Viva la Vile Parle - Gajalee

A town is defined by its people, places, events, weather etc. Gajalee is one such restaurant which has been an icon on Vile Parle’s and Mumbai’s culinary map since several years, lending Parla its distinctive identity. A Landmark on Hanuman Road, this joint has attracted many sea food enthusiasts and is a favorite of many celebrities, appealing mainly to Maharashtrian tastes. Tastes I say because Marathi sea food cuisine is not simply Malvani as many think. The food here has influences from Karnataka as also a generic way of preparation which might appeal to wide demographics. Check out some of the awards and accolades at http://www.gajalee.com/.

I have come back home after a brief period from Bangalore, and if there is one of the things unique which set Mumbai and Bangalore food apart is the sea food, obviously. So when asked which place to have dinner I couldn’t resist Gajalee, again.

First off the start without asking for a menu we, meaning me and my Brother, ordered Fried Bombil (Bombay Duck) and Tandoori Pomfret. These dishes are to die for. If not the need for the variety on offer we could have ended dinner on rounds of these two dishes. The Bombil is perfectly fresh and crispy, melts in the mouth leaving you wondering if you ever had some. The Pomfret was nice and robust. Cooked with the right amount masala and oil or butter – it was deliciously light. Tempting us to order a second round but we held on to having a main course. The waiter – conversing in Kannada after eaves dropping on our conversations suggests we order an Oyster Masala with Neer Dosa and Akki roti – or Rice Bhakri. Palak Khichadi for Mom as she is a Vegetarian, and so am I most of the time. Beverages were Sol Kadi and Fresh lime soda. The Sol Kadi is of a love it or hate it kind of make, so not recommended for the un adventurous.

A waiter does the rounds of tables balancing a fresh Pomfret, Lobsters and live Crabs for the customers to choose. As the price varies with the item, the waiter has to display the many offerings. The live giant crabs wriggling around are a sight and the kids reactions are quite a sight. I remember meeting my meal last time I had come here – he or she was a sprightful fellow who transformed into a tasty meal.

Palak Khichadi that mom ordered is very nice. It’s a bit heavy on the fat though but tastes awesome. It soothed my tongue from the fiery Oyster Masala. Beware this one is not for Kids, spicy hot with a tomato based gravy – the Oyster masala was a unique experience. I never had oysters before and I think I will skip them and stick to rather mobile crustaceans.

The cost of such a wonderful meal – 1200 for 2 sea foodies and dear vegetarian Mom.

I leave for Bangalore with new memories with my family, satisfied expectations and a hunger again which is so easy to deplete in times of task. I hope I come across newer experiences like ones to be had at Gajalee.

Now I am off for some Vada Pav…

Bangalore, how long till its no more

The Tech capital of India, the global IT hotspot, the place when millions of young Indians have flocked to make a career and call it home. I donot see a bright future ahead alas. I hope I am wrong.

Here is a glimpse of the future 10 years from now -

Bangalore is a workforce magnet. People from the country - not able to find opportunities in their home town or state still flock to Bangalore. Its Mumbai in fast forward. Inefficient state governments are to blame.

There is inadequate road network. The existing ones have been stretched to capacity a decade before. Traffic Jams are the order of the day. The workforce needs to spend a lot of time just to reach work. Bangalore since it cannot be served by a spine shaped railway corridor like Mumbai, the metro simply wont work. It is working in a few sectors, but is merely a gimmick. It cannot handle the ammount of passengers required like the Mumbai locals. It connects few areas, people would rather take their own vehicles. Vehicles add to congestion. Pollution levels have increased alarmingly. A daily unavoidable fight against traffic.

There is not enough water for buildings built recently. The water table is depleted soon after Monsoon. New Buildings are not served by the water utilities. People have to rely on Shady Water Tanker services. There is a severe Electricity deficit. Realty rates are sky high and unreasonable. Concept of Bangalore suburbs fail to provide people a good living zone.

