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Chapter 58 - Shallow really?
Ok - now this is a post which is a little off the beaten track and very honest. I have a variety of friends and acquaintances in India and as is my nature. I seek out people like me who have a lot of enthusiasm for trying various things - travelling, hobbies etc. Although I get along with a whole bunch of people and can and do interact with everyone, I have developed a core group of english speaking ladies around myself. When it comes to having more in common, gelling well with people, being able to open up and share all the experiences and feelings - the english language has become a sort of a prerequisite. In an area like Thane which is core conservative but just now opening up to being modern - there are all kinds of people and I tend to seek out a particular english medium type. It's always been the attitude in India that ppl from south mumbai have an elevated opinion of themselves, the suburbs ( juhu, bandra, andheri) are the upscale elite and places like thane were the far-flung boondocks with 'gawtis' in them. I went with some of my friends to an upscale lounge in Powai area. To my surprise one of the ladies had a group from Chembur and she did not want to admin to living in thane - called it a 'weekend' home.
Now there could be a variety of reasons for this but couple of things stuck me. In terms of dress/ lifestyle, short-skirts, backless tops and modern living - mumbai is right up there with the rest of them. Secondly, there is a lot of importance to appearances self-marketing.
much more so than in the USA. PPl like to have brands/ image/ the right cars/ the right accent/ the 'in' locality. Now I like fun/ music/ dancing/ socializing too and if I have a nice circle to hang out for short weekend trips, visit to cool places, fun etc. count me in.
But with too much importance given to brand/image/appearances - it might take me awhile to develop meaningful relationships.
Why am I noticing this now after 2 yrs in India? Well, I quit my job 3 months ago and I have time to do the things that I like to do. that aspect will need a separate blog post but here is the funny part. I like being with these people who are all about brands/fun/music/ travelling/ money/ status- it can be fun and beings a jest into life. but as I also subsequently am finding out - these are just things which bring people together. the binding factor as the friendships develop need to be much more substantial.

One thing I do know is that upcoming suburbs like Thane is very desirable especially for kids. People's attitudes are just getting modernized.
I like the occasional drink, the ladies nights out, western clothes etc. - everything in moderation...and I can still do those things here.
I find that the traditional roles of a woman are easier to sustain when we have the occasional dose of modernity. Both are part of who I am and I can do that here comfortably.
Coming back to the concept of parts of Mumbai feeling superior and upscale to other parts - I grew up in the posh side of town ( Bandra) - found an expanded world view in California - and love it here in Thane....just for the sheer variety and spice of life!! and what with the Upvan festival, world class schools and a rapidly modernizing upper middle class - this is a pretty nice place to be in!!

chapter 59 - DANCe Basanti

Life is picking up over here. 3 yrs ago things were kind of low-key and dull . Now we have a bustling mall nearby with 2 great activity centers, tons of activities for kids, nice outdoor play area and other stuff. In other good news, the club house will be function in 3-4 months which means a functioning gym and swimming pool. All these important ingredients to have a 'quality of life' or so I think.
One thing nearby is a dance academy being run by 2 twenty something year olds. These guys run the academy with a bunch of young guys, run aerobics, yoga, zumba, kids dance, choreography of independent event etc and are super popular and successful. Apart from great talent, passion and hard-work, they stand out because of street smarts, marketing skills and great interpersonal skills and down-to-earth humble personality. Ladies/moms liek me, middle aged men, kids all participate and their classes are full. this two guys who are not yet twenty seven and do not know Engligh have 4 franchises in Mumbai - one coming up in Nagpur - and are super popular and successful.
Another kid in the nearby activity center is a maharashtra level gymnast, travelled to europe for championships, just gave her graduation exam and is now aiming to start her own center.
It seems to me that there are just a lot of options and opportunities especially for the bold and the brave!!!
There is also something to be said for the attitude of young kids- the fresh and enthusiastic ones. When we have the diwali mela in the complex, there are up to 200 performances across 3 days. Middle class couples are prepared to spend money for their kids to learn extra-curricular activities - a.k.a.USA. So there are a bunch of classes for keyboard, tabla, chess, handwriting, drawing, music, tennis, karate, gymnastics, cricket, soccer u name it - and they are all running capacity. Kids respond well - a lot of them are really talented and interested in learning a lot of things.
It makes of lively and happy times. To add to the excitement, the complex ladies forum is not very active - that deserves a separate post.

Chapter 60 - Sena no more..
Political obituaries are always presumptive but safe to say that this round of assembly elections in Maharashtra, there are 2 narratives. One the predictable one - congress and NCP are routed.
Second, and the more surprising one. The Shiv Sena tiger is de-clawed. this means that although identity politics is still alive, aspiration politics has taken the lead now.
Now we have the BJP and hopefully they will take the development tale forward.
Before the Lok Sabha elections, I had an interesting conversation with a local rickshaw driver ( a young guy). He was all gung ho saying that there is going to be a Modi govt so there will be lots of developments. All the kaccha homes will be razed to be replaced with pukka ones. The surface on the roads which are tar will be replaced with concrete. The navi mumbai airport will be operational. Apparently, all the rickshaw guys are with Modi. Dev Fadnavis seems like a nice down to earth person. His wife is impressive too - articulate and humble.
But we in Thane know how institutionalized the corruption in Maha is - especially in the rich areas like Mumbai and thane and in real-estate Will it be possible to change things here? Need to wait and see!! Mumbai city badly needs an upgrade. Interior Maharashtra which has seen a slew of farmer suicides needs irrigation solutions.
Need to wait and see what Fadnavis and BJP can do. ( with Amit shah's and Modi's aashirwaad).

