Mumbai Discussions

[vadditwice]

Originally Posted by hshah

The issue in having more two wheelers in a city like mumbai is that the driving sense of people will turn it into a nightmare even worse than what it is right now. I am all for two wheelers but our road discipline is simply horrible. And lets face it even if anyone tries to start changing it now, it will take atleast two generations for any change to be visible.

Besides, I agree with the autowallahs demand for hike in fare. Considering the inflation, they do have a right to a good living, and provide a decent life to their families. The only screw up is that with all the meter tampering, blatant fare refusals and the consistent threats of strike, Mr rao and co have only isolated themselves from the rest of the city.

btw mumbaikars should visit bangalore. The minimum fare for an auto is Rs 17 and the culture of returning the change is non existent. and after trying to take 5 to 8 autos, one might take you to your destination.

Bangalore autos also CNG? Thats too much IMO. And 25,000pm is certainly unreasonable.

[sixsigma1978]

Originally Posted by hshah

The issue in having more two wheelers in a city like mumbai is that the driving sense of people will turn it into a nightmare even worse than what it is right now. I am all for two wheelers but our road discipline is simply horrible. And lets face it even if anyone tries to start changing it now, it will take atleast two generations for any change to be visible.

Besides, I agree with the autowallahs demand for hike in fare. Considering the inflation, they do have a right to a good living, and provide a decent life to their families. The only screw up is that with all the meter tampering, blatant fare refusals and the consistent threats of strike, Mr rao and co have only isolated themselves from the rest of the city.

btw mumbaikars should visit bangalore. The minimum fare for an auto is Rs 17 and the culture of returning the change is non existent. and after trying to take 5 to 8 autos, one might take you to your destination.

This is true - the Autos in Bangalore rule the roost for being 100% unadulterated A##Holes! But I think their degree of crassness wouldn't vary much in any city, including Mumbai - the AUTO itself is a symbol of frustration and helpless convenience at the same time!! The sheer mockery of hate-them-cant-live-without-them is so evident in their attitude - that as I said, only seamless metro-BRTS-public transportation-private taxi fleet nexus can break!!

And break it will!!!

[Indiadreams]

Originally Posted by vadditwice

Bangalore autos also CNG? Thats too much IMO. And 25,000pm is certainly unreasonable.

They were earning that kind of money before the RTO's drive on tampered meters. Now they dont want to have a reduced income.The service class in Mumbai earns more than what anyone can think (because of high demand of any kind of services in Mumbai). Just that Mumbai's real estate is expensive forcing them to stay in slums /dilapidated buildings.

Fare hike is fine. But only if they install electronic metres. It just costed me 60 bucks from 7 bungalows to pali hills, which I feel is very low (It used to be around 80-90 bucks before the RTO drive)

Having said that, Mumbai autos are the best among the major metros (except for fare refusal in peak hours).

[vadditwice]

Originally Posted by Indiadreams

They were earning that kind of money before the RTO's drive on tampered meters. Now they dont want to have a reduced income.The service class in Mumbai earns more than what anyone can think (because of high demand of any kind of services in Mumbai). Just that Mumbai's real estate is expensive forcing them to stay in slums /dilapidated buildings.

Fare hike is fine. But only if they install electronic metres. It just costed me 60 bucks from 7 bungalows to pali hills, which I feel is very low (It used to be around 80-90 bucks before the RTO drive)

Having said that, Mumbai autos are the best among the major metros (except for fare refusal in peak hours).

The refusal seems to be improving near stations these days. There are policemen nowadays hiding behind cars. The moment the see one refusing they & come throw a few punches at his face. Might not be the best way but its working

[sixsigma1978]

Originally Posted by vadditwice

The refusal seems to be improving near stations these days. There are policemen nowadays hiding behind cars. The moment the see one refusing they & come throw a few punches at his face. Might not be the best way but its working

Its the only language they understand!!

[KuwarOnline]

Originally Posted by sixsigma1978

Its the only language they understand!!

+1

[vadditwice]

MNS workers beat up auto driver, warn against strike

Maharashtra Navnirman Seva (MNS) workers on Wednesday beat up an auto-rickshaw driver for allegedly denying service to a passenger. They vandalised the vehicle and set it afire.
The incident took place soon after MNS chief Raj Thackeray threatened the auto drivers to teach them a lesson if they go on strike causing inconvenience to Mumbaikars.
Thackeray's latest warning against auto drivers came after a day-long strike by the auto unions against crackdown on tampered metres.

Full News

[MeMumbaikar]

LOL

[flyinfishjoe]

We have the most unique politicians in the world.

[williemore]

I am not sure how unions can go on strike against crackdown on tampered meters... like really??? really really really?? you mean to say tampering meters is your right? and demand to legalize autos w/o permits... again really??

vandalism that followed is a different topic tho...

