Sunday, October 21, 2007
VEER KAVI AND WARRIOR COELHO,,,,,,,,,,,
VEER KAVI AND WARRIOR COELHO-------NO CONFUSION ,GREATCOMBINATION... August 24th is the birthday of Paulo Coelho---warrior of light as he likes to call himself,one of the most popular and widely read author of today's time.His work on poetry,music,literature has been translated into 71 languages worldwide [5 languages in India itself]and he is considered one of the most influential writer of today's times.Original works of his Brazilian literature has gone on to top worldwide bestselling charts.He is looked upon as a social reformist and an ambassador of humane acts.His books are one on the highest demands at THE NARMAD LIBRARY in Surat for voracious reader who love to read his prolific work........................... 24th of August is also the birthday of Veer Kavi Narmad ,born in Surat, Gujarat,INDIA in 1833. A social reformist ,he drew people from darkness to light ,worked towards giving women a better stature in society ,boldly spoke against child marriage and supported widow remarriage .He was a poet ,who pioneered autobiography, dictionary, folk literature ,poetics and historical plays. He proposed Hindi as a national language five decades before Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote for the newspaper'Dandiyo' that he started. A crusader of social reforms and an icon of change ,he was proud of his motherland and sang about its glory. He worked towards enriching his motherland and her natives for a better tommorrow.In the toughest of circumstances in the dark ages,he showed the right light through knowledge and awareness .Remembered today by various books that he wrote ,he has been honoured by the town by naming a university and a public library after this great soul .Unfortunately though,they have not been translated yet, due to which the readers of his work are limited and awareness about his fine literature is dying a slow death.In the very own confines of the library named after him,there are but few takers of his great work.Veer Kavi Narmad would be very proud to see his Surat today,it is the modern and educated,aware city that he had dreamed and propogated for.Renovating his heritage home in Amliran sheri,Gopipura is not tribute enough by us citizens,like the great poet would have said'YAHOM KARINE PADO,FATEH CHE AAGE'.Let us take action right now to make an effort for the works of this great artist to be known by our entire generation.To make ourselves proud of the invaluable heritage of original literature from our son of the soil.He who sang praises of his land'JAI JAI GARVI GUJARAT'is the GAURAV of GUJARAT himself. let us join hands to immortalize his thoughts ,words and deeds by making him more accessible to our youth,come, let us translate his wealth of words that his own people can gain knowledge from.A true tribute to a visionary ahead of his times- he would have definitely wanted to move ahead with the changing times like he always did,for the benefit of society.24 august,the birthday of two artists ,both having great passion for their respective countries and culture, for their work,in their message to the people. I hope every generation awakens to such brilliant ,brave men. Two of a kind from so far apart and yet so close ................It will be a pleasure to celebrate the birth of these two fine humans on the same day.Let us immortalize our own VEER KAVI in our minds and hearts forever.
BEAUTY FOOL
BINGE BIG BUCKS , BECOME BEAUTY FOOL------The happiest smile that I see my house- maid wear is when she goes for her monthly shopping trip to Chautapul –the old city market which for long has been the Mecca of fashion to provide knick knacks for all the’ sundaris of the surti sheris’.It is a place that offers her an innumerable choice of stuff that makes her look pretty. Of late, she has been tempted into buying saris and artificial mangalsutras,’ just like’ Komalika and Parvati!’. Love it or hate it, Indian soap addiction is here to stay. I wouldn’t be surprised if television’s queen bee Ekta kapoor launches an entire new range of products called ‘Tulsi Talcum’,Kasturi Kum Kum,Prerna Powder,KKKKKajal,etc. they would definitely find instant success in the by lanes of the ‘bai market. After all, beauty is big business.
Makes me realize, beauty is also big business in sub urban Surat .Here the loaded folk from Dumas,Citylight, Adajan and Nanpura spend moolah by visiting the beauty saloon for a facial that promises to have chocolate, gold, silver and diamond dust [maybe they use chawanprash-thoda khao, thoda lagao] both husband and wife can have endless services rendered to give them more confidence about the way they look. Amongst the plush interiors of the newly sprung up nineteen to the dozen parlors from Parle Point to Parvat Patia, one can share gossip and the latest fad getting one’s body polished in hope of turning into a new improved version of one’s former self. The deeper your pocket, the better our service’ is the new parlor motto. Pity though, that the results hardly ever show a difference from your previous photos. Beauty bills run into thousands whilst Surat vaasis lap up all new products available on the market brand wagon.
