Month: January 2013

  • The Pregnant King

    Devdutt Pattanaik

    ‘The Pregnant King’ is Devdutt Pattanaik’s first work of fiction, in which he takes the story of Yuvanashva and distorts the timeframes to juxtapose it with characters in the Mahabharata, whereas in reality, the tale of Yuvanashva is recounted twice in the epic, as one predating it by many generations.

    Yuvanashva’s tale is special in at least two ways – it involves his mother Shilavati who possesses all the qualities to be a king, but cannot, only because she is a woman and Yuvanashva himself, king of Vallabhi, who accidentally drinks a potion meant for his queens (for them to become pregnant) and gives birth to a son. Is he the child’s father or mother, that is the answer Yuvanshva seeks. By bringing in various characters like Shikhandi, born a girl, but who uses a Yaksha’s masculinity to become a man, Somvat, who becomes Somvati during the course of a night by exchanging his gender with the yaksha, Arjuna, who lives for a year as a woman courtesy Urvashi’s curse, Ileshwara/i whose gender changes with the moon’s cycles and Adi-natha himself, seen as a hermit and a nymph, the author manages to not just show the nature of gender roles but also gives profound perspectives on dharma – its rigidity and fluidity, the dynamic nature of matter and the static nature of the soul, its various symbolism, and ‘the imperfection of the human condition’.

    This is an amazing read, and that’s not just because I am really interested in mythology. Ancient in origin, and contemporary in narration, the questions it raises belong to a different era and yet manifest themselves now in another form.

  • Clubd

    Clubd rewards you for frequenting your favourite hangouts in town. In conversation with founder Ishwar Sundararaman.

    [scribd id=120021160 key=key-jlk649y8grtue9399od mode=scroll]

  • Of trending on twitter and media fragmentation…

    A couple of weeks back, I’d written about the increasing broadcast tendencies on social platforms. Some events last week reminded me of something I’d tweeted a while back –

    It is, for better or worse, an item in the social marketer’s checklist. So unless it’s a day on which we’re outraging on multiple issues, you can easily see ‘branded’ trending topics. At Myntra.com, we’ve been playing with hashtags for quite a while now – #bachpanstyle was one such experiment. As we practiced more, the patterns started becoming more evident. Late last month, we started the #hotindecember hashtag in response to a business objective – creating more awareness about the similarly titled promotion at Myntra.com – and had constructed it around the promo TVC. It resulted in the hashtag trending on twitter. Just to check the lessons learned, we ran a #hotin2012 hashtag on 31st Dec, and ended the year as the #1 trending topic in India.

    Considering that there was a much more serious issue taking up everyone’s attention, this should be surprising, but it’s not, and that’s what we have learned of Twitter’s trending algorithm.

    That was about a brand using social as media. Like I mentioned earlier, the first hashtag was based on the TVC, something that had gotten us positive feedback on Twitter. After the Delhi incident however, the ad was considered by a few as ‘projecting women in poor light’. (worthwhile mentioning that Lisa Haydon, who starred in the TVC, had tweeted about the TVC being a lot of fun) Users, who also utilise social as media, are bound to have their opinions and will air them. The interesting part was that all this (hashtags and criticism) was happening in the same timeframe – 27-31st December.

    Why do I find it interesting? Let’s take a step back. It was only when TV stations started competing with the rabbit population that we started contemplating the fragmentation of media as we then knew it. Add to that the increasing web (+mobile) penetration and things became more complicated as time progressed. Brands (in general) still haven’t figured how to handle this, so fragmentation within a social media channel and its impact is small fry, except this is probably an indication of the future.

    This time, we chose not to react to the criticism – given the circumstances, it would have probably led to a nasty debate. Thankfully it died down. But what if a few twitter heavyweights had gotten into the act and made it trend for all the wrong reasons? We’d not have had the luxury. We’d have to refer to Crisis Management 101. In a worst-case scenario, we’d probably have to consider taking the TVC off air.

    In essence, when an interactive medium is added to the mix, fragmentation takes on a completely different meaning. It no longer means isolated compartments which don’t talk to each other, the events on one affect another. As a media buyer, a brand can choose not to be present on some media, but when a channel talks back, the brand’s choices suddenly dwindle. I think this will manifest itself much more in 2013, the learning curve is going to be very steep!

    until next time, user generated brand virals!

    Disclaimer: The perspectives above are personal, and does not reflect the thoughts or actions of the organisation mentioned. 

  • An idea called home – 2

    Anjum Hasan’s “Difficult Pleasures” is borderline surreal, the jacket told me. She would be in my top 3 favourite authors list, and I am completely awed by her writing (check the last para here) but I wonder if even that can explain the surreal thought I had as I read the first few pages. Can a book be called a home? What is a home after all? Isn’t it just an idea that is sometimes real and tangible and exists physically?

    And that was the surreal thought – every time I read this author’s books, it’s like going home, as though I could reach inside, get into the story and talk to the characters and they wouldn’t consider me out of place at all. I could belong. Yes, it’s surreal, and I haven’t been smoking, but I just couldn’t get the thought out of my head.

    until next time, home away from home

  • Portland Steakhouse & Cafe

    First appeared in Bangalore Mirror.

    Brunton Road holds a special place in my heart. My first office in Bangalore was there. So it was a neat coincidence that those who accompanied me for the review were my friends from that office. 🙂

    But before we lose ourselves in nostalgia, here’s how to get there. The location raised our collective eyebrows. They will soon have valet parking, and there’s enough space for 2 wheelers around. We arrived on a night they were having an expat party, so one half of the restaurant was reserved for that. We still managed to find a decent table and thanks to the party, got ourselves some awesome live music. Now, on to the menu. They also have wines and mocktails.

    When a place is named Portland Steakhouse & Café, you’d be pardoned for skipping the first few pages of the menu and jumping straight to the steaks section. But then, if your focus wavers for a moment, and you glance at what’s written beside the ‘Steaks’ heading, you’ll notice a hat tip that’s a clue to the establishment’s origins. “A tribute to Haroon”- even if you’re a neo Bangalorean, there’s a strong likelihood that you’d recognise the name Haroon Sulaiman Sait from The Only Place. I learned later that Portland Steakhouse & Café is run by Sabiha, his daughter, and her husband Maqsood Mohamed. Once the connection was established, I began looking for some similarity in the ambiance, especially the iconic check tablecloth, but there was none. However, there is an unmistakable sense of charm and hospitableness to the place.

    But on to the food! The Fiery Chicken arrived first – chicken strips marinated in Cajun spices, with peppers – moderately spicy though a tad oily. The Batter Fried Calamari came next, and though it got the crispness right, the greasiness just overpowered everything else. We were saved by the Chili Con Carne soup, a beef, vegetable and bean stew served with twisted breadsticks. A wonderful dish, its tang provided just the bite that our palates needed. The Clam Chowder soup followed and though the clam flavour itself was subtle, the creaminess was much appreciated. The veg representation was the next to appear – the Jalapeno–Jack Mushroom Dommies. The jalapeno presence was limited to the dip and the dish itself wasn’t really inspiring. What we were really waiting for, given the number of PMOs (People of Malayali Origin) at the table, was the Beef Strips in Lettuce Wrap. This was when the service faltered first, and it seemed as though they had forgotten about this order. Thankfully, when it did arrive, it was well worth the wait. With spicy and well cooked meat, we didn’t even miss the dip we were promised in the menu.

     

     

    By the time we were ready for the main course, the expat party was in full swing, and we bore the brunt of it with a longer-than-average waiting time. The Signature Portland Beef Burger hosted a perfect patty and I completely enjoyed it. The Herbed Gnocchi had slightly chewy dumplings but the scrumptious pesto sauce made up for it. The Spicy Beef Ragu Spaghetti was good enough to be hoarded and taken as a doggy pack! The Porterhouse steak had slightly inconsistent meat (we had asked for medium rare) but together with the mashed potato and the red wine reduction sauce was excellent enough for us to appreciate the dish. The last to arrive was the much anticipated Shivaji Nagar Curried Beef Pizza. But that literally left a bitter taste in the mouth, and we discussed quite a few unsavoury possibilities of what the Shivaji Nagar connection could be as we waited for the desserts.

     

     

    We decided against the dessert platter options, and asked for the Crème Brulee, Bread and Butter Pudding and Profiteroles with Chocolate sauce. The Cream Brulee was very well made, and everyone’s favourite, though I thought the soft, butter-rich pudding with its sprinkling of dry fruits was a strong contender. The Profiteroles were more éclair shaped, and despite the chocolate filling and sauce, was not good enough to be in the reckoning.

     

    For about Rs.1600, you could share a soup, a non veg starter, a couple of non veg main course dishes and a dessert. (Inclusive of taxes) It’s only been a couple of months since the restaurant began operations and it obviously has its small share of teething troubles. Though the service missed a few steps courtesy the expat party, it really couldn’t take away much from the overall experience, especially after Maqsood stepped in for damage control. But given the pedigree and experience of the management, these would be temporary. An excellent, inviting ambiance and largely superb food means that this should be your port of call soon.

    Portland Steakhouse & Café, No:1, Brunton Road 1st Cross, Bangalore Ph: 25593405