Ola readers! Its lovely to be back again this fortnight. Summer has set in. Yup, we can feel it - with all the power cuts. Wink writers are giving out reasons not to write and always blame the power-cuts nowadays. Things we have to put up with here, so that you can get a decent fortnight's read!
We leave you with a Funny Side Up which has gotten a little pink this time (or white, you'd say!), Wine,Dine and Dance that waltzed into "Food street" for some "Street food" and Wanderlust where our writers wandered into Wayanad.
Hey, you had better read all this real quick. You never know when the power goes off. These are Dark-Times, indeed. Happy reading!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wine, Dine and Dance - "Food Street"
Food street – VV Puram!
Bangalore South has a lot to offer the roadside eater (and deep down, we know we all subscribe to it, don't we?). The South Bangalorean's soul lifts high, soars and does an topple with nostalgia at the mention of its name. Take a walk at VV Puram's “Food street”. If you are a fan of the “roadside golgappa” and the “very much Indian chinese food – Gobimanchuri, noodles and chowmein etc” this is your paradise. Akki roti, “hot hot jamuns” (its a dish, trust me), roadside pakoda, capsicum bajjis – the list is endless. The street is house to the famous “VB Bakery” - which is a local favorite. Its full house, always. Try the “Bun Butter Congress” - a signature dish, that all relish. Take a look around, the aroma will fill you in. Either you love it, or hate it – but you cannot ignore it. Far from the sophistication, VV Puram is simplicity personified. You should definitely check out the capsicum dish – it has a capsicum bajji, cut into 4, sprayed with lemon, seasoned with onion and spices. Its one of a kind. Try “roadside” sweets – a million and half innovations to choose from. If you are looking for one evening of fun, where you really don't care and have let go, go ahead. This is your moment - “carpe diem”. Walk a little around VV Puram, you'll hit MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Rooms). If you find that as usual, you can never find the space to sit down, you'll be pleased to know they have a “sandwich” place right next to it. A beautiful walk at Lalbagh before all this activity would probably make you feel nice about the calories that you'll add onto yourself at the “Food Street”.
Bangalore South has a lot to offer the roadside eater (and deep down, we know we all subscribe to it, don't we?). The South Bangalorean's soul lifts high, soars and does an topple with nostalgia at the mention of its name. Take a walk at VV Puram's “Food street”. If you are a fan of the “roadside golgappa” and the “very much Indian chinese food – Gobimanchuri, noodles and chowmein etc” this is your paradise. Akki roti, “hot hot jamuns” (its a dish, trust me), roadside pakoda, capsicum bajjis – the list is endless. The street is house to the famous “VB Bakery” - which is a local favorite. Its full house, always. Try the “Bun Butter Congress” - a signature dish, that all relish. Take a look around, the aroma will fill you in. Either you love it, or hate it – but you cannot ignore it. Far from the sophistication, VV Puram is simplicity personified. You should definitely check out the capsicum dish – it has a capsicum bajji, cut into 4, sprayed with lemon, seasoned with onion and spices. Its one of a kind. Try “roadside” sweets – a million and half innovations to choose from. If you are looking for one evening of fun, where you really don't care and have let go, go ahead. This is your moment - “carpe diem”. Walk a little around VV Puram, you'll hit MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Rooms). If you find that as usual, you can never find the space to sit down, you'll be pleased to know they have a “sandwich” place right next to it. A beautiful walk at Lalbagh before all this activity would probably make you feel nice about the calories that you'll add onto yourself at the “Food Street”.
Wanderlust- Wandering into Wayanad
Incredible Wayanad: Nestled in north-east Kerala, Wayanad is the “green paradise” home to luxurious coffee estates, breath-taking waterfalls, wild life sanctuaries replete with scenic beauty. If you have a sense of aesthetics, this is your cup of tea (or should I say, “cup of spices”). I waded into Sultan Batteri (important town of Wayanad) at around 2 a.m. The place was really misty and I had a feeling that the vehicles that did help commute upto there were all driven by intuition on the part of the drivers. You can hear dew drops trickle down the leaves and then you know you're in Wayanad. But by morn 9, the mist is eaten up by the scorching sun – blazing down at you. If you are into Kerala breakfast, you'll be served the “puttu”. After having done that, we wandered into Kuruva island. This place is fantastic and inhabited by tribals, yet completely packaged for the “wild” tourist. You can spend a day in the island simply exploring it (surprisingly, you have Wi-Fi out there). More wandering in Wayanad can take you to “Chembra peak” (wow, really. You'll be jealous of rich film stars that can buy coffee estates at this place! Its beautiful to trek up the peak), “Soochipara waterfalls” “Meenmutty waterfalls” “Pookkal lake” and “edukkal caves”. Now, watch out for the waterfalls – there are still primitive and ridden with rocks that are slippery. Many have cracked a skull there (but most of them have it cracked anyway, don't you think?? hehe) Edukkal Caves are also quite a climb, from the peak of which (you can trek up the peak only before 4 pm, after which the place gets misty) you can see Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. I was thrilled to see a Mohiniyattam dance performance when we climbed down the caves. As a stray tourist, I was thrilled to eat the 'amla honey” which is available at almost all stores. Do check out the muthanga wild life sanctuary. Time flies at Wayanad. No wonder somethings are called “timeless”. Oh, while you are in and around, check out the array of spices that Wayanad stores offer! You'll be interested to know that I have something called the “pathimugam” that I randomly bought. This place can get addictive, I suppose. I'm already wanting to get back and take another look.
Funny Side-Up - "A White Valentine"
I'm asking the world a heartfelt question, “do you buy spotless white clothes?” As a matter of personal choice, like most things, I love them. But again, as a matter of personal sense, like most things, I stay away from them.
My first encounter with a spotless white shirt had me smitten. Expensively smitten. I wore it quite a few times in the same week. I felt blessed. I was happy, cheerful, beautiful (well) and i was in love. Love for the clothes has an effect of wanting to add onto it – in the form of matching foot wear and other accessories. As the love story blossomed, i was growing with inner joy, rather – glowing with it. With all this love, came security. I thought i would have the white clothes forever – it would last, until death did us apart, or too many washes in the washing machine – whichever came first.
I knew that with love came commitment. I was to be committed to keeping the white clothes well, protecting it from external factors like “wardrobe stealers”, “over sharp cloth hangers”, “fungus”, “bad ironers”, “harsh soap powders”. I did all of this and the saga continued. One thing that the mind skipped was protecting it from “external colors”. And as the lay reader, none of this makes sense to you. But look inside your washing buckets closely, some clothes lose color and some gain it from them. I had, in a moment of laziness, thrown all the clothes together into the same bucket, including the white shirt.
The next day brought with it heart break. My spotless white expensive shirt was now stained with yellow patches. In blind concern, I scrubbed it with the brush, put the “always trust so-and-so soap to remove stains” powder on it, let it soak. I cried, I begged for forgiveness, I asked the gods to be merciful. But nothing worked. I still am in the process of healing from this. Nothing seemed to make an impact. I asked for help from external quarters – dry cleaners. Nope, no amount of dry cleaning removed the stain.
Today, when I see plain white clothes, it reminds me of what I had and what I lost. I am devastated from the episode. All that taking care of, all the effort into the whole process seems a waste. I mean, one small mistake – and everything shatters. And whenever I hear Jennifer Lopez sing “Love don't cost a thing” - I beg to differ, having learnt from my recent experience. I say “love costs something and damage repair costs much more”.
Wish you a life of colorful clothing. May the whites wait for a period where we have better cleaning agents.
My first encounter with a spotless white shirt had me smitten. Expensively smitten. I wore it quite a few times in the same week. I felt blessed. I was happy, cheerful, beautiful (well) and i was in love. Love for the clothes has an effect of wanting to add onto it – in the form of matching foot wear and other accessories. As the love story blossomed, i was growing with inner joy, rather – glowing with it. With all this love, came security. I thought i would have the white clothes forever – it would last, until death did us apart, or too many washes in the washing machine – whichever came first.
I knew that with love came commitment. I was to be committed to keeping the white clothes well, protecting it from external factors like “wardrobe stealers”, “over sharp cloth hangers”, “fungus”, “bad ironers”, “harsh soap powders”. I did all of this and the saga continued. One thing that the mind skipped was protecting it from “external colors”. And as the lay reader, none of this makes sense to you. But look inside your washing buckets closely, some clothes lose color and some gain it from them. I had, in a moment of laziness, thrown all the clothes together into the same bucket, including the white shirt.
The next day brought with it heart break. My spotless white expensive shirt was now stained with yellow patches. In blind concern, I scrubbed it with the brush, put the “always trust so-and-so soap to remove stains” powder on it, let it soak. I cried, I begged for forgiveness, I asked the gods to be merciful. But nothing worked. I still am in the process of healing from this. Nothing seemed to make an impact. I asked for help from external quarters – dry cleaners. Nope, no amount of dry cleaning removed the stain.
Today, when I see plain white clothes, it reminds me of what I had and what I lost. I am devastated from the episode. All that taking care of, all the effort into the whole process seems a waste. I mean, one small mistake – and everything shatters. And whenever I hear Jennifer Lopez sing “Love don't cost a thing” - I beg to differ, having learnt from my recent experience. I say “love costs something and damage repair costs much more”.
Wish you a life of colorful clothing. May the whites wait for a period where we have better cleaning agents.
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