India is rich in inventive works. It is frequently confusing for visitors to this country to choose just which crafts they will carry home with them. The decisions are plenty of, widely sundry and frequently inexpensive.

The finest quality product can regularly be found in the bazaars that populate larger cities such as Delhi, Munbai in Bombay, Kolkata in Calcutta and Chennai in Madras. Thousands of places, from quaint shops to roadside stands, sell crafts to visitors.

Rajasthan and Kashmir are the 2 biggest producers of crafts made for mass distribution. In Rajasthan, you may find bargains on fabrics, jewelry, glass, pottery, rugs and camel-hide products. Carpets, scarfs and embroidery dominate the products produced in Kashmir. These are typically said to be of the best quality available.

The many tribal communities of India produce bizarre crafts that are popular with holiday makers. These crafts include wire animal tarakashi of Orissa and enormous bronze sculptures in Nagaland. The Himalaya areas produce a vast quantity of silver, turquoise and coral jewelry.

Indian jewellery shops specialise in bright, 22-carat gold items. Many of the local clans trade in their traditional silver jewellery for the more widely preferred gold. Frequently jewelers have bags of silver jewelry for sale by the pound. Brass and copper are worked into trays, cups and plates. The best of these can be discovered in Varanast.

No mention of India’s crafts would be ideal without a mention of Bidriwork, a specialty of Aurangabad and Hyderbad. This craft is a matte gunmetal alloy finely inlaid with silver and gold. It is then employed in making boxes, vases and huggas, or water pipes. These are certain to be treasured by all who obtain one.

This article only touches on the wealthy craft culture of India. Spend plenty of time taking a look at the variety and selecting. You are bound to find the ideal keepsake of your trip to India.

If you find this article useful, you may also visit famouswonders.com to read more about some of the best places to visit and have a look at Mahabodhi Temple Complex.

Life of Luxury

Many dream of waking up to find breakfast waiting for them. It’s a fantasy for most to daily find their clothing cleaned, pressed and ready for wearing. For 21 year old Zalak Modi, this was a reality for her. Coming from a upper middle-class family from Mumbai, India (which she prefers to call Bombay) this is the typical life of a person from her social standing.

She didn’t raise a finger

The daughter of a lawyer and a businessman, Zalak knew of no other life until she started to live on her own. “I don’t cook, I don’t clean, I don’t get a glass of water for myself,” is what Zalak told me with no hesitation when I asked her about a typical day at home. A glass of warm milk is prepared for her every morning when she wakes and every night before she turns in.

A Celebrity

“I’m a celebrity in my own little world,” she says with a smile and a laugh. A servant and a maid has always been a vital part of her family. They were much like a member of the family before she was even born.

A New Life

Adjusting to living with out them hasn’t been easy for her. Cooking has become an adventurous task for her. She makes dishes that are safe enough to eat, but often heats up a frozen pizza. There are other aspects of independence that has been more of a challenge, but she’s optimistic about learning to be on her own. “I don’t know how to clean my own drain, but it’s not that bad,” she says with a face turning red with embarrassment.

Teasing

Zalak is used be calling spoilt by her friends in the UK. “We come from different backgrounds, what I see as normal is appalling to them,” she says about her new friends. She knows the teasing is all in good fun and that it’s a cultural difference. Her friends back in Bombay even call her spoilt and they live a similar life style.

Missing the Old Life

Even though she’s adjusting to her new lifestyle she misses her maid and her servant. To them it’s like having another mother and brother that do things for her. They have a strong bond since they’ve been in her life since birth, but she still knows they are there to make her life comfortable. She would love to return to her old life. She looked at me with a dreamy look in her eyes when she said, “I’m waiting to put my feet up and just relax.”

A few years ago I was lucky to receive the William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in India. I spent a tumultuous, unpredictable year working with an NGO in Bangalore, India. The insanity is summed up by the following facts:
I went to India an indy punk, grubby, non-consumerist, teacher and public service worker.
I left India an aspiring actress and model ready to delve into the commercial entertainment world.

Not the stereotypical travel-to-India-life-changing-journey. Before leaving India I wrote:

“CONCLUSION: IT ALL WAS NOT THAT BAD
Although there were a lot of hard times in India, things ended up working out. I was told that if one at least likes India the country will keep calling you back. The future is uncertain, but I am sure that this is not the last that India has heard from me.“

Funny how life happens – this Wednesday I will be traveling to India as part of the cast of “When Harry Tries to Marry” to finish up filming. My life changed so much the first time, who knows what will happen with a repeat voyage? To prepare you, my reader, for this voyage every day until lift-off I am going to post some of the highlights from my previous India travel-blog. The posts ended up being quite popular so trust me, you’ll love them!

To start off:

“Top Ten Reasons Why Living in India is Memorable

10) You can bribe your way out of anything.

9) If you are here long enough you will make sounds with you butt that you never thought possible.

Mob rule wins every time. The population is so huge that even if you get a small percentage to agree with you that’s a damn lot of people.

7) South Bombay socialites excluded, people are not afraid to eat.

6) In a city like Bangalore with 6 million people there are still cows meandering in the middle of the road.

5) Cleaning toilets, sweeping floors, ironing clothes and swabbing floors are seen as work- real work, like it should be. And you usually pay someone to do it.

4) Salman Khan, a famous Bollywood actor, ran over a few homeless people and walked away scot-free, but then shot an endangered animal and went straight to the slammer.

3) The world is your toilet and nature is your piss pot.

2) Someone who dances like a back-up dancer from a 1985 Michael Jackson video can be a top hip-hop dance teacher in Bombay with over 50 loyal students.

1) The leader of the largest political party in India, who runs and controls a lot of the shit going on around here, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, is I-T-A-L-I-A-N.”

Cette année, vos deux Frenchies fêteront Noël à la mode japonaise au milieu de la côte ouest indienne. Itinéraire d’un voyage sac aux dos aussi long que magnifique, au départ de Delhi et direction la pointe Sud de l’Inde.

