Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice.

Today's papers were filled with news of the couple from Bhayander (Bombay) who moved the court, so that they could abort their 24 week old foetus. They are doing this, since abortion after 20 weeks is illegal in India, and the baby had some sort of heart blockage/cardiac problem.

So basically, the pro-life/pro-choice war that has been raging in the USA and other countries for years has finally touched Indian shores.

As a woman, I am firmly in the pro-choice camp. Irrespective of the fact that it is my body, and therefore mine to do whatever suits me (whether it is keeping the baby or not), no courts can decide whether I am in a position to be a fit mother, emotionally or financially. It's amazing how the pro-life brigade is only bothered about whether the baby is born or not, and is in no way concerned about the quality of life of the baby or the family.

Kudos to the couple to decided against going into some clinic in a dark alley, and having the courage to go the legal way, even though this might wreck irreparable damage on their image, not to mention the psyche of the child once she is old enough to realise that she wasn't wanted.

Unfortunately, the courts in their infinite knowledge decided that they know what is better for us than we do and decided not to let them go ahead with the abortion.This verdict may effectively have either forced them into penury, forced them into having a child and then giving it up for adoption or forcing a child to grow up with absolutely no quality of life.

In a country where the population problem is threating our progress, I think this is a very very stupid move. Instead of it being a landmark verdict, where the abortion cut-off was raised to 24 weeks, they have basically given a subliminal nod to the populace to go ahead and keep trying.

And we all know, this is the last thing we need. This is one area in which I wish we DON'T over-take China.

The Signs, They Are A'Changin!

The saffron brigade has done it again, Monday's Economic Times reported that the Sena has managed to rope in food-giant McDonalds to sponsor a convention of prospective 'Shiv Vadapav' vendors in Mumbai.

Before you jump the gun let me state that I have nothing against the corporatization of this city's much beloved carbohydrate-bomb, Jumbo King got there first remember? All I'm asking is would the vada pav taste less delicious without the 'Shiv' prefix? I mean common! You've already renamed the airport, railway station, and museum, can't we at least refrain from unleashing politics on to the poor man's stomach. ET describes it 'the culinary dimensions of politics'

Sure George Wittet the man who designed Gateway of India, the Prince of Wales Museum, the Indian Institute of Science and Ballard Estate must've rolled in his grave when Wittet Street in Fort was renamed as Walchand Hirachand Marg. But hell he had no right to argue for starters he was dead, and secondly and more importantly he was a Britisher. But what did the Vada Pav do to deserve its fate. I'm sure a Happy Meal comprising Shiv waran Bhath and Shiv kokum Kadi are in the pipeline.

I'm not an elitist anti- Marathi which I'm sure ill be accused of by the end of this article all I'm saying is; pause, before you obliterate the history of this city.

The situation is so bad that I recently spotted an irate tourist at Pydhonie junction jumping over his copy of Lonely Planet. When a street overflowing with locals can't help you find an address it sure is a "lonely planet". I'm surprised the editors of this travel magazine haven't initiated a lawsuit for its losses running into billions thanks to BMC's naam Karan bug. If you think only streets, junctions, and chowks that are renamed then you're wrong, the good ol' footpath hasn't been spared either. The footpath opposite Wilson College at Chowpaty is called Khote footpath.

Rumor has it, running out of things to rename the BMC is considering initiating a proposal to name the street lamps of this city. Don't be surprised if you spot a lamp post with the name Shri Ujaala Marg or something.

Thankfully the people of this city have trouble catching up with the times, do you ever hear people say that they're going for a stroll on Netaji Subhash Bose Road (Marine Drive)? Since when did rechristening roads, becomes a benchmark of patriotism?

I believe that every time you rename something, you willfully chip away it's history, disrespect it heroes and their contribution to make this city what it is. Apart from the ethical and practical dilemmas about renaming anything and everything, isn't it odd that Mumbai -this glorious city has only one hero? What? Did you say JRD Tata? Nonsense! Like the tooth-fairy and unicorn he was a mythical creature made up by some ageing Parsi to tell his grandchildren at bedtime.