[KB335ci2]

Originally Posted by vadditwice

mns-workers-targets-auto-drivers-warns-against-strike

Note how one never sees/hears about a single incident of an MNS/Sena fu*ktard stepping up to tackle an issue on his/her own. These losers always come in smelly groups no different from herds of wild cattle. Absolutely appalling.

[KB335ci2]

IIRC, there was a restaurant/bar/club thread for Bombay, which I can't seem to find...therefore, posting this here...

Tote on the Turf (now 'Neel at Tote on the Turf) won the Wallpaper Design Award for the world's best designed restaurant of 2011, and rightly so - It is beautifully detailed and is stunningly lit, both naturally and artificially.

[devendra1]

was in Mumbai yesterday. In a way was more impressed as well as depressed.
Impressed -because of new flyovers and skyscrapers comming up everywhere.
But there were more reasons for being depressed -
1) Almost all the flyovers are used by homeless people.
2) Lots of footpaths taken over by homeless people again their children using bustops for playing and shitting near it.
3) Saw some shanties bang in front of Police station (near Oberoi mall)
4) Some of the old buildings were being redeveloped seperately rather than cluster redevelopment. This will not leave any scope for road widening and add more people in highrises.

[williemore]

in fact for the first time I felt like patting their backs... this is not against any community, there are pple from all parts of India in the auto union... but you certainly don't travel by taxis or autos... and i thot their demands were too much... altho i agree that there shud be correction in fares... but if there was a way to peacefully resolve this, they shud have tried that first... btw 2 people were injured by auto walas in the two weeks prior to the mns/ss violence... i think all parties need education on legal co-existence...

i say legal bcoz there shud be no excuses for illegal anything... no matter if he/she is anyone's community/religion/caste/race... anything that is illegal shud be stopped... in any manner possible... that was never done before, is when pple start sitting on ur head... n state governments of India shud take responsibility of creating enuf legal opportunities... but do they really care is a tangent...

Originally Posted by KB335ci2

Note how one never sees/hears about a single incident of an MNS/Sena fu*ktard stepping up to tackle an issue on his/her own. These losers always come in smelly groups no different from herds of wild cattle. Absolutely appalling.

[MeMumbaikar]

Originally Posted by williemore

I am not sure how unions can go on strike against crackdown on tampered meters... like really??? really really really?? you mean to say tampering meters is your right? and demand to legalize autos w/o permits... again really??

vandalism that followed is a different topic tho...

yeah its odd

They go on strike because of a crackdown on doing something wrong (tampered meters)

what next, doctors go on strike because government cracks down counterfeit medicine.

[KuwarOnline]

Originally Posted by MeMumbaikar

yeah its odd

They go on strike because of a crackdown on doing something wrong (tampered meters)

what next, doctors go on strike because government cracks down counterfeit medicine.

[williemore]

lol... m only guessing doctors will receive enuf support... in the name of faith/language/community/caste... welcome to India!

Originally Posted by MeMumbaikar

yeah its odd

They go on strike because of a crackdown on doing something wrong (tampered meters)

what next, doctors go on strike because government cracks down counterfeit medicine.

[Indiadreams]

Hilarious! But bit exaggerated.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/e...w/10339972.cms

The inimitable social commentator Suhel Seth lists out 17 differences in the way people party in the two cities

1 The folks in Mumbai go to parties to meet people, show off their new Diors and Bulgaris and then come back home wading through traffic and Thackeray posters. In Delhi, the reasons to go to a party are different: you must attend lest you get knocked off the list. In Delhi they practice Social Terrorism; if you don't invite someone he will terrorise you, and if you do, he will make a mess of himself and still terrorise you.

2 In Mumbai, the parties start late and end early while in Delhi, the parties start early and end whenever the goddamn Minister leaves. So if the Minister leaves early, so do all his friends and god forbid, the Minister catches the fancy of the host's wife, then you are history; yes, you might get to start an arms dealership but you can (never) kiss your wife goodbye.

3Generally, in Mumbai, people leave with the same people they came to the party with; in Delhi, it is all flexible: depends who ensnares who and how important the preying party is on the prey. So let's say if there's a Haryana hoodlum preying on someone you've come with to the party, then my advice would be to scoot rather than put up a fight: why have yourself killed for someone who in any case doesn't give a toss?

4In Mumbai, people never snap their fingers and order their drinks by speaking to the attendants and/or bearers. In Delhi people carry their whole entourage to the party and at most times, the food as well. So the next time you are at a Delhi party and see one man walk in with four very (and better-looking) distinguished gents around him, he could either be Rohit Bal or for that matter an industrialist who travels with his folks to serve him.

