Dec issuu

December 2013 | Vol. IV Issue 12 (ii) | To Advertise: 9820783686 , 9920299787, 9820783616 E-paper: www.issuu.com/bandrabuzz | 16 pages | Price: `2

c r e a t i n g c o m m u n i t y c o n n e c t

ABOUT BHAMLA FOUNDATIONFounded in the year 1989, ‘We Love India’(A Bhamla Foundation Initiative) is almostentirely a volunteer-driven organization;comprising of more than 1,800 patrons,spread across several cities in India - work-ing for cerebral palsy, autistic & spasticchildren. A major part of these initiativesare from Bandra.

Bhamla Foundation empowers chil-dren to improve their lives, their immediatecommunities and their world - forever. Mr.Asif Bhamla is the force behind this won-derfurl work. Asif Bhamla, who founded‘We Love India’, was an ordinary persondriven by an extraordinary dream. Like allof us, he looked for a way to reduce the dis-parities that exist between privileged andunderprivileged children. His qualities ofresourcefulness & determination were tocome in handy, when he and few of his as-sociates started this organization WELOVE INDIA.

Something needed to be done to im-prove the situation of underprivileged chil-dren. e foundation also took part in theawareness of issues, like global warmingand saving the environment. e founda-tion works very closely with the ministry ofenvironment and organized many suchawareness programmes (the latest was a‘health awareness drive’ - an initiative for adengue-diabetes free Bandra - one of thelargest medical camps held in the suburbs)which were very effective and has broughtsome change in society.

Appreciating & encouraging peoplefrom all walks of life - right from films,sports & social activists. is is an integralpart of the foundation. Just last year - fortheir good work in the field of environ-ment, the foundation felicitated ShyamaKulkarni & Darryl D’Monte.

All through the early, difficult years, itwas Mr. Bhamla’s passion and convictionthat drove this foundation. All he asks ofpeople is that they help the foundation, bydoing what they were good at. As he put it,"What I can do, I must do.”

GETTING THAT ‘JINGLE’ BACKINTO THE LIVES OF SPECIALCHILDREN

More info at:www.bhamlafoundation.com& www.asihamla.com

More pictures on Page 2 >>

NCP & Bhamla Foundationwishes you a Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year

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Social Activities of Bhamla FoundationGlimpses of the last year - supporting our ‘Special Children’

Chimbai’s little dynamite, Mark Dharmai hasyet again made Bandra and India Proud as herecently represented India in the Para-bad-minton World Championship which was heldin Germany from the 5th - 10th November2013.

Mark shared his experience with us andsaid there are many people to thank for his re-cent success and it would not be possiblewithout them. A few months back he was noteven sure of making it to Germany becausethere was no financial support provided bythe government and so it was St. Andrew’sChurch and Fr. Michael and his team togetherwith a few others who helped him with all thefinancial support needed.

He participated in the Singles and Dou-bles event, where he reached the quarter finalsin the Singles tournament beating some of thetop World players and stood third in theMen’s Doubles Event winning bronze.

Mark partnered with AlexandrMekhdiev from Russia because his partner

from India could not make it due to financialproblems. As this was Mark’s First Interna-tional Tournament, he got an opportunity tointeract with many other foreign players andbring back some interesting tips about hisgame. He also got to learn from the players heinteracted with from other countries gettremendous support from their governments,both financially and in terms of infrastruc-ture, but here in India he says it’s completelydifferent and a real struggle.

Mark hopes and prays that the govern-ment does something for other sports in thecountry besides cricket as he would like spon-sors to come forward so that he and peoplelike him can represent the country in moretournaments to come.

He is currently gearing up for state levelsnext month which will take place in Nagpurand has already a huge agenda in the front ofhim in terms of getting himself a coach and afew sponsors to help him financially.

Dujon Fernandes

Mark Dharmai Bags Bronze at Para-Badminton World Championships in Germany

December 2013 | Vol. IV Issue 12 (ii) | To Advertise: 9820783686 | 9920299787 E-paper: www.issuu.com/bandrabuzz | 16 pages | Price: `2

c r e a t i n g c o m m u n i t y c o n n e c tBandraBuzz

e residents of D'Monte street gathered in large numbersto thank and felicitate their Congress MLA Shree Baba Sid-

dique and his team (see pic); who helped renovate and de-velop the D'Monte Cross which is over 100 years old.

In previous editions of Bandra Buzz, we had high-lighted how this cross was in a very bad shape.

Recently locals Rudolf Pereira and Joseph Pereira (so-cial worker) approached the Bandra Taluka Congress Of-fice regarding their cross problem. ey met with Congressworkers who guided them how to get the job done. In ashort span of 2 days, the D'Monte Cross was beautified, fit-ted with tiles chosen by residents and the water pipe nearbywas removed, as demanded by the locals.

Speaking on the occassion, MLA Baba Siddique re-quested the residents present to readily come forward withtheir problems and greviences, so that he could help re-solve them. He further stated, that the Congress believedin building a strong nation - India, irrespective of caste orcreed. eir genuine concern was the welfare of the com-mon man.

en Tanveer Patel broke the news that redevelop-ment of surrounding roads like D'Monte Street, BoranRoad, Chinchpokli lane, etc. would be done at regular in-tervals. is would benefit senior citizens and children.is road work would start in early 2014. People thankedMr. Rudy Pereira, Mr. Joseph Pereira and Prakash D'souza,who worked tireless to supervise and guide the repairwork, to get it done before Christmas.

Finally Baba Siddique and his team wished all thosewho were present a very Happy Christmas and a Prosper-ous New Year.

Residents of D'Monte Street

NEWSDecember 201304

Before you cringe at the thought of high-pitch voicessinging the holiday classics, just take a moment to think

about how you feel when you hear Crompton Texeira’scomposition “Baum Fest Sagle Gaaza Natal." Your inner

child can't help but smile and remember the holidays whenyou were young and life was easier. At 16 tracks, this may feel like a bit much for one sitting,so it's best to mix it up with other Christmas albums.

Last year the Mobaikar East Indians felicitated him inDubai at their ‘Agaracha San’ for preserving the East Indianculture through song and dance. Crompton, better knownfor his compering of the BEIA annual festivals at the Ban-dra Gymkhana - with his E I Marathi versions, has releasedsome great East Indian recordings. is one ranks high inour opinion, because of standout original tracks that fitwell with favorite holiday melodies such as "San AilaNatal", "KaramZalamche" and "SajwaKholi." He gives eachsong emotional weight, without overwhelming what madethe songs great in the first place.

