Tag Archive: Mumbai


Apologies! I know that I have been away for quite some time now – but there are reasons! Work being the major sucker :) followed by personal interests. Moreover, my boss paid a visit :D I tried hard to spare time, then reversed some – but nothing worked! Anyway, the good news is that I’m back.

Census 2011 Logo

Census 2011 Logo

I did miss writing all this time & kept noting them as they happened. To begin with, I hope you are aware about Census 2011. Most state & central government employees have to compulsorily participate in this, over & above their routine responsibilities (pl note 0+1=1). The lady who was doing it in our area was an innovator! Instead of visiting each house & collecting data, she took an iterative, outsourcing model. She took the lift to the first floor, and walked down distributing a form in Marathi to each house. She very calmly told people that the form was very simple (I don’t know of a single govt form that is simple) & that one didn’t need to know Marathi to fill it (I don’t know how Bengalis & Malayalis bought this idea?) Suddenly people realized the importance of Maharashtrian neighbours, and fortunately each floor had one. After putting people to the job, she again took the elevator up to start collecting filled forms. I’m sure with this trick she managed to get home in time for lunch, which otherwise she would’ve had to couple with dinner. Just to note, that innovation is not necessarily rocket science.

Rickshaw Meter

Rickshaw Meter

Two notable things happened in the near past, both of which have affected our lives in one way or the other. The first thing: revised auto-fares. As Shubhojit said, this is one thing that makes you feel real poor. What I used to spend both way is what the 3-Tyre boogie now takes away one way. All thanks to the revision graced by skilled instrumentation engineers at garages.

Rupee Sign

Rupee Sign

The other thing – the symbol that our national currency got – actually makes me feel very proud. It is the symbol of globalization, equality & finally a distinguishing factor from other currencies with the same name. Some websites, like Burrp, picked up the symbol in no time. I’m just waiting for it to show up on currency.

Ambedkar Memorial, U.P.

Ambedkar Memorial, U.P.

After news about the symbol hit the stands, people questioned the kind of money that must have gone into its making. But I say, what’s wrong? If someone can spend tons of money raising statues in a city where people don’t have enough, View full article »

Bhutan Diaries – Day 5: The Tiger’s Nest

Day 05:

As instructed by Kinley, we were ready to leave the hotel for Taktsang – The Tiger’s Nest – by 8am. Breakfast again was typical; only bread, butter, jam, omlette, porridge for Indians. From the point we began trekking, we could see the Tiger’s nest right in front. But to get up there, we had to take a long & winding road up the mountains. You can rent a horse for Rs.500 for a return trip, and also buy a stick for support. At some points the path really gets narrow and with the horse’s tendency to walk at the edges, you’d be convinced to not take a horse ride. We were instructed to move towards the inner-side as soon as we saw a horse.No one is allowed to a take a ride on the way down; the horses come down empty, charging like bulls – almost without any control.

At half-way, there is a government built cafeteria that offers a clean view of the monastery. You will be served tea/coffee with amazing cream-cracker-like biscuits, and on the way back can also choose to have lunch here (not recommended for Indians). The journey from this point gets a little difficult: first you have to walk up a steep path, then walk down 500 steps and finally climb another 200 to get to the temple. With some motivation from Chibu & Kinley, I agreed to go. Some of the photos taken on the way are perhaps the best ones from the trek. Most of the steps have no railings, so you really need to be careful. Before you descend the 500 steps, you are at a point that is right opposite the monastery; they could have a bridge. In fact, several people have suggested, volunteered and even contributed to building a rope-way to get up there. But the Bhutanese love Bollywood, and totally believe in ‘kuch pane ke liye kuch khona padta hai’. They believe that nothing comes easy, and that the pleasure of visiting such a holy & refreshing place and getting close to God, should only come after some effort.

As you begin to climb again, you pass-by a very scenic bridge behind which is a waterfall; I even climbed the rocks there. In fact, the way up wasn’t as difficult as the hype created. Chibu went all the way up and I got a distant picture of him. Kinley told us that coming down (starting with climbing 500 steps) was going to be quick and easy. To our surprise, despite of stopping-by at several places to take pictures, we reached only 40mins after our parents. They had waited at the cafeteria for a while, and then started to walk down. Another Japanese couple, the man who closely resembled Mohan kaka, had passed by at the point where the 500 step descend starts, and only gone half-way down since. All in all it was fun. We really didn’t get short of oxygen, neither was it too cold at the top. The key to enjoying this trek is to go ‘slow-and-steady’.

We drove back to town where we had a decent Indian meal. We also confirmed our return tickets at the Druk air office which spans just 2 leased buildings. Kinley stopped by at the range to catch-up a game of archery which is Bhutan’s national sport. On a Wednesday afternoon, there were four teams and a hundred spectators watching it. One of the persons approached me and asked where I was from, in good Hindi. He asked if I had seen any movie stars in Mumbai – every other Bhutanese will ask you this if you say you’re from Mumbai. He was upset with Kareena for not finding a Hindu guy for her, and was abusing Sania for her Pakistani act. As we drove back to hotel, Kinley very sadly informed us that our tour was over!

Day 5 photos

Our Bhutan trip from Kolkata & back was (well-)managed by Mystic Bliss Tours & Travel.

prasadgupte | 1999-2012