Mumbai Local - The Ladies Compartment

The lifeline of Mumbai...I just had to post something on this! 

9.57, 10.03, 11.28... These are some of the train timings which are critical for Mumbaikars commuting via the local trains. This is the fastest means of travel in this city. The train halts at each station for not more than 30 seconds and during these 30 seconds hoards of people alight and board the train. I tried to put a few pictures in this post so while reading you know what I'm talking about :)

Here it is...

The rush to get in...

and 30 seconds are up...

Hanging by the door is dangerous but is fun when the train is empty.

During peak hours it can be hell to get on and off the train if you were boarding from / getting off the stations in between.  For beginners it is a skill to able to get in and then navigate further inside the compartment.  The rush is mostly at the door and they are people who would be getting off.  Here's a glimpse of inside the ladies compartment. Its not so bad once you get on.

Only packed near the door

Such situations provide a good working conditions for the pick pockets and one should be really careful with their belongings.  It does not matter what class you are travelling in, it is the same rush everywhere during peak hours.  The rush hours can brings out the worst in some people and during this time you get to observe human behaviour and its effects on others. After so many years of commuting on the local I have concluded this:

There are 6 kinds of travellers:
1- Rooster - These are looking to pick on people and can't pass up any opportunity of creating a scene, raising their voice and if nothing then they would at least grunt irritably. If people were peeking in to read the paper they had bought they will immediately fold it and start listening to music or just stare out the window.

2- Dove - The goody two shoes.  These are the peace makers when people fight or try to be the big sistas (sic) by giving free advice that nobody wants. Very few of this kind in the ladies compartment. 

3 - Panda - These are the poor people who sometimes get pushed around. They listen and believe when people tell them they are getting off the next station (when they actually are not) and give way.  They don't bother themselves with arguments - live and let live is their way of life. They are sometimes also the ones who peer into the newspaper the next guy is reading.

4- Turtles - These are people with an I don't care attitude.  In a crowded train they stamp your foot (wearing a pointed heel) and pass by without a sorry and best they would just turn around to see who pushed them and then still do nothing about it.  They won't budge and give way, they just don't care - theirs is a every woman for herself world. These specimen are sometime seen yapping away into their phone and oblivious to the rest of the world.

5- Lambs - These are the people travelling for the first time.  They have no idea how long till the station they have to get off or which side they have to exit from.  They get on with great difficulty and it is with greater difficulty that they manage to alight through the crowd.

6-  The Flockers - They are buzy in gossips, in a game of cards or just singing away to glory.

The situations created when these characters clash is different each time.  The time spent travelling on a local can vary from 5 minutes to 2 hours or more. Similar to life which is a journey, people don't always think of the destination but just the journey at that moment.  They sometimes fight for that little extra place to hold on or to stretch their necks out the door.  A little bit more - this desire can push people quiet a lot.

The Author of this post is Nivedita Gopinathan. She is the Co-Author at this blog. She can be reached at http://heregoeznothing.blogspot.com/

Kutch ki ghoomnaam galiyaan =)

I find myself knowing more about Mumbai than any other city of the world :-) Lately, i have been receiving lots of compliments regarding the same and many Mumbaikars also say that i have more knowledge than they have about the Super Awesome City. :-) This makes me happiieee :) To keep me away from missing this place, i do alot of strange things in my day to day life which i will let you know in other write ups later ;-)

This time i was here just for 2 days :-| But it did not matter much :P :P I almost did everything that i did the last time when i was in Mumbai for 10 days :)) Jaane do.. ab lecture bada ho raha hai ;-) Its a never ending topic for me and i can fill 4 GB harddisk writing about this awesome city ;-)

Mumbai was the start point of my Journey to Kutch. I was traveling in Bhuj Express for the 1^st time ever. Boarded the train at Bandra and soon within 3 hours we entered the Gujrat State. I’m a keen observer of things which go around me. Found some good things in the train. There were just 1 or 2 beggars in the train. Even the poorest man / women / kid engaged himself / herself in some or the other business.

A small boy may be 6-7 was selling khamann Dhoklaas, kachoris, jalebi, fafda =). Another lady was selling newspapers dailies and magazines. Guys believe me.. Gujjus have business in their blood :) Khudka kamate hein aur shaan se jeete hein :) and be it eatables or magazines, never forget to bargain with Gujrati Business People. Pakka bargain milega !! 

