My cablewallah is giving me trouble. And while I am quick to admit to my own mistakes, my present predicament is most definitely my cablewallah’s fault. Ideally I should be taking him to the consumer court or at least making myself be heard calmly. However, every other day when he decides to haunt me, I find myself shrieking and hobbling like a witch instead of dealing with the unfortunate misunderstandings that have caused a rift in our dependence on each other-he for his money and me for his unreliable connection.

I took my sorry tale to my friend who lives in a glitzy building in Khar where all these sundry services are handled by a contractor. Ha! Easy for her. She is not running behind her cablewallah like a screaming banshee with a bee on her nose!

However, she does not agree with me. Or more specifically with my ‘chalta hai’ stance. “You people just do not follow problems through,” is her puzzled refrain. She is in local parlance, America-Returned. And that actually makes her a completely different kettle of fish! Let me explain.

Of all the things that got her started, noise pollution took the front seat when she found that every time she looked down from her balcony on the 9^th floor of her building, she was confronted either with a festival playing out in full swing under her or a cricket match and even political rallies when things were beginning to look a little too quiet.

She lives next to a club which in itself is something that we all envy. No don’t get me wrong. I am certainly not vying for membership. It’s just that there is this expanse of openness to look into which is most endearing.

She snorts at this explanation. She says she showed utmost patience through all the shenanigans until one fine day during a cricket match when every single time a run was made (and those can be pretty frequent we lovers of cricket must agree!) a ferocious drum beat signaling this feat would take off!

On earlier instances she called the club-complained. She walked up to the ‘perpetrators’ of all kinds of noise and pleaded with them for the sakes of all collective eardrums, she even wrote letters but alas to no avail.

However, this time she was determined. Armed with the numbers of noise-pollution activists, local politicians and resolution she wrote letters, called incessantly, drummed up support, pledged help, pulled rugs et al until the club relented and accepted their fault.

She has had many a pleasant naps in the relatively quiet afternoons that have followed. This is not to say that cricket is still not played with noisy gusto right under her window, but she knows she can make the un-oiled machines of our civic sense turn.

The funny thing is she always knew. I did not. Every time I am confronted with a problem that is other than of my own making I never go out to remedy it. Be is garbage being thrown on the pavement in front of my building or even someone smoking on the balcony above mine and flicking their ash into my plants just below.

Today as I write this, I know all I need to do is sit down and figure out that if I am in the right nothing can stop me from doing what is right.

Gayatri

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Bandra and Khar residents will be delighted to know that the effects of the Environmental summit at Copenhagen have been felt right here. There will be a Car Free Day on the 21st of February wherein the stretch from Otter’s Club to Khar Danda will have no cars traveling on it. This is to check carbon emissions from cars. The committee members of the KBS foundation, together with the residents of the area have decided to organize the Car Free Day in order to curb pollution.

The residents feel that cars are the most polluting vehicles and in line with other international cities like Bogota, Columbia, which have car free days, the residents also want to keep a day free of cars for the city.

On the 21st of February, only one lane will be open for BEST buses and ambulances. The committee members feel that they need to attract crowds for their mission at Carter Road to participate in activities planned for that day.

The committee members feel that they need to reduce travel by cars and private vehicles. Instead, the residents feel that they should resort to cycling as a mode of transport and have requested the traffic police to create tracks for cycling.

According to some residents, cars are the biggest pollutants and Mumbaiites should try to reduce the use of private vehicles. The traffic policemen of the area feel that this is a viable option to control pollution, and that it should be replicated in other cities as well.

Pollution and climate change pose a serious hazard to the environment and the flop show at the Copenhagen Summit shows that the situation is only worsening. So, if we want sustainable solutions for us and future generations, we have to check our carbon emissions now.

Neha Singh

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Celebrate Bandra Festival - Check out the various events taking place in Bandra

Classical Dance of India

Dance Tradition shaped by the influence of a particular period and environment. Isha Kathavate, Chaya Kanavate, Nandini Ashok to perform.

Date  : November 15

Venue : Reclamation Promenade

Classical Dance of India

Folk Dances of India

Performances by the Warli Tribe, Rohinton Waccha’s troup.

