Thursday, May 1, 2014

11:21 PM

Neel, the speciality Indian restaurant by deGustibus Hospitality, the company that owns Indigo, the Indigo Delicatessen chain

A new Indian speciality restaurant opens in Andheri



    Neel, the speciality Indian restaurant by deGustibus Hospitality, the company that owns Indigo, the Indigo Delicatessen chain, Tote on the Turf and Moveable Feast, recently opened its second outpost in Andheri, following its flagship property at the Mahalaxmi Race Course. 
    The Andheri restaurant has introduced a special menu for every day of the week, featuring half a dozen of Chef Mukhtar’s handpicked dishes for the discerning diner. You can savour classics like Dabba Gosht and Rajma Golowti on Wednesdays; Paneer Badami Salan and Tabak Maas on Thursdays; succulent Kakori Kabab on Saturdays; Hyderabadi Haleem and Amritsari Chholey Kulche on Sundays, to name a few. 
    If time is of the essence, opt for the four-course Set Lunch Menu that packs in a choice of soup, kababs, main courses and desserts. Priced at Rs 750 (inclusive of taxes), it includes signature dishes such as Mugh Pashtuni Shorba, Kesari Khumb, Peshawari Murgh Tikka, Teekhi Tamatar Macchli, Jalebi aur Rabdi and much more. The set menu is a great option for working denizens, shoppers and ladies who lunch. 
    Where: Neel, Ground Floor, 
    Crystal Paradise, Off Veera 
    Desai Road, Andheri (W). 
    Call: +91 (22) 2674 9999/ 88.

The interiors of Neel
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11:09 PM

Missing children found cases online

Cops network to trace the missing


Thane police rope in NGOs, Child Welfare Committee to help them solve cases faster

Alarmed by the number of people who went missing in 2013, the Thane police have stepped up efforts to trace them.
More than 4,000 people have gone missing in 2013 as per cases registered in police stations across Thane. The Thane police will upload the missing persons’ pictures on a social networking site to create awareness and solve the cases with help from people.

Besides, the police have joined hands with non-governmental organisations from Mumbai, Thane and rural areas who will help trace the missing. “We started the initiative a month ago. We are taking help of NGOs and child welfare committee members,” Ravindra Singal, additional commissioner of police (crime), Thane.

In the past one month, the police held two meetings in which more than 22 heads of NGOs and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) attended. “We decided to upload the missing persons’ picture on the social networking site of the Thane police and NGOs. This will help us solve cases faster,” said Singal.

The police have also formed a WhatsApp group get day-to-day updates. “We keep uploading pictures and details related to cases,” he added.

It was decided that members of NGOs and CWC, too, create a WhatsApp group to post the developments. Every committee or NGOs is involved in different issues such as child trafficking, begging and child trafficking for sexual abuse.

“We will ensure that NGOs and police check the status of children in homes for beggars and children to trace their identity and reach their parents,” added Singal.

The website www.trackthemissingchild.org will have pictures of children found and those missing. “We have prepared a list of 22 children found in Thane. Our team has traced the address of 11 children — 10 are from Maharashtra and one from Nepal. We are trying to send them back to the family. Most of them were found at Thane and Kalyan stations,” said Meenal Thakore, chairperson of CWC, Thane district.

“In around 20% cases, parents file a report with the police about their missing children. But after they are found, they don’t update this with the police,” said Singal.
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Sunday, March 16, 2014

1:25 PM

Roll up in a sari, with three-quarter sleeve blouses

You may disagree with Sonia Gandhi’s (right) politics but her styling is always impeccable. Harsimrat Kaur’s (left) public persona is built around a wardrobe of salwar-kameezes, with a dupatta draped firmly over her head
Is it just me, or has the fashion world gotten completely out of hand? Every four months or so, we are presented with a new look and asked, in all seriousness, to overhaul our entire wardrobes if we want to stay on trend. I am sorry, but who has the money, the time, the inclination, or even the energy to do this sort of thing, year in and year out?




Come rain or shine, Cannes or Kanpur, you can depend on Vidya Balan to roll up in a sari. And Rekha’s Kanjeevarams are the stuff of legend
Speaking for myself, I can’t think of a bigger waste of time, energy and money. If something works for you, then surely, it makes sense to stick with it, no matter what the fashion world is currently salivating over. But given how women are beginning to dress like Identikit versions of one another, right down to matching handbags, I guess it requires courage, and even a certain bloody-mindedness, to ignore the ‘latest’ fashions and stick to the same wardrobe year after year.