Crompton has the singing ability of the classic croon-ers - and the special skill of keeping his listeners from doz-ing off. ere is little new material here in terms of the songchoices, but he manages to put his romantic spin oneach.ere are few better E.I. albums to play, while you sitcomfortably in front of the fireplace. If you don't have afireplace, then you'll have to make do with a furnace andblow the ‘fukne’, while your hand breads are getting ready- and Crompton and his Vocals croon to the blazing fire-wood!

is CD is available at the BEIA Desk at the BandraGymkhana or directly from Crompton on # 9969560404.Happy listening.

Jude H. Gomes

D'Monte Street Residents get an Xmas gift from Baba Siddique

‘Natal’ - An E.I. Christmas Carol CD By Crompton Texeira

BandraBuzz.com

(L to R) Sajid Bhai, Haji Mohd., Baba Siddique, MLA and MC Tanveer Patel felicitated by residents of D'Monte Street

NOSTALGIA December 2013 05BandraBuzz.com

Over a period of time, places get associatedwith aspects of life – something especiallytrue with music. There’s New Orleans, unan-imously voted as the ‘Cradle of Jazz’. Closerhome, various cities and towns havespawned their own Gharanas.

On an infinitesimally smaller scale, asa lifelong Bandra resident, I’d like to believethat the Queen of the Suburbs has beenMumbai’s cradle of music.

Real estate dynamics and mega demo-graphic shifts may have irreversibly alteredthe townscape, but nostalgia always takesme back to the days when Bandra was almostentirely an idyllic milieu of tranquil, leafy by-lanes and quaint bungalows – which, if yousauntered across on a lazy Saturday or Sun-day morning, you’d invariably encounter thewafting plink-plonk of a piano, the pluckingof a guitar or music from a gramophonerecord.

Ah, nostalgia!Queen of the suburbs... queen of music

too, if I dare say. This is where then Bom-bay’s renowned big bands originated andband leaders resided. Did they – hey, couldthey – get any bigger than Maurice Concessioand Johnny Baptist? In the Bandra of yore,Maurice was always very pleasantly in-your-face. You’d encounter his Swing Sensationsat weddings and dances – and in those days,these were the highpoints you lived for.You’d encounter Maurice even when he was-n’t making music. Who can forget the almostubiquitous van that trundled around Bandrawith its unforgettable catchphrase: ‘Musicgrows where Maurice goes’.

It would be fair to say that MauriceConcessio and Johnny Baptist defined thecontours that would shape Bandra’s musicallegacy. The talent clearly abounded espe-cially amongst the Catholic community –every household would have a piano, a guitaror a wind instrument – often, all three... andmore.

And of course the old radio! One thatthe entire family would crowd around everySaturday night – lapping up All India Radio’svery popular Saturday Date – and everymorning taking in Radio Ceylon in betweenchores and getting ready for school or work.

Little influences like these, plus stintswith church choirs and an inherent love formusic, shaped a community where musicwas an integral part of life. A wedding wasunthinkable without first booking a band;every house-party simply had to have an ex-tended sing-song session with someonetunefully flogging the piano or battering anold guitar – throw in some nifty vocal har-monies and falsettos, and you had every-thing that ranged from cacophony to someseriously refined impromptu music.

For a few decades, the wedding bandbusiness thrived. No recorded music back inthose days. If you dared go against the grainand not have a live band in session at yourwedding, better not get married at all! Un-thinkable really!

And so, the likes of Country Funk, TheCombustibles, 7th Galaxy, Nightbirds,Fame, Crimson Rage, Friendship Clan andInfra Red enjoyed a dream run – almosticonic in fact. A trend clearly started by thebig bands of Maurice Concessio and JohnnyBaptist.

The big bands comprised some outstandingindividual talent too. Braz Gonsalves on saxand pianist Johnny Fernandes were leg-endary figures on the scene. Music ran in thefamily too. Yvonne (Braz’ wife), Ursula(Johnny’s wife) and Kittu Sequeira (Drum-mer Steve’s wife) were accomplished singersin their own right. Dual family connections –the three of them were sisters!

Family connections transcended thegenerations too. From the Mascarenhas fam-ily to the Cardoz family – of whom Dionneand Kim attained widespread, well, fame –music in Bandra was often a family affair.Maybe not a template, but often... fatherwould be a band leader or a wind specialist;mother played a nifty piano and sported mel-lifluous vocals; the children invariably tookafter their parents – expanding the canvas toguitar, drums and everything in between.

The generational continuum is verypronounced in the case of the Pereiras –Renee Pereira is held in great renown as alegend amongst Bandra’s music teachers.Her daughter Jennifer (Donald, after mar-riage) has carried on the legacy. Third gen-eration to the fore – Jennifer’sdaughter Shannon is alreadyleaving a mark on the localmusic scene.

The same can besaid of Ivy Fernandes –another of Bandra’siconic music teachers.Her daughter Celesteis the respected nametoday – not just as amusic teacher but evenin putting together musi-cal productions with her hus-band Joe Cordo.

Talk about Renee Pereira andIvy Fernandes, and you have to mentionBlanche Veigas in the same breath. Betweenthe three of them, they’ve schooled an entiregeneration, and more, of accomplished mu-sicians. Teachers of the very highest pedi-gree – I’d go as far as calling them institutionsof music. Of similar scale, pianist andteacher Xavier Fernandes – perhaps themen’s answer to the awesome ladies.

In Blanche’s case too, it’s about a pass-ing down of genes – daughter Blossom hasmore than excelled. And talking about greatmusic teachers – can one forget HeatherD’Souza! Again, Heather’s daughter Candyhas created a few ripples too – for a bit evenin the secular commercial space with a bandcalled Caliche.

One of Candy’s then bandmates is An-nette Pinto’s daughter. Can a piece on themusic legacy of Bandra not mention An-nette! A singer who has left her mark on a na-tional stage as well – through so many jingles.

Oh well. Attempted to put together apiece on Bandra’s music legacy down theyears, and I haven’t even mentioned iconslike Louis Banks, Shaan and Roy Venkatra-man.

Louis Banks!! Often called the ‘Godfa-ther of Indian Jazz’ – so huge, he’s evenearned a Grammy nomination. Bandra isvery proud to count amongst its residents,this institution of music whose amazing ver-satility ranges from purist Jazz to Indipopand Fusion – not to mention jingles and mu-

sicals. And there’s Shaan – whose versatilityas a singer transcends Bollywood, pop, rockand hip hop – across languages too. GuitaristRoy Venkataraman, of course, went on tofind fame with Bob Marley’s Wailers... noless!

Like Roy, drummer Adrian is anotherof Bandra’s many music exports – plying histrade on the European circuit. Nice to see thenext generation coming good too; like LouisBanks’ son, Gino. And Merlin D’souza’s sonRhys Sebastian, who plays some outstandingsax. Which means I must first mention Mer-lin herself – highly rated pianist and com-poser that she is.

Samantha Edwards too, who, afterearning a name as a vocalist, is now teachingmusic and to some pretty big names in Bol-lywood.

One could go on and on about Bandra’smusic personalities down the years – somany honourable mentions, a piece of thissize couldn’t possibly do justice to all thosetalents. So let me instead move on to the mu-sicals. Those were pretty big too in the day.

And very dear to my own heart, havingbeen in several of them.

Carl Mendis’ take onJoseph and the Amazing

Technicolor Dreamcoat isstill fondly remembereddecades later. Joe andCeleste’s remakes ofAnnie and the severalWitness editions pro-vided memorable

milestones too. Peterthe Rock is another. And

can I ever forget Oh Arta-ban! written by then local

boy Francis Nigli, with musicfrom Merlin, and including none

other than Salman Khan in its cast. I had theprivilege of playing the protagonist role inthat one.

Other events have also played a role inshaping Bandra’s musical destiny. The vari-ous parish Zonals, for sure. I can relatedeeply with the St. Andrew’s Zonals, whichgoes back some six decades (my associationnot in years of course); and now coalescedinto the All-Bandra Zonals.

Another tradition that bears mention iscarol singing. In Christmases past, thesewere ubiquitous and a custom everybodylooked forward to.

On the other side of the spectrum, Ban-dra’s association with high-profile events likethe Mahindra Blues Festival, which now hap-

pens every year at the Mehboob Studios andfeatures world-renowned blues artistes,takes the local music scene to a differentlevel.

To an extent, Jago Mumbai – the com-munity radio station I was closely associatedwith – was the closest one could get to beingBandra’s own radio frequency, even if it didcater to a wider radius. Which reminds me ofa few other Bandraites who have also pliedtheir trade as RJs.

Music in Bandra is a theme I cherishdeeply. In a sense it’s a tapestry of my ownlife. I get nostalgic about the roles I’ve playedin the various musicals, the acoustic bandVoices I once fronted, the St. Andrew’s Zon-als... or even the impromptu street jams onthe old Bandstand walls and culverts. Thatlast bit, a slice of life out of almost every Ban-dra boy’s growing years.

Amongst the haunts that attractedjams, there was the Irani restaurant oppositewhat is now Globus – where the singalongscontinued behind closed shutters long intothe wee hours of the morning.

Much has changed around the Bandraof today. But every time I hear a terrace partycome alive in the dead of night with a trade-mark singsong, I get transported back to atime when these weren’t the exception thatthey are now, but the happy rule. Little trin-kets around the jewels that comprise Ban-dra’s musical legacy. Thank God formemories.

Brian Tellis

Celebrating Bandra through Music

NEWSDecember 201306 BandraBuzz.com

Hair is essential to enhance your overall appearance,and, to give you that extra edge in upgrading yourpersonality.

e most common form of hair loss is Androge-netic Alopecia which affects both males and females.Hair loss could be due to various reasons includinghereditary, deficiency of essential trace elements also,medical conditions like thyroid disorder, long stand-ing illness, crash diet and pregnancy. In this procedureof natural hair restoration we use a permutation andcombination of the below mentioned techniques de-pending on the severity of baldness of the patient,which are safe and free from any side effects.

e safe and tested techniques are:-• MICRO NEEDLINGIt creates micro channels and stimulates blood circu-lation around the hair bulb, along with our patented

growth factors that rejuvenate the dormant hair folli-cles.

• PLATELET RICH PLASMA (PRP) e PRP is taken from your body and is specially pre-pared by spinning down the blood cells to a high con-centration.PRP contains special cells called Platelets,that can cause growth of hair follicles by theoreticallystimulating stem cells located in hair follicle. e pri-mary purpose of using PRP in hair restoration is tostimulate inactive hair follicles into an active growthphase.

• STEM CELLS THERAPYUse of imported botanical stem cells that induces theformation of new hair follicles and vitalizes the der-mal papillae and delays cell ageing. is is a revolu-tionary method which is very much in vogue.

Hair on your head makes you look smart! Now, forget loss of Hair -

It’s time to redefine your PersonalityNaturally without any surgery at low cost!

Dr. Khusboo Kadri, MD (Skin and VD)Director & Consulting Trichologist, Dermatologist

& Cosmetologist at Trichoderm Clinic

YOU CAN ALSO SEND IN YOUR QUERIES [email protected]

CALL US: 9004570177 / 98197979351) Hemkund Villa, 14th Road, near Bombay BluesRestaurant, Bandra, Mumbai 400 050.2) Sion Koliwada, CHS, flat no. 1, C wing, opposite Chroma showroom, Sion, Mumbai 400 022.

The duration of treatment on an average is 4-6 months and results are visible fromas early as 6 weeks of starting the treatment.

There are no diet restrictions or any other lifestyle modification needed when oneis undergoing this treatment.

The bottom line is “A head full of hair makes you look and feel fantastic”Bring out the Manliness in you! Get your hair in the place where it should be-HEAD!

IN FOCUS December 2013 07BandraBuzz.com

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They are 2 months oldfurry little Indi-pups, whocould be of mixed ori-gins. They are superplayful and healthy, lo-cated in Malad (W).Call/SMS 9821327618 toadopt.

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He is a playful, sweetmale kitten of Indian ori-gin. He is healthy, de-wormed and looking fora loving family. He is kittylitter toilet trained. Manymore kittens looking forloving homes. Pair adop-tion preferred. Call9004266567 to adopt.

ADOPT - A - PET

Jemimah Rodrigues has ‘re-defined’ cricket to everyone.Barely thirteen years old, she stands out uniquely as a tal-ented cricketer & has already made it to Women’s U-19team. She not only represents her school, St. Joseph’s Con-vent, but also Mumbai & Maharashtra at large. Her ambi-tion is to represent India & perhaps become a professionalcricketer. Indeed, one can be young & still achieve great-ness!

How did you develop an interest in cricket?My passion to play cricket started off at a very early age. My

brothers & I used to hone our cricket skills by constantlypracticing the sport whenever time permitted. My dadbeing an exceptional cricketer, very patiently & profession-ally coaches me till date to ensure that I excel. My parents& siblings have always motivated me towards achieving mygoals.

