My school days...

I was having my morning tea just now and suddenly some random thoughts of my high school teachers wafted into my consciousness. Teachers who had tremendous impact on my impressionable mind during my childhood. One of them was, Mohapatra teacher who used to teach us Geography in class 6-8th. If I correctly recall, her full name was Sushmita Mohapatra. An amazing personality, blunt haircut (Unheard of those days), always saree-clad and a beautiful Convent school accent. Very sophisticated, indeed.  She was a very capable teacher as well. Teaching us the nuances of solar and lunar eclipse using globes...(We are having solar eclipse in BLR today, may be thats why I remembered her!). We always used to look forward to her classes. Another smarty lady was Girija mam, our English teach in class 6 and 7. Again a taller and duskier version of Mohapatra teacher. Bob haircut, always carefully dressed in saree, perfect pronunciation and a superb teacher. Unfortunately, both of them were poached by DPS which newly started in my city at that time. And sadly, we lost some of our very best teachers. 

Another of the iconic teachers in our school was Mrs. Nair, our history teacher. A towering figure, and a strict disciplinarian who believed in taking weekly tests, much to the agony of the students. I was her pet, hence the responsibility of anchoring oral tests was mine. I remember, my class fellows queuing up to me during interval with requests, "Pls ask me xyz question only". Mrs. Nair was originally from Kerala. And she had a daughter, about whom she used to speak often very fondly, may be she was studying in some distant land. Memory fails me at times. I wish, I can get in touch with them somehow and to acknowledge and thank them for the learning and their efforts in making the subjects come alive for all of us. 

A dear friend of mine during my school days, Pushpanjali... She was like my soul-sister. I lost touch with her as well. Why can't we have friends for life...why do we move cities...why do we have different set of friends for different phases in life...

Friends...come and go, but some names remain forever etched in our hearts and minds. And she was one of them.

The Broadway - A restaurant review

Gentle swaying breeze that ruffles your hair and a calmness that pervades the higher altitude. A glorious view of Bangalore’s skyline with glittering necklace in the form of light emanating from vehicular traffic. Visuals of miles of greenery from the adjacent defence land. This and much more, summed up my beautiful culinary experience at Broadway restaurant in HSR.
And I haven’t described the food experience yet! But ambience is crucial when you are shelling out some serious bucks! And the restaurant scores full on that aspect. The 4th Floor restaurant has a seating arrangement in the balcony as well and  encircles the entire set up and overlooks the flyover.

We ordered Chicken Manchow soup (My all time fav), chicken fried rice, chilly chicken and some kebab. All of it was absolutely delicious. The service was immaculate.

The Broadway definitely is on my top 10 list of restaurants in Bengaluru.

An ode to the hills...

During one of my recent visit to the hills, I chose to have a delayed breakfast on of the days and decided spend the morning enjoying the serene beauty of the place.

I glanced at the sky and saw the clouds floating and melting with each other, seemed so close, as if I could caress it with my bare fingers. There was a calmness in the environs, it was so silent that I could hear the grass grow and the pretty flowering creepers creating a whistling music when the breeze ruffled them. And here I was, sitting on the lush green lawn with a cuppa and the omnipotent kindle...reading a story about a Russian sleeper cell in US. An amazingly gripping novel, written by a first timer novelist, who happens to be an Ex-CIA agent. Hence it was extremely realistic with the right dosage of thrill. Ok, let me not digress here.