Local political bodies similar to Shiv Sena will start agitations to claim rights for 'Sons of Soils' and similar Bull Shit.

Thats some of the things I forsee - all of these assumptions are possible. Agree am a pessimist, but this is is a fact in making, unless herculean efforts by the powers that be do something. Visionaries have made great efforts but votebank politics and crooks in power have screwed things up bigtime in the nation in general. Its not a regional problem rather a national one. There is a quick fix solution in the making right now - Integrated private Cities with adequate infrastructure for a limited number of residents. People will work and stay within giant gated cities, outside is an urban disaster.

Take that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome !

Yep the reason for my absence from subjecting random people to my blogs is CTS. Happens mostly to unsuspecting code monkeys who bang away at keyboards with the worst of typing postures. Plus I have the added advantage of having wrists thinner than usual – I knew instantly I wont be a good wrestler, shame the world will not witness that.

Sooo anyways why this return? Not for people to acknowledge my ramblings – that’s a side effect and I found out that quite a lot of people do like my stuff (honest to god people did notice I stopped writing and asked me to do more foodie posts), but I realized I had simply stopped thinking creatively. Partly because of CTS curtailing my typing, partly because I am still in the middle of a crisis, I am sure I will overcome now that I have found whats the root of it all. Not cured though relieved as to remember there is a tunnel out of the cave at the end of which is a light.

So here is the first salvo against it all – at least one article per week. Come rain or bad bandwidth; code reviews or aching hands the one article shall be written. (Note to myself -this doesn’t count)

Thanks a bit to Scott Adams in part – got a lot of inspi after I started reading his book – ‘Stick to Drawing Comics Monkey Brain!’ mind you was #1 NY Times Best Seller.

Dilbert again

Lol!


And a previous favorite of mine


Scott Adams, my inspiration to quit the rat race and become a cartoonist :D

Interestingtings - Running from Camera

The web is the new art gallery. Nice simple and cool theme running on this art blog - Press the 2 second timer and try to run away from the camera.

go to -> http://runningfromcamera.blogspot.com/

Hungry in Bangalore: Utsav’s North Indian Food

Bangalore is transforming. Its undergoing the same changes Bombay (now Mumbai) saw in the past 2 decades, steady and massive influx of populations from around the country making Bangalore not just their place of work but their homes. This mass of people also brings along great appetites in tow.

Utsav is the tip of the ice berg of what is to come. The new working population is mostly single and living in shared accommodations and usually not too keen on cooking their own food. So naturally a huge demand for messes or joints which make home cooked foods available for reasonable prices. Utsav serves the north Indian or basically all roti sabzi eating demographics well. Located at Katriguppe main road in Banashankari the place dishes out the usual home fare of roti sabzi daal chaval and some times some special dishes. The owner/manager a lady who watches over the patrons caringly adds to the homely atmosphere. The crowd at the joint showed how fond people were about this place.



Sam and Ashu had sniffed this place out about a month ago and it had become their staple place to eat lunch and dinners ever since. It was my first time of many times. I went for the usual roti sabji and daal. With more repeats of the rotis. Sam went for the mooli ka parantha along with the rotis. Very good stuff and for a change there was real ghee on the freshly made rotis. When Sam mentioned Litchee thanda I remembered I had a sore throat and a slight cold. Yeah why not. 50 bucks for such a meal is more than super. 4 Thumbs up for this one.

Weekend warrior: Rock Climbing in Bangalore

Another weekend another shot at getting some adventure, albeit a paid safe one where even school kids are part of the group. 14th November was reserved for Rock climbing, rappelling and related activities at Ramanagara conducted by the Bangalore Mountaineering Club. I have never been on a proper Trek or some real forest outings, due to a lack of options and a fascination of becoming a quick fix spider man I signed up for this one day thingy.

http://www.bmcindia.org/ this lists all the upcoming activities by the club, after a simple e transaction which was acknowledged quickly, I simply had to show up at the pick up point with the right gear. Basically something you can afford to tear and soil and which allows you enough flexibility. Wear a full shirt, trust me all those thorns can be a real and constant pain in half tees, unless you are Arnold. I joined a group of techies, 3 pilots and 2 6th grade school girls, whose high enthused spirit I really appreciate, total 30 of us.

