and fun. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In
one day I was doing 10 different hairstyles with 10 different outfits. It was
very challenging,</i>” she says. She has worked with a lot of stars but the
ones she admires the most is Sonam Kapoor, for her willingness to experiment.
Shah Rukh and Anushka Sharma are other celebrities with whom she has enjoyed
working with. </div>
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The profession does look
glamorous, however, Namrata warns that it is not as simple and straight forward
as it looks from the outside. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Actors go
through a lot while making a movie and as makeup artists who are working very
closely with them, you are subjected to their irritation and anger,</i>” says
Namrata. But as professionals one has to take all of this in their stride and
continue. This, however, does take a toll on one, and it is essential that
people realize when to take breaks. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
try not to do films back to back as it is very exhausting.</i>” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also working on movies becomes very monotonous
after a while as you end up doing the same make up, the same look for a long
time, unlike ad films or magazine cover shoots which are more creative in
nature.</div>
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Having spent 8 years in the
industry she has learnt many valuable lessons. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One needs to stay away from gossip. It’s a very small industry, and you
have to be professional. What you hear at work, you leave it at work,</i>” she
says. Also it is important to separate your personal life from the professional
life. She feels that young professionals some time mix up their personal and
professional lives, which can lead to disasters. She says that one should just
give your best, let your work do the talking and then people will keep calling
you back.</div>
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Namrata has won many accolades,
including an IIFA award for Om Shanti Om and Femina Womens Award. But is not
taking her success for granted. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There is
a lot of young blood coming in to the industry increasing the competition. I
feel it is a good thing as it keeps me on my toes,</i>” she says. She is
constantly working towards upgrading herself, travelling abroad every 18 months
to learn the latest trends and technologies. She is planning to go to London
soon to train on advanced prosthetics. A Yashraj project with Sonam Kapoor is
also on the paper. People also keep asking her when she is going to start her
own makeup and hairstyling academy. Though she would love to open one, she
feels that right now she is not experienced enough to impart knowledge.</div>
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“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stamina, creativity, honesty</i>,” says Namrata, on being asked about
the qualities that a makeup artist should possess. Also it is important to be
who you are, don’t change yourself just because you have entered this industry.
For those who are thinking about becoming a makeup artist, she says, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Do a course in India first. See if you
actually want to do this.” </i>Though it may look a very cushiony job, it
actually involves a lot of hard work. She also suggests that one should
definitely go abroad for further studies in this field, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It is a completely different world and culture of makeup out there.”</i></div>
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To conclude we have some makeup
advice and tips for the season from Namrata. Here you go – “Go for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">emerald and turquoise eyes, both look good
on Indian skin. They can be used either as eyeliner or eye shadow. Fresh dewy
skin is in now. Graphic eyeliners are also very in. For lips, red and fuschia
pink are very in.”</i></div>
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You can follow namrata on Twitter - <a href="https://twitter.com/soninamrata" target="_blank">@soninamrata</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-31573163737052148052013-01-22T21:13:00.003+05:302013-05-20T18:06:44.589+05:30Words Speak Louder Than Action<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]-->Movies hold a special place in
the hearts of us Indians. Fridays are auspicious days and we look forward to
each Friday for the release of new movies. Some watch for the stars, the music,
the fun and some for the escape that they provide from our mundane lives. While
the actors do bring the characters to life on the silver screen, it would be
hard to imagine how they would do so without those dialogues. While the actors
who speak them are mortals, the dialogues have the power to become immortal. Discovering
Mumbai features the personality behind those dialogues, <a href="https://twitter.com/misschamko">Ishita Moitra</a>, a
talented and successful script writer and dialog writer.
