Is Diwali losing its glow or it’s just me overreacting ??

By Malvi

If the traffic snarls are anything to go by, the Diwali fever has gripped the city. And all the popular and not so popular market places are flooded with Chinese lights, painted diyas, candles, colorful Lakshmi - Ganesh idols and all the Diwali paraphernalia.

Yesterday I finally decided to brave the triple C’s (Congested, Crowded & Clogged up) streets and markets to do my customary Diwali shopping of Diyas and other decorations for my humble dwelling. The Sarojini Nagar market is one of the major popular market places in festival times so I decided to begin there.

 But my enthusiasm got a hit as I (driving my ‘chottu’ car) was stuck in the traffic jam for more than an hour to reach Sarojini market which is just 10 minutes away from my office. The road blocks put up by the police to manage the heavy traffic (and also I think to ward off terrorist /bomb threats) were doing just the opposite with the roads clogged with thousands of cars.

After about an hour and half, I finally reached the marketplace with my fast depleting “festive enthusiasm” in tow. I plunged into the sea of people and started to look for the things I was planning to buy. After a hasty selection of whatever caught my fancy I battled the crowd and haggled (that’s very important!! ) with the vendors and managed to fill my shopping bags with a score of things whose importance dies out along with the drying out of oil in the last batch diyas on Diwali night.

The mad rush and fervour of the crowd was unimaginable in the market place with people forgetting about the teachings of Lord Rama! (for whom the festival Diwali is celebrated).  I was cursing myself mentally to have ventured to this place and by the end of my short shopping venture I felt like I had won a wrestling match.  We talk about ‘population explosion’ like a usual thing but the overcrowded markets in Diwali time made me realise what it actually is.

Reaching home after what seemed like and actually was …5 hours to be precise …my bravado subsided into the darkest corner of my heart with a wish to never come out of the place.

In the night, I questioned myself --- don’t the jazzy lights seem too bright and false, don’t the fire crackers bombard your ear drums, does'nt the smoke make you breathe heavily and the sweets too contaminated to eat? After all this what about the holy thoughts and worship which gave birth to this festival, is anybody thinking about that??

The Diwali glow seems to have been practically robbed by consumerism, over population and also 'vehicle explosion' in the country!!

By the way, Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali !! J

Marathi novel "Shala" - a review

Ambika

Shala. School. Once you leave its precincts, you long for its familiar comfort, angst and some robust rib-tickling fun. I was quite terrified at the prospect of meeting my old school friends at a reunion. And,why not? They have seen me in my worst and to a lesser extent best form. Warts, blemishes, scars, heart aches, heart breaks and failures...they know it all. And, the reunion did remind me that they still remember a few episodes which I had forgotten. Put together, school and the students have an elephantine memory!

And, so every time I need to reassure myself that 'all izzzz well' in my world, I turn to Shala – a novel written in Marathi by Milind Bokil. 

Maybe you have also read that the movie based on the novel fetched National Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi.

The movie has its moments, but I prefer reading the book. It brings back memories of the fumbling, bumbling innocence, the worldly-wise friends, teachers who drone on and on on (like duracell batteries), and that one special person who makes the brick and mortar building so inviting.

It's a tale of four friends, from a town/village located on the railway line connecting its denizens to Mumbai. It's set in 70s, right during the Emergency period. And, so you can go right back to your childhood (I wasn't born in the 70s, but I know the allure of playing chess and carom with your neighbours, when TV was a rarity).

Looking back it seems that life was so peaceful. But, was it really? There was tumult caused by monster-teachers (I do apologise, but some teachers do instil fear in students), fear of failure, fear of losing out on that special person and so many irritants that you wish to grow up and fork out your own path.

In these tumult and angst filled years, you also forge a deep and abiding friendship. For Shala's protagonist Joshi, he has his mama (uncle) as his friend, philosopher and guide. Young, suave, but level-headed he keeps his nephew on the straight and narrow path. And, fathers too can be surprisingly receptive about the going-ons in the school.

It's not really a feel-good book, but, yes, it does offer you a chance to look back on your school years and laugh at the private miseries that had threatened happiness and unleashed a flood of tears. It lets you become a teenager again, to commit mistakes and set them right and hope for a thriving future.

Swimming against the tide !!

Megha Manchanda

The inhibition, apprehension, nervous energy before starting something new is inevitable.  Everyone’s a bundle of nerves before venturing into a new territory and so was I when I went to take my very first swimming lesson. It all started with my friend Jaya telling me that she had learnt swimming – a skill she really wanted to acquire from a long time.

This propelled me to start my “R&D process” to search for a sports center near my workplace that also complemented my office timings. The YMCA sports center was zeroed in, which is just a stone’s throw away from my centrally located workplace. I also managed to cajole two other of my friends to enroll for the swimming classes with me.

