news views and analysis

Shirrin and I wish along with our families wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful new year 2008.

Thank you to all of our subscribers, readers and others who come to the blog often.

Looking forward to seeing more of you in the coming year.

The Amazing Race 12 returns to Bombay in today’s episode. I am live blogging this as the episode is aired.

After landing at CST International Airport the contestants have to

• Find the M. R. Naik newspaper stall in Khar Danda. Contestants reaching at night realize that the stall opens from 6 AM to 10 PM and so they all land up sleepingn on the benches. Finally the stall opens and they get their copy of the TOI which will have an ad that leads them to their next clue.
• The TOI ad asks them to find their way to Chauhan Alteration Tailors at Saint Joseph Church Road, near A. B. Nair Road corner, Juhu. Once at the tailors they get their next clue.
• At this point they reach a roadblock which consists of two tasks and teams are required to do just one. The first option is to paste movie posters on the walls of an “underpass” or what is commonly called in Bombay as Subway. The other task is threading garlands. The contestants find themselves at the Dadar Phool Bazaar where they have to create one full “haar”.
• One of the teams has a penalty that takes them to a yoga guruji at Dariya Mahal where they have to complete a series of funky yoga poses before they can continue.
• The poster sticking task was done by the teams with mixed results. The garland threading was an easy one.
• However none of the teams were in for what was next. At Kabutarkhana they picked up a clue that needed them to ride a “cylinder-wallah” cycle and deliver 3 gas cylinders each to two different addresses. That was fun and I think a bizarre task if you are not from Mumbai. After delivering the cylinders they then need to find their way to Bandra Fort at Land’s End.

That is the end of this leg of the race.

The competitors were generally really competitive and though they cribbed a bit, that was the typical touristy gripes that people have with cities they visit the world over. The race ended with one of the closest finishes in a long time. It was great to see Mumbai on TV and from the eyes of foreigners. Here are some pics from the race.

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Dharavi in Mumbai has long been India’s and Asia’s largest slum. And people have used that as trivia to awe audiences in stupid conversations. However in the last year Dharavi was the main feature of two international and reputed publications…the National Geographic and Economist.

This month the Economic Times writes about Urban Poverty in India and focuses on Dharavi

For thousands of men like these, Dharavi is a wonderful opportunity. But for millions of Mumbaikers, it represents a cost. Their city, South Asia’s biggest, is choking. Its infrastructure is a crumbling disaster. And yet over the next decade, the UN says the population of Mumbai will almost double, making it the world’s second-biggest city after Tokyo. Massive urban redevelopment is required—starting with Dharavi, at the city’s heart. By one estimate, the slum’s land alone represents $10 billion in dead capital.

For a decade, the state government has tried coaxing the slum-dwellers to let it bulldoze their hutments and build high-rise apartments instead. Each dispossessed family is entitled to a flat of 225 square feet. After 30 years, they will be allowed to sell it. But only a few have accepted this offer. So now the government is trying to enforce it. In August it put the bulldozing and redevelopment of Dharavi, in six parcels, out to tender. The work was due to begin this year. But it has been stalled by bad press nationally and local protests, organised by Mr Korde.

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As Mumbai grows in economic power and the culture of consumerism and consumption takes place, there are bound to be some downsides. One of them is the class society syndrome, whereby you are judged by where you live. In a sting operation by Mid-Day, they found that a lot of the fast food chains would not deliver to chawls.

Sunday MiD DAY: When I am paying for my order, why do you refuse to deliver? Is it only because I live in a chawl?

Dominos at Colaba: Sorry sir, it’s our company policy.

Of course when the head honchos at Dominos corporate land are questioned, one gets the corpo-bullspeak that is only taught at MBA schools.

Chief Executive Officer of Domino’s Pizza India Ltd, Ajay Kaul told Sunday MiD DAY “We do not differentiate between our customers. All customers are equally important to us. It’s untrue that we don’t deliver to chawls as a policy.”

“Since we are a delivery company that offers a guarantee of delivery in “30 minutes or free”, we have certain policies that help us keep up with this promise to our customers. We deliver in a pre-defined delivery area, which excludes locations that take more than 10 minutes to locate and deliver”

Dominos and McDonalds, that sucks. Lets see you do that to an address in our old ‘hood Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, NY.

