Year: 2018

  • Maravanthe

    Though Oota, Riverside, and Marigold offer some coastal dishes, Whitefield doesn’t really have any specialised coastal cuisine outlet. And that’s what took us to Maravanthe in Indiranagar. We had really liked Pulimunchi, in the same vicinity, and hoped for some equally excellent fare here as well. Maravanthe is diagonally opposite Meghana Foods on CMH Road, and surprisingly has valet parking! A flight of stairs takes you to a regular, old school, coastal restaurant ambiance complete with a fish tank in the middle. The seating is no frills but comfortable.

    We began with a bunch of disappointments. The meals were unavailable (understandable, they are universally a lunch phenomenon) but we were also told that Sol Kadhi and Pundi had been sold out! Thankfully the other staple was around – Ghee Roast. We tried both Chicken and Squid versions. The first was really good – just beyond a moderate level of spice. The second wasn’t bad but clearly not in the same league. The buttermilk was good too – not the high tart and hyper spicy Kerala fare we’re used to, but a milder version.

    collage 1 (more…)

  • The intrigues of my empathy

    Simran was on TV, and though I didn’t watch the entire movie, I was intrigued enough to read up about Sandeep Kaur – the Bombshell Bandit, whose life it is vaguely based on. A tragic story of a 24 year old, who will most likely be unable to live what one might call a normal life. Did she make wrong choices? Of course, but in her shoes, things might not be as simple as that.

    D said recently that my sense of empathy confuses her. Apparently, from what she has noticed, it is high when the interactions are transactional in nature – Uber drivers, hotel/restaurant/security staff and such. However, it is completely missing in action in places where she expects it, say close relatives.

    I have to admit, it used to confuse me too! But when I thought about it, there is a pattern to it, though a rather strange one. It follows a U shape – high for people I don’t know, as well as those whom I am really comfortable with, and low for people in between. The bottom of the U is occupied by those who have broken my trust in some way. (more…)

  • The Gene : An Intimate History

    Siddhartha Mukherjee

    “As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.” probably best describes this book for me. My understanding of the subject grew manifold after reading this book, but I also realised how little we know!

    Perhaps the one question we all seek an answer to is “Why are we here?”. There probably is no universal answer to that question, as science and religion like to approach it in different ways. Personally, I think that purpose is either just a narrative in hindsight, or a story we build to create meaning in our lives.

    Meanwhile, science has raced ahead of religion in explaining “how are we here?” In terms of the two building blocks that have existed before us – atoms and genes – as well as the influence of the one we created – byte. This book is the story of what the author describes as “one of the most powerful and dangerous ideas in the history of science: the gene, the fundamental unit of heredity, and the basic unit of all biological information.” Indeed, it is the history of this unit – from its presence in a human’s mind as an abstract idea to the human attempts to write and rewrite it – that makes up this book. (more…)

  • Marigold

    Not really the best exotic kind, but hey, in the context of the swamp that is Nallurahalli, the argument might just hold! In fact, that’s probably one of the only things working against Marigold – the location. In fact, on the day we visited, there was some celebration happening right outside with loudspeakers on max mode. I wondered whether they should have listed that as an event in Zomato!

    Marigold is reasonably near ITPL so it’s not hard to imagine why the lunch buffet would be their main revenue source. A close second would be the Sunday brunch. Makes sense why they don’t even bother removing the adornments on Saturday. Geist was available and since I had not really tried it earlier, I took the opportunity to taste Weiss Guy. Reasonably mild with banana and clove tones, and a nice ‘feel’.

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  • The best kept secrets

    There was a time, a long long ago, in the era of cassettes, when one had no idea about whether the entire soundtrack of the movie would be good. One just bought it on the first day of release, sometimes relying on the music director/s, or snippets heard as ‘forthcoming attractions’ from the previous soundtrack released by the same company, if it was T-Series, TIPS, HMV etc, or by begging the shopkeeper to open that cellophane wrapper and play the tape for a while. And thus, in those days, one would sometimes receive serendipitous delight and be transported by the music. Closed eyes, smile on the lips, and body slowly rocking, lost in the world of some ethereal track. These days, even if you don’t go searching for tracks, they find you, either on FM or through the algorithm of some feed that is supposed to have gleaned your preferences. (more…)