Author: manuscrypts

  • Martial Acts

    From the lift, he heard the shouting on his floor. If he was greeted the same way he’d been the last few days, he’d complain. He hated confrontations. It didn’t help that he had to confront a 6 year old, who was learning karate and whose straight punch greeting landed at his body’s strategic points.

    until next time, karate kids!!

  • Bom Bahia

    I recently read a book on Bombay by Pinki Virani, and have promptly classified it under my all time favourites list. The book, by sheer virtue of tone and content, appealed to me, but on a personal level, it gave me some answers on my quite recently acquired unfavourable stance on Mumbai. Since this is a subject of my chat ‘wars’ with many Mumbai friends, let me say that this is a very considered personal view, and based on subjective experiences. And like subjective experiences go, it may have led to creation or reinforcing of stereotypes that may have further colored my view of the city. So, don’t mind. 🙂

    I used to love Bombay. Right from the 2.5 days of train journey that took me there. The two months of stay there were enjoyed – Shivaji Park was a common destination across the years, the other location shifted from Anushakti Nagar (BARC Township) to Peddar Road to Malabar Hill. I still remember the second hand comics store in Anushakti nagar – Spiderman, Superman, Batman etc – the entities that captured my imagination in my school days, I have bought quite a few from there; the long walks around Shivaji Park, and the temple which gave away those white sugary balls 🙂 ; the hunt for fancy ‘name slip stickers’, which would adorn my school books and draw envious stares from my classmates in Cochin, who couldn’t get it there; the eagerly awaited trips to Akbarallys; the South indian hotel (Anand/Arya Bhavan) in Matunga whose waiters my sis later scandalised by asking for Maggi noodles, and finally, the ‘oh, its over’ feeling when we started the journey home, from VT.

    Yes, Bombay of those days remains a sweet memory. My last 2 month stay was in 1993, when it was still Bombay. Barring occasional 1-2 day trips, we stopped seeing each other since then, and somewhere down the line i started to cringe when I had to make official trips to the city. I dont know if its Mumbai that spoiled the affectionate awe that I had for Bombay, but maybe that’s just romanticism.

    Cities change, as do people. I am tolerant of pride, whether it be in people or cities, my irritation starts when pride turns to arrogance. Arrogance that brings with it an unhealthy disrespect for anything that’s not associated with the city. Yes, every city is special, but that does not mean it should take away from other cities… they are special in their own way. And that goes for people too.

    When a person like me, whose only associations with the city are from the holidays spent there, can feel a change, i can imagine, how, at least some Bombayites feel about the transformation their city has undergone. The author says a lot with just the title – ‘Once was Bombay’. I agree.

    until next time, just some city zen…. 🙂

  • Via Milano

    ..and as part of our Italian/Continental weekend dinner festival, we thought we’d knock off Via Milano from the places in Koramangala we haven’t been to.

    Via Milano is just off the Sony World Junction, when coming from the Indiranagar side, take a left at the junction (after Lifestyle), and then take a U -turn, since this is on the same side as Sony. There’s valet parking, and i guess enough parking for 2 wheelers. Or you can be like us – park in Lifestyle, window shop a bit and then walk to Via Milano. 🙂

    Via Milano is on the 3rd floor, and would give a spectacular view of the Ring Road. I am guessing, because in spite of several pleas, they refused to give me window side seating, even the corner one occupied by Mrs and Mr.Invisible Man throughout our meal, since I believe they reserved it. The cynic in me (and the wife, no she’s not a cynic) claim its the tee+cargoes+unshaven look that puts me at the receiving end of such treatment. I don’t see why, if there’s no dress code, and I can pay.

    Anyway, the ambience is quite nice, and I liked the erotic female anatomy illustrations that they’ve hung on the walls. The staff is quite courteous. So they said no to my window seat request with a smiling face. Oh, okay, I shall try not to be mean. They did give us the welcome wet napkin and a bread basket. Thank You.

