Author: manuscrypts

  • The ocean at the end of the lane

    Neil Gaiman

    ‘Tender’ is probably the word I’d use if I had to describe this book in a word. I have to admit that it wasn’t until the last few pages that I started reading it non-literally. And then it hit me, a bit like waves that seem benign from far and then strike you with tremendous force.

    You could read the book like a simple fantasy story or you could make guesses on the possible symbolism at work. In the first case, it is a gripping tale of a little boy caught in the midst of forces far outside the realms of a normal English life. A vulnerable yet determined child, his enigmatic guardians, and a monster of a nanny all make for a very interesting read.
    It gets even more interesting if it’s the latter – possibly a commentary on growing up, feminism, relationships and so on. It also raises a question of what is real and what isn’t. In a way, aren’t the ‘stories’ that we make up to absorb, confront, or just handle the things that happen to us as children as true as the things that really happened? How true are our memories when we remember the past?

    P.S. Loved it for this – “I lay on the bed and lost myself in the stories. I liked that. Books were safer than other people anyway.”

  • HQ

    When we first came to Whitefield, Inorbit was a mall in name only. The lack of a multiplex didn’t help either. That particular issue remains unresolved, but in the last few months, we have seen an uptick in both the number of outlets opened, and the crowd. Most of the new restaurants have been of the family-friendly (read “no alcohol) kind, so the launch of a casual dining place with a bar was very welcome.

    We completely missed the entry on the ground floor, mostly because we were quite focused on getting to Shoppers Stop. That entrance did seem fairly conspicuous on hindsight. The other entrance is in a corner on the next floor, and we chose a cosy little table from the limited 2 seater options. For larger groups, there are quite a few plush sofa options though. If I had to do a word association for the place, I’d say green! There is lots of it, and that does a good job of creating a different atmosphere within the concrete mall structure.

    The alcohol menu is not elaborate, and from the few cocktail options available, I chose the Dark n Stormy Cocktail (that was the only one with Dark Rum) and D chose a Watermelon Mojito. My drink was dark rum and lime juice, though the actual recipe has ginger beer in it. A decent drink, just like D’s Mojito, which did have a distinct fresh watermelon touch.

    Our original starter choice was an Assamese Pork Khorika, but apparently that wasn’t available, so we went for a Hakka style pork. Crisp pork with soy and chili sauce, sliced chilies and shredded vegetables which they called pok choi (sic). But hey, the dish didn’t suffer on account on that. We also tried a Butter Garlic Calamari, which had way more salad than I expected. Thankfully, it was cooked well enough.

    For mains, we wanted to try a Cheese Chicken Fungi, which seemed interesting, but first ordered a “The Lot” pizza – chicken ham, chicken salami, mushroom, pineapple and a sunny side egg. There was indeed a lot happening, and yet, the overall flavour was bland. In addition, someone forgot the description of the egg, so we got yolk pieces too! The medium pizza was enough to abandon another dish. The dessert options weren’t exciting, and when there are specialist options around, why bother?

    The meal made us lighter by a little under Rs.1800. The service was friendly enough, and they had a good playlist going. Only the ambiance would warrant a revisit, so it’s gonna take a while.

    HQ, Inorbit Mall, 75, EPIP Area, Whitefield Ph: 49652626

  • The Sovereign Individual

    James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg

    One of my favourite books is The Moral Animal. It does a great job of explaining the connection between the mental organs and behaviour, and does justice to the explanatory line on its cover – “why we are the way we are”. I liked it a lot because it did a stellar job of helping me understand the reasons behind my mindset, relationships and interactions with the world at large. While that book helped me understand myself, this one helped me understand the world much better.

    Considering that it was published in 1997, this is as much a prediction machine as it is a brilliant book. It took at least till the middle of the last decade for even the internet to manifest itself in the form we are now familiar with. Therefore, accurately predicting the rise of e-commerce and cryptocurrency (referred to as cyber currency) is a feat in itself. The projections are not just in the field of business but cover social, economical, societal, political and even moral aspects as well. For instance, the rise of nationalism, filter bubbles, the twist in increasing income disparity (from between nations to within nations) because of lack of access are all themes that are being played out now. (more…)

  • Objectivity, and the path to joy

    Sometime back, a colleague and I had a conversation on retaining objectivity during decision making. I felt that if one does not do that in life generally, it won’t happen at work either. We live in our narratives, and the brain, after all, is only so flexible.

    That led to a train of thought. Objectivity (also) comes from being able to step out and get a view of one’s self from outside. Insights into one’s self can happen all the while, if you allow it. Two recent incidents to highlight this. (more…)

  • Biere Societee

    I had seen the signboard opposite Prestige Shantiniketan on the way to Arirang. We had planned to go to one of the trusted local hangouts, but this was just 10 minutes from home, and the photos of the place promised a rooftop with a view. That’s something we have historically been suckers for! We got there early in the evening, and early in general, it seemed. They were still putting some finishing touches, but the place was pretty and the view was quite good too. Most of the seating area is alfresco, but they have a few tables in a covered section as well. I think the entire 4th floor is available as well, though it wasn’t open when we got there.

    We perched on the bar stools along the edge with a view of the Sheraton, Shantiniketan and beyond. When we began ordering cocktails, we were told that it might be delayed because they were getting ice from outside (first few days’ teething troubles).  But we got them soon enough – no delays – an Old Fashioned for me and The Brandy Crusta for D. They look liked twins in different glasses, but thankfully didn’t taste the same. My drink was not the best I have had, but not bad, and certainly better than many other places which massacre the drink! D’s drink had jalapeños and caramel syrup which got her a nice blend of flavours. We also got to know that there was a microbrewery happening in a couple of months! (we visited in mid August)

    collage 1 (more…)