Monday, June 29, 2009

My place!

I was really unsure as to posting this, but did it. I really dont know if people are being nice to me only because of the press tag, but still it feels nice!(smug!!)Also, this is one restaurant I like. Also Also, I'm a vegetarian so my food reviews are always one sided.Even so

Tucked away in a quiet street in the midst of the busy Banjara Hills, the quaint Our Place has not just been one of Hyderabad’s best known restaurants but a landmark of sorts. The fabled service, charming environs and lush greenery transport you to a place which can be likened to Peter Pan’s wonder world. Started in 1999, the restaurant has been going from strength to strength to establish itself as one of Hyderabad’s best loved places and an epicurean delight. What keeps it going, according to the charismatic Pooja Raina, the HR “It’s the ability to give people something new each time they come”. Indeed be it the ducklings which enthrall the kids, the cottages for private conversations, the landing which is carved out of a rock and is a perfect setting for a romantic candle light dinner, the extremely popular ghazal shows on the weekends or the languid lawn where one can peacefully enjoy a meal, Our Place is like your grandma’s chest of treasures- there is something for everyone! From the delicious Fruit punch, to the appetizing crisp corn pepper salt (which is any connoisseur’s delight with its crackling mix of flavors), the restaurant gets its ingredients in the correct dose! With signature dishes like Sambhar Rice and murg mulayam paneer, it sure is a gourmet’s delight with its eclectic offering of Mughlai, Chinese, South Indian and Thai food. Famed as much for its landscaped gardens as it is for its Fruit Punch, it is easy to see how this picturesque place holds its own in a city where a restaurant opens every day. The ambience is pleasing, the choice plentiful and the service, extremely agreeable. So, this weekend you plan to go out to a place that truly feels like yours, you know where to head to…Our Place!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Spaces which never existed.

Thirty Umrigar’s “The Space between Us” is just that, the space between humans, which acts as the sacred invisible line, omnipresent and never to be overstepped. The space between a middle class woman and her servant of over three decades, the space between the educated and the improvised, the space between lives so different in vortex, yet pulled together by an incredible hamstring called fate. It is the story of Sera Dubash, a Parsi housewife who is widowed and thus unchained after years of abuse and disappointment, promised the heights of heavens by a marriage which succeeds in plunging her to depths she never imagined could exist, her daughter Dinaz and her marriage and how her fate is cruelly interwoven with that of Bhima-her household help of yore, her constant companion in hours of grief, her sole strand of support in her marriage of lies, neglect and violence. The space between us, is described as “an intimate portrait of a distant yet familiar world”, while the description says most of it, the catch remains in what is left unsaid- that the distant world is too full of common brutalities and familiarity stems from the contempt of not being brave enough to accept things at their truthful value. The most amazing part of the writing is the seeming ease with which blows are taken, Bhima’s ignorance that education is the only way out of her misery and slums, Sera’s carefully crafted world after years of abuse crashes around her and she prefers to look the other side, her effort to keep up appearances, her desperate quest for happiness and the terrible price she has to pay for it and Viraf, cold and gentle, menacing and ugly all colors played out in the blink of an eyelid. The greatest victory of this book is to bring out in force, the trueness of characters, driven by hope, misguided by optimism, disguised as despair and bound by a wavering thread of belief that life would deliver justice, for all its faults. A treasure, the book does not fall in the trappings of other Parsi writers and does manage to help us realize the spaces we surround ourselves with.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Animal planet

I was in a depressing frame of mind all month, like how you feel when a long coveted vacation ends or on the last day of college...at times in high spirits and at times quiet and in my own world. Anyways this was not what I intended to write on. I actually wanted to write on something serious for once and it is about

the missing tigers in the Panna reserve. Yep, Panna has done a Sariska and has killed all of its tigers! Animals are an important part of our bio-diversity and without them the world remains a shallow place. With Tigers, the fact is all the most important, Remember the last time you saw it in a zoo(which isnt its place but heck, at least it helps conserving them) That gleaming magnificent body, the power it radiates and its confident walk. Tigers are the pinnacle of the illustrous cat family and it's really depressing to see our national animal in such dire straits. Take any reserve worth its salt, the Sunderbans has its own sad story to share. The need of the hour is to save the big cat, government intervention can only go this long, people should be more aware. Like the believe that tigers claw is a cure for impotency, no dumb fellas the cure is viagra! Wake up, people and most importantly live and let live!

also another news that that two Elephants were mowed down by a train in Nilgiris. Elephants are my personal favorites. Two things about the humble pachyderm I bet you didnt know
-that Elephants are extremely senstive and can feel any movement in the ground within a kilometre radius and get disturbed. So imagine the plight of these giants when they are at the Thrissur festival...sheer madness!
-that they mourn their dead. Elephants live in herds and when a member dies, they gather and shed tears. After some days (when only the flesh remains) they regroup in the same place in a mood which is sombre and are not their usual self...mourning, elephantine style!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

And that terrible thing was

that I was sitting harmlessly in my usual place at my beloved Barista, talking with Si about his speculated shift in his role at work and thinking that the I should try lemon tea sometimes (loved it ever since my stint at Chennai) when this girl walks in...Not good looking but tall and fairly confident, wearing some black clothes...I turned my gaze to the mango tree when the girl screeched :yeh kitni sad si jagah hain"..I was outraged, revolted and was just about to drop my cup of tea and I slowly turned my head, in slow motion, in disblelief , in shock over that devastating statement...Barista remains a favorite...the many sunday evenings, the trees, the great service and the many conversations with Si about how to get rich quickly, about heartbreaks and hardships make it soo special and this girl saying this horrendous, insensitive, pejorative remark! I mean there is something called as being sensitive to others feelings! But no, sensitivity remains a lost cause today and as extinct as the Amur Leopard! I so wish I didnt hear that statement for I was constantly glaring at that rude girl who must have thought I was checking her out! Sigh...such a harsh life!

Yahoo 360 is closing! It sucks majorly...I really love the 360 page..I started blogging ages back and I consider it my best work which is read only by my closest friends..well all good things end. Another news is that the news weekly with which I'm working might shut down in July..reason...recession! Out comes my resume.

Moral Policing has hit Hyderabad now...pubbing is against our "culture" says our health minister! What's the bet that his kids are regulars at "Excess", the hippest joint in town right now?

Monday, June 8, 2009

And here come the rains...

Yes, its monsoon and it couldnt have arrived any sooner. I love the rains, always have...the sights, the sounds and the smells...the smell of the wet mud is the biggest draw for me. I was at my beloved Barista yesterday (A truly terrible thing happened there, about which I will rant later). Was just tucking into my green tea and pizza when the delirious first drops fell and caught us unawares. Rain washes away with it so many things, the supressed emotions and the pent up feelings. It brings out the longing in you and makes you forget everything else. Believe me when I say there is nothing like dancing in the rain....as a kid splashing in the puddles was so much fun...taking a walk eating a corn cob....forget yourself and just go with the flow, for once let go, dont think, just feel with the falling water and the enchanting experience. Rain is the biggest therapeutic experience. My college was in a university full of greenery and when it rained it poured, I remember just getting drenched soo many times, sitting in the parking lot and wishing it would never stop...wishing for everything to come true...and hoping against hope to capture that memory! Rain also brings with it so much- hope for an year, a reason to smile, to cuddle with loved ones and to feel free and step out in gay abandon. Thankfully my house is still surrounded by two trees and the leaves never look greener than in the rains...I wish it would come soon
Rain Rain come again

PS:Best thing I've heard this week was the news that Sonam kapoor called Ash "aunty".
Her explanation, that she worked with her dad, so it's justified! whoopie!