Ah, yes, of course, the professional fashionistas. You know the kind of women I mean, don’t you? The ones who dutifully ditch their skinny jeans when ‘boyfriend’ jeans come back in fashion. Who go monochrome when the catwalk does, and rush out to buy animal prints when the glossy magazines sternly instruct them to update their look. Who strap on the stilettoes when they are in fashion, slip on the ballet flats (heaving a sigh of relief, I imagine) when they come back into vogue, and veer between platforms, wedges, kitten heels, and God alone knows what else, depending on what’s ‘in’.

Which is why I can’t help but admire those ladies who resist the tyranny of fashion, ignore all its diktats, find their own style, and then stick to it, come bell-bottoms or high heels. As that old cliché goes, fashions may change every season but style is eternal. So here, in no particular order of importance, is my list of stylistas, who, in my reckoning, out-class the fashionistas in our midst, without even trying!

Vidya Balan: Come rain or shine, Cannes or Kanpur, you can depend on Vidya to roll up in a sari, with three-quarter sleeve blouses, and her hair cascading down in unruly curls. You can call her a behenji or an aunty – and many people do – but does she care? Not a jot. And more power to her.
Sonia Gandhi: You may disagree with her politics but her styling is always impeccable. Handloom saris (many of them hand-me-downs from her redoubtable mother-in-law, Indira) impeccably draped and pinned into place, sensible shoes, and no handbag, ever. This is pared-down dressing at its best, and it works like a charm.

Rekha: The original diva. Her Kanjeevarams are the stuff of legend, the bright slash of sindoor is flaunted like a red rag to the media bulls and is a perfect match to the matte lipstick, and when it comes to jewellery, this actress clearly believes that nothing glitters quite like gold.

Naina Lal Kidwai: The boring uniform of a black trouser suit is not for this financial powerhouse. She prefers the soft drape of a sari to camouflage those killer business instincts, her version of the iron fist in a velvet glove.

Michelle Obama: Fashion designers from across the world may be lining up to dress the First Lady of the United States but they have to work with her own aesthetic. That means no sleeves (to show off those toned arms); empire waists to emphasise the thinnest part of her body, and hems that hover around the knee.

Harsimrat Kaur: There is a certain charming insouciance to a modern Sikh woman whose public persona is built around a wardrobe of salwar-kameezes, with a dupatta draped firmly over her head. Stereotype her at your own peril.

And no, I don’t think it is a coincidence that all these stylistas are women of a certain age. Rare is the woman in her teens and twenties who can summon up the courage to go her own way when it comes to fashion. You need the confidence and self-knowledge that comes with age to make your own rules and stick to them, no matter what the world may say. And to know that style trumps fashion every time.
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Monday, July 15, 2013