Now the new task before us was the purchase of swimming gear (read costume, cap, goggles, water-proof cream etc.). So after some shop hopping and bargaining for the right (cost-effective) price (after all we Indians love haggling!!)  we managed to get the “right” kind of swimsuits  (suitable for Indian sensibilities… Phew!!)  for all of us.

And then came the D-Day (the first day of our class) and we all reached the sports complex bang on time for our first lesson. We dressed up (pun unintended) for the class, (of course after applying a couple of coats of the water-proof anti-tan lotion) and reached the pool. To our dismay, we realized being in our late twenties we were the “oldies” in a class full of 8-12 year olds.

Moreover, thanks to the summer vacations the pool was filled more with I, II and III graders than water (of course, pun intended!!!!). As I was trying to acclimatize myself with the water my foot slipped and I wobbled a little inside the water. And before I could get up I heard a 10-year old scream “Didi!!! Daro matt dooboge nahi, shallow hai” (don’t be scared you won’t drown the water’s shallow).

Till date this sentence resonates in my ears when I try to remember my first swimming class. Also, what I cannot forget is that it took me as long as 40 minutes to learn the simple flotation lesson on that very first day.

The recurring thought in my mind till the class lasted – Oh damn! I wish I had learnt this way back in school and by now I would have been a “pro” (I AM SURE!!!).

I must confess it is really embarrassing to be singled out in a class full of wacky (also read unruly, boisterous and wicked) kids and told by your coach that you should be a little more ‘serious’ in the class. While the pep talk was on the bell rang, declaring the end of the hour long class. Thankfully cutting short those embarrassing moments for me !!.

But while coming out from the pool, I promised myself that I will not leave this place without learning the sport. After nearly 20 classes I finally achieved what I had targeted. Wow…it still gives me a high to think about this (my successful achievement of a personal milestone !!)

When I look back and think about my first swimming class I can only say – “there’s always a first time and it’s never too late to learn something.” :)    

 Megha is a guest blogger for "Hangout with Coffee"

Fine dining at Fio, Garden of Five Senses!

- By Malvi

Having discovered Fio Restaurant from my internet search on food places in South Delhi, I decided to try it out with my friends for lunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The place is near to Saket metro station and there is a narrow road just next to the metro station which leads up to the Garden of Five Senses. The historic monument of "Kila Rai Pithoura" – the first city of Delhi is also at the entry of this approach road to the Garden.

The restaurant is inside the Garden of Five Senses premise so you have to buy the tickets for the garden to go to the restaurant.

The open air ambience of the restaurant appealed to me as we entered the premise. There is a decent sitting capacity in the open air and also inside the air conditioned enclosure. The decor is ethnic with a big Gujarati swing in one corner and stone benches with cushions for sitting in another. There is also the traditional table and chair sitting with pedestal fans all around to keep off the flies and mosquitoes.

 Although we had gone in the afternoon, the decor of lamps and hanging lights meant the place would be really coming alive in the evening for a cosy and romantic dinner for a couple and even for a small group of friends.

Tablet Menus !!

As it was really humid that day we decided to sit inside the AC enclosure. We sat in a cosy corner and the waiter bought us our menus. Surprise ...the menus are actually tablets with details of the food and beverages served with pictures of the dishes.

The menu includes Indian, Continental and Italian dishes with a decent drinks collection. We decided to order a chicken appetizer ‘pollo padella di most’ and for the main dish ‘Kosha murg’ with some butter garlic nans and steamed rice.The preparations were really delicious and stunned my taste buds :). 

Baked Blueberry Cheese Cake

For dessert, we ordered the ‘baked blueberry cheese cake’, which was looking really tempting in my tablet menu.

The amazing desert rounded up our meal but we lingered on to just absorb the nice ambiance of the place. A meal of two would cost you around Rs 2000/- but the place and food does justice to the cost.

After the hearty meal we decided to walk off some calories in the Garden of Five Senses with its well kept gardens replete with flowers and bushes. The Garden is a favorite of lovebirds too (i am talking about the human ones ;))  !!

So all in all, in my view it's a  must visit food place to celebrate your special day with close friends !

Reading books: A lost joie de vivre

-By Bipasha

Ever since my childhood, I remember books being an essential component in everyday conversations - be it be, aunties chatting over tea and biscuits or relatives getting together on special occasions or even my mum and dad catching up with each in midst of their everyday chores. My early memories of books were when the ever-generous maasis, aunties and uncles would gift me colorful story books and easy to read encyclopedias on their numerous visits and my birthdays! During each and every transfer order that my dad used to bring home, he used to also add one more packing carton for the new books in the collection. The rustlings of the old tattered pages while my mother sipping her morning cup of tea, the occasional dusting of the books, the memories associated with each book and my OCD of encasing each new acquisition of mine in cellophane are one of the many cherished occurrences of my life. However, in today’s fast paced world interspersed with casting ‘phrasey’ opinions on social media and BBMs, the romance of writing and reading have long gone.

