The Greater Fool

Working for Dogs at Lizzy’s Delicious.

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

Why going from A to B in Mumbai is measured in time and not in distance, explained below -
I left from Marol Naka at 6.35 pm, traveled 6 kms and reached Powai at 8.20 pm. My friend left Marol Naka at the same time, traveled 23 kms and reached Breach Candy at 7.35 pm

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

@malpani Its the same question - Is it fair that you drive a mercedes while children come begging at your window at a traffic signal?

[JB @TheDilliMirror]

In the heart of Hauz Khas Village, my travel influencer friend vanished from an Airbnb. Pls Pls help me find her ( long thread but pls read till end )

Kavya, a renowned hotel influencer, recently received an unexpected email offering a free 2-night stay at a charming Airbnb in HKV, a hidden gem by the lake.
At first, she brushed it off, having transitioned to luxury hotels. But when she saw the pictures, memories flooded back
" Oh ya , I remember this place . Few years back I had written to the owner ( an old ugly bitch) to give me a free stay in return for good reviews and she refused stating that she was very small and this was her only livelihood. Looks like she has finally come around !
I will give her a visit and make her pay for not letting me stay for free last time . Also - this is interesting - she has all these great reviews - they are getting updated every few seconds - very unusual for such small place "

Although I disagreed with Kavya's stance on free stays for small businesses, I decided to go along. Upon arrival, we used the code to unlock the door to this charming place. The owner had an unusual obsession with reviews—reviews from various travel influencers adorned an entire wall behind the bed.

Unbeknownst to me, Kavya had a single mission in mind—to make the owner pay for refusing her a free stay. "Forget two days; I'll make her cover our food expenses and give us an entire week for free," she declared, reaching into her bag. She pulled out a jar and emptied its contents onto the floor.

"Kavyaaaa!" I exclaimed, horrified. The jar contained dead cockroaches, spiders, and bugs.
But Kavya wore a sly grin. "You can get anything for free from these folks, especially if you discover a room full of dead insects. Just wait and watch."
She dialed the owner's number, and after a moment, a lady answered, asking, "I hope you enjoyed the room."
"‘Liked—it's disgusting. Please come to the house right away.’
In a heartbeat, the doorbell rang. ‘Was she just standing outside the door?’ I wondered.

Kavya flung the door open and immediately launched into a tirade. The lady apologized and inquired about the whereabouts of the dead bugs. Kavya led her to where she had spilled the jar full of creepy crawlies.

‘WHAT THE FUCK!’ Kavya shrieked in horror. There weren't any dead insects; they were all alive, scuttling across the floor, attempting to crawl over Kavya.

The lady remained remarkably composed as she gazed at the insects and apologized, saying, ‘I have no idea how they got in here, but I will take care of them right away.’
Then, something utterly unprecedented unfolded before my eyes. As she stepped out the door, the insects simply followed her. She was like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, minus the flute.

I would have bolted from that place in an instant, but Kavya was utterly fixated on scoring freebies, and this was a golden opportunity.

The lady spoke once more, "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can offer to make up for this?"
Kavya's face gleamed with a voracious, unsettling grin.
"You should be," she retorted. "I think you should include food as well as a week of free stay."
"I don't have a kitchen here or a chef, but I can send you food from my house. I live nearby. For dinner, I have mutton and tandoori roti, if that's okay."
"Yes, that's fine, but get it quickly," Kavya replied rudely.

A few minutes later, the lady returned with the food. She placed it on the table and turned to leave.
But Kavya wasn't finished yet. She plucked a few strands of her hair and waved them angrily at the lady.
"This is too much now! There was hair in our food. Look, lady, I've had enough of this nonsense. Unless you want me to ruin you completely, I want a free stay for the rest of my life—anytime I want, free stay."

The lady reluctantly agreed and departed."

Kavya was on cloud nine. 'Did you see that? Did you see what I just pulled off?'
Yes, she was greedy, but I've never seen her like this.

Then I noticed something troubling. 'Kavya, your hair... chunks of it are falling out of your head.'
But Kavya brushed me off. 'A lifelong free stay—I'm just so good at this. I can make or break places.'

She left a trail of hair behind her, and it just wouldn't stop falling.

After dinner, we settled into bed. Suddenly, I jolted awake to a scratching sound emanating from the wall behind us. It quickly escalated into a chaotic symphony of noises—scratching, cellphone beeping, laptop clanging, and distant screams, all mingling together

I gazed at Kavya, her attention fully absorbed by the strange noises. Her once-thick hair was now vanishing rapidly, but she seemed unfazed.
"Help me move the bed," she insisted. "I want to find out where these noises are coming from."
Fear gnawed at me. "Kavya, let's get out of here. Something's not right."

Yet, an obsession had overtaken her. It was as if she couldn't resist. She shifted the nightstand, revealing a tiny door at the bottom. Opening it revealed a crawl space. We peered inside with our phone torches, revealing a tunnel large enough for one person to crawl through, its end shrouded in darkness.

Kavya now had that same greedy smile and stony eyes - she was almost bald form one side now
"Can you believe my luck?" she exclaimed. "I found a place with a hidden tunnel. Just imagine what's at the other end and how many views I'll get. Start recording."
She handed me her phone and began to crawl into the tunnel. I followed her, though I couldn't explain why. I should've turned back when I saw the bloodstains on the floor, evidence that many had gone before us.

But we finally reached the end of the tunnel . I guess that is how hell must have looked like -

There, amidst the darkness, grotesque figures with half-rotten visages, melting skin, and bloodless bodies, once human but now resembling abominable "things," sat hunched over phones and laptops, typing with manic fervor, their actions devoid of reason or purpose.
Suddenly, a chilling voice emerged from the shadows, echoing through the suffocating stillness, "Welcome, Kavya. You are now a lifelong guest in this place, just like you wanted , just like they wanted and you shall never depart."

"Two years back when I refused to give you a free stay- without even visiting my place you and your influencer friends left so many bad reviews that no one visited my place . I needed money for my daughters treatment , tried selling the place but no one would even buy it . I lost my daughter because I could not pay for her treatment and I killed myself in agony

But I had to come back for you and your kinds to pay for what you do . I will slowly kill you - just like I killed them and use your bodies to give reviews to all those small businesses you ruined .

Oh and that's where you mutton came from" - she pointed at a man who was bleeding to death with his thighs missing .
"And you will the food for the next influencer , who should be arriving shortly"

" Leave and never come back" she thundered at me !

I crawled back to the room as fast as I could and stopped only after reaching the end of village - I looked in the phone and there was no video - no pictures of the place .

The lady in front of me turned , looked at me and gave me a smile . It was her !

Music from the pub nearby floated in the park
" We are all just prisoners here
Of our own device"
And in the master's chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast
You can check-out any time you like
But you can never leave"

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

@nandiniv Sadly, no tech in the world can solve for work ethic

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

This girl dog is a companion of the lady who keeps our street clean (sitting in the background)
Both take a break outside our place daily. She has water and her human has chai.
Dogs and humans are meant for each other. Mumbai understands this like no other city.

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

@shantanugoel True metropolitan cities are always built by immigrants. All over the world. Immigrants work hard because they have left everything behind to build a new future in a new city. They make the economic wheels turn.
Its a matter of time, but Blr will get there.

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

I feel bad for Pakistan. Really bad state of economy, religious extremism, poor state of basic infrastructure. Imagine if we had never split on something as trivial as religion. We would have the best cricket, best food, diverse people and a peaceful Kashmir.

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

Saw this Ayurveda brand pitch for funding today. They make products for cancer tumours, diabetes, blood pressure etc.
It’s sad to see highly educated, well heeled folks peddle this crap, with not a fuck given about the lives of patients.

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

@Bangobondhu Whenever you are in Mumbai, drop by for some magic potion :)

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

If there is one life skill i have managed to acquire that is making great coffee. Not on a stove top but on a full blown espresso machine, proper barista style.
One year as a Barista at CCD in its peak years and probably 10k coffees later its like riding a cycle now

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

Remember the mad coffee days?@sumitsaggar

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

Its a terrible loss.
You remain a true inspiration @adityadickysin
There will be many who will carry forward your work.

