So, in Mumbai, the German consulate general is around the corner from Israel’s. And outside the Israeli consulate is a lot of security. Or the semblance of it. On a recent walk down NCPA marg, we caught sight of these camouflage jackets adorning a barricade. I think the security personnel were around somewhere (maybe in the bushes? watching me take a photo?) … just not in sight. I got eyeballed by a very sturdy looking man in civilian clothes though, so I beat a quick retreat 
and by the title of this post I mean me, not this guys. This is not the best action shot, but take it from me, they were having a helluva lot of fun. The cynic in me wonders what infections they picked up, but their unfettered enthusiasm made me think, if I swallowed sea water and dirt regularly, maybe my immunity would improve and I could also run around uninhibited. Erm, but maybe not.
House warmings are such fun to attend. Invariably everything isn’t quite in place yet, the host/hostess can’t find the glasses or the bottle opener; the person who was to bring the ice is stuck in traffic; decorations aren’t up yet… but this one I went to recently was much better put together. They even managed to keep this lit for a good … uh, 5 minutes? Pretty, no? And symbolic, I thought – beginnings, ends, all looping around each other.
Look at that hair. do you see it? Do you? Do you? I spotted her one morning in Mumbai traffic, walking with grace in a simple, clean, ironed saree with a matching blouse. And shoes. Nothing about her suggested mendicant or even very poor. But that hair … woah! I want to know the story behind it. I really, really do!
Like a watercolor, no? Marine Drive in a sudden gust and storm. Riding the waves, yeah!
So the BMC has decided it will now prune trees to prevent stray branches from falling. You know what that means, right? They’re just going to start chopping everything down in sight. My neighboring building society head told me that they’d chopped down the tree between us because “mosquitoes are breeding there”. He claims to be a horticulturist. Who never went to school, evidently. Because in his next breath he also told us it didn’t matter because “Only Tulsi” gives out oxygen, other trees are not important. I nearly slit my own wrists. Maybe these little clay gods will protect this peepul from being ‘pruned’ BMC horticulture style …
This nearly rivals the one shop banner I saw in Saki Naka that had Sale, Rital and Holsail on it and baffled me for a good 2 minutes after I’d passed it, by which time it was too traffic-y and too late to turn the auto rickshaw around for a photo. This gem is in Byculla, a little way from J.J. Flyover. I’ve pointed and shot at it many times but it always came out blurred. My favourite driver slowed down for me to get a legible shot
err, cos I’m a new vegetarian? I knew a vegetarian? I’m not sure, either. What do you think it’s supposed to mean?I spotted this flapping in the breeze on 31st road, Bandra, out of the corner of my eye. I kept walking and I guess somewhere in my head, I was trying hard to process it and figure out what it really said. Then I just had to go back and check it. The seller was more than happy to let me take a photo If you want one of these, let me know. I’ll take orders in S, M, L and XL
This one is tops in my list of unbelievable kitsch. What you see is a man selling hot coffee, tea, and cocoa from the back of a tempo with a chandelier in it Yes, look again, peer into that interior – it’s a full blown chandelier! I loved it!
This was taken at the Rijksmuseum as I waited in the freezing cold drizzle to buy a ticket around 5pm. I think our well decorated coffee vendor’s sell-rate was close to 100 percent. And which Amsterdammer or tourist wouldn’t want a hot cuppa from a man with such good taste in interior design and a fetchingly homey little ‘coffee shop’ even it’s really the back of a three-wheeler? 
The warm yellow glow, the aromas – he truly outdid himself, no?
and in Mumbai 
But not in Amsterdam, even if you’re Batman
This charming mime was on Damrak around the corner from Dam Square where Darth Vader, the Joker, a mummy, and a robot were all posing.
But Batman‘s always been my favorite and he bowed to me ever so courteously, I was charmed.
So I dropped a few cents into his bowl and then we blew kisses at each other. And I walked away smiling. Or not. Maybe that just happened in my head.
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