Today, in one of the leading cafes of South Bombay, a Jain guy was served a chicken roll instead of the paneer (cottage cheese) roll that he had ordered. Now, for those who don't know this, Jains are amongst the most strict Hindu sects -- they don't even eat onions. And this guy had about half the roll before he realized the mistake made by the cafe. After that, all hell broke loose. This guy was so totally distraught, and though I am a non-vegetarian myself I can well imagine his agony. This is totally unpardonable!!

How do I know this? I was sitting on the adjacent table and saw and heard it with my own eyes.

What is the name of the cafe? I don't want to tell. I know I am a journalist and am supposed to disseminate news like this, but I seriously don't want to be responsible for the stone throwing and violence that is sure to commence if this comes out. All I will say is that it was in the Colaba-Churchgate-Fort area. And no, it was not a Barista.

Cafe Moshe opens at Crossword on June 1, and I for one am seriously counting the days till then. There is no better way to spend a relaxing afternoon than to chill out with a book and a steaming cappuccino at Crossword. And if you have ever been to Moshe's Cuffe Parade restaurant, you will know that the food is just too scrumptious to pass up as well!! They plan on stocking light eats like sandwiches, salads, deserts etc. at this new place, and of course, the totally sinful and addictive chocolate fudge cookies that keep adding inches to my waist that no gym can take off :(

Its been just simply gorgeous weather in Bombay since yesterday. Its been pouring cats 'n dogs 'more, a full-fledged storm is in progress, the sea waters are incredibly choppy, there is no sun and visibility is down to a minimum - and I just love it!! I think Bombay is at its most beautiful in the monsoons. Even the hour-long city power blackout yesterday night was actually fun, because I just stood on the terrace and soaked in the cold rain and the stormy winds. Power blackouts are so rare in Bombay that even 15-minute incidents make the front page for days, so yesterday was BIG!!

Meanwhile, the prime ministerial storm continues unabated...my friend in Delhi tells me that the roads there are completely non-navigable because of all the political drama. Am I glad that I left that city when I did!

The Congress Drama continues...hours before she was to be sworn in, Sonia Gandhi has refused to become the prime minister of the country - ostensibly because she does not want the issue of her foreign origin to create problems for the party once it takes the power seat. Now the entire nation is poised on the edge of its seat to figure out who will be the new PM - Pranab Mukherjee or Manmohan Singh??

This, I must say, is a totally unexpected turn of events. After the bloodbath at the stock markets yesterday - where the Sensex fell by over 800 points for the first time in history - the sentiment against the Congress-led government was very, very strong.

The market collapsed because of large-scale pullouts by the FIIs, who are extremely skeptical about the economic policies of the new government. The Left has already gone to town saying that they will scrap disinvestment policies and want to reduce FII involvement in the Indian economy...and we saw the results yesterday. I believe private investors lost something like Rs. 300,000 crore in yesterday's crash and SEBI had to step in and get financial institutions to do some major buying activity to halt the slump.

Yesterday also was the first time that I thought BJP's Sushma Swaraj was being plain stupid...she made a statement saying that if Sonia Gandhi becomes PM, she is going to cut her hair, wear only white, sleep on the ground and eat only the food that is served when you are fasting. I have tremendous respect for Sushma Swaraj, and I have always thought that she would make the best PM out of all the current politicians, but I completely fail to understand the logic in this form of protest. This is just pure melodrama...totally unworthy of someone of Swaraj's stature!

And then there was the other faux pas of the day - this time from Amar Singh - who, when asked why he had not explicitly stated that he supports Sonia as PM in the letter expressing support for the Congress that he gave to the president yesterday, he just grinned and answered that he meant to put that in, but the typist must have forgotten to include it!!!!!!!!! And these are the people who are going to be running the country for us????????

'Phat Beats’ At Shooters

This Wednesday - May 19, 2004 - promises to be one heck of a night with the introduction of a brand new signature shot called the 'Bacardi Blowjob'. This shot will literally be 'blown' through a tube (open on both ends) to patrons by a sizzling Bacardi girl.

'Phat Beats' at Shooters, which is the first Hip Hop Night of the suburbs, features the ever-popular DJ Tushqa every Wednesday night. Typically these nights would start off with some soul R'n'B progressing into some slamming Rap and Hip Hop. DJ Tushqa will be playing tunes by artistes ranging from Eminem, Snoop and 50cent to the likes of Craig David, Beyonce Knowles and even Rishi Rich Project.