Describe a day in your life.I am an early bird. I wake up at 06:30am & attend the cricketpractice at my school. In the aernoon, I quickly freshenup & head out to practice with my U-19 team mates eitherat Kandivali or BKC. Sometimes practice matches are heldat the Middle Income Group (MIG) Club too. Apart fromplaying cricket, I also play hockey – U-16 for Mumbai & U-17 for Maharashtra. On returning home I relax or spendsome leisure time dancing, drawing, doing things I enjoy.en I catch up with my studies.

Is there any memorable tournament that you recall?My most memorable cricket match was against the U-19Saurashtra team. Opening the innings against Saurashtra, Iscored 80 runs (not out). It was a true depiction of team-spirit. at tournament was simply phenomenal! Of coursethere are many more tournaments in cricket that I fondlycherish.

How do you carefully strike a balance between academics& sports?I always ensure that my footing is strong in both studies &sports. My academics are top-notch. is is reflected in mean above 80% student. I am truly thankful to my Principal,Sr. Blanche Rodrigues for encouraging me in both academ-ics & extracurricular activities. My parents too are alwaysthere to lovingly back me up whenever needed.

Who has been the driving force behind your success?All my achievements in my life would not have been possi-ble without prayers & trust in God. I will always glorify God

in all that I do. Furthermore, I am highly indebted to my U-19 cricket coach, Sir Sanjay for his unwavering belief in me& having faith in my talents. I attribute my success to myfamily, superiors & many more people.

Is there anything special you would like to share?My motto in life is ‘Practice makes a man perfect’.

Aaron Pereira & Joshua NorrisPic Courtesty: Nelvin John

LET’S TALK CRICKET

CREATING CHRISTMA December 201308 BandraB

is awesome Christmas display is all donefor people – something that we decide togive back once a year. We have kept it pure -not commercialized it; keeping with theChristmas Spirit. People's appreciation let-ters through the years have always inspired& motivated us – and they all expect it, everyyear. It enlightens them during the Christ-mas Season – something that we have startedabout 38 years back, with very humble be-ginnings.

Initially, we would take a mango treebranch from a neighbourhood tree, a fevicoldrum, rocks from Bandstand, cotton fromthe local general store, simple decorationsavailable on Hill Road – and put them ontoa tree in the centre, with 'Merry Christmas',on the glass. As the years passed, we evolved,and started decorating the other windows aswell, improving our designs with stockings,hollies, wreaths, buntings, etc.

As the years went by, our passion andinspiration grew tremendously and we tookthe designs and decorations to the next levelof excellence. Since the last 15-20 years, westarted elaborate displays with theme con-cepts. It is important to note that each yearour themes are originally designed.

e format we use is the Nativity (Crib)on one side, the Christmas Tree on the otherside – and the theme in the centre is for thechildren. is year we have fairy tales &nursery rhymes – 'e Old Lady Shoe', 'PeterPeter Pumpkin Eater' & 'e Boy Who CriedWolf '. Although our Crib has similar char-acters of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherdboy, the stable, etc.; our design is 100% dif-ferent every year.

I, Frederick Pereira - Partner ofDamian; who is a professional designer, de-sign these Christmas displays from scratch.Right from the design concept, the layoutplan, story, theme selection and characterreferences. Aer the blue-print is completed,we get the whole team of art and cra workto come together and execute the project.Initially, prototype samples and mock upsare made for approval. Backstage, this pro-duction needs about 60-90 days to be com-pleted.

Another astonishing fact is that we putthis display up in one single night.

e night before, passers by see ournormal furniture display, with ‘business-as-usual’. e very next day, when they comeback from work; the entire Christmas Dis-play is up. Since everything is pre-manufac-tured by us, the entire display erection workgets started aer business hours at 8pm. Wework through the night and set it up by thenext day. So, people do not see the processof build-up. One night it is our furniture dis-play – and the next night, it is Damian'sChristmas Windows unveiled. is is nor-mally done by November-end and kept rightthrough Christmas Season till Jan 6th –which is the feast of the three kings.

People come to see this from far & wide– across the country. In fact today, this hasgone onto a global platform, with people in-ternationally being aware of this. ose vis-iting Mumbai, from the Middle East,Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the US,UK, etc. are advised to see the DamianChristmas Display, as a 'must-see' itinerary.

Frederick Pereira (Damian)

THAT CHRISTMASFEELING IN BANDRA

AS CHEER IN BANDRADecember 2013 09uzz.com

Christmas certainly must be Bandra'sfavourite time of year! Windows are beauti-fully draped with colorful strings of lights &big bright shiny stars making it a pleasure todrive through the streets at night & maybecatch a glimpse of some twinkling christmastrees sitting pretty in houses all around.

For me Christmas seems to be the mostunifying of all festivals as everyone seems toembrace it in some way or the other. Its justlovely to see how families come together tocelebrate with each individual making theirown contribution to the celebration.

For example in a typical catholic house-hold, the grandmother of the house might bevery immersed in making marzipan & milkcream, while the mother is busy buying newcurtains & choosing new upholstery for hersofas, the young adults are busy picking outtheir outfits for the festivities & deciding onwhere to go for the Christmas dance or withwho (wink) & of course the little ones arebusy writing & re-writing their letters toSanta. Lets not forget the men for they haveequally important roles too! e grandfa-thers have dug out all their christmas carolssung by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, ElvisPresley, Jim Reeves etc. while the dads haveto lug out the decorations & check to see ifthe lights for the christmas tree still work.While the teenaged boys are busy groomingthemselves for midnight mass & the festivi-ties that follow, excited as this is probably theonly time of the year that they'll get to slowdance with that girl they've been crushingon! 'Coz sadly they just don't have socials allyear round like they used to.

Its a beautiful time of the year as it givesfamilies an excuse to do things around thehouse together, plan out the festive menu,hang up the mistletoe & holly wreaths, singalong with the christmas carols enjoyingeach other's company while cooking &cleaning:)

Christmas isn't just one day of the yearbut in fact lasts more than a fortnight. eChristmas cheer sets in as soon as the littlecrib statues find their place on the path out-side St. Peter's Church & the extra stallssqueeze into every nook & corner of hillroad displaying stars in every color, hollywreaths & tinsel strings. You don't need togo all the way to Crawford Market anymorebecause Bandra has it all.

