Mumbai Ahoy!

Dated : March 2010

Kasakai Dilli!

That just happens to be my hangover from a recent trip to Mumbai. After few fortnights of philosophy laden articles, it’s time for some masti this time! Brief travelogue from Mumbai follows.

I reach Mumbai. Hire a taxi. Act smart. In trying to not let the driver con me, I make myself look like a Mumbaikar and start giving directions. Time passes, some more time passes and then I realize we are not going in the right direction! With much apprehension I tell the driver how I don’t think this is where I want to go to. We discuss the address I have on a visiting card and realize we have a come a long way further from where I was supposed to go to. We take a u turn and go back many kilometers. Whosover said being smart is an asset! Learning number  1 – Don’t act too smart when you go to a new city.

Mumbai and Delhi despite being metro cities are starkly different in the way they operate. The transportation, people, eating habits and places to visit, they are just all different. Cycle Rikshaws are nowhere to be seen in the city. The basic mode of movement is not taxis or buses or autos but walking. People walk like there is a marathon they are preparing for. They walk like there is an unseen race they are participating in and you happen to be obstructing their way standing in the way. They walk with a certain determination which is only to be seen in the eyes of a student when he is writing an exam he is well prepared for. The walk is by all means a super walk. If we all follow the trend, we could well stay very fit and save all the money spent on slimming centers.  Learning number 2 – Walk, walk more.

Local Train, the lifeline of Mumbai is a fascinating object which attracts everybody’s attention. Young and old, upper class and the middle man, jeweller and cobbler, they all use it. The egos and the pride come crashing down, man feels at ease with fellow men, irrespective of their social backgrounds. Something which can only happen in a well controlled mode of public transport. Not only does it help save time, but helps one get back to roots and humanity, something we all tend to forget travelling in swanky cars and eating out at fancy restaurants.  Learning number 3 – Use public transport (at times if not all the time).

Taxis operating by the meter, traffic policemen across the city, subways that are heavily used, sea, beaches, vada pav and many more big and small things separate Mumbai and Delhi, but the one strong binding factor is Gujaratis! Its hard analyzing if you are in Gujarat or Maharashtra. Good to see them there J

So ensure you get the real feel of Mumbai when you next go there. If you haven’t been there, then you must plan your next trip to the Indian city that never sleeps. Get back in touch with some long lost relatives, make stay accommodation and enjoy!

Prateek Shah(Raja)

Youth Ki Goonj

Exams Exams Exams!

Dated : March

“Don’t waste your time reading a magazine! Go back and study!”

Is that how your parents shout at you during the final exams? If yes, first read this yourself and then make them read it too (vice versa for the parents).

A five letter word that spells doom for kids everywhere – EXAMS(It’s funny how playing with the words makes it XMAS). How important are they? Very. Make that very, very important. The problem begins when the seniors at home escalate the degree of ‘very’ to inexplicable levels. Exams are not the end of the world and life and death does not depend on it. No, not even board exams. Even if you fail and fail again, even then they are not everything there is to this life. Rank 1, Rank 2, 90%, sorry 95%, distinction, my kid topped the colony; just where will people stop? Do you really think when a child grows up and is 30 years old, it matters how many marks he scored in Maths back in class 7^th? If you really think it matters, then I am sorry to say but you need a reality check in life. So why are we really crazy after kids and driving them crazy as well? Because society looks up and down upon people basis scoring good and bad marks respectively. Isn’t it too high a price a young mind has to pay for keeping some strangers that he doesn’t even know happy? All the tension trauma he is put through, which by the way also makes him/her hate you.

Yes, it is important to study, it is important to clear exams and get a basic amount of education. But if you start expecting the world out of your kid, just because your neighbour’s daughter/son is scoring well, then it is just so unfair. It’s like saying you take your Bajaj Chetak scooter and race it against a swift and swanky Ferrari. Not will the Chetak just lose, but it will also wear out before time. Everybody has their own abilities, and studies are not everything in life. There’s music, sports, entertainment and a host of other fields where people can do well without being an engineer, doctor or an architect. What is required in any field at any point in time is to be hard working. Without the sincerity and hard work, doing well in any field is difficult. So while kids are being pushed hard to study more, more and more, they should ideally be taught how to concentrate, develop a passion and nurture it.

If all this still doesn’t make sense, then buy a DVD of ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and watch it with the family. Mothers are advised to keep a heap of tissue paper ready. Ok, moving back to the other sections, we have focus on International Women’s Day, Samsung’s new phone and Ford Figo. Since we are recommending you to go easy on studies, therefore no Course Study section this time!

 It has been heartening to receive feedback from so many of you, and to be honest a lot of it has been unexpected. We understand you want some topics to be raised through this medium and e mails are not easy to send for everyone. So here’s introducing, Youth ki Goonj feedback on SMS. Just open your message box, type in “YKG” followed by your comment and name(preferably with area) and send to 98106 20791. Shall soon try and feature some of the feedback in these 4 pages.

All the best for your exams! But remember, ‘tension nai leneka’ JAnd yes, hope you had a wonderful colourful Holi!