For Jan 26th, the ladies forum in our complex will initiate a Swacch bharat initiative with the kids to take up a cleaning of our premises. This is needed. I have often been surprised to see - kids who are going to world class schools will peel off a chocolate wrapper and simply throw it on the road or even in the lift. I have rebuked 2 of my friends kids and asked them to throw the trash in the waste bin.

Another initiative I am thinking about is re-cycling. a few buildings in and around are doing it so I need to do some research before presenting this to the ladies forum!!

R2Thane;586020Chapter 58 - Shallow really?
Ok - now this is a post which is a little off the beaten track and very honest. ...

Secondly, there is a lot of importance to appearances self-marketing. ... PPl like to have brands/ image/ the right cars/ the right accent/ the 'in' locality. ... But with too much importance given to brand/image/appearances - it might take me awhile to develop meaningful relationships.
... but here is the funny part. I like being with these people who are all about brands/fun/music/ travelling/ money/ status- it can be fun and beings a jest into life. but as I also subsequently am finding out - these are just things which bring people together. the binding factor as the friendships develop need to be much more substantial.

That's true.
I've found that the "brand name and status conscious" folks can be fun and hanging out with them can lead to discovery of binding factors over time.

[quote]I like the occasional drink, the ladies nights out, western clothes etc. - everything in moderation...and I can still do those things here.
I find that the traditional roles of a woman are easier to sustain when we have the occasional dose of modernity. Both are part of who I am and I can do that here comfortably. [/quote]
'Occasional dose of modernity' - nice. :)

R2Thane;586021chapter 59 - DANCe Basanti
...
One thing nearby is a dance academy being run by 2 twenty something year olds. These guys run the academy with a bunch of young guys, run aerobics, yoga, zumba, kids dance, choreography of independent event etc and are super popular and successful. Apart from great talent, passion and hard-work, they stand out because of street smarts, marketing skills and great interpersonal skills and down-to-earth humble personality. ....
Another kid in the nearby activity center is a maharashtra level gymnast, travelled to europe for championships, just gave her graduation exam and is now aiming to start her own center.
It seems to me that there are just a lot of options and opportunities especially for the bold and the brave!!!
There is also something to be said for the attitude of young kids- the fresh and enthusiastic ones. ...

I am reminded of Ishita Malaviya - India's first female surfer. http://www.missmalini.com/2012/09/11/guest-blog-hot-new-batch-of-indian-surfers/ Started and runs the Shaka Surf Club with a partner.

R2Thane;586062

For Jan 26th, the ladies forum in our complex will initiate a Swacch bharat initiative with the kids to take up a cleaning of our premises. This is needed. I have often been surprised to see - kids who are going to world class schools will peel off a chocolate wrapper and simply throw it on the road or even in the lift. I have rebuked 2 of my friends kids and asked them to throw the trash in the waste bin.

Another initiative I am thinking about is re-cycling. a few buildings in and around are doing it so I need to do some research before presenting this to the ladies forum!!

Way to go !! But keep up the effort and not make it just one day deal !!

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan in our complex was done on Sunday. Kids with gloves and brooms swept the complex - all manner of food and wrappers were picked up and later - candy was distributed.
Apart from generating cleanliness awareness, we also paid some nearby laborers to clear some extra shrubbery outside the complex gate and take away the loads of kachra generated from staircases etc.
It was a good initiative as far as generating awareness went and kids participation was great.
We are planning to do this again every 4-5 months.

Is anyone aware of recycling being done in Mumbai. We have tons of paper and plastic generated in our complex and there is a need to separate the 2 and adopt recycling.

Sad Sight today.
To begin with TMC or whoever seems to have a digging fetish. Show them a good road and they cant resist the urge to dig it up.
This time it is the road outside our building - they seem to be digging up some cables. Now they have brought in manual labor to dig out with a shovel. The people have come with families and we see husband, wife and child holding shovel. The parents mostly work - the children just while around in the sun. I went down to pick up by daughter when her school bus rolled in. couple of the really small kids of the workers hovered around the bus. Both sets of kids were staring at each other and checking each other out. It was a very sad sight.
I gave some clothes, chocolates etc to the kids but of course, their problems are much more endemic and might not have a solution too soon!!

And I'm free ...free falling...
For all the bungee jumping, surfing and extreme sports freaks out there - there should be a new adventure sport - driving in Mumbai traffic. what prompted this post then? Well, a nice Gujrati friend of mine gave me a lift from the sports day venue to my place in Thane on her Activa. En route, we went over 3 flyovers and the immense sense of vulnerability I felt as she weaved in and out of the traffic and I sat still not daring to move an inch..no helmets either. The flyovers are steep - there are occasional potholes, there is no shoulder on the side of the road and the traffic thick and moving fast. For our Americanized senses, this is one scary trip!!
But to her it was commonplace - she is comfortable travelling with 2-3 kids in this manner. Lot of moms take their kids to school the same way..
road safety obviously a big issue in India!!

R2Thane;588106Sad Sight today.
To begin with TMC or whoever seems to have a digging fetish. Show them a good road and they cant resist the urge to dig it up.
This time it is the road outside our building - they seem to be digging up some cables. Now they have brought in manual labor to dig out with a shovel. The people have come with families and we see husband, wife and child holding shovel. The parents mostly work - the children just while around in the sun. I went down to pick up by daughter when her school bus rolled in. couple of the really small kids of the workers hovered around the bus. Both sets of kids were staring at each other and checking each other out. It was a very sad sight.
I gave some clothes, chocolates etc to the kids but of course, their problems are much more endemic and might not have a solution too soon!!

Thanks to people like you, such kids see something better in the society they serve. Keep up the good work.