Twitter Meetup

Saw Asfaq’s twitter around 45 mins back He says:

#mumbai – tweetup at Leopold at 4 pm today. Bring a candle and a hug. [16 HAVE CONFIRMED PARTICIPATION] (plz RT)

I plan to go to TAJ before this and light some candles. And then grab a drink with most of the other strangers before the incident whom I have come to know over the last 70-80 hrs!

Just read Suketu Mehta’s Op-ed on NYT and I agree a lot on things he has written

In the Bombay I grew up in, your religion was a personal eccentricity, like a hairstyle. In my school, you were denominated by which cricketer or Bollywood star you worshiped, not which prophet. In today’s Mumbai, things have changed. Hindu and Muslim demagogues want the mobs to come out again in the streets, and slaughter one another in the name of God. They want India and Pakistan to go to war. They want Indian Muslims to be expelled. They want India to get out of Kashmir. They want mosques torn down. They want temples bombed….

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?

So I’m booking flights to Mumbai. I’m going to go get a beer at the Leopold, stroll over to the Taj for samosas at the Sea Lounge, and watch a Bollywood movie at the Metro. Stimulus doesn’t have to be just economic.

and do not agree to something he writes

In the Bombay I grew up in, your religion was a personal eccentricity, like a hairstyle. In my school, you were denominated by which cricketer or Bollywood star you worshiped, not which prophet. In today’s Mumbai, things have changed. Hindu and Muslim demagogues want the mobs to come out again in the streets, and slaughter one another in the name of God. They want India and Pakistan to go to war. They want Indian Muslims to be expelled. They want India to get out of Kashmir. They want mosques torn down. They want temples bombed.

After that I plan to read Suketu’s Maximum City which has been on my desk for the last week! What are you doing to go today? Your thoughts?

Meet Life

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The above image (pic of a bus stand opposite to this picture) made be smile … taken close to 60 hrs after the event started and an hour after National Security Gaurds declared everything is over (albeit temporarily). The entire collection of the pictures I took during the event can be seen on flickr. The statement in the advertisement ripped from the shards of grenades says

peace of mind. Gauranteed. sms PEACE to 5888*

I wonder what * means! ;-) I am sure, people like me around the place felt extra alive for those 60 odd hours which started with two loud bangs and gunfire. Easily close to 10,000+ people will have double thoughts on MEETING LIFE. in other words METLIFE. ;-)

pray or prey?

My pics seem to be rocketed through the blogsphere, tweorld and all over the world thanks to the Mainstream Media (more on that later). I am yet to come back and blog. Happy with the twittering for now. I clicked the picture of a old granny looking out of her window – the morning sun on her face and she was watching the helicopter that was dropping the NSG (National Safegaurd) commandos dropping on to the building besides Nariman House. A delayed response close to 26 hrs after the initial strike. Makes me wonder whether the spirit of Mumbai has been reduced to ‘Pray’ or ‘Prey’!

Around 8am Nov 28, 2008
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Around 11pm Nov 26,2008
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Nariman House is the one behind the Petrol Bunk / Gas Station

couched again!

I seem to be on a movie rampage! With just the work-home schedule getting monotonous, I indulged on a movie spree on Sat night + Sunday. 5 movies on DVD in 24 hours! My reviews inline:

Surprisingly the Hindi movies fared a lot better than the english ones this weekend :-) I however did catch up with some new releases in the last month

  • Roadside Romeo – 3/5 one solid point boost as its a indie production and first of its genre!
  • Fashion – 2.5/5 I somehow felt like smiling through out the the movie. A sad version of Devil Wear Prada is my personal take.

I seem to be clocking very less english movies lately … I wonder why!

PS: I saw 3 more movies on DVD on Saturday. Reviews in line: