Baker Street - Pondicherry

 Have you ever eaten a croissant, that transports you to heaven on a magical carpet of sensations that your taste buds never experienced before?

I had a similar experience sometime back at a bakery named, "Baker Street" in Pondicherry. I usually google the top 10 places to eat whenever I visit a new city and try to visit at least 5. Baker Street repeatedly came up on my searches and also on different youtube videos about Pondy. 

So I enter the bakery and I am pleasantly surprised at the huge rush during the non-peak hours. It was around 3ish. A sweet smell of sugar and vanilla pervades the atmosphere and I detect a glint in everyone's eye, as they browse through the exhaustive items on display. I have never been a big fan of bakery items, but after moving to BLR, I have developed a taste for Egg puffs and croissants. Iyengar bakery items are so good here. So I ordered a croissant and a chocolatine. A chocolatine is similar to croissant but with choco nuggets embedded in different flaky layers. Along with a cappuccino. It took almost 10 mins for my order to arrive. I am perplexed, as it should not take more than 2 minutes to nuke the items in microwave. But I ignore that line of thought so that I can focus on the food first.

I glance at the baked goods and even before I take the first bite, the aroma of the flakes envelopes my senses. I take a bite of the Chocolatine. My eyes close automatically, as the flaky layers break with a crunch and join harmoniously with my palate singing songs of delight. With each bite, I rise higher and higher as if I am floating on a cloud of puff. I don't want the experience to end, I don't want the croissant and Chocolatine ever to get over. But it does. And that too quite fast. Along with cappuccino, the gastronomical experience is just perfect. I am torn with the thoughts of how to carry this experience with me back to Bangalore. How do I carry the Croissants and Chocolatines, will it be as tasty and crispy as it is now? How many to take? 

I go there again the next day. My plans to visit Auroville gets tossed in the air. Baker Street is my Auroville. Baker Street is my Matri-mandir. I order a Chicken Burger along with the other stuff. The burger turns out to be the best burger of my life. Pure chicken it is, hardly any batter in it. I relish it as slowly as possible. So soft and juicy. I can't help myself but I finish it along with another croissant, even though I am stuffed to my gills after the buffet breakfast in the hotel. Then like a stroke of genius, a thought hits me. They do not microwave the stuff, they actually put it in an oven for 10 minutes, before serving. Thats why its so flaky and not soggy and soft. I order dozens of my favourite items and start my drive back to Bangalore after carefully stacking the boxes in the back seat.

I reach home and the first thing I do is to pre-heat the oven for 10 mins at 350 degree C. Then I carefully place the Chocolatine in it and turn on the heat for 10 minutes. Voila! It comes out exactly the same as served in the bakery. Super-flaky and crispy! And the chocolate nuggets have slightly melted and oozes out of the layers. Ahh, Nirvana! Once again!

Namma Bengaluru...

 Lately I have been hooked to Reddit like crazy, after my brother introduced me to this amazing platform where you can browse through interesting topics of your choice and enjoy/learn from the discussion threads, and here people most of the times genuinely share POVs that are well thought through.

So I came across too many threads on BLR bashing. People have been venting out how the city has become unlivable due to astronomical rents and pathetic roads etc.

I thought, let me jot down my POV as well.

I moved to BLR almost 4 years back for work. And to be honest, I have been in love with the city ever since. Let me not harp on traffic woes and real estate issues here, because they fade out when compared to the myriad pluses that this city has.

1. The amazing BLR climate :

    The temperature hovers between 18-27 degrees throughout the year mostly. Avg temperature of the day remains around 25 degrees. I am a person who hates hot and humid weather. Born in Odisha, I had gotten used to temperatures of 40 and above. After I moved to US for two years, I wished for the same climate once I got back to India. Little did I know, that my fate would take me to a city in India where I would enjoy US like climate all through the year. Due to the climate may be, whatever plants you get, they flourish beautifully. So the avid gardener in me, is really liking it here. You rarely sweat and you feel fresh through out the day.

2. Ahh the food scene in BLR :

    This is not a city where you can diet at all. With restaurants galore, you will be spoiled for choices. Ordering food from the plethora of restaurants is the biggest temptation once has to deal with on a daily basis. The biryanis [Andhra, Hyd, Tamil variants], Sharwarmas [Savoury is the best] and delectable Idli and dosas. I can write a separate blog just on the top 3 Idli places. [SN Refreshments in Jaya Nagar is my fav]. And the bonus is the Ramadan iftaari scene at Frazer town! 

3. BLR People :

    The people here are very honest, supportive and genuine. I never had a bad experience so far apart from few stray incidents with Cabs. After that I take cabs only if its a matter of life and death. I enjoy driving and I don't mind BLR traffic because, it gives me a chance to listen to my fav music and catch up with my friends on phone.

4. Shopping in BLR :

    99% of all my favourite brands are located here, so I have no reason to miss USA. With Bath and Bodyworks opening here, I can't imagine putting anything on my shopping list when I go to USA next.

The city has given me a feeling of being rooted after a long time. I found solace here and after a long time I am finally in a place, where I can be myself, where I don't find the need to be elsewhere...the city has embraced me with open arms and I can't just have enough of it. Love you BLR! Always!

The Columbus in me...

 Lately, I have become bit reluctant in experimenting new restaurants. Mostly because I want to inculcate the habit of eating home cooked food and also because, the rare occasions that I venture out I don't want to   get disappointed. Hence, I go to my dependable favourites. Either Nagarjuna or Dindigul Thalapakatti. These places are very consistent in their offerings and they always leave you feeling satisfied.

So the Columbus in me was crying to be set free and I had to bow down to the pressure. The mindless IG scrolling led me to an attractive and scrumptious reel of Kashmiri restaurant Parsa's in Koramangala. And one fine Friday evening, I made plans to try out the unknown.

After jostling through the crazy "happening" young crowd of Koramangala, I finally arrived at Parsa's, which is next door to Gilly's. The street welcomed me to thumping music and mild drizzles. I stood at the front of the restaurant Parsa's and it was like time had stopped. Dark interiors and depressing decor. The wallpaper had the interesting line on it, "Let us adore and endure".  That was the hint no. 1, which I blissfully ignored as the rumbles of hunger in my tummy were about to overtake my sensibilities. I had no inkling of what I was about to "endure". I bravely entered and found an empty table with okayish kinda seating arrangement. The restaurant was 20% occupied. That was hint no 2, which I failed to absorb. Why is this restaurant almost empty on a Friday evening?! I ordered Wazwan and another chicken dish. Wazwan was around 1200 bucks. Food arrived in 15 mins. 2 mutton meat ball dishes, 1 keema dish and another very chewy mutton curry with ordinary white rice. Everything was very average. May be a 4 on a scale of 10. The chicken curry was very dry as if its been taken out of fridge and just heated, without even turning it over. My jaws got a good exercise, after sometime I was tired of chewing and asked for the bill. It took them 20 mins to get the bill, card machine was not working. They were insisting on cash or paytm etc. I think, this place would be a good find for non-resident Kashmiris who are working or studying in BLR and craving the food from their state. It might help them relive the memories of their hometowns. Even if the food is far inferior to what they are accustomed to in Kashmir. But for people, who have a refined palate when it comes to Non-veg food and who want to get introduced to Kashmiri cuisine, I would not recommend this place to them. It will leave them scarred forever. 

Finally, after finishing the whole ordeal, I eagerly exited from the place, cursing myself and the Columbus in me, for being too adventurous!

The family on the Green Scooter

 Was browsing through the sad news of Stalwart Rahul Bajaj's demise on newspaper today. There was one article along with a pic of the famous ad in which a man is wiping the front of the scooter with a white washcloth. The green shade of the scooter is unique, darkest of the leafy green but not quite touching the olive zone.

