WindChimes: Sound of Music

Here is another neat little project that I did some time back.This windchime is easy to make...and dosen't cost much..

Now here is what I did...

The main part of this windchime are the shells...now you can buy these anywhere and I guess they are not costly.The shells that I used, however , where free of cost...:)

I found strewn about on the Murud beach, when me and my family had gone there for the weekend. So I collected a bunch of them and brought them home.

Infact this was the hardest part of this whole process!!
If you dont live near Murud beach.. or cant find such shells..you can also use regular oyster shells.


Once you have the shells in hand..drill a small hole at the top. Use a hot needle if you find the shell to be very thick and tough ( be careful with it though)

Another thing you would have to buy are some beads. I bought these from my local store...I guess they cost something like 10 Rs.

Now take the beads and the shells and simply string them together as you want.

I used strings of different lengths so that the windchime got a spiral look!! Attach all the srting to a ring...or to a plate like I have. If you are using a plate drill a hole in the center and attach a hook.

That's it...your windchime is ready to be bring some soothing music to your room!!

Bad News Galore

This week has been the week of shocking headlines. First came the bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmadabad..then the reports of 18 bombs being defused in Surat...a mild earthquake was then reported in Mumbai( though I did not feel any tremors myself)...and today another bolt from the blue!....Ishmeet, the winner of the first Voice Of India drowned yesterday in Maldives!Here is the news article

It is truly a cruel twist of fate. Ishmeet was not the best contestant in the show and won the competition mainly because of his religion and loyal group of voters. If he had not used the voting format of the competition to win... he might not have gone to Maldives..and might have been alive even today..

But I guess some things are just destined to happen.However conspiracy theories have already begun to surface...and this is one news item that will be milked by the news channels.I only hope that Voice of India does not use this tragedy to promote their new season.

May Ishmeet's soul rest in Peace

Jaane Bhi Do Mahabharat Ko...

Ekta Kapoor's'Mahabharat might have become the talk of town lately( for good reasons or bad!!)...
but my vote always goes to the mahabharat episode from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. It is one of the most funny scene in Hindi cinema.

It was also the inspiration for the play in which I performed while in school. I played the part of Drithrashtra...the blind king..and although it was not the major part..so many people came to me after the play and said that they liked my character the most in the play!!!!

Ok enough of blowing my trumphet...let's watch the original scene...



Sorry for the poor quality :(...but that is the best I could find

Pronunciación

Pronunciation in Spanish is very easy if you know the Hindi alphabets. Many of the Spanish alphabets like rr or ñ have no English equivalent, but have Hindi equivalent. Also since Spanish is a phonetic language in most parts... it makes sence to learn the pronunciation of alphabets this way....

So here are the Spanish Alphabets and their Hindi euivalents
Vowel A --> अ

Vowel E --> ए

Vowel I --> ई इ

Vowel O --> ओ

Vowel U --> उ

B / V : Beginning of word and after m or n --> ब

: Other situations --> भ

C : ca, co , cu --> क
: ce, ci --> स
: ch --> च च्च

D : Beginning of word and after l or n --> द
: Other situations --> ड

F --> फ

G : Beginning of word --> ग( thats half ग )
: ga, go, gu , ng --> ग( thats half ग )
: Between vowels --> ग ( full ग )
: Before e or i --> ह

H --> Silent

J --> ह

K --> क

L --> ल

LL -->ल्य

M --> म

N --> न

Ñ --> न्य ज्ञ

P --> प

Q --> क

R : First letter of the word --> ऋ
: Other situations --> र

RR --> ॠ

S --> स

T --> त

W --> व

Y --> य

Z --> स or थ

Foto Friday

This week something different on photo friday. After Tuesdays post on the walking tour, I went searching for the pics I had taken on my numerous trips there. Sadly most of my collection was lost when my hard crashed a few months back :(

But no worries...here are some photographs my friend took when my group of friends had gone there a about 3 years back.

This is the flora fountain...Looks pretty dosent it...At that time there was no water sprouting from it but now they have made it functional...so even better.Thats adu with me in the pic

Now the Kala Godha precinct that I tlaked about holds an annual arts fest. It is really intersting with road side art installations and various cultural programstaking place there.