[Shambhavi @shambhavipathak]

Looking for the perfect place to chill with your pup AND have great food?
In partnership w/ Wag-a-bond, @thebarngrill brings you a brand new, perfect for outdoors, breakfast and lunch menu along with fresh food from @LizzysDelicious for the doggos.
Limited spots l, so book now!

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

Great weather, great food under the thick canopy of trees and your dog(s) frolicking around leash free. The perfect start to your long weekend.
Look up Wagabond on google. Book here - https://t.co/B7EliyJl75

[Shambhavi @shambhavipathak]

Can't believe it's been 5 years already. Seems like yesterday that we were excitedly planning the menu and the layout.
And we're just as excited about the food today, and we're open for dining again!
Come on down for a special treat weekend !

[Sudhir Srinivasan @sudhirsrinivasn]

One of my favourite moments in #Interstellar (which I caught at a recent Chennai screening) is when Cooper realises at the end that he isn't the hero of the story, as he'd self-importantly assumed. "I thought they chose me. But they didn't choose me. They chose her!" It's a hero figure recognising that the burden of 'saving the world' isn't on him... It's on his daughter. He's simply a facilitator, a travelling messenger.

It ties in wonderfully with a line he says earlier about having children and how parents become the ghosts of their children's past. Cooper, with his achievements, becomes an accessory, a ghost of Murph's titanic achievement. When Murph exclaims, "You're my ghost!" that's why it hits hard. The flitting hand of a watch, is actually the invisible guiding hand of a parent, rooting for his daughter's success.

Nolan, across his films, seems to enjoy questioning the nature of heroism. His filmography is full of flawed protagonists (save perhaps for Dunkirk); the films may be grand and sweeping, but the central individuals are fascinatingly ordinary and often selfish to a fault.

[Cine Vichaar @Cine_vichaar]

Revisited : Tumbbad ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• This film alludes to the fact that you neither necessarily have to have 500 cr. budget nor big actors to make an outstanding film.

• This film doesn't lose its essence of cinema even for a second.. from opening shot with an interesting voiceover focusing on folklore but Sohum Shah stops at the moment when the story gets too interesting by saying, "vo tu khud dekh lena, jab tu devi ki kokh mei jaayega" just 2 minutes into the film and you are completely hooked! That's how you establish the entire tone of the film because the next scenes were nothing less than some jaw dropping visuals. Kudos to the production & set design team as well as for providing real looking sets that could look too caricaturish but surprisingly it didn't. These never seen before visuals in indian film, makes you feel that you are going to witness some outlandish camera shots along with stunning colour grading. It rekindles your faith in indian cinema.

• The amount of horror this film provides within 20 minutes of the story, that too without unnecessary cringe jump scares is truly brilliant. As the story progresses you get so immersed into it that you can't think of anything else.. that's how great its screenplay is.

• The climax is the real beauty of this film. The way its eerie music intensifies, tells the importance of music in such films. Now the story continues from the point where the initial voiceover stops, and that's the phenomenal use of editing and juxtaposition, that made the story narration feels so soothing and well synced. The film doesn't preach through dialogues, instead it teaches you through impactful emotional actions. The last shot where the kid closes the door and the film's title appears on the screen was an extremely impactful way to end this hauntingly beautiful film.

[RS Archer @archer_rs]

Our gardener has just been asked to stop walking around in our garden because he is, and I quote,

"Spoiling the shot" This from a woman who is filming a video segment where she is standing at my gates claiming she is holidaying at her "summer house"

My house !!!

[The Greater Fool @Sohan_u]

@RaoSumukh My personal experience says otherwise though. I live in Mumbai and travel by auto rickshaws a lot. For me this would be about 60%
Its low because most auto drivers here are lifers. Adoption rates will be slower as most of them are beyond the ‘early tech adopter’ age

[sarangsathaye @sarangsathaye]

‘Why do you focus on the negative sides of our #motherland ?’ they said, ‘look at the positives’ . Isn’t that the point we say… If we focus on the positive we will build an ego, if we focus on negatives we will build our #nation . #freedom #freedomtoquestion