Have you ordered your home madesweets yet? What about the stuffed chickenwill you be making it yourself this year or or-dering it from Candies again? Hope you'll bejoining in on the fun festive activities that thepeople & communities in Bandra will behaving. Like the Christmas show on St. An-thony's road, at St. Andrews Church & St.Peter's too. e Bandra Gym ChristmasBazar kept our spirits high as they combinedshopping with caroling.

With winter finally setting in we can besure to enjoy December & all the drama itpromises, the shopping for gis, the mould-ing of the marzipan & the rolling of thekulkuls, the writing of the christmas cardsfor those of us who are still old school, or thedesigning of the family photo emailers thatget cc'ed to your entire address book & thetrials with the tailors to get that dress fittingjust right. You have to admit It's the busiest& best time of the year. A little seasonal advice from me to youwhich goes like this: You better work out You better drink less You better cut those carbsOr you won't fit in your dress! 'Coz Christmas time is here... again!

Season's greetings everyone & rememberJESUS IS THE REASON FOR THIS SEA-SON! Feliz Navidad!

Francesca Mascarenhas

Xmas - The Bandra Way

NEWSDecember 201310 BandraBuzz.com

Road Widening of St. Martin Road willdamage Heritage property and Art Decobuildings. Is there a vicious nexus betweenlocal politicians, builders & the BMC – toline their pockets?

As a resident of St. Martin's Road, Iwant to bring to your attention the uncalledwidening of our road. e road is already35 feet wide and accommodates parking ofcars on either side. Despite this, there is freeflow of traffic from Hill Road to WaterfieldRoad. e road is being widened for rea-sons best known to the BMC and traffic de-partment.

Our road is home to quaint bunga-lows, a heritage cottage and art deco build-ings too. e residents of the road have metwith several local corporators and under-taken signature campaigns as well - but tono avail. Cars from Metro Palace (Hotel),Royal China (Restaurant) and Globus(eatre) find parking space on our road.Globus never had parking space - and yetwas given a licence to operate a theatre?is is very unfair to the local residents.

We have now been informed that theywill be breaking the compound walls to-morrow at 10:30am and hence seekingyour support. It would be great if this situ-ation can be covered by your esteemedpaper and the residents (owners of plots forover 100 years) voices be heard.

Despite suggestions of a one way road,parking on odd and even days or parkingonly on one side of the road were shared,but all has fallen on deaf years.

As the BMC office and the Police Sta-tion are also housed on our road, thewidened road will further provide addi-tional parking space to their vehicles. Wewould also to call out the proposed actionof road widening of St. Martin Road is to-tally unnecessary, illegal and inequitable,being without any merits or without anyconcrete data supporting the said action.

LOCALS SPEAKAjit Fereira: We aretotally against theroad widening, asthe BMC are doing itin a very unjustmanner. St. Martin'sroad is a smallpeaceful bye-lane,

actually needs to be widened for free-flow-ing traffic, which the BMC claims they aredoing.

But, if you see the ground reality; theyhave taken land from owners & societies.is is now being used by hawkers & park-ing of vehicles from the surrounding hotels,

malls & outsiders – not the local residents.So, we are opposing this for the last sixmonths. However, the BMC is turning adeaf year to the plight of the residents – andgoing ahead as per their own plan, whichis not being shared with the locals, beforebeing signed and approved by the authori-ties.

We have observed that they are takingland from one side of the road only. So,some people are being favoured, whilst oth-ers are being penalised. Part of my plot(17A) is being taken, while bang opposite,the plot is intact, since has some religiousactivity. Why this favouring?

In some cases, set back has been takentwice. Our famous actress Mala Sinha hasgiven land on Turner Road & St. Martin'sRoad, without any TDR Certificates givenas documentation. Why? Now, the BMC iscoming for the third time – to take awaymore land.

As of now, the BMC has told us ver-bally that we will get TDR Certificates, aerthe widening is completed – ie. accquiringour lands & built the drainage system.en, we will have to chase them to get ourTDR Certificates. Remember, Mala Sinha'sBungalow – in spite of giving setback landtwice, has till date not got a TDR Certifi-cate.

So, how do you expect us to get it,aer all these past BMC records.e H-Ward officials just put their handsup, saying we have got orders from above,so they have to go ahead with road plan ap-proved in 1981. Who has signed this – no-body knows! Have they come to reality, tosee that peoples balconies are being cut –NO !.

People who have drawn these plansare sitting in some office. ose staying

here are facing the real problem.

Faust Gonsalves:e road wideningwas badly needed allthese months &years, since the traf-fic is very heavy. isroad was a one-wayearlier, now it is bothways. Traffic sign

boards should be installed immediately,aer the road is done.

Allwyn Almeida:How can you widena road – and yetmaintain the trees?is will soon be azig-zag road. Whyhas the BMC has notreplied our protest

letters? is widening will result in beggars& hawkers here – just like the foot pathhawkers in front of St. Joseph Convent, HillRoad.

Why is there no road widening infront of the BMC office? Our security willbe compromised. We strongly dispute thiswidening. I will give an undertaking, writ-ten with my own blood; that this move istotally wrong – and very soon hawkers &beggars will take over St. Martin's Road.

Aer numerous requests, we got acopy of the widening plan. ey say it is astraight line, but if you see it, you can seehow crooked & unjust this road wideningplan is. is plan is being done to favour afew people. Basically, this is a nexus be-tween the politicians & builders, who arepushing for redevelopment in this area –and earn huge profits.

In our correspondences to the BMC earlier,we highlighted the following points:1. In our compounds there are a number ofvaluable fruit and flower bearing trees,planted on the periphery of the compoundwall and which fall within the area outlinedby you for the purpose of widening theroad. e trees in include Coconut, LoveApple, Jackfruit, Custard Apples, Mango,Jambool, Buttercup, Gooseberry (Awlas)and other full grown trees.

2. Please note that these trees have been inexistence for over twenty years and as own-ers and residents of St. Martin Road, we aretotally opposed to the clearing of thesetrees and or the impact that will be causedto them. As full grown trees, they will haveto remain even aer the road is widened.You will appreciate that this defeats thevery purpose of the proposed road widen-ing.

3. More so, the notice failed to mention thereason why the BMC wishes to take posses-sion of our land and motives for the same.As residents of St. Martin Road, we do notsee a need for the proposed widening of analready existing wide road which has morethan enough space for parking of vehicleson either side and for traffic to movesmoothly to and fro.

In line with the same, we wish to alsoinform the BMC about the parking of hugetrucks belonging to the Corporation. Ifparking of these trucks and other vehiclesis prohibited, much of the apprehendedproblem of traffic congestion will be re-solved immediately.

