मला ढसाढसा रडायचंय!!!

आज मला वेगळं वाटतंय 
जग सारं सुन्न भासतंय 
गजबजलेल्या वर्गात सुद्धा 
मला मात्र एकटं वाटतंय

नाही राहिले मित्र 
नाही वर्गातली मस्ती 
आता फक्त आठवायच्या 
गतवर्षीच्या गोष्टी 

बदलले आमचे वर्ग 
बदलल्या आमुच्या दिशा 
आता मात्र फक्त
भविष्यात भेटण्याची आशा 

आज आयुष्यात मला सगळं
सोडून द्यावंसं वाटतंय
अभ्यास कॉलेज सोडून 
मला दूर जावसं वाटतंय 

हरलो म्हणून, पिचलो म्हणून
काहीच फरक पडत नाही 
कारण मी उध्वस्त झालो
म्हणून जगाचं काही अडत नाही

म्हणून एक मिनिट थांबायचं 
सगळं काही आठवायचंय 
दुःख सारं ओकायाचय
मला ढसाढसा रडायचंय!!! 

मी कोणीच नाही!!!

परवा पार्ल्याला गेलो होतो. एका सेमिनारसाठी. दहावी बारावीत कमी मार्क्स मिळाले तर आपण आयुष्यात काय करू शकतो हा त्या सेमिनार चा विषय होता. मला मुंबई टाईम्सने रिपोर्टिंग करायला पाठवलेलं. मी तसा बोअरच होत होतो पण वक्त्याला वाईट वाटू नये म्हणून म्हणून माझ्या चेहऱ्यावर प्रसन्नता ठेवण्याचा माझा केविलवाणा प्रयत्न होता. काही वेळानंतर एक वक्ते आय.टी. आय. ची माहिती द्यायला उभे राहिले. कमी शिकलेले लोक सुद्धा आज कसं चांगलं काम करतायत हे ते सांगू लागले. मी मात्र ह्याचा मला काय उपयोग असा विचार करत ते जी काही बडबड करत होते ते लिहून घेत होतो. मध्येच नतालीच्या कानात जोक्स सांगत होतो. सेमिनार संपल्यावर वक्त्याला चार शिव्या घालून आम्ही चालू पडलो. 

जेवून खाउन आम्ही पुष्करच्या घरी टाईमपास करायला गेलो. 'त्या' भाषणाचा इफेक्ट आमच्यावर आणि खासकरून माझ्यावर इतका होता कि माझ्या प्रत्येक जोक मध्ये मी आय. टी. आय. चा पुरेपूर समावेश करत होतो. कोणी म्हणालं कि माझ्या प्रोफेशन चा मला कंटाळा आलाय कि मी लगेच म्हणायचो "आय. टी. आय. कर की!" पुष्कर च्या डोक्यात मात्र मोबाईल रिपेरिंग आणि टॉवर मेंटेनन्सचा कोर्स भारीच जागा करून  बसलेला. तो पण जोक करत होता. आमचं खिदळणं खूप चालू होतं. पण थोड्या वेळाने पुष्कर म्हणाला की त्याला तो कोर्स खरच करायची इच्छा आहे. मी तर त्याला वेडात काढलं. म्हटलं पत्रकारितेचा कंटाळा आला तर मग दुसरं काहीतरी कर ना! मोबाईल रेपेरिंग काय!?!?!? पण त्यावर पुष्करचं जे उत्तर होतं ते मात्र माझ्या मनाला एक ठोसा मारून गेलं. पुष्कर म्हणाला "संदेश, एक विचार कर, आज समजा दुर्दैवाने तुला आई बाबांनी घराबाहेर काढला किंवा तुझ्या गां*त खाज म्हणून तुला घर सोडावं लागलं, तर तू काय करशील? कसं जगशील? तू लिहू शकतोस ते ठीक आहे. पण आज कुत्रं पण नाही विचारात रे ह्या गोष्टीला. अशी एखादी गोष्ट आहे का की ती करून तू निदान दोन वेळेचं जेवण जेवू शकशील?" मी ह्याच्यावर फक्त हसलो. कारण हसण्याशिवाय त्या क्षणाला माझ्याकडे करण्यासारखं; खरं तर बोलण्यासारखं  काहीच नव्हतं. हसलो की तो पुढे काहीच विचारणार नाही हे मला माहित होतं. अशीच टिंगल टवाळी करून आम्ही तिथून बाहेर पडलो. नंतर मी आणि नताली मेकडीज  मध्ये गप्पा मारत बसलो. 

