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Avehi Abacus at Mumbai Marathon
Yesterday all over Mumbai folks woke up with extra aches and pains but satisfied smiles despite feeling stiff all over!
Sunday was the 12th annual Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM). One of the largest marathons in Asia and India’s largest non-profit fundraiser platform.
Clearly I’m not currently marathon material at the moment, however my partner volunteered to support the Avehi Abacus Project by participating in the 6 km “Dream Walk”. (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:
The majority minority complex – Christmas communalism
I’m a minority. A minority who generally considers herself very fortunate to be blessed with the opportunity to call India my adopted home.
However some elements in the Hindu majority have a ‘majority minority complex’ and recent expressions are quite disturbing.
Fearing losing its place as the majority, certain ‘Hindu’ leaders in positions of political power and influence, are flexing their might with tactics such as:
- Telling schools to have ‘good governance‘ activities on Christmas, effectively cancelling the holiday
- ‘Ghar wapasi’ campaigns with announcements of ‘reconversion’ ceremonies scheduled for Christmas day
Now… good governance is sorely lacking in this country…. (more…)
Bandra’s Equal Streets
Sunday morning I woke to a cool breeze and inclination to go for a stroll.
Now normally this means risking life n limb, dodging all kind of vehicles on the road and trying not to trip on sidewalk hazards.
However that was all before Mumbai joined the ‘Equal Streets‘ movement.
Each Sunday from 7am until 11am, one side of two main roads in Bandra are closed to motorised traffic for community activities. (more…)
Sightseeing Amsterdam’s The Edge
Amsterdam is known for bicycles, canals, gorgeous historic buildings, cheese, fries with mayonnaise, beer, coffee shops & its red light district…
My last day took a bit of a departure from that list… with a rather modern edge!
It started with a delightful breakfast catch-up at a café in Oosterpark followed by a ride on the back of a bicycle to the metro. (pretty standard stuff so far)
And then?
Why naturally hop over to Amsterdam Zuid for lunch in the business district! Isn’t that everyone’s top destination?
Huh? (more…)
Amsterdam’s Bibliotheek + Conservatorium (new and old)
As I sip my morning coffee in Bombay, back to the sights, sounds and smells of India, it seems strange to think last weekend I was in Europe!
It was a brilliant impromptu trip with many wonderful moments. Lucky me, last Saturday a friend had time to show me slices of ‘her’ Amsterdam that I’d be unlikely to explore on my own…
While originally from Japan, she’s called Holland home for 30 years – lured by her love of Western classical music and art. (more…)
Getting booted up for Amsterdam!
There is something quite absurd about buying boots in Bombay on a bright warm sunny day in a thin sleeveless t-shirt…
So why am I buying such footwear?
Last night I booked a flight and tomorrow I fly… and this time Europe (not Asia) is the lucky winner! (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…)
Everyday Asia 