DJ Tushqa has performed at European clubs like Monkey Bar, Manray, Summer Terrace and Mondo and puts together a unique sound, always retaining one common thread – a funky, upbeat groove that will keep people coming back for more.

The hip hop trend in Mumbai City, is on the up and up, and is now recognized as the city's favorite kind of music to go out and shake-a-leg to. Sexy, infectious and full of attitude Wednesdays at Shooters promise to be totally rocking.

Sometimes its the really small things that someone does for you that are really important....buying someone 10 dozen roses or taking them out for a lavish dinner or even getting them the car of their dreams is easy enough in my dictionary -- all it needs is money. No! What matters to me is the guy who goes hunting for a shop that sells chocolates at midnight just because his girlfriend craves a chocolate, the guy who clambers under her bed despite every iota of his common sense telling him that her fear of finding scary monsters there is hysterically unfounded, the guy who offers to see a movie every single one of his friends says is a definite headache-inducer only because she has her heart set on it, the guy who remains resolutely sweet to her parents even when they are irritating him, the guy who chucks his pizza to take her friend's infant son to the hospital in the middle of the night without a single murmur.....that's the guy who is my ideal of the knight in shining armour. Thanks D, for being all this and so much more :)

There is a new boutique in Bandra's Almeida Park, called Barefoot. Went there a couple of days ago hunting for the funky bags they had showcased in this month's Elle, but frankly was not too impressed by their stuff. It was eclectic all right, but nothing new or innovative...good for time pass browsing but don't go expecting anything exclusive!

On the other hand, You at Kemps Corner, and Melange at Altamount Road, were full of some amazing stuff. You is a younger boutique with funky tops and skirts and some stunning silver jewellery and pretty decent purses. And Melange is just in another realm altogether. Gorgeous zardozi-embroidered saris and suits, stonework tops, clutch purses set in pure silver frames...and, surprisingly, the prices are not too extravagant. Yes, the stuff is expensive, but when you see the quality and exclusivity its all worth it. This is Indian designer wear at its sophisticated best!!

It's already happening -- the financial markets have hit a four-year low, the Left has made scrapping of the disinvestment policy a condition to their helping the Congress become the ruling party and Sonia Gandhi is preferring to talk to the Italian media rather than the Indian reporters....all in all, its a mammoth step backwards for India on all fronts!

As you can see, there are lots of changes on this blog...primarily because Blogger has added these really new features and templates!! Hope you like the new style!!

Have also added BloggerBot, which allows you to post pix on your blog with minimal fuss, so expect to see tons of interesting stuff out here. Coming up next are some rare old photos of Bombay from about a century ago...keep watching this space...

And btw, my b'day just went by, but if anybody wants to buy me that red VW Beetle as a gift, I welcome belated gifts with open arms :)

I WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is a sad day...India's General Election results are out and its clear that the new government will be formed by the Congress party. Pardon me for being fussy, but I think it will be for the first time in world history that a foreigner -- an Italian catholic in this case -- will become the Prime Minister of such a mammoth democracy! Forget us, even the Italians are surprised -- read this report where an Italian citizen has commented that they can't even imagine a foreigner becoming the leader of their country!! I guess either we Indians are really, really tolerant or just have no self respect whatsoever :(

The future looks rather bleak on all fronts -- will a Left aided government continue with the influx of foreign investment that is so crucial for a developing country like India? Will the peace initiatives with Pakistan sustain? Will corruption go up? Will the financial markets become unstable again? Will the country's hard-won stability of recent years collapse??????

Celebrate the choice of a woman with Oxford Bookstore

Oxford Bookstore, Mumbai, invites you to celebrate various aspects of being a woman on May 11, 2004. On offer are:

Discussion on Conception to Adoption: A Woman's Choice with Dr. Vijaya Manerikar - Psychologist and Ex-Director, JBIMS and Dr. Anita Sukhwani - Psychiatrist. The discussion is presented by the National Association for Mentally Ill (India) and will run from 7.30-9.30 pm.