One of the reasons, the US is such a litigious society is because of the crazy nonsensical laws that still exist. Some examples are:

• In Fairbanks, Alaska, it’s illegal to serve liquor to a moose.
• In Ohio it’s legal to serve booze to a fish, but not if you get it drunk.
• Some states mandate sitting, while others require standing at the bar to drink.
• In Iowa it’s illegal to run a tab.
• Bars and restaurants in North Dakota are forbidden to serve beer and pretzels at the same time.
• In New York City, the word saloon is forbidden.

Read the entire list here, and then laugh your ass off.

While driving up 6th Avenue the other day, I could not resist taking this picture of the car ahead of me. Guess what the guy does for a living

Being an avid die hard motorcyclist, today was manna at the International Motorcycle Show at the Javits.

Riding motorcycles has been second nature to me for nearly two decades now. I ride to work most days of the year even in NYC weather. And therefore today was a time to go and ogle and salivate at what is and what can be in the motorcycle world.

Sadly, the show did not live up to my expectations. There were no completely new motorcycles this year except the kick ass Kawasaki Concours 14 and the Ducati pictured below. Here are three bikes that I took random pictures of. The last one, the scooter is for a reason in the coming year

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The recent Tata’s acquisition of the Jaguar and the Rover brand of cars has the automobile world buzzing. Dealers in the US cried out foul (read racist) about the car brand owners being from a “third-world” country. I would personally like to punch the dealers on their face, but that’s just violent me

However this article in DNA poses a very interesting

Has the Jaguar lost the status race to the Mercedes Benzes, BMWs and Audis of the world?

But Jaguar is altogether more difficult. It has global awareness but is not a global brand – outside the USA (which accounts for 25 per cent of sales) and the UK, Jaguars are bought in small numbers. And it haemorrhages money. As a premium brand, there is no need for a Jaguar as there is with a four-wheel drive vehicle. Yet, at the same time, it cannot compete head-on with the benchmark German brands.[link]

Jaguar has been one of the few legendary brands from the UK that is still around in the 21st century. Rolls Royce and Bentley went the German way, and Jaguar went the American way. However and inspite of the American acquisition, Jaguar survived. And if you have driven one, you will know why.

Over the years I have had a chance to drive a few Jaguars, once as a rental, and a few times as a test drive. And believe me, its a fantastic car to drive. The handling and steering is in the same legendary league as an Audi, and power and road holding is on par with any Mercedes. The Jaguar Xj8 is one of my favorite cars and this autumn, I came soooooo close to buying a beautiful Jaguar XJ 12 Sports Coupe. Went to the dealer and drove it around. The 12 cylinders made the car literally fly. It was only some bad karma and a big dose from the missus that somehow made me hesitate and I did not get it. Well there is always next year, no !

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Ex Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was assasinated earlier today at an election rally near Rawalpindi in Pakistan. She had recently returned to Pakistan after a truce of sorts was announced between her and Dictator Musharraf who rules Pakistan after usurping power from a civilain govrnment in 1999.

Benazir Bhutto was the first female elected leader of any Muslim nation, and it is this singular achievement that overpowers all her wrongdoings. She was no paraih and has been in the news for amassing huge sums of wealth for herself and her family. However she was the one shining beacon of hope for a democracy in an otherwise failed democracy.

Hopefully, this will jumpstart the country out of its stupor and incite the people in non violent ways to kick Musharraf out of power and restore a real, elected leader.

For more on the spot reporting head over to Metroblogging Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

Technorati tags: Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, Musharraf, Dictator, Assasination

Just this week NYC announced that crime is down to a record low in 17 years and how the city has evolved into a really safe city. Now that statement has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Yes murders and killings may be down but regular vandalism is not. Ask any car owning resident of Clinton Hill or Fort Greene ! Ok, so no more digression.

However this story on Gowanus Canal, shows us another seedier, murkier, darker underside of the justice system and the police in general. A woman was arrested because there was a warrant out for her for having a dog unleashed on the road. She sends in a detailed account

because she was horrified at the conditions at the Brooklyn Central Booking on Schermerhorn Street between Smith and Boerum Place.

The R word comes up in her account and frankly anyone who has lived in NYC has been either a victim or a witness to racial profiling over the years.

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