Immensely popular in the swish set elite of Surat these days are ‘beauty clinics’ that promise to manually and scientifically install or remove what God had not provided to you i.e. Smooth skin, hairy pates and tummy tucks are all made possible if you are willing to spend the bucks. The ‘beauty quacks ‘will help thou flaunt whichever part of thy body you want. Zap unwanted hair, make your skin fair, and create a beauty spot that wasn’t there! But, my dear, do take care. Trouble is treatments that go on forever and yet no changes are visible on God’s original endeavor.
Finally methinks, it’s the inner beauty of a woman\man that’s the name of the game coz my maids ‘post shopping glow’ can put the best facial to shame After all, she is the only one who can say the word ‘beautiphool ‘correctly..
Makes me realize, beauty is also big business in sub urban Surat .Here the loaded folk from Dumas,Citylight, Adajan and Nanpura spend moolah by visiting the beauty saloon for a facial that promises to have chocolate, gold, silver and diamond dust [maybe they use chawanprash-thoda khao, thoda lagao] both husband and wife can have endless services rendered to give them more confidence about the way they look. Amongst the plush interiors of the newly sprung up nineteen to the dozen parlors from Parle Point to Parvat Patia, one can share gossip and the latest fad getting one’s body polished in hope of turning into a new improved version of one’s former self. The deeper your pocket, the better our service’ is the new parlor motto. Pity though, that the results hardly ever show a difference from your previous photos. Beauty bills run into thousands whilst Surat vaasis lap up all new products available on the market brand wagon.
Immensely popular in the swish set elite of Surat these days are ‘beauty clinics’ that promise to manually and scientifically install or remove what God had not provided to you i.e. Smooth skin, hairy pates and tummy tucks are all made possible if you are willing to spend the bucks. The ‘beauty quacks ‘will help thou flaunt whichever part of thy body you want. Zap unwanted hair, make your skin fair, and create a beauty spot that wasn’t there! But, my dear, do take care. Trouble is treatments that go on forever and yet no changes are visible on God’s original endeavor.
Finally methinks, it’s the inner beauty of a woman\man that’s the name of the game coz my maids ‘post shopping glow’ can put the best facial to shame After all, she is the only one who can say the word ‘beautiphool ‘correctly..
BABA?.........DARR, SHUN!……………
BABA?.........DARR, SHUN!……………
No, this is not in reference to our dearest sanju baba who was behind bars for his jawaani ka jurm.I talk about the new trend of our generation –baba bhakti.
Ever since the eternal shri Sai Baba became the favorite lord of us mortal beings, innumerable wannabe gurus started to work towards trying to turn themselves into spiritual leaders. Sai Baba miraculously cured and cared for his bhakts where as our so called baba bhais are looking out for people who can take care of their needs and cure their problems. While Shri Sai Baba is, was and will always remain the people’s Baba.Today’s so called ‘gurus’ want their followers to be the baba’s people.
As I waited exasperated at the signal of ring road, with its never ending traffic flow, I was deafened by the loud- speaker gibberish of a cracked up voice shouting something that ended with,’ baba ki jai!’ Oh look!’ said my aunt whom I was driving to the railway station’, there goes the procession of great shri [why twice I wonder?]guruji.’upon turning my face towards the by- lane from which the crackling sound traveled out, I was amazed to see the entire street jam packed with baba bhakts trying to push, stamp and shove their way to have a glimpse of him who sat looking extremely pleased ,alighted on a throne in the flower laden truck. He was throwing out packets of some stuff to the public, enjoying the attention as his truck waded through the sea of frenzied followers. He did not appear divine, nor sadly pleased [like all our gods do]’He is very popular ‘, continued my aunt,’ all the NRI’S also follow his pravachans.He is very pious, does not allow women to touch his feet even. ‘Angered at the last comment and the fact that my signal was still red, I silently let out expletives in my mind that would cause the bhakts to think sacrilege! After finally seeing my aunt off, I carefully took the long route home to avoid the on –going tamasha on the jai ho! route.
I wondered how important the episode of a chance baba darshan would have meant to his fans .Got me thinking to what it is that makes for such ardent following.