The first scooter my Dad ever owned was Bajaj Chetak in the same dark green shade. I remember my mom narrating the story of how we saved pennies to purchase that scooter. In those days, scooter was a premier product and not easily available in Berhampur, Odisha. Much to our delight, one of my uncles helped us get it from Kolkata. Me, my sister and brother were tiny tots and used to reside in the coastal sleepy town of Berhampur which was just 30 odd kms from the now super-famous Gopalpur beach. And the first ride we ever took on the majestic Chetak was to this beach. What began after this was a series of most looked forward to happenings of our young life ; weekend picnics to the beach. I was the tiniest of the lot, hence used to stand infront of Dad holding the handle of the scooter squinting hard at the wind and trying to tame down my hair which turned into Einstein's infamous hairdo in minutes, while the rest of my family used to pile up behind. My bro sandwiched in between Mom and Dad & sis on my Mom's lap. The family on the Green Scooter! 

The sea held immense charm for us, the thrill of frolicking in the surf used to keep us excited the entire week long. Mom & Dad keeping an eye on us from afar sitting on the mat while sipping on the sugary chai sold by the hawker and we three kids going delirious with joy in the waves. And when we got too tired after our frolicking, we used to get treated with hot Samosas which we had carried with us from town. There were hardly any shops on the beach. Those were the times, when the Gopalpur beach was yet to bask in its share of fame which it duly received in subsequent years after the establishment of Mayfair chain of resorts there. 

This tradition continued for a long time till we kids outgrew the scooter ride. The dark green scooter gave way to light blue one after few years and many more after that. But those initial rides to Gopalpur beach on our trustworthy Chetak will forever remain etched in our memories. It was not just a scooter, it was our ticket to self-sufficiency, independence and progress in life. Not just for the little family on Green scooter in the tiny town of Berhampur but for the middle class of an entire nation.

Rahul Bajaj. May you rest in peace, wherever you are.

No goodbyes, pls!

 Lately I have been remembering my mother a lot. One of the reasons behind the rumination is the way she brought us up. How she managed her career and home with equal aplomb, juggling between the myriad tasks with so meagre resources at hand. We never had a cook at home. So she cooked all three meals for five of us at home each single day, with great love and care. She never cut corners by serving lazy breakfasts like cornflakes, oats, bread jam etc. So it used to be Paratha and fried egg for breakfast during our school days and nutritious veg curry with rice etc for lunch. Dinner used to be simple fare like roti and some veg item cooked and served to us kids before 8 PM. How she managed to do all this along with her career, I can never begin to fathom. Add to this the extra chore of washing our clothes. We welcomed washing machine very late in our lives may be in class 6th. She also took extra care in our grooming. We were always dressed in our very best, she being an amazing seamstress, stitched all out clothes in her sewing machine at home. Till class 12th, we wore frocks created by her only. Did I mention, she used to knit our sweaters as well?! Yes, she was a jack of all trades and master of most.

An ordinary lady would have cribbed & crashed after coming home from work. But did she ever complain?! Never. Always sociable and welcoming to all relatives and neighbours alike, she loved to play host and served lip smacking dishes. Her biryani was to die for and eclectic dishes like pudding etc still make my mouth water. In those days, we never had cable tv at home so our sources for entertainment were limited. But we never felt the need of that. Because, she used to come home from work and take us out for shopping and snacks. I still remember our fav joint Super Snax in Mayfair Rourkela, where she used to take us for Dosas and Ice-cream followed by shopping. And all this, after a full day of work and cooking, cleaning etc. She didn't drive so her work involved a minimum of 2 hours of commute each single day, changing multiple autos to reach college. [She was a professor] And then a bit of walking to reach the auto stand as well. And every day, she used to get something or the other to eat for us while returning home. My fav was Alu Chop. Hence mostly it used to be that or chowmein at times...

Sometimes when I return home from work and I feel so dead inside, hardly have the energy to make a cup of tea. Can never begin to imagine how she managed three kids clinging to her and demanding her attention all the time and she managing to exceed our expectations always...I see lot of mothers around me and I observe different parenting styles these days. But nothing or nobody comes even close to what she was or she did for us. Super-woman she was. In every sense of the word. I still remember her words so very vividly, "Don't ever mourn my death, don't ever ever shed a tear in my memory...It will hurt me the most. Always keep smiling...And then I will come in your dreams to communicate with you all."

A mother's love is like an ocean. It never ends or changes...even with a shift in realms. So I will not grieve, because I know... anything that we lose will come round in another form...sooner or later.