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Alter-tailor

 The ‘alter-tailor’ is a concept I find uniquely Indian. Near my office, there is a long row of alter-tailor shops. They have no space to operate their sewing machines inside, so the tailor often sits outside with the machine. I am always amazed by how they operate in such a tiny space. I often wonder why there is such a great demand for alter-tailors. There are three main reasons: 1. The poor quality of ready-made clothes available here. 2. The lack of multiple or accurate sizes. 3. Fluctuations in body weight or changes in measurements, which lead to clothes becoming tight or too loose. Other reasons include altering hand-me-downs or repurposing clothes—like making a pair of shorts from old trousers. I think the first two reasons are the major contributors. I’ve often visited the tailor myself: to repair unravelling seams on a shirt, shorten a new pair of trousers, or get a kurta fitted to my size, since it was only available in XL. This makes me wonder: is it a problem that read...
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खाता पिता ढेकर देता हातखंब्याचा ब्रम्हराक्षस

 "खाता पिता ढेकर देता हातखंब्याचा ब्रम्हराक्षस" किंवा "अल्लल्लाङुर्र" अशी आपली ओळख मुलांना करून देणारा हा आमचा 'बालम' काका. पण हा कधीच राक्षस वाटला नाही. सतत झाडाफुलांच्यात, मातीत काम केल्यामुळे रापलेला चेहरा आणि लाल मातीचा रंग चढलेले कपडे, कधी वाढलेली दाढी, असा उंचापुरा हा माणूस एकदम आपल्याला उचलून आपल्या पाप्या घ्यायला लागला की मुलं जरा घाबरायची. पण ओठ काढून रडायला सुरुवात करायच्या आत हा बोलायला लागला की मात्र मुलं रडणं विसरून अचंबित होत असत. गमती जमती, किस्से, झाडा फुलांची विचित्र शास्त्रीय नावं, विनोद असं काय काय सांगत तो लहान मोठ्या सगळ्यांशीच झटकन दोस्ती करून टाके.  झाडा फुलांची नर्सरी ह्यातला हा तज्ज्ञ, सतत त्याच विचारानी आणि कामानी झपाटलेला, अगदी शेवटपर्यंत. न शिकता पेटी, बासरी वाजवायचा, गायचा, अनेक भाषांत संभाषण करू शकायचा.  काही शब्द त्याच्याकडून ऐकलेले - टचाटच, डिफडिफ्रंट व्हरव्हरायटी, रत्नागिरीचा नॅशनल ड्रेस - आता आम्हीच इतके वापरतो आणि प्रत्येक वेळी त्याची आठवण काढतो. त्याच्याबद्दलच्या प्रत्येकाच्या आठवणी अनेक आहेत, त्याचे आम्ही आई बाबांकडून ऐ...
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Aai Baba

 To me, Aai and Baba are the most romantic couple I know.  On their wedding anniversary I have written down some memories I have of their love for each other.  Romance is not just candle light dinners and exchanging gifts. It is the small things you do everyday.  I remember when Baba used to so enthusiastically explain some complex machine working to Aai and she used to be genuinely interested in it.  Or how lovingly Baba used to be proud of her when she helped him with a word in his cryptic crossword  and she used to say it is because he had already solved the cryptic part.  How Baba used to send her off to her room with a promise of handling some tough situation with us kids when she was at her wit's end.  How Aai used to confidently ride a heavy scooter along with him with one of us riding pillion. This was not a common sight that time.  How they used to always make it a point to give some time to each other for a cup of coffee and a ride ...
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आमचेही ZNMD

 (लोकमत ‘ऑक्सिजन’ पुरवणीसाठी लेख) तीन देशांतल्या चार शहरांतल्या आठ जणींची एक अविस्मरणीय सहल “म्हणालो होतो की नाही आपण की लेख लिहायला पाहिजे आपल्या ह्या अनुभवाबद्दल? आज संधी आली आहे तो लेख लिहिण्याची”. मला आमच्या स्पेन च्या ट्रिपबद्दल लिहायला सांगितल्यावर मी सगळ्यांना मेसेज केला, सगळ्या परत ३ वर्ष मागे गेल्या…. कल्पना सुचली आम्ही सगळ्या म्हणजे अनू, शलाका, आरती, अदिती, नंदिता, शिल्पा, हेमा आणि केतकी कॉलेजमधे BCS ला एका वर्गात होतो. कॉलेज संपून २० वर्ष झाली तरी आधी ई-मेल, yahoo group आणि नंतर whatsapp आणि facebook वरून जास्त मैत्रिणी झालो. सगळ्या वेगवेगळ्या देशात विखुरलेल्या पण पुण्यात भेटत राहिलो. आणि अशातच एकदा अदिती कामानिमित्त U.K ला गेली असताना शलाकाकडे गेली होती. त्यांच्या बोलण्यात विषय निघाला की आपण सगळ्यांनी मिळून कुठेतरी जाऊया. हा धागा पकडून ती परत आल्यावर आमच्या गप्पा रंगल्या आणि आम्ही खरंच ह्याचा विचार करू लागलो. दोघी जणी अमेरिकेत, एक U.K मध्ये, बाकी पाच पुण्यात. कोणालाच फार जास्त प्रवास करावा लागू नये म्हणून युरोपला जाण्याचा विचार केला. बाकी काही देश काहीजणींचे बघून झा...
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North East with Foliage Outdoors

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     A tempting offer came from my friend Aditi to accompany her on a tour to North East of India with Foliage Outdoors! But... the dates were 22-30 Nov and that meant leaving my husband to manage everything from both the kids' school and classes etc. for 9 whole days! Tough decision, but Sumedh being the sweetest person and husband, agreed immediately and I did the flight booking and started daydreaming, especially after getting to know more at the pre-camp meeting about the places we were going to visit!     And then, Aditi had to cancel due to an emergency and I had a really bad back sprain and a minor fracture in my foot! But thankfully I recovered enough in time to travel and with some encouragement from Aditi and other friends, also managed to overcome my anxiety of travelling with a group of strangers.  Day 1: Tuesday, 22nd November 2016     Reached Guwahati by flight with some of the co-travellers and our group leader Bishwaj...
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Innocence

A 2 yr old girl was watching her grandfather wash his dentures. As soon as he put them in his mouth after washing, she cried out, extremely surprised by his action, "No, don't eat them!" . Then she added , explaining to him "We should eat food and not teeth". A small girl was watching a pregnant woman, and asked her mother why the woman's tummy was so big. Her mother replied "Because there's a baby in her tummy!" Shocked, the girl asked "What! Did she eat it!" We were planning a trip to Mahabaleshwar with my parents. The day before, my daughter asked my mother whether she could come to her house to sleep. My mother said , " You can come and sleep in my room when we go to Mahabaleshwar". My daughter immediately asked, very surprised , "Are you bringing your room along with you, to Mahabaleshwar?"
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