Books were supposed to be one of the essential building blocks of a childhood instilling (whether knowingly or unknowingly) the virtues of patience, concentration and mnemonics. But in today’s technology-driven world, reading books have become passe. Video games, chats, twittering, FBing and BBming have taken over. Apparently social media usage among children expand their social horizons (as some of my friends have argued with me - but I doubt!) as opposed to reading a book in a corner, but my sense is that too much of the need for daily social acceptance has robbed us (not only the children) of spending time with our own selves and feeling comfortable with what we are. In fact, a recent research revealed that usage of excessive social media increases our sense of loneliness

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2419419/All-lonely-Facebook-friends-Study-shows-social-media-makes-MORE-lonely-unhappy-LESS-sociable.html)

We are constantly harangued by the need to fit in, gain approvals and cast opinions (again to get inroads into preferred cliques) that unknowingly creates an invisible stress around us. On the other hand, reading books not only enriches our repository of knowledge but also can bring about revolutionary changes in a person’s outlook. It increases our capacity to think, understand and imbibe new linguistic skills. And for children, it is important that they read books to acquire a good vocabulary, instill self confidence in writing and oration and hone creativity. And if these are not reasons enough for you to embrace the goodness of reading books, atleast keep in mind that ‘ a book is your best friend who accepts you for what you are and never asks you what you could be!’ 

Kash Kashmir!!!!

By Malvi & Bipasha

Unplanned and spontaneous trips have always been my cuppa of tea! So, one such spontaneous trip to ‘Paradise on Earth’ - Srinagar came as a breath of fresh air to my hubby and me who lead hectic 9-5 sorta lifestyles in Delhi. As opposed to serpentine traffic jams in the capital, we had a blissful flight over the snow clad mountains ranges to land in the beautiful valley of Kashmir. We got out to a very sunny morning with the temperature in its 20s.But believe me, it was much more magical (and romantic :)) than braving the smoggy cold in Delhi. So, for all u anti-winter kinds, Kashmir has a very endearing chill in the wind!

With the vast number of hotels available at Srinagar one can book at any of them depending upon your budget. We were booked at a hotel which was at the banks of river Jhelum and on the Bund Road. The Bund Road is known for the leisurely walks around the jhelum river and small tea stalls offering hot tea with double roti (bread pieces) .And though I am not big on street food, the magic in the air made me say ‘go to hell’ to all my weight management issues and hygiene concerns. We sipped chai and ate double roti with much fanfare!!!!! Of course, there are some pish-posh restaurants also in the city where they serve the traditional Kashmiri cuisines. One of the popular and old restaurants is ‘Ahdoos’ which offers exotic and mouth watering Kashmiri dishes like Gushtava, Kebabs, Kashmiri Yakhni, etc. The list is never ending with the more than 30 types of only-mutton dishes.

We were invited to a friend’s place for dinner where the food was so much that I couldn't eat all of it but whatever I tasted seemed heavenly.

After putting our stuff in the hotel, we went to the famous Dal Lake to enjoy a Shikara ride. Though the lake is not that clean as lakes in "Paradise" should be, the whole scenery of green mountains in the backdrop and the vast expanse of the water body surrounded by tall Chinar trees makes it really worthwhile.

A full hour's ride in the Dal Lake is a must to absorb the calm and quite into oneself and relax fully and prepare for this journey into the paradise. Believe me I was reminded of the famous ‘Kashmir ki kali’ song during the ride - and the experience made me feel like one too! An interesting sight is the group of four chinar trees growing serenely in the middle of the Dal lake, They are standing tall in the water itself..!! 

As the Shikara moves on prodded by the Shikara driver (don't know what else to call him) with his oars (heart shaped at the end), a small city of people living on house boasts greet us. These are actually hotels/houses on water in the shape of boats but they are stationary in the water. Some are really beautiful with wooden carvings on their exterior walls and chandeliers inside. The origin of houseboats seems to have begun in the 1800s when the king of Kashmir forbade outsiders from owning land in Kashmir.

The ride took us close to the lotuses blossoming in the lake and also the side where locals grow vegetables etc on the land protruding between the lake waters.

After experiencing the effervescent romance of the evergreen Shammi Kapoor movies in the 60s when all romantic songs were shot in the valley (and more so on the Dal Lake), I thought it was time for some 21st century adventure. After the Shikara, we went for the hot air balloon ride. This is actually a helium balloon which is tethered to the ground and is lifted up 350 feet to give a panoramic view of the Dal Lake and the entire Srinagar. Though a little scary due to the basket being dangled in the air, the view was amazing but it lasted only 5-8 mins as the balloon is pulled down in that time.

For nature lovers, there are remarkable mughal gardens in Srinagar namely -- Shalimar Garden, Nishat Bagh and Chashme Shahi. The array of colourful flowers in the gardens is amazing. The gardens are from the Mughal times and bear the mark of Mughal architecture including the waterfalls and fountains lining the length of the gardens. For enjoying these gardens you should have some time in hand to relax in the grass and take in the pure scents of the varied flowers.