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKUIn1FIQrvUtv28y1wtDKN2usQ8fanUfaUfQnInf492N7w4Ds3wlloj6zIL6hLo_Y2gi_x9H-GLjHfQmrwtDrpYs35xp64D9FHE4kVB7dtM0bjP1F9VNBjxXYeCgHQ0YMJUCL__BE9p9/s1600/199500_10150129180126507_4903532_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKUIn1FIQrvUtv28y1wtDKN2usQ8fanUfaUfQnInf492N7w4Ds3wlloj6zIL6hLo_Y2gi_x9H-GLjHfQmrwtDrpYs35xp64D9FHE4kVB7dtM0bjP1F9VNBjxXYeCgHQ0YMJUCL__BE9p9/s320/199500_10150129180126507_4903532_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ishita Moitra</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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As a child Ishita travelled
across the country owing to her father’s employment in the army. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I went to 10 different schools, made 100s of
close friends, learnt many languages and I guess all of that helps me now as a
writer,” </i>says Ishita. She completed her Journalism Hons from Delhi
University and then further pursued an MA in Mass Communication from Jamia in
Delhi. She has written for various Bollywood movies like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kambakkht_Ishq" target="_blank">Kambakkht</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4215739007795898660"> Ishq</a> and
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Always_Kabhi_Kabhi" target="_blank">Always Kabhi Kabhi </a>as well popular Televison shows like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bade_Achhe_Lagte_Hain" target="_blank">Bade Acche Lagte Hain</a>
and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dekha_Ek_Khwaab" target="_blank">Dekha Ek Khwaab</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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Ishita, though a qualified
journalist, soon realised that more than journalism it was scrip writing which
she liked more. The world of fiction attracted her more than the world of non-fiction.
She decided to follow her instincts and got enrolled for an internship with
Abbas Tyrewala, famous Bollywood screenwriter and director. The internship got
converted into a job and soon she had her first Bollywood assignment on hand. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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Ishita’s career as a screenwriter
and dialog writer in Bollywood started out with the movie Kambakkt Ishq,
starring Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It
was an overwhelming experience, to be working with such an established
production house on such a big budget film, traveling all over the world,” </i>says
Ishita. What excites her about dialog writing is the fact that good scripts can
actually be a record of our times. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">50
years later when people see a film from this decade, they'll know how people
thought, behaved, spoke, felt in this era,” </i>she says. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Apart from the numerous films
that she was written for Ishita also writes for famous Television shows like
Bade Acche Lagte Hai and Dekha Ek Khwaab. The world of small screen is a
different world altogether and comes with its own set of unique challenges that
a writer has to face. The writer needs to ensure that the dialogs have to be
quite realistic, unlike in the movies where you have a certain degree of
creative freedom. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Very different, yet
equally challenging; TV is about deadlines, about instant gratification, while
films need "itminaan,” </i>says Ishita. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYNbBzotumS33CaZACyVQ4ukgc1CWPS_chX9t1bk1faMIGhoDMCEmY0wB3vKfdxO_DSS2CFjAJveaHAv8N631o_AvE2H_N3dq-TQc4tAp_vEo96gKgogL7paPD1wOTcDJfjlbiZRQPPS8/s1600/Bade_Achhe_Lagte_Hai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYNbBzotumS33CaZACyVQ4ukgc1CWPS_chX9t1bk1faMIGhoDMCEmY0wB3vKfdxO_DSS2CFjAJveaHAv8N631o_AvE2H_N3dq-TQc4tAp_vEo96gKgogL7paPD1wOTcDJfjlbiZRQPPS8/s1600/Bade_Achhe_Lagte_Hai.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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Bollywood itself, being the one
of a kind industry that it is, presents a whole lot of challenges for people
wanting to make a career here. It was no different for Ishita and she too has
been through that roller coaster ride. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
most challenging part is to understand that unlike other fields of work, here
success and failure are part of a cycle. No matter who you are, you will see a
good phase followed by a bad phase followed by a good phase,” </i>says Ishita. To
survive here one needs to be level headed, while still being passionate and
enthusiastic about your work. That said, the journey had its many shining
moments too, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There have been many, but
one I remember the most is the day I met Mr. Aditya Chopra for the first time,”
</i>she says.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So what advice does Ishita have
for people thinking about getting into writing for Bollywood? “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don't think about it. Dive right in. Write
every day. Work with somebody. Hone your skills. The only way to learn is on
the job,” </i>says Ishita. And for the city of Mumbai, home to Bollywood, this
is what she has to say, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The best city
for a girl to live in, in India. For what it lacks in physical space it makes
