Its been a week since the last update.. the pace @ which time zips kindof keeps me awestruck... Its been 2 months since I have embarked on the not so Mast Bekar Araaam routine.... Last weekend was meant to roam around town with mates from college.. visit the Jehangir Art gallery, Sugar cane juice @ gateway, grubs @ Vithal Bhelpuri, watch Zinda @ New Excelsior , followed by a visit to Strand Book Exhibition followed by a breezy evng along the necklace.

The few incidents that struck a chord were... the vendors of greeting cards @ Gateway. Have a feeling, these smart slaesmen work on close to 200-300% ,margins. Speaking to one of the blokes, revealed his modus operandi. He too can't make much sense @ the craze for these snaps amongst the tourist populace. But, he is always on the lookout to get a killer deal... I guess, he appreciates the value & power of an inflated GREENBACK. The arrival of QE2 along the Mumbai coastline, has soared his spirits sky high.....

Old Theaters.... Though the slow transition of these single screen masterpieces into fancy & expensive ,multiscreen entertaintment hubs has already begun; I still feel these golden oldies indeed provide great value in terms of experience.... For starters, as one walks into New Exelsior, Regal or Eros; there is a certain visual appeal & old world charm that these places poccess... I do agree, the seats are not as plush & comfy, the view positioning not very erogonomic & other blah blah..reasons.. But boy, I still prefer them to the new age multiplexes..unless one were to go there on a date !!! to spend a cosy time... planting u'r ass on leather upholstery , reclining seats & tons of foam. Else, they seem to provide little value for money..

Strand Book Exhibit... it is a mad house.. My eyes just get exhausted @ the sight of so many books... I prefer the road side stalls .. cheaper , & one has a small collection to look upto. An already increasing backlog of books to be read; meant I was in no position to accumulate any further hard bound.

The Sunday was spent attending the engagement ceremony of a close friend... right in my backyard... It was a chill affair.. Mallu functions are efficieny personified.. Even before u realise, the function is over & the junta is either heading to the stage or attack the gourmet that has been laid out. So, there goes another friend; soon to be tied in knots...... Phew man... single ppl seem to be a diminishing specie....

The Business Plan that we were supposed to come up with ... was weighing me down.... Earning profits & money..have never realy made much sense to me.. So when it is forced up u'r throat, u almost suffocate... But like everything; one gets to adapt to the new requirements. Having sweated around with 4-5 inconsequential plans; finally managed to wrap up the stuff in about 2 hrs. I guess, when under time pressure; even the most mundane idea seems to make sense.. As if enlightement is supposed to strike only @ the nth hour... Wonder, how frustrated & irritated Buddha might have become, if he was not given a deadline to attain enlightenment...
Can't reveal the fineprint..might do so, someother day... i am sure u all know about Known Disclosure Agreement & IPR... Check the BlackBerry legal tangle..if u need any further evidence...

Mumbai festival...... I guess that was inevitable ...Being part of a global economy,,implies there is homogenity in the concept, all across.. the content is what differs.... On thursday , we had Indian Ocean performing @ Bandra Reclamation... Their song Bande from the movie Black Friday has hit the charts... Heres one rock group, which has a unique Indian Flavour...be in their dress sense, their use of hindi, the lyrics taken from traditional sources & most of all the music; which is very much like fusion. This also gave me an oppurtunity to meetup with a few friends & also make a couple of new ones.. These blokes ( all of them from the tech industry in US) had quit their jobs & were in search of their real objective.... in the meantime, were involved in helping an NGO in Mumbai
by the name of AVSAR ----->http://www.avsarindia.org/new/Avsar%20India.htm
Yuva Parivartan ---->http://www.yuvaparivartan.org/index.htm

Well, its another Saturday.... was hoping to go & climb a bit..but given the mountain of work, that looks remote....Hopefully, tmrw morning plan to do some high adrenalin cycling & a visit to the rocks....Inshallah... presently listening to Bob Dylan.. & Louis Armstrong

( the earlier post was filled with varying degrees of typo errors... there were so many, I just didn't bother correcting.... in case any of u had to endure the crap, kindly accept my sympathies )