Month: May 2016

  • Horn OK Please

    First published in Bangalore Mirror

    The last thing you need on 100 feet Road Indiranagar is a signage that proclaims “Horn OK Please”, but hey, that’s what the new restaurant and bar is called. What adds to the twist is that it is right below the very musical sounding B Flat & Highnote. (map) True to its name, you hear the place before you see it. As you step out of the lift, you are greeted with the sounds of a Bollywood remix, and that’s one of the décor themes as well. Reworded Bollywood titles – Brosnan in Dabond executed superbly on a corrugated sheet, Rajinikanth in Endiranator and so on. Stallone would punch someone if he was saw ‘Rocky Rocky Rocky Sawant’, but it does deliver the LOL. The rest of the décor – bright an vibrant colours, truck art, lanterns and some of the seating – makes you think of a stylised dhaba. One element that really deserves a mention is the wordplay on the menu – from Palak Dikhla Ja to Skewer ka Baccha to Pathar Late Than Never, the pages are packed with puns that add a fun element to standard dishes.

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  • Consumer-facing AI : Phase One

    Since the launch of the Messenger Platform and bots, (a handy summary by Mashable) the world has had a lot to say about this move by Facebook – ranging from “fantastic start” to “frustrating and useless“. Somewhere in the middle probably lies the truth. Facebook is, of course, not the only player in this specific game – to name a few, Slack, Telegram, Kik all are at it! A more elaborate representation of the landscape can be found here.

    Somewhere in all this hype is a little grain of truth. For instance, two (plus one) trends, as explained in this post by MG Siegler, are pretty evident – the rise of messaging, app saturation and the increasing application of AI/machine learning. Bots are well placed in the intersection of these three. (more…)

  • The Girl from Nongrim Hills

    Ankush Saikia
    I must admit a little bias before I write more. For one, it is set in Shillong, which despite a visit that didn’t deliver what it was supposed to, retains a wistful, charming space in my mind, mostly thanks to one Anjum Hasan. Also, the book is written by Ankush Saikia, whose Jet City Woman I quite liked, and who is now an Instagram friend. 🙂
    I finished the book in less than three days, and would have finished it in one sitting if I hadn’t exercised some self control! That is a testament to its racy narrative, which just doesn’t flag in all of the 200+ pages. I thought it was just the right material for a slick flick.

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  • Map making

    Untitled

    (via)

    In “The Case Against Cosmic Justice” I’d brought up how (IMO) randomness was the key driver of the universe, and that pretty much every other concept (God, karma etc) was a narrative fallacy. I think that requires a little editing. To use a phrase from “Sapiens”, these other concepts aren’t really fallacies, they are inter-subjective realities. That means it they are belief systems that a lot of people share and agree to. e.g. money, nations. This is different from subjective reality – my personal reality as I experience it or choose to see it e.g. Salman Khan should be in jail for killing people, and objective reality – one which exists irrespective of anyone’s belief systems e.g. gravity. (more…)

  • Tippler on the Roof

    On one of those Sundays when we felt like visiting a completely new place, we chanced upon Tippler on the Roof on Zomato and decided to make a trip to Indiranagar. I think mid-morning trips in Bangalore are also instances of time travel – not only do you cover distances much faster, you also start noticing old buildings and establishments that are usually blocked from view thanks to traffic. Meanwhile, from the address, (map) I figured that TotR had replaced Khaaja Chowk.

    I remember Khaaja Chowk having an alfresco section, but there’s a retractable roof now. The layout itself has been completely changed. There’s a stage and some plush sofas next to it. Seating is mostly along the remaining three walls with a few tables in the central space. These are mostly functional seating with a touch of grunge. The walls are where Russia meets pop culture. Star Wars and Breaking Bad posters hang out with Stalin and Communist propaganda. Makes for an interesting mix!

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