up in intellectual space and freedom. Absolutely love it.”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ishita has interesting projects
to look forward to. She has written for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Dad_Ki_Maruti" target="_blank">Mere Dad Ki Maruti</a> by Y Films, the
Youth division of Yashraj Films, which will be out on March 15. She is also
working on Ragini MMS 2 which will be released later this year. We hope that
both the projects turn out to be successful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
You can follow Ishita on <a href="https://twitter.com/misschamko">Twitter</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-54812926500703013782013-01-21T22:37:00.001+05:302013-05-20T18:06:58.257+05:30Ninjas in your city!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]-->The Ninjas are in your city, all
around you, going about their business, quietly, just like ninjas do. Their
purpose, their mission, is to get under the skin of this city and to uncover
stories that make Mumbai unique. Here at Discovering Mumbai, we are always
excited about meeting people, just like us, who are wandering, exploring every
nook and cranny of this mystical city and coming up with stories that celebrate
the spirit of Mumbai. We were lucky enough to bump into the ninja, who started
this ninja institute, a website actually, by the name ‘<a href="http://cityninjas.com/" target="_blank">City Ninjas</a>’. Here is
the story of Anisha Sharma, an extremely passionate Mumbaikar and founder of
City Ninjas.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLP8hPSKDcivXPHoFFHuMiPE2D2MbZ1lvacbawEMy61H7wInUqgdtwAC7N9e4afXqZoGbjo_Sj3eGq1jDqp_vrbItVgdwcKnh1hkXsqxqj7gep6dqtNXwjdKhL_domxCMaieZhFa5yfhfe/s1600/City+Ninjas+Banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLP8hPSKDcivXPHoFFHuMiPE2D2MbZ1lvacbawEMy61H7wInUqgdtwAC7N9e4afXqZoGbjo_Sj3eGq1jDqp_vrbItVgdwcKnh1hkXsqxqj7gep6dqtNXwjdKhL_domxCMaieZhFa5yfhfe/s400/City+Ninjas+Banner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CityNinjas?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">City Ninjas</a> was the idea of
Anisha Sharma, all of 24, born and brought up here in the city. She holds a
degree in Political Science from St. Xavier’s College and a MA in Broadcast
Journalism from the University of Sheffield. Anisha returned to her home<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> i</span></span>n
2011 and since then she has been involved in harnessing the power of digital
media to promote art and culture. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
idea came to me some months after I quit my last job. I’d spent some time traveling
around Europe. I was always the kind of person who liked to experience a city,
more than hop from one tourist destination to another,” </i>says Anisha. She
realised that Mumbai didn’t have something similar and that’s when she decided
to start City Ninjas.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<a href="https://twitter.com/cityninjas" target="_blank">City Ninjas</a> is a website that celebrates every little thing that makes
Mumbai special,” </i>says Anisha. It is about the people, the nooks and
crannies, about everything that makes this maddening, traffic choked, and awe-inspiring
city so important to us. City Ninjas showcases the diversity of the city
through written columns, original video content and photo essays. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something that looks below the surface of
the city—just like a ninja,” </i>she says. The site differentiates itself from
the horde of websites which talk about Mumbai, by being about the personal
experiences and the different characters that represent Mumbaikars. It is a far
cry from these sites which are just about reviews of places and quick lists on
the city. It is a refreshing, fun and quirky haven for everything Mumbai.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Anisha’s faithful legion of
friends supported her all the way in setting up her dream project. From the most
critical things to the minutest details like choosing a font, her friends were
always there for her. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My family keeps
brainstorming on Twitter hashtags I should use—it’s the cutest thing. They
actually came up with #ShutterbugNinjas!” </i>says Anisha. Along the way there
were the usual challenges and lots of crises of faith, but thanks to the
overwhelming support of her friends and family, all the mountains of challenges
were surmounted. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I feel really lucky to
know such wonderful people—it’s what keeps me going!” </i>says Anisha.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjM1MeuQp-OysZkkjhqK5j8qmFqm9wStPK4NnLXb1oVkdWfQO94-3S_EYKC2Yi3B51qwdjo73xXDg4Elv7SQc85xVhhk-c6n6LEwkhMT0sAa1Ujhdh2sZZAgIA48L2HBNmoRt1sP6k0b-Y/s1600/courtesy+madhu+menon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjM1MeuQp-OysZkkjhqK5j8qmFqm9wStPK4NnLXb1oVkdWfQO94-3S_EYKC2Yi3B51qwdjo73xXDg4Elv7SQc85xVhhk-c6n6LEwkhMT0sAa1Ujhdh2sZZAgIA48L2HBNmoRt1sP6k0b-Y/s320/courtesy+madhu+menon.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anisha Sharma, founder 'City Ninjas'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The project, though still in its
early days, has given Anisha numerous memories to cherish. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The day I got the final logo for City
Ninjas, I almost didn’t want to share it with the world because it was so cute!”
