HAPPY DIWALI

HAPPY DIWALI to ya All.

Advait Weds Gargi - Toast

Addy and Gee,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Before I undertake the customary duty of giving Addy an uncomfortable few minutes it is part of the official duty of the best man to thank Addy on behalf of the bridesmaids, [all Gee’s pretty friends here who lit up the reception – Andy, Sumana, Louise and all the other names I can’t recollect] for having them play a part of this really special day. I have to say they all look wonderful and have done an excellent job. Indeed they are only eclipsed by Gee herself, who, I’m sure you’ll all agree looks absolutely stunning.

For those who do not know me, know this Addy has been one of the closest friends since we studied together. We did more than that actually. [Hold your horses, it ain’t what you thinking].

When Addy told me he proposed and Gee accepted, my first reaction was that of joy and happiness. Then reality struck me and struck me hard. It means Gee will now be sharing the bed with him and not me, and the house, TV, cupboard and my beloved microwave where we heated many a meal together.

Addy is one of those who is loved by both sexes - Men and women alike. He is adorable, seldom loses his temper, has a good sense of humor [in English, Hindi and Marathi], is very gentle and considerate and is a connoisseur of food. On the subject of food, it was there that Addy began a love affair which still lasts to this day. Hershs, Bandra. Age twenty two, we were ever so excited to make our first visit there and Addy had gone on and on about the place and how the burgers there were the real thing.

Some of you may be aware of his passion for cricket. What many of you don’t know is that his interest in the sport was borne during his time at school. Addy is a modest man - well, that’s what he has insisted I tell you - so his cricket achievements are little known. But I can reveal today that at school, Addy SCORED………… more runs than any other person in the entire cricket team - that was because he was always 12th man putting up the numbers the scoreboard at the pavilion. Jokes apart he is a very good cricketer with a good bowling action and a decent technique. With so many talents which girl wouldn’t be lucky to have him as a life partner?


As for the Gorgeous Gee, I haven’t known her as well as I have known Addy [and isn’t he glad about that], but let me quote what I told Addy the day he introduced me to her. “If she has a younger sister, I’d marry her right away.” To know how deep that compliment goes please know this has come from a guy who does not believe in marriage.

A few words of advice to Addy before I end this long speech,
1, never forget birthdays or anniversaries.
2 buy flowers regularly, but not too often, that it becomes suspicious.
3 keep telling Gee those three lovely important little words. “You’re right dear.”
And 4 and most importantly, make sure you get on with your new mother-in law.

I didn’t say a word to my girlfriend’s mother for nearly 8 months. It wasn’t that we didn’t get on. It’s just I thought it was rude to break her off whilst she talked. Luckily both the stars of today have been blessed with wonderful parents, I experienced Addys parents hospitality when I stayed with him for two months at his place in Mumbai, and Gee’s parents when I visited Cal. Man I am still craving those Rasgullas.

Let me then conclude - Addy you got lucky and make sure you continue to make her feel that way every single day.

Ladies and Gentlemen, To the Adorable Couple



The Toast I raised for Addy and Gee.

SALAAM MUMBAI

I usually do not watch Indian news channels as soon as I reach home from work but yesterday something prompted me too. I guess it probably was a desire to see if I could catch a few glimpses of the 20 -20 match highlights where Tendulakar, Afridi and Dhoni blasted away the bowlers. Well I did get to see blasts but of a different kind.

The immediate reaction was to call all family and friends in Bombay and it took a while before I got through. Addy I got through. Shweta, Varsha, Nakkay, Shinu I couldn’t get through. Ansha luckily stayed at home. Vinu was still at work. Nish, Abha I couldn’t contact. And I was wondering what must be going through everyone’s mind sitting out there in that cursed city. “Bombs” was the answer I came up with. There are bombs on everyone’s mind. Just waiting to explode.