12:17 AM

The next time you see a snake, dial the rescue brigade

HISS AND TELL

The next time you see a snake, dial the rescue brigade

    Atiny guest is jumping on Abhijeet Awsarmol’s cot. “Should I get the worm?” he threatens her. “No,” the three-year-old girl screams, flops down and apologises. She knows what “the worm” means. Everyone at the lush green Post and Telegraph colony in Andheri, does. It is 19-year-old Awsarmol’s name for those dark creatures that often startle residents in their shower, under their pillow or even atop their television sets. Displaced by rainwater, snakes often emerge from their boroughs and enter the flats here. They haven’t been to Aswarmol’s though. “They probably know,” jokes the frail teenager who, having caught 111 snakes so far, now bears the aura of a local saviour.
    “We can only rest knowing he is around,” says Jyoti Khaire, a neighbour, about the boy who has been rescuing snakes here for two years now. It started off as a hobby for the commerce student, who caught his first snake at 16, but soon, became an incurable habit. As soon as he gets a call, Awsarmol only asks for the size and rushes with a wooden stick. “I try to hold the snake by its neck when its mouth is closed,” says Awsarmol, who then puts them in plastic jars and releases them at Aarey Milk colony or the Sanjay Gandhi national park. Many of these are venomous reptiles such as cobra and russell’s viper
that along with the non-poisonous common kraits and rat snakes, have slithered into his Facebook profile. “Snake catching is a necessity,” says the animal lover, who does not charge for the service.
    It is this need for conservation that draws hundreds of nature lovers across Mumbai and Thane toward the risky job, for which there is no formal training in India. “We learn by watching,” says 35-yearold Parthiv Sanghavi, who is part of an informal group called Reptile Rescue and Study Centre (RRSC). It gets close to a 1,000 calls per year mostly from Gorai and Borivali though of late, some have also been spotted at Worli Sea Link. The usual suspects include cobras, russell's viper, krait and rat snakes. Pythons are rare. “We first ask the caller if the snake is visible. Then, we inquire about the colour, length and pattern,” says Sanghavi. Accrodingly, they plan their strategy. Many use sticks, tongs or snake hooks, but others like Raju Lade, an estate agent, simply picks up the snake with his bare hands.
    Monsoon is the busiest season for catchers but it is not uncommon to find snakes in bathrooms during summer or inside warm car engines during winter. Extracting them from spaces such as lift chambers, air-conditioners or electric meter cabins, can be tricky. “Since these involve dealing with hightension wires, we have had to call up Reliance to request them to cut off power supply,” says 35-year-old HR professional Kaivalya Verma. Releasing, they say, is the most important part. “To avoid dumping, we try to find newer and safer pockets,” says Verma. At times, during the gap between rescue and release, catchers have kept the snake at home, inviting family member's ultimatums such as: “Either the snake stays or you stay.”
    In the course of dealing with the angry cobra or the temperamental russel's viper “whose piercing
whistle sounds like a pressure cooker,” says Lade, they learn more about people. “In the slums of Chembur, we are offered cold drinks while in the bungalows of Malabar Hill, even a glass of water is rare,” says Verma. Many a times, people refuse to pay even conveyance. Once, a bored housewife from Andheri, called RRSC, saying there’s a snake in her godown. After two hours of rearranging scraps in vain, catchers realised “she just wanted to get her godown cleaned.” They’ve also met women who ask for snake skin and drug addicts who demand venom.
    Routinely, snake catchers, who have seen people breaking coconuts in front of the serpents, have to clear the venom of superstition. No, snakes do not drink milk or dance to the tunes of pregnant flutes (they are deaf). “They also can't seek revenge or they would've found me,” says Awsarmol.
    Most rescuers are against “showmanship” but they wish for more support. “I don’t want a certificate,” says Awsarmol. “Give me a pair of tongs,” he says, referring to the Rs 4,000-worth instrument. It can help him get the worm.

OPERATION COBRA: Abhijeet Awsarmol (left) has caught over a hundred snakes
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12:06 AM

airlines have to show no. of seats sold at various price bands


Soon, airlines have to show no. of seats sold at various price bands


New Delhi: Declaring “shock and awe” low fares alone will not suffice for airlines. They may soon have to disclose how many seats they have sold at various price levels, including jaw-dropping low ones.
    The aviation ministry is set to form an economic cell that will collect this information from airlines and make it public. “If an airline says it will sell tickets for Rs 2,000 or Rs 3,000, people should know how many tickets it actually sold at that price. The new cell will be activated in two weeks and will get all this data from airlines. We will make public how many seats were sold at various price levels,” aviation minister Ajit Singh told TOI. The move comes just ahead of the launch of the Indian arm of AirAsia. ‘Airline responsible if you miss its connecting flight’ 
 
Couple To Be Paid 75,000, Rules Consumer Commission
Mumbai: In a relief to fliers, the national consumer commission has held that it is the airline’s responsibility to schedule your itinerary in such a way that you don’t miss connecting flights on the same airline. The national commission directed Jet Airways to pay Rs 75,000 and refund the tickets’ cost to a senior citizen couple who missed their connecting flight from Mumbai to Hong Kong in 2010. The couple had flown on the airline’s flight from Jaipur to Mumbai.
    “If Jet Airways schedules a flight to land at one airport at a particular time and another connecting flight to take off at a particular time, it must provide for time required in all functions, including security, immigration and air traffic management, which are necessarily concerned with or mandated for such landing and departure. The travelling public is in no way responsible for delay caused by any of them,” stated the National Consumer Disputes Commission.
    In January 2010, Vandana Jain (58) and Subhash Bhatnagar (64) were to arrive at Mumbai at 10.20pm after which they were to board another flight on the same airline at 1.50am. However, the flight from Jaipur was delayed and it reached Mumbai at 11.40pm. They were assured by the airline that the connecting flight would be available and they would get all assistance at Mumbai airport from their staff. The couple was issued boarding passes for the Hong Kong flight at Jaipur itself. They alleged that on reaching Mumbai, no assistance was provided to them and the shuttle for the international airport was delayed by 30-45 minutes. The couple said that due to long queues at immigration and security checks, they missed the flight to Hong Kong.
    The airline staff then got the immigration stamp and security check stamp cancelled and refused to board them on the next flight. They had to buy fresh tickets on another airline at 5.30am.
    They filed a complaint in the state commission, which passed an order in their favour in January 2013. Aggrieved, the airline filed an appeal in the national commission.
    The commission refuted the airline’s contention that two other passengers were successfully boarded and the couple were to blame for missing their flight. The commission further denied the argument that the delay in arrival of the Mumbai-bound flight due to air traffic congestion at Mumbai airport resulted in delay in landing of the flight.
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Sunday, July 14, 2013

8:32 PM

Kashmir, opium-laced wine and his wife, Nur Jehan were the three passionate loves of the Mughal emperor, Jehangir.