</i>says Anisha. Every single investment that she has made in the project has
become a memory to cherish for her. Buying a whiteboard, her first investment,
was an extremely emotional moment. So excited she was, that she whatsapped
people saying “So it begins!” She has also had her fair share of bitter
moments, like criticism on Twitter, or a mean comment on the website. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Every little negative word cuts deep, and
hurts, because this is like my baby and I’m extremely protective about it,” </i>she
says. She is open to criticism so long as it is constructive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Working on City Ninjas has been a
very valuable lesson for Anisha, both on the personal and professional fronts<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. “Professionally, it’s been a whirlwind—being
your own boss is a blessing and a curse,”</i> says Anisha. One tends to think
that they will have all the free time in the world, but soon you realize that
you are working 24x7! On the personal front, the project has helped her get
connected with wonderful people, who supported her in the process of setting up
City Ninjas. However, City Ninjas is nascent; and a long journey lies ahead, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I know there’s so much more to learn, and I
can’t wait!”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So what can we look forward to in
2013 from City Ninjas? “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I plan to only
make City Ninjas bigger and better—I’ve got a couple of tricks up my sleeve,
and can’t wait to get the ball rolling,” </i>says Anisha. So involved she is in
the project, that now there is no boundary separating the two, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I don’t think there’s much of a distinction
anymore—I am City Ninjas, and it’s me.” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So sit back and let the ninjas bring you
stories of Mumbai that will leave you wanting for more. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You can check out what the Ninjas are up to on - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CityNinjas?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/cityninjas" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://cityninjas.com/">cityninjas.com</a></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-79213612188539302552013-01-20T20:17:00.000+05:302013-05-20T18:07:37.524+05:30Guest Post: Down the delicious memory lane!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></span></u></b>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Today, on Discovering Mumbai we have Richa, a food blogger, who writes the blog <a href="http://kneadwithlove.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">Knead With Love</a>. This is her guest post about some of the famous Mumbai eateries which have stood the test of time. Hope you enjoy reading the post, and to read more from this awesome food blogger head over to her blog - <a href="http://kneadwithlove.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">Knead With Love</a></span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">In this fast pace life we have in
Mumbai there are few places that always remind us of the easier times and in
their own way, mellow down the chaos around us. I’m talking about the old
eateries and restaurants that have stood tall and still dish out deliciousness
with sheer simplicity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Each week we read about new
restaurants in this city and at the same time the restaurant you saw last week
may not be in business anymore. In between this inconsistency, there are places
where the world does stand still and these are the culinary jewels of Mumbai!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Here’s a list of some of these places
which are totally worth giving a try.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Kyani & Co.:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> Visit
