Bhutan
Canada
India
Israel
Peru
Russia
USA
Subscribe
These kids from Bhivpuri village near Matheran, a hill station close to Mumbai, were eager to get photographed. The toddler in the girl’s arms started laughing after the flash of my camera went off 
It was such a wonderful moment!
कालच्या ई-सकाळ मध्ये ही बातमी वाचली आणि अचानक डोंबिवलीची (घरची) आठवण झाली.
अनेक पुरस्कारांनी नावाजलेल्या, प्रेक्षक आणि समीक्षकांच्या प्रशंसेस पात्र ठरलेल्या तसेच राष्ट्रीय व आंतरराष्ट्रीय पातळीवर गौरविलेल्या “डोंबिवली फास्ट’ या चित्रपटाने आपल्या शिरपेचात आणखी एक मानाचा तुरा खोवला आहे. ….
आज जाहीर झालेल्या राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कारांमध्ये सर्वोत्कृष्ट प्रादेशिक चित्रपटाचा (मराठी) बहुमान त्याने मिळविला. स्वदेशी एण्टरटेन्मेंट प्रस्तुत समीर गायकवाडनिर्मित आणि निशिकांत कामत दिग्दर्शित या चित्रपटाने चांगले यश मिळविले होते.
तुम्ही हा चित्रपट पाहीला नसेल तर लगेच् बघा, चुकवू नेये असा चित्रपट आहे. माधव आपटे ही व्यक्ति चित्रपटात तुमच्या-आमच्यातली आजवर लपून रहीलेली एक गडद रंग छटा सादर करते. माधव आपटे - एक सामान्य माणूस. बॅंकेत चांगल्या पदावर नोकरी, बायको, दोन मुलं, संसार सुखाने करावा, अशी इच्छा मनात, पण तत्त्वं सांभाळताना त्याची कसरत व्हायची…. अतीशय छान परीक्षण येथे वाचा.
खरंच… खुप काळानंतर मला उत्तम कथा, सादरीकरण व छायाचित्रण या चित्रपटात बघायला मिळालं. कथेचा वेग योग्य तर आहेच्, पण त्याच् बरोबर कलाकारांची भूमिका ही अप्रतीम. शेवट जरा विचित्र वाटला, पण तरी बराच वास्तववादी आहे.
[tag]Dombivli[/tag] Fast is a [tag]Marathi[/tag] [tag]movie[/tag] that was made in 2005. It is the story of Madhav Apte, a middle-class Marathi man who lives in Dombivli, a suburb some 50km away from Mumbai. He is a man with principles, who has a simple aim in life - to support his family and keep them happy. Madhav is troubled by the endless struggle and the problems that surround him. Suburban trains in Mumbai are referred to by their destination and speed. [tag]Dombivli Fast[/tag] thus indicates a local train that originates / terminates in Dombivli and stops at select stations (hence the word ‘fast’).
The film has won a string of domestic and international award, latest being the National award for best picture. The movie is based on a storyline that people of Mumbai can instantly identify with.
Marathi director Nishikant Kamath is making his Tamil debut by remaking this movie(starring R. Madhavan and Sangeetha) - Evano Oruvan
I remember watching the movie in a house-full hall. Even after the movie ended, people just sat there, in silence… it is a story that everyone can associate themselves with.
Dombivli is my hometown by the way.
September 2006, from the [tag]Gavdevi[/tag] Temple at Bhopar Village on the outskirts of my hometown, [tag]Dombivli[/tag]
Dombivli or [tag]Dombivali[/tag] is a suburb of Mumbai on the Central line. It has a population of about 1,193,000 (2001 census, provisional results). It is the first fully literate town in Maharashtra and the second in India. Dombivli is a predominantly Marathi speaking middle class city….
Sunset behind the Parsik hill where the [tag]Mumbra[/tag] devi temple is located. In a few minutes the path to the temple should be illuminated, and it looks like a bright serpant on the hill.
The blue-white [tag]Diva - Vasai[/tag] shuttle:
Finally, a goods train chugging silently:
The main [tag]Mumbai[/tag] suburban rail tracks are not visible in these pictures.
Benches in [tag]Mumbai[/tag]’s [tag]suburban[/tag] [tag]local train[/tag]s have a fundamental flaw. They accommodate 3¼ persons each. Usually the trains are crowded and the entering commuters are on a mission to grab a place to sit. It takes monumental effort to snatch the first 3 places on the bench. But the mission doesn’t stop there. There is an equal urgency to occupy the balance ¼th piece of real estate – the fourth seat, erstwhile known as ‘request seat’. The fourth seat means compromise and submission to constant brushing against outgoing and incoming commuters. And whats worse, you just get to rest your butt partly.
Me standing on the footboard while the train chugs into the next station.
Hypothetical situation: Three passengers are sitting on the bench and there is a tiny strip of empty space.
This [tag]commuter[/tag] enters the compartment and frantically searches for a place to sit.
The meek: Realizes that this is a request seat. Asks the other [tag]passenger[/tag]s politely, “May I sit here?” These kinds are usually senior members, or those who are new to Mumbai and shy.
The frequenter: “Please move, I need some place to sit”. This is considered to be a plain ‘no-nonsense’ request typical to Mumbai. Most of the Mumbaikars belong to this category, and this is a part of their daily life. They know that its not possible to get anything without asking it, albeit he is polite.
The imposer: “Hey, move, I want this place”. The ill mannered consider the half seat as their birthright. They will often enter into arguments with others if they don’t give sufficient space to sit. Many people in this category are those who are some weeks new into the city, or the infrequent travelers.
Now lets look at the passengers who are already sitting on the bench.
The liberals: These people crunch and make space for accommodating the fourth person even before he requests it. Again, they are typical Mumbaikars, who realize that some day they would be the ones looking for a seat. These people are comfortable with ‘The meek’ or ‘The frequenter’. However, the moment they encounter ‘The imposer’, they get converted to ‘The unyielding’.
The reluctant: This group shows extreme reluctance to crunch. They are very lethargic and often the fourth person will have to repeat his request to get some concession.
The impostor: On request from the fourth person, he will make a token gesture of moving. This person is unwilling to cede any space. He is also confrontationist and short tempered.
The unyielding: These are the people who flatly refuse to accommodate the fourth person unless he is ‘The meek’. Often a gang of friends returning after a exhausting day at work fall in this category. They are not interested in confrontations and will simply ignore the fourth person.
Something worth mentioning is that the ‘fourth seat’ exists only in second class compartments. The fourth person can remotely be described as being comfortable, Tapan and full2faltu, write more about it. Vishy describes how the fourth seat is an ignominious position… lol
There is excessive [tag]economic disparity[/tag] in Mumbai. It is a known phenomenon but never did the reality hit me so hard than the other day.
I was traveling in the second class compartment in a crowded [tag]local train[/tag]. Every now and then, a [tag]salesman[/tag] would board the compartment and advertise his wares. These salesmen have innovative strategies to attract the bored commuters’ attention. It’s definitely an art!
A [tag]perfume[/tag] seller got in at Thane and soon the whole compartment was filled with a sweet scent. Automatically people’s curious heads turned and he captured their interest in no time. He started speaking.
महिन्याला दोन हजार कमावता, दहा रुपयाचा परफ्यूम का नाही परवडणार? राजा सारखे जगा, घामाने भिजून कामाला जाण्यात काय अर्थ आहे? हा परफ्यूम वापरा आणि बघा सगळे कसे इंप्रेस होतात ते. तुमचे साहेब केबिन मध्ये बोलवून तुमहाला प्रोमोशन देतील! गारंटी देतो, घेऊन तर बघा.(You are earning Rs. 2000 a month; why cant you afford a perfume for Rs. 10? Live like a king, whats the point in going to work smelling of sweat? Try this perfume and everyone in your office will be impressed. Your boss will call you into his cabin and give you a promotion. Just try, it works.)
He then went about offering free samples to everyone who stretched their hand. Within minutes the guy sold about 15 bottles and happily exited to the next compartment.
What left me stunned was his line ‘You are earning 2000 per month’. How can people survive on such a paltry amount? Initially it was self-denial, ‘nobody earns so low’. But dammit, there ARE people who work in my office doing odd jobs such as cleaning the tables in the cafeteria, or keeping fresh stacks of paper near the printer. These guys earn an annual [tag]income[/tag] less than my monthly [tag]salary[/tag]. And yet they are much better off than the daily wage workers, who not only toil physically all day, but also wonder at the end of the day where their next meal is going to come from.
Yes, there is lot of money in Mumbai, and if you are hardworking and educated, you share the pie. If you are not educated and lack communication skills, the pie is a distant dream. Of course, I’m making this sound as simple as two plus two four, rather than talking about the grim facts. Things are getting increasingly polarized and the economic divide is staggering.
The perfume seller spread fragrance in the train, but thinking of all these things raised a stink.