The icon used at the Ganesh Kripa Society protest site, led by Medha Patkar.
Khar (W)
The Godification of Dr Ambedkar and Chatrapati Shivaji.
Step aside prosperous elephant-head and castaway your rings, naughty Saturn. You guys might have the rich followers and overflowing hundis, but you can't beat the power of the new gods of the downtrodden.
Touch us if you can.
Kharghar Hills
Running Scars. Inside and Outside.
On the other arm of this retired sailor (top) is Popeye. He's given his right arm to his current passion, running. And who better than this Tintin in motion and below that is a man and a woman running.
Shown below is another of the runners with a clear skin but a scar deep inside. He suffered a life-threatening brain hemorrhage and survived only because he was a runner and his blood had more oxygen than in a normal couch potato like you and me. It not only helped him survive but also recover from paralysis of one half of the body. He was up and running in a short time and outruns most of the other runners.
Read the full Tehelka story by Nishita Jha for which these images were clicked, here: What we talk about when we talk about running
Kharghar Hills
Outrun age.
The average age of the Mumbai Marathon Runners group members who turned up for Kharghar Hill Run on a warm Sunday morning was above 40.
The only youngsters going up and down the hills prefer wheels.
Read the full Tehelka story by Nishita Jha for which these images were clicked, here: What we talk about when we talk about running
Kharghar Hills
No more loneliness for Mumbai's long-distance runners.
Because, the Mumbai Marathon Runners group is here. Tehelka's Nishita Jha has a beautiful story about how runners around India are forming their local groups and are making the personal, painful and tiresome activity of long-distance running into a social glue.
Thanks to the story, I was able to meet die-hard runners from the Mumbai region on a Sunday morning (they meet to run here on the 3rd Sunday of every month), at the Kharghar Hills where they ran up and down the beautiful, steep road that overlooks the greenery, skyscrapers, and creeks of Navi Mumbai.
When the city that never sleeps catches a few winks on Sunday mornings, these insanes rule our roads. The First Sunday of the month, they run from Bandra to the tip if the Island city at NCPA and some also run back . One the 3rd Sunday, they run the taxing Kharghar Hills. They start at 5.30 sharp and run for the next 3 hours or as long as they last.
Read the full Tehelka story here:
If you are still running alone, join the Mumbai Marathon Runners group on Facebook.
The ex-Navy man who was wearing this t-shirt explained the Mumbai Marathon Runners t-shirt design to me.
- Blue for India and now, Mumbai.
- The Sea-link is the new identity of the city.
- The Sea-link is the new identity of the city.
- Unisex runners.
- Group name in tricolours.
- There's a yellow strip on the side for the dying greenery in the city that supply the fresh air we need.
- Group name in tricolours.
- There's a yellow strip on the side for the dying greenery in the city that supply the fresh air we need.
- And that line defines them.
SG Barve Marg, Kurla (W)
Hastey Hastey. Bhaijaan Comedian Mehmood.
Unlike autorikshaws in other cities or even Thane, Mumbai's autos are rarely personalised by the drivers. Is it because most of then are not owner drivers?
But luckily for us, there a quite a few Rikshaws with interesting stickers and messages, like this one. This one resembles the standard style in Thane, where the message is on the front windscreen.
But it's in Bangalore, where Bhaijaan is buried and had a close link, that the messages are among the most interesting. Check out this blog that documents messages on Bangalore autos and 'vehicals'. Gaadi Slogans.
Trivia: Bajaj autos on Central American roads are called 'Mosquitos' because of the way they are driven and the noise they make.
LBS Marg, Kurla (W)
When it rains, we will dance.
At Kamran, Kings Theaters. Self-proclaimed "The Pride of Kurla".
Cotton Green
Mumbai's Taste Makers.
They are the ambassadors of Mumbai and Bollywood. More precisely, the Bollywood of the truck driver fantasy. A world where Kumar Sanu is always No 1. Salman Khan is the Big B and Bhagyashree, her replacement Bhoomika Chawla and his ex-girlfriends Ash-Katrina are the only stars who matter.
Meet the boys who paste the reflective stickers on the trucks that come to the Mumbai Port. Trucks from all over India come to what was the Greens were Cotton used was shipped to the world. These days it's not cotton, it's mostly steel that comes in rolls, waiting to shipped to the rest of India and made into automobiles, air conditioners and refrigerators. Along with the steel and the other goods they carry, these two lads add a little bit of Mumbai masala to the trucks. Reflective art that tattoo the Tata, Ashok Leyland (Soon tione renamed Hinduja Leyland) and Volvo trucks with little bits of Mumbaiya style.
जलते हैं दुश्मन, खिलते हैं फूल جلتے ہیں دشمن ، کھلتے ہیں پھول The enemy burns with jealousy, the flower blooms.
सिर्फ तुम صرف تم Only you.
Majiwada, Thane
Jackson Eyes.
India is another name for a pop/rock stars' retirement plan. They don't come to where it matters, i.e. Mumbai. Thanks to our state entertainment tax, they go to pensioners paradise - Bangalore.
But not Michael Jackson. He came here when he was the King. But that's a Shiv Sena story worth a Rolling Stone India special.
If Jackson had succeeded in reinventing himself, it would have been a treat to watch him live in Mumbai again. Or rather watch the crowd if he was performing in Mumbai. He has a huge fan following in the zopadcities of Brihan Mumbai and beyond. It's not always for for his music, it's for his dancing.
ML Camp. Dharavi
Slumdog Tourists.
In other cities you see foreigners in air conditioned spaces. Not in Mumbai. Here, the softies sweat it out thanks to the Oscar winning movie.
I happened to go to Dharavi on an assignment and that was when I saw this group being led by a local guide wearing a crisp, white t-shirt with the words - I love Dharavi. But like the reporter who was with me said, how different are we from these tourists?
The daughters
The mother
Baked pots being piled up before they are sun-dried.
Keeping count.
A lot of dust and no mask, as usual.
Here are some pics I clicked from the Potter's section of Dharavi. Dharavi is like an Indian village or more correctly, any Indian city with its different sections based on caste and trade. And minus the roads, pucca buildings and sewerage system.
This Kumbharwadi is populated by Gujarati speaking people. The people pictured here belong to the Prajapati Kumbhar caste. This family-run business is run by a strict father and his married daughters who live close by. They do not make these pots, they only bake and dry the pots under the summer sun before the monsoon sets in. They will be sold during Navratri.
The patriarch.
The daughters
The mother
Baked pots being piled up before they are sun-dried.
Keeping count.
A lot of dust and no mask, as usual.
And finally, the local deity.
Shivdi + Wadala + Haji Ali + Santa Cruz
Great Gamblers.
I think it was in one of Salman Rusdie's Mumbai books that he tells a story about people betting about the time taken for ships to pass between two streetlight poles near Gateway of India or something to that effect. The point I'm making is that if there is a chance somewhere, there's bound to be Mumbaikars betting on it.
If you like to gamble, you have more than enough options on the streets of Mumbai. Simple street games, lottery shops outside most stations and next to desi daaru shops, video game parlours, carrom clubs, BSE, etc. The list is long and betting on cricket matches, which is illegal, is somewhere up there on the list. Especially now, during the IPL season.
These days I'm working with a group of people who seem to have lost interest in the progress of IPL. If Mumbai Indians or Tendulkar's team is playing, you will hear a question or two thrown in the direction of the only person in the group who seems to be following the progress of the match. No sms alerts, transistor or portable TV for him, he has a laptop connected to the Internet with two tabs open on his browser - Yahoo Cricket (it updates fastest apparently) and Betfair. His Android powered HTC phone is also always busy. He's cashing in on the live streaming cricket information he's hooked on to. With a big smile he says, "I follow cricket but for a different reason. And there's a cricket match being played somewhere in the world at any given time of the day. "
Legalise it and tax him, I say.
P D'Mello Road
Bhojpuri Item Boy: Shahid Ali aka Shahid Ansari.
Shahid Ansari is from Eastern UP and his 'screen name' is Shahid Ali and has starred in two Bhojpuri music videos. One in 2008 and one that's just been made. No, he doesn't sing., he just does the Pan Indian Road Romeo dance, chasing girls in ill-fitting low-rise jeans revealing bright chuddies bought outside Andheri or Virar Railway Station.
You would have probably seen him and boys like him dancing to Bhojpuri music videos with names like 'Mango Frooti' on Youtube, etc. But most people who enjoy these videos buy the CDs or share/distribute them on their mobiles across Mumbai and the North Eastern cow-belt.
Mera Bluetooth Mahaan.
It's amazing how the Bhojpuri music industry has adapted to the changing music technology scene. It has become easy to record and distribute music and videos digitally, and no one is exploring the possibilities as much as the Bhojpuri music makers. Mainstream Bollywood no longer sings the language of most Indians and these people have taken the task of providing entertainent into their own hand-held devices.