- Étape 1: départ de Lima et arrivée à Delhi

• 8-9 déc.: départ de Lima à 1h20[1], arrivée à 16h45 le lendemain à New Delhi après 26 heures de voyage.
• 9-12 déc.: visite de Delhi (Delhi)

- Étape 2: le Rajasthan et le Gujarat

Cliquez pour agrandir

• 13-14 déc.: visite de Jaipur (Rajasthan)
• 15-16 déc.: visite d’Udaipur (Rajasthan)
• 17-18 déc.: visite d’Ahmedabad (Gujarat)

- Étape 3: Bombay et Goa

• 19-23 déc.: Bombay (Maharastra)
• 24-25 déc.: Goa

- Étape 4: le Kerala

• 26 déc.: Ernakulam – Kochi
• 27 déc.: Allepey, Kollan, Trivandrum
• 28-29 déc.: Trivandrum, Kovalam
• 30 déc.: train de Trivandrum à Goa

- Étape 5: Goa et Pune

• 31 déc.-1er jan.: Goa
• 2-5 jan.: Pune
• 5 jan.: retour à Delhi

Finding a cheap flight to Bombay might take a little bit of research online and in person, but you will be glad that you did. Visiting Bombay is one of the most interesting and culturally diverse things that you can do, and many people visit Bombay for quite a few reasons. First of all, finding a cheap flight to Bombay is more than just that making travel arrangements. Bombay is now currently known as Mumbai, and is the capital of the Maharashtra state in India. There are about 13 million people who live in Bombay, so visiting this city is something that is full of big city adventures for lots of people.

A cheap flight to Bombay will take you to an area that is off the west coast of the country of India. The city itself has a natural harbour that is quite deep. This is advantageous for the city of Mumbai, which takes care of more than half the passenger traffic in all of India, as well as most of the Indian cargo. A cheap flight to Bombay will take you to the hub of the commercial and entertainment areas in India, so you will be able to catch a glimpse of both areas while visiting the city. First of all, Mumbia is the commercial capital, which means that the major financial institutions, like the Reserve Bank of India, as well as the Bombay Stock exchange, are found here. Visitors who are interested in the commercial goings-on of India will enjoy their time in Bombay, because a cheap flight to Bombay means being right where the action is, and right in the middle of the business district of the city. However, commerce isn’t all that a cheap flight to Bombay will have to offer you. It is also the entertainment capital of India. This includes the Hindi industry of film and television, which is commonly called Bollywood. Film buffs, as well as history scholars, will enjoy taking a cheap flight to Bombay and visiting this area. This is because Bombay is the birthplace of the entire Indian cinema idea.

With a history that dates back to silent movies made by Dadasaheb Phalke, followed by talkies, the oldest film that was broadcast in India can be dated back to the early 20th century. This historical area of cinema also includes current entertainment, as well.

Mumbia has a large number of theaters and cinemas, and it is also home to the world’s biggest IMAX Theater. This theater shows Bollywood, Marathi, and Hollywood hits.

Not only that, but Bombay is one of the few cities in the world that actually has a national park inside its borders. This is something that is quite interesting to tourists of all types. One of the premier destinations for backpackers, family vacations, and couples is the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It is not all cinema and park that brings tourists in on a cheap flight to Bombay, however. There are many other reasons that one might want to visit Bombay. Contemporary art is a main attraction in Mumbai. There are several government funded art galleries that are open for viewing. There is also a gallery of modern art, as well as several historical galleries, and a large public library.

With all the arts, culture, and historical books that can be found, a scholar can lose themselves in history and learning on a visit to this great city. For those backpackers and tourists who are looking for well-known historical sites, they will be able to find two UNESCO World Heritage Sites after a cheap flight to Bombay.

These are the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the Elephanta Caves. Both these attractions are highly popular, and are among the primary reasons that people choose to visit Bombay.

For backpackers, these are two of the most popular destinations in India, and the hotels around them are usually quite cheap as well. In fact, cheap hotels and hostels in Bombay are so available that many people come and stay longer than they may have planned. They can take advantage of all there is to see and do, while having a cheap place to stay, as well. There are also several popular areas in the city that one might visit on a cheap flight to Bombay. These include Nariman Point, Chowpatti Beach, and Juhu Beach, as well as Marine Drive. These are all sites that are listed in travel guides and in other guidebooks that you can purchase beforehand or after you arrive in Bombay. With all that can be found in Bombay, it is no wonder that many people choose to spend a few pounds on a cheap flight to Bombay. There are many attractions in this bustling city, which is a treasure trove of history, culture, and life.

Dear People of Bombay,

Wooosh! There goes your paycheque. Run. Go fetch.

Wuh? You have time to read this? Surely not. Aren’t you too busy catching the ever-punctual “local”? Or shouldn’t you be stuck in some colossal jam on one of the THREE (?) main roads of the city?

You think you are real “professional” no? It is all about efficiency and getting the job done. People do not have the time to stop and chat. Isn’t that just great?

Ever wonder what you have become? Or is that a passing thought, a fleeting moment of self-awareness which hits you some time before the sweet smell of the sea hits your noses but not after you are over-powered by the stench of another over-flowing sewer?

Oh but you have that (in?)famous Mumbai spirit no? The ones which no terrorist attack, no amount of corruption and no riots can steal away from you. “Look how they live their lives”, we are told, “bombs yesterday but today they go to WORK!”. What dedication! What determination!

They can have our lives but they will never have our cubicles!

Oh and what is with soooo many wannabees! Can spot them a mile away. With the caps at an angle, three fourths fashionably loose and bling oh-so conspicious. And that irritating accent which is no longer limited to the “townsies”. “Aye what yaaa?” Good lord woman! Surely the word “ya” can only be stretched so far!

Oh and what the hell is with the whole “town” thing anyway. “Aye there is nothing happening in TOWN ya, come here!”. What the bloody hell? Town? Really? No other words come to mind?

So you say Bombay is the commercial capital. Ooooooooo look ma, money! Gigantic buildings and ever shrinking greenery. Let’s trade the old family house for a floor in a 60-storey building. Let us buy four cars for chintu and pintu. Each. And then let’s crib about the parking situation! Throw in a few abuses about the increasing traffic, I tell you.

Oh and you are all cosmopolitan aren’t you? People from all over the country. living as one. Surely there are no divides there are they? No. Nothing to do with your religion, your caste or community. Nope. This is the place where dreams come true. Or even nightmares.

Woosh. There it goes again. Run. Fetch.

