Hindi Literature in Mumbai

I visited the Prithvi theatre after a long time thanks to K who wanted to catch a play. After some scintillating acting in "Bombed" happened to get into their bookshop for the first time and was delighted to find an excellent collection of Hindi literature.
After moving to Delhi, getting Hindi books is not so hard but having a good collection under a single and small room is a blessing, so bless you guys

Mamagoto in Delhi

Last night went to Mamagoto in Khan market again after ages, though the one in Saket has been frequented in the interim. I must they these folks have been consistently good. The regular staple - glass noodle salad was relished, the coal roasted eggplant was rather surprisingly sweet and good. The masaman curry delicious! The Delhi winter is here so skipped their cocktails this time but my earlier visits have fond memories of them.
Prices: range typically between 300-500/dish, curries don't include rice.
Location: Khan market, Select City walk etc. Good folks at Zamato have links to venues,menu etc.

Cuvee Speciale: Full marks

Tried this wine in Delhi the other day, served right it is an outstanding wine!

Do test out the color though, given the heat of Delhi, it should be very pale.

Drill that could kill

Blog Post from Occasional Lapses Into Sanity. Linked here since these incidents seem to be becoming a part of city lifescapes.

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The other day We went to Lifestyles in Kalyani nagar to pick up some stuff. While there shareek-e-hyat decided to catch a movie at Meriplex across the street. So we picked up tickets for a 430 show and headed to crossword to browse through books while waiting for the movie time.
Around 420 just when we reach the counter to pay for selected books, suddenly security comes in and asks everyone to come out. At the main gate policemen are busy locking the door and everybody is being herded out. There is no announcement, no co-ordination just some security folks pushing people to a solitary open exit.
The exit as can be expected is jammed with people from multiplex rushing down and people from mall joining the melee. Total chaos, I shield s-e-h from behind while the front crush had to be navigated as it came. I almost could visualize the Pratapgarh tragedy preying Pune doesn't get one of its own. There is no police, no sign of security at this exit, to manage the flow or to help anyone stumbling on the stairs and getting crushed. All there is, is a crush of elbows into sides, boots on toes and fisticuffs.
We come out to a open field with bushes, s-e-h's toenail is broken in the crowd crush and is bleeding badly. There was no time or place to figure out if any one is injured, the first impulse is to rush to safety and somewhere where the toe can be kept away from crowd and dust. Few folks from security outside claim ignorance as to what exactly is happening. Wondering we decided to brave it out and find our way to car and get out. S-e-h is able to walk slowly so we decided to move away from the crowd and try and find a way to the car.
I figured out it cant be a Mumbai style attack happening since then it would have been foolhardy to get the crowd out in open. So maybe its a bomb scare. Anyways we walk ahead, s-e-h limping on and see Lifestyle up ahead. The road is being blocked and police forcing vehicles to detour. But Lifestyle itself is open. So I figured it must have been a bomb scare for Meriplex and situation at-least for now is fine otherwise. I asked a policeman what is happening and he just shrugs.
I got inside, picked up the stuff, got down to lifestyle parking and got the car out, it is past 5 now and people still waiting out, fire brigade etc in front of meriplex. So I took the other route back to home. Lucky thing the car was not parked in Meriplex else we'd have to wait till the scene cleared.
Next day Express mentions it was a mock drill conducted by police. And I think what the hell. Do you want people to die in stampedes. If s-e-h got injured I am sure many others did too. If you have to conduct drill at least ensure it doesn't kill anyone. Why wasn't security placed on the stairs to manage the flow? Why only 1 gate was kept open and that too was one with stairs! What did the exercise prove?
Papers mentioned movie screening was resumed by 4:15 - my foot, I came out on roads after 5 and it was still blocked.
When do will we realize its not ok to put people's life and limb in danger for the sake of a drill. What were the objectives of the drill? How soon a movie hall can be emptied? Sure announce people to leave and come down and stop them there once they are in open. To get an mall emptied? Open freaking all the exits and not crush 1000 people on a 3 feet wide staircase! Heavens forbid where there to be an explosion sound of any kind I am sure people would have died on that staircase!
Learn from these IT firms. We have regular fire drills and 3000 people can and do evacuate in under 2 minutes. Just herding people out like cattle with no management of evacuations is plain stupid.
Lets know no one else got injured or lost valuables. And Pune police folks next time you plan a drill, please PLAN it and not just execute.

Lament of a Married Foodie

Heard the other day
"I am a foodie but she ain't a cookie!"

Why City Stories?

This is the reason! Imagine having to lay a road for love, whoa!
Interesting data though. Given that its India, the fact that the last marriage was 50 years ago and the youngest hopeful suitor of a damsel is only 16 somewhere there lurks an explanation I am sure :)

Hill & Dale Pinotage 2005

This plum colored wine from Stellenbosch South Africa is available in World Foods Hiranandani @INR1652/56.
The wine is quite celebrated the world over as one of the inexpensive good wines, ofcourse Indian extortionate taxes on alcohol implies you pay many times more than the internatinal prices. Still since that is true for all imported wines, go ahead and try this.
The wine has a nose of plum and cheeries. On the palatte, you get a flavor of berries, oak and a hint of tennins. The wine is quite smooth and can be had on its own. A wine with distinct flavor will have people who love it and people who won't. I fall in the former category and I do recommend having a go at this.

Holkar Bridge Pune: A traffic story

Its been something I have always wanted to write but was too lazy to do so. While in general Pune traffic is brain dead and traffic cops useless there are a few exceptions. If you take the Nagar road from Aundh to Yerwada, you will have to cross the Holkar bridge near Bombay Sappers. Its a place where a 6 lane road encounters a 2lane bridge and there is no alternative. The bridge at one of its end has a trisection to compound misery.
However this is one place where I find traffic cops and wardens always present during peak times and managing traffic. And the traffic is actually managed. The jams happen only when a vehicle breaks down near the bridge else the traffic moves. Which is not to say that its a breeze. When traffic merges, 3 lanes of oncoming traffic into 1, and Pune road sense there are bound to be hurdles. However it is ensures that the traffic keeps moving. Still during peak times having a kilometer long line of vehicles is comming.
Recently a new bridge is approved and work too started. But since its a government job we can expect the 100m or so bridge to take 4-5 years to build. So i still dread peak times where 1/2 a km of my 10 km ride takes 1/2 of my total commute time.
While last couple of weeks of December had almost no waiting at 10, I thought it was because of the holidays. Come January the traffic cops made one of the turns a no go and in the process eliminated the tri-section. Now its 2 weeks into January and the traffic is still a breeze. It maybe the truckers strike or it may be this change in usage that is the reason. I also find the traffic density a lot lot less. while maybe it is because there is some road somewhere that is maybe closed and hence people are not taking that road it looks unlikely since as far as I know that bridge is a must crossed.
Anyways one must count ones blessings. That 1/2 km stretch now takes abt 1 minute to cross and lets thank God for that. If you are looking at getting from Viman Nagar/Yerwada/Koregaon to Aundh/Wakad/Khadki/Mumbai during peak times, these days you can simply avoid the traditional city route and get onto Nagar Road. City route will take an hour, Nagar road will take you 20 minutes to reach Aundh. Yeye!

Rajdhani Vegetarian thali@Lifestyle Mall, Mulund Mumbai

Rajdhani is a joint that goes in for the traditional. Their USP is their vegetarian thali which is a gujrati style thali. Serving starts with a guy getting you some metal contraption to help you wash hands while being seating on your table itself. The waiters use hand signals to communicate with each other so the noise level is a bit lower than other places. Guests ofcourse are free to holler.
Thali comes in with a choice of breads and rice/khichhdi etc. The servings have options so you can pick and choose what you want. I found the Gujrati khadhi a bit too sweet, much sweeter than my earlier experiences of of it at other places. The couple of other sweets were similarly too much on the sweet side for my comfort. But the Aloo sabzi and daal etc were pretty good. The breads also were true to the traditional tastes. The buttermilk had bhuna jeera that was obviously burnt to fault and did not therefore taste that well. The waiters will sometime take their sweet time to come but overall they feed quite well in the traditional style.
Overall its an interesting experience and I hope some of the things were maybe one off accidents. But if you into the traditional thali experience its not a bad place overall.
Paan comes in the end.
Prices: 200/- thali
Location: Lifestyle Mall Mulund

Setting up Place: Ishanya Pune

Setting up one's own pad is hard work. Apart from figuring out how it should look is the question of figuring out where to get the stuff from. Commute in a city like Pune is anyways a harrowing affair.
I was therefore pleasently surprized to check out the Ishanya Mall. The mall is essentially a design mall with outlets catering to designer products and services and cover almost the entire gamut of things one needs to setup a home. The outlets range from the staple Homestore, @Home etc to boutique designer shops. And while the designer shops are not cheap by any stretch its still very useful to have all shops in one location where one can look for ideas and do some comparison shopping.
Besides being somewhat out of the city its not crowded like most other places which makes is possible to actually look around and talk to sales if one wishes. There are only a very few eating outlets in there which is one grouse I have since shopping especially for home stuff is a long drawn affair.
All in all Ishanya is a good addition to Pune

Utsav: Hiranandani Mumbai

Among all the eating joints in Hiranandani, the one that impressed the most is Utsav. 2nd kitchen to some friends it serves good Indian stuff and for Hiranandani at a quite reasonable rate.
I especially like the khicchdi Kadhi there and there vegetarian starters are pretty good too. While I have not tried the Chinese menu there, some friends recommend that too.
Prices: 100-150/dish
Location: Opp Hiranandani School, Powai, mumbai 25705356/7

Mainland China: Hiranandani Mumbai

Hiranandani has a new food destination in Mainland China near to the Galleria. Will do well to reserve a place before landing in as the place is usually crowded like everyplace else in Mumbai.
While I've had good memories of the eggplant dish from the Andheri outlet, the crackling spinach here I found too oily and not really crackling. Servers took pains not to come around when you wave but once someone stood up, walked around and got a captain in person in a minute, they did become attentive.
The assorted vegies schwezwan style that they gave complimentary after the walk to captain was good but that was all. The other dish I tried was again some veggies with red peppers schwezwan style was a bit too bland and I could not really see the peppars.
Chicken too disappointed the folks. So I suggest stick to the eggplant dish or else check out the Andheri joint for some more time.
Prices: around 200-250/dish
Location: Near HSBC, near Galleria, Hiranandani, Powai
http://www.mainlandchinaindia.com/

Ku De Ta

Bali the land of beaches and charming temples has a lot to offer to tourists and residents alike. One of the primary attractions of the island is the beach side resturant of Ku De Ta, definetly its most famous grub place.
Book a dinner table and plan to reach before sunset, asking them to reserver a lounger. The highlight of the place is to watch the sunset from a lounger while sipping whichever is your favorite poison at the moment. The site is glorious and the cocktails heady (tip: don't go there alone ; ) ).

(shot in dark by shaky hands)

The food is great though for a vegetarian like me, the menu is pretty restrictive. Try the potato based starter, its very very good. The prices are on the steep side, a meal for 2 with drinks will cost atleast US$100/- What steps the place apart is the setting and the sunsets.
Prices: US$50-100/person
Location: Seminyak Kuta

Food Sensualist's Guide to Pune Eateries

Most of my favorite resturants are in Koregaon. I guess it is the presence of lots of rich and fine living people around that area. People paying the kind of money and used to good things in life expect good taste and that shows.
Arthur's Theme
If there is one place that in my experience has managed the consistent quality of food, its Arthur's Theme. As the name suggests the resturant is inspired in some ways by the story of King Arthur. The decor in a wee bit and the names of the dishes is patterned on the ancient Kings and Queens.
The wine menu is not too vast but if you ask them they can tell you what liquor and few wines they have. Not the best place for those on liquid diet. But if you want good food the menu offers plenty of options. There is pasta, there are mushrooms and potatoes and then there is all sorts of meat including roasted turkey (might be the only place in Pune serving roasted whole turkey). Food tastes good, is not very expensive with most dishes under 200/- when I last visited some months back.
What really endears me to the place is that a dishes tastes pretty much similar to what it tasted the last time you order. Not those cases like - sorry our regular cook is away this week so this thing you ordered tastes something not quite entirely unlike what you ordered yesterday that sometimes happen in other places.
Prices: ~200/-
Location - off North Main Road Koregain, take the Pizza hut turn, right next to Malacca Spice.
http://www.arthurstheme.com/
Indyaki
My late favorite used to be Indyaki. I found their service to be 3rd rate for any joint forget something aiming to be upper crust still their cook esp for continental food made the place worth it. Infact I almost invariably ended up scolding the floor manager for the soups that will arrive after finger bowls, Wine that will never arrive and Rotis that will be found to be over after you get the curry on the table. Then the place vanished for a while. Some time ago someone told me of this new place called Indyaki which apparently was the old Indyaki and I comandeered a friend and headed to check it out.
The place is now reburbished and apparently has a new owner. The service quality has improved quite a bit bordering sometimes of being a bit too friendly. The dishes are good, I quite liked the kebabs. The menu has also changed. Its now primarily Indian fare with no signs of continental. I miss the continental but overall maybe its a change for better and thats a loaded statement coming from a foodie who now like the food a lil less than that of old but the service levels now belong to human world.
Prices - ~200-300/- dish
Location - on South Main Road Koregaon. Coming from the Residency side, keep a lookout for a decorated tree on your left and thats the place.
020 26055116
Nawab
This is apparently a Lucknawi joint serving all sorts of North Indian/Pakistani/Afgani fare. I was told about this by a friend come down from Mumbai and wanting to visit. I had never heard of it but managed to find out. The place is quite a revelation.
Weather permitting and prior reservation can get you a place on the terrace which is much more fun with its sofas. The wine list is huge though count on most of it being 'out of stock' (its a new thing I notice in lots of resturant these days. The choice of drinks will be 10 pages but actual availabile drinks might be 10 brands in total). Still you can get decent drinks.
The food shines. The Afganistani\LucknowiPeshawai kebabs and they have some vegetarians ones that are probably better than meat ones, ask the server for help make a trip worth it. I often take my European guests over and they find the food not overloaded with spices you can safely take Paredesi folks there when you need to. The rice and roti stuff is good too.
Prices: around 200/- a dish
Location - Opposite Pune Club, next to Blue Nile, look for a shabby place with music and then look up the first floor which is where this is
020 25675625

About the Blog

My experiences and views about dining and shopping in cities. Might also include fine living overall and travel experiences.