While our gods had to perform miracles, rise above the ordinary and elevate the level of health, wealth and happiness of an entire ‘yug’,today’s so called saints just need the gift of gab to have a supreme effect on the living on a prayer crowd. If you listen carefully the pravachans are about everything you already know in your religion. nothing they say is new other than the way they say it .our glowing with good health babas and ma’s do not have a halo, its just the right diet of ghee, fruits and no gello.our stress ridden lives leaves us looking for ‘the one ‘who will make us feel less guilty of our deeds if we are able to provide the baba’s needs. They show us a short cut to spirituality. Listening to this clan is possible with electronic media; c.d. and seminars etc.modern babas have great marketing strategies to procure fame and following. as is the case in fund- raising business,baba products are also offered[some along with free side effects such as dysentery and lead poisoning] Babas are more popular than self help books because they say what we want to hear but do not adhere to. On more occasions than less of late, the baba turns out to be the head of a sex racket, money scam or a murderer leaving the bhakt to crawl to another baba lest he loses his religion. Eloquent orators do not make gods because all they do is give you the message of God. They are a medium, follow the thought they speak of, not them. Worship the work they talk about, not them. We have enough gods, saints and holy spirits who have left us with more teachings about good and godly things that we can follow for a million lifetimes. We do not need another God.
Be your own guru aur ho jaa shuru, start God’s work today.
No, this is not in reference to our dearest sanju baba who was behind bars for his jawaani ka jurm.I talk about the new trend of our generation –baba bhakti.
Ever since the eternal shri Sai Baba became the favorite lord of us mortal beings, innumerable wannabe gurus started to work towards trying to turn themselves into spiritual leaders. Sai Baba miraculously cured and cared for his bhakts where as our so called baba bhais are looking out for people who can take care of their needs and cure their problems. While Shri Sai Baba is, was and will always remain the people’s Baba.Today’s so called ‘gurus’ want their followers to be the baba’s people.
As I waited exasperated at the signal of ring road, with its never ending traffic flow, I was deafened by the loud- speaker gibberish of a cracked up voice shouting something that ended with,’ baba ki jai!’ Oh look!’ said my aunt whom I was driving to the railway station’, there goes the procession of great shri [why twice I wonder?]guruji.’upon turning my face towards the by- lane from which the crackling sound traveled out, I was amazed to see the entire street jam packed with baba bhakts trying to push, stamp and shove their way to have a glimpse of him who sat looking extremely pleased ,alighted on a throne in the flower laden truck. He was throwing out packets of some stuff to the public, enjoying the attention as his truck waded through the sea of frenzied followers. He did not appear divine, nor sadly pleased [like all our gods do]’He is very popular ‘, continued my aunt,’ all the NRI’S also follow his pravachans.He is very pious, does not allow women to touch his feet even. ‘Angered at the last comment and the fact that my signal was still red, I silently let out expletives in my mind that would cause the bhakts to think sacrilege! After finally seeing my aunt off, I carefully took the long route home to avoid the on –going tamasha on the jai ho! route.
I wondered how important the episode of a chance baba darshan would have meant to his fans .Got me thinking to what it is that makes for such ardent following.
While our gods had to perform miracles, rise above the ordinary and elevate the level of health, wealth and happiness of an entire ‘yug’,today’s so called saints just need the gift of gab to have a supreme effect on the living on a prayer crowd. If you listen carefully the pravachans are about everything you already know in your religion. nothing they say is new other than the way they say it .our glowing with good health babas and ma’s do not have a halo, its just the right diet of ghee, fruits and no gello.our stress ridden lives leaves us looking for ‘the one ‘who will make us feel less guilty of our deeds if we are able to provide the baba’s needs. They show us a short cut to spirituality. Listening to this clan is possible with electronic media; c.d. and seminars etc.modern babas have great marketing strategies to procure fame and following. as is the case in fund- raising business,baba products are also offered[some along with free side effects such as dysentery and lead poisoning] Babas are more popular than self help books because they say what we want to hear but do not adhere to. On more occasions than less of late, the baba turns out to be the head of a sex racket, money scam or a murderer leaving the bhakt to crawl to another baba lest he loses his religion. Eloquent orators do not make gods because all they do is give you the message of God. They are a medium, follow the thought they speak of, not them. Worship the work they talk about, not them. We have enough gods, saints and holy spirits who have left us with more teachings about good and godly things that we can follow for a million lifetimes. We do not need another God.
Be your own guru aur ho jaa shuru, start God’s work today.
