I distinctly remember my early student days when the only source of entertainment was movies. Television hadn’t evolved much but for Chitrahaar on Wednesdays and Hindi movie on Sunday evenings and that too with multiple breaks! Moreover, very few households had TV then and unless you had a rich and generous neighbor, even that option was a luxury!

Delhi Government (or was it Delhi administration? ) cut the entertainment tax  and the rates at one of my favourite cinemas “Sangam” (like most of the single screen theatres I think Sangam also could’nt survive and is either closed now or converted into a multiplex) were as under:

Front stall Rs 1.60

Middle stall Rs. 2.05

Rear stall Rs.2.90

Balcony Rs.3.20

There was another favourite “Chanakya” (God bless it; Mera Naam Joker was the first movie to be screened there and till it’s closure in mid 2000s it remained amongst the finest theatres in India with wide screen and stereophonic sound) that used to screen mainly English movies and had special rate for front stall that was Rs.0.65!

If every new movie released each week was to be watched and pocket money had serious limitations, the preference always was to pay the minimum possible for the ticket! While Rs2.05 slot was favourite at Sangam, Rs.0.65 was unbeatable because that left scope for a plate of Samosas! Rs.2.90 slot was pure luxury to be resorted to under extreme circumstances and balcony was strictly no- no!

Fast forwad this to today when circumstances have changed and I am a well paid senior executive with take home in 6 figures! Today also weekend shows of newly released blockbusters at PVR seem obscenely expensive and to indulge in any eatable there (that includes bottle of water) is unthinkable! Sometimes I try to overcome this fear by reassuring myself about my current status, but in the matters of luxury, you are rich only if you are born with a silver spoon in the mouth- otherwise your heart and mind are unconvinced about your newly acquired prosperity!

There’s lot of humour around marriage and especially the married man, who loses his bachelorhood for particularly nothing in return! Or at least that’s how it is made out to be! This is punjabi humour doing rounds in social media on the subject, which I have tried to translate for the enjoyment of those not familiar with punjabi. Of course, translation can never fully capture the real essence of the original language and I am no great translator either. But I still hope, you will enjoy this attempt of mine to capture rustic nuances of the original poetry.

What was the big deal in getting married?

Friends’ warning was exaggerated

I never felt burdened or harried!

i enjoy the very sight of my bride;

And agree totally by always being on her side!

Who doesn’t have to do household jobs?

Afterall these cannot be done by outside mobs!

While she is in her early morning sleep;

I give our love home a quick sweep.

And then wake her up with a cup of hot tea

To ensure she doesn’t have any other necessity!

And while she is busy with her morning hygiene ;

Time enough for me to prepare tasty cuisine.

Thats my tiffin and her lunch,

You will agree this is not doing too much!

I am happy to be back home in time for making the dinner;

Afterall she is tired by resting the whole day

And I don’t want her to slog now and become thinner!

Doing utensils is hardly a bother;

While she watches TV,

The task is quickly over!

And washing clothes is so easy

you just need to put them in machine,

For which one is never too busy!

And then it’s time to sleep;

She doesn’t expect much but for an oil massage and a bit of affection;

Hope now you believe that friends’ warning

was nothing but exaggeration!!!!!😀😀😀😀

For a Delhiite, one of the main attractions Bombay (that’s how aamchi Mumbai was then known as) offered was its swanky, glistening, shining red fleet of local buses run by Bombay Electric Supply & Transport (yes that’s what was the full form of BEST). This impression was immortalised in our minds by Bollywood movies and photos of Mumbai published in magazines and journals. In contrast, the fleet of Delhi buses (managed initially by DTU which became DTC) was rickety, inconsistent (changing colours from originally red to green to blue to what not), dangerous  and unreliable! We used to hear that this colour and the shine on Mumbai buses was on the lines of London’s local buses and that BEST had a bus washing plant at its Colaba depot, where buses got a thorough wash everyday morning before hitting the roads!

Then this Delhiite became a confirmed Mumbaikar availing of the local transport viz. suburban railway and BEST buses. While there was nothing much to complain about the efficiency of the local transport and discipline of the commuters, somehow that shine and polish of yore was amiss! Buses were still red and double deckers offered a glorious view of Arabian Sea while playing on iconic Marine Drive, the exteriors were dirty, soiled, dented and not maintained.

Day in day out, we hear about the losses being accumulated by BEST and especially its transport division. No amount of fare increase seems to be offering cure for mounting losses! On top of it we keep on hearing murmurs about the privatisation of BEST!

Do we maintain public property only if it makes money? Isn’t public transport of a mega city it’s lifeline requiring attention and care? Doesn’t it reflect the very ethos of the city the very identity? Like several other vanishing icons of this great city, will the London like, efficient, adorable, dependable, disciplined BEST will also be consigned to the annals of history becoming a topic of lore for the next generation?

There are rightists,

there are leftists,

there are centralists,

but where are the Indians?

When a baby to be cuddled is raped,

She is a Hindu or a Muslim first

rather than a victim of lust,

But where are the Indians?

Unemployment is a national problem,

Though Job seekers are casteists,

And Reservationists are Dalits,

But where are the Indians?

Kashmir, Naxalism and lawlessness are nothing new,

but certain terms being heard now were earlier heard by few,

Noisemakers are there all over,

But where are the Indians?

Scams, rapes, murders have taken morality to new low,

Nationalists, Honest people, simpletons seem to have taken a bow,

Rabble rousers seem to be the new citizens,

But where are the Indians?

But communities have always lived together in peace,

Krishna, Allah, Nanak & Jesus have held this nation in one piece,

the sagacity and sanity shall prevail once again here and there

And we shall see the Indians everywhere!!!!!P

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton