rTunes

Last week I got caught in a very bad traffic jam on my way to work. I was stuck in it from 10.30 to 12 PM. It was blazing hot and it was not possible to even take a U-turn. I had no option but to wait with other commuters like me. I got very dehydrated and felt like I would faint. People were angry and no one was able to hold together their melting tempers due to the heat. This traffic jam was caused due to a procession.

It was the worst one I ever experienced in Ahmedabad. I have experienced such traffic jams in Mumbai though. While those are caused due to over population, Ahmedabadi traffic sense is really very poor. People drive in every possible direction. At times they don’t even have an alternative but to drive wrong side due to the infrastructure.

The worst thing about Indian roads is the level of noise pollution. I don’t understand why people blow horns when they are absolutely not needed. It is so irritating and so stupid. Some people want to show off their driving skills, as a result they not only drive fast but also blow horns every once in a while. It gets at me. All they are showing is their limited brain capacity.

Horns are indeed irritating and they make commuting harder. Noise pollution is really a nuisance and it is as bad as other forms of pollution. One shouldn’t neglect it and there needs to be awareness regarding this. I wonder why they don’t teach this very important thing to people appearing for driving tests. It is as important as other aspects of driving. People use horns instead of breaks. Why don’t they understand that one can’t move ahead as long as there are more vehicles ahead? When you blow a horn in a traffic jam or at the crossroads it’s like expecting the person ahead to fly and move ahead.

As it is we have animals, pedestrians and traffic; all moving on the same road in addition to a few vehicles even parked on the same road. Like this isn’t enough, we have the worst noise pollution. There are a lot of countries wherein blowing a horn is considered offensive and people don’t use horns unless absolutely necessary.

I see some people who not only blow horns mercilessly but also compose music with them. They consider themselves Beethoven’s or A. R. Rahman’s of Ahmedabad. They make these special little tunes with their horns which are even more irritating then the horn itself. And if you notice their body language you would realise they are proud of their little tunes as if it is the number one on iTunes. They are blissfully unaware of the anger it flares up in people like me.

So here are some rTunes (road Tunes) specially from the roads of my city for you...

Check this out on Chirbit

This rTune doesn't only have three beeps but also a sequence of the same. Interesting and catchy isn't it? (read irritating and atrocious) 

Check this out on Chirbit

A slight variation of the above masterpiece with four beeps.

Check this out on Chirbit
 Blowing an already long horn twice is the same fashion takes a lot of practice.

I wish I could mute these people but I have to manage with these ear plugs I got from Crossword the other day.Though they are supposed to be used while reading, I use them while commuting in traffic.

Hope people understand the difference between noise pollution and music. A good taste in music is an important strait in one's personality, isn't it?

* Sound effects from: http://www.freesfx.co.uk/
*Composed using: http://audio-joiner.com/

Scientifically, we are still not sure about the exact theory explaining the evolution, but according to Hindu mythology, evolution started when Lord Shiva played his instrument, the damru.  This instrument around 6 inches in height is typically made with a resonator of brass. It has often been claimed this resonator produced vibrations which gave out spiritual sounds forming the entire universe. The damru also symbolises the male and female unison.  The triangular upward representation symbolizes male procreativity and the downward round representation symbolizes the female procreativity. This indicates reproduction, which resulted in the evolution.

Damru
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Damaru.jpg

The sound from the damru beat the ‘Sri Yantra’ into existence. The Sri Yantra is holographic representation of the energy symbolizing Lord Shiva, which means He is the universe. Sri Yantra is also often claimed to be the pictorial representation of ‘OM’. Interestingly, the ‘String Theory’ which many say would explain the existence of universe and the ‘Theory of everything’ is also based on the holographic principle which is a property of string theories and a supposed property of ‘quantum gravity’ that states that the description of a volume of space can be thought of as encoded on a boundary to the region.

Sri Yantra
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AQoi4QDPlBo/U1sJNixQunI/AAAAAAAArks/haZde01u_4I/s1600/imahggtges+(1O).jpg

All Indian musical instruments have such fascinating stories behind them. There are a lot of instruments from the ‘damru’ family such as tabla, dholak, dafli, daf, dayereh,  defi, dhyāngro, etc. Daf is an instrument which is used in many countries for celebrating different occasions. India has an interesting story about how the ‘daf’s’ came into existence. It has been claimed that some Dalit community members were butchers in the olden days. As they didn’t get an equal social standard they had to work a lot, even in unhygienic conditions at times. They were not even allowed to live in proper homes. No one bothered to see if these butchers had proper waste disposal methods for the wastage.

The story goes that the cows’ skin which remained as a waste was flung away by a little kid and it landed on a round wooden piece in the form of a ring. The cow’s skin is very sticky, which stuck to the ring. Accidently, someone walked over it and realized that the object produced an attention-grabbing sound. They observed the object and understood the mechanism that produced the sound. They started making a lot of daf’s with different leathers. Goat skin is also used for manufacturing a daf. I really like this story as it shows creativity is prevalent everywhere. Just like Shivji’s damru and His music.

Daf
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51U6asfwtHL.jpg

The Dalit community still loves their ‘daf’ and still play it with great gusto. It is played as a part of the Dalit revolution. I really like the sound of the daf which is both calming and exciting, according to the pace at which it is played. This simple instrument can produce a lot of different sounds and rhythms. The earth is round like a daf and we all are the same. We may have different rhythms and beats, but ultimately we are all the sound of the same big round planet. Why should we discriminate then?  Why not enjoy different rhythms from different people like different sounds of music?

Today is 14^th April, Ambedkar Jayanti; which celebrates the birth anniversary of Dr B. R. Ambedkar who was a great Dalit leader. He was the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution in August 1947. Today we celebrate his 124^thbirth anniversary. A Google doodle has also been published today to mark this glorious day.

It is customary for senior national figures, such as the President, Prime Minister and leaders of major political parties, to pay homage at the statue of Ambedkar at the Parliament of India in New Delhi every year on 14^th of April. Today is indeed a wonderful day to celebrate world peace and harmony remembering this beautiful spirit. 

Craft on a cake

As I walk into Bakesters, I see a young couple ordering a cake for their engagement party. Harsh is taking the order while sitting across the table. I know Harsh since many years. He is my mami's (mother's brother's wife) sisters son. He along with his friends has started a new venture, called "Bakesters." They bake cream as well as fondant cakes and deliver those themselves.

Harsh Langalia, Soham Parikh, Sunny Trivedi and Tanya Bhatti were classmates in M.Sc Bio-tech. Once while chilling out at a cafe, they had a discussion on opening a business. They were thinking of opening a cafe, when Tanya told them about her baking skills. The guys were amazed and prodded her further so she told them how her mom is also into baking. As a result Tanya also had a good hand at it. Getting inspired by Tanya, they decided to start a baking business and "Bakesters" was born! They also made a Facebook page by the same name. They gave a nice tagline to Bakesters, “A treat for every street”.





Tanya and harsh






From L to R- Harsh, Soham and Sunny

They started baking at home. The first order was placed by Harsh's mom. They started getting more and more orders soon after that. The FB page was the only place where they had their contact number and they didn't advertise anywhere else. They got an amazing response in December with the parties in full swing.

These guys have been making fondant cakes which are beautiful cakes which look like craft on a cake. Fondant is a thick paste made of sugar and water and often flavoured or coloured; it is used in the making of sweets and chocolates and the icing and decoration of cakes. There are many home bakers in Ahmedabad who bake fondant cakes. However, they don't bake smaller cakes as the ingredients used in these cakes are quite expensive. The USP of Baksters is: they home deliver amazing fondant cakes, that too as small as 500 gm.

The Bakesters team knows the golden rules of hospitality industry in spite of studying bio-tech as they themselves home deliver the cakes that they bake and hence maintain a personal rapport with their customers. No wonder they got more that 950 likes on the FB page! Social media is a great tool of advertising, but one definitely needs to have a personal (non virtual) touch.

With Tanya leaving for Australia to pursue further studies, the guys got worried as they would have to manage all the baking and decorating on their own. But the best part is that they learned it from her before she left and have even honed their skills further. They bake 100% egg less cakes, which are a hit with the Jain's and Gujarati's of Ahmedabad. Hansa ben who was a house help at Tanya's place also helps in the kitchen.

The fondant cake industry has unbelievable mouth watering trends coming up every now and then. If you are a foodie like me and watch TLC and other "good-enough-to-eat" channels, you would know what I am talking about. These guys manage to keep themselves updated and come up with amazing ideas. Sunny is the creative one and is proficient with embellishing these cakes while giving them a proper finishing. (Finishing is the key word for fondant cakes) I asked him whether he is good at drawing and painting as this is a lot like that. He said, "I was good at craft in school. My mother loves painting." This throws light on how one art develops from other. Who would have imagined cakes being crafted like these? In this era of customization, where one can get customized clothes, furniture, websites, online stores, and what not, you can now "customize" your cakes too! I like creativity, and I would love to have a cake customized to the tee. Besides cakes, Bakesters also offers cupcakes and chocolates.





Love the rose on the cupcake




Whipped cream on cupcakes, can't get better than this




3 tier cake for a party





Who wouldn't like a proposal like that?



Or like this?




This one is just my favourite


It's been a month now since they got a shop at Bodakdev, near SG Highway. I went there on Sunday.




While telling their story they also told me of a funny incident. Once they had to deliver a cake to a birthday party at a restaurant. Sunny and Harsh were in the car going to deliver the cake when two fondant flowers on the icing fell off. As they had just started, they didn't have straw support for the cakes. They panicked but they knew they had to fix it. So they called Soham with some fondant paste. They waited for him on the road and fixed the cake inside the car when he got the ingredients. As Harsh was recalling this incident, his dad who was around remarked, “So you need to be more careful with cakes in your car as they are more delicate than your girlfriends.” I won’t comment on the girlfriend part, but oh yes, the cakes are delicious and the cream (which does feel delicate in your mouth) just melts so tenderly. As these guys are conquering the baking industry in Ahmedabad, (with strong competition from women home bakers) I would only say a word of caution, handle your cakes with care. :)

Feminism is equality

I got an internship at Femina two weeks back. Though I mainly write about cosmetics, beauty, hairdos, celebrities, international and national fashion brands, cooking and travelling; I also started wondering about the way women are perceived and what they feel about themselves generally. The word feminism is difficult to understand as I think it is misunderstood and thereby misused by many. People associate it with hatred for men. However, it is about equality. Like Hollywood star Emma Watson who has been appointed as the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador said, “Men- I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue too...”

I saw Homi Adajania’s 2.35 min internet film “My Choice”. While I really admire the fact it deals with women empowerment, I couldn't agree with a few things which were said. There was a line where a woman having an extra marital affair was justified; which I really couldn't digest. It will have serious implications on the people who are just starting to understand feminism.

However, as this is a video, people can interpret it the way they want. But there are major issues regarding this subject. For instance, women are imprisoned for lesser number of years than men for the same crime. A murder is a murder; doesn't matter who committed it.

Today morning on my way to work, I was waiting at the traffic signal for the light to turn green. As I waited, I heard a man calling out, “Oh madam... tame pan ubharo.” (Oh madam, you also need to wait) I turned in the direction he called out from and saw that he was calling out to me. He was on a bike and the policeman had stopped him for checking. Strangely, policemen don’t stop women at traffic signals for checking their licenses. I don’t know if this happens elsewhere as well, but I have seen this happening in Ahmedabad. Now this man was annoyed at the policeman as he had stopped him even though he was wearing a helmet and I guess he had his documents as well, hence he was calling out to me as I was also wearing a helmet and was on a two wheeler (Activa) like him. We both looked like we were following the traffic rules. The only reason why they stopped him was- him being a man. I would have surely liked to stop and ask the policeman, “Don’t you want to see my license as well?”, as I understood that man’s anger. And honestly, it is justified. I didn't stop by as I was very late for work. He was getting late for work and so was I. He was wearing a helmet and so was I. If they wanted to see his license, they should have seen mine as well. I don’t want this special right or whatever it is only because I am a female.

Yesterday I had to go to a building for some work. Besides this building there was another one, called “The Millennium Plaza”. I parked my vehicle in the no parking area of the Millennium Plaza as there was no “No parking” sign. There were no gates. The building which I had to go to had gates, hence I thought I was parking outside it as mostly they don’t allow you to park inside the buildings which is only reserved for the people working or staying there. The watchman of the Millennium Plaza spoke to me very rudely and started shouting at me for parking there even though I had stopped immediately and was waiting patiently for his instructions as I saw him approaching me. I had a fight with him; not because I had a problem with moving my vehicle, but because he spoke like a complete urchin. I really can’t take it. His name was “Deepak” and I really hope people like him are shown their way out and sent back to the remote village they have come from or given some lessons on social behavior, especially with a woman. This is where I want a special right.

This is what I mean by the word feminism. Women are now a part of politics, businesses, arts and even scientific advancement. Still, why do people speak to them like that? Thinking that she won’t mind it? She will keep quiet? I certainly do believe that men and women are equal, but I really think women should be treated with more respect in such situations. Men should be more careful while speaking with women around. Maintain a social etiquette.

Women are more sensitive than men are, I won’t deny that. As you don’t see women getting into fistfights on roads do you? What would you do if you encountered a situation like I did... as a man? Many would have gotten into a fistfight, right? I didn't. I am very disappointed with what happened. I am sad, I am tired and I am weary. I want this to stop.

A man should be more sensitive towards a woman’s feelings. It is scientifically proven that a woman is more sensitive. Now think about this, she feels more but expresses less. The special rights given to us are meaningless if we don’t get the respect we deserve.