Tales of luchi, mangsho, fish finger & others...

Coming soon...

Remnants of THE BRIDGE

It was an invitation to one of the most contemporary and popular star hotels in the "city of joy" and I had an open choice of lunch/tea/dinner!!!

Notwithstanding the fact that almost every visit to this hotel's reception warrants a sighting of pretty air-hostesses from some private airlines or the other (although i prefer the ones in blue or red uniform) i did not hesitate much to take the offer for lunch and duly set off for my destination. I had heard that the hotel had almost totally revamped its entertainment centers, but what i witnessed was nothing that i had even imagined... almost every corner, every wall, every seating area, every eatery, every lounging area has been drastically revamped to accomodate a more contemporary, stylish, global audience (if i may say so, for want of a better word) For someone like me, who has too many memories attached to the place, it came as quite a shocker mised with a certain amount of sadness but then as Bob Dylan famously said "the times they are a changing..."

Anyway, thats enuff about the decor and renovation...the point of discussion, to begin with, was THE BRIDGE...the new 24x7 coffee shop in place of the ATRIUM, which incidentally had developed almost a cult following. Probably even god doesnt know why the decision makers decided to shut down ATRIUM, coz i thought that was one of the identities of the hotel, alongwith SOMEPLACE ELSE, though by god's grace, the former is still there. So, i was accompanied to THE BRIDGE by my "chaddi-friend" who also happens to be the Director-Public Relations of this esteemed hotel now...though that doesnt take away the fact that our relationship is still very much based on our "chaddi days" So, needless to say, its always difficult to behave in a polite formal corporate manner with her, which i had to since she held a position of repute in that particular environment (i had taken utmost pains to dress up in a stylish full-sleeved shirt for the occasion) Coming to the lunch part, after opting to sit indoors and after deliberating on the buffet option and the ala carte menu, i stuck to my age-old tried & tested 'Beef Fillet Steak' thinking that it wud be just like they used to make in THE ATRIUM, almost a decade back. But sadly, that was not to be...no, i am not saying it was bad, it was just not what i expected...i guess when u r comparing something to ATRIUM's sandwiches, burgers and steaks...then its quite a bit that a chef has to live upto...and this one couldn't. Also, i am quite a tradition steak eater...i like mine flattened, well-done, with mashed potatoes and boiled vegetables that shud primarily include green peas, beans, carrots...this one, in true contemporary health conscious fashion had bell peppers and olives, something that just doesnt go with a steak (or maybe it does, amongst the more experimental steak eaters) In retrospect, i think i sud have listened to my chaddi-friend..oops! the Director-PR who had initially recommended the fish fillet...and after trying some from her, i daresay she was absolutely right...the bhetki was of the finest quality that has ever touched my tongue in so many years...pristine white and succulent to the power of infinity. But that doesnt mean i abandoned my steak, afterall i am a born sucker for steaks...and good or bad, i will finish them to the last shred on my plate. And so i did, but what came after that is what was the icing on the cake...2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, with a sprig of mint and topped with chocolate sprinklers. I must admit that i have never had this 'sprinkler thingy' ever before...and the raw flavour and texture it adds to an otherwise smooth ice cream blend is unreal. And so, the Director-PR was pleasantly surprised to see that i have finished off every lick of the ice cream even before she cud say Ooo-La-La (what u see in the picture above is seconds before the complete destruction) Ice creams, cakes and bitter chocolate has always found topmost place in my food chain...and so it was no surprise that this dessert served in the most delicious way and style, proved to be a tad bit more interesting than the steak...i suppose, i am a bigger sucker for ice creams than steaks ;)

I left after saying "thank you" to two people who waited on our table as if I was the biggest and the toughest food-critic that the city has (the Director-PR expressing doubt over the beef steak's quality didnt help either coz in seconds the chef came running from the kitchen to know what's wrong...certainly a very embarassing situation for me) and after walking down the corridor with my chaddi friend who gave me a glimpse into a whole lot of memories that the hotel has for me...and that will never change even if they change every nook and corner and wall and.......

golmirchi "goru"

Had always thought i will start writing about food and the numerous experiments i try out with various forms of it almost every weekend (especially now, since MTV pays me for 8 non-working days every month) But somehow have never gotten around to doing it...wonder why? (maybe becoz i am too busy cooking, and then too busy eating or making other people eat it..!!?)

