Month: June 2013

Categories
Big story

Builder shooting case cracked in five days

Main accused plotted the crime while in custody; builder’s car was shot at after he refused to pay extortion money.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

A Borivali-based builder, Rajaram Manjavkar, was threatened by goons from early May this year; the man who would call him identified himself as a member of the Chhota Shakeel gang and demanded Rs 2 lakh extortion money. Initially frightened, the 64-year-old Rajaram bided his time before going to the police. Things took a turn for the worse when his car was shot at in Borivali when he was on his way to work. Escaping unhurt, Rajaram finally took the matter to the Kasturba Marg cops on May 28.

Five days later, the police caught the three men who carried out the actual firing. They, in turn, gave details of Bachkana’s involvement in the crime. Bachkana is currently in police custody in connection with a crime in Belgaum.

How does one plot a crime when in police custody?

Bachkana is brought to Mumbai often in connection with court hearings for past misdemeanors. Last month, one of the three arrested men – Rajendra alias Raju Nepali – met Bachkana while the latter was brought to Mumbai, and gave him details of Manjavkar’s business. Raju stays near the Manjavkars and had been keeping a close watch on the latter’s current SRA building project. On learning about the builder’s projects, Bachkana advised Raju to extort Rs 2 lakh from him.

Raju made three extortion calls to Manjavkar, who blankly refused to pay up. When he last met Bachkana on May 27, Bachkana told him to bump Manjavkar off. Accordingly, Raju got two friends – Ali Rajendra and Dhiru Jadhav – to assist him in the crime. The next day, the trio shot at Manjavkar while he was in his car at Devipada, Borivali, but apart from shattering the glass windows and plugging bullets into his car doors, they could not get at the builder himself.

The investigation and the arrests were carried out by the Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 12. “It has been a long time since gangsters have actually carried out a shooting in Mumbai,” said an official connected with the case. “The last such major case was the (Mid Day journalist) J Dey shooting. The team is happy that key persons allying with Chhota Shakeel have been caught.”

(Picture courtesy Afternoon Voice)

Categories
Kharcha paani

Lingerie mannequin issue makes shops see red

The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association is asking for zero interference from the BMC in displaying lingerie inside shops.
Viren Shahby Viren Shah, FRTWA President

It is quite strange that Ms Ritu Tawde, a BJP Corporator, has proposed the banning of mannequins wearing lingerie or displays of lingerie on the roadside, and not inside the showroom.

We from the FRTWA (Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association) have always objected to anything being sold on the footpath by hawkers or through any illegal stalls. The BMC has only a few thousand license holders who are supposed to sell in a 1 metre x 1 metre area only, and in that area too, they cannot keep or display mannequins and sell any garments. This means that in any case, it is illegal to sell anything on the footpath, a resolution that is passed by the House, and the BMC does not need any separate resolution for this.

We support their action on roadside mannequins and displays.

Our objection is to the proposed ban on display within our shop premises. This should not be stopped or prevented, as it is our right as shop owners to display and sell the products. If we get any complaint from our customers at large, then we will look into the issue, but we cannot solve any such potential complaint by forcefully being prevented from our right of business and right of freedom to sell the products.

Since the time this issue first came into light, we have written two letters to the BMC Commissioner, the Chief Minister and the Mayor, and requested them to not take any decision in this regard without consulting with us. After all, we are the affected party, and any restriction that affects our business interests must be imposed only after discussing it with us and taking us into confidence.

Regards,

Viren Shah, President,

FRTWA

What do you think of the proposed ban on the lingerie display on mannequins in Mumbai? Tell us in the comments section below.

(Pictures courtesy photogallery.indiatimes.com, deccanchronicle.com)

Categories
Deal with it

75-year-old wins fight against Vodafone

Activist Bhagvanji Raiyani takes mobile phone operator to court over defective handsets in 2008, fights case for himself and wins.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Bhagwanji_RaiyaniIt takes perseverance and gumption, and an unshakable belief in yourself, to stand up to somebody powerful for your rights. 75-year-old Mumbai resident and PIL activist Bhagwanji Raiyani did just that in 2008. Five years later, he won.