this Irani for its simple and down to earth food. Be it Akuri on toast, an
omelette or just plain old Bun muska with chai, mutton cutlets. Everything is
delicious.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVYBry6EHZz7ArzOpMYeLJshs6Qhuc00j2Gw-fgdTt8A8JGVDKRf5Bld-HhgB4sGA_T9rwgNku9PrXlvwZGHCNY7FwswNEnTym-vJWiyIRKxebxYayoJRqGlHNbXkJw8TU5flvBfoTZHl/s1600/Kyani+and+Co+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVYBry6EHZz7ArzOpMYeLJshs6Qhuc00j2Gw-fgdTt8A8JGVDKRf5Bld-HhgB4sGA_T9rwgNku9PrXlvwZGHCNY7FwswNEnTym-vJWiyIRKxebxYayoJRqGlHNbXkJw8TU5flvBfoTZHl/s320/Kyani+and+Co+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">K. Rustoms</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> at Churchgate has been around
forever. A block of creamy, flavourful ice cream between two super thin wafers
is truly delicious. They have so many flavours that you’ll need multiple, and I
do mean multiple visits to try all of them. My favourites here: Nescafe, kesar
pista, custard apple</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqV7URIecP5LCOBBanOEFoFCIcN2CIrfT6zTAmSvQAtxJEe9zqfhnmm4x7A1IAvRyeOJDH8YAFHyT5GpLChlUtAeHvAyO3KSrr2Qa8DKXZKcg3bxs7ITIYY4gERHsO29hILDD1faVXdixo/s1600/K.Rustoms+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqV7URIecP5LCOBBanOEFoFCIcN2CIrfT6zTAmSvQAtxJEe9zqfhnmm4x7A1IAvRyeOJDH8YAFHyT5GpLChlUtAeHvAyO3KSrr2Qa8DKXZKcg3bxs7ITIYY4gERHsO29hILDD1faVXdixo/s320/K.Rustoms+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Prakash</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> has been in Dadar since over 40
years now and it still serves piping hot sabudana wadas and fiery hot missal
pav. And well...if you are in Mumbai shouldn’t you enjoy a good missal pav?? </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_X2Yz6-4ZGHSRaQS8ts25VP_FCgTbOX2NRANbVvJ7xPpwyqADUDTcK55KlPNPrAB16Jd0DhoF6-IL3Zy0qbfpeKQG_gGtn9m0O0z4npETu2b8-cWJ7ACQBgEM7X3gJ1LY9cvezLOT6WJh/s1600/Prakash+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_X2Yz6-4ZGHSRaQS8ts25VP_FCgTbOX2NRANbVvJ7xPpwyqADUDTcK55KlPNPrAB16Jd0DhoF6-IL3Zy0qbfpeKQG_gGtn9m0O0z4npETu2b8-cWJ7ACQBgEM7X3gJ1LY9cvezLOT6WJh/s320/Prakash+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #464545; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Café Churchill</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #464545; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></b></span><span style="color: #464545; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">is a small little restaurant which
serves yummy pasta, lasagne and desserts. There is no fuss about the ambience
here; it’s just all about the FOOD!! Highly recommended to try the mushroom
lasagne, pink sauce pasta, </span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Malfouti (Spinach cheese balls baked in tomato cream sauce)
and </span><span style="color: #464545; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kahlua torte.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWn_wNBeS496bV8YEMHIeB0ixpN9VaWpdQRkG7ChRQfvP6Iiagy2XNLm9af-vRsXOnrZvokvw5L-Wwt2S7QU5B6ZRJ3QRzBYLiW_nvcsmnrFoFrwtM0kRjbFzLmGHpY8Tu8u7ACf0I_Fs/s1600/Cafe+Churchill+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWn_wNBeS496bV8YEMHIeB0ixpN9VaWpdQRkG7ChRQfvP6Iiagy2XNLm9af-vRsXOnrZvokvw5L-Wwt2S7QU5B6ZRJ3QRzBYLiW_nvcsmnrFoFrwtM0kRjbFzLmGHpY8Tu8u7ACf0I_Fs/s320/Cafe+Churchill+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Ram Ashraya</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> in mini South India i.e Matunga is
the place to be if you want to have the best upma ever!! It’s lip smacking and
truly melts in the mouth. And the chutney they serve with the upma is great
too!! Also worth mentioning is the Sheera puri they serve. The sheera flavour
changes every day and the perfect balance of sweet sheera and savory puri
always hits the right spot! </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Badshah’s Royal falooda</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> is the
perfect sweet you can treat yourself with after shopping from Crawford market.
