Can you imagine doing things as diverse as one, appearing for TOEFL exam at Saki-Vihar, two, relishing sizzlers at Andheri and three sipping tea at a shanty in Matheran – all in less than a day? I narrate today’s story while wriggling in my chair stuffed with soft pillows to position my sore butt and wondering how the human mind can work in such a bizarre manner.

I turn up with my friend Vaibhav at the TOEFL test centre off Saki Vihar Road near Sakinaka. After we emerge triumphant (I scored 260-297 / 300) at around noon, we notice our gastric juices already grumbling against the lack of availability of anything to consume. Some serious deliberations completed and we land at Kobe’s, near Marol, Andheri, a place better known for its sizzlers. (Courtesy Seema). A Sizzling Chicken with Pepper and a small dose of rice almost suffice our appetite; nevertheless we still plan to hang out at Pizza hut or Galleria at Hiranandani, Powai.

Stopping at Sakinaka signal, Vaibhav suggests that we go to Matheran on his bike. I’m initially stunned to hear this, but I agree immediately, and in no time we change the course towards Matheran. A two hour drive on occasionally smooth road takes us at Dasturi and by four in the evening; we are sipping tea at a shanty near ‘Welcome to Matheran’ railway platform.

We find ourselves on a pleasant short break from the routine life in the arms of Matheran, the smallest hill station in the world, a unique location barely 100 km away from Mumbai and a place where entry of vehicles is prohibited. At five thirty we depart after stocking ourselves with some chikki and wild honey and we reach outskirts of Dombivli by seven in late evening.

I am usually a time-table kind of guy but often exhibiting such sudden bursts. Glad to know Vaibhav too gets his kicks by similar fashion, no surprises – ‘Birds of a feather flock together’ as he better puts it. I must once again acknowledge his superior driving skills – to which I’m totally used to – but today he drove almost 200 km which calls for a seven gun salute.

Now tackling the itchy hair that have housed probably a kilo of dust and dirt. Special note: If you notice me raising my posterior and resting it down again, that doesn’t mean I’m farting, but I’m simply trying to make it comfortable.

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Came across these links while browsing: Mumbai Cyber Lab (MCL) is a joint initiative between the Mumbai Police and NASSCOM. The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell is established by Crime Branch of Criminal Investigation Department (Mumbai). The functions of these websites include reporting cyber crimes and assisting the victims, raising general awareness about cyber crimes and collaborating with national / international security agencies so that the common user has safe internet experience.

Cyber Crime is a crime that is committed over the internet. This is what MCL says about cyber crimes and the magnitude of the menace.

It is not a surprise that Cyber Crimes like money cyber stalking, denial of service, e-mail abuse, chat abuse and other crimes are on the rise. Cyber Terrorist and cyber mafia are emerging with great force, whose activities are going to threaten the sovereignty of nations and world order.

The websites give general information for users of all categories, and describes in brief the types of cyber crimes such as hacking, child pornography, cyber stalking, software piracy, virus dissemination, Denial of Service (DOS) attacks, net extorsion, Phishing, online frauds etc. There is also a section dedicated to Indian IT Laws.

Overall excellent websites and an essential bookmarks. Such initiatives by Mumbai Police department are definitely commendable.

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Mumbai is a cement jungle. Never is this fact more evident to you than the time of the festive season - Diwali. Diwali is the Hindu festival of Lights and is celebrated to mark the victory of light over darkness. Fireworks are essential part of this celebration.

Uncopyrighted photos taken from internet, not clicked by me.

Sound Energy ↔ Light Energy

If the news media are to be believed, the cosmopolitan consumer is getting increasingly savvy about environmental damages inflicted by the smoke and noise from these crackers. The manufacturing pattern has seen a marginal shift from noisy crackers to the colorful and bright varieties. However, this change is hardly useful since these fancy fireworks are steeply priced and are therefore beyond the capacity of almost all of the users.

“Louder the better”, on the other hand, appears to be the mantra. The sound generated by the bursting crackers seems to be increasing year after year. There could be another factor. The sound of the exploding firecracker reverberates in the densely populated neighborhood for long duration rather than dissipating away quickly. This causes minor but frequent local vibrations in the structures, something which they might not be designed for. Logically this is bound to weaken the buildings. The coordination committee of our residential apartment passed a resolution banning exploding the firecrackers on terrace or from open galleries of apartments. Such measures will ensure that the noisy crackers are burst only in open areas.

I need not rattle about the harmful effects of the acutely toxic fumes produced by some varieties of firecrackers and the long retention time of the plumes of smoke emerging from them.

However the sound and air pollution apart, the most tormenting experience is bursting of these firecrackers at odd timings – waking up at 2 am or 2 pm (or whatever) by the deafening sound of a firecracker demonstrated the uncivilized attitude of the public.

Perhaps the people would realize this by themselves. I’m not sure if the bright lights could eradicate the dark forces, but the rowdy crackers would surely scare away the tranquil spirits.

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