Saturday, May 20, 2006

Mumbai Blogger's Meet

One's very first blogger's meet was attended, and while one cannot speak for all the attendees, one had a jolly good time.

The words flew fast and furious, as a multitude of topics were discussed - ranging from programming, photography, marriage, sexuality, previous blog meets and of course reservations - disputed and dismissed, sometimes all three at the same time.

We apologise profusely to those bloggers, whom we might have deafened/frightened/horrified with our...errr...vociferous (?) reactions to the issues being discussed.

Our impressions of some of the bloggers (because we didn't get to speak to all of them as much as we would've liked to):

1)
Amit was a lot less vocal than we expected. Although to be fair, he would have had to be a lot more than just vocal, to be heard above the din (yours truly being one of it's main contributors).

2) The
Idea smithy was all spunk and fire and feminism and SO the kind of woman we'd *totally* ask out if we were a guy. Or gay. Since we're neither, we'll just say, she's awesome fun.

3)
Evenstar, dainty and delicate and Juliet-like; one could almost picture her standing in a latticed balcony, leaning her cheek upon her hand. Until she mentioned, in her soft voice, that she'd just gotten back from attending an anti-reservation protest at Azad Maidan (which turned out - as she discovered later - to be a pro-reservation rally, but hey, she was there. Which is more than we can say for ourselves). The things these Juliet-like women get upto these days, I tell you!

4)
Sakshi was just like her blog; straightforward and very chilled out.

5) Oh then, there was the mysterious
Mr. Gera (whom we find mysterious primarily because we have no idea what his first name is) who spent a lot of time explaining how, if you took the code from the back of his t-shirt, and inserted it into the script on the front of his t-shirt, you would get four small camels.

We're terribly unclear about how exactly this was supposed to happen, but there you have it.

Mr. Gera helpfully added - in between turning round and round to show everyone the front and the back of his t-shirt - that it was 'absolutely useless, but totally cool'.

And you know, somehow, at that point of time? It made perfect sense.

6)
The Bombay Addict, as his name suggests, a true blue Mumbaikar. From Uttar Pradesh. We found we had a bit of a wavelength-matching-thingy going on here. Until he played devil's advocate over the reservations issue, after which we screamed and bit his head off. We're sorry we bit your head off, Anupam.

7) Then there was young Akshay, of
Trivial Matters who was, pestered incessantly to hire us as his pappu* (person who brings him chai, polishes his lenses, sets up camera...you get the idea), declared undying love to, and proposed marriage to, all within the space of five minutes, under the benevolent influence of two gimlets.

Akshay, displaying remarkable intelligence for one so young (also, one who consumed in succession, one baby milk shake** and two (or was that one?) mojitos), declined all three proposals. Smart kid!

8) The bachpan-ke-buddies from Rajasthan,
Parijat and Piyush, were quite unlike what we expected IIT students to be. I mean, you know how you definitely expect IIT students to be intelligent, but not a whole lot more than that? These two were *bright*. And refreshingly laid-back.

9)
Vijay. Who came, who saw and who was probably left speechless with horror/shock/disbelief because he spoke all of ten words in the four hours that he was there. Although he did take up the difficult task of typing out all fifteen names and URLs and then mailing them across to all fifteen of us. Thank you Vijay!

The rest of the attendees (whom we *really* wished we could've spoken to more) were, Zack,
Saket, Anthony and Selvin.

All in all, it was an evening well spent. To quote a certain famous blogger, fun came.

The trip back home was a whole other story though. The trains were running terribly late, because of something called a 'Jumbo Block' at Borivli. When it did arrive (the train, that is), it was packed closer than a can of sardines and we ended up getting a full-body-massage with essential oils of everybody else (eeewww, I know. Totally). But you know what? This compartment, that's hot and humid and filled with five times more people than it was ever meant to hold; there's no screaming, no tempers flaring. In fact, the women are smiling, some are actually laughing and everyone is helping everyone get some place to stand. Dupattas are being cheerfully disentangled, children are being pushed towards their mothers, single chappals are being laughingly returned to their owners.

Do you see why I love this city?



*Because *everyone* seems to have a more interesting job than we do!
** Which was a disturbing shade of pink.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey...just one line for me. Me upset now. :)

Had a great time.

Anonymous said...

Nice write-up Mme... very interesting writings I say... I wish we had more to talk yesterday..... Let's not miss the next bloggers meet eh!!

Bombay Addict said...

Oh what a lovely post ! And now that you've apologised I'm feeling better ! Am SO, looking forward to meeting you next time !

Highway Star said...

The trains!
Bombay totally rocks :D

Parijat said...

ofcourse we got a ride back in Gera's car (:D)

Chronicus Skepticus said...

Sakshi: But that one line says it all, no?

Tony: Thank you! And yes, see you at the next one!

Bombay Addict: I said I was sorry! You can bite my head off the next time, okay? Deal?:D

Highway star: It *totally* does!

Parijat: Then why is Piyush backing me about the trains?? You IIT guys...!?

Oh and I think we've got Mr.Gera's address wrong; my mail bounced back.

Selma Mirza said...

Whoa, thats quite a write up. Yaay I got a nice description :-) I had a happy time at this meet, Divya...! I hope we do this again soon!

