“JACKFRUIT”, the most underrated fruit and tree.

” Jack of all and master at eating “JACKFRUITS” ? Its “Jackfruit season” in Mumbai with truckload of jackfruits having arrived in our locality for the Hindu festival of “Vata Purnima” on Sunday(19-6-2016).

Its auspicious to serve jackfruits on this day after the normal Puja rituals..One of my favourite fruits and for the last few days it was “JACKFRUIT CARNIVAL ” at my house.The “Jackfruit” is one of the most useful tree’s and nothing is wasted from this tree during its lifetime and after its death. The delicious fruits are eaten and cooked into various Indian recipe’s and finally the timber derived from this tree is second best after teak wood.Royal mansion’s and palaces in India have support timber pillars and carvings made from jackfruit tree.Tourists visiting India please don’t return home without a taste of the “Jackfruit”.

Changing face of “SOBO”

On Thursday(16-6-2016) after ages visited my old youth and bachelor hide-outs in “Sobo(South Bombay)” locality , a tourist in my own city. Was traumatized to see “Metro House” building  which housed the iconic “CAFE MONDEGAR” partly in ruins due to the fire that engulfed it .Miraculously cafe Mondegar although closed is completely intact with artist Mario Miranda’s cartoon’s on its iconic walls.Is this the end to the over century old “Metro  House ” which could face demolition as the damage to a wing of this iconic building has caused parts of it to collapse onto the main road.Entire main Colaba traffic is blocked due to debris of “Metro Building”.

Is “CAFE MONDEGAR” with its cute “Juke Box” history in 2016  or will it re-open ? Anyone who has lived in Mumbai or now a “N.R..I” must have definitely visited Cafe Mondegar which on every  New Year’s eve had a waiting list queue catering to loners, singles and couples.Although a niche restaurant having the ambience of a  “5-Star restaurant” minus the A/C its prices were affordable to the average Mumbaikar. .Later visited the plush iconic Taj Mahal hotel and was sad to know that the ages old “Starboard Bar” restaurant which had live music has disappeared having been shut in December-2015 ! Thankfully the “Nalanda” book shop in this hotel hasn’t closed permanantly although temporarily  closed for renovation.Beauty of “Nalanda “ was that although situated in a 5-star hotel the prices of the books and magazines was normal as sold in any common shop.If lucky you could also rub shoulders with celibrities or even meet a author !

“Rhythm House” a iconic music shop landmark of Mumbai  closed months ago.Later visited “B.N.H.S(Bombay Natural History Society)” building which thankfully hasn’t changed much nor hasn’t disintegrated much !Visited the library that houses some of the best “Natural History” books on India and the World.Was glad to see  the library room ceiling being made water-proof after years of leakage.The entire libary book shelf used to be covered with plastic  sheets to prevent seepage of rain water from the leaking terrace of this heritage building.Suddenly i realized that i was growing old with the fact that landmarks of the 20th century were gradually being phased out or tragically succumbing to unforeseen calamities.Thankfully main Colaba locality upto Sasoon Dock hasn’t changed much and has preserved its charm of a combination of the old and the modern existing in perfect harmony .A few photo’s of tragic “Metro Building”,the classic Colaba road  and iconic. “Cafe Mondegar.

 

Ostrich riding in Mui Ne in Vietnam.

“The Rozabel line” by Ashwin.Sanghi:- A review by blogger Rudolph.A.Furtado

“THE ROZABEL LINE” By Ashwin.Sanghi :- Just finished reading this semi-fictional novel that is a Asian model of the “Da Vinci Code” with religion being the focus of the story. Author Ashwin.Sanghi is known as the Indian Dan.Brown for his novels being religious mysteries akin to Dan.Brown. Ahwin.Sanghi first published “Rozabel Line” in 2007 under the pseudonym of Shawn.Higgins.In 2008 he published the book under his own name and it became a best-seller.Bizarrely he has written in the future tense with the year 2012 being central in the story’s plot which is the main flaw of this book post 2011 and the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.Osama Bin Laden died in 2011 but seems author Ashwin.Sanghi like most of the World presumed that Osama Bin Laden had died and his body never found or he simply disappeared from the face of the Earth. Hence he gambled on his prophecy and “DATED” Osama Bin Laden’s fictional death as happening in 2012 ! I am sure that sales of this novel must have dropped abruptly post 2011 and the death of osama in Pakistan. Otherwise its a excellent researched novel that also helps the reader discover and learn about many religions and customs barring the fictional account of Jesus having been married and buried in Kashmir.
Ashwin.Sanghi should pen his next historical-fictional novel on how did Pakistan not know that Osama was in Abbotabad ? Still better is betting on the ultimate end-game of Dawood .Ibrahim and hope he is more accurate in his futuristic predictions .Ha Ha Has Hee hee hee ?