Another must to see in Srinagar is the Sankaracharya temple for which one has to climb some 250 steps. The temple has a huge "Shivling" The view from the top is awesome with the entire Srinagar being laid out in front of you. You can only click a picture of the view in your minds as cameras and mobile are not allowed at the top. Another important destination in Srinagar is the Hazaratbal Shrine,it contains a relic, the Moi-e-Muqqadas, or a hair of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

So, all in all, Srinagar gave me an eclectic mix of undisturbed romance, unparalled scenic beauty, spiritual awareness and amazing hospitality. Pocketing all of this, we landed back to our home in Delhi but with a difference - the fast city life suddenly held some meaning!

Shuddh Desi Hypocrisy

By Ambika 

It has got the right atmospherics – the bustling beauty of the Gulabi city and the street smart dialogues. A cast of brilliant actors, spontaneous, spunky Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra), confused hero, Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput), lissome Tara (Vani Kapoor) and the delightful Goyal (Rishi Kapoor), set the screen on fire. But, mid-way the fire fizzles out.

It has been regarded as an effective snub to marriage, but frankly, the makers despite getting everything right, lose the plot. There's no effective, convincing stance on marriage versus non-marriage. When Raghu decides to get married on false premises – he boards a bus full of hired baratis – he really can't turn back at the end of the movie and say that the hypocrisy surrounding weddings has made him immune to the system. Oops! Spoiler moment! I revealed the end of the movie.

But, there is lot in between to keep you hooked; Goyal as the indulgent, stern and wise friend to Gayatri and Raghu. And, Gayatri herself, the no-nonsense, spirited and gutsy girl who carries hurt buried deep within herself. Raghu, as said earlier, is the confused hero, with no real issue against marriage and live-in relationship.

He gets both – a lover as well as a “wife” who cooks and clean for him. (He does share the duties with his girl, sometimes goaded into doing tasks and sometimes doing them willingly – just like husbands! Oops again! Remember marriage is a bad word here).

It's only when they head to the marriage pandal for phere that they escape via the bathroom. That becomes a momentous occasion, twice. You can guess the rest.

Oh yes! Vani Kapoor is refreshingly dewy faced and not a wallflower either. She is someone to watch out for!

- Ambika is a guest author for "HangoutwithCoffee" Blog 

How to spruce up your balcony?

-By Bipasha

In our busy urban lives, we hardly ever get time to sit relaxed on our porch or balcony to enjoy nature’s glory. Most of the times, our balconies (sometimes they are less spacious owing to our urban housing architectures) become places to dry clothes or hoard unwanted household items. So, here are a few tips to make your balcony look beautiful where you can hold your cozy drink get together or better still just sit and watch the world pass by!

Although my tips are for small-medium size balconies usually perched adjacent to bedrooms and sitting rooms in modern day high rises, but you can modify accordingly to suit the same for large balconies too!

First and foremost, if you really want to create a lounge effect, install blinds on the face of the balcony towards the road/other flats. Balcony blinds are easily available at reasonable prices these days. Alternatively, you can also use awnings to create a very ‘vintagey’ look. In this way, you not only protect your sitting area from sun and rains but also create a private space for yourself. Adorn the sides of the balcony with as many wind chimes as you want. Or, you can also hang small potted plants. Be careful that the hanging potted plants are not heavy so that they can support their weight. And if you are staying on higher floors, be sure to hang the potted plants on the inside of your balcony so that even they fall, they don’t prove to be fatal for someone walking or passing by below. Preferably, hanging potted plants should be those that flower so that it creates a kaleidoscope of colors!

 Next, create greenery around. Visit the nearest nursery and inquire about indoor plants. They help filter common volatile organic compounds apart from creating a beautiful atmosphere aesthetically. Palms and anthuriums are my personal favorites but you can explore with Pothos, Ferns and Bonsais. Creepers like Money Plant also add to the charm.

Now, buy good garden chairs or lounge chairs, if you please. My best bet is don’t crowd the sitting area too much and just buy a nice bamboo cane sofa. Adjust a small bamboo cane side table nearby. Use colorful and cheery colored bed sheets and lots of small cushions to deck up your sofa! Put a small sized book shelf on the other side of the sofa where you can house your favorite reads just a hand away!

Of course, based on the time that you have on your hand and the area of your balcony, you can try many things to spruce up this place. My suggestion is that keep it clutter free, easy to maintain (you don’t want to be moving too many things every morning and evening to clean up the balcony) and green!

Sports Bar - Game On “Nothing game about it!”

- By Bipasha

Sports bar, Game On (in Kharkhana Road, opposite Rickman Ventures, Secunderabad) has nothing much to rave about. Located in the heart of Secunderabad, I was really disheartened at seeing the entrance to the bar. It is on the floor above a jewellery store (the shopping complex or mini mall as you may want to call it) was itself in a dilapidated state. The stairs were dirty and the complex was quite ‘uninhabited’!

