Icebreaker

Sunday morning at Urdu High School
Trying to make friends at the first sessions of the Reading Program

ME: Filme Dekhte ho?
KID: Haan
ME: Kaisi filme dekhte ho?
KID: {No reply, stupid question}
ME: Hero kaun sa acha laga hain
KID: Salman Khan
ME: Salman Khan Kyon Acha Lagta hain
(This is my favorite question to ask children. It is a good way to learn what drives the child, what is it that he/she looks up to in life, what he dreams. I usually use it with great success to drive the point that people ho beat up other people are not always the greatest and what they show in films is not what you should aspire....)
KID: Wo bhi musalman hain, hum bhi musalman hain.
ME: ______________{NOTHING. Somebody, please fill in the blanks for me}

He is in seventh standard, can not identify the English alphabet, works in an ice factory after school and says he will come to the reading class every weekend if he can sit next to me in the class.

Azim Parkar

Azim Parkar
Year 2000, I met this guy Azim Parkar, who taught me one way to  “Succeed in Life”
It’s quite simple really.
Whenever you meet a person just make a list.
List of three things that you like about that person.
And then every time you meet him/her keep updating that list.

May be its something that someone just told him and he just passed it on.
But the fact that he gave me this lesson is one of the three good things I remember about Azim.
The other two being

1. The fact that he empathized a lot with just about everybody


2. He thought our hostel was great place to live because it was such a peculiar mix of people

I met him in the Rs. 150 a month charitable hostel in Chincholi Bandar, Malad, next to one of the biggest dumping ground in Mumbai then. He was born and brought up in Dubai where his father was some bigshot in the National Bank there.

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What IS a guy supposed to feel?

I have to thank Bangalore Traffic Police for making my life more interesting over the past year or so. They have been successful at it by just making the boring task of going back home from office an adventurous treasure hunt. Bangalore traffic police is GOOD.

But all that changed the day they changed the direction of St. Marks road one-way.

I don’t get see the call girls on the St. Marks footpath in the evening anymore.

They have taken that element of excitement out of my life forever.

Not that they are absolute jaw droppingly beautiful or underdressed. But then when an overly made up face approaches you and purposely makes a hoarse voice to ask you "Helllllllo, what are you doing tonight?” one's got to feel something.

That brings me to an interesting question. What is a person supposed to feel when a customer soliciting professional sex worker approaches him?

Proud, that someone feels you are financially capable of affording the it?

Or Embarrassed that someone looks at you and says that’s the kind of immoral and desperate guy who would want it?

Or ashamed, that someone looks at your face and says, “Now, look at that face. That’s the kind of loser who’s got no chance if he’s not paying for it ?

What IS a guy supposed to feel?

Santa came to Richmond town

Santa came to Richmond town, originally uploaded by swapnild.

Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!

Santa came to town with Old Monk Bacardi and Smirnoff!

Newest Testament

"Behold, when I send thee friends who will walk through the fire with thee, hold thy head high and march ahead, unafraid. My gifts shall guide thee to thy glory."

Yet unpublished words of the Lord. A sneak preview of the eagerly awaited sequel in the series.

Back To Bangalore...

Just after Khabatki Ghat, Satara, originally uploaded by swapnild.

Made it from Pune to Bangalore in day and a half.

Rode from Bangalore-Bhadravati-Shimoga-Dharwad-Pune, Then second streach Pune-Mumbai-Tarapur and back to Pune. And then finally from Pune to Bangalore.

This picture is just after Khambatki Ghat near Satara. All pictures taken with my Mobile. Thats why the low resolution.