inox . ice age 2 . south bombay exotica . train

since i had two hours to kill in town yesterday having hitched a ride with mukul and his parents into town i decided to watch ‘ice age 2’ at inox in cr2- the swanky new mall at nariman point. very glitzy. marble all over the place with stainless steel trimmings. ruby tuesday where i had lunch was atrociously expensive and the faux american memorabilia made me more than a little ill. even stranger was that the entire restaurant had only foreigners as patrons.

the theater has hugely expensive tickets and as for the film- i don’t think i can take it anymore when animated characters in prehistoric times make contemporary american pop cultural references constantly for the sake of humour. here mammoths have ideneity crises and vultures break out into broadway musical numbers. not as racist or angering as some other films of the genre i have seen – a case in point being ‘shark tale’- but still trying too hard to be likeable.

the udri offices are in a perfect location for an organization that is involved in urban research. a terrace on the fourth floor overlooks the blue synagogue against a skyline of kalaghoda with the mumbai university in the distance. it was a picture postcard evening with a pink sky, a low moon, oval maidan with cricket being played and the grotesque beauty of the buildings. very exotic.

rajabhai tower and the stock exchange

from the udri offices

western railway hq
after a long time i was taking a train back in rush hour from churchgate to borivili. i used to do it every day for a while. yesterday the complicated systems of movement that seem to have emerged as an unwritten code impressed me again. without saying a word to each other a polite system of understanding exists regarding which side does one stand to get off at various stations, how do new travelers enter the compartment. someone needs to make a drawing of these movements. tushar is working on something for his exhibition in rome. dad is involved.