तेव्हा नताली मला पैसे कमावण्याच्या विविध मार्गांविषयी सांगत होती. ती तिच्या भविष्याचा विचार करून आत्तापासून  काही ना काही करून पैसे कमावतेय. मला नतालीचं जाम कौतुक वाटतं. आणि जेव्हा मी असं काही ऐकतो तेव्हा मी स्वतःला त्या 'वेक अप सिद' मधल्या रणबीर कपूरशी कम्पेअर करतो. त्याच्यासारखा सेक्सी नसलो तरी त्याच्यासारखाच आई-बाबांच्या पैसारूपी खतावर वाढणारं मी एक बांडगूळ आहे हे मात्र अगदी खरं! 

पण खरच मी आज जर घरातून बाहेर पडलो तर मी आज काय करेन? मी कसा पैसा कमावेन? मी आर्टिकल्स लिहीन? तसे तर ह्या जगात लाखो लोक माझ्यापेक्षा कितीतरी पटीने मस्त लिहितात. मी म्हणजे 'किस झाड की पत्ति!' त्यामुळे लिहिणं गेलंच. मी फोटो काढेन? छे! एक एस. एल. आर. आहे म्हणून मी काही 'केविन कार्टर' होऊ शकत नाही.  मी भाषणं देईन? ते काही प्रमाणात जमेलही, पण मला ऐकणार कोण? मी आज काय करू शकेन? मला खरच काही माहित नाही! ह्याचं उत्तर आज माझ्याकडे नाही. 'मी कोण?' हेच मला माहित नाही. मी जगतोय कारण मला जगवलं जातंय. माझा अस्तित्व काय? माझे आई बाबा? पण ते तर मला एक दिवस सोडून जाणारच! मग मी कोण? आज माझ्याकडे असं काय आहे ज्याचा मी पुरेपूर उपयोग करेन? आज माझ्याकडे अशी कोणती गोष्ट आहे जी मला भाकरी मिळवून देईल? मी जे काही शिकतोय त्याचा मी कितीसा उपयोग करतोय? मला खरच काही माहित नाही! माझा एच. ओ. डी. सुधाकर नेहमी म्हणतो "what will the world lose if you die at this moment???" खरंच! आज मी गेलो तर हे जग माझ्यासाठी रडेल? की 'ठीक आहे! गेला बिचारा!' हे म्हणून शांत बसेल? माझ्यापेक्षा कमी शिकलेले लोक जेव्हा माझ्या पुढे जातील, तेव्हा मी काय करेन? मी हा धक्का पचवू शकेन? 

माझ्याकडे आज ह्या प्रश्नांची उत्तरं नाहीत. मात्र एक गोष्ट समजली की 'मी कोणीच नाही!!!' 

My Mumbai and my Wada Paav.

                                  

Wada paav (or the Indian burger as the foreigners call it) with cutting chai, Mumbaikar’s favourite diet.  In Mumbai, you will find Wada paav vendor at every corner.  Wada paav is also known as “poormans meal”.  Many actors, who came to Mumbai and struggled a lot often say that, Wada paav’s kept them on the go during their struggles to make it big. In the US a burger will cost you fifteen cents but a wada paav costs just seven rupees. In Mumbai at least 100,000 wada paav’a are consumed daily 

Let’s take a look at the history of the wada paav.  Wada paav is known as “the special Maharashtrian food”; though it is not.  In India people didn’t have any idea about potato. The Portuguese were the first who brought potato to India.  The word ‘batata’ (potato) is originally Portuguese word.  And paav (bread) is British food item. So, how is the wdada paav Indian? It’s because it has become Mumbai’s favourite fastfood. It easy to make, easy to eat and you’ll find it anywhere.