Now this is something you wont get to see . These book vendors have now been evicted. But just look at the number of books...
The police HQ!!

Thats the Taj Hotel in the background. and the Shivaji Statue right in front.Really like this pic, it has a nice composition.

This is the army and navy building...Simply mindblowing!

Ahhh!!...The Gateway of Mumbai...If you go there now though the scene will be different.There is lots of construction going on there now.

The beautiful view of the harbour from Gateway.I took this pic last month when I had gone there with my family.
Thats all folks!

SuryaNamaskar

Yoga is an ancient Indian Science. It is scientific in nature. It is truly amazing how our forefathers could think of such things.

Yoga is supposed to be a way of life. My dad has been practicing yoga for more than 50 years!!Naturally he taught me how to do yoga as well. Tough I dont practice yoga everyday..it is still part of my cardio workouts. Usually I try and perform the yogic exercises at least 2 times every week.

If I dont have time to do all the exercises, I try and atleast do the Suryanamaskar...

Here is some more info on Surya Namaskar

And a video...

A Walk To Remember

One of my favourite walking routes in Mumbai is the one that takes you from Gateway Of India to Churchgate station...and right upto Marine Drive


View Larger Map

We begin our ramble at the Gateway Of India. Located right on the waterfront, the Gateway is a basalt arch 26 metres high.The arch was completed in 1924, during the British Raj, to commemorate England’s King George V and Queen Mary’s 1911 visit to India.Plans are underway to convert the entire area into a plaza, where tourists can enjoy the breathtaking views of the Mumbai Harbour.Behind the Gateway steps lead down to the waterfront, where boat trips can be had to locations such as Elephanta Island.
Standing nearby is the magnificent building of the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Moving away from the Gateway, we have to stop at the Arey dairy booth. Located just where the main road turns towards Taj Hotel, it serves amazing milkshakes.Heading north along Chhatrapati Shivaji Road we will soon stumble upon the Regal Cinema.Built in the art deco style, it is really a beautiful sight. Located right opposite to it is the Mumbai Police HQ with it's Gothic architecture.

On the other side of the circle stands the National Gallery Of Modern Art.This elegant three-tier circular stone building houses paintings by Indian and foreign artists.Just opposite to NGMA is the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum aka Prince Of Wales Museum.Walking down a bit further brings us to the Jehangir Art Gallery. I have already written about these two places which I think is the top place to spend the afternoon in town.

Lining the opposite side of the road are the amazing heritage buildings of Elphinstone College, David Sassoon Library, Army and Navy Building and Institute of Science.This is the historic Kala Godha Precinct.It also houses many good restraunts. My choice goes to Samovar, which is located inside the Jehangir Art Gallery.

Taking the left after Army and Navy building, we come across the Oval Maidan.The majestic University building lies to the left. Walking along we see the famous Rajabai Tower.The Rajabai tower was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, an English architect. It was modelled on Big Ben, the clock tower of the UK houses of Parliament in London.The tower stands at a height of 85 m.

Our walk now takes us past the Mumbai High Court which was inaugurated on August 14, 1862 and on to Churchgate Station.
This stretch of road used to be lined with hawkers selling books.You could buy any book you wanted or simply spend some time browsing through the mounds of books.Unfortunately these hawkers have been evicted after a recent beautification drive.
Standing opposite Churchgate is the Eros Cinema Hall, which is another beautiful art deco building.

Walking straight we reach Marine Drive and the end of our little walk.Ofcourse we have to stop at Gaylords for a bit of refreshment before that.
Marine Drive is our last stop.Most buildings here sport an art deco look.Miami in the United States is the only city in the world that has more art deco buildings along the seafront than Mumbai.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Hey heres the friends title track...

I'll Be There for You by the Rembrandts

So no one told you life was going to be this way.
Your job's a joke, you're broke, you're love life's DOA.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear,
Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.

But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.

You're still in bed at ten, the work began at eight.
You've burned your breakfast, so far, things are going great.
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these,
But she didn't tell you when the world has brought you down to your knees.

That, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.

No one could ever know me, no one could ever see me.
Seems like you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me.
Someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with,
Someone I'll always laugh with, even at my worst, I'm best with you.

