Saturday, April 18, 2020

Top 10 new things in my life

If you ask anyone around you - 'what has been new in our life compared to earlier/childhood days?' - the obvious answers would be mobile phones, internet, computers, social media, digital gadgets, eCommerce, automobiles etc.
But even if we leave aside these obvious things which have become integral part of our daily life, there are many eccentric things that have also occupied a place in our day-2-day life. People in my generation would certainly be able to relate to my selection of top 10 such things listed below.
For newer generation, they probably can't imagine now life without these.

Below compiled list is of course purely my choice of top things. I am certain everyone will have their own personalized such list :)
I have split the list in 2 types, one is food related and another one non-food related.

These food items have over the time become so much defacto in households/daily life, it is really hard to believe that none of these even heard of in our childhood.


  1. coffee - like i have mentioned in one of my earlier post, coffee was always considered as special drink, only to be offered, consumed on special occasions and may be for certain people. It was never a part of day-to-day life. Today it is essential part of office routine, social catch-ups and for many more reasons. Truely, a lot can happen over a cup of coffee.
  2. Paneer - I probably had not even heard of this substance till few years back. My mother would have gone crazy at the idea of spoiling a full liter of milk to get the bowlful of paneer, what a waste!. Now a days, any vegetarian meal is incomplete without a dish of paneer.
  3. maggie - this special food entered during very late days of our childhood. and frankly it didn't appeal at all at first taste. But later during onsite travelling days, this yellow packet became life-saver. I have seen most of the next-gen kids love maggie and to my surprise many dada-dadi and nana-nani also love this instant food.
  4. Biryani - in my childhood and pre-marriage life, non-veg used to be eaten only in curry style. 'starters' and dishes like chicken tandoori or kebabs started becoming part of plate little later when hotelling become more frequent. Biryani was still looked upon as alternate of having plane rice. however had not got hooked to this delicious one-dish meal until very late. But once tasted, then there was no looking back. From lucknawi/hyderabadi biryani to Jaffer bhai's speciality, it was the door opener to wide world dedicated only to this classic amalgamation of meat n rice.
  5. Bottled water - like all above items, this is integral part of life especially when you are on road or travelling by any mean. In my childhood days, during travel times, water need used to get fulfilled by big jars/bottles/plastic gallons. 'Bisleri' was pioneer in India to launch packaged drinking water. So much so that just like every toothpaste is 'colgate', every bottle of packaged water is referred as 'Bisleri'. Few years back, if anyone would had dared to predict that this nation will be buying their water for drinking, he would have got considered as a big fool.

Non-food - it was hard to pick these 5 items, barring the obvious onces like mobile, apps etc. I have picked up these 5 considering their penetration in my daily life.
  1. sanitary pad - Undoubtedly it deserves the top position in the list. All the woman of my generation have seen and experienced the transformation from home-made cotton napkin to industry-made/super easy-to-use sanitary pads. 
  2. Hair conditioner - remember how we used to clean hair? Most of the time with Shikakai beans/powder boiled at home or with Shikakai soap. Use of shampoo was considered as luxury. I heard the word and substance called 'Conditioner' first time when SunSilk (one of top shampoo brand of 90s) introduced their new range of products as shampoo+conditioner. But what does this product supposed to do was unknown for many. Now for women as well as for men, it is essential product of daily cleansing regime.
  3. Denims /Jeans - Our daily-wear clothes used to be frocks/skirt-tops etc. Denims were one of dress type which used to be optional, one may have it or may not. Do you know anyone now who doesn't own a pair of jeans? It is not a choice anymore but defacto clothes for youth. Not just us and our next gen, but even many of previous gen also got used to comfort of this sturdy attire.
  4. air conditioners - in earlier days, AC used to be present only in selected restaurants and offices. It was certainly looked upon as luxury or rare occasion to be in a AC room. Now every flat/apartment has AC installed by default or provision is made to install one. Even the older buildings of Girgaon have made space for AC installation wherever possible. It is no more looked upon as luxury but very much part of must-have's in house.
  5. Air travel - overall the travel modes and means have evolved to a great extend in last 20 years. With the revolution in automobile domain, the once unimaginable things like owning a vehicle or commuting in a private taxi is no more a thriller. But air-travel was always looked upon as a high-end luxury meant only for celebrities, politicians and richest of rich folks who have no better things to do with their money. and look at today! every person around me have been in air atleast once incl folks in previous gen. Now travel plans, be it business travel or family vacations, start with air booking option first.