Reached Kutch on the next day...! :) For all my readers who reside outside India, Kutch is located in Gujrat State, and Kutch is the most amazing group of villages where life is so very peaceful and simple. In spite of blooming economy of Gujrat state, Kutch has still remained unexplored.

I really feel that Kutch should remain unexplored so that it can retain its beauty. Its better that Kutch has inbuilt roads and light less streets instead of the Industries and factories that spread pollution or the growing population that spreads crime. Trust me, if Kutch is tried for developments, it will surely loose all the Nature's best and unique beauty which it currently showcases.

I was really waiting to explore the villages, the forts, Derasars, Palaces and many other things of the Beautiful Kutch.

The Derasars means the Jain temples. These temples were built long back about 100 years. These temples are awesomely designed and well maintained by the respective boards. Let’s go through some pics...

I had to attend a program at Sandhaan ( Kutch Village) but it was a bit boring for me.. i had nothing to do with that and so i thought of roaming through the streets of the village. Its an amazing place to be at. Captured some pics again ;-) sandhaan ke ghoomnaam galiyon me mast ghoom raha tha mein ;-) :P

Another amazing thing of The Kutch is that Peacocks & Camels roam freely in these villages as stray dogs roam here & there in our cities. Here is a pic that i captured again :)

Then, as i kept moving, i came across a big fort in Saandhaan. Inquired a bit about it. They said that it was partially destroyed in earthquakes. Here is the pic. I also saw a single roomed post office here.

The market place was small and simple too. The climate was really awesome here. Had expected high temperature but it was cool and turned awesome as the twilight approached. Found a house nearby Saandhaan Derasar which built about 80-100 years back :) Also found an Auto Rick which was kind of unique. Here are the pics.

We stayed at Suthri – a nearby village, about 10 kms away from Sandhaan. Suthri is really good place to hault. The climate was awesome. The cool breeze and the tasty food i had there is what Suthri is known for. I used to sit outside our room till late night to enjoy the cool breeze.

Then we proceeded to roam through other parts of Kutch. Mom & Maami were busy shopping some type of sarees and it was eating away lots of time ;-) pakka diya tha in log ne :P yaar 3 hrs tak koi shopping karta hai kya :( huh. We left for the Mandvi beach then :) Met one of my friend Mayur who stays there... here we go with the pics... :) I was tired abit but really enjoyed alot at the beach.

We stayed at Kothara (Another Village) for a day. It was a peaceful place too. But the temperature was a bit higher as compared to other villages. Next day we left for Bhuj. Reached there within 2 hrs. Visited Aaina Mahal and some other Mahal of Bhuj. Here are few pics of Aaina Mahal and the other Palace of Mandvi. Haulted at Bhuj for a day and i was excited for the next day.. =) Here are few pics =)

We had planned to visit the India Pak border which was near Kaaro Doongar (Black Mountain). Karo Doongar is a place were u can see no-mans land from top of the hill. Nothing exists there. The ocean has dried out lots of salt and limestone is visible. Not a single plant, grass or any animal exists there. Its a strange place. Here are the pics.

From there, we left for the India-Pakistan Border area. Wow.. it was a super sensitive zone. =) I was just 70 kms away from the 0 line. The border connects to Karachi on the other end :) I was not allowed to click more pics of that area. Clicked just 2 pics there..

From there, we went back to Bhuj. That was the last day at Gujrat and Kutch. Boarded the train at night 10:15 and was really tired alot after traveling for 5-6 days continuously. But i was again getting charged up coz i was going to be in Mumbai again :) :) Reached Bandra at 2:30pm and the traffic on the road was super awesome :P LOL. We had booked a taxi to return back to home at Dombivli. Taxi wala mast shanna tha. He took us through mast mast route. Andheri, Powai lake, via Hiranandani, Thane outskirts, and finally to Dombivli. Matlab ghoom phir ke waheen ;-) LOL. 

Had to meet friends in Bombay but was expecting some relatives to visit home. Finally ghar pe pakk raha tha and called up my mast dost DD bhai to meet up. Hum log Dadar pe mile raat ko 9 baje :P Solid bhook lagi thi ;-) DD bhai party de rahe the toh mein mana kaise karta LOL :P He took me to a super awesome restaurant ONLY PARATHAS at Dadar. Ekdum dhinkchak Parathe banate hein idhar. They make about 25 types of Parathas :D we tried Paneer Spring roll Paratha and one more was... ummmmm forgot the name :P maza aaya.... ;-)

