On a rare occasion I made my way to “town” (South Bombay from for the non-Mumaikars). I am a Juhu gal, and would gladly never leave Juhu, or venture max to Bandra on one side (shopping) and 7 Bungalows to the other (Chandrus mithaiwala). But on that day I had to go to Mahalaxmi to attend my cousin brother’s sangeet ceremony.
My dad opted for the Bandra-Worli Sea Link route (gorgeous bridge! My second time on it, and loved it even more). My parents proudly introduced the bridge to Sanil. “It goes over the water” (yeah mom, all bridges do). It’s so big and tall (once again, most bridges are like that). “Its one of its kind in Bombay” (Ok that I have to give it to the Sea Link). Sanil was suitably impressed.
We crossed the bridge the reached the other side of Bombay and Sanil quips “When we were on the bridge it was like we were in Singapore. Once we crossed the bridge….its India again."
I LOVE Sanil’s perspectives on things. They have their own unique flavor and a distinct touch that simply cannot be replicated.
He wants to only travel by rickshaws. Gets rather disappointed if Nana offers to chauffeur him anywhere. “Nana is also coming? Oh no! Now we can’t go by rickshaw, we will have to go by car!”
His narrative on rickshaws: “It’s like an open car. I can look out and see everything and feel the breeze in my hair”. WOW! I have never heard such a poetic description of even a convertible.
And not to mention his ad recall in India! OMG! “Buy the bubblegum, and we shall get free tattoo”. “Lux cleans 8 times better” (Seriously!). And “Horlicks makes you smarter”. Really!!
On that note, I don’t like the fact that kids channel in India sell media space. In Singapore, very few brands are allowed to advertise on channels like Cartoon Network. In India, kids are bombarded with ads from breakfast cereals to “gel” pens and innumerable types and varieties of confectioneries. Only in India a toffee and pen command a TVC. Wish I could work with budgets like that when I plan my campaigns and did not hear client say: “We can’t afford TV spots, do a DM instead”. Me: “Sure, do you have a clean database”. Client “Database? What’s that?” Ok I so-digress (but some of my readers will share my pain about this)
Will end it on a Sanil exclusive quote on India and food- “Chapatis are the most importantest Indian food. So mama you can’t make chapatis, that means you don’t know how to cook” (Spoken like true MCP Indian man!). Sigh……
LOL! Loved that. Sanil is adorable. I wouldn't mind listening to such talk day in and day out!
ReplyDeleteI do remember buying bournivita, boost and horlicks on consecutive days on my last trip to chennai, just because the t.v. showed each of them offering a free-bie. a box, a frisbee, a 3D puzzle... Aditya goes berserk!