And I so love local trains too, a ride in a local train can depict Bombay better than a thousand words can. You know one thing common among all of us who met yesterday? We passionately love Bombay!

Anonymous said...

I could say something about calm waters and depth and I could say something involving the benefits of listening. But no point.

Come to think though. I know more about you than you know about me. It's called intelligent threat perception.

Chronicus Skepticus said...

Evenstar: Absolutely with you on the trains! And yes, we must do this again soon.

Vijay: No point?
We're not that shallow also...really! :D

Also, I think you know more about everybody at the meet, than they know about you!

I haven't offended you in any way, have I?

P.S. What is intelligent threat perception?

Anonymous said...

Ahh! It pains me to see the jokes fell flat. It's just that I don't talk unless absolutely necessary. Or when I am incredibly excited about something.

Threat perceptionn is a phrase quiet people use to explain why they don't talk :)

Anonymous said...

Please drop the "Mr." for no other reason than it sound too formal. Really, no other reason :-)

And that's a 0(zero, zilch, nada, zot) in my email address. gera{zero}ul - that ends with UL. Long story behind this ID. Next meet maybe.

And when are you planning to pay us a visit at my office?

--gera.

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

I hate to break it to you, but Akshay turned down your proposals because he's going to marry me.

Unknown said...

Come to think about it is the first time anyone has ever proposed marriage to me - pinching myself prematurely I realized it was probably your gimlets talking. Therefore, I thought it best to prevent you from making the worst mistake in your life and decline your most gracious proposal. Crestfallen I returned to my Rum/Tequilla filled Mojito and my seedy pale pink baby milkshake

Beth my face is rainbowed in hundred shades of pink right now.

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

Oh darlingest Akshay, if only we were not separated by the vast dark sea! Sigh! Alas! Alack! I will have to content myself with dancing around Mumbai with you this summer. And being your charming photography assistant, of course.

Chronicus Skepticus said...

Vijay: Ah! My apologies, once again. That's the problem with text, no? The the twinkle in the eye and the tongue-in-cheekiness just don't get across!

Gera: You're *sure* there's no other reason? Like, really sure? :D

Re: Your Office
It's in *Powai*, man. :(

Beth:
He's mine. Mine I tell you! You're just his little summer fling. Ha!

Just let the monsoons begin. He will realise who his true love is and then we shall dance in the rain with FIFTY-ONE back-up dancers behind us...so there!

Akshay:
Now that you know how this story is going to end (read above), stop with the pretty blushing! Stop it now!

Nyayapati Gautam said...

Hey! Looks like you guys had a great time.
Me is very very Jealous.
Was hoping to make it but getting out of office at Worli at 5.30 pm and getting to Andheri before 7.00 pm was almost impossible. So reluctantly gave up. 
Do let me know when the next meet is and shall definitely be there. Maybe we can meet at the Worli CCD??!?!? 

Anonymous said...

@How many roads : Yes, *really* sure :-)

And Powai isn't a bad place. Really. You could come on a Saturday. I'll give you a ride back.

Anonymous said...

We like very much. And now we wish we were there. :(

Chronicus Skepticus said...

N Gautam: Oooh yes! A Jolly good time was had by all.

>Me is very very Jealous.
Don't be jealous, just be there for the next one!


Gera: Gera it is, then. :)

Re: Powai

I know it's not *bad*, It's just kinda far from where I live. But hmmm...it sounds like a good idea.

Ph: We wish you were too!
Are you likely to be in India anytime soon?

Anonymous said...

So, Saturday then? Btw, All are invited.

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

No way! I knew him first!

Nyayapati Gautam said...

So when is the next Meet? Can't wait to attend it

Chronicus Skepticus said...

Gera: Is this a surreptitious attempt to have the next meet at Powai??

*suspicious frown*

Beth: Ah yes! But who's showing up with fifty-one back-up dancers, eh?!

Everyone knows that it's not true love unless you have the dancers (in colour-coordinated outfits)!


N Gautam: Y'know it's odd; we seem to have decided on the venue, but not on the date. :S

Anonymous said...

Well, only if everyone turns up. And then, why not? :)

Selma Mirza said...

Hey, I was just thinking about you this morning, so thought I'd say hello. Hello!

:-)

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

Aha! I have some backup dancers! proof here. I only have ten, but they are very, very cool.

(This is a very enjoyable fake-pretend thread, by the way.)

Chronicus Skepticus said...

Beth:
There's only one way to decide this:

Dance competition!!

The winner gets man, loser walks off in a huff, but not before saying "Dekh loongi tujhe!"*.


*"I'll see you!" (and this is supposed to sound menacing, NOT friendly)

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

I love it! A few years ago, there was a very funny skit on Saturday Night Live making fun of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake's breakup. In the skit, they met at a club and had a dance-off. Someone in the background of the scene yelled "Angry dance-off, yo!" My friends and I say that frequently - they'll be delighted to know I'm in one! :)

Anonymous said...

The Saturday came and went. What happened?

Anyway, and it struck me on Saturday itself - we don't work weekends! It'll have to be on a weekday. Unless you want to admire the office furniture.