The world cup is over , now what?

The FIFA world cup is finally over. Which means room for "other than soccer" topics of conversation over lunch, coffee and dinner (did people notice the Wimbledon just whisked by?). Not a huge soccer fan myself but it is difficult to stay immune to the hoopla and the passion around what probably is the greatest sporting spectacle in the world. My most vivid image of the soccer world cup is Italy winning the finals in 2006. I happened to be in Milan during the world cup and was lucky enough to witness the grand victory of a soccer obsessed nation. Notwithstanding the FIFA spectacle, Italy remains one of my most favorite destinations in the world.



                         


Speaking of favorite destinations, I managed to visit Goa thrice in less than a year. Between taking my parents to South Goa just after monsoons to holidaying with an old friend leaving for Singapore, Goa manages to offer everything from the solitude of it's remote beaches to the epitome of letting your hair down and not caring about the world. My friend also introduced me to this series of travel books written by Fiona Caufield. Called the 'Love' series, Fiona writes about the most offbeat destinations to be discovered in a place. We discovered an old Portugese villa serving traditional Portugese fare for dinner (also the owner chats up with you and may even be cajoled to play the guitar. Which he did for us. Two women can be insistent enough).

The monsoons are here. Thankfully Bangalore weather has gone back to being 'Bangalore' weather again. If you know what I mean. Between my early morning tennis classes and generally being violently lazy, I try and manage to pick up a cue on Bong cuisine from here. I love the way she writes and her general enthusiasm for food. Plus inspiring an audience like me , who given a chance would stick to the luxuries of a cook dishing out the fare for you. Hopefully, I will surprise my 'Bong mom' when she comes visiting next time :-).

Eat Drink Replay

'One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating' - Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

And so I did. A series of weekends spent over..well, food! From brewpubs to midnight dinners. A short recollection of my new epicurean discoveries in Bangalore:


Toit: The long pending photo club lunch at Toit , Indiranagar. Bengaluru's apna microbrewery.Quirky beer names. Mine was called Tintin. For the more adventurous. there is a spicy beer ! Food is good too, especially starters. My pasta in pesto sauce was a little too cheesy to finish though. Perfect for a lazy Saturday lunch. I wish they had a place to crash after the beer and the food though..yawwwwn!


Citrus, The Leela: A weekend buffet lunch with a dear old friend visiting Bangalore. You may find it difficult to tear yourselves away from starters and salad section to the main course. Incredible selection of cheese. Absolutely not to miss, the fresh baked thin crust pizzas. And heavenly desserts!


Jamavar, The Leela: An ambience to die for. I think. Wouldn't matter if the food was not good enough:-). Not that it wasn't. We stuck to a simple dinner of Appam and Pachakari stew after our weekend eatathon. Worth a revisit simply for the ambience. And to do better justice to the menu:-)


French Loaf: One breakfast place with ample choice of fresh breads and vegetarian fare for breakfast , apart from the  standard English breakfast that a couple of other places in the same vicinity like The Hole in the Wall in  offer. My toast and herb omlette was quite ordinary, but I loved my friend's onion mushroom sandwich. That's some compliment for vegetarian fare!


Biso,Citrus Hotel: A saviour if you are working late and want to pop across the street from work to catch up on a midnight dinner. Limited menu but my chicken alfredo pasta was not too bad. There is a fair Indian spread for the midnight dinner. Also serves beer. Avoid the steaks. Oh, and for desserts, try the Bull's eye:-)


To more epicurean pleasures, Bon Apetit!

Dining at the king's table

The three day Holi weekend was completely unplanned for. I missed out on the Friday holiday on the calendar , which earlier anticipated, would have atleast resulted in (i) a trip back home to gorge on a lot of feesh or (ii) a trip to Saada Dilli/Gurgaon to catch up on the kebabs (friends too, friends too:D). So I ambled around, with books and coffee for company till Sunday evening when sudden plans for dinner materialized with a foodie friend (the kinds who can freeze on the restaurant, skim through the menu and decide on the order with expert precision , sparing people like me the effort of doing any of the above). The chosen venue was a Korean restaurant - Soo Ra Sang (which translates to 'King's dinner table' ) on Wind Tunnel road , just off Airport road.