Date : November 16^th

Venue : Reclamation Promenade

Theatre

Q Theatre Production - Some Girls

Humourous yet poignant look at relationships.

Date : Novenmer 19^th Time 7:30 pm

Venue : Hindustan Lever Park, near St Anthony’s Garage, extension of St Paul Road

Aparna’s - s*x,  m*rality and cens*rship

Exploring one of the most controversial issues of out time.

Date : November 20, Time : 7 pm

Venue : Hindustan Lever Park, near St Anthony’s Garage, extension of St Paul Road

Music

Retro Park

A journey through the classics

Date : November 25^th Time : 7 pm

Venue : Candies, Pali Hill

Usha Uthup

Also Geetu Hinduja will present folk/altenative music spotlight

Date : November 27^th Time 7:30 pm

Venue : Bandra Fort Amphitheatre

Rhythm meets Melody

Kathak and Hinduatsni vocal music, Isha Kathavate and Dr. Sandhya Kathavate will perform

Date : November 27^th Time 7:00 pm

Venue : Carter Road Promenade

Koshish

Blend of musical influences. Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan will perform.

Date : November 28^th Time : 7:30 pm

Venue : Bandra Fort Amphitheatre

Prem Joshua

World fusion instrumentalist and composer.

Date : November 21^st Time 7:30 pm

Venue : Bandra Fort Amphitheratre

Rodney Live

Rodney performs audience sings along

Date : November 27^th Time 7 pm

Venue Bandstand Promenade

Celebrate Bandra Festival from Nov 14th to Nov 2 9th 2009

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Festival in Bandra on 15th Nov 2009

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Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Festival on 15^th Novemner 2009 :

This ‘Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting walk thru Event‘ is the only one of it’s kind in India !

Pune Gourmet Club now partners Celebrate Bandra to bring India’s largest and best wine tasting event to the city of Mumbai.

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Event’ will feature India’s best wineries who will showcase more than 50 wines to the wine enthusiast. Set in the luxurious D’Monte Park, adjacent to the Bandra Gymkhana, the event is expected to attract over 3,000 visitors over the winter weekend.

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Event - where you rub shoulders with winemakers, enjoy wine tasting sessions and cooking shows, lucky dips, gourmet finger food and get to taste the finest Indian wines !

Spend your Sunday relaxing at the D’Monte Park, right in the heart of Bandra celebrating Bandra and the wine!

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Event : 1^st Bandra Wine Tasting Festival, Mumbai.

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Event Organizers : Celebrate Bandra Trust, Fountainhead and Monsoon Winds Enterprises - a Pune Gourmet Club venture.

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Event Date: Sunday, 15th November, 2009

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Event Time: 11:00 am to 10:00 pm

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Event Venue:

D’Monte Park,

Perry Road,

Bandra (West)

Mumbai - 400050

Celebrate Bandra - Wine Tasting Event : Click here to buy passes

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Celebrate Bandra | Celebrate Bandra Festival Events | Venues for Celebrate Bandra Festival

Celebrate Bandra Festival happens once every two years in Bandra. Celebrate Bandra is initiated by the Celebrate Bandra Trust and Fountainhead Promotions & Events Pvt. Ltd.

Celebrate Bandra is a two-week long festival and people from in and around Bandra get together to Celebrate Bandra. It is a unique celebration of culture, dance, music and overall entertainment. Celebrate Bandra started with a few individuals coming together with organizers to Celebrate the very rich, vibrant and colourful life in Bandra, the heart of Mumbai. Celebrate Bandra Festival started in November 2003 and it was liked by all Bandraites and non Bandraites.

This year, the festival - Celebrate Bandra will be held from November 14^th to November 29^th 2009. Each festival has a theme: in 2007 it was Heritage and in 2005, Education. This year the theme of the Celebrate Bandra festival is Bandra’s Environment.

Unlike many other suburbs, Bandra’s geography is clearly defined by its coastline to the west, and the railway line to the east. Also it is the first suburb on the western seafront, all of which give it its very own identity.

In Celebrate Bandra 2009 festival, the Environment will embrace primarily its natural surroundings, of which the coast is the jewel in its crown.

Celebrate Bandra  Festival Venues - the main venues for the Bandra Festival are the two popular promenades, Carter Road and Bandstand, along with the Fort amphitheatre .

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