After a small breakfast enroute we reached Ramanagara around 10.45. It occurred to me I had been here almost 2 years ago on a company Out Bound learning session facilitated by the same Jagadeesh; the guide and coordinator. He made us go up a practice trail and up a lot of steps as a warm up, more of a cool down cause most us city slickers had enough trekking for a day in the first hour itself.

Rappelling, involves a controlled descent using rope down a cliff or a steep slope. Jagadeesh led us to a solid rock wall almost 60 - 70 feet high. Two separate rope sets were used for this exercise for 2 people at a time. This was pretty fun and easy, I tried the traditional back way down and frankly it was a bit boring.

Lunch was high on every body’s agenda, but Jagadeesh had different plans. Next up Rock Climbing. The high point of my day. We were led to another stone wall, this one wasn’t smooth and had a crack running along its face. Jagadeesh of course reached the top without a safety harness. Next up was an experienced guy who I guess made it within a minutes time. I started timing the next attempts. Next up Boris, a web designer from Boston who made it within 1.2 mins. I had to beat these guys!

Inspired by the two, many try to scramble up but easily took upwards of 4 mins and some assistance to get to the top. My Turn, I had to do it. The starting step is the trickiest and many required a boost from people helping you. I didn’t want any but someone waiting in the line volunteered to hoist my left leg, unknowingly I lunged my left leg and connected my knee with his chin. It hurt to watch too. Champ was down for 10 mins and out of the whole rock climbing event. Sorry dude. I appreciate the guy to be smiling after some time saying it happens. That’s something to take away from this. Well after some more of my own blood, my right hand was cut in many places, made it to the top roughly equaling Boris’s time. Yeah!

Lunch, and what a lunch it was! It was the best Poori Chhole and the whole usual course eaten atop a rock next to a seasonal pond on a glorious cloudy day! I stuffed my self against someones warning not to. I needed a nap. A nicely sloping stone wall was my bed, a pleasant cloudy sky the ceiling and the balmy cool breeze my blanket. Heaven! Why cant I do this everyday? I wouldn’t believe myself, I actually napped in that state for a full 15 mins till someone woke me up abruptly to gather again. It was another shot at rock climbing, my tummy didn’t agree to it, so off for another dose of Nini time.

Chimney climbing is to climb up a small gap between two vertical walls by gripping the walls with your feet and back. This is tough. Damn tough. Jagadeesh was encouraging everyone to go and do what we felt was impossible. Your legs give away at the middle of the climb, you just wana let go and trust the rope to hold you when gravity calls. But miraculously no one gave up. Scratches on the back, aching hands and cramping legs aside, up is the only way. And the scene on top is beautiful.

Happily tired, I felt a wonderful accomplishment. The escape from the urban jungle was an awesome respite. I paid 700 rupees, I gained experience worth a million, and now I am hungry for more.

The Hot new Mobile phone/ Mini PC you can talk to

Check out the new Motorola Droid available from Verizon in the US....remember Motorola ??




This phone was meant to do one thing - kick iPhone's A$$. This is best part of Competition. New platform (Android), Cam, Power, Apps and the list goes on..basically a more powerful functional and well equipped phone as compared to the i who should not be named.

Check out the ad on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYM-XTqcec


If you wanna read more, from the tons of reviews and stuff out there -

http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/ci.Motorola-DROID-US-EN.alt

Ajab Pu Ki Gajab Review

Review by Her Highness Ms.Pu

Ajab prem ki gazab kahaani has no kahaani in the first place .. its bout a no good fellow called prem who falls in love with jenny who is an orphan adopted into a christian family .. The first half has is somewhat funny and sweet when the two of them become friends . But in the second half the story takes wild twists and turns that fail to excite you or even amuse you.. A lame movie to be watched if you have excess cash and time or your bored to death.

