Today we -me and jita went to varaccha.The area is the heart of Surat's diamond industry,which is the heart of India's diamond industry and India is where most of the polishing of diamonds is done.So it would not be an surprise if I guessmitate that out of out of 100 stones,93 are processed here.But go there and you will find no obvious signs.The whole area is crowded with shops and roadside stalls selling eatables.Shops selling hardware.Rows of two-three storey buidings flank the road-the stone are polished here maybe.They are unremarkable .Unpainted,greying with age and looks as if a single knock would topple them.But one thing stands out.Not a single window is unbarred.I would bet my hat that those are the places where a dull stone is turned into a sparkling object of desire.And also that the men moving about in bicycles and chewing paan are couriers carrying diamonds on them.A recent spate of murders of such men lends credibility to this theory.
But we did not go there to sightsee.Hardly.Varaccha has Surat's largest collection of mini halls.Rates are cheap-10 to 15 bucks and at any time of the day you would find a hall where a movie is just starting.Also you would get to see a bollywood flick which was released two years back.So if you did not watch the movie then ,with luck you could get to see it now.
But there is a downside to this happy picture.Some halls display x rated movies and there has been an occasional police raid where the viwers have been arrested.So for some people varaccha is stritly no-no.However if you don't go to such halls it is fine.We saw two movies for 20 bucks and got back our money's worth.
Doesn't it strike you as funny that a simle act as watching porn gets you arrested when can get away with serious crimes like murder and corruption and become a minister or MP.Our great Indian tradition for toleration seems to be replaced by parochialism.We need to change our stupid laws and become more open towards sexuality and pornography.They are here to stay and brushing these issues under the carpet would only worsen the situation and confuse the youthwho are the most vulnerable.Hypocrisy would cost us dear because these issues are related to the AIDS epidemic sweeping through the globe and after sub Saharan Africa,India is the place where the epicentre of the disease is likely to be
24 Nov 2005
Ode to a mug
Well I ‘m back after a fairly long sabbatical. Responsibility for this can be divided into my incoming exams, lack of net connection to my pc and also laziness on my part. However I will try to amend my mistakes. But boy it sure is difficult to go through life when objects decide to take a stroll out towards the great unknown, never to return. Since I do not take a dim view of humanity I presume that kleptomaniacs are not behind these outrages in which totally innocent articles are being sacrificed.No,my pens and mugs simply decided that they would no longer work for me and have absconded, thrown in their towels. If things remain in this particular state ,my towels-sorry towel-might be tempted to throw in its towel.Come to think of it ,this happened once but fortunately for me and unfortunately for the towel ,I dragged it back by the scruff of its neck. Now don’t go about suggesting that I might have similar problems with my shirts, thank you very much.
But I disgress.Let me get back to my original topic. Pens are manageable. If you loose them then 5 bucks would get you another .Now a mug is a different kettle of fish altogether. I’m speaking of a bathing mug, not its smaller cousin. You see, we do not have any showers in our hostels. So a bucket and a mug are used instead. When I found my (un??)faithful mug missing –I had a long and sentimental relationship with it- I decided that my bucket would also be retired, both of them being inseparable companions and one would be incomplete without the other. But now the question arose –how would I bathe, as I necessarily had to? Necessity being the mother and all that sort of rot I decided to go for the direct method. Namely thrust your head and body under a stream of cold tap water and have a nice rejuvenating, invigorating bath. But the position was rather awkward. The tap was at waist level and protruded 10 inches out of the wall. So in order to get my body wet I became adept at performing a series of contortions which would be the envy of any python. In fact they are so good stretching exercises that muscles which I didn’t know I had are in top-of-the-line condition. And its cost-zilch. You would save on buckets and don’t have to worry about their getting lost. So bath without a bucket – its good for your health.
But I disgress.Let me get back to my original topic. Pens are manageable. If you loose them then 5 bucks would get you another .Now a mug is a different kettle of fish altogether. I’m speaking of a bathing mug, not its smaller cousin. You see, we do not have any showers in our hostels. So a bucket and a mug are used instead. When I found my (un??)faithful mug missing –I had a long and sentimental relationship with it- I decided that my bucket would also be retired, both of them being inseparable companions and one would be incomplete without the other. But now the question arose –how would I bathe, as I necessarily had to? Necessity being the mother and all that sort of rot I decided to go for the direct method. Namely thrust your head and body under a stream of cold tap water and have a nice rejuvenating, invigorating bath. But the position was rather awkward. The tap was at waist level and protruded 10 inches out of the wall. So in order to get my body wet I became adept at performing a series of contortions which would be the envy of any python. In fact they are so good stretching exercises that muscles which I didn’t know I had are in top-of-the-line condition. And its cost-zilch. You would save on buckets and don’t have to worry about their getting lost. So bath without a bucket – its good for your health.
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