Khana khaane ke baad paan khana toh banta hai ;-) aur kya tha.. phir DD bhai ko topi daali :P Culcutta Masala paan liya :D The paan was too big and i started coughing pagal ke jaise :P pagal jaise hasne ko aaraha tha :P aur muh paan se bhara tha :P boleto ekdum majja aaya.. From there we hired a cab and went to Dadar station. :) boleto tata bolneka samay aagaya tha ) was back to home (Dombivli) within 3 hrs and sogaya shaanti se.;-)

Thats all what i did for so many days :P I liked Kutch alot but yeah nothing like Mumbai :P Mumbai is Mumbai. No 1 can understand it better than me ;-)

Chalo bas ab.. mereko likhneko bhi bhi pakk raha hai.. This is the worst ever write up by me.. Mereko khud ko solid pakka yeh sab likhneko :P but i was missing my blog so wrote all this :P sorry.. mujhe pata hai tum log ko bhi solid pakkau laga hoga :P anyways.. my next article will be on MUMBAI :D a short poem under process too :P Babye all :) tc...

P.S: Ignore the spelling mistakes as usual.. because i did not bother to check for the mistakes as usual :P

few other amazing snaps which i clicked at Kutch..

For all the pics.. click this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1727351548068.2087846.1366816902&l=d964e3513b

Bijoy Momaya

Suicides for Dowry. Will this ever Stop ?

Nidhi Gupta, Dipti Chahuhan, Komal Chheda & now Bhakti Shah.. will this ever stop ??

Forget about fighting against terror, domestic crime, local authorities, politicians, scams & other issues. Lets first fight against the evils of society that force the victims to give away their lives by committing suicide. Lately, i have been noticing that Women specially the working women are committing suicide because they face harassment from their in-laws. Its so sad to understand that in-laws ask for money / Dowry. 

These shameless people force and torture women to bring money & jewels from her parents claiming that she had not brought enough of it at the time of wedding. And when the argument turns wild, the women commits suicide. She gives away her life. 

Just imagine how life would be. A lady aged about 25-26 is tortured everyday for money. The in-laws do not respect her. Not even her husband. She is cursed by her in-laws & husband from the time she wakes up. She takes all the curses & even beatings some times. She is assaulted in the worst possible way. She cries. She thinks of her child's future. What impact does these scene create on the child ? Everyday the same story continues and one fine day when the limits are crossed, she decides to commit suicide because she cannot face the problems any more. She decides to QUIT. 

This has been one of the major issue in Mumbai & other parts of India. Everyday i read about such suicides in Mumbai Mirror and other newspapers. And i feel that such news are being the source of inspiration to other victims. Read the below cases.

May 10: Bhakti Shah, 26-year-old, residing in Borivili (west) allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the third floor of the building in which she lived, around 8 am on Tuesday. The deceased, Bhakti Shah, has left behind a five-month-old son.

Apr 19: HDFC Bank manager Komal Chheda, 31, hangs herself at her Matunga's home. A case under Dowry Act registered against her husband and in-laws.

Apr 17: Deepti Chauhan, 30, ends life by jumping off the terrace of Alaknanda building in Dahisar, after throwing her five-year-old son. Her husband, father-in-law and two other family members are arrested for abetting her suicide.

Mar 8: Nidhi Gupta, 32, a chartered accountant flings her son and daughter to death and then jumps from the 19th floor of her building in Malad. Her husband and in-laws are arrested for abutment to suicide and dowry harassment.

It has been a new trend running around. Commit suicide if you are into any trouble. I understand that some problems do not have solution. Nor you get support to face the problems from your own family. But does it mean that you have to commit suicide ? What about your parents who live for you. What about your siblings & your friends... ? You kill all your relations by committing suicide. You take away the lives of your loved ones. You leave them lifeless on Earth to live without you. Their dreams get all shattered. 

Will these ever stop ? Will the women get her due respect and happiness ? Why are such things happening.. is money the only thing what you want ? Does money brings happiness ? 

Having started writing about Mumbai since a year now, this suicides are the worst things i have come across till now. I do not write until things are really serious or something that needs to be noticed. People are really not bothered of such things happening. What about the justice to such victims ? What do we do.. ? we just join a related facebook fan page. Comment on the happenings and speak about it with friends and that all.. What do i do. I write on such things, fail to awaken the people & finally even i get busy with other things. Who fights for the justice of such victims ? 

