When you catch a dream, you suffer from hyperactivity, restlessness, sleeplessness, hallucinations and delusions of power. State of feverishness are normal, periods of excitement and depression alternate and loss of touch with reality is expected. Unlike the way we have always believed, dreams are not gifts. They are like a virus. By themselves, they won’t survive. They need a carrier, a host as it is said in medical world. You are perfectly normal until you catch a dream, then you show the symptoms mentioned above….Continue Reading “When you catch a dream”
As someone with a little interest in food, I was ashamed that I had never been to this cozy little place across the road from my home. Small outside seating, almost open air on the terrace, one can go here just for a coffee and a bite in winters. We had more. A fantastic North African salad with cous cous, pine nuts, massive chunks of walnuts and grilled chicken on top. The sald was simple but tasty without much happening in terms of flavours. The chicken…Continue Reading “1 Oak, Moolchand Flyover Complex, Defence Colony”
2.11 am. The night of 25th January. It was drizzling outside in Delhi. My phone rang, a call from my uncle who was in Koliatha to tend to my ailing grandfather. I have written about my grandpa a couple of times, many who have never met him, think I am influenced by him. Anyway, the uncle kept silent. I should have understood. But we had never agreed on a code of silence. So, it was appropriate for me to ask him matter of factly “what’s…Continue Reading “In fierce memory of my great grandfather”
I have bought deals from Groupon. Apart from one where the restaurant initially refused to honor the coupon after giving a reservation on phone, all others have gone really smoothly. But what about shopping? Does it make sense to shop from Groupon, do they even have the delivery network, why not buy from one of the established ecommerce sites instead? Price. Ecommerce companies hate it but customers in India have shown zero brand loyalty. Online shopping is decided by who offers cheapest rates and it…Continue Reading “My experience with online shopping: Groupon Review”
I have long been planning on doing a long post on the invasion of South Indian hole in the walls in Delhi. For years, I could count the number of good South Indian restaurants in Delhi on my fingertips, including the multi cuisine restaurants in Delhi that offered even dosas. Gladly, that has changed. It has changed at the top, it has also changed at the bottom. Once, there was only Swagath. Today, there is a Zambar, Toddy Shop, Carnatic Café, Kausstabh that specialized in…Continue Reading “South Indian holes in the walls in Delhi”
There are two kinds of people in Delhi. The ones who were born here and the ones who moved in later. The ones who were born have a sentimental attachment with Nirula’s, the ones who are not born here don’t understand the tears over thick bad pizza and other such stuff. In 2001, the daughter of an IAS officer treated me to my first ice cream soda and hot choco fudge. I was as gareeb then as I am now. At around 60 bucks then,…Continue Reading “Nirula’s hot chocolate fudge”
We used to have a house in Salepur, home of Bikalananda Kar rasgula, the most famous shop in Odisha. My paternal village is nearby too. The rasgulas are sweeter, the syrup thicker and they last longer due to high sugar content. My favourite ones, though, are white tiny ones from Govindpur, a place near my maternal village. Between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, there is a small place known as Pahala. Almost fifty sweet shops on each side of the road for nearly hundred meters – this…Continue Reading “Pahala – The Rasgulla district of Odisha”
Kerala is god’s own country but that does not make it any less confusing. So many destinations, so many resorts and so many opinions. No matter what you chose, one has to go back, again and again. But each visit has to be planned carefully, so here is a little help. Thekkady is one of the scenic destinations in Kerala and Cardamom County is one of the places to be in Thekkady. Part of Raxa Collective and owned by Muthoot Group, it is bordered on…Continue Reading “Cardamom County, Thekkady”
Everything on the internet is free. So, I never watermark anything I put up. People should naturally give credit. Nothing changed when I put up this photo I took at the Chilika lagoon in Odisha yesterday. I put it up and forgot all about it. Until my wife came running from the other room. Seems someone had claimed it. Soon, it was tweeted by MP Jay Panda, Irfan Habib, Milind Deora and had started quite a debate about Odisha tourism. Here is the link to…Continue Reading “When someone steals your photo”
When I get an invitation, I look at a thousand things. Does the restaurant need a Zomato score fix? Are they on a PR overdrive and is everyone else writing about them? Do they have a large menu and specialise in nothing? Thankfully, Quote Bar passed the first two and I made a visit. But they had a large menu and that is not a good sign and takes a lot of pain to review too. I decided to not make it anny easy for…Continue Reading “Quote Bar & Restaurant, Connaught place”
Red Fort- the way you may never have not seen before. The fog, today morning, was especially fun. It made the whole Lal Qila vanish. But even at 7 in the morning, massive crowds of shoppers thronged Old Delhi. Wanted to sit each one them down and ask if all is well with life. Anyway, that also reminds me that the fog made everyone so jovial. We bargained with the autowalla all smiling, there was a young man who chatted up and suggested angles while…Continue Reading “Red Fort Vanished”
One part of blogging is taking reader feedback seriously. While I focused on restaurant and street food, many, including my family, kept asking me to research this and that. Thankfully, I knew guys at Philips after the review for the Saeco coffee maker. So, I could do justice to one request that I was getting across social media and personal conversations – the air fryer. Every appliance company seemed to have one and no one had any idea if they were any good. So, I…Continue Reading “Philips Air Fryer – how good is air frying?”