So after valet parking our vehicle, we proceed to the Sports Bar (which by the way is a stone’s throw away from another sports bar - Xtreme Sports). The decor inside is inundated with large billboard type pin ups of the Tendulkars (cricket dominated no doubt) and Rooneys on one side. There is a huge Man U emblem near the bar - got clickety click in front of this one!

JBL speakers all around and English music playing managed to break through the monotony. Oh, there is the bar - should have mentioned it first! The sitting arrangement was endearingly casual - a mix of sofas and bean bags. There was a bowling alley and a pool table (did not know that sports meant just these two!)- a huge disappointment considering the theme of the place.

Anyway, the menu card was eclectic - quick glance and you find pastas, Punjabi khana et al in the main course. Appetizers comprised a good collection too - I gorged on a bruschetta platter @ 179/- (which by the way was well prepared and served up with mayo and stir fried veggies on the side). My mocktail, Passion fruit on Ice (@199/-) was superbly prepared.

Amid hard drinks, there was a good collection of beers, wines, and scotch. But, but, but, the service was too relaxed. Euphemism aside, the service was so slow that we could not get past ordering the starters! It took almost 20-25 minutes for the drinks to arrive and another 10 minutes or so for the bruschetta platter to accompany the drinks - in my case, the mocktail was at its tail end when the appetizers came!

Anyway, it was a nice hangout for the young things - but if you are expecting an action filled sports bar experience, you can wait to get into this one on the nights that they have DJs playing. Maybe then, it would have been more fun!

Parks or Parking Areas??

 -by Malvi

The other day coming back from office in the evening I saw few kids playing in between the cars parked in the common space in front of our apartment in the DDA Society in which I live these days.

I called out to one of kids, my neighbour’s daughter, and asked her “why are you guys playing in the parking?? go to park you will have more space there..”

Her answer really sent me thinking. She said,” there is no park nearby, we play in this space between the cars or ride bicycles on the roads we don’t need much space.”

But is this right?? In my childhood I used to play my heart out in the big garden we had in our house or the huge open common playground of the society. I used to love the feel of the wind in my hair as I ran on the green grass and the leisurely after-dinner walks with my mom and dad.

But now, I realise that ‘shrinking parks and expanding parking areas’ have become a usual site to see in residential colonies of Delhi. With a four wheeler becoming a necessity for every middleclass household in Metro cities (may be even in tier I & Tier II cities) in the country the vehicular traffic seems to be rising faster than the human population.

 I live in a DDA residential society in Delhi which was built in the 80s and the architects in those times could not have envisaged the surge in four wheeler population in the next two decades. Thus, the garages provided with each apartment are for scooters and motorcycles only. With at least one car in each house today, the small parks and covered drains on roadsides are now being used as parking spaces. 

The small parks between every unit of apartments had been provided for children's recreation, walking and relaxing for adults. But now these small green patches (parks) are vanishing day by day to give way for parking of the four wheelers.

Even with visible crunch of parking space, car-crazy Indians don't stop at one vehicle per house. Look at me for example…buying a car was a top priority on my list and I feel like king once am behind the steering wheel of a four wheeler.

But this not a laughing matter!

Do I want my child to grow up playing between cars and running in the midst of a concrete jungle with no contact with the nature??

Stacker parking
Courtesy: carpakinglifts.in

While surfing on the net I came across a nice idea to save the fast diminishing free spaces in our colonies, that of a car stacker. It’s like double decker stacker with a hydraulic lift and two cars can be parked one on top of the other… so two cars in space of one.

This is my solution to this problem can you suggest some more solutions??

‘Waterrelief’ - Andaman Islands - (continued)

- by Bipasha

Day 3: We boarded the super luxury cruise Makruzz from Port Blair to proceed to Havelock islands - if the tragedies of the cellular jail haunt you, believe me the pristine waters and the modernistic tourist attractions of Havelock Islands will wash it all away. It was as if Kala Paani never existed! Scuba Diving, Speed Boat Rides, Snorkelling, Water Walking or just frolicking on the Havelock beach (known as Radha Nagar)under huge trees (yeah, the beach has rich plantations adding more romance to the waters) adds to the charm of the place. Also, for people who just want to enjoy the beach experience, my suggestion is you lodge at Havelock instead of Port Blair and spend the days there - you can find hotels, or just shacks brimming with tourists mostly foreigners. By the time we take the steamer (there is the service of a government steamer also available; we decided to try this one too!) back to Port Blair, the moon is already up and casting its light on the waters.

I’ll never forget the sharp sea winds brushing my hair, the salt in my face and the thrill of holding the railings of the steamer - things that I missed out on the luxury cruise! And all the time, the images of lovely corals (some as big as a house), and multi colored fish did not leave me. The day ended on a even higher note with a romantic dinner at Welcome Group’s Mandalay restaurant.

