Mercy Killing
February 13, 2007 | Filed Under Mumboji, Point of View, Travel | 2 Comments
Jumboji: What do you think of Euthanasia?
Mumboji: I don’t have any great views on it. But I think it should be given to everyone who stays in Bombay. Everyone who tolerates Bombay. Everyone who goes through hell to earn his bread and butter here. I stepped out of my house and there’s a traffic jam. I go about 50 meters ahead and roads are dug up. The road has been like that for about a year now. It’s all for a better future it seems. I don’t know when this better future will come. Just about a week back hutments along a road nearby were razed to build a road. While I am not a big fan of people constructing houses on roads illegally, seeing the homeless people was not a happy sight.
Some people were staying open roof and some were sleeping on their razed houses. When I look at people like them, I realize how blessed I am. I still have a cozy room and a nice bed to sleep on. In fact I have much more than that. But I am guessing when one is poor, one doesn’t care too much about the law. I think even the rich feel the same. I think people who care about the law can be counted on fingers.
Jumboji: Do you think, you can leave Bombay?
Mumboji: Vicious city, isn’t it? First I thought I love this city, but I guess my love is more of 29 years of dedicated staying in it. I haven’t seen too many places outside it and whenever I do, I’m overwhelmed.
I visited Pushkar recently and I was floored. The place has a serene feel to it. (Some people would think serene is my favorite adjective as I use it everywhere I can even remotely attribute it to.) Here, have a look at this panorama, doesn’t it give you the feel of serenity?
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| From Jaipur - Ajme… |
And then have a look at this sunset….
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| From Jaipur - Ajme… |
And imagine seeing the sunset everyday. With probably a nice cup of tea (alcohol is prohibited in Pushkar). Yeah things have their pros and cons.
When I was there I went on a 3 hour camel safari along with a friend of mine - Harish. It was splendid, I even bruised a part of my body that is seemingly impossible to bruise. Lots of things happened on that camel ride. They warrant a separate blog entry so I will refrain from it at the moment. I have had a tiring day at work, I was absconding for about 9 days and things have piled up. But the trip was worth it.
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| From Jaipur - Ajme… |
That’s the camel I rode on. Splendid animal, extremely cute. Large well built and loved rolling in the sand. The guy apparently had a fear of moving vehicles. Whenever he saw one coming, he would get all panic-stricken and try to veer away as far as possible or stick his head in another camel’s butt. He was called Moti and I have decided to name the fear of moving cars after him — Motigo. Apparently after arriving in Bombay, I feel like the fear has become mine and I suffer from Motigo too.
If at all you ever plan to visit Pushkar, a very good person to get in touch with is Himmat Singh - +919414300143. He has a web site that’s under construction - http://www.hotelvenuspushkar.com/ but there are more phone numbers there that you can use.
And if you intend to go on a camel safari, you can get in touch with Raju - +919982338600. He is a nice fellow and has working knowledge of a few foreign languages including English. But if you are not able converse with him, you can always contact Himmat Singh and he can help you with most things around Pushkar.
Vote for Mumboji Jumboji
February 1, 2007 | Filed Under Jumboji, Mumboji, Point of View | 12 Comments
Jumboji: So what’s your take on voting v/s not voting.
Mumboji: I don’t mean to preach but it’s foolish to not vote. If you don’t vote, you give up your democracy. You don’t care as to who comes to power and subsequently you relinquish your right to crib about the state of your surroundings. The right to crib is the best right to have. Most people can’t live without cribbing.
Jumboji: So how many people around you have voted today?
Mumboji: I work in an organization which has amongst the best educated youth in the country. Yet most of them are not registered voters. And a lot of those who are registered, didn’t vote today. These people are so involved in making money for themselves and for their country that they don’t really care who squanders their hard-earned money and how….
Jumboji: But aren’t all candidates who fight for power the same? Blood-suckers.
Mumboji: That’s a perception. It could be true but I would like to believe it isn’t true. There are people who might be good. And particularly for such people one can’t relinquish their vote.
Jumboji: But my vote is just one amongst thousands….
Mumboji: Your vote is not a minuscule entity. It is power. In a democracy the beauty is that the power is equally distributed to people in the form of a vote. You can’t do too much with this power but it is necessary to use it, lest someone else uses your power. We mustn’t waste that power we have.
Jumboji: Mebbe you are right.
Mumboji: I am right.
When Anush Ran
January 16, 2007 | Filed Under Jumboji, Mumboji | 3 Comments
Sometime back I had written a post called, Run Anush Run. Anush a friend of mine was running in the Chicago marathon. His birthday being today, I thought of dedicating another post to him.
He successfully ran the marathon and raised the money he had promised to for Ashanet. He ran the 26.2 miles in a little less than 5 hours. His practice times were much better, about 3 hours, but standing in cold Chicago before the race began was not exactly the best experience. He developed some blisters in the foot and I can imagine how painful it can be running with the pain.
I salute his spirit and wish him a very happy birthday. I think he turns 30 today. It is the age where most men attain half enlightenment and resort to drinking beer everyday.