So, to boil things down to the meat...oh! did i say meat..what a slip of the toungue my dear watson...what a slip indeed...since meat it was, in all its glorified form and timbre and resonance, in the sunday just gone by...specifically the 'cow', or as we bongs like to call it - 'goru' (and as the westerners like to say 'Beef') Its one object that has always eluded my grasp, more so becoz i feel its as obstinate as i am...tough and difficult to manipulate, by whatever means. And so, maybe it was sheer destiny that a mistake would finally put things in order (in the battle of Mukherjee vs Goru) and bring out the best beef dish that i have been able to cook so far.

More will come later...

Travelling Flute-bury

Sunday morning "ting tong" and there he was...in clean white cotton attire and a long thin black bag full of the most simplistic yet melodious instruments that man has invented so far. Arvind Kumar, one of the many wandering flautists of mumbai has finally found my place after getting lost (being misled by a miscreant maybe?) Hailing from UP, a place that goes by the name of Pilibheeth (strangely, couldn't help telling him about my association with the place, as papa did proficient business with lot of very loyal customers from that area...and that papa's childhood friend and support during his last days 'Pratap-uncle' also belonged to that same town) Arvind-ji's politeness was like a breath of fresh air, something that we urban people are so unaccostomed to nowadays, having been exposed to curt, professional, to-the-point responses, even from close acquaintences and friends at times (such is the infection of big metro cities I suppose...alas!)
To cut a long story short (maybe this one I would like to keep to myself only), after an hour or so, having sold the most magnificient piece of wood i have had the priviledge of holding in my two hands so far in life...he left with a smile on his face and a sliver of hope in his heart... and I watched him walk out through that door, hoping that this association is here to stay...for as long as the man in him remains the true self, uncorrupted and unhampered by the crooked ways of this city. Needless to say, i have a feeling i will be writing much more of this man again........

Daddy's little girl

Papa is gone. after a year long struggle. its been 3 months now. the daughter can't let go. the memories haunt her. every week. every day. every night. every good moment. in sadness. in happiness. so she wrote a small poem...

I saw that last breath slip you into peace,
The breath that took you far far away from me.
I touched your hand and all had stopped,
A deafening blank and you were relieved.
I must confess the same was true for me,
Daddy's little girl had put her papu to sleep.


And a FB post of hers on 7th Feb (a day before our Bareilly trip):

"Daddy's prayer meeting in bareilly on 10th sept...how it'll feel to go back home...to step down on bareilly station and not see papa cumin to pik up this spoilt daughter of his"

Tales of the dangerous EMI monster

Oh! my my...i dont believe i have not written for so long...so much has happened in all this while that its seriously not possible to put it all down...have gained, have lost, have been defeated and have yet come out a winner...or is it just my illusion...is the struggle still not over and what i think is "winning" is just rotten mango wrapped in shiny aluminium foil...in order to fool the ever-hungry and never-satiated buyer..?

There has been one development though...as an after effect of my April 19, 2008 post...yes, i have...i finally have bought a house in the so-called "manhattan of the east"...and so, finally its adieu to the movers n packers that used to haunt our lives every alternate year...finally its goodbye to the slimy brokers who would leave no stone unturned to sell u the worst flat at the highest price...finally its ciao to the nasty landlords who can never ever satisfy their greed for a fatter deposit and a higher rent..!!! But it also means welcoming the "EMI monster" with your hands spread out in obedience and ur head down on the ground...coz if u displease him then he shall spare no effort to put u back on to ur old bohemian life of L&L (Leave & License, for those of u not acquainted...the technical term for rent agreements) The funny part though, is even if u dont displease the 'EMI monster' he seems to be making ur life miserable anyway...just the thought of having to give out tens of thousands of hard-earned money every single month and for decades is certainly a scary thought... Question is: does it outweigh the comfort of ur own home...yes, not a house but a HOME SWEET HOME...does it make financial sense to not pay tens of thousands in rent every month on a property that will never be yours anyway...does it make sense to chain down ur very existence based solely on the pressure of having to pay that huge lumpsum every month, failing which all the years of effort will go down the drain!!!