I’m not a falooda fan but Badshah’s royal falooda is an exception. It’s not too
sweet, the rose syrup is great and ice cream to milk proportion perfect! </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Thakker
bhojnalay, </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">in the tiny bylanes of Kalbadevi
serves up all-you-can-eat Gujarati thali. It’s not just all-you-can-eat
vegetarian food...it is all-you-can-eat delicious vegetarian food!! Once seated
t</span><span style="color: #464545; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">here is no stopping here. Chutneys followed by salad, snacks, papad,
vegetables, rotis smothered with ghee, bhakris with more ghee, dal, kadhi,
rice, sweets and a never-ending refill of chaas. *burp!*</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG6_0HG-QxRdhXzVC0B30M4TFFb9UomC7q4WCkZZE3XGTHytBRcFatuDkSPeyMC3vunh6Hza-bC-0TR02PI9G7tscW3UkoYqHWGu2gUJK9V68EpYmg5dvO7_o0y_HJ-sL6mSJduvkCzI6/s1600/Thakker+Bhojnalay+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG6_0HG-QxRdhXzVC0B30M4TFFb9UomC7q4WCkZZE3XGTHytBRcFatuDkSPeyMC3vunh6Hza-bC-0TR02PI9G7tscW3UkoYqHWGu2gUJK9V68EpYmg5dvO7_o0y_HJ-sL6mSJduvkCzI6/s320/Thakker+Bhojnalay+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">A-1
Bakery </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">is a tiny little bakery on the ever
busy hill road. Stop here for a quick takeaway of the delicious chicken puff,
mutton pattice or chicken croissants. It truly serves deliciousness on a tini
tiny budget! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA24TiuetgHJvhBSVn0tg_CSR3JqQlybMy0qD33DkJ1fi9wUCENcS6fEXMCdO4bLrmgOKQsoIFicNvi5fFxEFQ8PJtCtCXQYscvvDjY_mDa6tUdtwS4QrSn72MiHemVqD4ct8BDlIsiOzh/s1600/A-1+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA24TiuetgHJvhBSVn0tg_CSR3JqQlybMy0qD33DkJ1fi9wUCENcS6fEXMCdO4bLrmgOKQsoIFicNvi5fFxEFQ8PJtCtCXQYscvvDjY_mDa6tUdtwS4QrSn72MiHemVqD4ct8BDlIsiOzh/s320/A-1+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Cafe Madras</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> is another jewel in the mini South
India that Mumbai has. Always crowded and on weekends it’s for sure that you
will have to wait to get a table here. But after all the wait a bite of Idli
with white butter and pudi (</span><span style="color: #464545; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">a dry powdered chutney which is
generally mixed with ghee/ oil when eaten) and kappi you’ll be in heaven!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="color: #464545; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Head towards<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Bagdadi</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></b></span>if you
are in the mood for a really big roti with chicken masala fry or just chicken
tandoori fry. Yes..I do feel they fry all of their meats..but it’s delicious!!
The interiors of this place aren’t that pretty but it wouldn’t be a part of the
old world then right!?! But it does have quick service, great chicken, huge
rotis, easy on the pocket and delicious caramel custard…what more do you need!