RADIO GAA GAA……FM FEVER IS HERE TO SWAY………
RADIO GAA GAA……FM FEVER IS HERE TO SWAY………
It’s finally here! The Radio Revolution that we Surtis have been making noise about. We now have our own for apnu Surat.No more need we be dependent on the Mumbai/Ahmedabad folks and their jokes…… BIG927, MIRCHI and MYFM are here to please us. Hopefully, this means that we will be able to listen to format especially created for people of Tapi- town. Even though commuting in Surat takes only a max.time period of 30mins to go from any point A to B, we have faithful radio listeners in our busy sabzi and paanwallahs, over worked diamond polishers, trendy college kids with fancy mobile phones, bored housewives who have had enough of saas bahus and of course commuters by cars and autos who need not worry if their c.d.players have gone for a six. There is something for everyone as all the frequencies have a different age group on target, be it from varachha, to ved road, katargaam to, khatkiwaad or lalgate to majuragate.So you can ‘suno sunao,life banao’ and be ‘always khush ‘with filmy songs,bhajans, cricket remixed [20-twenty] scores and town tattle.’ Move over Parvati and Mr.Walia, here come Vidya Belan and Raj a.k.a Munna.
The radio bandwagon is all set to woo us surtis by giving away freebies in forms of coupons for coffee and dinners, tickets to movies and other knick knacks as they offer easy to answer questions and options. Describing Surat as khubsurat and a land of fine dining,’ ‘leheri lalas’ and patang manja, they talk about the town nukkads in a nutshell. Popular film characters are impersonated to make the lingo more entertaining. Personal problems –a la’ Sleepless in Seattle’ are aired to get surtis to participate in phone-in/sms advice .Even though some of the RJ.’s[radio jockeys] sound ahmedabadi, the script given to them is surti so they should be able to catch up given some time. Thus with the onset of the festive season, life should be all song and dance on the FM scenario.
In Swarn Surat, as it is called, we have always been surrounded by loud sound, whether its from gramophones on special occasions, cars reversing with harsh tunes above the allowed decibel sound wave, surtis fighting away in their famous profanity or pandals put up for navratri/ganeshutsav etc.Now with the advent of the local FM options, there will certainly be more singing in the surat terrain. Huge hoardings and colourful umbrellas announcing the FM channels are sprouting around town and in your face lest you forget to tune in. Here is your chance then surti, to put your feet up[tap to tune] and participate in the trend of your town, vote for your choice, get entertained, gain freebies, make your voice heard all within the comfort of your home. Radio is ‘BIG ‘news and is here to make us surtis sway……..so gaa gaa dear surti and swing away because FM fever is here to stay.Top5 things you most definitely will and won’t hear on surti radio…………….
WILL WON’T
1. Cookery recipes. 1. Cocktail recipes
2. Cricket tosses 2. Modi’s losses
3. Love stories 3. Financial worries.
4. Rakhi Sawant Item numbers. 4. Santana and Diana Krall’s wonders.
5. Hot and happening surti news. 5. Aamchi maati, aamchey manas.
It’s finally here! The Radio Revolution that we Surtis have been making noise about. We now have our own for apnu Surat.No more need we be dependent on the Mumbai/Ahmedabad folks and their jokes…… BIG927, MIRCHI and MYFM are here to please us. Hopefully, this means that we will be able to listen to format especially created for people of Tapi- town. Even though commuting in Surat takes only a max.time period of 30mins to go from any point A to B, we have faithful radio listeners in our busy sabzi and paanwallahs, over worked diamond polishers, trendy college kids with fancy mobile phones, bored housewives who have had enough of saas bahus and of course commuters by cars and autos who need not worry if their c.d.players have gone for a six. There is something for everyone as all the frequencies have a different age group on target, be it from varachha, to ved road, katargaam to, khatkiwaad or lalgate to majuragate.So you can ‘suno sunao,life banao’ and be ‘always khush ‘with filmy songs,bhajans, cricket remixed [20-twenty] scores and town tattle.’ Move over Parvati and Mr.Walia, here come Vidya Belan and Raj a.k.a Munna.
The radio bandwagon is all set to woo us surtis by giving away freebies in forms of coupons for coffee and dinners, tickets to movies and other knick knacks as they offer easy to answer questions and options. Describing Surat as khubsurat and a land of fine dining,’ ‘leheri lalas’ and patang manja, they talk about the town nukkads in a nutshell. Popular film characters are impersonated to make the lingo more entertaining. Personal problems –a la’ Sleepless in Seattle’ are aired to get surtis to participate in phone-in/sms advice .Even though some of the RJ.’s[radio jockeys] sound ahmedabadi, the script given to them is surti so they should be able to catch up given some time. Thus with the onset of the festive season, life should be all song and dance on the FM scenario.