So Long Padmini! :(

The black and yellow taxis of Bombay have become an institution by themselves. The battered Padminis are the life-lines of the city (after the trains ofcourse).
The taxis are a part of the character of the city much like the Big Red buses of London, and more often than not reveal the quirky personalities of the taxi owners/drivers. With incense, gaudy plastic flowers, mis-spelled names/sayings and the ever present "Horn OK Please/Keep safe distance", the Padminis of Bombay are tiny fiefdoms that are mute victims to their owners garish tastes.
However, the Padmini is is under threat. With TATA introducing the Nano, everyone and their uncle is beating their chests demanding that all Fiat taxis (like the ones in the pics) be traded in for the Nano. Apparently, this constitutes progress!

On the plus side, it will be cheaper and more fuel efficient, but on the other hand it will result into an unnecessary expense for the people who rely on taxis for their living and who hardly eke out a living already.If it ain't broke don't fix it, kwim?
More than the expense however, is the fact that we will be trading in a huge chunk of what makes this city special for something shiny and generic. Tourists come here to see something different, to see something they don't get to see in their own countries, not to see their countries replicated on a smaller and shoddier scale. I hope this is not the last we see of the Padminis.Let's "Keep Safe Distance" from senseless "progress".

Pictures taken from here

30 Days

That's the time that the BMC has given to all the commercial and non-commercial entities in the state to change their signboards to Marathi (Devnagri script).
This is not only a futile exercise because it results in extra cost and extra work, but also significantly decreases Bombay's appeal as a cosmopolitan city. I swear, with these people it's one step forward, two steps back!!

Oh and in other news, after the bombings in Bangalore the day before yesterday and in Ahmedabad yesterday, the outfit that is claiming responsibility has sent an email saying that Bombay is next. The only surprising thing about that is the fact that Bombay wasn't their first choice. Apparently our popularity as "the" place to bomb in India has decreased :P. Maybe with a name like "Bomb"ay, we were sending out some sort of subliminal message. Well, now Bombay is "Mum"bai, but the state of the roads are reducing the chances of a successful pregnancy. So what do we change it to now? Coz apparently changing the names of cities/roads/localities is the governments idea of a panacea for all that ails Bombay (and India actually)

Abortion Roads

Remember a few weeks ago, I spoke about how terrible the roads are in Mumbai?? Well, there is a very sad update. Someone from the medical fraternity carried out a survey and apparently the sharp increase in spontaneous involuntary abortions in the city is due to the bad state of the roads!! :O :(

The roads are in such a bad state that it is harmful to the foetus and other people are now complaining of bad-road-related ailments like spondylitis and back-ache.Nothing more to say, it's too depressing, so I'll just leave you with some pictures. Remember that these pictures haven't been doctored and are the ACTUAL roads in various parts of Mumbai.

Let There Be Light.....And There Was No Light!

The Maharashtra State Government just declared that due to the power crisis, they are resorting to load shedding. So the whole of Maharashtra will not have electricity for 40 (yes, FORTY!!) hours a week! If this continues, we will see a massive outflow of foreign investment, since other places like China or the Phillipines offer the same cost advantage with MUCH better business continuity infrastructure. That sucks big time. :(

We seem to be regressing to the time where the whole of India ran by the light of a kerosene lamp. And with the price of fuel, I don't think we could afford even that!! So maybe now we will all have to go to bed at sunset (like they do in the villages).

And to think that the Opposition is actually against setting up civilian nuclear power stations to alleviate the electricity crisis that India is going through. Maybe they aren't really opposing it, maybe they are just opposing the fact that this didn't come through when they were in power and they can't take credit for it. Hmmm......I maybe on to something eh?

UNPA?

I have no idea what it stands for. Just saw it on the news.

Apparently they (BJD, BSP, Communist party etc) plan to have a nationwide bandh (and we know how violent and economically destructive those can be). They tout themselves as being better than the UPA and the NDA put together. If they succeed Mayawati will be the next PM. 'Nuff said.

These people are like children. If the trust vote does not go their way, they will use brute force to get what they want. The future looks perilous again. I'm going back to my underground lair. Don't bother coming for me unless the Congress is firmly back on track.

Somehow, I will have to get through all of these political/economic upheavals. Maybe the image of Somnath Chatterjee (the speaker of the house) picking his noise while parliament was in session will cheer me up/gross me out :P :P hahahahah..........yeah there it is.........heheheeh

Political, Who Me???

Someone I was talking to yesterday expressed surprise over my more than apparent excitement/apprehension/absolute tension over the political drama yesterday. When I thought about it, I realised they were right!! I am not a political person, but yesterday I was looking on at the proceedings through a purely economic perspective.

Though India is being lauded for its growth and is the new "it" place, in all honesty our ascendancy has just begun. We have a long way to go........a looooooong way. We are about 75 years behind the West in terms of economics and infrastructure and about 200 years behind them in civic consiousness and social skills. Its nothing to be ashamed about, but you can't use the British Raj as an excuse for being counted among the Third World forever. There comes a time when you not only have to pick up the pieces and move on, but aim to walk shoulder to shoulder.

With the UPA and the current leadership... we have a chance. With leaders like Dr. Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram, Sonia Gandhi and Kapil Sibal, we have at the helm leaders with conviction and integrity and a razor sharp mind to boot. They use this mind to electrify villages, boost commerce etc and not scheme and plot and hurl the country into a civil war (which almost happened after the Babri Masjid tragedy).

On a side note, I am a new convert to the "I love Laloo Prasad" fanclub. Yes he is an uneducated boor, who interrupts reporters to spit out his paan. Yes, he is a conman and has cheated the country out of millions and has hair growing out of his years. (Wait where was I going with this). Oh yeah!! His speech yesterday, was hands down, the funniest, wittiest, most sardonic hard-hitting piece of oratory I have heard in a long time!!! Bravo! He used the "meethi churi" approach, he cut his opponents to size and was sweet at the same time. I also like Rahul Gandhi's and Chidambarams speech and only wish the PM was given the opportunity to speak. Ah!!! I CANNOT stop raving over what happened yesterday.

And considering this is MY blog and I have all the freedom to do as I wish, I do not plan to stop raving about it anytime soon. :P :P So there!!

God's In His Heaven.....

......and all's right with the world (Well, all's right with India atleast as of 8.30 pm IST last night)

For those of you who have been living under a rock, there was a hostile move to topple the government and there was a trust vote in the Lower Parliament. The NDA (which consists of the BJP, RSS, Shiv Sena etc etc) tried to topple the current UPA government lead by Dr. Manmohan Singh (Congress). And they failed miserably **said with unabashed glee!**.

The scene played out like a movie with accusations of abductions and bribery, heckling, defections, of surreptitious back-stabbing and thinly veiled put downs and I felt like I was part of history by watching it! This decision is an epoch in the future of India. Long live Congress!!!

Will tell you why later.....

Do You Have A Reservation?

I got my exam results today (Banking Masters) and I'm over the moon. Well, sort of, kind of.....I got waaaay more than I expected, but waaaaay less than I wanted, so.....:P. Sigh, being smart is so awesome!!! In yo face sucker!!! And the kicker is I didn't have to work hard at all. Now, if only I could sail through all the areas of my life with such ease LOL!! Time for a dinner reservation at China Garden! :D

On a side note, what's up with the crazy college cut-offs in Bombay? 93% in NM College, 90% in HR College (the college where I did my bachelors from). Friends of mine who scored freakishly well on their CET (State MBA entrance exams) are only getting admissions in B Grade colleges. What is up with the world when even scoring a 90 isn't enough??? I blame reservations!!

After reserving seats for OBC,SC,ST,ABC and XYZ, there are almost NO seats left for students who are counting on a seat based on merit. The cut-offs for the reserved category is sometimes as low as 45% when the open category is 90%!!

I shudder to think of the mental disparity that will arise in classrooms across the country. A move that was made to remove any lingering discrimination will only exacerbate the situation and divide the country further by fostering feelings of resentment towards the people who have got in on a quota.

How strange it is that more foreign students are coming to India to study, but in a few years Indian students will not get admissions due to a combination of high cut-offs and reservations and will have to go abroad.

Sigh. Sometimes I feel like the world is spinning out of control. I need some ice-cream. :(

Carrot, Carat, Karat??

India's nuclear stations are running at 50% capacity and if/when the nuke deal comes through, we will have the advantage of non-combat "nu-cu-lar" power.

The main objection raised by the left (which is now more of the opposition than the ally) is that this will hurt India's relationship with China. While getting red in the face denouncing the proposed nuke deal, Mr Karat gives no cogent reasons and is basically like a stubborn child who wants what he wants without logic or reason.

Ok time for evaluation:
- China attacked us once and won't hesitate to do it again
- They are in cohoots with Pakistan and openly supply them with arms to use against us
-They are encroaching on our land and now claim that Arunachal Pradesh belongs to them
-They sell us lead laden (oohh pretty alliteration) toys and poison our children
- They threaten us if we speak up again the heartless way they treat the tibetans.
-They are copying Bangalore and Hyderabad and in their own words say that they want to copy the IT parks, excel and then push us out of the picture.