CASE STUDY OF 2 PRESUMED SUICIDE’S.

WITNESS TO A SUICIDE OR MURDER ON FRIDAY(11-3-2016) IN KOCHI VEGETABLE MARKET (CASE STUDY) :-“During a tour of Kochi saw a man dangling from a Banyan tree early in the morning in the most busy market in Kochi.The police arrived later and his body was just left dangling. It was akin to a public hanging with the large market crowd just watching this young healthy man dangling from a Banyan tree.Next day googled the news and this is what was written of the hanging man.The press labelled it as “SUICIDE”.Read in the “New Indian Express” and “The Hindu” editions that this man named Thankappan aged 42 years was a migrant from Tamil Nadu and a business trader in the Ernakulam vegetable market residing at Ambalamughal. The “Hindu” newspaper stated that he was doing vegetable business since the last few years.Conflicting versions in the two papers as to whether he was a alcoholic who committed suicide possibly due to monetary distress.The “New Indian Express” paper also stated that a few days before a man had committed suicide by jumping from the office of the city Police Commissioner ! My personal photographs of the suicide of Vegetable vendor Thankappan was on “F.B” as also a video on “Youtube” for Viewers. This was a ghastly and bizarre suicide or murder yet just received a small column coverage in the local news. Pass your comments on this suicide case.I strongly felt it was “MURDER”.In a sensational suicide this anonymous tragic man got his “15 minutes of fame” in the newspapers , something he didn’t achieve when alive.Numerous people commit suicides daily in India which go totally unnoticed besides the grieving relatives and close friends..For the first time in my life i had seen a human committing suicide and that too in such a grotesque manner akin to a public execution.Bizarre coverage’s in the common Thankappan and the television celebrity Pratusha suicides is the display of crocodile tears by the majority of celebrity claiming to know Pratusha and her problems when she was alive.The Celebrity who really grabbed headlines in the mourning and rumours of Pratusha’s death was the inimitable Ms RakhiSawant who stated that ceiling fans should be banned ! What is the World of “15 Minutes” of fame about ?

VIDEO 1 ) :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVtwGf13Wn4&feature=youtu.be

Video 2) :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JC14W2mK-4

“BLACK FRIDAY”:- The non-fiction book by S.Hussain.Zaidi.

Buildings near Century Bazaar Worli in Bombay badly damaged by Mumbai Serial bomb blast which occured on 12-3-1993.

“BLACK FRIDAY”(THE BOOK) by S.Hussain .Zaidi :- As a “CITIZEN JOURNALIST(read ‘Free Journalist’)” ,post “Yakub Memon” execution and his funeral which had a crowd of mourners slightly less than Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray’s funeral made me pick up the non-fiction book “BLACK FRIDAY” to understand the “1993 Bombay(Mumbai) Bomb Blasts” plot.I myself was closely affected by the blasts in Prabhadevi during a very tumultuous professional and personal phase of my life.Besides during the recent “Yakub Memon” media trial was surprised to know the he was a “BYCULLA BOY” of my generation and a academic success unlike majority “BYCULLA BOYS”.Will be reading the book.Bizarrely Journalist Mr S.Hussain.Zaidi has credited a certain Mr Rashid.Ansari of Mid-day publications for providing him the photographs for this best-seller book and i wonder if it is my school colleague Mr Rashid.Ansari or someone else with his name-sake. Life is really bizarre.Below is the photo of the buildings bombed during the 1993 bomb blasts. Resembled a war zone according to the media since i myself never ever witnessed a war situation .Decades later in 2012 when i visited “JAFFNA” in Sri Lanka i was reminded of “Century Bazaar” in Worli, a eerie similarity of bombed war remains.

FUNERAL ATTENDANCE OF INDIA’S WONDER HORSE” Be Safe” AT Bengaluru Racecourse in “Maharajah Cup”.

FUNERAL ATTENDANCE OF INDIA’S WONDER HORSE” Be Safe” AT Bengaluru Racecourse in “Maharajah Cup”..

FUNERAL ATTENDANCE OF INDIA’S WONDER HORSE” Be Safe” AT Bengaluru Racecourse in “Maharajah Gold Cup”.

