Dussera Mubarak !

Sep 28 2009

Meri Jaan, sabse pahle, a very big THANKS to all of you who try to visit this blog once every 7-10 days. Its absolutely great to hear the feedback for my rumblings.

Honestly, I am not in an India-bashing but Dashing India mode :)

Especially today on this auspicious occasion of Dussera and Durga Puja, I am glad with all my heart to be in India. I feel so more connected with the environment and the things happening around.

I feel so glad to really enjoy the kasav-dahan, or the garba's, and the festivity foods, and not just worry about petty-people-playing-party-politics about where to plan the next time-killing event and on top who to call and who not to call for their meetups or get-together :)

Some of you folks felt that I was bashing India, but what I wrote in my last few posts were mutterings of just a few of the observations that I have been seeing around me. They were not a reflection of India-as-a-whole.

Meri Jaan, I don’t think any desi who has been out of the country for the last 10-15 yrs or more can deny India's progress and future global impact.

There is no denying there are lots of areas that need to be looked at, but I personally think India has progressed a lot in the last 20 yrs and especially in the last 10 yrs.

Look at it from a broader perspective, every metro and semi-metro cities now have fantastic fly-overs and bridges that has reduced traffic congestions immensely across these cities.

Lets not forget the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the upcoming Signature Bridge over Yamuna Nadi in Delhi. That is an amazing feat in itself (Especially with the political-politics in apna Des :)

There have also been great initiative by leaders in some states to better the infrastructure of the roads, and have the proper signs, lanes, dividers etc.

Most of you already know about the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which is almost at par with roads seen abroad!

If you go anywhere in Gujarat, or parts of Karnataka or Bangalore, Chennai or major highways around Maharashtra, or near Delhi or in Rajasthan, you will be amazed at the width of the roads and the construction of roads with lanes/ signs etc.

If you move beyond Infrastructure to public awareness, there has been immense outburst for prevention of spitting on the roads.

For some of you khopdi-ka-bheja-fry types, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued a notice that any person found spitting in public will be fined Rs 1,000 starting September 26. There have been 500+ volunteers across all major Chowks and areas to enforce this ordinance.

Beyond infrastructure and public awareness, I am amazed at the number of mini-best buys and mini-circuit cities in India.

You can walk to your gali-ka-nukkad and see atleast one Sony Center or a Croma store, or some other shop selling electronics that includes everything from Laptops, TVs, Blu-Ray players to n-variants of phones.

You might also find some electronic stuff that people in the US/UK might still not even have imagined (Cell phones with dual sims, LEDs in abundance, variants of mp3 players etc).

You are no longer limited by the option of going to only a Best Buy or a Circuit city. You can shop online as well as walk to the store to see the piece in actuality. Most of these shops have layouts which are almost a replica of a Circuit City or Best Buy.

Malls are getting huge and huge-er. I walked into a mall called Ishanya and it was a combination of Home-Depot, Bed Bath, Walmart, Circuit City, PC Richardson, Home Improvement, Ikea and n-number of stores all under one roof. (Same items, except the prices were in Rupees :)

Tou Meri Jaan, if you can look beyond some of the issues, I can tell you one thing that when you dont have to worry about cleaning the house, getting groceries, washing the clothes/and or/ vessels.

When you dont need to worry about food-n-cooking needs, When you can have a dependable 24hr nanny for kids, and a driver at your disposal to take you around in your 8 SEATER MUV.

When you dont have to worry about leaving your kid with the neighbor, or about that whackjob redneck in the neighborhood, the grass will stop appearing gr$$ner that side :)

Tou, before I let you go beyond this day of Vijayadashmi, let's not forget to wish a very Happy 80th Birthday to the "Nightangle of Indian Music - Lata Mangeshkar".

Lata Mangeshkar has sung so many wonderful numbers that it is simply not possible ot pick just 7-10 numbers, but here are some of my favorite numbers sung by this queen of melody.

- Lag Ja Gale Ke - Woh Kaun Thi
- O sajna barkha bahar aayee - Parakh
- Aaj Phir Jeene Ki - Guide
- Aap Ki Nazron ne - Anpadh
- Yeh Zindagi Usi Ki Hain - Anarkali
- Na tum Bewafa Ho - Ek Kali Muskai
- Ja Re Ja Re Ud Ja Re Panchi - Maya
- Uthaye ka unke sitam - Andaz
- Tu jahan jahan chalega - Mera Saaya

Meri Jaan, till we meet next week, enjoy Dusshera, have fun, stay muzical and stay in loeve !

- Pankaj