Awesome isn't it. With friends like these who needs enemies. And here I was thinking the Left was working towards the common GOOD of the people. Well, in a way they are. But it's the people in China they are bothered about, not India. Anyone willing to sponsor a one-way ticket to China for Mr KaLat??

Under my Umberella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh!!

So after the flash floods last year (or was it the year before last), the BMC started sending out sms-es to the citizens, to warn them of the possibility of floods.

The funniest part of all this is that so far, every time I have got the message of impending doom, the weather has been all sunshine and blue skies!!! Lol.

It's come to a point where if you get an sms from the Municipal Commissioner about a flood threat, you can safely go outside without an umbrella (ella ella! eh eh eh! zomg, I'm so sick of this song and I hate Rihanna!!!)

Somehow, I'm not surprised!! :) Go BMC! (No seriously BMC, go away, far far away)

Update: As of right now (1st July 2008, IST 12.33pm), Bombay is wading in ankle/knee deep waters. Trains are not running, collosal traffic jams on all the major junctions, schools are shut. No BMC msg/bulletin though. :P Why am I not surprised???

Evil Genius Thy Name Is BMC!!!

For the out of towners, the BMC is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which collects taxes and uses it to provide infrastructure and other stuff for the general betterment of Bombay (the latter part of its job description is highly debated and rarely fulfilled).

Of late though, since the BMC refuses to clear garbage and just lets it rot, the citizens have taken it upon themselves to clean up the place (hey don't flame us, its a self-preservation tactic). The BMC has instituted "awards" for the cleanest society/locality.

Let's back up a bit and recap:
- I pay the BMC money to keep the city clean and provide basic services
- The BMC doesn't do its job
- The citizens are forced to do the job
- They use a fraction of the money to "reward" the citizens
- We still pay the money!!!
Does this seem a little off to you???

If we as a city pay taxes which constitute more than the rest of the country put together, the least we can expect is garbage free streets and roads that don't look like the surface of the moon. It's time we raised our expectations and make sure the BMC gets paid only for the work it does.

Primark Misses Its Mark.

So by now all of you (all of you who read newspapers that is) must've heard about the whole BBC expose/Primark fiasco. The BBC did this expose on how Primark's (a UK based garment retailer) outsourcing arm in India sublets to minors. This caused Primark to act "responsibly" and immediately withdraw all work outsourced to India.

I take great umbrage at the word "responsible".

Firstly there is nothing responsible or logical about depriving a whole lot of people from their daily bread. Secondly, taking back the work will not automatically solve the problem of child labour, it will only force the children to work in less regulated sectors, making them more susceptible to abuse. And finally, Primark missed turning this blot on their reputation into a superlative oppurtunity to not only recover, but emerge winners.

Granted that sub-contracting is not exactly legal, but like many things in India, it cannot be classified as black or white. It falls in this vague "grey" void that most things in India fall it, which means it is neither completely right nor completely wrong.

In India the child labour situation is extremely comlex. Definately there is a small percentage of whom have been forced into it, but most child labourers are working because the supposed "adults" of the family who are supposed to be earning are afflicted with some sort of addiction/illness or just couldn't be bothered. They are their family's only hope and take their responsibility seriously. A lot of them are runaways who have escaped sexual, physical or other abuse and are just looking to make their way in life. Being able to afford to go to school is as preposterous an idea for these children, as not working is!!!

A more sensible solution to this problem would be if Primark could provide a few hours of informal "schooling" for the children and then pay them some sort of stipend. In this way, they not only get their job done for a lot less but can also count it as one of their corporate governance initiatives. Infact, a whole business model could be built around this idea which can be mutually beneficial as well as extremely cost efficient.

But this can only happen if we (in general) stop running away from the problem or stop pretending that the problem doesn't exist. Child labour in India isn't going to be eradicated anytime soon and the only hope that we can have is to make it more regulated and lessen any damaging impact is has on the victims who remain voiceless in these situations - the children themselves!!!

A Rose by Any Other Name.....

.....might smell as sweet, but does the same apply to Bombay/Mumbai??

