Of Excuses And Open Spaces

This Malhar, I had the most fun I have had in a long long time. The high water mark was reached when we had an awesome vounteer JAM session right after the (even better) real JAM session (JAM, by the way, is short for a game called Just A Minute, in which all you have to do is talk non stop subject to a few rules). The Raga was a massive success, I ended up selling 350 in total, and practically died of hurting limbs the next day, but that's another story. In the process, however, I came across some gems - excuses people gave for not wanting to buy the Raga. Check them out:
- The most common reason : "I have already BUYED."
- The next most common excuse : " I don't have change for 500."
- From a morose looking guy : " I just lost my cell phone, I don't think I wanna buy anything." (that after i spent 5 minutes with my best smile explaining why he should buy the Raga.)
- From a wannabe punk with long hair and sleeveless clothes (and no biceps) : "I don't read the news, I make the news." (I was sort of rendered speechless then and there but later i thought i should have told him, "Oh, so you were the one at the Gateway Of India.")
- From a bunch of guys watching the rock concert : " We're rockers, we don't read." (that was cute actually, partly because one of them did end up buying one a little later.)

Ganesh Naik, our minister for excise and, ahem, ENVIRONMENT, has proposed to sell off the racecourse, the Aarey Colony and the Vikhroli mangroves to whip up the money for paying off the state's debts. According to Mr. minister, Mumbai doesn't really need open spaces, and, after all, "even the poor farmer sells of his land to get his daughter married".

This, barely half a month after the city practically drowned in rain, for the specific reason that there are not enough open spaces to take the pressure. Where were you then, Mr. Naik, when the same daughter was being molested by the floods?

Oh of course, you were probably chilling out in your own 500 acre property in the city.