It's like you're always stuck in second gear,
Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.

But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.

Life...Who wud have thunk?

"So no one told you life was going to be this way.
Your job's a joke, you're broke, you're love life's DOA."

When I (re)started this blog I had promised myself that there will be no philosophical stuff. But now I am breaking my rule...at least this once.

What I see around deeply affects me...and the problem is that all I can see around me is gloom!!Everyone I meet it seems is sad...
People without jobs are unhappy because they are unemployed...those with jobs are stressed and sad doing a job they dont like.
Couples are sad cause theres trouble in their relationship....singles are sad cause they dont have a relationship!
People in India are gloomy cause they rather be working/studying abroad..those in U.S are depressed cause they miss home

Sincerly life is damn complicated...but you know what I have realized recently...we should stop taking things so seriously.If there is sorrow out there...there is also a way to rid of it.

Start following your heart...and dont give a damn about anything else.
Now all i need to do is start following my own advice...haha

Why learn Spanish

¿La gente a menudo me pregunta porqué soy que aprende español? Aquí están las razones....

1. Popular Language:
Spanish has some 400 million speakers, it's the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world (after English, Chinese and Hindustani), and according to some counts it has more native speakers than English does. It is an official language on four continents and is of historical importance elsewhere.

2.Better understanding of English:
Much of the vocabulary of English has Latin origins. Since Spanish is also a Latin language, studying Spanish gives a better understanding of English vocabulary. Similarly, both Spanish and English share Indo-European roots, so their grammars are similar.Spanish is also similar to Hindi/Sanskrit in many ways.

3.Travel:
Barcelona in not only destination that I want to visit but also tops my list as the city where I want to live( at least for some time).So it makes sense to learn Spanish!

4.Cultural understanding:
Spanish culture is rich and wonderful, much like Indian culture.Learning a new language opens up a whole new world.

5.Learning other languages:
It is said that learning Spanish can give you a head start in learning the other Latin-based languages such as French and Italian. And it could even help you learn Russian and German!

6.It's easy:
Spanish is one of the easiest foreign languages to learn. Much of its vocabulary is similar to English's, and written Spanish is almost completely phonetic: Look at almost any Spanish word and you can tell how it is pronounced.

¡Esperar que estas razones sean bastantes para que comiences a aprender español!
¡Domingo feliz!!

FotoFanatic...thts me!

Made this when EURO Cup started...This was a tutorial from a site...unfortunately dont have the address anymore...

Trying to experiment with curved sentences.This is great feature in CS2


Making this frame is really very simple. Can you believe it, that the frame was made using a pic of knives and forks!!!Now only if the person in the frame was better.. Just some keedagiri I was doingone afternoon.Was trying to make the ppl in the pic look like they were drawn there...not such a big success....Hope anku wont kill me for this..

Jaane

Finally watched Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na today. And the verdict is....Simply Amazing.

I loved the movie. The story is not something different.It's the same boy girl love story, with villains and with a climax scene at the airport. But the way the story has been handled is what sets it apart. There is something fresh about it.

I think the main thing is that the characters are so identifiable. I mean we all know a Jai Singh, a Rotlu...All the actors do full justice to their roles. The lead pair of Imran and Genelia look great together. I particularly liked the character of Jignesh a.k.a Jiggy. His potrayal of a typical gujju boy is perfect!

The other reason the movie works because it takes its weak points and turns the table on them. So right at the start we get to know that it is your regular love story...but trust me...there is not much "regular" about the movie.

One of my favourite thing about the movie is the way the interval has been handled...It was such a clever thing to do.

On the music front, A.R.Rahaman shows his musical genius.Simply love the songs Pappu can't dance and Kahin To.

So here is to Amir Khan!! Please keepin making more such great movies. Bollywood needs them! Loved Tare Zameen Par, fell head over heals for Jaane Tu... and eagerly waiting for Gajini.

I will leave you guys wid this song.Go ahead shake a leg with Pappu!

Best of Mumbai

I simply love Mumbai. Inspite of all its problems, I think it is still one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in India.

So how well do you know Mumbai???...Take this Quiz and find out!
I got 9/10 questions right!

Also on the National Geographic site I found this article on things that you must do in Mumbai.
According to them...the must dos include:

1.Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum
Mumbai’s largest museum
I agree on this completely. Its is simply a wonderful museum. I can easily spend a day there. It is so huge! My fave exhibit there has to be the stone carving of "Sala and the Lion".
One warning though...dont visit the museum on a hot summer day. There is no air-conditioning and it can get pretty hot and stuffy in there

2.Chowpatty Beach/ Juhu Beach / Aksa Beach
Mumbai's Beaches
Three beaches with three different experiences. Chowpatty beach is where you can go to laze after a walk down Marine Drive, eat bhel and relax. Juhu is the beach where all the buzz is. In the evening its simply teeming with people. Aksa on the other hand is the quiet getaway beach

3.Gateway of India
Symbol of Mumbai
To me Gateway of India is the true symbol of Mumbai.A ride on one of the ferries that start from Gateway is simply awesome.

4.Haji Ali Dargah
This picturesquely situated masjid is like a magical place. Go in the evening to catch one of the qawwalli performances that take place there.

5.Jehangir Art Gallery
One of the oldest art gallery in Mumbai. The restaurant Samovar, housed inside the gallery building, is truly a place every foodie must visit.

6.Marine Drive
A nice place to walk and watch life in Mumbai.Offers spectacular views of Mumbai skyline.Walking along Marine Drive in monsoon is so much fun.

7.Elephanta Island
Best time to go there is during the Elephant Cultural Festival

Abs Workout

Here is a great exercise for the abs.Just perform these exercises without taking any rest in between. Do this workout on alternate days, to strengthen your mid section.This workout is courtesy MensHealth...

ABS EXERCISES

Traditional Crunch

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands behind your ears. Slowly crunch up, bringing your shoulder blades off the ground. 12 - 15 repetitions, 1 set

Bent-Leg Knee Raise

Lie on your back with your head and neck relaxed and your hands on the floor near your butt. Your feet should be flat on the floor. Use your lower abdominal muscles to raise your knees up toward your rib cage, then slowly lower your feet back to the starting position. As your feet lightly touch the floor, repeat. 12 reps, 1 set

Oblique V-Up

Lie on your side with your body in a straight line. Fold your arms across your chest. Keeping your legs together, lift them off the floor as you raise your top elbow toward your hip. The range of motion is short, but you should feel an intense contraction in your obliques. 10 reps each side, 1 set

Bridge

Start to get in a Pushup position, but bend your elbows and rest your weight on your forearms instead of your hands. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Pull your abdominals in; imagine you're trying to move your belly button back to your spine. Hold for 20 seconds, breathing steadily. As you build endurance, you can do one 60-second set. 1 - 2 reps, 1 set

Saxon Side Bend

Hold a pair of lightweight dumbbells over your head, in line with your shoulders, with your elbows slightly bent. Keep your back straight, and slowly bend directly to your left side as far as possible without twisting your upper body. Pause, return to an upright position, then bend to your right side as far as possible. 6 - 10 reps on each side, no rest between sets

Side Bridge

Lie on your nondominant side. Support your weight with that forearm and the outside edge of that foot. Your body should form a straight line from head to ankles. Pull your abs in as far as you can, and hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds, breathing steadily. Relax. If you can do 30 seconds, do one repetition. If not, try for any combination of reps that gets you up to 30 seconds. Repeat on your other side.

1–2 repetitions on each side

Tables in Blogger

After having to spend loads of time searching how to post music..yesterday I once again ran into trouble with a blogger post. This time it was because of using the table tag.
It seems Blogger automatically puts a
commands after each line break in a blog post.This caused a large white space before the table.

Now a fix to the problem is given at MLA Wire.

Ofcourse the simplest thing to do is remove all the line breaks!!

Spanish Basics

Some Spanish phrases:

English	Hindi	Spanish
Hello	नमस्त।	Hola
Good Morning	-	Buenos días
Good Afternoon	-	Buenas tardes
Good Night	-	Buenas noches
How are you?	कैसे हो?	¿Cómo estás?
How's it going?	कैसा चल रहा है?	¿Cómo te va?
Wassup?, What's happening?	क्या चल रहा है?	¿Qué onda?
What's your name?	तुम्हारा नाम क्या है?	¿Cómo te llamas?
My name is Karthik	मेरा नाम karthik है।	Me llamo Karthik
It's a pleasure to meet you	मिलकर खुशी हुई.	Mucho gusto. Encantado.

Adiós!!

Foto Friday

Well it's photo friday once again...wohooooo

Posting Music File in Blogger

Posting the music in my last post took me about an hour and half!!

What I had thought would be a simple thing to do turned out to not so easy. Blogger does not provide any option to directly publish music in the post like you do for a image...after searching and trying out various scripts..I finally got one working perfectly.

So here is what you have to do to post music file.

1. Download the audio player plugin from 1pixelout.

2.The downloaded file is in the .zip format. Unzip the files. We will be using only:

• player.swf (this is the audio player)

This is an important step
3.Upload this file along with the music( . mp3 file ) you want to play.

You can use any free host sites. I used Google pages.
To know more on uploading your file, visit this site.

4. Now that the files are uploaded, copy their location and save it.

This is what your url might look like

http://username.googlepages.com/player.swf
http://username.googlepages.com/song1.MP3

5. Create a new post, and click on the 'Edit Html' tab. Paste the following code:

<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://username.googlepages.com/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" height="24" width="290">
<param name="movie" value="http://username.googlepages.com/player.swf">
<param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://username.googlepages.com/song1.mp3">
<param name="quality" value="high">
<param name="menu" value="false">
<param name="wmode" value="transparent">
</object>

6. Publish the post.
You should get a music player that looks like this :



Placing More Than One Player On The Same Page...

Since we have aready uploaded the player.swf now only the .mp3 file has to be uploaded.

For a second player on a page, use this HTML:

<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://username.googlepages.com/player.swf" id="audioplayer2"height="24" width="290">
<param name="movie" value="http://username.googlepages.com/player.swf">
<param name="FlashVars"
value="playerID=2&soundFile=http://username.googlepages.com/song2.mp3">
<param name="quality" value="high">
<param name="menu" value="false">
<param name="wmode" value="transparent">
</object>

Please note that id has changed to 2. Similarly for a third player id will change to 3.

So now you can publish music in your posts!

Hookah Pani 2

Hey here's a song that the hookah parlour owners must be singing right now!!...its by some Pakistani singer...

Hukka Pani

So the latest news from Mumbai is the ongoing drive against hookah parlours. So Mayor Shubha Raul went across town, sniffing down hookah pipes to get a whiff of tobacco. The photo is truly funny. Just look at her expression!Haahaha




So i guess no more of this....


Well, I don't know if all the allegations of hookahs containing tobacco are true or not...but I think it is stuff like this that makes amchi Mumbai!

Also I hope in the wake of this, they make the anti public smoking law more stringent. The other day, we had to change tables to get away from a chain smoker sitting next to us at a city restaurant.


Leaving you with this song...it's perfect for Mumbai Hookah parlour owners!

Fight Club

Here is one of my fave workout...It exercises every part of the body. And its useful if you find yourself getting mugged..haha

Fight Club Workout

First, do the Warm-Up Move for 5 minutes, then complete the following circuit 2 to 4 times.

1. Lunge and Front Kick: 12 each leg
2. Warm-Up Move: 1 minute
3. Turn, Block, and Punch: 12 each arm
4. Warm-Up Move: 1 minute
5. Head Crusher: 12 each leg
6. Warm-Up Move: 1 minute
7. Push up variation of choice
8. Warm-Up Move: 1 minute

Warm-Up Move
Assume the starting position, which you'll use for all moves. Stand on the balls of your feet with your knees bent and your fists clenched at chin height. With your arms up, throw a punch with your left hand at chin height while you quickly step forward with your right foot and back with your left. Next punch with your right hand and switch the position of your feet.


Lunge and Front Kick
Step back into a deep lunge, so your right knee almost touches the floor. Keep your back straight. With your left foot firmly planted on the floor, rise and kick your right foot straight ahead as high as you can. Return to the standing position and repeat, stepping back and kicking with your left leg.




Turn, Block, and Punch
From the starting position, step back with either leg while lifting your right forearm above your head as if to block a punch. Now punch with your left hand. Resume the starting position and repeat the maneuver, stepping back with either leg and punching with your right hand.


Head Crusher
Bring your right knee up and drop your right elbow down until they meet. Bend your torso slightly to the left to crunch your obliques. Kick your right foot out to the side, then snap it back. Return to the starting position and repeat the move, kicking with your left foot.


Push up
Any push-up variation of your choice.

Keep fighting fit!!

Hoy es Domingo!!

I had thought that every Sunday, I would post in Español!!
¡¡Para mi dio!!My comp crashed the first thing in the mornin!So I lost my exel file having my spanish wordlist!...Big Popat!!

So all this week and the next, I will try and get my wordlist back...so till then its only inglés on these pages..

adiós mi amigos...verte mañana

Foto Friday

This week on FotoFriday...

This is a very simple effect actually...all you require is a sky scape.

The Gulmohars at Kashid Beach Resort

Me Illustrated!...This effect looks better for high res images..but this is the best pic of me tht I had


Kashid in Oil

This is a wonderful effect me thinks...


More Photoshop effects to come!

Try It : Papier-mâché

Alright, this blog is not just about me blabbering about whats going on in my life.I will be trying to provide tutorials for stuff that i like doing. Now I am interested in a wide range of topics, so there is no restrictions here.It's more like a place to record things that i like to do, and which I want everyone to try out at least once.

So today in Tutorialized, one of the most simplest things to do:Papier-mâché box

It's easy to make, and is a great gift and is not that hard to do, believe me.

So start of with a small cardboard box. The smaller the box, lesser will be the time taken to complete the project!Also needed are : newspapers, glue

1.Make a paste from glue and water.Mix using about 1 part water with 2 parts glue.

2.Tear the newspaper into strips.

3.Dip one piece of newspaper at a time into the paste.

4.Stick the newspaper strip over the cardboard box and smooth it down with your fingers.

5.Do this lot's of time till the box is completely covered with paper strips.

6.Stick on more newspaper strips to give any desired shape. If you want you can also add a layer of tissue, using tissue paper instead of newspaper.

7. Leave to dry in the sun.

8. When it's dry, just paint it!

There you are done...

Here's the one I made a while back.
It is perfect to put small stuff in.This one now holds all my junk : 2 old penknives , some stamps, keychains, etc.

Hope you try it out!

Lazy Lamhe

Yup it's lazy time!!Solving the quadratic eqns part today..so not much work...wohoo.
With this nice break from studies, I finally got to play Othello. Its had been ages since the board game was last played in our household. Its a nice game to wile away lazy afternoons.
For those of you who have never heard of Othello..here is some gyaan from wiki. Also found the game online!!

Speaking of Lazy Lamhe, I find the song from Thoda Pyar... with the same title really funny...and according to reviews tht's the best part of the movie!!!...lolz

Rim Jhim

One of the best rainy day songs! Just look at how beautiful Mumbai yaar.
Walking along marine drive on a rainy day is something every Mumbaikar should do...t's so much fun..and if you have your Maushmi Chatterjee with you, so much the better.



This song goes to prove the greatness of R.D.Burman. A true genius that man was!

And it Rained

and rained, and rained some more....

Just when everyone was talking about the possibility of water shortage, and expecting the sun to shine tomorrow, it poured in Mumbai. Of course I had to be caught right in the middle of it!

But it was fun! A rainy day means people staying back home...near empty streets where the few people who have come out, have done so to play football.Oh..and nothing beats eating hot pakodas on a rainy evening.

It also wipes the grim of old mother Mumbai and makes her bright and shiny...err well almost!The last bit is backed by an article in yesterdays paper. It seems the first heavy showers unearthed a yellow crossing grid at one of the city's busy junction. It was painted on last year in an attempt to control traffic.Apparently if you are found on the yellow grid when the lights have turned red..you have to pay a fine. A nice idea..but one that soon lay forgotten beneath the dust. Well the rains brought it out, which resulted in the cops realizing its purpose and collecting a nice sum of money.

So you see, Mumbai rains have something for most of its residents. Now only if it cleared up a little before I step out tomorrow.....