Day 4: The day was spent in a guided tour (again a steamer from Port Blair - there are limited number of guided tours on steamers so you don’t want to miss them!) to three islands Ross Island (the British era capital), North Bay Islands and Viper Island. Ross Island is out of a Dauphne Du Maurier book - the island is so small that you can take a walk and complete a tour on it! The island was the British capital so it still holds the ruins of the officers’ quarters, the mess, the club etc. You can see the cellular jail from the island and it seemed pretty near! North Bay Islands is a beach getaway (you can do a glass boat ride wherein you can see amazing corals and colorful fish from the glass at the bottom of the boat or you can snorkel. North Bay island’s beach and the corals were largely washed away in the Tsunami and the beach had to be recreated using the corals in the sea bed. Hence, the locals say, that a lot of beautiful corals were lost during that time. We proceed further on the steamer to Viper Islands - on the way, we see India’s only FDN1 or Navy’s floating dry dock which is used for repairing entire ships in the middle of the sea! Our last stop of the day, the Viper Island, had a macabre history - it was the house of the ‘hanging rod’ where several freedom fighters met their deadly fate - again you can see glimpses of British-time military establishments there.

Day 5: We took a steamer ride to Jolly Boy islands - this time, we could see mangroves all around. Both the islands were prettily placed in the mangroves. The waters were so clear that you can see shoals of fish swimming while you stand on the beach! Our guide told us that there is an island from where you can see the sky lights of Singapore!

Day 6: We took a taxi ride to Chatham Islands from Port Blair - it is the only island that you can reach via road. It boasts of the oldest saw mill from the British times - and what an amazing experience that was! You can get a tour of the museum there and the mill of course.

It was a short action packed trip - for lazy holidaymakers, you can laze around in Havelock Islands because it offers the entire package of snorkeling, scuba (Havelock is the only island offering scuba diving) and beach walking. But I wanted to explore everything in Andamans (of course I was not party to the human safari of the Jarawa tribes).

Rightly so, I absorbed the macabre history full of imprisonments, killings,and captures , the beautiful present (full of modern beach sports, pristine aqua green waters and lovely steamer rides) and a promising future! More than half of the islands of the Andaman archipelago are out of bounds. Locals say that some islands are 2-3 day rides on the waters and many are uninhabited. On the other hand, some islands are under the control of the Indian defense forces for security purposes.

Qorma and Crowd – A trip to Old Delhi

-      By Sunandita

A visit to Old Delhi during the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan is a must if you are a food connoisseur and do not shy away from either meat or gravy with oil content high enough to trigger an invasion by a superpower.

As I am a ‘shudh’ non-vegetarian and do not think much about what oily food can do your stomach or heart, on the day before Eid I ventured out for a trip to the area near the iconic Jama Masjid. The congested locality houses a bunch of well-known restaurants, the most famous of them being the Karim Hotel and Al-Jawahar.

Trying to avoid endless traffic jams and serious parking issues in the older part of the city, me and two of my friends took a Metro to Chawri Bazar station. From the Metro station, you can get a rickshaw which will take you through the busy old Delhi lanes to your destination. But beware! Don’t dare undertake this treacherous journey if you are in a hurry or allergic to chaos. Your rickshaw-puller, like the driver of the Knight Bus in Harry Potter-3, will manoeuvre through thousands of other rickshaws, cars and what-not while cycle vans carrying huge load will partially block your path from both sides.

I anticipated that the lane housing the restaurants will be crowded as it was the day before Eid. And how crowded it was! We jostled through hoards of last-minute shoppers and ‘sawaiyan’ buyers to reach Al-Jawahar restaurant. Situated just beside the by-lane of Karim Hotel , it attracts a large number of food revellers despite being less famous than its illustrious neighbour.

Rather than going for exotic-sounding names like Chicken Jehangiri, we selected the tried and tasted Mutton Qorma and Roomali Roti for the main course.

As starters, we ordered half a plate of Chicken Afghani. The juicy and tender pieces aroused our taste buds, while the delicious Mutton Qorma that followed soon after made us savour every bit. As accompaniment, I personally like Roomali Roti more than Tandoori but don’t know if the Lucknawi Paratha, an oilier and softer version of Roomali, is sold in any Chandni Chowk restaurant. (You get that in Jamia Nagar, though)

A word of caution: If you want your restaurant to have hi-fi ambience and super-cleanliness, do not eat near Jama Masjid. But please note the positive aspect. The price of food here is quite low compared to most parts of Delhi. Food for three plus coke plus water bottles cost us only Rs 525, which left enough money in our wallets to tuck in sweet and tasty ‘phirni’ in traditional flat ‘kulhads’ from the footpath.

So, if you are ready to brave the chaos, you will be aptly rewarded in old Delhi. :D 

Those Pricey Thakur Girls

-      by Malvi

Anuja Chauhan's latest work “Those Pricey Thakur Girls" takes you back in the 80s era  in Lutyens’ Delhi. The author maintains a simple prose but keeps the readers engrossed in the built up to the climax of the story.