I still luv ya though. ’tis true.

A year has gone by and we have come to the time that keeps many of us awake even now; the time when Mumbai, India’s cosmopolitan city, was turned into a jungle and the residents of the city were hunted out on streets, restaurants and five-star hotels.

It was naked terror that came via the sea and then walked in without the need for any disguise. The man who became the face of the attacks looked ecstatic in a particular picture and later it became known that the crew was on certain drugs that kept them numb, focused and inhuman. With a global audience glued to the TV screens the terrorists achieved what they had come for.

I’ve seen footage of the Scotland Yard in London and that of the New York Police Department (NYPD) on BBC and CNN and I’ve seen what the CCTV at CST showed when the two terrorists were there; if you’ve seen that you understand the point. The action of the local forces in the first few hours was that of total incompetence and it was this period that made all the difference in what could have been a few lives lost and the threat eliminated in a matter of hours to the fact that the trained terrorists got their hideouts with civilian lives as hostages around them and the situation continuing for what seemed like endless 62 hours of agony. It has now been over 365 days of anger, helplessness and embarrassment.

Hardly anything went right that day or the one prior to that and every machinery responsible to ensure the safety of the citizens and that of the country itself from a terror attack failed. The intelligence community defended itself by saying that the intelligence was provided and the enforcing agencies came out saying that it was not actionable. Three of Bombay’s senior police officers, who could have provided leadership, died around Cama Hospital within the first few hours of the attack when they came in the line of fire of two terrorists who were hiding and had a position of advantage.

William Bratton, the recently retired well-known chief of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) who has headed NYPD before once said ‘all terrorism is local because ultimately, when it happens, it’s local. It’s on your shores. The police are the first line of deterrence rather than the last. It’s the police who know the neighbourhoods and there has to be some level of effective local intelligence.’ Bratton is a legend and there are enough stories on the Internet that show how crime rates have dropped significantly wherever he has provided leadership.

IBN Live carried a story last year after speaking to US security expert Alex Alexiev who put the blame squarely on India’s poor grasp of terror dynamics and lack of coordination between various agencies. Thankfully the US security expert just used the word poor grasp and did not actually say something downright demeaning because we should have been better prepared living near what is called by the world as the ‘epicentre of terrorism.’ And we’ve had a history of terror acts pointing towards the ISI with the one prior to Mumbai being that on the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

The TV journalists did not know that the live footage was being used by the terrorist handlers but what about people from operations and from intelligence who are trained and were also listening to the intercepts? They should have barricaded the place and briefed the media and better still used it to their advantage. If intelligence and operations people knew that the handlers were passing information of our channels to their men inside the three places, then how much intelligence did they need to figure out that media would have been a perfect vehicle to foil their operations; and I am quite certain the journalists present would have been extremely happy to help. Instead people not authorised to speak were briefing the media about things not needed and we ended up showing the NSG getting into Nariman House and the handler shouting kill everybody, their forces are coming.

Our machinery is not working despite dozens of terror incidents because corruption and incompetence run riot in our systems and that is what needs to be rooted out. I read that the external intelligence agency R&AW has been destroyed by years of abuse by senior officials in a column and that the morale is at an all time low.

The media is not immune from incompetence and bureaucracy. Just sample this incident: A good exclusive story landed in my lap and I called two senior people in a newspaper and one of them said great story and asked me to go ahead and the other wrote in an e-mail copied to me and sent to the concerned section that for such strong stories we should be flexible. The section head was incompetence personified and kept coming back with idiotic questions and, finally, I had no choice but to answer them; now if the person had any shame and the bare minimum professional ethics I would have received some reply. Instead the newspaper pulled its shutters down.

Neither the two senior people who were copied nor the incompetent section reporter have got back to me for about six months now. And before my answer I was getting a mail about the gaps everyday. And I don’t think these three people would even be aware that what they did was wrong because power is not answerable to anyone; in fact I apologised to some of them thinking that perhaps there is something living inside them and they would realise. No accountability, no competence and complete shamelessness; and then these people would go out and ask for accountability from other institutions. What a charade of lies and hypocrisy.

I saw an interview of GE’s Jack Welch where he spoke about four kinds of employees and what the company should do with them. 1. High on skills and high on values: you value them and try to keep them. 2. Low on skills and low on values: you fire them. 3. Low on skills but high on values: you give them opportunities to learn. 4. High on skills and low on values: this is the dangerous category and companies often persist a bit longer with them to their own detriment.

Our culture needs to realise that competence matters at all levels and that we need to value it in every field and then perhaps the right people will find their rightful place and the intelligence agencies will function; may be even the right politicians and the police officers would come to the fore and you’ll also have journalists who can edit or write a copy.

Otherwise five years will pass and we would still be sitting ducks.

Bhai,
You are not our neighbor,but our brother,notwithstanding the acrimony between the nations because of self seeking politicians.We,majority of Indians , feel sorry for Pakistan and also are also angry as to why with such a common back ground, people of Pakistan seem to be harboring ill will against us.When your cricketers like Intiqab Alam,Asif Iqbal,Zaheer Abbas,Javed Maindad,not withstanding his clownish behavior,Wasim Akram are considered as our own , what prevents you from understanding us?
Why can not the people of Pakistan show the door to warped generals and corrupt politicians and become friendly with us rather than distant US and a wily China?Why should you not shun the mullahs who spit venom on India?
Why do not you own up your mistakes in treating India as your enemy and know that we have lived together for centuries?

Story:
Dear Indian friend,

I am sorry for the tardiness in marking 26/11. It was not deliberate but as we fight daily battles with terrorism, it is not easy to tell what date it is. Don’t consider this letter a sign of weakness because I am a member of proud nation which will one day prove its potential and take its rightful place in the comity of nations as a progressive and modern country at peace within and without.

I do realize however that day is somewhere in the future and I write to you today as a member of an embattled nation fighting its demons and trying to undo the terrible legacy of the 1980s Afghan War. What happened on 26/11 was probably part of the same cycle and I am sorry that it had to come to what it did on 26/11. India was attacked. The attackers- hardened militants and frankenstein’s monsters created by Pakistan- had not just India in mind but they wanted to embroil Pakistan and India into Nuclear war which could lead to a wider global conflict involving all major powers. Fortunately that has not come to pass. Statesmenship of the highest order is required however to ensure that we don’t allow the militants to succeed.

