Mundane Musings

So true When Sharan warned us that we had a ten minute walk from the road to reach his guest house in Hadathorai, Kotagiri, I was quite sure that he was exaggerating. The pictures he had posted did not evoke much confidence in me. They were predominantly of his wild garden and of the beautiful mountains around, but hardly of any of the bedrooms or bathrooms in the homestay. A ten minute walk to his guest house? Who was he kidding? Either this place was going to be a hole in the wall, I thought or it was going to be one hell of an experience. At the back of my mind though, I had some confidence in S’s choice of this place. He had a knack of picking up homestays and guest houses that were quaint/comfortable/superb and available for a song. This, he had picked up from Airbnb A magic of colours - Kotagiri So when we drove from Chennai, via Avinashi and picked up 50-something Sukumar, the guy taking care of the place, from the Kotagiri bus stand, I got th...

Did the chicken come first or the egg? Similar existential questions were asked in our Food Service Management class back in college. Will you patronize a restaurant regularly , because the food is good or because the service is good? There was always a possibility of a good debate when this question was thrown to us. Since we were in college and since budgets were virtually non-existent, our arguments had to be largely based on our experience of the college canteen food or of one of the affordable eateries dotting the road. It’s anyone’s guess that these places are notorious for repeat visits mainly due to lack of other options better suited to the pocket and…let’s face it… the rather unique experience. In other words, the ambiance and the ‘superlative’ service we were accorded.   I can’t forget the number of times we have sat in the sweltering heat of our college canteen, sharing one Pepsi and soggy bhelpuri among half a dozen of us. Our taste buds had not yet progressed fr...

Queen starts off with a scene that is rarely seen in Hindi cinemas these days. Rani (Queen), the protagonist, is dumped by her fiancé a mere two days before the wedding, that too at a coffee shop which advertises, “A lot can happen over coffee .” A lot does happen indeed, but not the way we expect – a tight slap on the guy’s smug face or with the girl walking off in a huff with the guilty guy walking behind her. Firstly, the guy is not smug; he is matter-of-fact and serious. Secondly, the girl is not the kind to slap people and make a scene. If anything, she is polite to a fault. Initially, Rani dismisses his words with an indulgent and shy smile; she thinks he is teasing her. But when she realizes that he is serious, we see how the news affects her. The camera lingers on Rani, on her pain and indecision, on her helplessness and probably having the black mark of a cancelled wedding. It’s all there on her face. There is no quick cut to the future, no background score to ...

Now that I have started to cook again after a brief hiatus, my blog posts on cooking should get filled up a bit and my camera skills should improve too. It's funny how I almost forgot how easy and satisfying it is to make mundane recipes. So I have started to record my exploits (ahem) in the kitchen and shall post a few recipes which I feel absolutely obliged to share. This thakkali rasam or tomato rasam recipe is mummy's, as is virtually most of the recipes I refer to for regular cooking.. What I love about this rasam is it's tangy taste from fresh tomatoes accompanied by the pungent taste of crushed garlic. Oh and how can I forget? I love it because it is so insanely easy to make and needs practically zero oil. One moment there I was boiling the tomatoes and the next moment I found myself seasoning the rasam. It took me probably 15 minutes to make this yummilicious concoction, despite not having a ready-made rasam powder and having to boil and cool the tomatoes. Ba...

Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day. Yeah, I know…do you even remember? It’s surely tempting to scoff the day, especially if you are single and cynical or if you are hitched and practical or perhaps if are a little of both. But there’s no denying the fact that like all festivals or occasions that have got hyped in the recent past, this day too has gained significance in recent times.Open the newspaper and there are ads galore for dinner deals and the perfect gifts, check the internet and you’ll need to waddle through a great deal of pink and red hearts and e-roses to get to any shopping site. There’s so much temptation all around. It takes a really, really cynical person to not get touched by the ‘love is in the air’ feeling. Haven’t we all at one point or the other given significance to this day? The day takes on a great deal of importance when: a)  you have someone you’d like to show your love to. This is the coolest opportunity. b)  when you nurse an unrequ...

A Happy New Year to you! And please wish me back, even though it’s a month late. Yeah, I need it. There have been plenty of happy New Years in the 35 years of my life on earth, and even the others were not really ‘sad’ as much as they were ‘non-happy.’ If you know what I mean. Like sitting up in the night, waiting for the clock to strike twelve so that you can go to sleep and tell your friends the next day that yeah, I did make an effort; I stayed awake and ushered the New Year in. Like, after the euphoria following the New Year, having life and day-to-day problems take over. Nothing remarkable happening that year other than the predictable stuff.  I cannot think of any one year that hasn't started off the way I have expected it to. Not even when dad expired on December 18 th of 2008, leaving us bereft and helpless. Every single New Year  in the recent past, had started off like usual – the anticipation – what will the new year be like, the excitement – wha...