 The Wada was very famous all over Maharashtra.  But, wada paav never existed in the country.  One of the wada sellers Mr. Vaidya, who had his business outside Dadar station, tried the wada with paav(bread) and thus the wada paav was born.  So we can call Mr. Vaidya the father of the wada paav.  And now this dish has become Mumbai’s favourite snack.  In Mumbai, you get wada paav everywhere; at the railway stations.  You won’t find single college in Mumbai where you don’t get wada paav.

This wada paav has played an important role in the politics of Maharashtra.   In 1990s Shiv Sena, one of the leading political parties in Maharashtra set up the wada paav stalls in Mumbai to give some work young Maharashtrian people.  Two years back, Shiv Sena started chain of Wada Paav named “Shiv Wada paav”. 

Wada paav is being modernized.  Now, we have branded wada paav.  .  Jumbo King and Goli Wada Paav are a few of these branded wada paav manufacturers. 

Acoording to a poll conducted by ‘Star News’ these are the top three tastiest wada paav joints in Mumbai.

1. Wada paav outside Kirti College, Dadar.
2. Wada paav at the Elphinston station, platform number 2.
3. Borkar wada paav , Girgaon.
4. Krishna wada paav, Dadar.

For a street-seller, a fancy degree doesn't matter

WHAT IS ‘marketing’?  To sell your product.  What is ‘good marketing’?  To understand people and sell your product.  Who is a good marketing person? An MBA graduate perhaps. That is probably the most common answer you’ll get. But is it so? Well, I don’t think so. Marketing is not just only about making the above moves.

Hawkers have a lot of gimmicks to market their products, but none of them are eye catching. But sometimes they do manage to trick us into buying things we don’t need at all. This is the oldest trick in the book.

For instance, Malabar hill or Hanging Garden, as tourists call it, is one of South Mumbai’s hotspots. It is packed with tourists, locals, and a whole lot of hawkers. Many tourists purchase a lot of unnecessary things from these hawkers, so there is a lot of interaction between hawkers and the many tourists from all over the world. But after you meet Ravi , you may just change your mind about it all. So now you may ask who is Ravi?

Well, Ravi is a nineteen-year old boy, who has been selling peacock feather fans for the past fourteen years. You will find a number of peacock feather fan vendors at the Hanging Garden, but there is something Ravi has that none of the other vendors have. And what is that? Well that is talent!

He may not know how to read and write, but he has a gift. While all of us here in Maharashtra learn three languages, according to the education board, but Ravi knows a variety of local as well as foreign languages! A polyglot, he is!

His family is originally from Gujarat. His grandparents had settled down in Mumbai around 60 years back. Her grandmother used to sell the peacock feather fans first and then it became their family business. Ravi started selling the fans when he was just eight years old, he used to help his grandmother. Due to poverty his family could not afford to get him educated. As children in school all of us learn three languages, but Ravi has learnt more than ten languages without even going to school! Well the reason for this is his interaction with the foreign tourists.

I guess you could say he is a people’s person. He can speak Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi along with some other local languages. The foreign languages he speaks include English, French, Spanish, Russian, German, Mandarin, Japanese and many more. He has been observing these tourists for years and that is how he has managed to pick up so many languages. That is not all, Ravi also knows about the currencies of different countries as well as their rates in comparison to the Rupee. All these little observations have not only helped his business but also got  him recognised for his talent. 

Ravi was just your average hawker and now he has become Hanging Garden’s superstar. He has become a You Tube star overnight thanks to some travellers, who happened to post video’s of him that showcased his talent. He has become very popular on You-tube. His video’s have over a lakh views in just few months! Everybody appreciates his talent he is truly India’s talent.

http://www.merinews.com/article/for-a-street-seller-a-fancy-degree-doesnt-matter/15843866.shtml

Maa ke hath ka khana.....

Three months ago, when my mother wanted to book tickets, she asked me several times " Sandesh, will you stay alone at home for 5 days? Because didi is also going for her college picnic at the same time....???" That time I was so happy and I was very curious to stay alone at home.
I was waiting for that day. And finally I saw that day. Yesterday my parents went to my native place for five days for some religious function. My didi went for her college picnic in the evening and my parents departed at 10 p.m. I was so curious to sleep alone at home, because I had  not done that before. For the first time in my life I was going to do that.  I was little bit upset because I was not going to meet my parents and my didi for five days. (I am family loving person).
It was the first night that I was going to stay alone. I had gone for a programme in the evening, I returned home at 11.30 p.m. I slept as soon as I returned home. Because, I next day I had to wake up at 5 in the morning to fill water. (In South Mumbai water time is 5 to 6 a.m.). I was afraid of sleeping alone; but I didn't have any other option. Finally I prayed God to save me from ghosts and other evil powers. I got up on time next day and I did my work. Till then everything was fine.
In the evening I was so depressed. Because, I was feeling very lonely. Everyday at 5.30 p.m. my parents return home. I like to talk to people. I can't bare this loneliness. After sometime, my mother called me. I heard her voice and it was like a wonderful moment for me. I wanted to show my mother that I am happy without them; but I am not! At 9 p.m. hunger started fighting with me. I was not understanding what to do. Then I realised that yesterday my mother was telling me that she has kept dosa batter at refrigerator. But, main task was I had to make chutni for dosa.(I don't like to  have dosa with tomato sauce).
I searched here and there in kitchen. I found one paper with  a heading 'How to make chutni?'. I took it , read everything, took all the ingredients onion, coconut, salt, chilly powder and all. I started making chutny. It was supposed to become light orange colour's chutni; but it became brown. Still I don't know how did it become brown? But the taste was okay. I had my dinner at 9.30p.m. But the taste of that chutni was not like how my mother makes it.
You know what did I remember, we used to write essay in school ''What if your mother goes on strike?''. My mother didn't go on strike, but I realised that she is great  because, she manages house as well as her job. Hats off to her!
And one more thing, I realised what my hosteller friends must be thinking about their families, from what condition they must be going. I have sympathy for you my dear friends!! :)

Just think!!!

We all crack non-veg jokes, all of us talk non sense things. In teen-age all of us do that, and sometimes after that also we continue it. I think this is the age God has given you to do all these things!!! But, at the same time we should understand our limits. Many times we cross those limits. 

  Everyone talks about 'social networking site & it's role in our life'. On social networking sites such as Facebook we express our thoughts, our feelings and some other things. But, do we know our limits? 

  Yesterday, I was sitting in class (boring class). Ma'am was teaching some boring topics, in which I was not interested at all. One of my friends was doing something on his 'Blackberry' phone. After sometime he showed me his phone and he told me to read there. When I saw his mobile screen I smiled because it was 'Facebook'. Then he said."Sandesh, see what my friend has written on Facebook. Read his status." I said "okay" & I saw carefully. As soon as I read that status, I started laughing , because his friend had written "Just had 'sex', feeling awesome". That time I showed that status to my three four friends. It was 'a great joke' for me.

   But, when I was going home I was still thinking about it. Then I realized 'Facebook' has become our soul. We don't care what people will say. Can't we think something before updating our status? Do we understand what are we writing? Why do we do that? I am trying to search the answer of these questions. I think we should think twice or thrice before writing something in social networking site. Being a social animal we are supposed to follow certain norms. We should think about it...!!!

A Beggar teacher!!!

seriously I think we learn so many things on the road, but we never remember those things. Today, when I was coming back to home from college, I saw one interesting thing. I & my friend Sanket , we were going towards Charni Road station. Near Opera House theatre there was a lady sitting near the signal poll. She was around 50yrs. old. Since I wanted to go home I said bye to Sanket. But then he wanted to talk about project, so we were standing near that signal poll.

After sometimg we saw that lady, she was behaving like a 'mad' person. I think she had some mental disorders. We were busy in our conversation. After 5 minutes she started banging a white thing on the ground. I was trying to find out what she was banging; but I couldn't see what it was exactly. Then Sanket told me that it was "a mobile phone". I wanted to know which phone it was? So I went closer to that signal & I saw it was a brand new NOKIA phone. I told Sanket to take her video. But, people were walking and that lady was also staring at us. Then I told Sanket that '' let's go and tell her that, sell this phne you'll get money''. But when we saw her weird behaviour, we cancelled this idea. But still that lady was trying to open that phone & banging it.

I learnt one thing. It was a very precious thing for me and I take care of my phone. But it was just a common thing for her. She did know any importance of that precious phone. Now I will try to give respect to each and thing in my life. May be those things will be very precious and important for others...... :)

A beggar who taught me so many things..... Didn't she.........??? :)