Yeah, i tried going in depth in case of Komal Chheda. Found few facts which left me surprised. Komal Chheda was a Wealth Manager in HDFC. She was drawing 15 lakhs annually. Some sources say that before her committing suicide, she had financially helped her brother in law towards his studies in abroad. Most interesting thing is it was a love marriage and her husband Ruchir was her college mate. I dont know the exact reason why Komal took such a big step. It is often seen that the parents do not interfere in their girls life after her marriage. Same thing happened with Komal Chheda. 

Follow the link to know more about Komal Chheda. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2011042120110421035245974b22cca50/Family-turns-prayer-meet-into-counselling-session.html

Today, im not just closing this chapter here itself. I will drop a mail to Human Rights Commission asking them to fight for justice of Bhakti Shah, Komal Chheda, Dipti Chahuhan & Nidhi Gupta. Please join me by dropping a mail or a postal letter to Human Rights or any other authorities you know that can help to bring justice to the victims.Please spread a word among your friends to support the cause. May be there will be a less chance of HR Commission acting only if they receive a single mail. So i request all my readers to take few minutes and drop a mail to the concerned authorities.

Thankyou. 

Bijoy Momaya !!

Meet Vijay Salaskar. Encounter Specialist - Mumbai Police.

Vijay Salaskar – The Brave Iron Man Encounter Specialist whom Mumbai Underworld feared has killed about 70-80 criminals in his encounters whom the Mumbaikars once feared. Vijay Salaskar was a man who always wanted to white wash the crime & terror from the Mumbai City. He had cleared half of the Arun Gawli gang. He was also the Head of Anti Extortion Cell – Mumbai.

Vijay Salaskar was a commerce post graduate who completed his M.Com from Mumbai University. He joined The Mumbai Police as the Sub Inspector in 1983. Raja Shahabuddin ( a criminal / Supari Killer ) was the big threat to Mumbai when Vijay Salaskar joined the Mumbai Police. Raja had killed many builders & business people and was the underworld hero in 1980s. But Vijay Salaskar killed Raja Shahbuddin in an encounter in the very 1^st year of his service as a sub inspector. 

The killing of Raja Shahbuddin was then a threat to Mumbai Underworld. The Mumbai Police was in strict process of cleaning the Underworld from Mumbai. Many small gangsters dissolved and ran away from Mumbai. A few of them surrendered. Vijay Salaskar was a fear to Mumbai Underworld. He believed that crime can be cleaned only by killing the criminals. He was a 1 man army who killed many supari killers and other criminals who were engaged in hafta vasooli. Vijay was the man who brought peace in the city. His discipline and fast action against crime was a boon to Mumbai City. Many criminal outfits lost their control over the city. 

Vijay Salaskar has credits of killing Amar Naik, Jaggu Shetty, Saadhu Shetty, Kundan Singh, Zahoor Makhanda and many others who were from Arun Gawli Gang. He even had gone hunting for Arun Gawli, but he fled away from his place which made Vijay Salaskar to return empty handed. The sources also say that Vijay’s two trusted men informed Arun Gawli about his hunt. Later Vijay encountered his two trusted men Sada Pawle and Vijay Tandel and this killing was termed as Fake Encounter by Arun Gawli and his men.

Arun Gawli was a bloody politician then. I don’t know who such criminals in India can contest & win the elections. Money plays a vital role. This cheap politicians threw as much as money to remain safe. Arun Gawli was a coward. He was a milk man before he became Mumbai Underworld don. Arun was a pick pocketor and a small thief. He grew up by doing illegal trades of tobacco items like charas, afeem, ghanja. Vijay Salaskar unveiled the Gutka Underworld Nexus. This brought a big crunch to Gawli’s business. And Arun feared Vijay Salaskar a lot. In 1997, Vijay Salaskar conducted a raid at Arun Gawli’s residence at Byculla. But Arun had information about his hunt which helped him to escape.

Arun Gawli, lets call him a coward, was contesting elections in Mumbai. The corrupt election commission officials were flooded with money from Arun Gawli. Arun Gawli then requested the Government to transfer Vijay Salaskar as he feared that Vijay will kill him in an encounter.

This is what Vijay Salaskar had to say about Arun Gawli.

Gawli may have become an MLA. But for me, he continues to remain a former Mumbai don and I have to keep tabs on his activities. If I get any information of his group's involvement in a crime or learn about any shady activity going on at Dagdi Chawl, I will not hesitate to raid his Byculla residence. If I have to arrest him, I will not refrain from doing so. Now that Gawli is an MLA, arresting him will involve certain procedures. I will not bow to any political pressure. I will only take orders from the police commissioner, who is my supreme commander. It was embarrassing that khaki-clad policemen would be deployed to protect Gawli. In the past, we refused him police protection on several occasions. At that time, I had gunned down several of his top henchmen and so he was scared of me. But if Gawli is really reformed, he should not be afraid of me or any other policeman. We do not target innocent persons.