After the 75-year old veteran successfully argued his own case on April 30, 2013 before the State Consumer Redressal Forum, Vodafone coughed up a cheque of Rs 6,398 (refund of purchase price) and also a cheque of Rs 30,000 (compensation for legal expenses and hardships) on May 22, 2013.

Read his story below in his own words:

“I purchased two handsets for Rs. 6,398 in 2008 from Hutchison Max Paging Pvt. Ltd., a Vodafone dealer in Mumbai on which the name of Vodafone was inscribed. There was two years warranty on the handsets. Many a time they couldn’t get connected to the network and were giving (me) lot of trouble.I requested the dealer to replace the handsets with operational ones, but they refused.

I filed a case in (the) Consumer District Court, Bandra which ordered Vodafone to refund me Rs. 6,398 with Rs. 4,000/- as compensation for legal expenses and hardship I suffered. I didn’t accept the amount and appealed to the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Maharashtra, Mumbai and argued the case in person on April 30, 2013. The Commission passed the order in my favour. Accordingly, I received a cheque of Rs 6,398 from Vodafone on May 22, 2013 as the refund of my purchase price and a further cheque of Rs. 30,000 as the damages.

My advice: fight for your rights, and never give up.

Bhagvanji Raiyani,

Chairman and Managing Trustee

Forum For Fast Justice

(Pictures courtesy www.presidentialdemocracy.org, www.timepass69.com)

Categories
Overdose

Mooch nahin toh kooch nahin

Where did all the facial fuzz go? And what for? Are we man enough to bring our body hair back?
Jatin Sharmaby Jatin Sharma

Waiting for a friend at Bandra station, I overheard a conversation.

A deep voice next to me said, “No Mark, I can’t come for the movie because I have an appointment at the parlour.”

‘Parlour?!’ I wondered, turning around to look at this person, who I thought must be a girl with bad vocal chords. But this ‘parlour’-going person was a young man. He told his friend that he had to get his eyebrows done, which made my eyebrows first shoot up, then come together.

I continue to be surprised, but I shouldn’t be. I’ve seen (and heard of) umpteen men regularly undergoing facials, eyebrows trims, manicures, and – horror of horrors – waxing. But apart from wanting to get fairer skin that glows, most men are waging an all-out war on body hair. The moustache, the chest hair and the rugged look are all going out of the window. Even the famous quote, ‘Mard ko dard nahin hota,’ is being replaced by ‘Do taangon ke beech maaro agar, dard nahin toh mard nahin.’

A moustache has been considered a mark of a man for time immemorial. Earlier generations of Indian men had lovely moustaches that were their pride and joy. It what made them the men they were, it was their ultimate masculine symbol. Even today, a gloriously-moustachioed man is the cynosure of all eyes. But a lot of previously-moustachioed men are now mooch-less – me included. We could say it’s a healthy trend, what with facial hair breeding God knows how much bacteria and with one’s food getting stuck in all that fuzz.

MARD campaignBut despite all our claims (or pretensions?) to metrosexuality, despite our clean-shaven faces and waxed chests and arms, the perception of a manliness still stubbornly holds on to facial hair as the ultimate male symbol. Recently, even Farhan Akhtar used the moustache motif to promote his MARD campaign – everybody supporting the campaign wore a mooch.

It’s probably none of my business, but the whole anti-hair thing freaks me out, waxing in particular. I continue to be secretly amazed at the men who walk into saloons asking for not just a haircut, but bleaching, waxing, eyebrow trims and pedicures. I asked a few of these men about to get waxed about wanting to get waxed in the first place, and all of them shrugged, “I just don’t like hair on my body.”

I am also quite baffled by macho fairness creams. “Mard hokar ladkiyonwali fairness cream kyun?” says a popular ad, but dude, if you want a fairness cream, be man enough to use a woman’s fairness cream if that’s the best you can do.

