My Pet Peeves!

Nummer Eins:

People who hate sharing information, like, Which book should I refer for preparing for an exam? I understand competition, but this is the pits! What I understand from the book, and how I prepare wud have really no impact on said person, esp. when our turfs are different!

Nummer Zwei:

Bus situation: Me in window seat, wanna get off -ere person at the edge of the seat. My stop comes, person refuses to get up, instead twisting his/her body to align it to the back of the seat, so I can pass thru! How diffficult is it to just get up? Dont blame me if my bag hits yu on the way out! :D

Nummer Drei:

When people speed for no apparent reason, when they blow their horn (pun intended) for no apparent reason again!

Yu have a gooood day ahead!

Ciao,
Anya

GO GoA!

Roses are red,
Violets Blue!
Places like GOA
are very few!

Sun, sand and waves on the beach!
Lovely music wafting in the breeze
Frischer fish from the sea
and port wine thats red as a beet!

Crystal clear blue-green waters
Pristine white sand on the shore
Swim, tan, read a book!
Yur sure to say 'gimme More'!

Ppl from all over the globe flock to Goa! It truly is a compliment to the place and its people! Go Goa!

hAppY bIRTHDAy TARANA! :)

GO! GO! GO! It's a beautiful Tuesday morning, the 24th of January, and it's a Verrrrrrrry Especial day! Gooooooood morning!:)

Dear Tarana!

HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY WISHES TO YU! Here's an ode to yU! :)

Roses are red,

Violets blue,

Dear RJ Tarana,

Happy Birthday to yU!!!!

Look forward to listening to yU,

day after day!

yUr show rocks, yU rock too!

yU Enjoy yUr special day! :)

Eat some cake,

Blow 'em candles too!

And dontcha forget,

make a wish too! :)

Happy birthday 1ce again! :) May all yUr dreams come true!

Luv & Luc,

Anya

And, this is a neat link

http://web.mid-day.com/smd/play/2006/january/129149.htm

Know: Your Mumbai, Siddhi Vinayak Library By: Ami Cholia January 22, 2006

The study hall and library at Siddhi Vinayak TempleWhile most rush to the city’s most famous temple, Siddhi Vinayak, to honour their god, few know of the existence of a quaint library that sits on the fourth floor of this building that honours its patrons.The library works as a study room for students primarily from lower-income groups and provides them with quiet air-conditioned (it turned air-conditioned two years ago) sanctity to finish their work. Primarily a reference library, it stocks over 10,000 books from across all faculties – management, engineering, law, literature, religion, theology to even astrology and palmistry. Says Jasing Janardhan Waghare, the librarian, “Books for graduate and post graduate education are expensive and this is a convenient way for students to study without having to bear costs.” Adds the CEO of Siddhi Vinayak trust, Sanjay Bhagwat, “Besides, most of these students don’t have a quiet environment to study at home. There’s always distraction there. Here they are cut off from all that.”
Started in 1996 by the temple’s fund, the library has been updating its books every year to keep up with changing syllabi. While the temple has bought most of the books from depots across the city, ex-students also donate books that they have little use for once they graduate.Says Waghare, “While we primarily have books for reference purposes we also stock books in Marathi and English poetry, literature, fiction etc. I also try and help the students as much as they can. I even keep Crocin and basic first aid if they need it. If someone’s failed or is having a hard time keeping up I try and counsel them. Most importantly though, because the library cum study hall is in a temple, it calms the students and helps them do well.” The 500 odd-member library runs at a nominal fee of Rs 50 per month with a refundable deposit of Rs 500 and the library stays open from 9.30 am to around 9 pm every day. Says Mahesh Hase a third year engineering student from Sardar Patel College, who has been coming here for the past two years, “I usually come in after college at 8 pm or on the weekends to catch up on my studies. All our college books are available here, which is really helpful because they normally cost Rs 1,000 each and that’s expensive for us. If we want there is a copy machine here where we can take photocopies of certain sections. It’s a fantastic place for us. At home you are always temped to turn on the television or go get something to eat, but here you avoid all that. When it’s lunchtime there’s even an area allocated for us to eat. During my exams I spend almost six to eight hours here.” Look around the library and you see at least 30-40 students immersed in their books, concentrating on their work. The air conditioner cuts off sound from the outside and you realise why people rush here in hordes. Besides, if you can’t cram anymore, spiritual intervention is just four floors below.