The Mughal connection with Kashmir began in 1586 when Jehangir’s father, Akbar, stomped into the vale, leading an army that included a regiment of 1,500 scimitar-tusked armoured elephants. With Kashmir within the empire, Jehangir reaped the fruit of his father’s blood, sweat and toil. Often his entourage would leisurely stroll into Kashmir, the elephants now shambling along in mufti, for his annual summer vacation. This would probably be a month-long migration, given that the distance from Agra to Srinagar was 1,500km.
mt
Road to yesterday
Today, the road most travellers take to Srinagar goes via Jammu and the Banihal tunnel or the NH1A, but during the Mughal era, this road didn’t exist. The path to Kashmir went from Delhi to Lahore and then to a place called Gujrat (now in Pakistan). From there it went to Bhimbar (today, just within the border of India) and then started zigzagging up the Pir Panjal range to crest it at 11,450 feet at a beautiful place called the Pir ki Gali, before descending into the valley of Kashmir at the idyllic town of Shopian.

My friends and I didn’t have a month, or a week. But what we did have was the Audi Q7 for a four-day drive from Delhi, and we decided to give the old imperial road a shot.

We drove from Delhi to Jammu in an overnighter, and Google Maps on our smartphones directed us from Jammu to Akhnoor. A stern shepherd directed us towards Sunderbani and Naushera, after which we met the old Mughal road at a historically significant place called Chingus.

A nondescript village today, Chingus’s connection to history lies hidden in the forests bordering the road. Almost swallowed by the forest is the Chingus Sarai, one of the many medieval rest houses built on this road for travellers to rest and water their beasts.
On Monday, November 8, 1627, Jehangir died here en route to Delhi. Knowing that the Mughal throne in Delhi would be up for grabs should the word get out, Nur Jehan embargoed the news of his death and had his innards (chingus in Persian) buried at the sarai. Jehangir was then embalmed and placed upon his elephant to ride into Delhi, creating the illusion that he was still alive. Standing at the desolate Chingus Sarai, I caught an eerie whiff of putrefaction still tainting the air – but then realised that it was my imagination going haywire.

Jehangir, on the other hand, didn’t like taxing his imagination too much, which is why he had a mirror set up at the Noori Chamb (a waterfall) along this route. Nur Jehan used to frolic under the glacial water, and, according to local legend, Jehangir would often use the mirror to keep a lusty eye on her while bubbling away at his hookah. GurezFrom peak to peak
We continued to drive this road, trying to imagine how it would have been 400 years ago when elephants slowly made their way from Chingus to Rajouri and then down the twists and turns to Bafliaz on the banks of the Poonch River.

Another seemingly ordinary village, Bafliaz has a link with hallowed antiquity going all the way back to 326BC. It is believed that it is here that Alexander’s beloved Bucephalus – the tempestuous horse that he trained as a youth – finally breathed his last after Alexander’s defeat at the hands of Porus in the battle of Hydaspes.

Fortunately for us, the 200 horses within our car’s crankcase were frisky and well, and we zipped up the recently reconstructed wide and smooth road up to the Pir ki Gali. The uninterrupted views of the snow-capped Pir Panjal range, the absence of heavy traffic and the presence of well-preserved serais make this road to Srinagar worth the extra time. Pir ki Gali is almost always peppered with snow, except during the height of summer in July.

Zig zag: up the Pir Panjal range to crest at the Pir ki Gali
It was even prettier descending from the pass into the vale of Kashmir. The famed Chinar trees soon appeared on the outskirts of the rustic village of Shopian, from where we drove the final 50km to Srinagar via Pulwama and Kanipora to get into the capital just as dusk was coming on. It had taken us 21 hours from Delhi.

Hidden wonders
All of us had already explored Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg – the touristy Kashmir quartet. So we decided to head
somewhere new instead. When we’d stopped at Shopian for tea and sweet Kashmiri bread at the local bakery, the baker told us, “Go to the hidden valley of Gurez”.

So the next morning, once again aided by Google Maps, we headed out towards Bandipora, 55km to the north of Srinagar. When we stopped at a little village en route, some of the locals insisted we have breakfast with them. This consisted of piping hot and salty sheer chai and hot and chewy bakarkhani bread. It was heavenly!