5In Mumbai, the people you invite are normally the people you care about, and then you keep inviting them for the rest of their (and hopefully your) life. In Delhi, they follow the Telephone Directory syndrome; keep changing the list based on who is becoming more important. The worst sufferers are retired bureaucrats: one day they are Lords, and immediately on retirement, they are treated (and told) as paupers.

Contd from pg1

6In Mumbai people will come to a regular party dressed as regular people unless of course they are coming from a film set erected for a TV reality show. In Delhi people dress up as Christmas trees lest people think they've suddenly lost a fortune or their husbands are winging their way to Tihar: as I have often said, the essential difference is that in Delhi a cow will dress like a swan, whereas in Mumbai a swan will want to dress as if she wasn't born: the eternal size zero debate.

7In Mumbai, all extra-marital affairs start in private homes and then move into the public domain: in Delhi, all extra-marital affairs start in places like Parliament and then the penny drops and you say, what the heck? By then the concerned parties have lost their loved ones to some rogue or the other.

8In Mumbai parties, the emphasis is on how many people you can invite over given the large flats the honest builders of Mumbai have begun building: in Delhi, it is easy: if you want to invite 5,000 people, invite the Prime Minister and ask him to host the party; if you want to invite 1,000 people, then ask a junior cabinet minister and if you want only 100 do it in your house or at your farm: remember, in farmhouses of Delhi, the cows are the ones wearing the jewels and not the ones that can be milched!

9In Mumbai people talk to you at parties: in Delhi, they look but rarely talk: they look over your shoulder to see who's coming and how relevant that person is: in Mumbai they look you up and down: in Delhi they keep looking up because they know the tragedies that abound beneath: so the next time you feel you are being used as a crutch, knock your head and you will realise you are in some Delhi party.

10Given the laws in Mumbai, you can never serve great booze: whereas in Delhi you can: so Delhi parties are infinitely better than Mumbai ones where food and alcohol is concerned: Mumbai believes Bade Mian makes the best kababs: in Delhi Bade Mian would not even be hired to operate a school canteen: so to be fair Delhi scores over Mumbai in the food department: but then we don't have to worry about Kareena kind of sizes.

11In Mumbai, it is always black and if you are a banker then it's a suit: in Delhi it is always black and if you are a crook, then it's khadi and if you are a bigger crook, then it's khadi but worn as a safari suit and for the biggest of them all, it is khadi and a Gandhi Cap (also known to the bright and beautiful of Delhi as the Anna cap): so choose your clothes well before attending parties in either of these cities.

12In Delhi, intellect is at a premium so don't waste your time: in Mumbai it is all about the mind especially when you are part of Bollywood: I have to say, some of the smartest people are in Bollywood but they don't know it. In Delhi some of the wickedest are in politics and thankfully we know it: so be careful how you handle conversations in either city: in one it could be about the new premiere and in Delhi it may well be about another premier: get the drift?

13In Delhi people abuse the host and the food just as the snacks are being served: the folks in Mumbai are much politer and given they have longer distances to travel, they save it for the car journey home which is why Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger could have never been set in Delhi: the people don't need drivers to communicate: they say it themselves.

14In Mumbai, you must have some high-priestesses at every party to ensure you don't get the rough end of the stick in the media or elsewhere: in Delhi you have to call the Editors and the owners: that automatically scares off the journos: besides, there is always the last resort available in Delhi: the Mauser pistol: so if things get too bad, then a scribe will have to die for his story: no pun intended.

15In Mumbai, when you arrive at a party on time, you almost always have to wait for the other guests for at least another half an hour: in Delhi when you arrive at a party on time, you almost always have to wait for the host for about an hour: so choose timing well.

16In Mumbai, people generally call up the next day to thank the host unless of course they've skidded off the Sea Link trying to avoid running over a Mumbai traffic cop who is asking for some speed(ing) money: in Delhi you never thank the host the next day: you make them sweat: you make them wallow in thoughts of whether their party was a huge hit and then you put it up on Facebook...just so that the friends they didn't invite, never talk to them: parties in Mumbai are for fun; parties in Delhi are generally to keep people in check.

17Finally, Mumbai has a non-threatening environment as far as parties are concerned. Why for instance don't we have a Delhi Times party? We can't. If there ever was a Delhi Times party, you would need riot-police to check the number of gate-crashers driving in with red-light flashing cars. So while Mumbai is civil, Delhi is still a bit primitive but then Delhi is catching up. Remember Delhi will also host the Formula 1: which Mumbai never can. If the redoubtable Lata Mangeshkar objects to the Pedder Road flyover can you imagine what the singer in her will do with all the screeching noise from those cars?

In sum, both are great cities: one has still preserved its sanity. The other is busy losing it. Have a blast and a happy 17th to you, Bombay Times!

[williemore]

truly awesome...

[Master of Disguise]

Sure is written by a Mumbaikar...