4. As a result of the proposed road widen-ing, the area in front of our plot along St.Martin road will be reduced to less that thearea prescribed under the DevelopmentControl rules as compulsory open spaces.

5. e proposed widening will adversely af-fect the privacy and security of our homes,thereby resulting in the loss of privacy andthreatened security of our ground floorflats. e proposed set back will result inmany of our balconies to be virtually on theroad itself.

6. Past experience has shown that roadwidening has resulted in infusion of hawk-ers, beggars & other unsocial elements,about which the BMC has not been able totake effective action to discourage or elim-inate, & will this continue to be the fate ofSt. Martin Road? We look forward to yoursupport.

Floyd Almeida - 98924 76208

Does St. Martins Road need to be widened?

NELVIN JOHN PHOTOGRAPHY

[email protected]

www.nelvinjohnphotography.in

Dear Reader,Mid December in Bandra has us all filledwith 'mixed feelings'. While we look for-ward to the festive season ahead, we rem-inisce about the year gone by… with vividmemories of milestones, events, relation-ships, experiences, achievements, failures,etc. – that have impacted and changed thedirection our life.

Seize the moment - this is the idealtime to take stock of our life.

Get Motivated…Goal Setting.....Plan-Prepare-Act – it's the 'NOW', thatmakes thing happen. Surely, your plans forChristmas & New Year have taken shape.is is bonding time for family & friendsat community clubs, coffee shops – andhome parties. Food & beverages flowfreely at these rendezvous. You've workedhard throughout the year – and earnedyour right to unwind and enjoy yourself.

Celebrations are fine - but, do wehave a thought about our under privilegedneighbours? e house-bound, poor chil-dren, lonely elderly and those who havebeen deprived for being at the wrong placeat the wrong time, due to no fault of theirs– need a helping hand. And… what bettertime of the year, to offer them some

Christmas Cheer.Civic scenes are 'Work-In-Progress' –

across roads in Bandra. With elections justaround the corner, our local politicians areon ‘overdrive’ – pushing public utilities &services at an all-time high. In reports,their faces feature prominently for credit& visibility. is is the best time to get anyissues resolved by your 'friendly politician',as it is a 'win-win' situation – for now.

Your favourite local newspaper isevolving to cater to your needs, so do useus to highlight your local issues, news -and help make a positive change to yourneighbourhood. Remember, think global,but start by acting in a local level.

On behalf of the entire team at Ban-draBuzz, I take this opportunity to wishyou a 'Merry Christmas' & ProsperousNew Year 2014.

So, till next time -next year, take care.

Warm Regards,Merck D'[email protected]

WALKING WOESPavements are turning into dog latrines inBandra. e dog-owners have achievedone thing - hats off to them, they havedriven the old and the kids to the road, tolose a limb or to die!15th Road is the worst.....does anyonecare?

Vera Alvares

SINNERS YES, BUT NOT CORRUPTIt was a heartening to read in your paperthe article written by Dereyk Talker. But, Iwould go a step further to what the Pope'squote really means.

Corruption is the root of all evil. Weall accept that we have sinned, but it is dif-ficult to admit we are corrupt. Corruptionin our daily chores is very much exposed- in different forms. So let us pray...

Desmond PereiraCorruption is an exclusively endowed andfinely tuned art of the 'chosen few' sinners.

Javed Hassan

BANDRABUZZ – WEEKLY?Hey, your BandraBuzz reporting team isawesome. People get incredible insightsabout their immediate neighbourhood –like no other newspaper. Our local activists are ever ready to dareand bare the devilish plans of evil politi-cians, bribing builders & our 'great' BMC.Bandra Buzz should be published:: Weekly– ASAP.

Priya Grover

APPRECIATIONI was going through your BandraBuzz De-cember 2013 edition - and was very im-pressed by the way this paper has evolvedin such a short time. Also, glad to see somany advertisements.

Jose Mathews

DHARAVI IN BANDRAanks for publishing my article 'DharaviIn Bandra' on the illegal shops on waterdrains at Kadeshwari, Bandra West.

I have received a letter dated 17thDecember 2013 from the BMC in reply tomy letter dated 23rd October 2013. Itstates that they have served the illegal shopowners a notice under section 314 of BMCAct for removing their shops.Glad that you media coverage has high-lighted this issue – with immediate reac-tion

Adv. Shane Cardoz

BEWARE OF DEBENHAMSI write this to make your readers awareabout the dangers that lurk at many of ourmalls.

Around two weeks back, while shop-ping at Debenhams, I slipped and fell asconnecting cable was just lying around,without being stapled. As a result, I injuredmy foot and my ear. Luckily, my eyes weresafe.

And imagine - there was NO FIRST-AID available.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

NEWSDecember 201312 BandraBuzz.com

Mr. Shankar Pai is a passionate and volubleman, out to make a positive difference inthe lives of the not-so-fortunate. He isclosely associated with the Make-A-WillFoundation where he is the President.Cyrus M Gonda met him to find out moreabout the intricacies of making a will inIndia & also what drives this lawyer turnedsocial activist. Mr. Pai is a 4 times delegateto ISB Hyderabad 's Family Business Pro-gramme (omas Schmidheiny Chair ofFamily Business and Wealth Managementis celebrated as Philanthropy Day by Make-A-Will Foundation on 28 December)

Is there a well established culture of mak-ing wills in India?It is unfortunately not well established.Very few people want to bring up the topicof making a will . Unlike in the West, wherethere is proper succession planning andfamily businesses have been handed downsystematically to the next generation forhundreds of years.

What do you feel are the reasons for thisin India?Well, it’s mostly that people feel an air of fi-nality once they have made their will. eyfeel there is nothing le to live for. I knowof many cases where children and parentswould both like the parents to make a will,but no one raises the issue like BhimsenJoshi, Rajesh Khanna, Kala Nirnaya people,Dhirubhai Ambani, Mr. Rana Kapoor whodid not do succession planning. It’s almostas if it is an embarrassing topic.

At what stage and age of life should oneideally make a will?Now people are starting to earn more muchearlier in their lives. For example, an engi-neer and MBA, who is now working in theIT sector, by the age of 30 may have his ownhouse, a car, a strong bank balance and agood salary coming in regularly. Such aperson should even make a will at the age

of 30, as he has properties in his possessionto leave behind.

