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!

My Name is Khan

Sabhi ko Salam,

“My Name is Khan and I am not a Terrorist.”

The past few days have been all about SRK’s new movie and the Shiv Sena’s agitation against it. Some people just never grow up. How can someone hold the city to ransom just because a Khan showed some empathy towards Pakistani cricketers. Why I am bringing this topic up is because we need to understand that till we change our mindsets and elect better leaders, these ‘leaders’ will keep playing their dirty politics. The problem is a little deeper actually; all of us no matter how forward we may consider ourselves differentiate people at some point or the other. Religion, caste, creed are some of the countless parameters basis which we want to segregate mankind.  Trouble brews when we imbibe these values to the children around us, who then grow up with similar feelings. Think about it, when kids go to school, do they really care whether their friend is a Hindu, Muslim, Vaishnav, Jain or a Sikh? They just like their friends and love to play along with them, period. Why is it that as we grow up the hatred against particular communities grows? Because we fall prey to what certain politicians or religious gurus tell us. Can’t we have our own ideologies? Can’t we decide what is right and wrong? Can’t we take a stand and recommend others to go by it?

Even if we are able to answer some of these questions, we will spread a lot of goodwill. And the world desperately needs positivity, happiness and joy for humans to lead their lives comfortably.

Sad thing amidst all the movie hoopla as a friend of mine pointed out is that Pune was rocked by bomb blasts because perhaps the police force was busy protecting the movie.

Patriotic feeling running high, we have talked about the National Defence Academy examination in the course study section. We tell you about the cheapest 3G phone in the country in Gadgets and Gizmos. Cars and Bikes are close to every youngster’s heart, we start looking at some of them each fortnight.

Khuda Hafiz,

Prateek Shah

Bye Bye Thandi!

Dated February 2010

Bye Bye Thandi!

Ok, it hasn’t completely withered, but it’s so much better these days with the temperature staying in double digits. If the cold wasn’t enough, then it was the fog wrecking havoc across the city. Trains, planes, cars and even Gujarat Dhara, they were all delayed (ok, there’s no correlation, don’t think too much).

Now we are in the second month of the year, and February other than being famous for being a shorter month is loved for another reason, Valentine’s Day. “What? Excuse me? How can you? This is not the place? It is not our culture? It’s a Western concept!” Does your reaction fall in any of these categories? If yes, then you could do some rethinking. The world is moving at a fast pace, and even though it’s not necessary to ape and emulate what others are doing, it is important to be aware and be able to accept what happens in the environment around you. We would be fooling ourselves if we don’t agree to the fact that there are ‘boyfriends’ and ‘girlfriends’ who exist around us. While we may not approve of it and never if they are part of our own family, but we can at least try and understand them as part of bridging the gap between generations. If you are parents, I suggest you let your kids have some harmless fun, and if you are a youngster, then always remember your values.

So close on the heels of the occasion, we thought of dedicating this issue to Marriages. With the invitation cards piling up in our homes, what better than getting some suggestions on what to wear and look our best! So our stylist Palak Doshi is back from having celebrated an important occasion and we have also kept the course study section reserved for Wedding Planners. 

Collld!! Brrr!!

Dated : January 2010


It’s so very cold!!


Brrrrrrr!!! Freezing as I write this, the weather seems to have decided to give us a feel of the hill stations sitting right here in Delhi! Layers of pullovers, mufflers, caps, gloves and jackets everywhere, at least the clothing industry is making the most of the winter.  It was good to see Lohri Bon Fires across the city a few days ago, only if we could have more such festivals in the winter season.


Moving to aapnu Gujarat, it was good to see so many of you like the information we shared on Uttarayan. The times may have changed, but it is heartening to see people flock to their native places in Gujarat just to witness and participate in the kite festival extravaganza. No matter how old one is, such moments bring back the kid inside. If you look closely, we are like a kite, with each one of us wanting to have total control of our lives, but realizing that it is actually the wind which sets the direction. So, while it is good to be in charge, it is also important to learn to let things move as they naturally do.


Due to the paucity of space in the last issue, we are including the pictures from the Christmas bonfire and Nokia’s latest gizmo in this one. Our fashion guru is out of town, so we will be skipping Style Tips this time and the focus on course study will be on counseling courses.
In case you haven’t seen 3 Idiots so far, then please don’t behave like one and go see it at the earliest. Such movies are made once in a lifetime.

Happy New Year!

Dated : January 2010


Happy New Year Everyone!  


It’s a new day, new beginning. Get off to a fresh start! Forget all the wrongs that plagued you in the last year, and look forward to all the joy, prosperity and cheer that the new one has to offer. Make lots of resolutions, and try and follow some of them as well! Ensure that make the most of the time that lies ahead, and live life to the fullest!


Let’s take a quick look at what has been happening in ‘Dilwalon ki Delhi’. Christmas was celebrated with much fanfare at Shree Delhi Gujarati Samaj, with a Bon Fire party that saw youngsters from across the city turn up and revel in the celebrations. There was dumb charades, astrological predictions by ‘Young Tarot Reader’ Ankul Barar, screening of the Goonj Videos, round of introduction, music and lots of food to keep people busy. Everybody enjoyed a lot and many first comers were overwhelmed by the success of the event. Have a look at some pictures from the event inside. The party continued up to 31st with kids, youngsters and seniors getting together and enjoying on New Year ’s Eve till the clock struck 12.


Meanwhile, the ‘Style Tips’ section by Ms Palak Doshi has received widespread appreciation with requests coming in from all corners for views on certain trends and the Interview Section has also gone down well with everyone. Get to read about ‘Uttarayan’ in this issue’s ‘Look forward to’ segment and check out the features of Nokia’s latest offering in Gadgets and Gizmos.
So move out of the quilts and turn the heater down, move out of your cosy home and see what’s happening in town!

Year End

Dated : December 2009


Greetings Gujjus,  


We are nearing the end of yet another eventful year, and it is best to look back and reflect at some of the events that went by. While our scientists made us proud with Chandrayan’s successful discovery of water on moon’s surface, the cricket team emerged the best in tests. AR Rahman with his musical masterpiece got what he truly deserved – an Oscar, and made us all go Jai Ho! And many such accomplishments that leave you with fond memories from 2009.


So here we are, in the month of December, trying to think back where the twelve months went by. And no matter, how much we try to recollect, it’s difficult to realize how time flies by. But that’s the thing with time, no matter what we do, it keeps moving, it doesn’t stop for anybody. And that’s what also happens to be time’s biggest message to all of us, that we should keep doing more, keep making the most of what we have, keep trying to push ourselves to the maximum in whatever little time we have.


While youngsters and philosophy don’t go hand in hand, but the youth of today needs to be aware of what happens around them, they need to be aware of the importance of time, they need to realize life’s many responsibilities. While having fun is an integral part of growing up, youngsters must not keep themselves away from life’s worldly matters, and slowly keep imbibing the learnings that their parents and other seniors teach them.


Enough of serious talk; let’s get back to having some fun! For starters, we introduce a brand new section with this issue titled ‘Style Tips’ by Ms Palak Doshi, the CEO of men’s fashion wear brand, VAMAN. Also, we kick off the interview segment with Special Olympic silver medallist, the very talented Mr Kushal Manek.


There is a lot more that we intend to do, and we are moving step by step towards it, but for now here’s hoping that this satisfies your senses.