The location is away from the normal weekend crowd , a quaint set up with a small but exclusive parking, a luxury by Bangalore standards. Paper lampshades with Korean calligraphy, bamboo furniture and a semi open air seating lend a very soothing aura to the entire atmosphere (I could even see the half moon peeping through the Bangalore skyline:-)). You can choose to sit in the low Korean style seating with cushions on the floor with a charcoal grill set up right in the middle.

We were first served the Korean style water with a dash of cornstarch.  Our order of grilled meat (Dak Kal bee and Bull Kal bee - no , not my memory of Korean cuisine,those are the notes taken down on my phone:-)) was then cooked in the grill at the centre and cut into small pieces with thinly sliced garlic and potatoes.

Next came all the accompaniments - kimchi,macaroni salad, zucchini ,sprouts,pickled radish, spiced baby potatoes, blanched spinach and fried aubergine. All delicious and can be asked any number of times!

Our last order was a plate of deji bull go gi served with a bowl of sticky rice. Absolutely yummy!

There is no dessert here and the meal is rounded off with glass bowls of cinnamon tea. Utterly refreshing and a perfect end to the delightful dinner!

Some helpful facts:
Address: Wind Tunnel Road, Off Old Airport Road
Cards Accepted: Yes
Price: On the steeper side , a meal for two will come for 1200-1400(without drinks).
Drinks available:Korean Beer


Note to self: Carry a camera next time you are out dining.


Interesting trivia on Korean dining etiqutte: Suggestions include items such as "when you see a fat cow, goat, pig, or chicken, do not immediately speak of slaughtering, cooking or eating it". Erm;-)

Generation Flux

Read a very interesting article on the pace of accelerating change in the economy and business. And the importance of accepting chaos as a normal course of what is going to define the future for sometime to come.Very interesting perspectives:

"Uncertainty is when you've defined the variable but don't know its value. Like when you roll a die and you don't know if it will be a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. But ambiguity is when you're not even sure what the variables are. You don't know how many dice are even being rolled or how many sides they have or which dice actually count for anything."

"If ambiguity is high and adaptability is required, then you simply can't afford to be sentimental about the past. Future-focus is a signature trait of Generation Flux. It is also an imperative for businesses: trying to replicate what worked yesterday only leaves you vulnerable."

And my favorite, a quote from Charles Darwin:
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives; nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change."

Read it. Chaos is here to stay. Are you a Genfluxer?

A revisit and a year end thought

I was travelling to Hampi again. This time with M. My last visit to the place was almost 2 years back , with two close friends from Mumbai who also got me my Canon 40D from Pune. It was a second time for M too , who had equally exercised her traveling options during her Bangalore stint. So why did we choose to go again? Hmm. No, not the irresistible charm of the bizarrely splendid Hampi architecture and ruins. M and I are no connoisseurs of architecture , the charm of Mango Tree would be more closer to the truth.Lack of adequate time for travel planning ? Yes. M does her classic vanishing act like always. I usually pride myself on my last minute planning,but a week before Christmas weekend and work to juggle with was difficult to beat. Also,the nonchalance towards the choice of the destination when you are looking forward to holiday with an old friend and catching up with each other's lives away from the busy schedules. Happens when you have been friends since kindergarten.

We board the Hampi express from the Bangalore city junction on Wednesday night. A peaceful overnight train journey reaching Hampi early morning the next day. Co passenger gentleman visibly impressed with M's D school pedigree strikes a conversation “ Do you know Swaminathan?”. “Swaminathan , who?”. M's brain is not known to respond well before breakfast. Especially when Swaminathans abound in plenty south of the Vindhyas. I shield myself against M,strategically positioning myself to vent my fits of laughter. Not polite , you see. An offer to be dropped to the bus stand is on stake.

“ You bongs are very intellectual , no? Also you travel a lot”." You also like music"
“ Who was that lady who won the Magsaysay award?”
M is fighting a lonely battle.If only looks could kill.Fortunately, the train halts at the Hospet station and we get a drop till the bus stand. A Paramvir Chakra for the woman.

