You are strong. In your own swaying in the wind way, you are strong. In your standing on one feet on a precipice way, you are strong. In your never steady, almost too fragile way, you are strong. You thought you won’t last a day; an eon has passed. You are strong. You are strong the way no one else is, the way strong never was. You are strong for a moment, an interval, an interlude. Not always, no one is. Eternity is too powerful…Continue Reading “You are strong”
A few days back, I got into this massive online brawl about gimmickry and marketing vis a vis substance when it comes to restaurants. A Delhi restaurant named Hotmess claimed itself to be the first aphrodisiac themed restaurant with the standard regular menu of burgers, pizzas and mezze platters and blah blahs and duhs. Paid bloggers and partisanship snuffed a debate that could have led to something. Anyway, here is me dipping a naked toe into the beehive again. A few years back, we were…Continue Reading “Sharma Sweet Shop, Amritsar and food marketing”
This one just came out of nowhere in Dwarka. There are no trucks nearby, it is not even close to a food lane. I had my eyes on them for a while and finally gave in last night. There for an in-between meal, we ordered only a chicken schezwan noodles and a veg maggi. The noodles were thin, there was a generous amount of chicken, and came with a side serving of sauce. The maggi had none of the tomato and dhania. It had garlic,…Continue Reading “Let’s Fork Food Truck, Dwarka”
Metropolis is a victim in Paharganj. It stands a little far from the crowd, right at the entrance, a little aloof and arrogant. May be, that’s why people hate it. Reading the reviews on Zomato, I almost decided not to walk in. Thank satan, I did. The restaurant is small, built like an alcove of an afterthought within the hotel. There are two rows of tables divided by wide pillars. It is certainly not pretty. The lights are not dim but not too bright either,…Continue Reading “Metropolis Bar & Hotel, Paharganj”
This one is a real cow, not the steel one I wrote about earlier. This cow, may be, lost a twin. But a woman earned her living for a lifetime. As I took the photo, a woman walked towards me, asking for money. She had put the calf on a goods carrier, did enough to deify the animal with a statue and a poster etc. The carriage stopped in front of every alternate shop and did the passive religious bullying. I didn’t see anyone paying,…Continue Reading “Holy Cow, Paharganj”
Bhaang ki chutney. I get an almost happy high from hearing the name, but sadly, the cook who prepared it in the hills said they don’t have any effect. They were made from the seeds. Even then, the chutneys were interesting. One was a paste and the other was dry roasted with garlic and chili and crushed. First, I am not sure why they were not using the leaves which were in abundance around the property. Second, why don’t we get bhaang seeds or leaves…Continue Reading “Cooking with bhang”
This is one site that I have taken a long time to order from. The first time I did, it was a sad experience. I ordered a shoe of the brand Knotty Derby and it was the worst shoe of my life. The order came on time and all that but the formal shoes that looked so good the first time kind of melted away in less than 6 months. First came out the cloth or whatever it was, then the sole in parts and…Continue Reading “My experience with online shopping: Jabong”
Monday mornings are the most introspective moments in our lives. We generally pull a carpet, wheel in our office chairs on such thoughts and move on. Some idiots have said and a billion more morons have propagated the idea that if you love your work, Monday morning blues just won’t occur. That idiotic son-of-Satan thought has made me switch not only jobs but industries some five times. The Monday mornings are still as horrible, still as philosophically depraved and still as disillusioning about the purpose…Continue Reading “No monday morning blues? You are a freak.”
We travel the we way we eat. Some stick to known paths, known sights and some will always prefer the unknown. In both food and travel, we have become a little more experimental. Otherwise, a Korean food fest at a Gurgaon restaurant would have been a loss making idea. And, no one likes to make losses. This is one event I didn’t want to miss. Korean food fest at Latest Recipe at Le Meridien, Gurgaon. I have never had Korean food before, apart from the…Continue Reading “Taste of Korea, Le Meridien, Gurgaon”
Three months and waiting. Time they took to process the updated RC with CNG on it. Three months of hell, harassment and plain old govt office sort of ignoring. Booking a car with Orion Hynudai was a mistake and I will repent it every day. The only reason I booked with them was because of a loan salesman from my bank- HDFC. From the day the car was booked to the choice of color to getting the CNG fitted which took more than 2 weeks,…Continue Reading “Orion Hyundai Gurgaon – the biggest mistake you will ever make”
Spotted this guy at the recent time world music fest in Nehru Park. The kids did not have a clue what the box was, the parents wanted the kids to have a peep. For a moment, I got nostalgic, then I remembered I never cared for the contraption. Even as a child, when everyone kneeled and were filled with glee, it seemed a little idiotic to me. May be, an uncle forced me to participate one time and that’s the only time I looked at…Continue Reading “Nostalgia”
I don’t remember the first time I had sattu. The version I had is called chhatua in Odia. It is made of poha, chana, wheat and some new versions come premixed with dry fruits. In Delhi, I first saw them around Kashmiri Gate and Chandni Chowk. But that was watered down version of the one pictured here. Noida seems to have far too many litti vendors, so sattu should not be a surprise. This guy’s cart was as clean as a cart can be, while…Continue Reading “Office ke neeche kya hai – Part 5 – Sattu”
(image credit: NIFT Wall Graffiti from a competition by Asian Paints) Folk arts have been in the wine like dilemma for last few years. It has been so exalted and out there and the common man has lost connect. Much like a good bottle of wine, it is out of reach in our daily lives. So, it was good to hear of the Folk in Vogue endeavour where the brand works with artisans from varied Indian folk art spaces to help in revival our rich art…Continue Reading “Asian Paints Celebrates Women Achievers with Folk in Vogue”
I was driving to Satkosia crocodile reserve and spotted this by the roadside when the traffic was slow. The name of the shop is ‘musa bhaina paana dokana’ which literally translated would mean mouse brother paan shop. Anyway, the shop looked interesting, colourful and alone under a huge tree and there was enough space to park by the roadside. So, we stopped. Apparently, the shop specializes in raja meetha paan, but that almost means nothing. Raja is a monsoon welcoming festival that lasts only three…Continue Reading “Musa bhaina paan shop, Khurda, Odisha”
Banaras is one city that has always scared me more than it has attracted me. So many travel blogger friends have written about it, so many friends say it is worth one visit at least etc etc. But the dirt, religiosity and the crowds have somehow upset the pull of amazing food that I have learnt the city has. So, when a friend invited to her curated event on Banaras ka Khana, I was glad that I won’t have to visit the city anymore. By…Continue Reading “Banaras Ka khana, 361, Oberoi, Gurgaon”
My father is the sort of man that art movies in the eighties were made about. He won’t qualify as a subject, he never went off kilter like the characters had to, but you can see the similarities. Talented man, bogged down by responsibilities of family and siblings, a victim of the corrupt system but insuppressibly aspirational. Each day, he will start with agony and vow to become corrupt and rich like his colleagues, each evening, he will come back lost and browbeaten by his…Continue Reading “My father the stereotype”
I had never been to this market. Never been to the Deer park in front of it. Yup, even after 15 years in the city, there are areas that are completely new to me. Anyway, there is this whole building with multiple restaurants that are with the same owner. So, you will still have to settle separate bills but you can hop between the lovely rooftop, the proper restaurant (Dirty Apron), an upcoming cake place and a live music with drinks place. Then, there is…Continue Reading “Dirty Apron, The Piano Man Jazz Club, Safdarjung Enclave Market”