And don’t even get me started on pink shirts and green pants for men.

A few men I know take longer to get ready for a night out than their wives. It’s almost as if men in the country have suddenly realised that they can primp and buy fashionable clothes and the best skin products as much as women can, and are trying to make up for lost time by doing everything they can to not be like their fathers and uncles.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t much like this behaviour, it really creeps me out. I guess I still bear the legacy of a lost generation of Indian men, whose attempts at beautifying themselves started and ended with them getting a haircut. Most of them would blankly wonder what blackheads were supposed to be, and be quite aghast at the idea of getting a facial done. Several fathers still look askance at their sons’ clean faces, studded ears and long hair, and at some level, I know exactly what the older guy with the sad eyes is thinking – Mooch nahin toh kooch nahin.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up he will be like everybody else.

Some celebrity moustaches:

(Pictures courtesy www.salford.ac.uk, www.bollyworm.com, fashion.ozg.tv, www.mensxp.com, articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, in.lifestyle.yahoo.com, www.indiamike.com, rediff.com)

Categories
Enough said

Who will ask why?

The question – why are tribals killing? – needs to be addressed before looking for answers to the Naxal problem.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

Heated discussions are currently on in the corridors of power in Delhi, and the blame games are now taking off in the latest onslaught of Naxals on several Congressmen, in which they and their aides and other bystanders were killed in Chhattisgarh. Political lobbies are hard at work here, with the BJP and the Congress blatantly throwing charges at each other.

In the midst of this, every bit of news space is being hogged by so-called ‘experts’ invited to speak in newsrooms. Watching them and hearing them speak is tiring – most of them repeat themselves, suggesting outdated means to end the violence. Invariably, all their formulae are centered on hounding and then pounding; they are unmindful of the possibility that this may trigger another series of killings.

After all, paramilitary operations have seldom resulted in long-lasting peace. Countering violence with violence cannot get you moving towards peace.

In the last few days of watching a plethora of experts giving their views on containing the Naxals, only one voice seemed sanest of them all. That voice belongs to Director General of the BSF (Border Security Force), EN Rammohan. He has been the only one to ask the most important question: Why? It must have taken tremendous guts and grit to ask this basic question, but ask it he did – Why is the tribal taking to killing?

If you think about it, there have been ample background incidents that explain this violence, and indeed, the rise of the Naxal movement in the country. Why are those who had hitherto been living in complete peace in the tribal belts and villages provoked enough, today, to maim or kill those who govern them?

Is it only due to the widening gap between the rulers and the ruled? Or do political and business mafia also hold the key? The government of the day knows that tribal land and the naxal violence in indiariches it holds does not necessarily serve the actual owners of that land – the villagers and tribes living in those areas. Even as their ancestral lands are taken away from them, they sit waiting for justice that never comes.

In this scenario, what seems to be the only course to pursue – if this gap is to be shortened – is to engage the aggrieved parties in a dialogue. This dialogue should be carried out with the help of activists and grassroot-level workers who the tribals know and trust. Without speaking to each other in a peaceful environment, there can be no hope for the rulers to effectively rule. Trying to contain violence with further violence will only result in several more deaths and a never-ending cycle of terror.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy theopinionmag.com)

Categories
Swaad 'Anu'saar

A very sweet mango story

Everyone has a childhood tale attached to mangoes. This lovely fruit can also be used in several unique home recipes.
anuritaby Anurita Gupta

Aam ke aam, guthliyon ke daam. This famous muhawara is my favourite, not because I care what it means but simply because it has aam and guthli in it. India is the biggest producer of the mango in the world, and it goes without saying that this fruit is a very special one, indeed.

Talking about the sheer joy that the mango brings, famous psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chugh says, “The mango satiates our senses at many levels. The sense of sight is gratified with the beautiful orange-yellow colour of the fruit, the sense of touch is fulfilled while holding its soft flesh, and needless to say, the sense of taste is rewarded with the incomparable flavour of this fruit which is eaten in copious amounts and is available in many varieties.”

