The gang of Girlz

Friendship, friends on a ship... The ship sets sail from the port and after a lot of turbulence, and some calm waters, beautiful breeze and sea gulls playing by as the ship reaches its destination, some friends manage to hold it together and some drown. Though most of the friendships drown and become a replica of Titanic, some sail through, this is a story about five friends who are sailing through for last two years, quite happily with each other. We do fight, get angry and scream at each other but we know how to manage it too. The gang of girls stands united. may be that's why Shikha has a cup which i gave, says, "Liverpool- United we stand."
This story is about my beautiful Happy Club which was formed after watching Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani-let me do the honours :P,
First the President- who else can be better than Me! (Jerry)
The Vice President- some people keep fighting for the post- i will give it to Nidhi Mishra (Needy)- Phd in Gerontology.. i always told her it would make more sense to research on the phenomenon called Pooja Sarkar! She says next time, i will better hire someone else.
Scretary- Kinjal Bodani (Kinju), an interior designer by profession, who has designed some of the biggest names of South Mumbai and has never managed to design any of our homes. huh.
Auditor- we actually have a certified CA who specialises in US GAAP, now beat it!- Shalini Jaiswal Gupta (Shalu/shal)
and free parcel- Shikha Sood (Tom), banker by profession, and the other profession is to incessantly fight with me and also keep a record of the same! that's why we are called Tom n Jerry, in every three minutes we clock atleast one argument, but we cant do without each other too.
On October 5th, 2009 when i came back from six months of bed ridden status, i was alloted a shared room in a new wing of my hostel, the most beautiful and one of the heritage buildings in Mumbai, the 156 year old Villa Theresa Hostel at Peddar Road. You can never miss this building you have to cross my place to reach Marine Drive!
and one by one I befriended these girls as we all lived in the same wing and we went on to become the best of friends. Some of the most beautiful moments of my life have been spent with these lovely ladies, whether it be asking each other to keep dinner, requesting the warden to not close the gate as some is "just" reaching the hostel, or signing each other's entry, washing cups and plates (i hate cleaning them), infact I once threatened nidhi and shikhu that i will eat on paper plates but i won''t wash my dishes, so shikha finally washed them..hahahaha....the deal was she wont do the dish if i ate non-veg..heck i love veg!grrrr!!!
Every night, however much tired one may be, we all used to gather at Nidhi's room defying all hostel rules and we would share our day's stories, and if her roomie wanted to sleep, the paltan would shift to Shalu's room and finally on the lounge with our laptops in arms. The one who dominated the kingdom was Kinju's colleagues- Bindu, Ashita and Pooja. I dont think any of us can ever forget them.
Nidhi's bosses and Shalu's travel to Thane every day....and her monday upwas (fast) were the best, as we all used to get to hog potato chips...and of course my DNA Money stories and Raj. We all know each other's bosses, colleagues, relatives, every gossip in the hostel and also which stocks to invest. my worst recommendation still lies with Shalu- Resurgere Mines.
The best scenes would be when someone would ask, : would anyone oil my hair" the first to jump out of the room would be Kinjal, saying, "kal mera office hai early morning" Liar!
the next to chicken out would be me, finally Shikha would come with a barter theory. But the best ones were when i used to be asked to oil Nidhi's hair, i would pour half the bottle on her hair and say, "ho gaya"...and yet she would be nice to me.
Those memories are simply etched so deep that everytime I think about them i cant stop rolling on the floor...
