ChowkNews- Vidyavihar, mumbai

Carpooling is as relevant today as it was yesterday, as you can see.

got this from here

Appaling but true, To get a five year old admitted into jr kg needs 35000 Rs as donation reportedly since the school needs funds to create additional classes for 11th and 12th.

this is ridiculous , isnt the kid or his parents entitled to have a decent school ?. i enquired with a friend and it seems that play schools charge anywhere between 10 to 30 thousand per year. coaching classes for std 6th to 10 cost anywhere between 10000 to 50000 and even though parents can ill afford it, they still enroll kids into these classes. just because if the child is left behind then his future will be in jeopardy. what a rat race.

i can understand that at college level you need skilled and knowlegeable teachers, and the cost includes the cost/effort of the teachers . No wonder india is so corrupt, imagine a poor cop on the street who wants to have the very best for his child. why should he not fleece the first idiot that he can catch hold of ?, the situation is the same as the doctors who paid lakhs in fees and are now out to get thier pound of flesh literally. is it any wonder that they resort to kidney rackets and have nexus with diagnostic centers , pharmacy companies. and how do you expect them to remain honest when they have skinned themselves to get here. now imagine what ordinary citizens will do once they reach the barrier where elementary education for thier kid is so expensive??

i hope we correct our course before collision in society.

people in mumbai have lost all traffic sense, there is already a lot of chaos in mumbai with so much digging building and everything in between. pedestrians and cars jostle each other for road space. pedestrians are sometimes unable to move due to cars and bikes so tightly jammed. it seems every inch of space that is conquered brings the occupant of the vehicle that much closer to his destination. regardless of the fact that the movement will not hasten the journey.

We have become so insensitive(me as a biker included) that we travel on the footpath on our bilkes smiling at annoyed pedestrians. i have seen people flagging down taxis and rockshaws at busy intersections. as if this is not enough there are some who will alight from a rickshaw or taxi on the middle of the road and then start the process of paying the fare.

on a jammed road that has just started moving, if you see such idiots i bet you will also feel like knoking some sense into thier wooden heads. today as i protested to the rickshaw to at least park a little closer to the sidewalk, the elderly passenger erupted with a retort that i too do would do the same and hence he somehow was entitled to alight right in the middle of the road.

i have been travellling on mumbais streets since 1980’s and have always found that the streets are perinielly under construction. does it take thirty years of continous construction to improve the traffic conditions ?. and why are we constructing roads when the available roads are being misused? for example on a four lane road two lanes are blocked for parking, and if you widen the road then the parking space increases not the available road. hawkers sit on the footpath and force pedestrians on the street, this is what causes the huge traffic snarls. it takes me two hours of daily commuting hell to cover a distance that is less than 20 km to and fro.

The RTO is another joke, i have seen 6 RTO officials standing at a single junction and catching people who will still dare to jump a signal or cut lanes. shouldnt one or two officer be  enough ? cant the rest participate in booking those vehicles that actively create the massive jams by parking on busy streets?.

I just hope google gets my post to someone who can act !!!.

Got this as a forward today its beautiful , the language is gujarati.

This place has a problem with speeding vehicles and the solution that they have implemented is by using a dummy pothole on the road. it seems hilarious in the context of india where the roads are full of the real stuff. hey bmc could even export a large number of these potholes without any one even noticing the difference. but whether they would get paid for the exports is another story. every road user would give them an incentive if they did suceed in exporting the potholes.

Just ensure that there is a clause of “Goods once sold will not be taken back under any circumstances”.

Gmail 502 error

I encountered this error today, some one else too found this error. just hope it gets fixed soon. i just realized how much i depend on gmail. worrying thought.

The recent news comparing the value of various objects of daily use of mahatma gandhi and other celebrities is at best trivialising the issue.

while a momento may bring memories the real person whose memories it invokes is the prize. if we just follow his words and actions we all will have a priceless momento from his life. we do not need to “buy” his memories from an auction. the money saved could be used for more noble causes.

the man himself was frugal and spending any amount on such a wasteful pursuit would only make him sad.

Traffic School is a concept in the US where a traffic offender has to attend an eight hour lecture for having broken a traffic rule.

Mumbai RTO and BMC would be better off having such a concept for minor offences like breaking a red light or spitting on the road where a stiff fine is waived off if the offender takes a course that educates or makes the person aware of the consequences of his/her actions.

I think it is high time that we made the society aware about why the laws need to be obeyed instead of just a monetory punishment. for example if someone cuts a tree then a course on the environment could be administered to the offender.

Spitting on the road causes the spread of diseases and this is displayed on many auto rickshaws as a bumper sticker, however it seems a mockery when someone sitting in the same rickshaw spits blatantly on the road, usually paan or guthka regurgitated in the most horrible manner. when you look at him he just smiles back as if you are a privileged audience. and there is nothing you can do about it.

there are many such offenses that just go by like domestic violence. along with spending millions of rupees on creating awareness our government could license educators to give a long paid lecture that has a deeper impact on the offender.

Hope someone is listening.

Just watched a few parts of this documentary and was impressed with the amount of research that goes into creating a documentary.i liked the way that the director tries to highlight the personal aspect of religion versus the mob frenzy and fanaticism preached by leaders of each religion. if nothing then at least it tells us that a diverse voice does exist. i am also sad at the way in which hinduism is being hijacked into violence and fanaticism by some groups. i wish i could do some thing about it.
To resolve and stand firmly on an issue is different from inciting and perpetrating violence but in todays culture i think the voice of reason is all but lost.
in such a scenario the NGO’s that create insightfull documentaries are few and need to be encouraged. it is only by creating a taste for the good among the masses that we will be able to create a peaceful and happy society.

Today i visited the handicrafts fair at bandra reclamation. it is really worth the visit for every mumbaikar. lots of rare items are available under one roof and the people selling these items are the villagers themselves. in the fabrics section there a fabrics from south, maharashtra and north indian villages. woodwork items are available that can help you to decorate your house innovatively. cane furniture from assam is a must see, also there are wrought iron furnitures available which can create a great ambience to your home.

on a lighter budget you can also shop for interestinmg trinkets like an ashtray made from coconut shells , candlesticks wooden toys that you would never find in shoppers stop or fischer price . leather items like purses, lamp shades and paper mache items are available here.

in case you are a foodie then you could also venture toi try some authentic rural food in one of the many stalls that are set up there.

Parking is available inside the venue , entry is free and this fair is open only till 2 february. hope you are able to make it. it is organized by nabard

oh and there is a hollow bamboo stick  available that makes music as you swing it in the air, i love it.

Found a link to the products catalog at http://rural.nic.in/Saras/PFrame.htm