My post lockdown bucket list

So the lockdown is on and I see the hidden Nigella in everyone coming out in full bloom. All of us are forced to cook at home, hence we spent most of our free time on Pinterest searching for interesting recipes. 

As for me, I am a big foodie and I spent most of my waking hours talking and thinking about food. Its been 14 days, since I had restaurant food and I think this is the longest I have gone without eating outside food. My taste buds are craving road side pani-poori, chaat and Odia style Dahi bara. Wish I could take the next flight to Bhubaneswar and hog on the delicacies like Dahi bara with Alu Dum. I often find myself making a mental bucket list on the things I will do, post lockdown. 

1. Go to the tiny hole-in-the-wall Odia restaurant near Jagannath temple in HSR. Its named Chhapan bhog. And eat bara-ghoogni and chaat till I am ready to explode.

2. Go on a long drive to Murugan Idli in Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu) and hog on Podi Idlis.

3. Take the next flight to the foodie's paradise, Kolkata. And have the double egg chicken roll there. Also how can I forget the Chelo Kebabs at Peter Cat. Will also squeeze in some road-side Luchi with Chanar Dal. I will also go to Haldirams there and have a fill of the gudh ka sandesh.

The top 3 in my bucket list is all about food only. That goes on to prove how much of a foodie I am! 

4. Meet all my friends in BLR and ensure I continue to meet them once every month. (Non-Infy ones)

Infy ones anyways, I will get to meet in office everyday

Sigh...Hoping and praying for quicker lockdown end. May we get rid of the Covid virus soon. Amen.

Lockdown ramblings

Interesting how life gets transformed in a matter of hours.
Till yesterday, I could roam the world whenever I pleased.

Visiting a friend to catch up. 

Dropping in to a Fabindia to get a glimpse of their latest collection.

Driving to Forum to participate in the hustle-bustle of weekend revelries.

Picking up the latest best-seller from Landmark with a coffee in hand.

Missing family? Book the next flight to Kolkata.

Activities that seemed mundane and normal, have become a taboo now. 

March 12th was the day, when I went to one of fav places on earth last, ie., office. I crave for human company, but can only view them on video chat now. Work used to be fun, due to some great friends at work. Now I am not sure, when will I get to meet them next. WFH is so stressful,  long hours with hardly any break. Meal timings have gone for a toss. Confined to the four walls, home seems like a cage.

So what am I doing to keep my sanity intact? Apart from work, I am trying to spend some quality time with books. Have to finish "The Anarchy" this weekend. Its such a beautiful read replete with interesting details of the monstrous East India Company and its devilish plans to rule India. Just don't want it to end, hence reading slowly. William Dalrymple has proved yet again, that when it comes to history narratives, he is the ultimate best. I wish I could get my book signed by him...

I have become hyperactive on Insta. Posting pics of food, coffee and what not. Spoke to two of my very old besties last evening. Tasneem and Lucky.  Two most selfless and kind hearted people. They were such integral part of my life many years ago, and they continue to fill my life with such joy even today. Even a telephonic conversation with them is enough to fill my heart with warmth.

And I resolve to be more regular on my blog updates. Henceforth you will see more postings...more heartfelt conversations....more candid interfacing!

Till then, be engaged.

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...