aka Om Routray
My first Punjabi lassi was in Delhi in 2001. It was that shop under the tree in Ber Sarai. We had just landed in Delhi a couple of days before, I was to join Dschool and a friend had to join IIMC. We were looking for a place for him. Anyway, the lassi. It came for 15 bucks, a tall steel glass, all white with froth at top. He kept it on the counter. I waited. I had paid 15 in advance, he was not…Continue Reading “Lingaraj Lassi, Bhubaneswar”
I am the wrong person to write about temples. Because, I hate them. Most of them. At least, the ones with deities inside. I am indifferent to mosques and churches. Why? I have never been harassed in a mosque or hounded for money in a church. Actually, no one really cares when you are there in an Indian church. Apart from the peculiar Indian habit of leaving shoes outside, churches here are really nice, calm and friendly places. Mosques have ruled about shoes and head…Continue Reading “About Rajarani temple in odisha and a few others”
We have all had different kinds of teas, haven’t we? However, this one threw me off the chair. I spent two decades in this city and had never tasted this one. This time, luckily I did. This tea costs five bucks. Has lemon, honey and a spice powder that makes it almost taste like Hajmola. It is very addictive and I used to have two at a go. It is a version of what the Bengalis call laal chai and what the Odias call naali…Continue Reading “Tea Shop, Unit 4, Bhubaneswar”
Shahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar. In a market crowded with golgappas, chaats, rolls and roadside grilled sandwiches, I kept looking at this guy. During the half an hour I took to try everything else, he just stood there, arranging, rearranging stuff, I may have been the second guy in all that duration. Finally, gingerly, I approached. A plate came for 20 bucks. He made it with fingertip precision and it was tasteful. Should he do better? Ideally, yes. Do we generaly avoid food that’s healthy? Yes, nless…Continue Reading “Sprout chaat, Bhubaneswar”