Is it necessary that a will be registered? Ifso which is the authority which deals withthis?It is the Registrar of Sub-Assurances at theStamp Duty Office who does this work. Ini-tially even elderly people had to stand inline at the office to get their will registered,but now there is a provision that for a nom-inal fee, a person from the office is sent overto the residence to do the job.

What are the advantages of registering awill?Let me give you an example. A gentlemanwho was not married made a will leavingbehind his property to a trust. Aer hepassed away his brother visited the flat toclean up, and found the will and destroyedit, thus the brother got all the propertywhich had actually been le to the trust. Ifthe will had been registered, a copy wouldhave been with the Registrar, and thiswould not have occurred. Apart from that,when a will is registered, it is not possibleto tamper with it.

What language can the will be made in?Even the simplest language possible is fine.No legal language is required. e only

thing is that the intention and the languageof the will should be clear, and not vague.

Any advice regarding wills for the generalpublic?Yes, philanthropy is important. Please leaveyour property to your children, but alsospare some thought for the unfortunate.Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Prize fromhis will. Even today, there is nothing toequal it in scale or magnitude. If one per-son can do so much, surely we can each doa little.

ank you so much Sir. Could we shareyour contact details with our readers incase they would like to call you for expertadvice regarding this issue?Definitely. ey are most welcome to con-tact me on 9819215578.

Cyrus M Gonda

“Very few people want to bring upthe topic of making a will. Unlikein the West, where there is propersuccession planning and familybusinesses have been handeddown systematically to the nextgeneration for hundreds of years.”

WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY

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CELEBRITYDecember 201314 BandraBuzz.com

Meet Ayub Khan, professional BollywoodActor since 1992 - and a very enthusiasticindividual who loves going that ‘extra mile’.Becoming a Bollywood star isn’t any ordi-nary feat, yet this ‘Bandra Boy’ achievedsomething that many can merely dream of.Let’s learn from his experience, what ittakes to shine. e sky is not the limit!

Tell us something about your childhood? I lived a large part of my life in Bandra. Istarted off at Avabai Petit High School,which admitted boys too at that time - &from there I shied to Jamnabai NarseeSchool, St. Aloysius & others. At that time,childhood & teenage years were spent in amuch different manner, unlike today. I es-pecially remember that I along with myfriends used to frequently cycle through theby-lanes of Hill Road, Pali Hill & CarterRoad, making the most of our youth. egreatest part about life then, was that we ac-tually knew who our neighbours were, atthe tip of our fingers - & could literally pin-point the locality they lived in.

Is there any unique incident that alwaysstrikes a note in your mind? Well, we were very mischievous kids.Every Christmas, my school organized afair. A few of my friends got together to cel-ebrate Christmas. Sadly, we could only af-ford to buy an Christmas Tree. So, to addsome Christmas Cheer’ to our bare tree, wedecided to go to the fair. Naughty as wewere (laughing), we stole a couple ofChristmas decorations to glorify the Holi-day Season. I recall that we were repri-manded by our Principal - & that waspretty embarrassing. It was one, hu-mourous incident in my childhood. Never-theless, we never strayed away from thebounds of childhood innocence.

Who has always been a true role model inyour life?My mother has always been a vibrantsource of inspiration & courage. Havinglost my father at an early age - & beingboys, we were quite a handful. Whenever Ierred, my mother never brazenly repri-manded me, but she stayed on course;never masking the loving side of her, inspite of her discipline & firmness. She al-ways let me grow. To sum up, I had a closely

knit bond with her.

Who was the underlying inspiration inmotivating you towards becoming a Bol-lywood Star?Prior to joining the industry, I had an ar-dent desire to pursue a career in the IAF.Being the youngest in my family & strongvibes of the industry coming from my par-ents, I ventured into Bollywood. Initially tosharpen my cinematic skills, I was rigor-ously trained by Daisy Irani & Sarojji, whoboosted my self-esteem in unimaginableways. Right now, with about 24 years of ex-perience backing me, I wouldn’t considerleaving the industry, even if given anotherchoice. Frankly, Bollywood defines me!

ere may have been obstacles that youmay have encountered in your career pro-gression. Tell us how you tactfully con-quered them - & moved up the ladder?My biggest obstacle was coming to termswith my own inhibition. On joining the in-dustry, my mind-set was completely differ-ent. How they perceived stories &connected with the audience was alien tome. Yet, I had a chance to liaise with someof the best personalities of the industry,who recurrently motivated me towardsperfection. I enjoyed working with produc-ers like Shri Prakash Jha, who gave me a to-tally different perspective towards life.Films like ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ are breath-tak-ing. e oneness observed in the Bolly-wood industry is fabulous.

Going back to my first audition, I feltthat I was not cut out for it. e thoughtthat many other actors were far superiorconstantly shadowed my mind. It was thereputed ‘Mirza Brothers’ who helped meovercome all my fears, while filming for‘Mashooq’. ey told me to give my 100%- & that they would support me with therest. Our second venture together ‘Salaami’was a marvelous success. ere was nolooking back from then on.

How many films have you been a part of?Of them, which was your favourite script& character?I have been a part of 35 to 40 films & I’drather not treasure any film in particularbecause each film is very unique in its ownway. It is not just an on-screen character,

moreover a character that I want to portrayso that it becomes synonymous with theambience set-around. People looking up toa character should have an adrenaline rushthat leaves them awestruck, exclaiming amighty ‘Wow’!

On a scale of 1 – 10, how would you ratethe Bollywood industry today?Well, we have many fantastic performerswho elevate the name of the industry - &their talent can be admired in every aspect.So I would dole out a 10 /10 to them all &to some exceptional actors I would go evenfurther & award a 20/10 rating (Smiling).

You have spent the majority of your lifein Bandra. What is it about Bandra thatyou love the most ?Practically everything stands out! I shiedfrom Bandra to Versova in 1990 & sincethen Bandra has dramatically changed.Some traditional aspects have vanished. Inostalgically reminiscence the days whenwe kids used to boundlessly fly kites, makeexquisite boats, go fishing at the very cov-eted Carter Beach. We found time to baskin natural beauty, calmness, serenity whichtruly is what Bandra is known for. No pubs,only a few bhel-puri vendors were what de-fined a leisurely outing. Ah! I rememberthose good old days!

If, given the chance to change anythingabout Bandra; what would it be & why?(inking…) I would like to trade the pres-ent year with the year 1985. It may seemstupid to some, but I recount memories ofhearing the rustling of the trees & enjoyingthe ‘sounds of silence’. ings change, as lifeoen does. Although Bandra still remainsthe celebrated ‘Queen of the Suburbs’, it hasbecome a mini-metropolitan hub, wherelife is on an ever-ready rampant race, whichmay benefit the citizens who live in Bandra.Yet, come what may I will happily cherishBandra till the end.