Scientifically known as ‘Mangifera Indica’, the mango, in all its glory, is found extensively in southern Asia. It is known to be very high aam panna in probiotics, vitamin A and C, and other essential nutrients like potassium and copper. It is known to be a very strong antioxidant, since it is really high in polyphenol flavinoids.

Childhood tales

I think mangoes are also so special to us Indians because they have a whole load of nostalgia attached to them, just like old photos! As kids, all of us have been part of or have heard an ‘aam chori ki kahani’. My aam ki kahani is from my childhood when we would visit my naani whose house had a backyard with close to 15 varieties of mango trees. My naani very proudly used to tell us how one can identify a ‘langra’ and a ‘totapuri’ and how ‘alphonso’ is wrongly thought of as the best of the lot while the humble ‘dusshehri’ should be crowned with that glory.

Naani was supremely possesive about her bagiya ke aam. While she would enjoy her afternoon siesta, my cousins and I would get together and pretty much rob all the mangoes from the trees while jumping from one tree to the other. It was quite an adventure, considering one of us had a fractured arm and another one retired hurt thanks to a bee attack, but it was fun nonetheless. The whole day thereafter saw parents running to the doctors with the ‘injured soldiers’ while the lucky ones enjoyed the spoils of the afternoon.

We would make green mango panna, which is extremely refreshing in the summer heat, and mango chutney was also another favourite that used to be an accompaniment to the moong dal chawal that naani used to lovingly make for us.

When in season, you can put mango in any and everything. So whether it is mango dal or mango murabba, it’s a universal ingredient. These are a few unique mango recipes:

mamidayaka pappu– Mamidikaya pappu (Andhra’s mango dal) : This lentil recipe consists of raw mangoes. Pressure cook tur dal with some turmeric till it is soft. Mash the dal and keep aside. For the tempering, splutter mustard seeds in oil, hing and a spoonful of urad dal. Add chopped onion and green chillies and sauté till onions are soft. Now add sliced mango and a pinch of salt and cook till the mango is soft. Finally add to the mashed dal and enjoy hot on white rice (see pic on left).

– Thai mango chicken curry: Use slightly unripe mangoes for this one. Simply soften a few onions and add a packet of yellow curry paste and sauté for 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and then add two diced mangoes to it. Simmer for 5 minutes and then add boneless chicken to it. Keep adding water or coconut milk until chicken is cooked. Serve with sticky rice.

– Chettu manga achar (Instant mango pickle): No need to wait days on end to enjoy aam ka achar. This pickle recipe is famous in Kerala and can be made in a jiffy. All you need to do is cut raw mango with its skin intact into bite-sized pieces. Grind mustard seeds coarsely. Add this coarse powder, salt, some coconut oil and hing to the mango and mix. The pickle should be ready in half an hour. mango pickle

– Punjabi gudamba: This refreshing drink is especially famous in the North, and so simple to make that we would make it as kids. Whistle up a mixture of raw and ripe mangoes in a pressure cooker. Remove the skin and squeeze the pulp along with salt and dried mint leaves in a mixer. Give it a whirl, add water to make a desired consistency. Add jaggery to it and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Enjoy on a hot summer evening.

– Mango-melon soup: This one is unique and supremely enjoyed by our khandaan of 15 people at the table! More on the lines of punch, this mango-melon combo is perfect for the season, especially before breakfast. It is a ‘soup’ because instead of croutons, you can dunk chunks of mango in this otherwise refreshing juice of honey musk melons and mangoes. You can also make a smoothie by skipping the mango chunks and churning up the fruit with some home-made dahi.

Anurita Gupta is a media professional who is passionate about two things – food and radio. Her love for all things food makes her a foodie with a cause.

(Pictures courtesy www.boldsky.com, www.sailusfood.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.newgourmetrecipes.com)

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