In Swarn Surat, as it is called, we have always been surrounded by loud sound, whether its from gramophones on special occasions, cars reversing with harsh tunes above the allowed decibel sound wave, surtis fighting away in their famous profanity or pandals put up for navratri/ganeshutsav etc.Now with the advent of the local FM options, there will certainly be more singing in the surat terrain. Huge hoardings and colourful umbrellas announcing the FM channels are sprouting around town and in your face lest you forget to tune in. Here is your chance then surti, to put your feet up[tap to tune] and participate in the trend of your town, vote for your choice, get entertained, gain freebies, make your voice heard all within the comfort of your home. Radio is ‘BIG ‘news and is here to make us surtis sway……..so gaa gaa dear surti and swing away because FM fever is here to stay.Top5 things you most definitely will and won’t hear on surti radio…………….
WILL WON’T
1. Cookery recipes. 1. Cocktail recipes
2. Cricket tosses 2. Modi’s losses
3. Love stories 3. Financial worries.
4. Rakhi Sawant Item numbers. 4. Santana and Diana Krall’s wonders.
5. Hot and happening surti news. 5. Aamchi maati, aamchey manas.
YEH TOH BADAA TOING HAI!!!!!
YEH TOH BADAA TOING HAI!!!!!
If you think this article is about the controversial advert.on telly these days, you are sadly mistaken, am not talking of the outrageous marketing strategy that some find scandalizing and others superb. I am talking about the big TOING that the surtis generate-------Tax, Octroi Income Not Given! Or rather as we surtis would put it, Tax, Octroi, Income No Ghotalo! TOING!
Tax returns filed this term were considerably low in number as usual and I am positive it had nothing to do with our lala lobby being confused about it .our average citizen [helped by his loyal lawyer] is intelligent enough to work his way around the law and pocket his’ bada TOING. What’s new????You will ask, it happens in all the cities small and big. Well dearies that is not the case in our hometown. We do things differently. Which now brings me to the
RAID? UPGRADE!!!!Factor…………..
Recently, a series of raids by officers of the Income Tax branch were conducted in the city which included an unending list of our famous doctors. Here is part of a conversation post the happening in the waiting room for patients and relatives,’ Tamara dr.na ketla thaya?80?bus, amaara na to 150 kidha’let me make it clear that they were not quoting the fees or percentage, they were conversing about the amount in crores of the rupees declared. The big deal about this is the manner in which our learned citizens reacted, almost taking pride in the fact while stating the declared figures of their medical supremos.The case is the same if you replace the doctors with any other leading professionals or businessmen. The idea of being raided is mostly seen as having made it big .If you have the taxman knock on your door; you know you have reached the top league for sure. It’s almost celebrated like a trend with people actually looking forward to the process and being well prepared to handle it .No more caught unawares, our biggies know to play this game and make the rules dance to their tunes. They know how to do their thing, by pulling up a few strings.’
.TAX HISTORY MYSTERY………..
Taxes have existed since the ancient times .Property and sales tax were known in ancient Rome. Even way back then, tariffs were favored over internal taxes as a source of revenue. Taxes have 3 main functions---1.To cover government spending2. To promote stable economic growth 3. To lessen inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth. In short it helps the government make life better for all the citizens.
WISE ADVICE,……….Dear responsible citizen of surat, Either VAT ki vaat mat lagao or if you would rather partially pocket your BIG TOING than pay it up, maybe you could use part of it for making life better for all surti citizens in one of the following ways……Adopt an .N.G.O.,Kalyan Kendra or Educational trust. Support it in cash and kind for a lifetime because annual cheques donated to commemorate deceased loved ones do not provide enough towards making a generation aware of AIDS,ENVIRONMENT ,HEALTH.etc.Most of the organizations we have lead a hand to mouth existence they need you and your BIG TOING. I definitely assure you, the amount they require will not burn a hole in your oversized pocket but it will make a world of a difference to them. You will be directly helping to create a better ambience around town for your children.
Benefit the society directly this way or from the government rules please do not sway,
Pay your taxes as you should, if not then be a Robinhood.Thus you may proudly, literally wash
Your dirty linen in public for the benefit of society.oops!!!!!!!seems like I am talking about the,’YEH TOH BADA TOING HAI!’
If you think this article is about the controversial advert.on telly these days, you are sadly mistaken, am not talking of the outrageous marketing strategy that some find scandalizing and others superb. I am talking about the big TOING that the surtis generate-------Tax, Octroi Income Not Given! Or rather as we surtis would put it, Tax, Octroi, Income No Ghotalo! TOING!