For romantic fools like me, the Jane Austenish touch to an Indian story, made me read it more avidly. I know it’s the plain old love story with its twists and turns but Chauhan brings that extra zing to the story which kept me captivated till the last page.

The story gives a strong nostalgic feeling for those who remember the Doordarshan days when Newsreaders were celebrities !  remember Salma Sultan with the customary rose in her hair, Shammi Narang, Usha Albuquerque etc??

In short, it’s a nicely roped in story involving a family saga set amid the pre-liberation era with tense political situation of that time including the Anti-Defamation Bill, the ’84 riot and the strict restrictions on the freedom of press. In those times, Doordarshan was the only channel available on TV and print media (newspapers etc) was the main source of news on the political and other fronts.

 If you want to know the story line, it’s like this: the Thakur family with a retired judge and his five daughters named in alphabetical order. The black sheep of the family, Debjani, is the protagonist and the love of her life is Dylan Singh Shekhawat, an investigative journalist. The author’s description of Dylan is the answer to every girl’s imagination of a perfect prince. Chauhan has done justice in building up the varied characters in the story including the entertaining nick-nacks and funny bickering among family members.

And the good news is that Chauhan has planned this book to be the first in series of books on the Thakur clan.

All in all, a sassily told tale with a heavy topping of wit, humour and emotions made it a really nice book to read. Mind you don’t compare it with a literary fiction, as this one’s an out and out rom-com !!

Agra ka ‘Amrood’

-          By Sunandita

“Hey Sunandita, look here! You won’t get a better quality than this.”

I was standing in front the majestic principal entrance of the Agra Fort, looking in admiration at the huge structure, trying to soak in the air of history and old-world charm when the sound of my name jerked me back to reality.

My friend-cum-colleague-cum-roommate-cum tour companion Sukanya must also have found the 70-ft high red sandstone fort as impressive as I have, I thought. But what does she mean by “quality”? I must have heard her wrong. I turned back, only to be in for a surprise!

Agra Fort

She has gone opposite the road and completely ignoring the fort, is immersed in admiring the “beauty” of some yellowish-green guavas being sold on a “thela”.

“Hahahahahaha...hohohohoho.. I mean, I know all about your craze for guavas, but come on! You are in front of the Agra Fort and all you can see is this?”

“Don’t be stupid!” she snapped. “Where has it been written that you cannot buy fruits in front of this fort?”

And we both broke into peals of laughter, evoking reproachful glances from some elderly members of our tour party, who must be wondering what these two young girls are up to, coming for an Agra-Mathura-Vrindavan trip from Delhi without any guardian or male companion.

It’s been 10 years since we went into that tour, our maiden “ladies’-day-out” adventure, which was followed by a fair few in the next few years but none of them was as thrilling because Agra visit was our first taste of freedom. And for some reason, the first thing I remember is the “Amrood episode”!

But there were plenty of other things to remember too. How we planned for days, finally managed to secure our weekly-offs on the same day, booked a trip with one of the lesser-known travel agencies because the famous ones were too costly, how we ran to catch the bus from Eros cinema hall near our rented flat at 6 am in an winter morning, amid thick fog, myself clad in my new jacket bought from CP (Feeling foolishly happy that I now earn enough to spend 900 bucks on a item of clothing) and how the elderly conductor-cum-guide took special care of us all through the journey as we two were “alone”.

The journey was smooth, the aloo parathas consumed in the midway dhaba delicious and the feeling that I am soon going to have the first glimpse of Taj Mahal made me giddy with excitement.

Though, I hope nobody sues for saying this, later I found that Agra Fort, which was our second stop in the journey, is much more interesting.

Don’t get me wrong! I mean, the Taj was unimaginably enormous, still pearly-white despite the talk of “yellowing”, vast in expanse and full of amazingly intricate designs. You cannot but feel dwarfed standing in front of the monument which you have seen so many times in books and television. However, I also felt a certain chill, a feeling of aloofness in the air, probably because, all said and done, it is a mausoleum. On the other hand, the Agra Fort -- with its Jahangiri and Akbari mahals, its stairs and gardens, diwan-e-aam and diwan-e-khaas, sheesh mahal, cell of the old dethroned king who sat there staring at the memorial he built for his wife across the Yamuna -- is much more alive and seeped in history. Or so I had felt.

From Agra, our bus went to the magnificent Krishna Janambhoomi Temple at Mathura, reaching just in time for the evening “aarti”. The idol was very beautiful and the darshan left me feel blessed. However, when we started from there after having a glimpse of the “garbha-griha” where Lord Krishna was said to have been born, it was already too late in the evening and probably that’s why, we were taken to only one temple in Vrindavan. It was small and marbled, bold letters in the wall proclaiming it as a “pracheen mandir”, but to be frank, it did not seem that old. But by then, we were too tired to think much about that.

