But what to do. The only loo they have. Happy World Toilet Day!

And you enter the loo. And it is small. And the light is dim. Most of the flow finds it way into the hole in the ground, rather than the porcelain cavity.

Elections

Never have I missed the opportunity to cast my vote. General Education Academy plays host on election day, be it central or state. And dry days begin a couple of days prior. Oft, I’ve run into neighbors at the polls. I met Dr. Akshay in 1999, the first time ever that I’d voted. “Hello, Geoffery, have you come to vote?”

Yesterday, I met the Gautam mother and daughter, strong supporters of the RSS. And Mr. Jay; a Congressman.

“Tomorrow is a dry day. Please do the needful.”

On certain festivals etc. the sale of liquor is prohibited. Such a phenomenon is slated in as a ‘Dry Day’. In India at least. I’m not sure if such an injustice is bestowed upon the citizens of other countries.

Ross is our assigned stockist. Or at least, he has taken this responsibility upon himself. So be it a popular Indian festival or Independence Day or Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, trust Ross to have enough beer for everybody. Alcohol starts pouring in from afternoon over board games and X-box.

Alcohol prices in Alibaug

I found this, the only bar close to the bus station at Alibaug. A good four minutes walk from it, in fact. And one other close to the bypass, some ten minutes away, by foot. It is interesting to compare liquor prices with Mumbai.

The West coast of India, the Konkan region, and fish

It is unfortunate that land is divided politically. Into countries, states, districts etc. It is unfortunate, that, there are all these different languages in this world. And castes. And sub-castes.
Nevertheless.

Beer and the City

And this is as recent as 1998. A 650 ml bottle of beer’d cost 55 rupees. 2.50 rupees for a cigarette. It’d then be 3. Soon, 4. Now, 4.50. All due to government taxes. Bloody government.

London Pilsner and Haywards were the only others, Kingfisher being the preferred beer. San Miguel and Hack Beck (not sure if that’s how it is spelt quickly appeared, but disappeared. Just like that. I don’t recall the taste.

I remember the day, Fosters launched. But we never took to it. Kingfisher still rocked. Its cost, still, 55 rupees. Soon it’d be 60. One fine day, 75. 80. Now, a KF costs 105. But we have choices. Budweiser sucks. Carlsberg and Tuborg rock. But that doesn’t mean they charge us 105 rupees. In fact, they charge 130 rupees for Carlsberg at some bars.

Bloody government.

Cobra came and went, Tiger is available, at some bars, I think. I haven’t given Cobra a decent go, but Tiger sucks, if I remember right. I’d had it once, I think. Yes.

I am a beer drinking citizen of this country. I kindly request honorable MLA, kind sir, bloody chewteaya, please raise my issue in the house of parliament. Screw sessions on development, farmers, terrorism etc. Instead, fight for the rights of a beer drinker. I must be issued a pass. Just like the government’d announced, only a few days ago, rice for the poor at three rupees a kilo, I must get, a liter of beer, at three rupees.

But today’s news papers say that the cost of beer, digital cameras and some other shit’ll rise, in a day, or two.

Bloody government.

FIN

“Geoffery, and Rohit have, both, gone mad!”

“Rohit! How are things, and where is everybody?”

“The boys’ve not come to college today. I had to come. I had journals to submit. But you, you never come to college on Saturdays, what’s with you today?”

“I don’t know. I was bored! I didn’t know what to do! I was hoping two or three of the boys’d show up. I guess I’ll head back home.”

“The force is unusually strong today, I feel like a drink, or maybe four! But I have no money today! Do you have any money on you? I’ll square you off on Monday!”

I wasted Chivas Regal

I drink beer. Mild beer. Kingfisher, Carlsberg. I don’t like Budweiser, Fosters. Thursday, last, for the first time in Bombay, Tuborg, the beer I’d heard about aplenty, this, one from my first buy, of four:

An evening out, with a kleptomaniac, this is what happened

“Bugger, bugger, see, books! Books! Secondhand books! Let’s see what they have bugger.”

“Shaaaks, bugger! Look, check them out! There must be over a thousand secondhand books in here! Shaaaks, bugger!”

Photos form Goa, year end, 2008

I did Goa just twice in 2008. I’d do 5 trips, 6, maybe more prior to ‘08. In the old days, New Year’s Eve and it used to be raves that’d go full on for days together spread across hills and valley. I know that I have photographic prints of these days somewhere. If I find them, I  shall share them with you.  Pubs, music all night through the months of December, January especially. The beach. The shacks, the music at beach shacks till 4 ‘o clock in the morning. Not any more. Terrorism. Selfish, narrow minded, corrupt politicians. They’ve buggered the place.