Please also realize that Bombay – or Mumbai as you call it now- is not just an Indian city but one of the premier Asian cities. For us Pakistanis it is hallowed ground- it was this city that our founding father Mr. Jinnah called his own, where he made a name for himself through sheer hardwork and perseverence and which allowed to rise from humble origins to significance. The Taj – which was attacked- was where Mr. Jinnah spent his honeymoon with his beautiful wife Ruttie – a marriage that itself signified the pluralistic and secular ethos of that magnificent city. It is this city that his grandson has built his business empire in. For us Bombay is sacred ground and like much of India, which is littered with monuments of varying importance and significance to Pakistanis, it is our heritage as much as yours.

So let us attach a new significance to 26/11… let this day signify an awakening on both sides that enough with this “geo-strategic thinking” of one-upping each other. Let this be a day when we realize that the zero-sum game we have played have cost us dear in the past and that Pakistan and India must work together for peace, prosperity and progress of this common subcontinent of ours. Let us base our relationship on intense rivalry in cricket, human development and economic growth. Let us renounce all tactics of a thousand cuts once and for all and realize that it is not hard to make bombs but prosperous nations are known by their intellectual health, civic sense and adherence to human rights. Let us sack irresponsible Bonapartists like your Military chief who threatened a “limited nuclear war” and instead seek inspiration from what India’s first Prime Minister Nehru told Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in New York: “Zulfi, we have to save South Asia from Nuclear War”.

Let 26/11 be a new beginning and perhaps a return to Mr. Jinnah’s vision for India-Pakistan relations modelled on US-Canada relationship.

Yours sincerely,

YLH – Your Pakistani Well-wisher and rival claimant to progress and prosperity
http://pakteahouse.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/marking-2611-a-letter-to-our-neighbors/#comment-21721

It has been a year since 26/11/08, when a city, of almost two billion people, was held hostage for sixty hours by ten gunmen. The carnage left over 350 people dead including nine terrorists. The macabre drama was televised, live, by a host of TV channels- all promising exclusive action by their intrepid correspondents. Frankly, it was a little sick for them to have jostled for prime positions to cover it as if it were some theatrical performance. It seems, that, the terrorists were watching the show themselves and getting valuable updates on what the police were doing to flush them out.

The authorities were caught with their pants down-as always. The terrorists had managed to travel from Karachi to Mumbai, after hijacking an Indian fishing vessel, inspite of the Navy and the Coastguard. They managed to land on the shores of Mumbai, carrying arms and ammunition, without being challenged once by any of our policemen; who otherwise can be found harassing the common man everywhere. It was only at CST that a RPF policeman had the guts and the gumption to fire at them. But they walked away after mowing down innocent passengers in a hail of bullets.

It was after several hours that the police could make out that it was a well planned and executed operation  carried out by a suicide squad having some semblance of military training. By then the police had lost three senior officers who had been gunned down by two of the fidayeen. It looks as if these officers had no idea what they were up against. Imagine a vehicle full of armed policemen being cut down by two men, who had the time to throw out the bodies before driving away in the police vehicle! By the time anti terrorist squads could be deployed, hundreds had been killed by the terrorists. The situation came under control only after two and a half days. Nine terrorists were killed and one captured alive. The manner of his capture showed what normal policing could achieve. It was no fancy sharp shooter who captured him but an extraordinary policeman who had the courage to grapple with the armed terrorist. It was not institutional excellence but personal bravery which had carried the day for Mumbai police.

The sheer lack of common sense of the authorities was displayed by the way in which television crews were allowed to film the whole episode as if it were some tamasha. The streets around the epicenters of action were crowded by thousands of people who had come to have a dekho at what was happening. They were not a help in any way but a hindrance to the authorities who did nothing to keep these curious bystanders away. It looked as if a movie was being shot and not a life and death situation.

It’s been a year since then. As expected, it’s time again for the glitterati to adorn television studios. They are not amused, no sir, for the battle was carried to their haunts- South of Mumbai- this time. No one has heard one practical suggestion from them so far. They are all mouthing the well-known cliches-about how the political and bureaucratic classes are corrupt, how we must take the war deep inside Pakistan, etc. But what analysis can one expect from television debates where the issue hangs from one break to another?

It is the time to face the truth. This was not the last outrage of this kind. There will be more in the future, not only in India but abroad also, for the perpetrators are willing to die in their so-called holy war. And we must be prepared. It is not the governments alone who have to fight this war but common people also. We must be prepared to undergo the inconvenience of body frisking, intrusive camera surveillance, and police check posts-the works- while in public places. We must be prepared not to let our curiosity get the better of us and crowd places as we did during the last carnage. We are quick to appreciate the Israelis or the Americans on their handling os similar situations, but how many of us are prepared to face conscription like the Israelis or show the same kind of civic responsibilities as the Americans? Let us also be like them.

It’s also time to remember those who died in vain, for no fault of theirs. They were just unlucky-to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have been any one of us in their place, really.

The 24-year-old woman (l) was arrested for abandoning the newborn in a dustbin

A 24-year-old Ghatkopar woman was arrested on Saturday for dumping her newborn daughter in a dustbin, where the baby was ravaged by rats the entire night before police finally found her.

Strangely, the woman, Kejal Suraiyya, had managed to keep her husband and in-laws in the dark about her pregnancy.

“We have not been getting along for the last two years. Though we live in the same house, we have not had physical relations since then. My parents, suspecting something amiss, had inquired with her about her swelling tummy. But she told us a story about missing her periods,” said Kejal’s husband Pradeep Suraiyya, a resident of Bhatwadi.

“One day, my parents saw that her swelling had gone down, but she said it was the result of medicines that she had taken a few days ago.”

Naturally, the family was shocked when the police came knocking on their door to tell them that Suraiyya had left her baby to die in a dustbin.

When the Ghatkopar police found the one-day-old infant on September 21, she was severely injured and had several rat bite wounds on her arms. Immediately, a team led by Manisha Jadhav, sub-inspector of Ghatkopar police station, rushed to the spot. “We took charge of the baby, as she was alive, and admitted her to Rajawadi Hospital. She was badly bitten by rats,” recalled Jadhav. The infant was later shifted to Sion hospital.