Vijay Salaskar has bravely fought against the crime for 25 years. Many big criminals have been prey to the bullets fired by Vijay Salaskar in his 25 years of service. I take a bow to such a brave man who cleaned the crime from Mumbai City to a big extent. Lets not discuss about the political failure. Discussing that would be an insult to such a brave man.

Vijay Salaskar lost his life on service. He was in charge to kill the terrorists which entered Mumbai in 2008. We also lost Hemant Karkare - ATS chief and Ashok Kamte – CP in the mission. Ajamal Kasab was the one who killed Vijay Salaskar and Kasab himself has also claimed that he fired at Vijay Kalaskar. Vijay Kalaskar gave away his life fighting for peace in the city. Lets take a bow for his love for Mumbai and his duty. I request all my readers to pray for well being of his family. Vijay Kalaskar has protected Mumbai for 25 years of his life. It’s really a big thing to dedicate such a big period of his life.

He lived for Mumbaikars. He died for Mumbaikars.

Let’s do something that can kill and clean the terror from India and the World. Barrack Obama killed the face of terror Osama Bin Laden. Let’s learn from him and ask our bloody corrupted Government to act wise.

Vijay Salaskar’s daughter says that she is proud that her father fought against crime and terror till his last breath. We salute to such a brave man. His sacrifice will always be remembered by Mumbaikars and everyone else. Vijay Salaskar has been honoured with Ashoka Chakara award for fighting against crime in his duty of 25 years. The people of India will never forget his contributions and bravery.

We all love you Vijay Sir, we will never forget what you gave us. You lived for us and you laid ur life for us.  Jai Hind.

Bijoy Momaya !!

Dharavi - Zindagi Live !!

Dharavi - Call it a slum or call it a house of millions - Its part of our Mumbai.

Dharavi is situated between Mahim (west) & Sion (east). Condensed between the Western & Central line, Dharavi is spread over about 175 to 180 hectares of land. It is a house for about 800,000 people consisting a majority of Dalits. Its also known as the heart of Mumbai.

In Mumbai, the cost of living keeps making new highs day by day. But in such an expensive city, Dharavi provides a cheap, low cost shelter. People dwell in small huts here. Such huts rent about just Rs.500 per month.
 

The Dharavi life is entirely different from the other world. People who earn less and enjoy their life to the full, live here. A person here, earns only as much as required to fill their tummy for the day. They earn less and they live happily. Idhar sab log Dharavi ko aapne daddy ki jagah samjhte hein :P
 

Dharavi drives a big business. They EXPORT goods around the world. Most of the commodities and goods exported are traded illegally. (wine, gold, silver, etc.). The annual turnover crosses about US$700 Millions per year. Dharavi was a Island till late 1740's which was on the shores of River Mithi which connects to Arabian Sea. Fishing was the main occupation then which slowly stopped and disappeared as the civilization took place. 

A Single Room House in Dharavi

 

Migrants from Gujrat developed Potters colony within Dharavi and Potting was then a new business. Maharastrians developed Leather Tanning business, UP migrants started Ready made garments business and slowly commercialization improved in Dharavi. The Tamil migrants started a school in Dharavi which remained the only school for 40 years and it was also the 1st Tamil school of Bombay. Dharavi has many waste recycling units. Presently, it promotes about 5000 recycling businesses and there are about 16000 single room factories.
 

Dharavi faces huge problems in the Monsoons. As it is a lower area, the rains invade this area badly due to lack of rain water harvesting facilities. More over, it creates alot of health problems. Another worst thing prevailing here till 2006 was, there was only 1 toilet per 1400 people. This was because almost all the houses in Dharavi were used for commercial purpose which were illegal. No proper reasoning has been derived for this.
 

Dharavi has been depicted in many Hindi Movies. Salaam Bombay, Deewar, Dharavi, Sarkar, Footpath, Black Friday, No Smoking, Trafic Signal, Aamir, Parinda, Kaminey and many other movies have featured this area and the Typical Dharavi Life. Few English movies namely Slumdog Millionaire, Slum for Sale, Slumming have also featured this place.
 

Dharavi awaits developments and rehabiliation. Will Dharavi get a new face in near future ?
 

Thanks for reading. Plz share. 

Bijoy Momaya !!