Microbreweries have been sprouting all over the place and Big Pitcher was one of the couple that we had not been to. So on one of those Sundays when I had craft beer on my mind, we decided to drop in there. (map) Five floors on Old Airport Road, I thought that was indeed a brave business decision! The first floor was closed during lunch time, so we made our way to the second floor. The place has a theme straight out of some old western movie, complete with guns, Chuck Norris posters and swinging doors!
Author: manuscrypts
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Gods Without Men
Hari Kunzru
Fantastic! It’s one of those books which you either immediately connect to or switch off from. I wasn’t sure whether I’d like it because a few reviews said that the book leaves the reader hanging, and does not have a conclusive end. From a conventional perspective that’s probably true, but I felt that was precisely the point of the book – there are some things that will remain unknown. We need to acknowledge that in our lives and continue seeking or come to terms with it. It is that very human search for connection and meaning that made this book work for me. The other reason I was skeptical was because it was also described as an ‘American novel’, insinuating a deep cultural connect I feared I would miss out on. That fear proved unfounded since the work is nothing if not universal in its roots.
The action is mostly centred around the Pinnacles, a rock formation in the Californian desert, and the various intriguing happenings around it. Hari Kunzru has created a vast spectrum of characters, across several centuries. A British rock star, an Iraqi teenager, a family consisting of an Indian, an American and their son, believers of an alien worshiping cult, and so on. There is some immense imagination that is evident in the way the characters have been crafted – we can sense their back stories even when it’s not overtly mentioned. The narrative does not flow linearly, but I didn’t find it difficult to pick up the pieces of specific character plots or to identify their presence in others’ plots. (more…)
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A responsible meritocracy
Every story needs a hero, the one who stands up against injustice and wins. In the story of inequality, meritocracy has long been a hero. To be fair, it did quite a job, dislodging inequalities that had become systemic. But then again, to twist Ra’s al Ghul’s words “..if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely.”
One entity that has been at the centre of the debate around meritocracy is Silicon Valley given its influence on the immediate environment and clones developing across the globe. A popular line of thought among those who have made it there is that they earned it all on their own and are not obliged to give anything back to society. (read) (more…)
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Malabar Bay
On one of those evenings when we were in the mood for our very own Mallu food, we decided to check out a place that had been on my list for a while now – Malabar Bay. This is on the Dairy Circle side of The Forum and off Taverkere Road. (map) There used to be a Kairali here if I’m not mistaken. We reached there by 7.30 and could choose a seat, but it did get crowded later. The place is quite large and portions of it have quite the Kerala touch when it comes to decor. We chose to sit in the AC section upstairs but you better be prepared for Siberia-like temperatures if you plan to do this. I wasn’t!
From the menu, we ordered a Koondal (squid) Roast. This was our second choice since mussels weren’t available, but turned out to be a good one. It was spicy and the squid was cooked just right. We also ordered a Podhi Chicken, since this wasn’t something we found on the standard Mallu menus. Wrapped in banana leaves and moderately spicy, this was quite fantastic too. It isn’t boneless though.
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Ego message
I’ve been watching myself for a while now. I’ve not been really good at it, and my desire to move up to observing seems a laugh now, but it’s a work in progress. A recent experience gave me quite a lot of perspective on this. My words, humour and actions, as perceived by others, were far away from my intent. Words and humour. Somewhere in my passage through life, I picked up this armour, a defense mechanism so that I wouldn’t have to become invisible. In fact, the experience gave me a sense of deja vu, and made me think of self perception.
I recently read a fantastic post on Ribbonfarm titled ‘Ritual & the consciousness‘ that, among other things, explores the self and the ‘watcher at the gates of the mind’. Not quite along the lines in the post, but I think I have two watchers – one that represents others’ perception of me and another that represents self perception. The universe in a larger context might be indifferent, but in many environments, I realise, it is dangerous to ignore the first. I also realise that the second is, though difficult, where I can make a serious attempt to shake free. (more…)