But ya this place is strictly for non vegetarians.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVoJ7ULJf9S6N1cBv6ZQXFlXY14tIs_r77cTGwCigbYKRv-RFNBBY3XISO1jsCA8PE3WqBDJu99nZNlRioSDtFABONIv2YhUvNYMkhBmn_mUYQiU1Jbk_fnxlomPIHEri1K-V2b6pJqeT/s1600/Bagdadi+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVoJ7ULJf9S6N1cBv6ZQXFlXY14tIs_r77cTGwCigbYKRv-RFNBBY3XISO1jsCA8PE3WqBDJu99nZNlRioSDtFABONIv2YhUvNYMkhBmn_mUYQiU1Jbk_fnxlomPIHEri1K-V2b6pJqeT/s320/Bagdadi+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #464545; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">My list of “old
is gold” places in Mumbai is pretty limited and I already have more names
popping in my head...<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Crystal, Ayub’s,
Britannia & Co., J.Hearsh Bakery </b>and I can go on and on. But for
now..if you haven’t been to these places yet then do plan out a visit soon!
Happy eating!! </span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4215739007795898660.post-30851287891351306122013-01-19T00:44:00.002+05:302013-05-20T18:07:44.048+05:30Readers Paradise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mumbai is a city where you have
to travel long distances and long hours, thanks to horrible traffic and
geographic spread of the city. Anyone who has travelled by a train or a bus
knows that the best way to kill time during daily commute is to read books. You
see so many people with books on a local train that you feel if it were a
mobile library! But wouldn’t it be more interesting if you had company, company
of people who shared the same love for reading books, and have long talks with
them, over a cup of coffee, about your favourite book, author or anything
related to books. Well, if you are one of those who yearn to meet such hard
core readers then ‘<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BoundTogetherBombay?fref=ts" target="_blank">Bound Together Bombay</a>’, founded by Mumbaikars Delnaz and
Aarti, is the place for you.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2oGYZAzMy3Acf-9PjHuYQnGjG7SsA48gYz8qCg2Hwwiwqxb9s2oEFSh2gJA_5wNDBTDHkupEjgK8yFQ41-x-pVOT81lJnbjHQ1I9BKrtjK6EDqq4xhhdXE-f6q-RI4LKMiaMnjHP9bKP/s1600/Bound+Together.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2oGYZAzMy3Acf-9PjHuYQnGjG7SsA48gYz8qCg2Hwwiwqxb9s2oEFSh2gJA_5wNDBTDHkupEjgK8yFQ41-x-pVOT81lJnbjHQ1I9BKrtjK6EDqq4xhhdXE-f6q-RI4LKMiaMnjHP9bKP/s320/Bound+Together.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Delnaz, who has lived all her
life in Mumbai, has been an avid book reader since childhood. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’ve toyed with the idea of starting a book
club for a few years now,” </i>says Delnaz. Two years ago she had approached
Crosswords with the idea, looking to collaborate with them, but they weren’t
too keen. Delnaz had almost given up the idea, but then she chanced upon an
article on BBC about how a couple in Paris held book club events at bars and
cafes. This lead to the creation of her own club called ‘The Open Book Club’. Delnaz
bumped into Aarti, who was running her own book club by the name ‘Bound
Together’, few months ago. Both shared the same love for books and decided that
they should merge their groups, and thus was born ‘<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BoundTogetherBombay?fref=ts" target="_blank">Bound Together Bombay</a>’ (BTB).</div>
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BTB is a book reading club that
meets once every two months at a café around town. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We usually meet late on a Sunday afternoon, as people tend to be free
at that time,” </i>says Delnaz. Books are selected via voting on the Facebook
page of the club. Usually two books are chosen out of the many options provided
and the members are divided into two discussion groups according to their
choice of book. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The discussion is
totally free, people talk about their impression of the book, sometimes people
talk about what they didn’t understand and each usually shares their
interpretation, etc.,”</i> she says. The discussions are not limited to the pre
decided books only; members also discuss other books and literature that they
are interested in.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjElEAJqw5T59fNJGVgVroz_F041Vd-ntuAV78CVFIcJk9_CJvggjBW4V5klc20ADsqSrHJqtOG4jONy9nkNUcv-_4LAg9ghhChjOawQaNDnBvCb3sKllyW1E3-Y4rSg0oYMmRfNM_v_of/s1600/chapter+2+-+august+2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjElEAJqw5T59fNJGVgVroz_F041Vd-ntuAV78CVFIcJk9_CJvggjBW4V5klc20ADsqSrHJqtOG4jONy9nkNUcv-_4LAg9ghhChjOawQaNDnBvCb3sKllyW1E3-Y4rSg0oYMmRfNM_v_of/s320/chapter+2+-+august+2012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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BTB has no membership criteria;
