Pinku-Enchanted Life

Today is the Persian New Year so Navroz Mubaarak. As I sit in office reading up about all sorts of Parsi delicacies being made and had on my FB timeline while my lunch of bhindi and roti awaits I end up writing this post to mitigate my food pangs somewhat. There is no other way to keep away from it all you see. The kids at the flag hoisting earlier in the day This independence day we visited a small little restaurant in the quaint streets on Hauz Khas village a place which holds a lot of happy memories for us. We planned an evening with friends whose daughter is part of all family portraits my 3 year old draws. So the six of us set out for the Hauz Khas village from our far away village of Dwarka. The idea was to explore the neighboring Deer park and then go on to Faarsi which was our target for the evening. The girls were super excited and created quite a commotion at the back of the Scorpio while we adults tried to have snatches of conversation between telling them to pipe down. Wel...

There was a time I was proud of you Israel. I was proud of your struggles, of your fights and I was proud of your will to survive. I took pride in the fact that you arose almost from ashes 2000 years after you were dispersed you resurrected a dead language you dug canals, you turned a desert green You danced the hora and kissed the stones and brought alive a nation. You were survivors of the holocaust You had seen the worst possible side of man yet you had stayed human. Sadly now you are losing it. You my friend and guide have crossed the fence and become what I thought was never possible THE AGGRESSOR. PLEASE STOP IT.

Image from Google " Growing up we had one TV channel DD and double censorship reigned. One imposed on the content by govt. the other on viewing hours by parents. Our real entertainment was friends. Whether playing games, munching on snacks made by one of the moms or retelling pranks played or books read. Friends were what kept us involved, engaged and happy. We didn't know of friendship day then, friends were everyda y.  Now with multiple channels of entertainment and engagement I guess we need a special day to remember our friends as well. So that's how I have spend my hours today reliving memories of friends the very many I met at various points in time. Some I am in touch with some sadly not. Hope to correct that someday." Was my FB post on the occasion of Friendship day and many friends remembered the simpler, saner times we lived in with a tinge of nostalgia.  And I thought I was done with the celebration of this occasion created I suspect by some greeting card c...

We Bengalis obsess over books, food, culture and the 'going downhill syndrome of the world' with equal fervour.  Evenings are when at least two of these things merge to make the ultimate of Bengaliness possible that is 'adda'.  Adda is the art of sitting at street corners or markets and munching on savouries while sharing, debating and proclaiming 'sob golaye jache' from time to time. Loosely translated it would mean everything is descending into chaos.  This chaos however doesn't stop the Bengali from paying grave attention to his evening snack and he deliberates on the merits (taste wise no other criteria is important enough) of a jhalmuri aloo kabli combo vs cutlet vs chop vs roll vs puchka vs tele Bhaaja vs mughlai paratha  and the list goes on.  As you can see it's no easy task and many minutes pass by before the person can take a decision and place his order.  Adda of course is also accompanied by endless cups of tea which the local chai wallah sup...

A brief at work triggered memories from long ago. From pre liberalization days when a burger was a fancy dish you read about in an Archies magazine and a Cappuccino was to be had only in the lounge of a five star hotel. Growing up in the early eighties meant that our choices were limited and treats were meant for special occasions. A Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, Fruit & Nut, Uncle Chipps, Poppins, Gems, 5 Star and the occasional pack of Brittannia’s Bourbon biscuits were the highlights of our childhood days. The once a fortnight Gaylords or Kwality ice cream treat that dad took us out for were of course hallowed events. One of our summer vacation pastimes was to create treats for ourselves and then share the treat and trick with friends. Freezing roohafza and making red cubes, having chaat masala mixed with a little water, raw mangoes with sugar, salt and a lil chilly, making sandwich biscuits with good old marie and jam. And the most delicious of all, putting cubes of chilled butter into...

There are highly promoted eateries at flashy destinations where on a weekend you are sure to spot a few known faces as well. The food there is good, so is the ambience and décor. You come away feeling 'arrived'. And then there are small little places with ho hum furniture, clean but not fancy crockery and an old friend’s home sort of ambience. Typically it would have a restricted menu, no alcohol, no nonsense owners and a small but loyal and frequent clientele. These are places you will frequent again and again to savor that unnamed pleasure of eating a good meal in peace without having to dress up for the occasion and remembering to not slouch over your plate while you try to lick up the last bit. One such place on my list has been Bernado’s the little Goan restaurant in Gurgaon which everyone from tripadvisor to zomato will tell you is a must visit and which over the years has shifted location many a time. With the faithful always sniffing them out and walking in for yet anot...

Some places you visit and then yearn to go back to. Some places your friends in distant cities visit often, swear by and you keep oscillating between what the fuss is all about and wanting to go and check it out for yourself. Lings in Bombay which Knife from Finely Chopped visits quite often has been one such place for me. Since I live in Delhi this has not been an easy thing to accomplish then last year Knife came to Delhi NCR stayed for a few days and reviewed Canton Spice a restaurant at Cyber Hub which happens to be run by the Ling family. This had me excited, now was my chance to try out the Chinese food I have been swooning over long distance. One thing or the other prevented my visiting Canton Spice till the past Monday when I finally got a chance to walk in with a few friends for a on-a-whim dinner plan. The place had a pleasant ambience and it was very non chinese in its décor. What I mean is it didn’t  have red, dragons or frilly lamps. What it did have was a comfortabl...