“SLOW HORSES AND FAST —– HAVE BEEN THE DOWNFALL OF MANY A PUNTER”, Says the estate trustee  of “Mittoo alias mittoo the poppat”.Recovering from a “Bankruptcy ATTACK” in the “I.C.U” of my own house after betting the wrong horse “BE SAFE” and attaining a “Pauper” status from a “Maharajah” status . Henceforth will speculate a “BE SAFE” method and not on a horse named “BE SAFE” ! Crores of rupees must have been lost on a horse named “BE SAFE” on Sunday(5-7-2015).It was the saddest day of my life in horse-racing.The Hot favourite @ 40/100 and considered a “Wonder horse” “BE SAFE” lost miserably in a race that shocked the horse racing punters of India.This handsome colt that won the “Indian Derby-2015” in Mumbai in “RECORD TIME “ on Sunday(1-2-2015) ran like a ordinary riding horse today taking with it “Crores” of punters rupees down the drain.As for me i felt i had attended a “Funeral”. Such was my emotional loss on seeing the dismal performance of this colt that won me my first “Indian Derby” in my silver jubilee year of horse racing.I can recover from the heavy monetary loss but the emotional loss will take me ages.Akin to losing one of my pet cats or the death of my 22 year old parakeet “Mittoo” after whom i have invented the notional speculative gambling game on “Facebook” titled “Mittoo alias mittoo the poppat”..

GRAVEYARD TOURISM :- “Richardson & Cruddas(1972) Ltd”, from Engineering factory to sick Industrial unit tourist site .

On Saturday(18-10-2014) had  nostalgic motorcycle  ride down my old “Adda” Byculla into a defunct engineering monolith for a “Rock Concert”.The abandoned engineering factory of “Richardson & Cruddas(1972) Ltd”  reminded me of my Marine engineering apprenticeship years in Mazagon docks, a huge abandoned engineering complex.From the exterior  it resembles any common establishment with a huge sign-board that has  been in existence since 1972 but on entry it resembled a stadium !It was a identical copy of the “South Bay (offshore shop)”  of Mazagon Dock Ltd, a monolith ship-building company that employs thousands of workers and officers.

                                                           I wonder what was the manpower in “Richardson & Cruddas(1972) Ltd” when it first began operations as a foundry factory  in 1972 ? This was the first time in my life that i got to view a “SICK ENGINEERING FIRM” akin to scuba diving and seeing a sunken ship wreck.The abandoned engineering bays and lathe machines were rusting and definitely a tourist attraction as its rare to see a huge waste of a engineering establishment in prime Mumbai locality.The owners rent the site for “Film Shoots” and “Advertisements”.In April 2014 it was for the first time that   a section of one of the engineering bays was  converted into a  hall for holding a  “Rock shows”.

                                             Spent a enthralling evening listening to various genres of music  performed on the occasion of the “Red Bull tour bus” concert.The only working engineering machinery  item in the entire  complex was this giant “Red bull tour bus” which had a performing stage on its roof.The acoustics was excellent akin to being in a enclosed auditorium. Seems akin to the “Textile Mills” of Mumbai the “Richardson & Cruddas(1972) Ltd” engineering monolith might make way for a housing project in the near future.Better if it remained a “Rock Venue” and converted into a “Movie studio”.

                Till then enjoy the “Rock & music” shows that  will be hosted in this giant complex, a excellent venue for “Live Concerts”, a new discovery in the Indian rock concert establishment.

Maharashtra State Legislative elections-2014 :- NAME MISSING FROM VOTING LIST.

Wednesday(15-10-2015) :- Went to the “VOTING BOOTH” in Kalpataru building  to vote and was amazed to find my name missing from the “VOTERS LIST” but my deceased parents name included in the list.Have been voting for donkeys years since the age of 18 and this is the first time in my life that i could not vote due to a  error in the  “VOTING LIST”. Bizarrely just yesterday i got a “Free Vote  T-Shirt” at “Operation Ink Dot” , a voting awareness musical concert for the youth  held at “High Street Phoenix” in Parel.Wore it to advertize for voting and i myself couldn’t  vote.Actor Anupam.Kher would say “Kutchch bhi Ho Saktha hain Election -2014 Mein(Anything can happen in Election-2014)”. Ha Ha Ha Hee Hee hee.Posted a few photo’s taken outside the voting booth in my locality in Prabhadevi with the “VOTING ADVERTISEMENT T-Shirt”.REAL Life can be hilariously bizarre at times.I will treasure this “VOTING T-SHIRT” for the rest of my life.