The city is clearly divided into two camps. One which does not recognize "Mumbai", and still insist on calling it Bombay. And the other which not only calls it Mumbai, but also insists (sometimes forceably)that others do the same. The first group is accused of being super-snobs and elitist and what not. And the second camp is considered to be maniacs/fundamentalists from the wrong side of the tracks. So what really is the deal?? Is anyone really in the right??

I am firmly ensconced in the former camp and this is what I think.

I understand the feeling which motivates group B. Their logic goes that since the British christened our lil island "Bombay", we were taking a symbolic step by changing it back to its original name.

But did they think about the massive financial losses this one decision would generate?? Did they consider the money that had to be spent re-painting signs and re-printing letter-heads. What about the shop-keepers whose billboards got blackened and whose shops got ransacked?? Aren't they being as tyrannical as the British were, in their attempts at ridding Bombay of the British influence??

Setting aside all the political and financial ramifications of the decision, I think the thing that bothers me the most is the sense of helplessness that that one move made a whole lot of people in Bombay feel. Here we were going about our business in relative peace and harmony, till someone (we elected apparently) comes along and makes decisions that we don’t support.

I thought the whole point of a democracy is the voice of the majority, but the name change was brought about without consulting the common man. I compare the absurdity of the move to say, my grandmother waking up one morning and asking me to call her Slim Shady without asking what I thought about it first !!.....:D :D

From that point in time, it became all about the brawn. Have a few goons with you….. garner a little political clout…. and you can do as you like to a point where even the police are rendered impotent.

With the change in her name, Bombay lost a piece of history as well as her cosmopolitan outlook. It elevated one citizen above the other and made way for decision-makers to make personal agendas into laws and private vendettas into a public spectacle. It’s this type of lawlessness perpetrated by the law-makers that makes me shudder. It started with just a name, and has snowballed into violent regionalism and (baseless) vitriolic charges against minorities. The future looks bleak.

So for me, calling my beloved city Bombay is more than a political move, I have no intention of angering anyone or ruffling feathers. For me it is as simple as living in a time where the majority vote counted, where the voice of the people was heard (even during non election years) and where no one cared if you came from another state (most of us did). Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan!!!

Come on a Joyride.......

.....on the streets of Bombay. There used to be a more innocent time where the streets had potholes, but now the POTHOLES have STREETS!!

Its like a friggin roller coaster ride wherever you go. Or worse a camel ride. Maybe all the citizens of Bombay should start a class action suit against the BMC citing acute back and spinal cord problems inflicted due to the bad condition of the road. Hmmm, I might be on to something here.

I mean, how difficult can it be?? Stop Narayan Rane from taking his entourage of cronies on a month-long vacay in Europe and re-direct those funds. Those are taxpayers rupees btw. We pay a huge chunk of our salaries so that some arrogant a**-wipes can frolic in the Alps. And the world wonders why Bombay is such a dump inspite of being the financial capital of India. I say, hang em', HANG EM' ALL!

A Little Birdie Told Me.......

.....that sparrows are higher up on the list of priorities than humans in Bombay. No, seriously!!

The principal of my ex-college (HR College, Churchgate) Mrs. oh pardon me, DR. Indu Shahani is the current Sheriff of Bombay. Huge honour, huge responsibility, huge opportunity to bring about change right?? WRONG!!!

Her first order of business......sparrow conservation. While I agree wildlife conservation(do sparrows constitute wildlife)IS important, I'm sure that as a Sheriff she could have drawn attention to more pressing matters, like the floods we have every time it drizzles and the power crisis and the, well, everything else. But no, she is planning to spend scare public funds on setting up sparrow shelters. Who's gonna tell the sparrows that there are shelters for them?? Is she going to hire people to run around Bombay and catch sparrows so that those shelters are used?? Is she.....is it......are they???......ack!! it hurts my brain to think about it.She should be thankful if the sparrows don't mistake her hairset for a nest and treat THAT as a shelter. rotflmao.

Setting aside the fact that with all the hairspray she uses, a hole has formed in the ozone layer right above her head, she was an ok principal. I mean, sure, she doesn't pay attention to people who don't drive a merc(or two), but she doesn't unnecessarily meddle and I like that. But seriously....sparrows.....get a life woman!!! and stick to your day job :P

Tune in for part two of the rant, where I talk about how Indu Shahani is teaching Bombay-ites to whistle.

Till then I remain,
Slack-jawed in awe,
Bombay Diva