We were dropped near our home at 1 am and ran inside, amid shivers and chatter of teeth. Next day, we saw in the papers that it was the coldest day of the season in Delhi, with mercury dropping to 2 degree Celsius.

P.S.: We had also bought some ‘Amroods’ from the vendor in front of the Fort J

‘Waterrelief’ - Andaman Islands

-by Bipasha

Andaman Islands (it’s an archipelago of around 325 islands) was a surprise holiday destination for me and a good one too! It was a holiday long pending and my spouse and I wanted to visit a destination which is not overtly ‘touristy’! You know what I mean - did not want to go to overcrowded hill stations (we Delhiites rush to Shimla or Kulu at the drop of the hat) or beaches where we knew it had to be again a mad rush for ‘holiday resources’!

Anyway, we reached Port Blair on day 1 (flights ply from Delhi to Port Blair via Kolkata or Chennai) and checked into a picturesque guest room (of the Indian Air Force). 

Surprisingly, Andaman has a tri-force command and my suggestion is if you have strings to pull, put up in a guest room of Army, navy or Air Force because they enjoy the best locations! We started our tour of the capital city of Port Blair in the evening - it was a beautiful drive along meandering roads (going suddenly up and then sloping down just to catch the glimpse of the sea!) dotted with British-era houses, few restaurants and small shops.

The Port Blair beach is secluded and lonesome - we took a casual walk and stumbled upon a little romantic eat-and-stay place right on the beach. 

Day 2 : We visited the Cellular Jail (it is called so because of the concept of solitary confinement) or the Kaala Pani - one of the most dreaded seclusions that a person in those times could ask for.

However, the architecture really amazed me - it was L-shaped so that each cell could be visible to the warden from his position. Great freedom fighters like Veer Savarkar (the Port Blair airport is named after him) and Bukteshwar Dutt were inmates there. There is a list of more than 200 freedom fighters on the board there! You can also visit the museum adjacent to the jail where it gives you an idea of the kind of lives the freedom fighters led.

There are several other places to visit in Port Blair such as the Fisheries Museum or you can simply laze around on the beach......

(to be continued next week )

Nehru Memorial - museum of neglect?

- by Malvi

After living in Delhi for more than nine years, this month I finally got an opportunity to visit the famous Nehru Memorial Museum at Teen Murti Bhavan.

I wanted to revisit my memories of the place which I had seen in my childhood during a “Delhi-Darshan” tour in my summer holidays. The Teen Murti Bhavan with its well-kept gardens is inviting and I entered the huge iron gates to begin my tour of the museum.

The place houses some personal artifacts of India’s First Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and showcases his life and works during the struggle for India's independence. Nehru's ideas and life as well as different aspects of the Indian freedom movement are portrayed in the Museum. The Teen Murti Bhavan had been home to Nehru for around 16 years after he became country’s Prime Minister and until he passed away in 1964.

In the ground floor room, Nehru’s South Block office in the Ministry of External Affairs has been recreated with the same furniture and other articles he used. On the first floor, some of the rooms, such as Nehru's bedroom, the drawing-room and study have been preserved as they were during his lifetime which gives a very interesting glimpse of Nehru’s life. Like the narrow single bed on which he took his last breathe his study/Library with a huge collection of old and classic books still preserved.

Details of modern and contemporary Indian history are displayed in such a manner that visitors walking through the galleries are led through the many phases of India's colonial and post-colonial history and our freedom struggle, spanning nearly a century and a half.

However, as you progress in the rooms which showcase some historic documents and pictures of pre-Independence and post-Independence days, I felt as if an air of neglect had en-wrapped these priceless artifacts and photographs.

It was really disheartening to see the condition of the historic picture of Pandit Nehru welcoming the first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad in 1950.

The picture has been scratched by somebody and the notice boards on which the photographs have been mounted have a torn and faded cloth.  Seeing the pictures of such great importance of our post-Independence history showcased in such a condition made me sad!

Similar wear and tear is visible in the next two rooms which house the laminated pictures and historic documents including manuscripts and newspaper headlines of big events in the post-Independence era. 

There is no dearth of visitors to the place and even school children are brought in study tours. But the neglected showcases are not being able to hold the attention of the visitors, who rush through the rooms as if walking on a busy street.  Moreover, some visitors even spoil the artifacts in the absence of adequate number of overseers and guides and an interactive museum model, which was evident in the scratches inflicted on the Nehru-Prasad photograph.

On the positive side, the interesting display of life-size mannequins recreating the Central Hall of Parliament on the midnight of 14-15 August 1947 showing the figure of Jawaharlal Nehru delivering the 'Tryst with Destiny' speech' in the presence of other members of the Parliament gives a real-time glimpse of the momentous day.

There is no doubting the efforts of people involved in visualizing and creation  of the Nehru Memorial as a prominent reminder of our valuable history, but we should not let it  slip away into the hands of neglect.