Last week was special. Two respected men, both in their 70s, were in Mumbai. Age has nothing to do with the awe they evoke, but Philip Kotler (marketing’s messiah) and John Naisbitt (the acclaimed futurist), have it in them to turn black-suited business executives into star-struck children. At question time, a bespectacled delegate at the seminar told Kotler, “Sir, it’s a dream come true to see you here today.” (more…)

One of the best pop/rock groups of the 80s, Depeche Mode have unleashed an awesome album on an unsuspecting world. Playing The Angel, their latest musical saga of ‘pain and suffering’, suffused with Dave Gahan’s incredible voice, some masterly techno-riffs and post-modern sounds, is proof that music is not dead. In these days of vomit inducing hip-hop, utterly mindless remixes and music videos (hey, what happened to music audios?), there’s hope for people like me.

At 1.30 am on a Monday morning – June 26, 2006, to be precise – I was transported to the arena in London where Depeche Mode were having a gig. If only for one song (more…)

Dr Supriya Biswas
Remember the Bhopal Gas Disaster. On the night of December 3, 1984, an explosion at Union Carbide’s pesticide plant caused 40 tonnes of lethal gas to seep into Bhopal. This explosion caused the immediate deaths of thousands of people and led to life long suffering for almost 120,000 survivors.

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We rarely mourn the passing of the common man. I wrote an article about this in Business Standard  this morning. Following which, Sonam Kapadia wrote me a mail saying how “We never really grieved publicly for the loss of our citizens in a sustained manner. It is a short out pouring of emotion and that is it. ”

He also says his family faced a similar dilemna when his brother Lt. Nawang Kapadia was killed on November 11, 2000 in Anti Terrorist operations in Kashmir. And they wanted to create an easily available memorial. (more…)

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Rashmi Bansal

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I believe in miracles. In a Mumbai public bus, yesterday, I saw a lady standing with a five-year-old in her arms. None of the passengers offered her a seat, though somebody offered half a seat to her child. The kid did not take up the offer. I gave her my seat and moved away from the crowd to the front. A gentleman got off. In a flash I had got back a seat. Good deeds beget good deeds. But what about bad deeds? (more…)

In less than 24 hours after seven bombs rocked Mumbai life has come back to normalcy. People have started traveling by trains and buses again and the parking lots, shopping malls and cinema house are full. Its business as usual. (more…)

Just overheard this: “This city will take a beating and rise again”. It’s a very depressing subject to write about as bodies are strewn about and relatives are panicking about their near and dear ones in this city of mine. Love it or hate it, I stay here and have no regrets. But what gets my goat is the MISPLACED BRAVADO that is highlighted after each such incident. ‘Life goes on in Mumbai. It is a city full of resilient people’. THIS IS OUR PLIGHT. (more…)

Hello everyOne,

If there is anyone in Mumbai who is not able to make telephone calls to other cities in India, but is able to access internet, do communicate with me.

My email id is ajithsrn@yahoo.co.in

Send in  your messages with the details you want to pass on the person you want to communicate to.

Namaste,
Ajith