Wednesday, May 12 for a discussion on
Discussion on Standpoint - A Woman's Choice of Career with Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal, playwright-director of the hugely successful play Vagina Monologues and Meher Moos, better known as the Marco Polo of India. The discussion is moderated by Dolly Thakore, renowned theatre actress, and will be held on May 12, from 7.30-9.30 pm.

Venue: Oxford Bookstore, Near K.C. College, Churchgate, Mumbai.

For further details contact: Meera/Bijal at 56364488/99 or on warrier@apeejaygroup.com

The final episode of Friends will air today evening in the US.........unfortunately, we in India are not going to be able to view it until it appears on DVD or VCD on the music store shelves, which does not seem at all likely in the near future :(

Will Rachel say, "I Do" in the finale? And more specifically, will she marry Ross, the father of her baby daughter? If anyone who sees the last episode is reading this post, pls tell us how it went!!

It is so hot and humid and LG has still not delivered my AC..................I swear, if it doen't rain today and make it cooler, I am going to jump out of the window!!!!

I started going back to the gym after 5 months today - burned up 125 calories on the elliptical machine and 6 calories on the rower before my energy gave out, and then I went to Churchill and rewarded myself with bruschetta and chicken pasta :)

SMSing from my 6610 is so much fun that I have now taken to sending people SMS instead of calling them just so I can use this feature :)

Went to Fabindia yesterday and bought loads n loads of really pretty kurtas. Day before I had picked up three new Irish linen tops at Cotton World. Today was the day for buying dupattas....I shudder to imagine what my credit card bills will be like this time, but I just love my purchases. Have indulged myself like this after a long time, and it feels soooooooo good!!

The next week is going to be crazy....have not worked for quite a while as I was not well, and now there are so many deadlines to complete. Plus, need to start putting in place the sponsorships and other logistics of the Indo-Pak Vintage & Modern Car Rally. Have also promised myself that I shall start going to the gym again from tomorrow.........why did God make only 24 hours in a day?

Kicked off my b'day celebrations at the Shamiana in Taj yesterday night at 12, and plan on continuing them throughout the day today. I plan on acting like the ultimate spoilt brat today and have everyone pamper and indulge me :)

My parents gifted me the Nokia 6610 and the phone is simply awesome!! Have downloaded tons of ringtones and wallpapers -- including that of the new VW Beetle, so I can look at it all the time and remind myself to work harder, earn pots of money and buy it very, very, very soon!! People aim for the Rolls or the Bentley, but for me the dream car has always been the Beetle!!!!

Speaking of hopes and dreams, birthdays are times to sort of sit down and figure out what you want out of life in the coming year....and its also the time to take things back in your own hands and make changes.....this year I want to do something new. I love my writing and journalism, but its just not intellectually stimulating enough any longer. I need to do something more now, something which challenges those gray cells a little more. Am thinking about going back to univ part time and do my MA in English Literature, and then fulfill my college-days dream by getting a PhD in the subject. I love studying Eng Lit, and I am sure that I would love being a part of it again. I know it wont be half as much fun as it was in LSR (Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi -- the place where I spent the best years of my life), but its at least better than nothing!

I also plan on devoting more time to my research firm -- Research for Creatives -- and bidding for a few movie contracts for the same. I would love to research a good movie or documentary -- maybe a historical......

I also vow to start going back to the gym and making better use of my treadmill at home, and get back into shape FAST!!

Chitra, I am really missing you today....can never forget all our mad birthday parties at Nirulas and CP.....celebrations are just not the same without you!! And Dipali, dying for you to get down to Bombay so we could go out and party -- do you realize that in all the years we have known each other, we have somehow just never celebrated a b'day together?

Have spent all day hunting down celebrity women from India's royal families for a new column, and I think I am going to hear the phone ringing even in my sleep now!! Seems that everyone is either at the Lakme India Fashion Week in Delhi, or vacationing in exotic countries abroad!!

I am slowly emerging out of hibernation now. The last couple of weeks were so unstable that I did not manage to get too much work (or anything else) done. So now there is this HUGE pile of deadlines that have to be finished off asap, and at least a 100 emails that need to be replied to. So if you have written to me and not heard back in a while, pls don't get mad at me. Will get back to you soon!

Also need to start going back to the gym now. Fell sick and lost 12 kgs and then ate like a glutton and put almost all of it back again :(