Juhu Beach - Lost charm of India's most expensive village

I'm sure the title of this post will be a natural hit with some (if not most) of you, but let me admit, one month of stay at Mumbai convinces me that it is more of a village than a city.It was my first visit to Juhu Beach last weekend. For all good reasons I always liked a sea beach. Be it taking a walk along the sandy beaches or taking a dip in the sea, In either ways, I always had my share of fun. But let me tell you this, my experience with Juhu Beach was differentFor most of what I saw, I saw more plastic than people. As is true with any other popular beach, Juhu beach too is crowded with hawkers who sell the local grams, peanuts, kulfis, but then the place didn't have a single garbage bin. I understand not having a garbage bin in a local territory like Gopalpur where the govt. doesn't even recognize the need of installing one, but Mumbai! Isn't it supposed to be the commercial capital of India? It does make me question the callous municipal authorities who obviously are aware of the whole situation. I was amused to see two firangs sitting in a hotel private area next to the beach, with their legs soaked in water tubs. From where they sat, which was a slightly raised platform, all they could see was the sea.. no people and of course no plastic!As I strolled down the beach, I saw innumerable people playing cricket and soccer. Cricket is a religion in India, and forms so much a part and parcel of one's life that watching the uneven bounce of the tennis balls in the soggy sand beaches didn't surprise me much. But soccer! Was really heartening to see young and old local folks trying out a dribble or two. Much of this has to go to the just concluded Euro'08, but then playing soccer in beaches has its own charm. Seeing people coming to the soccer field dressed as Zidane and Messi, in Spanish and Brazilian uniforms in all shapes and sizes finally did bring a smile to my face... Afterall, you don't have to be a $100,0000 paid player to show your skills at a beach!

Blog? err... whatz that?

Yeah, right! Finally the terribly lackadaisical obstinate bum - Majumdar also starts ...blogging! Yeah, you heard it right BLOGGINGSo what got him really started on this?I guess working in a bank has its own share of plusses and minuses, actually more minuses than plusses if you are a fresh joinee, are new to the banking industry and do not have much work the initial days...I suppose not having much work is supposed to be good as you remain relatively free and relaxed... but then at some point, it'll hit on you with this "wtf! One more day of enuui and going to the loo 6 times of day!".. and then you start having these thoughts.. "I've heard the learning curve is this place is supposedly to be the highest, was this piece of info from an ill informed source(s)?", "Not working does mean a heavy blot on the resume isn't it? Now isn't that bad for me in the long run?" phew.. gimme a break.. thoughts have no boundaries and the sooner I stop thinking about them, the better it is.. think positive majumdar! Think +ve!Well, so what next? Browsing the internet for umpteen hours only to bump into the same sites again and again.. and yet again! For a change, I decided to go through the 'blogs' of some of my friends...Hmm... these guys do dish out some really good stuff... they have been blogging for some years now, and guess, at times just reading over their posts does enliven the nostalgia which had been captured in their posts.It doesn't need too much thinking to start writing .. does it? Maybe it does, as some bloggers would swear, but for a change let me not spend too much time wondering, but just start blogging.. am not sure how far I can go with this.. but again for a change let me keep you guys in the hunt for some soul-biryaani! :)As the Bhagawat Gita would rightly say " Involve thyself only in action without an eye for the fruits, nor with an eye towards inaction"...

Friedrichshafen, Germany Days 1-5

September 5th, 2007:

I had a real bad Fin. Der exam, by real bad.. I really mean "REALLY BAD" (mommy!).. after literally screwing all my end term examinations I was sorta put in a bad mood... but this feeling was ephemeral, coz I knew I'd a great experience coming up to greet me this winter :) coz I'm gonna go on exxxxchhhannge!

So, I pack my bags and set sail for Deutscheland... Lufthansa is a good airline, but the only thing that's not great is their airhostesses.. some of them were cool, but the rest reminded me of Indian Airlines, you know what I'm talking about.. the age old dadimaas.. but chuck that.. I started from Bangalore at 2:00 am IST and reached Frankfurt at 7:50 am GST (to be read: German standard time) My first step out of the airplane and Brrrrr.... woo this is cold! I quickly wrapped myself in a small jacket I was carrying.. yeah.. feels much better now.
Frankfurt AM is a HUGE airport, department stores, horizontal drills to facilitate walking, eating joints, central fast food corners.. wow.. this is awesome, not the types you get to see anywhere in India! Ofcourse I could spot many Indians trying to board the next flight to bangalore.. herez bye bye from my side to them! :)
I knew I'd to wait some 8 hours before my next flight to Friedrichshafen.. 8 hours, man this is going to be one long wait! Shopping doesn't interest me much, but I gotta say the shops here are God level! one look at them and you gotta buy something! so, I decided to try my hands at shopping, to put it more apropriately I wanted to spend some euros and get hold of some euro coins.. reason: I have to call Gary and inform him of my arrival!
Now, whoz Gary?
Dr. Gary Anderson is the international officer at ZU, he takes care of all incoming and outgoing students at ZU.. and moreover he is supposed to come own to the airport at friedeichshafen to pick me up.. so just incase he didn't turn up I would be like "AWwwwwwwwww"! So I'd to call him!
Locating a phone booth is one part of th excercise, trying to call from it is another!
I really had a tough time using the phones here, at one time I even took help from a german shopkeeper to help me out! and you know what, I spent some 3 euros for a phone call!
part 2 coming uo tomorow: