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Category Archives: Discovering difference
Personalising Bombay’s Paparazzi – Fahad Samar’s Flash Point
When you think ‘paparazzi‘, you think of mad shutter bugs hounding celebrities going about their everyday activities…
However Mumbai’s breed are rather more civilised. “Please sir… just one more sir! Thank you sir!”
Before I met my partner, I was completely oblivious of Mumbai’s paparazzi.
With him, I discovered there is often a warm symbiotic relationship between photographer and photographee. What isn’t captured on camera are the greetings by name, teasing exchanges and general camaraderie. (more…)
Two steps forward, One step back… mutual funds address follies continue…
In our intrepid heroines continued adventures to update her address with various authorities, kahani main aaya nai twist! (in the story, comes a new twist!)
Just as I submitted the 3rd address update – nearly one year after the process began – I was informed that apparently the begging, pleading, persistence and head-bashing at the illogical logic lead to someone somewhere deciding they actually DID have enough evidence and instructions to make the changes based on the 2nd application. Huh?! (more…)
The good, the bad and the ugly – India’s air pollution exposed by Obama’s visit
Why does it take the visit of the US President Barack Obama to highlight that India has a serious air pollution problem?
Some may have missed a small footnote in the excitement over the US President’s visit. It was initially suggested Obama, chief guest at India’s Republic Day Parade, should remain indoors as the air quality levels is hazardous to his health?! Naturally you can’t be chief guest at an outdoor parade without being… well.. outdoors! But at last there followed a series of articles in the press about just how bad pollution levels are in India. (more…)
Answering the annual update – personal + professional
There was a time when Christmas cards stuffed with hand-written letters and photos would be dutifully mailed off annually to near and dear. These were replaced by an email with a carefully crafted newsletter attachment. You know what I’m talking about – a couple of pages chock full of photos, a bit of bragging about accomplishments, glossing over tragedies, making recipients just a wee bit green with jealousy?
However when you live the other side of the globe from where you grew up, these updates fill more than a few gaps. For example, my spunky and precocious niece turns nine tomorrow – for her entire life she knows only that she has a ‘crazy aunt Carissa’ living in India who pops ‘home’ for a visit every year or so. Not once have we lived in the same place. Let’s just say – I miss a lot! Which makes my sister’s ‘Holiday Missive’ all the more precious. (more…)
Agonizing Address Changes – Welcome to Indian Financial Services
As 2014 draws to a close, I’m revisiting my great big long list of pesky tasks that aren’t critical but still kinda sorta need to get done… sometime… You know – the ones you do your best to avoid?
I’ve made ‘progress’ but not exactly stellar:
- I still have that pesky vexing tax records issue that just doesn’t seem to go away!
- After changing my address at the Foreigners registration (FRRO)… Guess what? I officially no longer need to even register with the foreigners office at all?! Gaaakh!?
- Armed with my latest lease and landlord NOC (no objection certificate) trying to track down the form and process to tackle my address update with the Service Tax authorities. After all, I only moved how many years ago?!
- The “Mr Hickling” gender bender was a pain in the arse but I’m finally officially female (according to Vodafone)
However the worst by far is updating the mutual fund companies. (more…)
Google melting borders – ‘Reunion’ one year later
Last year, my father in Canada sent me a link to a google ad called ‘REUNION‘
“Have you and every other acquaintance seen the Google ad that has millions of viewers?”
Aside from immediately recognizing a friend – Auritra Ghosh – it was impossible to ignore the emotional pull of this little ad story.
Reunion is about the fictional reunion between two elderly men from India and Pakistan. They were separated as children during partition with no contact after. Their grandchildren use various google services to help bring them back together.
Seeing this again today was a good anecdote to remind that while politics, religion and atrocities may divide, people still connect on a very human level irrespective of such things.
Today this ad has over 12 million viewers. While fictional, it taps into a deep sentiment that binds Indian and Pakistani people despite all that have divided.
I dare you to not get a little emotional!
Google’s Reunion
For more details, check out:
- Wiki’s Reunion (advertisement)
- For comments, check out #GoogleReunion
- Miss Malini’s “Have you watched the google search reunion“
Related posts:
Will it be ‘smooth sailing’ or more vexing tax troubles?
I’ve shared past tax grumblings… Now I know you are waiting with bated breath for the update (yeah right!) So… drum roll please!
1. Conundrum of a Canadian living in India working all over Asia
Solved and filed just in time for my flight to Amsterdam… I wanted to ensure it was done, dusted and forgotten (for now).
I’ve dutifully declared earnings less permitted expenses, discovered that earlier estimates of advance tax paid was actually overly generous so it seems that a refund is in order. (more…)
Wedding socials to crowdfunding…
A regular feature in Manitoba was “The Wedding Social“… basically a great big party to raise money to help offset the costs of an even bigger party ie “The Wedding”.
You find a cheap hall to hold it in with a crappy music system, your friend’s band would play, you’d charge a reasonable amount for drinks to make a little but not gouge the wallet, food would be rye bread, kubasa and sliced meats, cheese, slap on some mustard and mayo and voila! Oh and there would be pickles – lots of pickles! Plus a generous side helping of chips and pretzels.
Add to this donations of weird and sometimes wonderful assorted items for raffle / draw / bidding wars! Generally it would be a good time full of laughter and cheer while happening to raise some money too. Real people, real times together in a real community.
Then along came crowdfunding… with its global reach, click of a button payments and the pleas to support, share, begging help! (more…)
Re-unions and giving someone a chance…
Living literally on the other side of the globe from where I grew up tends to disconnect one from those awkward high school re-unions where folks exclaim how well they are holding up after 30 years then secretly sigh about the extra weight, wrinkles but do thank gawd the pimply days are long gone!
So while I haven’t made it to even one high school re-union I did manage to get to an ex-company gathering.
Yup – we’re suckers for punishment. Not only did we work long hours together faithfully for years, we CHOOSE to hang out one evening a year. (more…)
Ottawa shooting – Loss of more than just innocence…
It was during a Diwali cards party in Mumbai a delightful young playback singer and I were discussing her upcoming North American tour. And then she said:
“Have you heard about the shootings in Ottawa?” Huh?!
“In the Parliament?” Whaaaat?!
I was stunned. And days later it is still taking time to digest…
During the tragedy of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, I drove through chaos, confusion, thousands gathering around the sobering and nerve-wracking sight of the exploded taxi in Ville Parle on my way home… while hearing updates about a friend trapped in the Oberoi Hotel. She didn’t make it…
And yet I still retained a naïve belief that Canada remains by and large a peaceful nation, unlikely to attract such attention either from within or without. (more…)
Everyday Asia 