Once during Kinju's bday, while we were busy planning her surprise she did so much over acting the whole evening that we all felt like abandoning the entire party andthe height was when she went off to sleep at 10.30pm, trying to act like Marlyn Monroe and when i called her she acted as if it is so not necessary to cuk the cake as she is deep asleep, noone beats Kinjal in acting!
All these moments maketh our friendship a beautiful voyage, speaking of voyage, I cant help but recollect our trip to Kashid, a pristine beach 11 kms ahead of Alibaug. The occassion was Neha's bachelor party. Neha- my godmother-who has always taken care of me, i call her BSE, as she used to slap fines on companies left, right and centre while working their.
As we were on our way to Kashid, on a ferry, i was filing a story from Shalu's phone and my notes were on a piece of paper, i was doing an exclusive pre-valuation IPO copy of Nitesh Estates, and midway, Shikha offered to help, though i declined twice, everyone said, how she loves me and wants to help me. So i let her help me, and five minutes of holding the paper, she lost the grip and the paper was flying in the sky finally drowning in the Arabian sea. As the paper was flying i ran behined it and infact i would have jumped off the deck had people not stopped me, so here I was without my notes, burning with anger, screaming my lungs out at Tom and filing the copy while everyone was busy clicking pictures. Shikha is still serving the sentence for this behaviour.
We made some memorable journey's together which includes our trips to Shirdi, Shani Shignapur, Alibaug, Indore for shalu's wedding and next on the cards in my darling Nidhi's marriage to her beloved man.
we all miss those sleep less nights, talking about our break ups and bad times. we held each other through the toughest times of our lives. infact it was quite surprising that we all were going through the worst together and we all stood by each other like rock, may be thats why during these easy times, we find it funny that at times we don't have topics to talk. As we all loved going to amarson's park at Breach Candy, not always did we talk. Just sitting together on the rock, as waves splashed and watching sunset made us smile and be happy. A deep breath and refreshed we walked again.
I and Shalu now stay in Kolkata, Nidhi and Shikha are in Mumbai and Kinju is in Gujarat, but distance has not dampened the spirit of our togetherness. not even our anger at each other. and ofcourse the silly conversations. But yes, I do miss our sunday outings, not a single sunday have we all spent either shopping or eating out...trying new dishes at Smoking Lees, to ordering pizzas, farewell party at Under the banyan tree to Koyla, getting ice creams for each other and eaing dairy milk's without asking from one's bag :P i always did those who had the manners to ask never got from me!
And the bundles of chocolates and cheese and wine we had!!! Those were definitely the best times, and remember how I used to pre book movie tickets and everyone would be late by atleast 15 minutes because of me!
From taking each other to doctor's to celebrating christmas and Saraswati Puja, last two years has been one hell of a hallelujah time, we never came late, never missed our 10.30 pm deadlines, why would we, what we all wanted was to reach hostel and meet each other as there are abundance of stories to tell and hear,
I miss those times, screaming at Shikha for carelessly crossing the road, looking at Nidhi whenever I wanted some thing when noone would give, palying shalu's favorite song list, fighting for chocolates and pastries with Kinju, and yet we wouldnt walk without each other..its either we all are in it or noones in it! So now the clock has been timed as we all will dance the night out as we all eagerly await and keep shopping for my dahling needy's wedding in November!!! Wake me up when November comes!
Cheers to the Happy wala Club !!!