Hope these 10 things made you travel through your own memory lanes and you have already started making your own list to match :)
Do let me know whats on your list.

#lifechanging


Tuesday, March 24, 2020

समांतर


सुहास शिरवळकरांच्या 'समांतर' कादंबरीवर वेब सिरीज येतेय अस वाचलं आणि पुस्तक घेऊन आले.
सु.शि. च्या इतर कादंबर्यां सारखीच 'समांतर' पण थरारक, उत्कंटावरधक , वेगवान आहे.
सतत येणारी वळणे, सुरेख व्यक्ती चित्रण यांनी रंगलेल्या या २०० पानी कांदबरीचा शेवट जरासा abrupt असला तरीही कथा नक्कीच page turner आहे.

पुस्तक २ दिवसात संपलं आणि मग सिरीज पाहीली.
थरारक घटनांनी फुलवलेली आणि अनपेक्षित वळणांनी जोडलेली अशी कथा सिरीज साठी अगदी योग्य होती
त्यात दुनियादारीचीच टीम. 

पण कादंबरीच्या तुलनेत मालिका जाम फसलीय
स्वप्निल जोशी ला ‘कुमार महाजन’ सापडलाच नाहीये. त्याचे सततचे अचंबित expressions २-३ भागांनंतर कंटाळवाणे व्हायला लागतात.
खर तर कादंबरीमधे एक एक प्रसंग इतका खुलवलाय की पुन्हा पटकथा लिहायची गरजच नव्हती.
पण नको त्या क्षणांवर अती focus, over dramatisation आणी मेलोड्रामा ने पुर्ण मालिकेचा बाज बिघडवून टाकलाय .

पन्हाळ्याच्या खाणावळीतल्या माणसाची भेट , सुदर्शन ला खोक कशी पडली - ही काही उदाहरणं जे प्रसंग उगाच ताणले आहेत .
त्या उलट कुमार आणि सुदर्शन ची भेट - जी घटना milestone आहे ती अगदीच गुंडाळून टाकलीय .

सिजन १ चा शेवट मात्र perfect twist वर झालाय

पुस्तक आधी वाचलं नसतं तर कदाचित मी मालिका enjoy केली असती. 
पाहुया आता पुढचा सिजन कसा असणार आहे ते

#samantar #mxplayer #marathi 



Monday, January 27, 2020

Bird Box - book review

Recently finished a book ‘Bird Box’  by Josh Malerman.

Later I discovered that its been converted into netflix movie too starring Sandra Bullock.
The book can be described in 1 word as ‘creepsville’. It is incredibly engaging, horror/psycho suspense novel which takes post-apocalyptic theories to next level.

I do not want to disclose whats so scary about it but imagine a world in which you are constantly threatened and you need to train yourself to defend without seeing what are you fighting against.

On my first day of reading rather on first night, had to shut off after few pages as i was s***t scared to read further. On 2nd night I progressed with more chapters but when i woke up in the morning.. the first thought that crossed my mind was not to open my eyes.

The whole story and its climax leaves many open questions and perpetual desire for more answers. But it still succeeded in keeping me fully engaged till the last chapter.

To sum it up, its an extremely interesting, unsettling, fast paced read that will keep you on the edge.

Do let me know if you have also read this book or watched the Netflix version and how did you find it.