Tax returns filed this term were considerably low in number as usual and I am positive it had nothing to do with our lala lobby being confused about it .our average citizen [helped by his loyal lawyer] is intelligent enough to work his way around the law and pocket his’ bada TOING. What’s new????You will ask, it happens in all the cities small and big. Well dearies that is not the case in our hometown. We do things differently. Which now brings me to the
RAID? UPGRADE!!!!Factor…………..
Recently, a series of raids by officers of the Income Tax branch were conducted in the city which included an unending list of our famous doctors. Here is part of a conversation post the happening in the waiting room for patients and relatives,’ Tamara dr.na ketla thaya?80?bus, amaara na to 150 kidha’let me make it clear that they were not quoting the fees or percentage, they were conversing about the amount in crores of the rupees declared. The big deal about this is the manner in which our learned citizens reacted, almost taking pride in the fact while stating the declared figures of their medical supremos.The case is the same if you replace the doctors with any other leading professionals or businessmen. The idea of being raided is mostly seen as having made it big .If you have the taxman knock on your door; you know you have reached the top league for sure. It’s almost celebrated like a trend with people actually looking forward to the process and being well prepared to handle it .No more caught unawares, our biggies know to play this game and make the rules dance to their tunes. They know how to do their thing, by pulling up a few strings.’
.TAX HISTORY MYSTERY………..
Taxes have existed since the ancient times .Property and sales tax were known in ancient Rome. Even way back then, tariffs were favored over internal taxes as a source of revenue. Taxes have 3 main functions---1.To cover government spending2. To promote stable economic growth 3. To lessen inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth. In short it helps the government make life better for all the citizens.
WISE ADVICE,……….Dear responsible citizen of surat, Either VAT ki vaat mat lagao or if you would rather partially pocket your BIG TOING than pay it up, maybe you could use part of it for making life better for all surti citizens in one of the following ways……Adopt an .N.G.O.,Kalyan Kendra or Educational trust. Support it in cash and kind for a lifetime because annual cheques donated to commemorate deceased loved ones do not provide enough towards making a generation aware of AIDS,ENVIRONMENT ,HEALTH.etc.Most of the organizations we have lead a hand to mouth existence they need you and your BIG TOING. I definitely assure you, the amount they require will not burn a hole in your oversized pocket but it will make a world of a difference to them. You will be directly helping to create a better ambience around town for your children.
Benefit the society directly this way or from the government rules please do not sway,
Pay your taxes as you should, if not then be a Robinhood.Thus you may proudly, literally wash
Your dirty linen in public for the benefit of society.oops!!!!!!!seems like I am talking about the,’YEH TOH BADA TOING HAI!’
IF ITS EIFFEL, IT MUST BE PARLE POINT
IF ITS EIFFEL, IT MUST BE PARLE POINT.........................Other than presenting undhiyu and khaman dhokla to the world,we surtis also set the biggest example of acceptance and intigration .not only do we spread our culture but also adopt new ones immediatly our women proudly wear their'jeans pant' with a bindi [only now has maddonna started to do so],our kids are as comfortable with PS2 as with lakhotis and the men share tiffins at work with sindhis,marwaris and jats.surat has its own identity through its food but her people are from all parts of the world.a large part of its populace belongs to the NRI gang who annually visit here to shop and support causes .the oldest architecture here is portugal,english,mogul and persian.it seems the city has always welcomed foreign folk.roadside kiosks sell pizza next to pani puri and chinese next to idli dosa.pasta is a well loved treat at home and every gujju mom worth her salt will have culinary skills to match a world cookbook with her own adaptation of khow suey and chicken steak.surtis are traders [lalas] at heart and know that adopting the ways of the world will help them rule it better.much as they love their ponk and ghari, uttaran and diwali they also know how to celebrate pujo and bai-sakhi.from adajan to antwerp timalyawad to taiwan and majuragate to malaysia,surtis learn ,live and laugh all the way to the bank.malleable and ductile in their ways of life,we have never felt hostile towards the culture of the new folks wading in,instead we have reached out and adapted their ways in our lifestlye.right down to our traffic islands!!!!!!!we boast of an eiffel tower,an airplane[even when we did not have an airport that functioned],a kargil chowk for unsung war heros and numerous others which have nothing to do with the town but are built in the surti spirit.Here's to the lala way of life ,may the world learn to live like us.
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