What is about the hills, that the moment you go there, you feel transported to another world and feel so much closer to heavens. When I was a kid, I used to always pick sea, when given a choice for trips. I never picked hills. With advancing years, I started becoming biased towards hills and picked serene places instead of the adventurous sea beaches. I somehow feel, the hills have the capacity to purify one's soul from the toxicity and monotony of the urbane world. The air is so pure up there, no wonder the britishers used to send their convalescing soldiers to hills. And that was the genesis of "Hill stations" in India. Actually, long before that, the Mughals also used to leverage the cool climate of Kashmir and other such places during the heartless Summers of India. And the britishers just followed that tradition. Whatever it is, we really owe big time to the hill stations of India, had it not been for them, there would be nothing to look forward to in our lives. Anyhow, I don't think, I have the right to complain much, as my city of abode, Bengaluru itself is blessed with a temperature of 23 degree centigrade most of the months. But you start to appreciate the value of such weather in places like Bhubaneswar and Kolkata where the heart is blistering and merciless. I have spend most of my life in Bhubaneswar, hence I have started to really value the weather of Bengaluru and at the hills nearby now after relocating here. You hardly ever sweat here, thats the beauty of this city. 

Anyways, enough of my Saturday morning pearls of wisdom...

As I look outside the windows...the drizzle continues and I see a beautiful pattern emerging on the small fish pond outside...as a lone duck swims by in the quest of breakfast, I feel the urge for another cup of ginger tea...

Dental visits, scary?! Naah, Not anymore!

I booked an appointment with Clove dental clinic (HSR, Sector 6)
couple of days back for a normal teeth cleaning procedure since I had been procrastinating this visit since eternity.
Doctor Parul Saxena did the procedure. So why am I writing about a normal dentist visit?! That’s because, after a long long time I finally got a feel of US healthcare, they way treat patients, the way explain the procedure and the entire rigmarole.

After returning from US, I was really not happy with Indian doctors behavior in general towards patients. They might be the best in the world, but when it comes to treating a patient with care and concern and not like a body, they have some learning to do.

But I got a pleasant surprise today, in the form of Dr. Parul! She was like a breath of fresh air, she explained the entire procedure elaborately while treating me with lot of respect and care. She was meticulous in her preparedness and approach. She also found out that there was a tiny cavity in one of my molars and proceeded to do the filling, while explaining the details of the process at each step. Even described the composition of the composite used for filling! I have seen only US based (Indian or otherwise) doctors do that. Such kind of extraordinary behavior and approach towards one s profession is really exemplary. I remember, once in US, I had to undergo a surgery and the anaesthesiologist described the process of anaesthesia administration in such details, even down to the exact minute when I will become drowsy!

So today I was completely bowled over with the entire experience. I would definitely recommend Doc.Parul to one and all. A very positive personality, smiling candid demeanour and finesse in her work. Wt more does one need in a doctor!! So no more scary dental visits!! Atleast for me!!

From Nazia's Kitchen...(Chilly Paneer)

How to make some amazing Chilly Paneer?!

Although I consider myself a Masterchef, I do take inspiration from just about anywhere to hone my culinary skills. Recently I came across a very simple recipe for Chilly Paneer. It tasted absolutely delicious, so thought of sharing with all of you.

Take two blocks of Paneer and cut it evenly into bite sized cubes. Season it with salt and pepper. Add two tablespoons of freshly ground ginger garlic paste. (Note, freshly ground, and not bottled one. Yes, that's one of the secrets behind the taste). To this, add 5 tablespoons of Amul fresh cream (Be generous). Mix it properly and let it rest for an hour in fridge.

Take a deep pan with some refined oil for frying the Paneer cubes. Fry the cubes till golden brown and keep it aside. In another pan, fry some finely chopped ginger garlic, spring onions, normal onions, capsicum. Add ketchup and soya sauce. Ensure the normal onion and capsicum is chopped roughly in big square pieces. Once the above mixture is cooked, add the fried paneer and garnish it with plenty of freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Thats it. Your Chilly Paneer is ready. Isn't it quite simple?! Enjoy!

Dindigul Thalappatti - A restaurant review

Ok. So I have been a bit infrequent in my blogs upload lately and I totally accept the blame.

It just happens sometimes, that one gets so caught up with the humdrum of life, that you just feel that life is passing you by and you would rather experience it than write about it.