I was sitting at home watching images that fill me with rage so furious that I could erupt in fumes any moment. And yet I felt so helpless. Other than the phone calls and prayers there was nothing much I could think of doing. Then I began calling everyone over here who I knew had relatives back home and then more panic began to set in. What if someone over here lost his near and dear ones?

And then I think that such acts not only bring people together but links nations. Gives them something in common to combat against. Acts of terror. I was trying to figure out the significance of 7/11 and I could not come up with any. Maybe someone could enlighten me on the same.

But what fills me with awe is that tomorrow all of you guys will be back at work. Talk about it a little and carry on with business as usual. The resilience that the city has is mind blowing [if I may use that term]. Hats off to you guys! I would have simply rebelled.


Melwyn Abraham to folks in Mumbai post 7/11

Let’s Blame the Government

Let’s Blame the Government

That seems to be mantra of the moment. So what has been your contribution to the city? Besides leaving heaps of garbage around. Think. How many times have you chided people for throwing stuff around the city, be it your friends or family? How many times have you littered the place? Is your society clean? If not who is to blame? The government?

Mumbai is filthy because the people make it filthy. If they were disciplined this would not have been the case. How many rules do you break? Have you ever bothered cleaning up your own city? It’s not your duty right? Okay I agreed that the guys atop are not perfect, in fact far from it. But then again neither are we. When have you raised your voice against what your fellow citizens did? It’s easy to sit and blame the government every time something goes wrong. But in reality you are living with the bomb ticking every day. It is bound to explode at some point or the other. The filth. The hustle. The thieving. The pushing. The lack of discipline. The pickpockets. The rapists. The people who take bribes. The people who give bribes. Who are they? Aliens from out of space?

They have grown in this very society. And yes we ourselves are to blame. Because we have a “chalta hain” attitude. We could have disrupted proceeding for a day after the blasts and said I will not tolerate this anymore. Resolve this for me. But then you did go back to work right. Were you willing to take initiative and lead a revolution? No. That is someone else’s job. Well who the hell wants to lose a days salary for the sake of the others? It’s not that we do not have a choice. We do have a choice. It’s just that its an expensive one.

And this is just not Mumbai. It’s about India . Its about each and everyone of us. I do not say that the government did their job. They failed. And so did we. I hold nothing against my fellow Indians. Just wanted to express my thoughts that we are the government. Not just a bunch of people elected. Lets all do our bit. Stop and take a moment to look around. Can you spare time on holidays to organize cleanliness drives? Is there anything you can do to make the city better? Then do it.

I am sure to receive a backlash for this. But then that’s all that I will receive. Words and mails. No concrete actions.


Melwyn Abraham to friends back home after the Mumbai blasts in July 2006

I Had a Dream

[After I spoke up for what I believed in]

I had this dream.

I was in the chair. And all of you had come to attend. Crimes against society! And it felt so real. I couldn’t see you. Because the glass was one way. But all of you could see me. But I could know everyone was there. I could sense their presence. Mom, dad, siblings, aunts’ n uncles, friends and relatives alike. And there was a plethora of emotions that filled the room. There was hatred. There was grief. Happiness. It was all there. Relief.

I think i got cold feet. I wanted 2 wiggle out. My courage failed me. My body didn’t want to die. My principles were weakening. And yet there was nothing I could do but sit and wait till they gassed my ass to the maker.

I could see despair and hurt on my parents. Disappointment more like it. Regret also perhaps. And somehow I felt thank God I didn’t talk to them after what I last did. At least they didn’t get an opportunity to shout at me and tell me how much they regretted having given birth to me. I still had a happy place with them. The last memory wasn’t that bad with them. And I could feel all my siblings. It’s as thought they could feel what I was going thru. My four best friends were present. Lending support to the five siblings. Saddy, Mitu, Chicks, Nandu. Brave faces.

Also present were those who felt I had wronged them. I could see smiles. Jeers. People who thought I was insane. Alien. Longed 2 see me go. Somehow I felt nothing for them.