#2020readinggoals 

Monday, September 10, 2018

गणपती बाप्पा मोरया

'गणेशोत्सव ' हा खरं तर अलीकडचा शब्द . लहानपणी हे १० दिवस म्हणजे 'गणपती ' च फक्त .
त्या दहा दिवसांचे वेध खूप आधीपासून लागायचे . चतुर्थीच्या आधीचा एक आठवडा 'मेकिंग ऑफ गणपती ' चा असायचा . आई बाबांसोबत पायी पायी फिरायला निघायचो . बोरभाट लेन मधून मुगभाटात . तिथे आईच्या मैत्रिणीच्या - शोभा मावशीच्या - कुटुंबाचा गणपती बनवण्याचा कारखाना होता . तिथे उभे राहून गणपतीची विविध रूपं साकारताना पाहणं हा एक अवर्णनीय अनुभव असायचा. मुगभाटात असे बरेच कारखाने होते. सगळीकडे थोडा थोडा वेळ थांबून  मग आमची यात्रा जायची जितेकर वाडीकडे . इथे मोठ्या मुर्ती बनवत असत . आज गिरगावचा राजा म्हणून प्रसिद्ध असलेला 'निकदवरी  लेन ' चा गणपती तर अगदी जवळचा . तिथल्या सारस्वत बँकेला लागून त्याचा मंडप असायचा . आणि बँकेच्या वरती पहिल्या मजल्यावर आमचा नृत्याचा क्लास . मग रोज आम्ही हळूच मंडपाची कमान उचलून मूर्तीचं काम कुठवर आलंय ते पाहायचो . जगातल्या कुठल्याही प्रोजेक्ट सारखं त्यांचंही काम अगदी अखेरच्या क्षणापर्यंत चालूच असायचं .
मग गणपतीच्या आगमनाची चाहूल लागायची. घराखालच्या भांड्यांच्या दुकानात तबक , पळी -पंचपात्र , समया आता पुढचं स्थान पटकवायच्या . आणि त्यांसोबत पितळेच्या झान्जा ही .
घरी गणपती बसत नसे , पण आजुबाजुच्या कडचे सर्व गणपती आपलेच वाटत . पेठे बिल्डिंग मधल्या शिर्के काकांच्या घरचा दीड दिवसाचा गणपती जणू आमचाच . मुर्ती आणण्यापासून ते विसर्जनापर्यंत आम्ही तिकडेच असायचो.  सर्वात छान वाटायचं ते संध्याकाळच्या आरतीच्या वेळी . 'सुखकर्ता दुःखहर्ता ' ते 'ओम यज्ञेन  ...' ह्या मंत्र पुष्पांजली पर्यंत सर्व आरत्या कधीही पाठांतर न करता , पुस्तक न पाहता आपसूक म्हणता येतात त्या याच दिवसांमुळे .
सुट्टीच्या दिवशी म्हणजे रविवारी आमची फिरस्ती असायची मानाचे गणपती पाहायला .  निकदवरी लेन , मुगभाट , सूर्य महाल , खाडीलकर रोड भाजी गल्ली आणि के. ना.  म्हणजे केशवजी नाईक वाडी या ठिकाणी आवर्जून जाणं व्हायचं . आणि बाकीही वाटेत असणाऱ्या सर्व वाड्यांचे . खेतवाडीच्या सर्व गल्यांचे फारच सुंदर असायचे , मूर्ती  आणि देखावे दोन्ही .
नंतर यायच्या गौराई . कोळीवाडीतल्या  'कोळ्यांची गौर ' पाहायला न चुकता जायचो . जरीच्या साडीत आणि गळाभर दागिन्यांनी सजलेली प्रसन्न गौराई पाहताना हात आपोआप जोडले जायचे.
या सर्व धामधुमीत दहा दिवस कसे भुर्र्कन उडायचे ते कळायचंच नाही , आणि मग यायची अनंत चतुर्दशी .
दीड दिवसाच्या विसर्जनाला आम्ही चौपाटीवर जायचो . बाप्पाची अखेरची आरती करताना खरंच आवंढा यायचा आणि मनापासून म्हणायचो  - 'पुढच्या वर्षी लवकर या '.
अनंत चतुर्दशी ला मात्र गिरगाव चौपाटीवर प्रचंड गर्दी  त्यामुळे क्वचितच जाणं व्हायचं . पण आमचं घर गिरगावच्या मुख्य रस्त्यावर असल्याने जवळ जवळ सर्वच विसर्जन मिरवणुका तिथूनच जायच्या .
संध्याकाळी चार वाजल्या पासूनच आमचा मुक्काम खालीच . रामजीचं plywood  च दुकान त्या दिवशी बंद असायचं . त्यामुळे तिथे जागा धरून बसलो की सर्व गणपती आणि मिरवणुका पाहायला मिळायच्या .
ढोल ताश्यांचा इतका आवाज असायचा की ओरडून बोलल्याशिवाय बाजुच्याच बोलणंही ऐकायला यायचं नाही .
लांब लांबचे गणपती पहायला मिळायचे . लालबागचा राजा पहायला मात्र ऑपेरा हाऊसलाच जात असू . सकाळी लालबाग वरून निघालेली राजाची मिरवणूक ऑपेरा हाऊस जवळ यायला रात्रीचे ११-१२ वाजायचे. तो पाहून परत घरी येईपर्यंत झोप अगदी अनावर व्हायची . ढोल - लेझीम च्या गदारोळात , बाप्पाची विविध रूपं आठवत निद्रादेवी कधी प्रसन्न व्हायची ते कळायचंच नाही.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Nirma and Hritik

First time when I watched the new advertisement of 'Nirma advanced', I was like 'What the hell! Really Hritik, you don't get any more movies to do now?'. My first reaction was naturally to criticise Hritik for doing detergent TV commercial.
But when I watched it again and again, I started looking at it in different perspective.
Slowly I realized that, this ad campaign is really unique and actually breaking lot of stereotypes.

With the new age ad, Nirma has finally given rest to Hema/Rekha/Jaya aur Sushama.
In the new commercial, though the product is meant for household consumption, does not feature a single woman. Now thinking wide, I do not recall any other detergent soap/washing powder/utensil bar commercial, which does not feature woman as protagonist.
Almost every washing powder/soap ad is routinely packed with naughty kids, mehanati husband whose shirt is stained, and white saree/churidar clad female who ensures her family and in-turn audience, that "don't worry, all stains will be taken care of".
The Nirma ad however does not have this formula. It shows a man choosing his own detergent, soaking his clothes and cleaning them, without any help or interruption by a female. This certainly breaks the huge stereotype that washing clothes is only woman's chore.
If I would have been a city resident young male, who most of the time have to manage their own laundry, would have immediately able to connect with Hritik's message. Also rather than a boring chore, he has actually portrayed laundry as enjoyable activity.

Nirma might have brought in Hritik in this ad for establishing connection with new generation through celebrity presence to endorse their new product line. But for me, I started appreciating the ad for their bold move to break the society stereotype. Though this message does not get conveyed through the advertisement very effectively, Nirma can certainly re-work on it and utilize the presence of my favorite Greek God in much better way than only relying on his perfect dance moves.



Wednesday, April 25, 2018

मास्टर शेफ - My View

आमच्या घरात मोठी आणि छोटी मंडळी  food-lovers असल्यामुळे मास्टर - शेफ series अनेकदा पाहिली जाते. आणि  दर वेळी मला प्रकर्षाने जाणवतं की 'This is not fair'

एखाद्या पाककृतीची चव तसेच रंग-रूप आवडणं किंवा न आवडणं हा अतिशय वैयक्तिक चॉईस आहे हे माझं ठाम मत आहे .
कितीतरी उदाहरणं देता येतील की  शिजवलेला पदार्थ त्यातील घटकांमुळे , किंवा बनवण्याच्या पद्धतीमुळे , एखाद्याला फार आवडून जातो आणि एखाद्याला नाक मुरडायला भाग  पाडतो . 

माझ्या बहुतेक पदार्थांमध्ये सुक्या किंवा ओल्या खोबऱ्याचा सढळ हाताने वापर असतो , पण कित्येक परिचित बंगाली /ओडिसी मंडळींना हे खोबऱ्याचं preparation अजिबात आवडत नाही .
माझे आई -बाबा केवळ दही -दूध -ताक यावर दिवस च्या दिवस काढू शकतील आणि मला दुग्धजन्य पदार्थ जरा पण आवडत नाहीत .
कुरकुरीत तळलेली  मांदेली खुप आवडते पण कलेजी फ्राय ला हात पण लावत नाही .

कुणाकडे भाजीत १ मिरची पण खूप होते तर कुणाकडे भाजीत मूठभर मिरच्या असल्या शिवाय ती भाजी खाल्ल्यासारखी वाटत नाही.
अजुन टिपिकल उदाहरण द्यायचं तर ice -cream च देईन . जेव्हा जेव्हा Natural च्या दुकानात जातो , तेव्हा तेव्हा 'व्यक्ती तितक्या प्रकृती ' हे अगदी ठळक पणे जाणवतं. 
मुलाचं ठराविक चॉकलेट फ्लेवर , आम्हा दोघांचं   seasonal fruit फ्लेवर , बाकी सर्वांचं टेंडर कोकोनट किंवा सिताफळ.

फक्त चवच नाही तर feel /  texture  च्या बाबतीत पण आवडी -निवडी भिन्न असतात .
साधा भात , पण एकाच घरात एकाला अगदी मऊ शिजलेला आवडतो तर दुसऱ्याला शीत आणि शीत मोकळा असलेला आवडतो .
माझा मुलगा रश्यामधलं चिकन खात नाही पण कबाब किंवा बिर्याणी मधलं चिकन मनापासून खातो.
कुणाला डोसा पापडासारखा कुरकुरीत आवडतो तर कुणाला मऊसूत आवडतो .
कुणाला भात सुकाच खायला आवडतो तर कुणाला भातावर दुप्पट प्रमाणात डाळ -रस्सा लागतो तर कुणाला अगदी बेतास बेत प्रमाणात .
अंड - कुणाला उकडून आवडतं तर कुणाला half फ्राय , कुणाला मसाला ऑम्लेट तर कुणाला scrambled .