And a restaurant review coming up!

Well, there is one restaurant in my newly adopted city Bangalore, which manages to make my heart flutter each time, I visit it. And this great place is called, "Dindigul Thalappakatti". It has its origins in the quaint town of Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. And recently they have opened up couple of counters in Bangalore. I usually frequent the one in HSR. Ok, so what's so great about it?! Yet another Nagarjuna reincarnated? (For the uninitiated, Nagarjuna happens to be my second favourite Biryani place in the town, and its Andhra cuisine, actually). Dindigul is famous for its Chicken/Mutton biryani. The flavour, aroma, spices, kind of rice grains they use and the quality of meat. Each and every aspect is top-notch. Service is super-fast. Ambience is Ok, don't expect a place that will transport you to a nirvana kind of place where you can introspect about the meaning of your life etc. Its a place where you can have delicious and soul-enriching food and that by itself is Nirvana enough, in my opinion :)

The popularity of the restaurant is immense, and there is a waiting time of minimum 30 minutes, especially in the evenings. Thats how crazy it gets during dinner time. Honestly speaking, I wouldn't mind waiting for even an hour if I get this kind of Biryani. I was privileged enough to visit the Dindigul restaurant in Chennai as well, and the quality is consistent. I was actually introduced to Dindigul, way back in 2015, when one of my closest friends in Chennai, Jerome and his lovely wife Bharti took me there for Dinner. I absolutely loved it and luckily got a chance to visit the Blore restaurant couple of months back after I relocated to this city and boy, was I mesmerised?! Yes, all over again!

I give it 5 stars! An absolute pleasure!

Princess for a day!

Recently I happened to win an AFE.

For the uninitiated, AFE stands for Awards for Excellence, the most prestigious Award in my organization. It is popularly called as Infy Oscars. Thats how important and huge it is.
Anyways, what I wanted to write about is actually my experience on the D-Day. The way I felt, when I went to office to collect my award along with my family.
As a run up to the actual event, lot of initiatives were planned. We (The winners) were added to a whatsapp group, wherein lot of interesting videos and snippets were posted about the event and chief guest. A video message from the Chief guest on the evening before the D-Day really charmed all of us. We showed that video to our families and that really set up the tempo for the gala event.

Pick up service was provided for the award winners, which was such a pleasant surprise. I did not avail it, but I am sure it would have been a great delight for the employees and their families. We land up in the campus dressed in our sharpest and received a warm welcome from the welcome crew at the Gate. The warm welcome was in the form of a Mysore Pak (A regional delicacy made out of gram flour and sugar etc). The golf cart dropped us at the building where the event was scheduled and we walked on the red carpet feeling no less than Hollywood stars! A high tea was organized for the winners and their families to bond with each other and other leaders present. An elaborate array of confectionaries were lined up for us which consisted of delicate pastries, muffins, savories and what not! An AFE Wall of fame was created, for us to click pics with the famed AFE Lady! The event started right on time and it was nothing less than a blitzkrieg. Moments passed away in a jiffy and soon it was my turn to get on the stage. As I climbed the stairs, the journey of past 9 years flashed in my mind's eye and a wave of nostalgia overpowered me. All the hard work, crazy hours, and rat/cat race whatever you call it....boiled down to this one moment...the ultimate AFE lady! As I wrapped my fingers around the slim and elegant trophy, I thanked in my heart...my parents who I am sure were praying for me and blessing me from the heavens above...my family who stood by me through the entire journey ... encouraging and rooting for me through ups and downs....my mentors who were my rock...and all the employees that I have interacted with over last decade...You made it possible, you made it happen...its all because of you only....

The evening ended with a lavish dinner in a beautiful decorated banquet hall. Everything was monogrammed with AFE signage, even the cute little coasters! It was meticulously planned and organized. Its been a humbling and memorable experience...a day to be cherished for ever...day I turned into a princess! An AFE princess!