your pincode/ 400 017By Anushka Gurnaneysmdmail@mid-day.com

• 400017 is extremely significant to the geography of Mumbai because it is home to over a million-odd people, but it also covers the gigantic expanse of Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi – a dense network of interconnected roads and gullies, tightly packed with hutments, shops, and small houses.• Sandwiched between Mumbai’s Western and Central Railway lines; Dharavi almost forms the geographical nucleus of the city; its vastness underlined by the fact that it has Mahim and Bandra to its West, Sion and Matunga to its South and East, and the infamous Mithi river to its North.• Dharavi was initially home to one of the city’s largest ‘Koliwadas’, or fishing communities, but today, the migrants staying here can be divided into many broad categories. There are potters from Saurashtra; savoury makers and Muslim leather tanners from Tamil Nadu; and even embroidery workers from Uttar Pradesh, to name a few.• Being Asia’s largest slum, and thus being home to a gargantuan number of people, the secular nature of Dharavi comes as no surprise. This immense settlement makes room for a Dharavi Masjid, a Hanuman Mandir, a church, and even a Dharavi Koli Jamat, i.e., a meeting/gathering place for the koliwada people in the area. • The Rewah Fort, also known as the Kala Quilla (Black fort), now in a dilapidated condition, also lies here on the bank of the Mithi, amidst the Dharavi slums. It was built by the first Governor of Mumbai, Gerald Augnier, and marked the northern portion of the larger Bombay Castle created by the British.• Well-known places in the area include the Joshi Nursing Home and Women and Child Care Hospital on Dharavi main road; Salman Mithaiwala at Chamda Bazaar (Dharavi’s leather market), as well as the hard-to-miss ONGC Office, one of the few multi-storey buildings in the area) on the Sion-Bandra link road.

your market/ Dharavi leather shops
Design on a dime

By Anushka Gurnaneysmdmail@mid-day.com

One would hardly expect anything but sludge, squalor, and stench in Dharavi — Asia’s largest slum.And you definitely wouldn’t expect an entire market of shops selling exclusive leather items at practically half the price. So if shopping for a trendy leather jacket or hand-bag at a place like The Hilton Towers or Hidesign burned holes in your pocket, then the Dharavi leather shops are sure to ease the strain off a limited budget.Situated near the ONGC office; stretching over a large expanse of the Sion-Bandra Link Road, over 150 leather goods shops constitute Dharavi’s leather market. These slums are home to the largest number of leather tanneries in the city, which is why Dharavi is the focal point from which the Mumbai’s leather industry radiates.While most retail themselves, they also sell in bulk to larger stores. “Buyers often come from outside the city and the country to buy these leather goods,” says Vakeel Shaikh of Gag-Bit Leather Boutique. “In fact, some of our export quality stuff isn’t even put up for sale in these shops, they are directly transported outside the country,” he adds.The prices of the goods here depend largely on the quality of leather, which is categorised into gradations of A, B, and C, with A being the finest. Premium leather primarily comes from places like Kolkata and Kanpur, while the more average qualities are procured from the Dharavi tanneries. Texture-based variants also exist ranging from soft leather, dry leather, shiny/Dharavi leather, and finally hard leather, which is considered to be of top quality, and most expensive. So, while cheap leather jackets may start at Rs 1000, the best, export quality variety may cost anywhere up to a whopping Rs 4000. Women’s handbags vary from Rs 300 rupees to Rs 1500 rupees, depending on size, quality, and finish.So don’t be surprised if the very same leather overcoat you spent a hefty Rs 3500 rupees on at a fancy, well-reputed, leather shop in town, is hanging at a shop in Dharavi for a mere sum of Rs 1500. The place, thus, is definitely worth a visit.
SHOPS:Gag-Bit Leather Boutique – 24033948Star Bags – 9821785231Raw Hide Leather Shop – 56289907Benjer Collections - 24080189

P.S: Inflicted by data-paranoia, am copy-pasting it all, coz want that list of Leather shops, never know which one to visit wen I do go there.

From ANNE OF AVONLEA by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Perhaps, afterall, romance did not come into one's life with pomp and blare, likea gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one's side like anold friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself inseeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flungathwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music, perhaps. . .perhaps. . .love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship,as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath.

Neat or wot!

have a great week, people!

Ciao,

P.S: Books, books everywhere. and no time to buy! Theres the Annual STRAND book sale as also, The 4th Mumbai International Book Fair as part of the Mumbai Fest. But, am a hundred and 87 kms. away and can only stare at the titles on tis thing called a PC!

P.P.S: An Original 'The weekend's here' SMS: Read on!

The train arrived at Platform No. 1 is the long weekend train to 2 days of eat and sleep, eat and rest, read and watch TV, laze and watch the world go by! Have a wonderful journey! :)

P.P.P.S: Had been to Esselworld over the weekend, wid a bunch of teens. The oldest was 19! Made me feel positively jurassic! Lol Warrum, Gott, Warrum? A la Joey from F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Happy NEw Year!