Daat Dard :(

Daaton ka dard toh tutey dil key dard sey zyada bura hota hai
is pain mey toh pet bhi bhugat ta hai!
ice cream dekh kar jee lalchata hai, toh seekh kabab dekhkar man rota hai
ek bite lee nahi ki ankhon mey ansun aa jatey hain
chahey kitney combiflam ya voveran kha lo
lekin kambakht daat dard mera peecha nahi chodtey hain!
wafers ka ek tukda daton mey ja fasta hai
aur ye daaton ka kafila raat bhar rulata hai
jab bhi munh mey pani dalon nas chakra jata hai
haye ye daaton ka dard bada satata hai!!!
naye naye brush aur brissles ka ad dekh
thak gayi hun mai
mehenga sey mehenga tooth paste bhi kharid kar bekar baithey hain,
filling aur root canalling karwa karwa kar dentist ko amir banaya hai
lekin ye daton ka dard kabhi na picha chodey hai!

Kumartuli- as it prepares for Maa Durga's arrival

As one walks past the dinghy bylanes of Kumartuli, the hub of the artisans of West Bengal, one can't help but notice the idols of Goddess Durga half completed and covered as she is preparing for her arrival in next 36 days.
But Syamshree Pal, 55 years, is spending sleepless nights not only completing the orders he has in hand but thinking how will he able to finish them on time, as Kumartuli is hit with severe labour shortage this year.
He needs the labourers most as his children are not interested in pursuing this career and walk on his footsteps. His 26 year old son, is a pharmaceutical marketing executive. Though it is his family business and the nuances of craftmanship has been passed on to him through last three generations and after him the business will vanish from the family.
Shyamshree says, "I have been working as an artisan since i remember but i did not want my son to get into this business as it does not pay at all. It becomes difficult to run the family also there are a lot hardships in this business. We live in shabby homes , we are awake the whole night to complete these idols and it also has health hazards as we work with mirrors used in paints."
Also this year, most of the artisans have not been able to take big orders fearing non-completion of projects as labour shortage grips Kumartuli. Some potters have hauled projects as they look for labours.
Shyamshree continues, "I have hired four labours and I pay them Rs 1000 per day including food and shelter, whereas last year we had paid an average Rs 350 per day. Most of the laborers dont come since they get 100 day jobs with NREGS and some go to Mumbai and South where they get paid more. So it becomes to difficult for us to hire people."
With 42 idols for completion Shyamshree has a long way before he can sigh in relief.
The story is same for every artisan in this area. Every artisan is now paying anything between Rs 700-Rs 1000 per day as wages as compared to Rs 350-400 last year, a jump of 133- 150 per cent.
Nimai Chandra Pal, President, Kumartuli Mritshilpi Samiti, had joined his father straight out of college and learnt the tricks of the trade by watching his father and uncles at the workshop.
Nimai says, "Due to labour trouble the production is getting hampered seriously and the labour shortage is of around 40 per cent. Infact we have not been able to take more orders and we have already started refusing customers. We are worried whether artisans would be able to finish the existing orders in hand. If last year someone was making 35 idols this year he has only 20 projects. "
If only the fear of meeting the deadline wasn't enough the artisans are faced with contraction in margins in their business.
Last year artisans of Kumartuli had dispatched orders of 4000 idols which is slated to come down by minimum 20 per cent this year, vouch artisans.
Nimai adds, " At this point we can not give exact numbers but the production shortage number will be significant."
And to add to the list of existing woes of the artisans is the increase in raw material prices and their inability to pass it on to the end consumers.
Raw materials like bamboo, mirror, paints cost, shola (pit)has increased by 30 per cent as compared to last year.
The president further explains, "Nobody is trying to adjust the increase in prices that we are facing due to increase in raw material etc, for example if an idol was sold for Rs 20,000 last year it should be selling at Rs 26,000 this year, but the prices at which we are forced to sell is around Rs 22,000-24,000. so rest of the difference has to be borne by us."
As margin contraction dents the euphoria and excitement of the artisans of Kumartuli, those craftsmen who used to make big money by selling idols to over seas clients are facing trouble too. For a change, the mahisasur in the form of financial crisis is obstructing the sales of the idols of the Goddess of Power, Durga and it is unlikely that Durga will win this time.
Montu Pal, secretary, Kumartuli Mritshilpi Samiti, says, "This year I am supplying only 2 idols overseas one to cambridge and the other to Australia. Every year I sell more but this year orders are less. This year the margins have come down by 15-20 per cent."
Idols which travel overseas fetch anything starting from Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 2 lakhs. also with middle men in the bay, margins are squeezing further.
Montu adds, " Foreigners would not come to such places, the bylanes are narrow and unkempt, we can not expect them to come here and walk around see our work and then place orders. Very few people get direct orders most of them have to get it from middle men for these international orders. With business not so robust this year, and middle men not cutting their margins, it is really a challenging one this year."
As Mintu leaves hurriedly, with 30 idols to complete, including a 52 feet high fibre glass Maa Durga Idol which would adron FD Block in Salt lake, a first in India, this year Durga Puja hoppers will have lesser pandals to queue.

And I walk past the lanes looking at every corner selling puja materials, after all maa ashbey baritey (Durga will come home)

Ek nayi udaan

Aye parindey udtey huye, zara tham ja is pal mey,
sun iskey dil ki chah ko, udney ka hausla zara dey isey
Chala hai ye dhundney apni nayi dagar, hai iskey dil mey ek chota sa dar,
sath dey ja bankar tu iska humsafar!
andhiyan toh bas ek shan hai, zara yad dila isey un thandi sisakti patton ki theh-thahati gunj ki yadein
hai nahi mushkil ek nayi safar
jab sath ho sathiyon ki leher,
toh kya hua jo tu hai aaj akela
aye parindey bata isey tu tha kaisey uda-
band pinjdon sey nikal, paron ko tha tuney kaisey sambhala
aye parindey zara tham ley isey is pal, le ja sang isey apney seher
dur kar apney man ka sangharsh le bhar udan aaj lekar ek nai sparsh!

You broke my heart

You broke my heart, slithered it apart
you thought its fine, you didn't give a dime.
you thought its fine to walk on that path, never bothering to look back.
you let me cry all by, you didnt even check where was I
Love did me in, looked like a sin.
you didnt even care to find my trace
left me to fend for my own sense
I walked under the sun looking hard for a shade with all those burn
walked hard on with the rain, looking for a light to drain
Its all disdaine as i stand alone with this pain,
with a broken heart and memories uncanned.

PS-these are lyrics that i write...

take my bow

You rotten dud, you broke my heart
you spoiled brat , drugged rat,
I dont care what you say anymore,
your time is up now don even bore
pack ya' bags and set ya' foot up
u dont belong to this door
its closed for you, forever and more...
I dont need you anymore,
your calls bug me and chats are gore
you seriously should walk out that door
it never matters what you say after the credits roll
what stays is what you did while you walked along
you broke the headlights bang on
now you are crushed beneath your soul
aint no forgiveness that can fill that hole
you messed it big time you little mole
now game is up and move ur arse through the door.

ये शहर है मुंबई

ट्राफ्फिक में फसे एक अन्थोनी साहब का गुस्सा

या लोकल ट्रेन की भीड़ में अटके शर्माजी का पिछला हिस्सा

सुबह अखबार देने आने वाला अब्दुल का किस्सा

या चौराहे पर खड़े हवालदार ताम्बे का वो बड़ा वाला मस्सा



येहाँ सबकी अकल में और सबकी शकल में

उम्मीद से देखते हुए उस कल में और इस भागते हुए पल में

जीतोड़ मेहनत के फल में

और पानी से सूखा बेचारे मुनिसिपलिटी के नल में



दिखता है ये शहर, इस शहर का छाप

दिखता है प्यार और ज़हन में छुपा थोडा सा पाप

दिखता है इस शहर की तेज़ी, इस शहर की रफ़्तार

दिखते हैं कई आम आदमी और कुछ अवतार



पैसा भी दिखता है और प्यार भी दिखता है

इस रोज़ मर्रा की ज़िन्दगी में कई रास्ता बार-बार भी दिखता है

हर शहर की तरह सुबह भी दिखती है और दिखती है रात भी

पर कुछ कोनो में फिल्मी सितारें और कोशिश की बरात भी



येहाँ भीड़ है फिर भी इलाज सूनेपन का नहीं

लम्बी इमारतें हैं, पर नामोनिशान आँगन का नहीं

दूरियां हैं पर तन्हाईयों का काम नहीं

घर तो फिर भी मिल जाता है यहाँ पर पडोसी का नाम नहीं



यहाँ सबको पाना है, सबको कमाना है

नापसंद कर के भी सबको यहीं रुक जाना है

सड़क की खड्डों को कोसना है और कभी उन पे ही हँसना है,

कभी उसी सड़क के कोने में खड़े होके छुपके से रोना है



क्यूंकि ऐसे ना धड़कता किसी और शहर का गली चौपारा

वो मरीन ड्राइव पे चलना और फलोरा फाउन्टेन का फव्वारा

ना ट्रेन के धक्के खाके रोज़ ऑफिस आना

ना ऑटो-वाले की खिट-पिट और ना टेक्सी-वाले का बहाना



बैठ के सोचो तो सब बुरा है फिर भी कुछ तो अच्चा है

अभी भी यहाँ लोगों के दिल में कुछ तो सच्चा है

बदमाश है पाटिल, पर प्यारा उसका बच्चा है

अमीरों की भीड़ में गरीब यहाँ भी कच्चा है



कई हैं खामियां, रोज़ कमियाँ हैं नई

गन्दगी, धूल, मिट्टी है पर मिट्टी की खुशबू हैं कई

अँधेरी से चेम्बूर, या जाओ कोलाबा से पोवाई

हर वक़्त एक नया ही अहसास दिलाये, ये शहर है मुंबई


Kindly Note: This poem has been written by Promit Mukherjee, from DNA Money, one of the most kickass writer i know :)