Year: 2012

  • Khaaja Chowk

    The review was first published in Bangalore Mirror.

    Indiranagar suddenly seems to have caught this second wind, as far as new restaurants go.  Suddenly there’s a spate of new restaurants, and on one building, (the same as Girias – map) if you manage to go higher than ‘High on Thai’, you’ll find Khaaja Chowk. Valet parking available, and there’s reasonable space for 2 wheelers nearby.

    Kitschy chic makes for a good oxymoron, and I’d probably use the décor of Khaaja Chowk as its poster child. Posters are exactly where we’ll start, the ones I was caught gaping at, and then clicking away furiously. If you love Bollywood as I do, there’s no way you’d miss the chance to capture micro posters of ‘Shaitan Mujrim’, ‘Pistol Wali’ and so on!  Or you could take a step back and walk up the last flight of stairs that lead to the restaurant on the third floor, its walls adorned with framed retro matrimonial columns, lottery tickets and matchbox covers!

    There’s no escape once you’re inside either! Internet darlings like ‘Child Bear’ and ‘Lick-her-Shop’ take their rightful place alongside more to-the-point shop hoarding graphics like ‘Angrezi Sharab ki Dukaan’. You’d also want to check out that special table with bindis, clips and nail polish sets under a glass top. The auto rickshaw tables deserve a special mention, perfect for a group of 4, though we didn’t sit there because it was quite late and feared whether we’d finally be asked to pay one-and-a-half times the bill. The person to thank for all the above is Vikram Nair, who started the chain of restaurants several years ago in Gurgaon and brought it to Bangalore a month and a half back. Interesting trivia is that his sister is Mira Nair, no, not a namesake, the filmmaker herself.

     

    It was difficult to get the visual treat to take a backseat, but we finally managed to get down to business with a Cheese Chilli Seekh Kabab, a Khaaji ki Chaat and a Non Veg Kabab Platter. The chaat turned out to be standard papdi chaat fare, save the sev, and with a cabbage signature! The chilli dominated the Cheese Chilli kabab and the cheese was relegated to the background in terms of flavour, but is highly recommended if you don’t mind some spice. The non veg platter consists of Chicken Banno Kabab, Chicken Burrah Kabab and Mutton Seekh Kabab. The Burrah Kabab was the best of the lot, mildly spicy and juicy. The Seekh lost out only because it was slightly crumbly, though its flavours were just right. The Banno Kabab was subtle to the point of being bland, and was the least favourite. We also tried a sweet lassi to wash it all down, but that was quite a disappointment, mostly thanks to the sour curd! The other drink we tried was the Virgin Mary Masala – standard tomato juice and Worcestershire sauce but with a green chillies and masala desi twist that made the drink special.

     

    The menu seems a toned down version of the one available at other outlets of the chain. Quite surprisingly for the crowd involved, the dish that became an instant favourite was a vegetarian one – the Makhmali Kofta curry, a white cashew based gravy that was mildly spicy and creamy and had koftas that just smoothly slide down. The Chicken Chengezi is not as fiery as its name makes it out to be and is supposed to be only mildly spicy. It was exactly that, but had a slight tan (for a dish supposed to be made in milk and cream) and was missing the boiled egg. However, it was well cooked and quite tasty. The Rara Gosht was the least impressive – the gravy was too greasy for our liking and the meat was unevenly cooked, actually mostly rubbery. The naans were standard and if you like spice, you might want to try the Rogni Naan. The Matka Biryani – Chicken came late to the party but got a good response – subtle flavours, not greasy and succulent chicken pieces.

    The Rabri Khaaja and the Rocket Kulfi were the standout items in the menu, so we decided to test them out. The Kulfi’s flowery presentation needs a special mention and it also turned out reasonably well, though quite subtle. We liked the Rabri Khaaja more though, thanks to its combination of a crunchy base and a malai based topping.

     

    A mocktail, a lassi, a non-veg starter, a couple of naans, a veg and non-veg dish for the main course, and a shared kulfi would cost approx 1,200 inclusive of taxes. We had perfect weather for an under-the-sky meal, and all the seating options –even the ones inside – have their own charm, in addition to the unique overall ambiance. Add to it, the serendipity of rediscovering 90s Bollywood songs, and we have a box office winner. The only villain in the piece was the tardy service once the place got crowded. Which reminds me, it’s probably a good idea to reserve in advance, the place does get crowded. The meal started and ended well, though the main course could have been better. For all of this, you should definitely drop in at least once. If not a chakka, at least a chauka is guaranteed.

    Khaaja Chowk, No-276, 100 feet Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Ph: 080- 40920585

  • Deconstructing a viral

    Google’s Project Glass demo was the best product demo I’d ever seen. The sheer possibilities with such a device was amazing, but in essence, it was the theatrics that impressed. Everyone I shared it with shared it on.