तात्पर्य काय तर हेच की पदार्थांची चव आणि सादरीकरण ही अगदी अगदी वैयक्तिक बाब आहे , आणि एकाला तो पदार्थ भावला तर तो best झालाय आणि नाही आवडला तर बेकार झालाय - हे ठरवणं तितकंसं बरोबर वाटत नाही.
मान्य आहे की काही पाककृतींची  standard procedure आणि ठराविक ingredients असतात , पण शेवटी  टेस्ट buds प्रत्येकाचे वेगळे असतात ना

मला जर कोणी पाककला स्पर्धेची परीक्षक म्हणून बोलावलं तर मी ठरवूच शकणार नाही की कोणाची डीश बेस्ट झालीय (म्हणजे अगदीच एखादी गंडली असेल तर गोष्ट वेगळी )
एकतर मला बनवायचे नाहीयेत ते complex  पदार्थ आणि वरतून ३-४ लोक मेहनत  करून मला खिलवतायत म्हणजे सोनेपे सुहागा
अश्या वेळी , समोर आलेल्या पदार्थावर ताव मारायचं सोडून त्याला critique करायचं म्हणजे महाकठीण

असो .. ज्यांना वेगवेगळ्या पाककृती चाखायला , बघायला आणि करून पाहायला आवडतात त्यांना मास्टर शेफ नक्कीच आवडत असेल (मला पण आवडेल पण फक्त तो परीक्षेचा  भाग नसेल तर  :) )


Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Revolution of app based taxis

Came back from Bengaluru couple of days back and while way back home, my thoughts wondered around how convenient and ubiquitous it has become for getting around in Mumbai with Ola/Uber.

Just a few years back, we used to be literally 'handicapped' due to various reasons related to getting a taxi.
My childhood days were spent in south of Mumbai, so auto-rickshaw appeared in life quite late.
Family travels always used to be in a taxi. There would be few spots where the taxis would wait, else simplest way of getting a taxi was to just wave your hand at passing by.
When moved to suburbs, auto rickshaws became defacto for every day commute.
Later I moved to Navi Mumbai and realized that rickshaw is not going to help me easily while commuting between office in Mumbai and home. As Mumbai and Navi Mumbai are different 'territories' for rickshaws and like inter-border rules between 2 countries, rickshaws from either side will not cross their laksman-rekhas.
But at the same time, catching taxi for daily commute was still a high fare affair.
So to avoid big holes in the pocket, we used to do break journey of rickshaw.
However after few months, I started getting backache and breathing problems caused by pollution due to frequent rickshaw travels.

Around the same time, somehow Ola entered in my phone and eventually daily life.
Even after having app handy, had not used it for quite a few months, just on the account of unawareness or may be lack of business case to use it.
Then my travel pattern changed again and had to travel to a place where getting a rickshaw was a daily war.
Not just the limited availability but also illogical fare rules defined by the rickshaw-walas on their own.
Then for the first time, I started experimenting Ola and then eventually Uber.
Slowly got the knack of using it fluently incl variations like micro/mini and even shared.
And in no time, these taxis really blessed me and many more like me who do not wish/want/afraid/bored to drive their own vehicles. They have truly enables us to be absolutely independent on travel front.
Taxis certainly make a big hole in the pocket, but when time is of more essence, we are bound to take these services rather than choosing for bus/train.
Commuting to and fro airport/train terminals has become so convenient, no need to bother anyone to drop / pick up or to remember to book Meru/Tabcab in advance.
No worry of not getting a taxi after stepping out of house.
No worry of going to unknown or less familiar places and of getting mis-routed.
With the facility of linking these apps to e-wallets, no worry of even carrying cash and chhutte paise.
No worry of waiting on road for spotting taxi or required bus or empty rickshaw.
And not just in Mumbai, in fact these taxis help the most outside Mumbai in other cities, where there are high chances of getting ripped by local taxi/rickshaw fares.
Ofcourse, the picture is not always so rosy. Got some frustrating experiences as well especially with shared or pool types, very high fares during peak times etc.
But still looking at enormous advantages, few small huddles can certainly be discounted.

In a short while, Ola/Uber have become my best travel buddies and hope they remain good for me as well as for all their happy customers in long run.