When the police started investigation to find out who the mother was, they contacted all midwives in the area. “We contacted all the local midwives and also probed in and around the area, but we did not get information about any woman being pregnant around that time,” said Chandrakant Puri, police inspector of Ghatkopar police station. “But on September 23, we got a call from a woman saying that she suspected her neighbour, Kejal Suraiyya, to be the child’s mother.”

On subjecting Kejal to medical examination, the police found out that she had indeed delivered a baby around September 21. Finally, she confessed to the crime. She then revealed that she had given birth to the baby at her in-laws’ house when no one was around. Soon after the delivery, she dumped the child in a nearby dustbin.

Kejal suspected that her husband had an affair, and after frequent arguments over this, the two had stopped talking. Kejal had taken up a job in a Thane beauty parlour.

“When she came to know that she was pregnant with another man’s child, she figured out that she did not have enough money even for an abortion,” said Puri.

“She decided to give birth and dump the baby. We have arrested her and booked her under Sections 317 (exposure and abandonment of child under 12 years by parent or person) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the Indian Penal Code,” said Puri.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=2&contentid=20091004200910040323327502d3412be

Mira
Hona
3 år
Finns i Stockholm

Svart hona på 3 år, blandning av Helig Birma och Bombay. Lite blyg, men väldigt go. Är främst innekatt, men är ibland ute med. Måste flytta innan nästan vecka, annars avlivas hon. Ägarna känner att de inte riktigt har tid för henne och hon trivs inte heller så bra i familjen då det är ganska oroligt då de har barn. Ett lugnt hem, utan barn är vad Mira behöver. Väldigt snäll tjej, rumsren.

Status
Letar efter jourhem eller permanenta hem.

Grand Paris ou grand écart ? La ville de l’après-Kyoto ne doit pas être celle de l’avant-Mumbai !, par Isabelle Baraud-Serfaty

A force de controverses répétitives sur le Grand Paris et d’instrumentalisation politique, on finirait presque par se lasser de ces débats devenus finalement très parisiens. Et on se dit que les vrais défis urbains sont ceux de ces mégalopoles d’Amérique du Sud ou d’Asie qui, chaque année, doivent trouver les moyens d’accueillir plusieurs centaines de milliers d’habitants supplémentaires. Prenons le cas de l’Inde : l’agglomération de Mumbai, dont la population devrait passer de 19 à 27 millions d’habitants d’ici à 2025, est aujourd’hui écartelée entre deux extrêmes : d’un côté, son ambition de devenir une “ville globale” selon le modèle Shanghaï, de l’autre le poids de la pauvreté et de ses bidonvilles qui accueillent plus de la moitié de la population. Rien à voir ? Si justement, et c’est cela qui est passionnant. Car, avec ses enjeux urbains exacerbés, Mumbai fonctionne comme un miroir grossissant de l’évolution des plus grandes villes mondiales, et nous ramène à… Paris.

Le Monde.fr

Précédemment

• Patrick Guyennon.fr – L’ambition nationale du Grand Paris, par Christian Blanc
• Patrick Guyennon.fr – Michel Bourdeau : “L’horizon de la ville n’est pas un mirage d’architecte”
• Patrick Guyennon.fr – Paul Chemetov : “Les mirages annoncés du Grand Paris se sont dissipés”
• Patrick Guyennon.fr – Le projet du Grand Paris est menacé de s’enliser dans la confusion, par Jean Nouvel

A lire !

• La globalisation, une sociologie. Par Saskia Sassen (Gallimard, 2009)

La commozione, le emozioni ancora vivide legate al ricordo delle vittime della strage di Mumbai che esattamente un anno fa provoco’ la morte di oltre 170 persone, hanno oggi presto lasciato il posto alle polemiche e alle proteste. L’emozione scaturita dalla parata della polizia che ha aperto la giornata di manifestazioni, seguita da incontri di preghiera interconfessionali e ricordo dei caduti, ha lasciato il posto a numerose polemiche e proteste che hanno riguardato la gente comune, scesa in piazza per partecipare a questo giorno di commemorazioni, ma anche la classe politica. Molte delle famiglie delle vittime degli attentati dello scorso 26 novembre lamentano di non aver ancora ricevuto le somme stanziate a titolo di risarcimento dal Ministero dell’Interno. Secondo fonti ufficiali, dei 107 aventi diritto solo 50 sarebbero stati esaminati e avrebbero ottenuto quanto loro spettante.
Il Ministero dell’Interno indiano ha stanziato 3 lakh (circa seimila euro) di risarcimento per ciascuna delle famiglie delle vittime e 50000 rupie (circa mille euro) per ciascuno dei feriti.
E le questioni relative al risarcimento hanno scatenato le discussioni anche all’interno del parlamento, soprattutto tra il leader dell’opposizione, L K Advani, e il Ministro delle Finanze, Pranab Mukherjee arrivando alla rissa fra i parlamentari.
Advani ha accusato il governo di compiere ”passi lenti” nel dare sollievo e il giusto risarcimento alle famiglie delle vittime, provocando l’ira del Ministro delle Finanze che ha vigorosamente affermato che il partito de BJP (che sta all’opposizione in India) in questo modo strumentalizza la tragedia del 26 novembre scorso per fini politici.
Le manifestazioni di oggi sono state anche segnate dalle proteste per la scarsa sicurezza che avvertono i cittadini, oggi come l’anno scorso. Un ex ufficiale di polizia di Mumbai, Hasan Gafoor, in una intervista ad un settimanale indiano, ha detto che una intera sezione di agenti di polizia si rifiuto’ di recarsi sul luogo degli attentati. Sono poi ancora veementi le polemiche sui ritardi sia dell’intervento della polizia, ma soprattutto di quello delle teste di cuoio, arrivati con oltre 10 ore di ritardo. Molti indiani sono spaventati che un simile attacco possa nuovamente ripetersi in futuro, timore avvalorato da dichiarazioni dei vertici militari e della polizia. Il popolo di Mumbai, insieme anche a tanta altra gente giunta da ogni parte del paese, si e’ riunito dinanzi al Gate of India, il monumento simbolo della citta’ che si trova a pochi passi dall’Hotel Taj )e nei pressi del quale approdo’ il barchino dei dieci assalitori), pregando, piangendo e rendendo omaggio ai caduti. Ma tra loro anche la rabbia e’ apparsa palpabile. ”Vogliamo che Kasab sia impiccato” hanno urlato in molti, invocando cosi’ una punizione esemplare per l’unico terrorista pachistano catturato vivo, al momento sotto processo. ”Proteggono i ministri, i politici, ma alla nostra sicurezza chi ci pensa?” ha detto un altro cittadino. E ci sono state polemiche anche contro la polizia, i cui membri, secondo la popolazione, sono scarsamente addestrati e inidonei a gestire le emergenze. Polemiche anche contro la marcia organizzata dalla polizia, accusata di strumentalizzare l’anniversario per fare bella mostra del suo moderno armamentario. Il tutto, ottenuto grazie ad un nuovo stanziamento per la sicurezza annunciato dal ministro degli interni dello stato del Maharashtra, R.R. Patil. Lo stesso che era in carica durante gli attentati e che si dimise subito dopo, per poi riprendere la sua carica con la nuova amministrazione.