Our first day is a quick tour of Hampi. A repeat for both of us. We spend more time at some of the places, especially Vitthala , the iconic Hampi temple, before sunset. Hampi ruins are spellbinding , even for a repeat visit. We head off for Badami the next day. Built somewhere around 550 A.D, the rock cut cave temples built by the Chalukyas are carved out of sandstone on the precipice of a hill. There are four cave temples dedicated to Shiva ,Vishnu and Mahavira-each with a huge verandah and vertical columns leading to an inner sanctum where the main sculpture is housed. Exquisitely carved murals.The fact that the temples were built somewhere in the first century and still survive almost unscathed is quite amazing.I wonder if I have seen anything older than these first century temples.Yes. Giza. 2500 B.C. After Badami,we head off for Aihole and Pattadakal , again Chalukyan temples dating back to the sixth/seventh centuries.

We check out of our resort the next day but are pretty much unoccupied before our train back to Bangalore in the evening. Our driver for the Badami trip enthusiastically suggests watching Don 2 at Hospet.We choose to settle instead with cups of coffee at a shack in Hampi Bazaar and spending time by the banks of the Tungabhadra over King Khan .The river looks serene, quite contrasting to the gushing torrent I remember last time when flash floods had the Tungabhadra overflowing it's banks. A friend from Hyderabad is also visiting Hampi , but luck plays spoilsport and we miss meeting him by a whisker.

We also  notice a lot of school children in Hampi and the nearby places,visiting as part of excursions, before their Christmas holidays. A school excursion group possibly from Bangalore, was booked in the same KSTDC resort that we were staying at. In striking contrast we notice, school children from the excursion groups coming from the nearby areas, did not have their basic school uniforms, a lot of of them barefooted. One of them also tried selling us his Hampi guide. Glaring disparities in school education in India? A parting thought as we packed our bags back to Bangalore.

*A travelogue on the first Hampi visit here

The making of a Goddess

The making of a Goddess a set on Flickr.

Images , some holy , some macabre.. from a carefully crafted process of idol making to celebrate the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil demon Mahisasura

Aaschey Bochor Abar hobey!

“You girls should finish the sari shopping in the next two days, shops will close down for Pujo”- my mom suggested as we settled down after dinner. My heart skipped a beat. My dear friend from Delhi who had come down to Kolkata for Pujo was gearing up with plans of shopping for exquisite saris.As the hostess, I (obviously) was entreated with the responsibility of escorting her. Coupled with my generic ignorance on matters related to the divine six yards of cloth (although I do maintain that nothing can do justice to a woman's elegance the way a sari can), my infamously short attention span when it comes to shopping and my friend's reputation of being a very..ahem..discerning shopper, the plan was ambitious to say the least. Not to mention the prospect of pre Pujo evening traffic.What followed in the next two days was a whirlwind treasure hunt- South to North Kolkata, discourses on saris from the most expert of salesmen (and women) (my respects to all of you),networking with sari merchants in Central Avenue (huge bargaining notwithstanding, we were also served coke..heh!), moments of complete misery (“Dude, just buy one!") and rare,unbelievable glory (“I think I will take this” (mental somersault)). Perks of the shopping marathon included a trip to College street, a quick tour of Mohammed Ali park and College square Pujo, taking her around the college campus and sitting in the crowded Paramount shop introducing her to Kolkata's famous sherbet and our favourite watering hole during Presidency days.

My first Pujo in Kolkata was splendid to say the least - a warm homecoming and time with family and closest of friends. Catching up with friends over breakfast at Flurys' where our unstoppable giggles invited glares from all over and clocking hours of adda at a Park street coffee shop. Gorging over fish and meals at the apartment Pujo celebrations. Catching the latest Bengali movie in town ; only to be nudged by my mom sitting beside me - “Bujhte parchish? (can you understand?)". A half day tour of the Ganges – crossing below the Howrah bridge and some of the oldest ghats in the city to Belur and back . A tour I would want to do again , after sunset. A vacation which just left me asking for more. Maybe just like the devotees bidding the Goddess goodbye as they immerse her in the Ganges -“Aschey bochor abar hobe (It'll happen again next year!)". And a strange melancholy as I packed my bags back to Bangalore. Like the lilting tune of a Tagore song I had heard as we crossed the Belur Math: