Its the quintessential "Rickshawala"

The common Mumbaikar is often represented in many a forms, be it the quintessential dabbawala who've been knighted by the Prince of England himself, or the quintessential working class women who take care of the home and their jobs. One such classic archetypal includes the often detested (for breaking every traffic rule of course) yet indespensable the Mumbai "Rickshawalas". The mumbai "Rickshawalas" or "Autowalas" as they are often referred to as, are pretty much the lifeline of our transportation system (atleast Bandra onwards otherwise we have the "Taxiwalas")...zipping through the choking traffic, manouvering through the pot holes, the rickshawalas are a regular excuse for public outrage in the traffic scene. My opinion on the Rickshawalas was pretty much in concurrence with the above, however I made an interesting observation today. There is a rickshawala that i see waiting at the Bandra highway, sometimes even near my office (which is in Andheri), and today i saw him buying vegetables (onions precisely) with his daughter near Malad Station. I keenly observed his facial topography with fine wrikles, scanty hair and greying beared..... as if the fight for survival had quickened the ageing process. I think the mumbai rickshawala/autowala is a candid reflection of an average middleclass mumbaikar who struggles for the daily bread, rearing a family, yet is happy and content....

Multicultural, Multi-ethnicity.Multiplicity…. New York City

So I have finally managed to accomplish my dream to experience and travel around the incredible New York City...

Dynamics of Marriage

Growing up I had a vague idea of what marriage was.. watching all my cousins and other family members get hitched.. i understood marriage as only a glamorous affair with frolicking people lavish clothes and sumptuous foods.

Cut to Year 2008 .. growing up has its hazards.. career.. marriage.. boys.. marriage.. parents... family.... peers.. marriage.. everything pretty much boils down to the "M" word. As I slowly grasped/accepted the concept of marriage into my system, I developed my own ideologies on how this was to work and how I would approach it. To begin with I believed that "arranged marriages" weren't my cup of tea .. for the simple reason that you can never really know a person over a few conversations and make the biggest decision of your life. My idea of marriage was when two people really want to be together, marriage was the culmination of that feeling. But afterall real life isn't what one has planned or imagined it to be.

After some persuasion and coaxing, I finally relented to the process of "arranged marriages"in hope of finding that someone that I could make a life with. While I adjusted to the process of marriage I encountered the tedious modus operandi. The lengthy process that includes exchanging of bio-datas, exchanging of kundlis, exchanging of pictures .. then the "meeting" ... phew!
Too caught up in the dynamics the whole meaning of getting to know someone for who they really are seems to have been completely lost in this process..

Lately I have realized in this kind of a set up being from similar socio-economic backgrounds is quintessential inorder for things to work.. then all other things can be.. should be rated less important. Rigid selection criteria such as good looking, educated, (atleast a post-grad), Wealthy, doing well career wise (not in sales mind you).. all important pointers for selecting your life partners.. Hah! and I thought having a person to love you and support unconditionally, someone whose company you enjoy immensely so much that you can spend the next 50 years together without getting bored ...were the crux of a relationship...

Somehow I feel the whole institution of marriage has been lost in superficialities, societal conformities....and the dynamics of marriage But I still have faith in my beliefs.. and I am sure I'll find what I am looking for..

Thoughts revisited

I deleted my last blog towards the end of my "American Rendezvous", but as I returned to Mumbai I felt the need to return to my blog aswell and talk about the every day experiences here.

I am reading this book called "Maximum City", which is a narrative on the various facets of Mumbai. I cannot help but draw an analogy with real life Mumbai where I don't have to deal so much with the slums, hindu - muslim rift, the shiv sainiks etc., however something that I do deal on a daily basis with are the mumbai local trains.

Close to 6 million people travel by the Mumbai local trains every day,and I happen to be one of them. The most common image of a mumbai local train would be people pushing and pulling to get in and fighting for a seat... in short incivility at its peak !!. I stick to the ladies compartment as you would probably get mauled in a general one which is dominated with rowdy male population. However though the other day I had a very redeeming experience. I was as usual late for the 8.04 slow to Andheri and just managed catch it in time and got into the general first class compartment. Being the only female in the compartment I was apprehensive at first as I thought getting off would be irksome with all the males fighting to get climb in and out. As I got ready to board off I mustered the courage for the fist fight, but to my surprise all the males suddenly moved away and made way for me to get off which was indeed shocking at the same the time redeeming. It was indeed pleasantly surprising to experience the respect women receive which you are virtually stripped off while using public transportation.
I guess Mumbai hasn't lost all of its civility after all !!!