manuscrypts

An account of statements

In 2010, would the name Ramdev be familiar at all to you? 7 years is a long time, and we’ll come back to that. But don’t worry, this isn’t an ayurware post. This is actually a sequel. It features the successor of a companion of 7 years, who called it a day last month, after 7 years of service that began in January 2010, when the world was a different place.

The first month in this genre of books is always an eye opener because it all happened far back in time. Even the mundane makes a story – the ‘maid + cook’ is now paid close to 3.5x, but the mobile bill has actually fallen! Spar became Auchan and then Spar again. But the more profound ones lie beyond the routine accounts of a month. The inverter we bought in January 2010 was with us until last month. But the house whose EMI we used to pay now belongs to a different family.

We haven’t been to Blossoms in years, but it’s heartening to see that it’s still around. So is Woodstok in Indiranagar, a place that hasn’t disappointed us. My early days in Myntra are marked by a series of visits to Grigliato. Sadly, 3 Storys, a lovely coastal food restaurant off Lavelle Road can barely be found even on the internet, and cannot be found offline anyway! Through the years there are others who have fallen by the wayside – Veekes & Thomas, Sahib Sind Sultan, Huckleberry, and so on. (more…)

November 8, 2017
Red Rhino

The last time I visited the part of the world called Seegehalli, Uber made it seem like it was a rural heartland and therefore not a place it would operate in. That’s one of the reasons why we delayed the visit. That, and the fact that their brewery took a while to start. During the long weekend in the beginning of October, we felt adventurous and Uber was in a cooperative mood, and we finally decided to make the trip. There’s something about late Saturday lunches and craft brew that’s very appealing! 🙂

Red Rhino is perched on top of MK Retail (map), taking up a couple of floors. Very tastefully done, with lots of wood furniture and decor, a stage for live music, and an alfresco section, the place gave us a sense of comfort very quickly. It helped that that it wasn’t very crowded. We sat on the upper floor with a fantastic view of ‘rural’ Whitefield. 🙂

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November 5, 2017
Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore

Manu S Pillai

Absolutely fantastic, and the strange thing is, if you had asked me when I was even at about page 400 (out of 555) I probably would have used milder adjectives. I also wouldn’t have thought (at that point) that I was likely to change my opinion later because knowing the direction, I didn’t think the last 100 or so pages would even be interesting to me. But while they’re not really the focus of the book, and more an inevitable ending, it (to me) is what delivered the texture that mattered most.

But let’s begin at the beginning. The focus of the book is definitely Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, who was the Regent of Travancore from 1924-31, but the author spends the first section of the book in setting the context. The canvas is vaster than Travancore itself and everything from the fall of the Zamorin and the entry of Europeans to the evolution of the intricacies that decide the ruler of the land and the prevalent socio cultural setting sets the stage for the reign of the Senior Maharani. (more…)

October 29, 2017
The Second Job

I caught this in the Farnam Street newsletter, and went about looking for the source. An HBR article from 2014 titled Making Business Personal, which also writes at length what and how certain organisations overcome this.

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October 25, 2017
Pablo’s Gastrobar

That, I thought, was the best way to celebrate the release of Narcos Season 3. And that’s when we landed there, on a rainy Bangalore night, after having passed it a few times on our way back from Phoenix Market City. Pablo’s is right next to Biergarten. (map)

After slushing our way in, thanks to the rain, we realised that the interior resembled that of the swimming pool next door! To be fair, it was heavily raining, and I think the high, tiled roof was under heavy pressure from the evening on. Anyway, it was easy to find a dry place since there were only a few tables occupied. The place is relatively huge, and the seating is actually just benches and bright chairs. The ubiquitous giant screen also exists.

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October 22, 2017