Anche film, libri, mostre d’arte e fumetti nel primo anniversario degli attentati di Mumbai. Gia’ poche ore dopo la liberazione degli ostaggi nel Taj Mahal hotel da parte delle teste di cuoio indiane, un famoso regista di Bollywood, Gopal Varma, fece un sopralluogo nell’albergo, accompagnato dal primo ministro di allora dello stato, per riprendere le location per un film sugli attentati. La cosa indigno’ gli indiani tanto da convincere il primo ministro del Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmuk, a dimettersi e a Varma di abbandonare l’idea del film. Cosa che pero’ non e’ avvenuto per altri registi. Una serie di film sono in uscita in India, tutti coll’unico filo conduttore del sentimento di unita’ del paese, della vittoria sui terroristi pachistani, con esplosioni, sangue e corpi straziati in bella vista. Il richiamo di Bollywood non poteva non essere raccolto dagli altri media che stanno avendo sempre piu’ successo nel paese. E’ ad esempio il caso di ”Operation Mumbai”, un gioco on line nel quale il giocatore deve uccidere, in un tempo determinato, i terroristi. Libri e opere d’arte sono in esplosione a Mumbai e in altre citta’ indiane, mentre e’ stato da poco diffuso anche un fumetto, intitolato ‘26/11′, nel quale 15 terroristi entrano via mare ed un super eroe, Doga, viene preso dai terroristi e poi liberato dalle forze speciali della polizia. In un altro fumetto, ‘Halla Bol’, il super eroe Nagraj entra nello stato vicino ‘Ghuspetistaan’ per distruggere i campi terroristi dopo che questi hanno attaccato i luoghi di Mumbai, che nel fumetto conservano i loro nomi originali. Entrambi i fumetti, venduti a poco meno di un euro, sono andati a ruba ed hanno esaurito le copie stampate, tanto che gli editori stanno pensando di metterli a disposizione su internet o attraverso i cellulari.

THIS PARTICULAR POST HAS BEEN MAILED TO US BY A VISITOR (SIDDARTH REDDY), SO WE CLAIM NO AUTHORITY ON THE MATERIAL.

Mumbai. Exactly a year back, ten terrorists came to Mumbai to kill people and subsequently to get killed in the process, so that they were rewarded virgins in the heaven after they died. Nine of them (assuming the official count to be true) were killed while one, called Ajmal Amir Kasab, was captured alive. While we know (to the extent government and media wants us to know) how Kasab has been doing in the last one year, have we ever wondered what happened to those nine killed?

Our correspondent immediately took up the assignment and did a GODgle search (a search engine especially made for heaven by dead Google engineers) to find about the nine terrorists, but he couldn’t get any result. Since no Microsoft employees were involved in making of Godgle, our correspondent was dead sure that it was not some bug.

After filing an RTI in the office of MCH (Municipal Corporation of Heaven), our correspondent received the shocking revelation that none of those nine killed terrorists actually reached the heaven. They didn’t even get a waiting list, in fact they were straightway sent to the hell.

Clearly it was a Breaking News. So our correspondent decided to travel to hell to interview some of the dead terrorists. Since the diplomatic relations between Hell and Heaven are on rocks due to the ongoing and historical enmity between Satan and God, our correspondent was denied visa to go to hell. But after a lot of deliberations and requests, finally permission for a telephonic interview with one of the terrorists was allowed.

The nine dead terrorists apparently authorized a certain Imran Babar to speak on their behalf to Fake News. Followings are the highlights of the Fake News interview with the dead terrorist:

Fake News (FN): Thanks for speaking to us Imran. How are you feeling?

Imran Babar (IB): O benchod! Aag laga ke rakhi hai pichhwade mein ek saal se inhone, aur kaisa feel karunga? (My ass has been on fire since last one year, what am I supposed to feel?)

FN: Sorry for your ass Imran, but it must have been a shocker to find yourself in the hell after being promised virgins in the heaven?

IB: abbey jale pe namak mat chhidak! (abbey, don’t add injury to my insult!) Virgins? My ass! I’m getting fucked in my ass daily by the Satan here.

FN: Oh! Sorry again for your ass Imran, but did you seriously have no idea, when you were alive, that you could actually end up in such a situation?

IB: How was I supposed to know then? I could make bombs, use Google Maps and operate Kalashnikovs, but that doesn’t mean I knew everything. I depended upon my commanders (in LET) for all the instructions and knowledge. I blindly trusted them on these matters.

FN: Do you feel cheated by them?

IB: inki maa ki! I feel such an asshole now to have believed their crap. I’m sure those bastards would too end up coming here. I’m gonna fuck their happiness I swear! benchod saale!

FN: Can you tell us a little more about yourself and your friends?

IB: There is nothing to tell. We are being tortured like hell. Well, what more do you expect in hell?

FN: Do you repent your beliefs and deeds?

IB: Do I need to answer that question?

FN: Apart from earlier terrorists, whom else did you meet in hell?

IB: Oh that’s so funny, you would be shocked to know, and your editors back on earth will never publish the names. In fact, now I’m dead sure there is no way out there on earth where we can predict who’s gonna land up in heaven or hell, and yet we are fighting for ages now. I’m sure you too must be feeling the same back there in the heaven. Tell me dude, do you really get virgins there?

FN: None that I’ve been awarded yet.

IB: What the hell! Then where are all the virgins?

FN: You still believe in this infidel vs. faithful talk?

IB: Well, the Satan talks about them before pounding my ass. Sometimes he sounds just like my earlier commanders in Lashkar-e-Taiba. But the good thing is that he doesn’t promise me any good days ahead like those assholes in Lashkar.

FN: One of your friends, Kasab, has been caught alive. Do you guys know it?

IB: Of course we know it. When we found him missing in the hell, we were pretty sure he was alive, as there is no way he could have gone to the heaven. We heard he’s been provided biryani and books. Lucky bastard! Man, this sucks! Here I’m getting ass-fucked by Satan and there he is enjoying all the hospitality of Indians. I’m sure the future terrorists will not listen to the assholes of Lashkar and won’t kill themselves. It’s far better to be alive.

FN: Where do you see yourself five years from now?

IB: With a wider ass and a hungrier Satan.

FN: Since this interview will be read by living people back on earth, do you have any message for the aspiring terrorists down there?

IB: Oh yeah! I have one simple advice for them – if you want the virgins, stay away from the assholes.

Photographed by Meanest Indian

A couple of Dabba Walla taking a lunch break in the Fort area.

A few years back I wrote a piece on the Dabba Wallahs for Monocle magazine.
Here’s my original edit:

HOT LUNCH by Meena Kadri

The Dabbawallah’s of Mumbai comprise of 5000 largely semi-literate workers who have become a national icon. Their management and distribution system has attracted the attention of international business schools and they have received the Forbes Sigma 6 rating, putting them in the company of global corporates. Their mission? To efficiently deliver close to 200, 000 lovingly prepared lunches per day from homes to offices which they do through a system employing trains, hand-carts and bicycles that was first devised over a century ago. However a rapidly modernising Mumbai poses fresh challenges.

Raghunath Medge, a key member of the dabbawallah’s co-operative, emphasises that they have had to innovate their offerings to maintain business growth. “We have new initiatives such as our express delivery service, sms and internet ordering,” to which he adds with pride their intention to explore the delivery of other items such as groceries. Novel tie-ups with advertisers to deliver client branded table mats have also successfully boosted revenue.

The lunches continued to be packed at home into India’s ubiquitous sturdy and stackable metal containers. (dabba=container, wallah=worker) From the moment they are collected by the local dabbawallah they enter a fast paced zoned system which has been adapted to the conditions of the metropolis rather than being introduced externally. “The dabba will be transported through this system, its contents consumed and its return journey ensured while passing through the hands of up to six wallahs in each direction,” tells DK Choudhary who has been one set of those hands for over 55 years. “Though the system continues to be adapted – reliability is our constant aim.”

Originally a service for the elite, middle class Mumbaikers now form the dabbawallah’s client majority. However the diversity of India means that they are far from a homogenous group – speaking a host of languages, adhering to a number of faiths and most importantly following markedly different dietary practices. This places greater pressure on the accuracy of delivery which stands at less than six errors per million transactions. Added to this is the more recent revolution in eating habits of health conscious executives. Medge notes that delivery from diet centres has become a popular addition to their services.

The dabbawallah’s ever-evolving role in the smooth functioning of the mega-city has attracted visits from the likes of Prince Charles and Richard Branson. Or perhaps they were just after a hot lunch?

You can read a more in-depth article (& slideshow) from a writer for the New York Times.

– License

Tomorrow, we mark the first anniversary of 26/11. Today is an anniversary too, did you know/notice [clearly, this particular anniversary has escaped the attention of those interlocutors, both within the country and outside, now touting the need for more dialogs, confidence building measures, and such]? This is what happened on November 25, 2008.

Meanwhile: In New Delhi, the Public Works Department planned to build bungalows for its ministers that would include, among other things, four garages [not a garage for four cars, note] and six quarters for domestic help [not quarters for six domestic help, note].

Also in New Delhi, while various Federal ministers wait – some of them in five star hotels – for alterations and upgrading of homes allotted to them, others occupy two bungalows at once.

Staying with Delhi for a beat longer, the United Progressive Alliance is rocked not by issues of the magnitude of the nuclear deal or statements relating to peace talks with Pakistan, but over the non-allocation of a bungalow to ally Trinamool Congress.

Elsewhere a former ally is up in arms because a leader who has been progressively decimated in successive elections has not been allotted a home befitting his ‘stature’ [Unlike another ‘leader’ who had started the year in hope that she would be, if not queen, at least a king-maker in Delhi, the aforesaid leader has no holiday home in conducive climes to hide out in].

The ruling Congress party – and its chairperson – made a virtue of austerity and ‘set an example’ for the rest of us spendthrifts [never mind that the point of the example is lost on us: Sonia Gandhi was travelling on party, not government, work; it would be the party that paid the bill, so why would I give a flying f**k whether she travelled economy or business, or bought a special plane just for the trip?]. Hopefully, the money saved by Sonia madam’s economy class flight ticket and Rahul baba’s much-publicized train travels will offset expenditures such as this small matter of Rs 100 crore to ‘repair and renovate’ official bungalows.

The Opposition should be opposing – but then… oh never mind.

Meanwhile in Mumbai: Home Minister P Chidambaram’s mea maxima culpa results most tangibly in the posting of some 30 CRPF jawans near the Taj Mahal Hotel, as part of his promise to beef up security in the one city that seems more than any other to have a large target prominently painted on it. Their residence address: the cobblestoned paving of the public space near the Gateway of India.

When news of this disgrace breaks in the media [video], the government reacts not with shame and an awareness of what is owed those whom we entrust with our security, but with embarrassment.

The jawans – all 30 of them – are hastily whisked out of sight in a fashion reminiscent of slum-clearance drives and, by way of adding gratuitous insult to injury, are reprimanded for daring to embarrass the government. Oh well – at least their new lodgings are near a public toilet; they no longer will have to use a police van for such basic private functions as changing their underwear, so perhaps we are making progress after all.

Excuse me, but I think I will spend this first anniversary of 26/11 following the cricket, while allowing the commemorative noise pollution to pass me by. Partly because tamasha as headline bait is not to my taste; partly because the bitter aftertaste of optimism remains strong.

A year ago, I had written this after the one-week-after rally at the Gateway. It was a particularly charged week, one replete with so many possibilities.

One friend asked me to help put together a national movement to turn the pressure on the government and keep it there until constructive, measurable action was taken to make this country safer for all of us.

Among other things, I was asked to help draft a manifesto that would in its final form be handed over to the government; the follow up, my friend said, would be weekly protest meetings outside Mantralaya – and an escalating national movement that would begin in New Delhi, Bangalore etc and then spread all over – designed to keep the pressure on, and to keep the issue alive in the minds of the public and the media.

Our trouble, my friend argued persuasively, is that when something happens we make some noise in the immediate aftermath, and then move on with our lives. Not this time, he vowed – we will unite, we will use every available tool at our disposal to hold the government’s feet to the fire and keep it there.

Catching fire from my friend’s spark, I worked late night on that draft manifesto, then spent hours nightly on email, trying – again at his insistence – to round up people who could help design and execute a web site that would serve as the home base of the nationwide protest movement [Incidentally, my apologies to the few dozen people who immediately volunteered their time, money and energy – and saw it all go for nothing].

On Thursday of week two, I called my friend, to confirm where the protest meeting would be. “Sorry, dude, I won’t be able to make it or take a hand in organizing it – have some urgent personal business to attend to,” he said. And that, as it turned out, was that.

Elsewhere, sundry groups organized the 26/11 version of the BJP’s famed chintan bhaitaks to ‘figure out what we do next’. Of the nearly half a dozen such that I attended, I most vividly remember one, hosted by a noted restaurateur/society couple. Two dozen people, representing every ‘society’ and ‘activist’ stereotype you can think of, attended; they sat in a circle in a very large hall and talked, appropriately enough, in circles, offering solutions that ranged from not voting in the next general elections [a suggestion I suspect all those who attended religiously followed, not that anyone noticed] to organizing a ‘Mumbai-to-Delhi march’ in a cavalcade of cars [No, don’t ask how you march in cars].

Oh well. The smoked salmon sandwiches served at the event were totally brilliant [not so much the tuna version – I suspect the tuna came out of a can; never quite the same as fresh tuna, as an attendee remarked].

Those two signposts — CRPF jawans crapping, peeing and bathing in the shadow of the Gateway and those divine smoked salmon sandwiches – perfectly bookend our response, as a government and as a society, to one of the worst terrorist attacks, worldwide, in recent memory.

The least we could do is avoid noise pollution, no? Especially when much of it is designed around commercial considerations: check out, for instance, Idea’s idea of donating all money made from calls in a one hour window to the police fund. And this thing that landed up in my mailbox just now, saying — no wait, the language is too good to paraphrase [and surely the least a media house can do is draft a decent press release?]:

India Pauses to unite at 8:58 P.M. on 26th Nov at Zee News Ltd.
New Delhi, November 25, 2009

As a tribute to the bravery of Indians, Zee News Ltd would create a Road
Block and pause transmission at 8:58 pm on November 26 for two minutes. All
channels under Zee News Ltd, with reach across the length and breadth of the
country and deep regional penetration, would come to a still. The roadblock
is an attempt by Zee News to acknowledge the undying spirit of Indians and
an appeal to stand up against terrorism and put “India First”.

In this endevour, Zee News had recently launched a special campaign under
the aegis of 26/11. Ab Aur Nahin’. It started with the objective of
highlighting the heroic stand and sacrifice of those bravehearts who lost
their lives. The iniciative also appealed to people to partner in the
mission to make India a terrorism free country.

This mission taken up by Zee News Ltd. initiative has received enormous
support from entire media fraternity. This will help spread the message of
uniting India for a peaceful country. Being a 360 degree marketing campaign
the word would be spread through Print, SMS, Radio & other interesting and
engaging web activities. Zee News has gained the support of various well
known personalities like Katrina Kaif, Kiran Bedi and Abhishek Bachchan in
its journey to fight against violence.

PS: On a totally unrelated note, the Indibloggies voting booth is now open. In a year where the single recurrent theme on my blog has been applications for leave of absence, I feel a bit false about asking for votes. But on the list of nominees are some outstanding blogs, including several that have time and again been linked to from here. Do vote; blogging in India is at that stage where it can use all the encouragement it can get.

Cafe Noorani: Experience the Aromatic Pleasure of Cafe Noorani.

There is a large Chinese section, Indian Chinese, and more to the point, Bombay Chinese, but I will not deal with it here. Instead, one important piece of information: Noorani provides home delivery of all orders, from Colaba Dadar. According to young Zahir Khan, who manages the restaurant, it is an absolutely free service, no charges for delivery, and you don’t have to order in bulk, you may order just two rotis, and they will deliver. One hour for Colaba, 30 minutes for Napean Sea Road. Telephone Nos. 494 4753, 494 3054, 497 2619. Check it out.

Source – http://www.busybeeforever.com/viewarticle.asp?filename=eatingout917200444436.xml&section=eatingout

BABRI MASJID

Babar was the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India. He built a mosque at Ayodhya, where Hindus claim, stood a temple of Ram.

In 1962, there was a movement, spearheaded by Hindu fanatics, to demolish the mosque and build the original temple there. On 6-12-1992, the structure, which was a historic monument, was destroyed, followed be terrorist attacks by Muslims in Bombay.

Now the enquiry commission has come to the conclusion that, it was a conspiracy by leaders of the Hindutwa movement, and not a spontaneous mass movement that resulted in the demolition of Babri Masjid.

Earlier, there used to be Hindu-Muslim riots, in parts of India, but terrorism was practically unknown. All this changed after 6-12-1992. Davood Ibrahim, living in Pakistan, conspired terror strikes against India. Hindu terrorists too became a reality. Black money and illegal arms trade played their own role in this game.

Now, things are out of control.

In today’s paper, details have come, of how the Government of Uttar Pradesh posted police officers, Magistrate etc. sympathetic to their cause, so that none tried to preserve the historic monument when some people climbed up on top of the roof and started pulling it down, in the presence of TV camera !

This is India, our precious democracy.