you only need to have a keen interest in books and the time spare for a
discussion. Members come from a variety of backgrounds and there is also a
healthy mix of age groups. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We’ve had
people from 13 to 50 join our discussions and everyone brings a different
perspective to the group – which is great,” </i>says Aarti. Although people in
Mumbai are very much into reading books, most of the reading is inclined
towards popular fiction. This is where BTB differs from the crowd, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We are trying to bring together people that
enjoy serious, academic literature because that’s the stuff that makes for the
best discussions,” </i>says Aarti.</div>
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BTB’s journey so far has been
fraught with its own unique challenges and moments when all hope was lost. The
biggest setback was when Crosswords rejected the idea, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I thought it would be impossible to just do it on my own</i>,” says
Delnaz. Even while planning the first event she feared that no one would turn
up; but as fate would have it, her inbox was soon full of mails of people
telling her how excited they were about the idea. The final turnout was much
lower than expected, as 40 people had registered but only 12 showed up, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The discussion, however, was fun and we have
built up some dedicated members right from the first event,” </i>she says.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicobLDRgAxy3fQayfE2ZFDNIKOfgmRmZL0VOWXx4VWVi1heFj-QSLklsuP64nYTutwlJvCl4u3XxIULUryi47_mFRJzUo5Y2H2cjN19mNO8jKzZM4pZ1UJpA43cDuopniJ6K-qko6pWtow/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicobLDRgAxy3fQayfE2ZFDNIKOfgmRmZL0VOWXx4VWVi1heFj-QSLklsuP64nYTutwlJvCl4u3XxIULUryi47_mFRJzUo5Y2H2cjN19mNO8jKzZM4pZ1UJpA43cDuopniJ6K-qko6pWtow/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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BTB has successfully seen off the
challenges it faced; it is not only surviving but flourishing, with an
increasing membership base. The journey was indeed tough but was equally
rewarding and it taught them valuable lessons too. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">T</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">here are a lot of gaps and voids in Bombay and if you want to create
something new, you are likely to find an audience for it,” </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">says Aarti about their learning from the
entire experience. There is a lot to look forward to at Bound Together Bombay
and both Aarti and Delnaz are excited about its future. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We would like to keep doing what we’re doing and establish ourselves as
a well-known public book club in Bombay,” </i>says Delnaz.</span></div>
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We wonder if books on Mumbai will
make it to the table at bound Together Bombay. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I have a love – hate relationship with it. It’s the best and the worst
city all at the same time!” </i>says Delnaz. Don’t we all love and hate the
city the same time. That’s what’s makes this city so endearing for us and more
many others. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQstKFAue18iR8rmvvGGtt0xz2kb3_oxUyhjxwWjQI46TE5FdLLHsjTCuqZGO5kMShF7oLxkirqebQTCCPAqj3kl8bXHWkdxfEVgavd9RaG1KjEtUsgyhocnlDHg9NEUVQj4fBZ7V9bq25/s1600/Bound+Together+Flyer+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQstKFAue18iR8rmvvGGtt0xz2kb3_oxUyhjxwWjQI46TE5FdLLHsjTCuqZGO5kMShF7oLxkirqebQTCCPAqj3kl8bXHWkdxfEVgavd9RaG1KjEtUsgyhocnlDHg9NEUVQj4fBZ7V9bq25/s320/Bound+Together+Flyer+4.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So all you people out there who can’t
live without books, now you know where to go, right? Just follow the link – <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BoundTogetherBombay?fref=ts" target="_blank"><i><b>here</b></i></a></div>
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</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718400214343363049noreply@blogger.com1Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957847 72.232208900000032 19.556182699999997 73.52310290000004