I finally went. Without much hoo haa. It was quick. And I tried to see if my soul could see you guys. But it couldn’t. All those talks about you leaving your body and seeing the world, Was all wrong. Anyways, it felt so real. But I was happy that I finally went. I think looking at all the people gathered there it was better that I went than stayed. I felt bad for my parents though. I had tagged them for the rest of their life as " the parents of the guy who spoke up and all...".

And that’s how it ended. And I fell into a sleep that I didn’t want to wake up from. I was hoping that when I awoke I would be elsewhere. But it was the same old room and the same old alarm. Had to get to work.....


Melwyn Abraham to the family in August 2006

Anti - Condition Yourself

Yeah Yeah,

You see both sides of the coin. And all that jazz. Good. Even I do. I understand both sides. Does not mean I have 2 accept it. Sometimes you have to go to hell to fight for a heavenly cause. To fight for the right to be allowed to decide what’s wrong and what’s right.

The world will be better by this that one man scorned and covered with scars, strove till his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable star. It’s what I fight for the right to freedom to dream my own dream. I don’t want someone else to tell me what to dream. The perfect dream is always readymade for us. Its already been decided. I don’t want that dream.

It’s like that scenery painting we did in school where scenery meant mountains, house, tree and waterfall. That isn’t my scenery. The maximum scope I was allowed in that was to choose between having pointed mountains or curvy ones. That’s not freedom. That’s not how I perceive scenery. That’s what we take away from children. The freedom of thought. We put blinkers and you have been born and brought up with the same thought. That’s all that is right. Scenery cannot be something g that not visually beautiful. It has to be perfect. WHITE. If it’s not white it’s BLACK.

We are born into slavery. You and me both. It’s like those ants you see on discovery. You know these big giant ants capture the colonies of the others and kill the living and carry away the larvae. Then the larvae are born into slave ants. And they do not know they do not actually belong there. They think it’s the way of life and happily engage in becoming slave ants. And that’s what they do till they die. That’s us. Just that I refuse to be a slave. I know there is more to me than what the colony says. I know I will be shot down trying to escape. But I will keep trying till my last breath. To go beyond what is visible. We are all servants. The question is not about whether to serve or not it’s about whom to serve and I will serve my consciousness.

Like Truman did in the Truman show. Everything around is so fake and controlled. I know there is a world beyond this. Like what Frisco tells his sweetheart in atlas shrugged. And that’s what I pursue. Utopia isn’t it?

And I know if only I’ll b true to this glorious quest then my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I am laid to rest.

Melwyn Abraham venting out at a friend

Movie Review: Max Payne and Eagle Eye

Max Payne much like its name is an absolute pain to watch. Mark Wahlberg is good in the movie but the plot is absolute crap and some of the scenes make no sense and some characters simply die off after being built up well. I hope the video game is better than the movie. [4/10]

Eagle Eye was very disappointing because it is nothing more than a remake of I-robot minus the robots. I actually fell asleep during the first 10 minutes or so and had to struggle to keep myself awake. How on earth did Mr. Spielberg get involved with this movie. [4.5/10]

Dubai's Best Food

Being a total foodie, I am always on the lookout for places with great ambiance, super food and good service. I found one place that has all the necessary ingredients and is one of the best restaurants that you will ever go to in your lifetime.

Zen is the name. The setting is beautiful and I just wish that I knew more women who I could take out for a date to Zen. You can place your order and whisk your date off for a boat ride and whisper sweet nothing into her ear. It’s a family place too, simply carry along Pictionary or Taboo and you have the privacy to play the games and make as much as noise as you wish.

But the seller for Zen is the food. It’s simply amazing, and it’s not just an off the menu kind of place. Nicky [he owns the place and is a total sweetheart] will come personally and suggest, and take down your choice and make it to suit your taste. I can go on and on but you got to experience it yourself to know what I am talking about. He has won the second place at the Thai food festival if I am correct but do not go by that, simply visit Zen.