Many of them are amateurs but there are several good singers with a strong background in traditional music from Central, Eastern UP, Bihar and parts of Jharkhand live and make music here in Mumbai.
Look out for a documentary that will be out soon that digs deep into that story. It's being made by my friend and documentary film maker Surabhi Sharma who also made Jahaji Music (ship music), where she explored the music of people of Indian origin in the Caribbean with Remo Fernandes. I will be posting images of her at work too, soon.
Now back to the rock star, Shahid Ali.
The videos Shahid Ali has starred in were made to promote a Bhojpuri Album with various artists. The songs are recorded in small studios, mostly around Andheri. A bungalow is rented in Panvel for a couple of thousand rupees a day. Fresh arrivals with a little tashan and stars in their eyes like Shahid are hired, taken in a train to Panvel and the videos are shot with basic video cameras. They are then edited, mixed, burnt on to CDs or compressed before they go viral on cheap CDs and mobile distribution. The word of mouth to promote CD sales.
Sounds easy? Yes. But creating music is the easy part. Once the music is out, it's up to the market forces to decide what happens to the music. The viral quotient of the music and the video decides if the music is a hit or not. The most popular then get on to local TV cable stations and creates demand for live shows. Every year, hundreds of songs are made, each made with the hope that it will be next hit.
Does being a hero in a Bhopuri Road Romeo song pay Shahid's bills?
No. He does it for fun and it makes him a star in his friends circle and back home. His daily bread comes from waiting, being the valet for Bollywoood actors at the sets. Little do the stars he wait for know that he probably has more screen views than them up there in the heartland.
P D'Mello Road
Bhojpuri Item Boy: Shahid Ali aka Shahid Ansari.
Shahid Ansari is from Eastern UP and his 'screen name' is Shahid Ali and has starred in two Bhojpuri music videos. One in 2008 and one that's just been made. No, he doesn't sing., he just does the Pan Indian Road Romeo dance, chasing girls in ill-fitting low-rise jeans revealing bright chuddies bought outside Andheri or Virar Railway Station.
You would have probably seen him and boys like him dancing to Bhojpuri music videos with names like 'Mango Frooti' on Youtube, etc. But most people who enjoy these videos buy the CDs or share/distribute them on their mobiles across Mumbai and the North Eastern cow-belt.
Mera Bluetooth Mahaan.
It's amazing how the Bhojpuri music industry has adapted to the changing music technology scene. It has become easy to record and distribute music and videos digitally, and no one is exploring the possibilities as much as the Bhojpuri music makers. Mainstream Bollywood no longer sings the language of most Indians and these people have taken the task of providing entertainent into their own hand-held devices.
Many of them are amateurs but there are several good singers with a strong background in traditional music from Central, Eastern UP, Bihar and parts of Jharkhand live and make music here in Mumbai.
Look out for a documentary that will be out soon that digs deep into that story. It's being made by my friend and documentary film maker Surabhi Sharma who also made Jahaji Music (ship music), where she explored the music of people of Indian origin in the Caribbean with Remo Fernandes. I will be posting images of her at work too, soon.
Now back to the rock star, Shahid Ali.
The videos Shahid Ali has starred in was made to promote a Bhojpuri Album with various artists. The songs are recorded in small studios, mostly around Andheri. A bungalow is rented in Panvel for a couple of thousand rupees a day. Fresh arrivals with a little tashan and stars in their eyes like Shahid are hired, take a train to Panvel and the videos are shot with basic video cameras, edited and mixed. Then they go viral on cheap CDs and mobile distribution to promote CD sales.
Sounds easy? But this is the easy part. Once the music is out, it's up to the market forces to decide what happens to the music. The viral quotient of the music and the video decides if the music is a hit or not. The most popular then get on to local TV cable stations and creates demand for live shows. Every year, hundreds of songs are made, each made with the hope that it will be next hit.
So does being a hero in a Bhopuri Road Romeo song pay Shahid's bills?
No. He does it for fun. His daily bread comes from waiting, being the valet for Bollywoood actors at the sets. Little do the stars he wait for (eg. Tanushree Datta) know that he probably has more screen views than them up there in the heartland.
Link Road, Kandivli
Ulka Gupta, the new face of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi
Historical Facebook.
Indian gods and historical figures have faces that evolve according to the age we live in. Today, we have pasted the faces of television actors to these figures. A generation back it was the Amar Chitra Katha comics. Before that it was cinema (Example: Sohrab Modi, NTR, Dr Raj, Prithviraj Kapoor, and yes, 'Shivaji' Ganesan)
There was a time when all Baby Krishna and Murugan images looked like the child actor Baby Sridevi who grew up to have thunder thighs and sculpted nose like the Darpana Sundaris in the Hoysala temples of Karnataka.
This was preceded by Raja Ravi Varma and his paintings alongside actors on stage. Every state had its own set of mythological and historical theater.
And for a long time before that, it was the faces and figures carved out of stone and in miniature paintings. If you visit the older temples, you will need a guide to point out the different mythological figures. They have changes so much over the past century that we need to look for clues to figure out one god from another.
Over time, the dark Vishnu avataars became blue. A colour that even made it to the big screen. And during the transition to the small screen, the blue became fair and handsome. The grand old defender of patriarchy, King Rama of Ayodhya got a white, expressionless face fit for the headman of a Khap Panchayat. The intelligent Krishna got a fair, low IQ face and zero votes from women when he stood for elections. Draupadi became fair. The fiery Shiva now uses Gilette 3 blade system to have a baby-bottom-smooth face. The Lord Ganesha is rumoured to have chopped of his elephant head along with that of Ramanand Sagar and gang after seeing the atrocious Ganeshas on our television screens.
And on television, Rani of Jhansi whom we knew only as a woman warrior on horseback with her son tied to her back became a little girl. The new face of Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi is that of Ulka Gupta.
Where Ulka lives.
Indian gods and historical figures have faces that evolve according to the age we live in. Today, we have pasted the faces of television actors to these figures. A generation back it was the Amar Chitra Katha comics. Before that it was cinema (Example: Sohrab Modi, NTR, Dr Raj, Prithviraj Kapoor, and yes, 'Shivaji' Ganesan)
There was a time when all Baby Krishna and Murugan images looked like the child actor Baby Sridevi who grew up to have thunder thighs and sculpted nose like the Darpana Sundaris in the Hoysala temples of Karnataka.
This was preceded by Raja Ravi Varma and his paintings alongside actors on stage. Every state had its own set of mythological and historical theater.
And for a long time before that, it was the faces and figures carved out of stone and in miniature paintings. If you visit the older temples, you will need a guide to point out the different mythological figures. They have changes so much over the past century that we need to look for clues to figure out one god from another.
Over time, the dark Vishnu avataars became blue. A colour that even made it to the big screen. And during the transition to the small screen, the blue became fair and handsome. The grand old defender of patriarchy, King Rama of Ayodhya got a white, expressionless face fit for the headman of a Khap Panchayat. The intelligent Krishna got a fair, low IQ face and zero votes from women when he stood for elections. Draupadi became fair. The fiery Shiva now uses Gilette 3 blade system to have a baby-bottom-smooth face. The Lord Ganesha is rumoured to have chopped of his elephant head along with that of Ramanand Sagar and gang after seeing the atrocious Ganeshas on our television screens.
And on television, Rani of Jhansi whom we knew only as a woman warrior on horseback with her son tied to her back became a little girl. The new face of Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi is that of Ulka Gupta.
Read more about her and other child actors on Indian Television in this week's Tehelka by Nishita Jha titled: Sets, lie and homework.
Here are few extras shots from the life of the new face of Laxmibai of Jhansi.
Bend it like Laxmibai. Ulka (14 yrs) is a fighter too. She's the only girl in a football team.
I couldn't indulge in my favourite activity of browsing through what she reads because she had no books on her shelves, just a lot of awards.
I couldn't indulge in my favourite activity of browsing through what she reads because she had no books on her shelves, just a lot of awards.
Where Ulka lives.
The Guptas moved from Dahisar to Link Road, the Sunset Boulevard for Bollywood workers after her success. This is where, most people associated with television, music and Bollywood live. You have offices, studios, recording studios, the social network of strugglers, money and lots of interesting people related to entertainment on this stretch.
Mumbai's Sunset Boulevard is a collection of Link Roads. They run parallel to the WR track from Kandivli to Juhu. The stretch from Kandivli/Malad (Mith Chowky) to Oshiwara is a favourite place for television workers.
Another Link road connects the place where the filmi people live - Mhada, Yari Road, 4/7 Bungalows, Versova to Juhu.
The biggest stars live in Juhu. Amitabh lives there. Ulka lives in the other end, at Kandivli. But then, she's just started. As you climb up the ladder, you move south. All the best Laxmibai Ulka! Go ahead and conquer Bollywood.
Note: Ulka meaning - Shooting Star or meteor.
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