All the good people: Don’t be surprised if you get invited to share sheer chai and bakarkhani
This was the first of many such impromptu invitations to meals and tea we would receive in the days ahead. The local bakery also handed out a fresh batch of coconut macaroons which were so tasty that we promptly bought a kilo.

This looks familiar
Once we’d registered ourselves at the Bandipora police station and obtained permits for Gurez, we headed off towards the 11,672-foot-high Razdan Pass. Gurez is 80km from Bandipora over this pass and most of this is a mud track with some very rough sections. This region of Kashmir has only recently opened its doors to tourism, so there is still a large army presence, and every few kilometres we had to stop and register ourselves.

Some surprised army personnel from Ahmednagar were so amazed to see our Maharashtra-registered car that they unleashed a barrage of banter in Marathi and insisted that we have tea and snacks with them.

On the move: A nomad family near Chingus
When we drove into Dawar, the very pretty administrative centre of Gurez, it was like arriving at a trading post on an ancient caravan route. The light blue Kishanganga river flows calmly past the town in contrast to the bustle of the main market. We drove into the spanking new Tourist Guest House tooting our horn, and the caretaker – rudely awakened from his mid-day nap – arrived full of apologies, stunned that tourists had arrived so deep into the off season.

That evening, the talented and toothy cook of the local Noorani restaurant showed off his prowess by preparing a truly lip-smacking Kashmiri meal.

Four and many more
Since we were on a blitzkrieg trip, we had only the next morning to explore the Valley. We drove past little villages with ancient wooden houses inhabited by weather-beaten elders, rosy-cheeked children and very pretty women.

At the last village, Purana Tilel, everyone was busy preparing a wedding feast. The headman insisted that we stay back for the nikaah and the wazwaan feast, a labour intensive meal in which the meats are pounded hour hours by hand. Regrettably we had to be back in Srinagar that evening.

This was my fourth trip to Kashmir and I had been hesitant to go, thinking I had seen all that the state had to offer. Now I am glad to admit how mistaken I was. TRAVEL INFO
Make a pit stop at the Aliabad Sarai just like Emperor Jehangir would have done
* The Mughal Road is truly a fantastic drive. Take time out to explore the Chingus Sarai, Pir ki Gali and Aliabad Sarai.
Accommodation options in Srinagar range from the upmarket Vivanta by Taj Dal View, Srinagar and The Lalit Grand Palace to more modest options. Also check out houseboats on Dal Lake. The Tourist Reception Centre in Srinagar is at: 0194 2452691.
* To go to the Gurez Valley, you will need to obtain a permit from the Tourist Reception Centre in Lal Chowk, Srinagar, or from the Bandipora police station. This permit has to be stamped again by the police in Gurez.

TRAVEL TIPS
* Army personnel along the route at checkposts will take down names, ID card numbers (passport, voter’s ID card or driving licence) and may ask a few questions. Some might invite you for tea – consider that these men live and serve in harsh conditions and a few minutes of banter will go a long way in breaking the monotony for them.
* Carry all your car papers (in original as well as photocopies).
* When asked to follow a convoy, do so without question.
* Always ask for permission before taking pictures of seniors or women.
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

11:21 PM

Safety on Mumbai-Pune Expressway gets a boost

Safety on Mumbai-Pune Expressway gets a boost

The budget of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) indicates that groundwork for augmenting Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s capacity will not happen this year. But, installation of safety and security systems will not wait for next year.
According to the capital expenditure prepared by the corporation for the 2013-14 fiscal, only Rs1 crore has been marked for augmentation proposal.
The plan includes widening the Expressway and Old Mumbai-Pune Highway, segregate both highways, extend the expressway towards Pune, construction of two tunnels (one below Bhushi Dam) and building 15-20 flyovers.But, the frequency of accidents is a cause for concern, thus installation of surveillance and safety systems will begin this year. “A sum of Rs40 crore has been kept aside for surveillance project on the expressway,” said an official from MSRDC.
Another Rs16.35 crore will be used to install Brifen Rope Wires on the median of the entire 95-km stretch of the road connecting the two cities.
On Sunday, two vehicles collided near Kamshet, killing two people and injuring three.Motorists will not have any new roads for at least a year. There are plans to have a theme park and Formula 1 track adjoining the expressway, but it is in the nascent stage.
A sum of Rs15 lakh has been allocated for the theme park and and Rs5 crore for developing the racing track. A cricket stadium has already come up at the Pune-end of the road.
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