Dandiya Nites in Blore

Navratri 2009!

I can’t remember the last time I had been to a Garba, perhaps it was in 2001 or 2000 in my colony Bombay. Its 2009 and I never imagined I was to attend a Garba and Dandiya again on the night of 26th in Bangalore of all places. And never ever could have imagined writing this sitting on a rooftop in Bangalore in a cool golden Bangalore evening with a cold tea cup and Sheryl Crow providing me company (acoustically). Things just fell into place for my Vacation, day -1. I needed a break. IT can get unforgiving at times, and best way to keep the steam up is to get away from it. More to come on that. Now Navratri.

As expected it was Sharayu who drove things to the end, with help from Swati this time. Gotta hand it to these two iron ladies to bully a bunch into the long forgotten art of having fun. The plan since last 2 weeks was to attend the Navrati celebrations at the Samyukta Mandal in Jayanagar which finally came through on Friday. The best plans are made last moment, and so I got a call at 5 ordering me to come for the do tonight. There were to be 4 confirmed people me, Sharayu , Swati and Kavitha. Sandy and Kamal were teetering on a go – no – go decision. What boosted our Enthu was Murli, a senior guy with equal enthu as us teenagers (mental age). I wish I could give him an award, but I guess my Dandiya sticks would have sufficed. I managed to get my tired self to this do knowing very well that I had a packed day tomorrow as Mom and Bro were to come to Blore. But since it’s a once in a decade event, I can miss my sleep for a night.

We reached at a very proper 9 pm to the venue which is just off the parallel road to KFC jayanagar. We could see the energy to be involved in the revelry, outside the venue with the colorful traditional Garba costumes people were coming in. Our group was one of the fairly well dressed I felt what with the ladies in great Punjabi suits and us guys in Kurtas. Swanky cars displayed the economic achievement that the Gujrati community has become synonymous with. The venue was a large school indoor audi which we entered for a ticket fee of 200 per person, pretty decent given that the big mandals charge as much as 500. The scene inside the audi struck us like a car. Packed with people already dancing in the circle, the whole place had a festive energy like none other. A professional navratri band was playing and almost every body was up on their feet and dancing and singing, the best way to worship the Goddess.

Immediately Sharayu, Swati, Kavitha and Me joined the circle absolutely clueless on how to dance the Garba. Never the less improvisation and a few mini disasters later we all managed to pick up the steps which are pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Sandy and Murli jumped in after a few rotations. The star of the show was Kamal! The shy fellow was replaced by a guy who truly danced, as the saying goes, as no one is seeing you dance. He was thoroughly into the groove and enjoying himself as were the rest of us. The tempo kept varying and we learnt some variations in steps to the Garba, basically a 4 step combo with claps.

We took a well deserved snacks break which was a cool surprise in itself. A great spread of Bombay theme dishes like Vada Pav, Pav Bhaj, Dhabeli (this stuff is awesome in Bombay) which was kinda OK and Gujarati dishes like Dhokla, Khaman chivda etc. We had some of everything and ended it with multiple Golas. Refreshed, we were looking forward to the Dandiya round.

Dandiya Raas is played with sticks (Dandiya in Gujarati) in two counter rotating circles where two people, or solo sometimes, are involved at a time. It requires some practice or Gujarati genes to kick it off the first time, but once to many I ended almost hurting people around me. People who knew how to play did so brilliantly. I was dazzled at times and stopped to see them but each person had a step on every beat and so had to keep on playing to avoid disappointing the partner who switches after every 4 steps. I played with Kids, teens and the seniors alike. Especially the seniors played splendidly with their ease and grace. Also present were the flashy young guys and girls with fancy costumes, steps, makeup and funky Dandiyas (one guy had a cool pair of rotating silver colored dandiyas ).

We ended the experience at 3 am, but because of the amount of the festive fun we had; I am sure no one slept for atleast another hour. Now I need to find out where to get those silver colored rotating dandiyas for next year…