    They serve alcohol, and have an elaborate menu just for that. Though there seems to be a lot of starter options, there are only 2 soups. Since we preferred a thick one, we asked for a Crema di lenticchie, stracci di pasta integrale, olio d’ oliva all’ aroma di porcini. Haha, don’t worry they have an English explanation too, for us genteel desis. That’s green lentil soup (dont let me catch you muttering daal!!) with home made whole wheat pasta, olive oil, porcini, mushrooms. They also give you olive oil, chilli oil and one more ( i think balsam oil?) in ‘Borosil’ test tubes. Though i was reminded of my science lab experiences, i tried the chilly oil and it did add to the soup’s flavour.

    For the main course, there’s pasta, antipasta and pizza. Both of us decided to go for pasta. So I ordered a Tortelloni di pollo, funghi, crema, erba cipollina (chicken filled tortelloni, mushrooms, fresh cream and chives) and the wife ordered a Penne con sear fish, pomodoro, capperi, olive, melanzane, semi di finocchio alla siciliana (penne sicilian style with sear fish, tomato sauce, capers, black olives, eggplant and fennel seeds) The food was good, no qualms in admitting that. The slight sour cream and mushrooms in the chicken dish complement each other very well, the tortelloni is so soft it almost melts in your mouth. And it shattered the bland expectations I had, in a very nice way. The fish was also made well, and had a dominant tomato flavour, though it was not spicy.

    There were quite a few dessert and coffee options, but the window affair irritated me enough to skip it. In fact that was the single thing that spoiled the entire experience, and made us feel ‘cold’ towards the place. But you should drop in at least once, because the food is diferent, and tasty, it does ‘excite your senses’ (their tagline) and in spite of the ‘falling over each other service reserved for foreigners’ that i detest, the service is pleasant.

    All of the above cost us just less than Rs.1000, inclusive of tax. No mineral water included, since you can pick that up from Spar (Lifestyle). 🙂 A lil cheap, but I’ve had enough of being fleeced over a Rs.13 bottle of mineral water, all over Bangalore’s eating joints!!

    via Milano, No.607, Asha Plaza, 3rd floor, 80 ft Peripheral road, Koramangala, Bangalore – 560034 Ph. 41309997/4

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Carp

    The apartment parking slot. The kid saw him parking the two-wheeler, and asked, in all innocence “Uncle, why don’t you have a car?”. He smiled. The kid continued “I have one. All my friends have too. Only you don’t have.”  He knew the kid felt sorry for him. He felt sorry for the kid too.

    until next time, mere pas gaadi hain, bungalow hain….. 🙂

  • Future Shocks

    Sometimes you look back and realise that the future you had envisioned is where you are right now. I’d written about this a few weeks back.

    But when you look back, it’s difficult to ensure that only the positive memories get thrown up. Its a bit like Google Search, my memory- even if there’s some remote link to the search query, the result will be shown. And when it’s my own life I’m searching in and about, it’s difficult to stop at Page 1, though I may have got the result. 🙂

    Besides, its only natural (when looking for the future I’d envisioned in the past) that I tend to look at a particular time in my life, when the first professional dreams were getting made – around the time that I finished my PG. The summer of 2002, a scenario, quite similar to what the world is facing now. This was the placement season right after the dotcom bust.

    I read a few reports recently on how many companies are refusing to honor the offer letters made to students, or delaying the joining date till everything stabilises. I feel very bad for these kids, there are very few things that could’ve prepared them for this. Everything happened in quite a bit of a hurry. And suddenly the dreams of a secure future, the list of purchases to be made from the first salary, all seem like a sick joke that fate played on them. Its difficult to put into words the frustration, the anger and the sorrow that they’d feel. When their confirmed employer suddenly keeps them waiting, then gives them very mixed signals, when they wake up every day and realise that they have finished their education but are yet to start the next step – employment, when relatives see a prey and sweep in to casually ask what their plans are now, when they have to push an entire day knowing that tomorrow would not be any better, when they agonise at home/college wondering why all this is happening to them, when they see their classmates join organisations whose offer they’d rejected, when they start looking for other options only to realise that in such choppy weather, no one is willing to give them even a straw to clutch at, it can shatter their confidence, and more importantly their faith in the force that holds it all together.

    But yes, as the old saying goes, whatever doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger. I should know, since I was one of them for a nerve wracking 2 months. This post is a thank you  note to the higher  power , and loved ones for pulling me through. This post is also a prayer for those poor souls who will hopefully look back at all this, and will still be able to smile.

    until next time, dream