How do you see yourself in the future, inconnection with the present?Perseverance, patience & calmness are mythree strong qualities. As of now, I con-stantly juggle family, personal, social &work commitments. In my leisure time, Iacquire knowledge, try out new interests,

do mechanical stuff, carpentry… - right upto tinkering around with my house, cars &anything that captures my attention. I wishto retire to a beautiful, serene place wherelife is not led by mere demand but wherepeople value the time spent with eachother. I hope to own a fishing boat & Ispend more quality time with my family.

Any advice to young individuals, wishingto take up to acting as a profession?To flourish in the acting industry an indi-vidual should first free his or her mind,break the boundaries of conventional inno-vation - & dare to dream. Even then, don’trush! Acting isn’t an overnight endeavour.One needs to have the grit & determinationto reach for stars.

Joshua Jonathan Norris

‘Bandra Boy’ Ayub Khanreaches for the stars!

“I would like to trade the presentyear with the year 1985. It mayseem stupid to some, but I re-count memories of hearing therustling of the trees & enjoyingthe ‘sounds of silence’. Thingschange, as life often does. Al-though Bandra still remains thecelebrated ‘Queen of the Sub-urbs’, it has become a mini-met-ropolitan hub, where life is on anever-ready rampant race, whichmay benefit the citizens who livein Bandra. Yet, come what may Iwill happily cherish Bandra tillthe end.”

Ayub Khan

NEWS December 2013 15BandraBuzz.com

Have you walked into a restaurant or a the-atre and felt like you should have broughta shawl or a jacket? Well, you’re not theonly one. Vivek Gilani tells me that’s whatgot him started on the timely ‘upby2’ cam-paign. Walking up to the building housinghis home office, I decided to take the stairsfeeling much like the man I was going tomeet, a bit concerned about my health -and a bit more about the environment. Iwas pleasantly surprised to find child- likepaintings accompanying me all along thepassage way.

Great idea to camouflage disgusting-paan stains, I thought. But that wasn’t thereason they were there. Vivek has been try-ing over the years to convince his neigh-bours to go ‘green’. One of the choices wasto get people to take the stairs and one shotin the dark was to make the stairs a pleas-anter experience. I instantly took to theidea. However it was a huge challenge andjust one of many, as I was about to find out.

“My place is the one that has the cycleoutside” said Gilani. Reaching the secondfloor I found two. One was a child’s cycleand the other a swankier, more grown upversion. No prizes for guessing which door-bell I rang.

Vivek Gilani, an environmental engi-neer and a BEE (Bureau of Energy Effi-ciency) certified auditor started the ‘upby2’campaign to spread the message of equi-table use of energy in a bid to manage thelooming issue of climate change. Caused byan excessive amount of green house gasesexpelled into the atmosphere, climatechange is causing havoc the world over andis poised to become one of the biggest chal-lenges to reckon with in the near future.

Climate Change is the name for theworld wide phenomenon of erratic weathercaused by global warming which means thetemperature of the Earth is rising. Our at-mosphere ensures that temperature condi-tions are habitable for life through thepresence of gases called ‘Green HouseGases’. ese maintain an optimum tem-perature for all ecosystems to survive.However due to man’s increased activitiesthat include using up natural resources andexpelling pollution the balance is dis-turbed. ere is an increase in emissionsthat is believed to be the cause of global

warming. According to Vivek, in 2010India had 4.8 million ACs in operation -and by 2030 the number is set to go upto48 million. e obvious worry here is of theimplications of such a huge leap in the de-mand and use of non-renewable energy.“We need to look at how India can becooled better and fair”. “Greed” says Gi-lani,“is the biggest problem”. Urban envi-ronments like the city of Mumbai andespecially the suburb of Bandra are usingup resources far in excess of their sharethereby depriving other sections of society

of their equal right. In Bandra itself, everynew building with its matchbox sized flatshas the unmistakable slot for a window AC.No one seems to question the reason for anAC; everyone is hell-bent on following theherd, snowballing the problem beyond re-pair.

In the course of our interview, we’vewalked down to the neighbourhood cafeand of course the first thing Vivek does ismark the position and temperature settingsof the ACs. A quick assessment and he isable to tell me where the problem lies and

how quickly the owners can fix it. I ask himmore about it.

Vivek tells me about ‘Fair Condition-ing’, an initiative by a set of different groupswhose aim is to ensure equitable use of en-ergy. A compelling environmentalist atheart, Vivek confesses his hatred for cars. Inod in understanding and for the sake ofargument; throw at him the aspirations ofthe common person to improve his or herlife. He comes straight back with a reason-able argument for incentives. “Make it in-convenient to drive a car” he says, “whileproviding adequate incentive to persuadepeople to make the better choice”.

Explaining the ‘upby2’ campaign,Vivek says the idea was to get people to re-quest a change in temperature while mak-ing use of an immensely popular socialnetwork to further the cause. “We need toget used to a 24 degree to 25 degree tem-perature as things are only going to getwarmer”, he cautions with a smile.

So if you wish to make a differenceand there’s good enough reason to do so,the next time you walk into a place wherethe AC is set to an unnaturally chilly tem-perature make sure to ask themanager/owner to ‘up the temp by 2’. Aspart of the campaign, post your good deedon the Facebook page of the campaign andwait for that pat on your back by the teamat ‘upby2’.

Become part of the solution because ifnot you’re not, then you’re part of the prob-lem.

Vivek is looking for interested and willinghands to help him in his projects to saveour environment, one degree at a time. Ifyou’re passionate and willing to put yourmoney where your mouth is, write in toVivek Gilani at [email protected]. Join theupby2 campaign at www.no2co2.in

And, let’s make Bandra a little less coolthan it needs to be!

Sonal Alvares

So you think Bandra’s cool?You may actually be right!

Climate Change is the name for the world wide phenome-non of erratic weather caused by global warming whichmeans the temperature of the Earth is rising. Our atmos-phere ensures that temperature conditions are habitablefor life through the presence of gases called ‘Green HouseGases’. These maintain an optimum temperature for allecosystems to survive. However due to man’s increased ac-tivities that include using up natural resources and ex-pelling pollution the balance is disturbed. There is anincrease in emissions that is believed to be the cause ofglobal warming.

Vivek Galani, Co-Founder at ‘The no2co2 Environmental Project’

December 201316 BandraBuzz.com

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