    It made me think of the concept of a viral. From many murmurs I have heard around me, “Let’s make a viral” has only evolved, not died. The question of what makes a content viral is also asked when 2 or more marketers/social media practitioners are present. I find it a bit ironic that sometimes when ‘virals’ are named, I can’t recollect them. I first thought this was just me, until I figured out otherwise from other blank looks. But that’s not surprising, considering our increasingly fragmented consumption patterns across media platforms.

    I realised lately that if reach were the only parameter, then every TVC/newspaper ad, by sheer consumption, is a ‘viral’. So, a necessary caveat is that the reach has to be through peer sharing. But what good is an eminently enjoyable creative if it does zilch for the business? The viral is thus walking that exact balance between entertainment and brand objective. But would our current definition of a viral deem the Project Glass demo a candidate? I don’t think so. Nor would flipping on the Open Graph on a website and allowing multiple contextual actions to go across newsfeeds and Timelines.

    And that’s where the evolution is interesting – because technology is slowly moving from being an ‘enabler’ (euphemism for cheap means of distribution – YouTube/Facebook, I always felt) to being the best tool to weave in the brand story, and an inherent part of the experience. It goes beyond just social platforms and into Augmented Reality, NFC and other legacy/new technologies. I saw quite a few examples (via) – Buy the World a Coke, Red Tomato Pizza’s fridge magnet, even Amex-Twitter and one of my favourites for quite a while now – Nike+. Would we call these virals? I don’t know, but they were shared, seen, and tied in neatly with the brand experience. So probably what needs to evolve now is the marketer’s mindset on what he/she defines as a viral. The opportunity and the challenge is that when everyone’s a publisher, the marketer’s real job is to make it more share-worthy – conceptually and practically. That hasn’t changed. 🙂

    Since we’re on arguable territory here, do chime in.

    until next time, viral ‘producting’ as opposed to viral marketing?

  • Realty Check 2

    The area was perfect. They called the number mentioned at the site, to be told that the price was Rs.13000 per sq.ft! The plan was simple – get a friend everyday to call up and start laughing hysterically as soon as the builder quoted the price. Hopefully, sense would prevail and the price would come down!

    until next time, remember Part 1?

  • Death of a Moneylender

    Kota Neelima

    Farmer suicides are unfortunately a ‘dog bites man’ story in journalism parlance, but Falak Anand is sent to a remote village in south central India to cover an almost ‘man bites dog’ version- a money lender has been found hanging, and an entire village is suspect.

    I quite liked the book for the premise, and the subject matter, because while this is a work of fiction, it gives a lot of perspective on the conditions and circumstances that forces a farmer to take his own life – crop cycles, dependence on rain/sun, credit facilities which show the reasons why farmers are forced to go to moneylenders despite the existence of banks, market economics and the wily middlemen, and the abject poverty that all these factors collectively land the farmer in. Add to this, a corrupt set of politicians and file-pushing bureaucrats, and the farmer is left with no other choice.

    In the context of the book, it takes the death of a decent moneylender who wishes well for the farmers, for this stranglehold to be loosened.

    Now, while I understand that the author has taken pains to ensure that the inhumanity of it all gets drilled into us, I felt that, as a work of fiction, it could’ve been edited better, especially the last 30 (about) pages, especially since the climax is quite predictable and given away by the summary.

    Also, except for Falak’s character, which dominates the proceedings, the others tend to be just supportive and all too stereotyped, despite a setting I haven’t encountered much before.

    But I’d still recommend it for sensitizing us to an India that is somehow forgotten amidst our relatively trivial urban dramas.

  • Social Interactions

    When Paul Adams makes an ‘appearance’ on this blog, it usually involves profundity. (background) Last week, on Simply Zesty, I saw this amazing presentation he made recently, which, in addition to showing the evolution of communication technology and its impact on us, also shed light on the role Facebook envisions for themselves. (Do read the post linked to above to the 3 main takeaways) The video is a must watch and worth the 20 minutes you spend.

    The part, however,that interested me most, and affects my current line of work, is where he mentions that the way forward for brands, before they get ‘heavy’. Many lightweight interactions over time, that’s what he says. And I nodded my head vigorously when I heard that.

    It also ties in well with the ‘tyranny of the big idea’ concept discussed here before. Lightweight interactions involve fewer resources – time and money, offer opportunities to create nuanced engagement based on objectives, user interests and other contexts. The tendency for brands is to use the media part of ‘social media’ and attempt to make big splashes. But I strongly agree that these are relationships which take time and a lot of interactions – to build trust and understanding. Once this is done, the big splashes will be made even bigger thanks to the support of an active and engaged user base.

    until next time, light the fire…