Nickys Birthday Gift

I had dinner on the house - thanks to Nicky who also prepared my food himself.
THANKS NICKY

Taxis in Dubai and Sharjah

My brother being the good one in the family never swears abuses or uses foul language. I just figured a way to make him do so – make him wait for a cab in either Dubai or Sharjah. The expletives that leave your mouth are many a time well deserved.

The usual wait for a cab is on an average an hour to an hour and a half. During that wait you are likely to encounter empty taxis that do not stop because they do not like the look of your face or your posture, taxis that stop but refuse to take you to the destination that you want to go to and others that just go past you as if you did not exist.

The other day I waited for over an hour for a taxi from Sharjah to Dubai. Nine empty taxis zoomed past me but did not stop. Three taxis stopped but the moment I told them I want to go to Dubai, he looks at me as though I was from out of space and repeats “Dubai?” “Yes Dubai,” said I. he just nodded his head as though it were impossible to go there because the economy is doing so badly and if his cab sets wheel on the ground in Dubai, the rate of the dollar will drop even more and we shall be facing the great depression before one can shout George Bush. So I asked him, “Singapore or perhaps Hong Kong?” I was so infuriated that I was thinking to myself if I ever find a man lying injured on the road and I go to help him and he turns out to be a cab driver from Dubai or Sharjah, I shall leave him unattended. That is how pissed off I was.

I finally managed to get one and we are on our way to Dubai and he starts taking all these weird routes and I ask him why and he says that it’s shorter. Needless to say we got stuck up in really bad traffic and I let out some more expletives to calm myself. So he then asks me if he should take the Salik [toll] route and I nodded in the affirmative. As soon as we passed the toll bridge he informs me that I have to pay him AED 8 for toll and I ask him why since the toll is only AED 4. Very coolly without any hesitation he says’ return toll’.
“What on earth is that” I asked him. He tell me that he does not know any other way to go home but the same route so he has to pass the toll bridge and that will cost me AED 4. “And how is that my problem I ask him?” He nonchalantly mentions that all the other customers give him the 4 bucks. I was so irritated by then I told him if he wants I will give him the fare of the next person he takes as well if he will just keep his mouth shut and take me home. I did pay him the 4 extra bucks and I knew it was no point in calling the Sharjah taxi number to complain.

I usually have to wait for an hour or two to get a cab from work to home and I do not expect the situation to change at all. If I happen to work three extra hours at work I manage to get a cab fairly easier and on one such day I did get a cab around 22.00. we had a very interesting conversation. The cab driver tells me of the girl he just dropped before me and how she got into the cab and started talking into her expensive mobile to her friend how she had got a job in the bank and would be earning a salary of 25000. after he dropped her, the fare was about 27.50 and she gave him 30. He returned AED 1 and she kept standing there waiting for him to return the remaining change. And he was so agitated that he gave her the change back. And the man was furious and told me, “See how these women are? They have 25000 dirham salaries and yet they expect the change back.” I had to control my laughter and my urge to debate with him. I face drivers like him often who just assume that they do not have to give you back the change because you have dressed well so obviously you have no need for the change. In fact they probably think that they are doing you a favor because if you had kept the change in your pocket it would cause a jingling sound and what kind of a ‘rich’ person carries coins with him.

The situation is very frustrating and it kills the productivity of the people big time because by the time I have reached work I am so infuriated that I am tempted to take out my frustration on the others as I am in a foul mood.

Wake up officials. Dubai is a wonderful place to live in but with this kind of a public transport system you are not doing yourself any favors in endearing yourself to the people who live and work here or who come visiting.

Euro Trip - Day 2

Oct 2. Paris

Happy birthday Gandhiji

A lazy morning saw me get up past eight and Bijo and Karine were off to work by then and the kids to school. Bijo lent me his magic blue book of Paris and I devoured the breakfast that Karine had left me. The metro system was amazing and it so easy to figure your way with a map in hand that is available so easily and people seemed friendly especially since I always asked, “Bonjour! Parlez vous anglais?[Meaning do you speak English or at least I hope that’s what it means]”. It’s good to buy a day pass or a pass for the number of days you are going to be in Paris because you are very likely to use the public transport a lot.

The people are usually very well dressed in Paris and it’s not just about wearing expensive clothes but they have a good fashion sense. That means knowing color combinations, styles, hairdos, shoes, importance of accessories etc. I spent loads of time on the metro staring at the local citizens with my mouth wide open. First stop Arc de Triomphe. I took many pictures and saw loads of Japanese tourists who took many snaps too but they always ensured that they were there in the snaps too. I personally must have taken over 10 pictures for them, cute couples, single smiling guys, and old people in groups. It’s very typical Japanese [at least from whatever little I know of them] to take snaps of themselves every place they visit.

From Arc de Triomphe you take a look down Champs Elysees and you know exactly in which direction you need to be headed. One of the first things you will notice is that there is a McDonalds that is full and overflowing. So I was like wow ‘familiar food’ and to my horror the only veg thing you can have is French fries. Cheeseburger is beef. You do not have to actually say French fries in Paris; you say fries and it is understood that it’s French. I guess the same goes for toast and beans as well. Anyways, so loaded with my fries, and a hair band that made me look very bad I began my walk down the Champs Elysees. Brands, brands and more brands is what you see and if you have lived in Dubai in 2008 you know all of them. So the walk was a brisk one and soon I was past the Champs Elysee.

From there on, on both sides of the road was the exhibition of the French Air Force celebrating 50 years I guess. Falcons, missiles, helicopters, engines, small planes, big planes, weird planes, landing gear, rear end of planes and the likes was on exhibit. And the place was heavily guarded as well with armed personnel who did not allow you to get too close to the exhibits. But it was an amazing display of the development of the armed forces over the years and you could actually see how technology has progressed over the years especially in the field of figuring out how to end human life.

More of day 2 later on…

Euro Trip - Day 1

Paris, Oct 1st.

It was a 7 hour flight from Dubai to Paris on Qatar Airways and I almost wished that it did not come to an end. The in-flight entertainment was superb and the service was good. No adventure getting to Paris. There were two hot European girls in my row but unfortunately they were not seated next to me. Just my luck. But anyway, with the movies and TV series that I had at my disposal it was very unlikely I would give them too much of eye time.

Landed at Paris airport and boy that was a shocker. After being at the Dubai airport I kinda expected this one to be all glorious but it was a big let down. I guess renovation work was underway but I was not prepared for the gloomy look and decade old baggage systems. It took me over an hour before the luggage did arrive and by that time the cold had gotten to me and so I had to make a trip to the john. And that’s when I realized how difficult things would be in Europe. The loos are not equipped with water sprays and you have to make do with toilet paper.

The only consolation was that since I was not going to be consuming spicy Indian curry that prevents the use of toilet paper which is likely to catch fire and necessitates the use of water, the European food may just be the change that I needed. Out of the airport and straight to Bijo’s [my cousin / uncle] [he is actually my uncle but because he is almost my age it’s easier referring to him as a cousin] place for day one of Paris.

Did not have much trouble reaching there, in fact I reached there early and walked about the place familiarizing myself with the key landmarks and grocery stores and pharmacies just in case I needed them. I then met Karine [she is French by birth and Indian by hospitality – if that makes any sense] my sister in law for the first time as well as Lavanya and Nalaini, two angelic looking kids before I was left in charge of them till Bijo returned from work. Bijo walked in a few moments later and gave me a big hug but only after entering the house shouting I have hired a Dubai nanny.

After a good dinner and enquiring about how to move about in Paris I hit the sack and was looking forward to my next day in Paris. I was given the kids room and it was so much fun to sleep on the bunk bed [I have never had one at home] and I really wished I would have had one of these growing up but then Nelson and me would have constantly fought over who gets to sleep on the balcony bed.