Mumbai Diary: Friday frolics

Water machineEven as we hear about an automated teller machine ATM in New York which dispenses cupcakes for those who just canrsquot be satisfied with a chocolate bar the oftcompared city of Mumbai canrsquot be far behind Except that here what comes out of the machine is more prosaic but probably even more precious than cupcakes Donrsquot think vada pav mdash wersquore talking about plain old water An ATM dispensing clean drinkable water for R 1 per litre has been set up by nonprofit groups Vandana Foundation and Aquakraft at the Indian Oil MHADA Colony in Mankhurd which is plagued by water contamination problemsClear Attractiopn The water ATM PicEmmanual KarbhariLocal resident Shewantibai Phalke 62 told this diarist ldquoIn our area people were fascinated by the first TV and computer This water machine has also made everyone here very excited Children spend almost all their time watching the machine as it gives out waterrdquoOperated through a prepaid card the machine provides the arearsquos residents up to 1000 litres per day The water comes from the lake but is treated using reverse osmosis and ultraviolet technologyQuenching a thirst for excitement perhapsHandshake at the stationYesterday morning as officegoers in Mulund West were making a dash to catch their local train many were in for a surprise as they headed towards the main entry point at the station One side of the station approach that is normally packed with hawkers and parked autos was strangely clear Many wondered whether there was a bandh Even cops could be spotted regulating traffic in an orderly manner But it wasnrsquot a bandh Saffron stolewearing supporters were seen directing the suburbrsquos commuters as they alighted from autos and BEST buses these volunteers had formed a human fence and were leading the public to meet none other than the old warhorse from the Mumbai North East constituency the BJPrsquos Kirit Somaiya Having lost to NCPrsquos Sanjay Dina Patil by a narrow margin in the 2009 elections Kiritbhai seemed unperturbed that he had disrupted the commutersrsquo morning sprint to the station Even several unsuspecting passersby who werenrsquot going to the station were herded in his direction to ldquohandshakerdquo the smiling politician as he greeted each of them warmly smile plastered in place Once the handshaking was done these noncommuters had to take a Uturn to get away from the station Some poll vault thisReporterhellip notIF YOU see someone diligently taking notes at the scene of a news event you may think it is a journalist And you may be right But not always mdash as our colleague found out when reporting about a fire at Nerul She saw a youth taking notes in a diary and thinking he was a fellow journo she asked him about some details He replied quite politely but when she asked which newspaper he was from he said he was not a journalist but the personal assistant to Navi Mumbai mayor Sagar NaikPlans Donrsquot talk about themSTOP That seems to be the message from the Election Commission whose roster of restriction stymied a scheduled meeting at the Press Club next to Azad Maidan yesterday The meet was scheduled for yesterday afternoon starring Mumbai municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte and a senior journalist from a national newspaperHALT Mumbai municipal commissioner Sitaram KunteKunte was to give an opening introduction on his plans for the city which was to be followed by a debate among the panellists and finally a round of questions from members of the media They were to talk about ldquoTransforming Mumbai into a world class cityrdquo huh What happened to Mumbai banega Shanghai Or Singapore We donrsquot know which Now we hear the transformMumbai meet is scheduled post election results to be declared on May 16 We wait With bated breathMusical notes for SrinivasanEmbattled BCCI chief N Srinivasan should heed the Jim Reeves classic Hersquoll Have to Go The lyrics donrsquot matter in this case but the title of Gentleman Jimrsquos track does And over on the television show Suhana Safar with Annu Kapoor the eponymous hostrsquos expression having become a notch more lugubrious they are playing Talat Mehmoodrsquos classic Jaayein toh jaayein kahaanhellipScreen screamFILMS can bring you fame and its opposite too In the Mumbai North West constituency where actor Mahesh Manjrekar is a candidate sources from the saffron alliance say they are planning to ask local cable operators to show movies in which the MNS candidate plays negative roles in order to discredit his image One cable operator has reportedly agreed and will kick off with a movie in which Manjrekar plays a ldquobad coprdquo We donrsquot know whether Manjrekarrsquos acting skills will be useful here or whether they will backfire