A few of my friends will surely disagree to the idea of taming the 'EMI monster' becoz its just another way of clipping your angel wings and putting solid steel chains around ur feet...that prevents u form taking vacations...from shopping with a free mind...from buying that new SUV thats hit the road...from so many things and so much more. And then a few wud say NO, it makes perfect sense to buy a house and keep the 'EMI monster' as ur pet becoz the 'Rent monster' is of the most disloyal kind and will never be yours...so why put money on something that u can never possess? A very valid point i must say...especially when the amount of money is not a few hundred or a few thousand...but 25-30K every month...and coupled with that a 150-200K safety deposit...just to ensure that ur 'Rent monster' is not abused/harmed/damaged in anyway whatsoever...since it is given to u primarily for upkeep and to derive happiness from...for a year or two at the most!

Strangely, with time (as axactly a year has passed from the day i walked into the builder's office and became bankrupt) i have come to realize that the Questions are all insignificant really...yes, it doesnt make sense to pay huge rents when the money isnt bringing any returns...but yes, it also does make sense to have the freedom of a rent occupancy, with no decade long liabilities of having to satisfy the 'EMI monster' month after month...and so the arguements will go on and on and the contradictions will never cease to exist...afterall its our basic human nature to complicate a simple enuff life, isnt it? But essentially, it all comes down to - how and what u want to spend ur money on...is it on expensive perfumes and international vacations and designer shoes and boutique eateries...or a place that u can call ur own...a place that u can call 'Home'...a place where u make friends with ur neighbours and can call them for dinner...a place u can come back to at the end of a hard day's work, not being bothered about the fact that u might be driven out of it in a few month's time...a place that u know is urs to keep...forever...in which you & only you have the power to take decisions...not some chap who happened to have made enuff money to give u a shelter to stay in! And about the 'EMI monster'...well well, lets look at it this way...if the going gets tough the tough gets going...and if the tough still doesnt get going then sell the 'EMI monster' to some other 'tough' and go back to ur bohemian life of L&L...but not before taking a vacation in Santorini and Pompei coz that much money (or shud i say 'profits') after selling the 'EMI monster' will surely be difficult to keep/spend! So, the saying that "therz light at the end of the tunnel" is not entirely false...the trick is to enjoy the darkness if it ever falls on you (although, it almost always never does...in a very strange sort of a way!!?)

Euphoria in July...

The countdown has begun... to the 27th of June, when my elder brother, sis-in-law and my two darling nephews are coming down from USA... after almost 6 long years. I haven't yet seen one of my nephew and they haven't yet seen Nitika (my better half). Omigawd, what a union this will be... i am gonna forget everything in this bloody world for 2 whole weeks and take off for dear ol' Cal., doesnt really matter what i am in the middle of... but i will just leave evrything and go! And yes, we plan to paint the town red & considering that bro's elder son (all of 6yr old) is a big time foodie, we r gonna go on a gourmet ride thru park street, esplanade, and the works... peter cat, moulin rouge, nizaam's, crystal chopstix, arsalaan, shiraaz, nothing and nobody will be spared by our lashing tongues during those 2 weeks. But the most important point is: for once, the bigger intricacies of life will be overshadowed by the little joys of it, and that makes me "oh! so happy"
Will come back to post all details of what our salivating tongues lapped up in our gourmet ride of Cal... and the little joys that we discovered by the roadside in our 2 week journey :) till then, khuda haafiz!