I have a Muslim relative. Works in a very large, very well know MNC. Been there for 20 years. Now at a very senior position. Known for mild manners and working on Sundays he had a steady growth. All was well until a couple of months back. Then the conversations began. Everyone talked politics at lunch. Together. Then they started to talk in groups. Less and less at lunch. Not all conversations were hostile, but they were exclusive. The love jihad, the conversions, the Hindus…Continue Reading “The Muslim Colleague”
When you meet friends from another era, you go places from another era. I remember when we were in college, PVR Priya complex, as it was called used to be the place that was way out of reach. Then came Select City Walk, then the Emporio malls. Last night, we decided to hop places at the once-a-hotspot that has become delightfully quiet and pleasantly forlorn (if that’s possible). Piano Man is cosy, warm and let’s you be without being too formal. We ordered a quattro…Continue Reading “The Piano Man / Passion Tea, Vasant Vihar”
One purpose of being on social media is to rage when no one is. The other purpose is to pacify when everyone else is. After Sydney, Belgium, Manipur and Peshawar in less than 48 hours, most people have categorically stated that the world is its worst and humanity is at its nadir. Precisely why, I decided to point out why despite all the terrorism etc, these are the best times for the human species. 1. Global outrage itself is a new phenomenon – Earlier global…Continue Reading “The World Is A Better Place”
My grandfather, who never wrote, inspired the literature in many. He once said that one must enjoy or endure the weathers. One must sweat in the summers and shiver during the winters. The body, just like the planet, has a cycle of its own and it must not be deprived of its sustenance. When we were children, he would make us sit under the tree, not under a fan, and tell stories about all that we could see – the well, the banana plant, the…Continue Reading “My great grandfather”
You must have seen the push carts in Jama Masjid area selling fruit chaat. The fruits have remained the same for a very long time – papaya, watermelon, pineapple, guava. This time, we spotted a cart selling Kiwi. Priced at the same 10 bucks per plate, the seller was doing brisk business. The boy peeled, sliced and heaped a mountain of that old chat masala in under a minute. We returned the one with masala and asked for a plain one. Sour as hell, these…Continue Reading “Kiwi in Chandni Chowk”
I took a walk through Old Delhi with nearly two dozen people. Almost all Hindus. We walked through a Muslim neighbourhood, enjoyed food cooked by muslims, were served by muslims and had meat that is prohibited by our religion. Then how come most of us “normal” people drift so far when it comes to political opinion? All through history, large masses of people have behaved like frogs on slow boil. During the most transformational times, most people don’t realise their role in the slow march…Continue Reading “India, today”
This was on our third day in Kashmir. We had been to the mandatory sights in Pahalgam and had just come out of Verinag. The plan was to head to kokernag. Our guide was the local family friend we were staying with. Someone informed him that we could get fresh snow on Sinthan Top. Now, that’s a name that was relatively foreign even to him. So, we asked around for directions and ventured towards the the pass. It wasn’t a peak, it was a pass…Continue Reading “Sinthan Top – The hidden gem of Kashmir”