I tread alone the dusty tracks,
The world no more a stage.
A dry relief, I see no greens,
Drops saline, count my age.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Bangalore exploration - Chapter 1: A first timer's guide to MG-Brigade Road
MG Road, everybody’s paradise. One is bound to make a discovery on every visit. No skyscrapers or archaic art to greet to, yet this place is well acclaimed in the tourist community. Branching off from this is Brigade Road and perpendicular to that, the Church Street. Together they form the best hangout destination in Bangalore. I am still at the infancy of exploration, yet seem to know so much. An autorickshaw will probably drop you at the Residency-Brigade junction or the MG-Brigade junction. I’m more familiar with the previous one. A shopping complex, not a very big one welcomes you on the left, the façade untidily clattered with advertisements. On purchasing garments, I found the plastic carry bags flaunting ‘Mota Royal Arcade’. And yes, in spite of the hue and cry, plastic bags are used profusely in Bangalore.
Amble along and there you are at the gates of ‘Rex’, one of the good, cheap cinema theatres in Bangalore. Keep ambling till you reach a kiosk, which would make a banarasi paanwala pompous. The dingy place is called ‘American Corner’. Yes you heard it right. And it sells the best ice-cream (after Corner House of course), in the vicinity. The best part - it’s very very cheap. Well, an ice-cream has now become inevitable on every visit to the place. A walk further would take you by some big showrooms. Big indeed, if you consider that the world’s biggest showroom of Arrow is here. Keep walking till you reach a by lane with a three storied red building in the corner. The lane in called Church Street, and the red building happens to be the biggest Levis showroom in Asia-Pacific and the second largest in the world. Retail has hit India and it has hit B’lore in a big way. Bangalore is home to some of the biggest showrooms in the world. The largest showroom of global lifestyle is here, so is that of Dockers. Levis has more than 70 outlets in Bangalore and plans to set up more. Consumerism is ramping up exorbitantly.
If one takes the footpath to the right, it would be a pleasant exploration of culinary delights. Pizza hut to Pizza Corner, Café Coffee Day to KFC, they are all here. I also happened to spot an 1856 embossed on an old dilapidated building amidst all the gaudy outlets. The brigade road merges ahead with the MG Road. The MG Road too is lined with noticeable edifices. A resent discovery of mine on this road has been the Indian Coffee House. Waiters in white uniforms and majestic turbans welcome you. The place offers coffee par excellence and with none on earth to bother you, it’s an ideal place for philosophical maniacs on the search for some tranquility. Well, this description holds true only for the upper floor. I would also suggest scrambled eggs with toast. I was introduced to this by a friend, and it scored as an instant favorite.
Church Street is one of those lanes along which one would love to stroll forever. Vendors line the sidewalks, their merchandise spread out on tarpaulins. Restaurants and Pubs are profuse. ‘Java City’ happens to be one of the favorite weekend hubs in this place. Live Jazz over some piping hot coffee can be really refreshing during idle weekend evenings. ‘Blossoms’ is the ideal destination for avid readers who want to save some bucks on their purchase. Coconut grove, an ethnic Malayali restaurant was where I was treated to dinner on my first outing. Another wonderful place. Waiters here are clad in green kurtas and white dhotis, wrapped around as a lungi. Try some pomfret with the usual appam. I forgot the tongue-twisting name of the dish.
As is apparent, this is a very crude overview of this majestic place and the best of my knowledge about this place so far. I look forward to adding lots of chapters to this.
Amble along and there you are at the gates of ‘Rex’, one of the good, cheap cinema theatres in Bangalore. Keep ambling till you reach a kiosk, which would make a banarasi paanwala pompous. The dingy place is called ‘American Corner’. Yes you heard it right. And it sells the best ice-cream (after Corner House of course), in the vicinity. The best part - it’s very very cheap. Well, an ice-cream has now become inevitable on every visit to the place. A walk further would take you by some big showrooms. Big indeed, if you consider that the world’s biggest showroom of Arrow is here. Keep walking till you reach a by lane with a three storied red building in the corner. The lane in called Church Street, and the red building happens to be the biggest Levis showroom in Asia-Pacific and the second largest in the world. Retail has hit India and it has hit B’lore in a big way. Bangalore is home to some of the biggest showrooms in the world. The largest showroom of global lifestyle is here, so is that of Dockers. Levis has more than 70 outlets in Bangalore and plans to set up more. Consumerism is ramping up exorbitantly.
If one takes the footpath to the right, it would be a pleasant exploration of culinary delights. Pizza hut to Pizza Corner, Café Coffee Day to KFC, they are all here. I also happened to spot an 1856 embossed on an old dilapidated building amidst all the gaudy outlets. The brigade road merges ahead with the MG Road. The MG Road too is lined with noticeable edifices. A resent discovery of mine on this road has been the Indian Coffee House. Waiters in white uniforms and majestic turbans welcome you. The place offers coffee par excellence and with none on earth to bother you, it’s an ideal place for philosophical maniacs on the search for some tranquility. Well, this description holds true only for the upper floor. I would also suggest scrambled eggs with toast. I was introduced to this by a friend, and it scored as an instant favorite.
Church Street is one of those lanes along which one would love to stroll forever. Vendors line the sidewalks, their merchandise spread out on tarpaulins. Restaurants and Pubs are profuse. ‘Java City’ happens to be one of the favorite weekend hubs in this place. Live Jazz over some piping hot coffee can be really refreshing during idle weekend evenings. ‘Blossoms’ is the ideal destination for avid readers who want to save some bucks on their purchase. Coconut grove, an ethnic Malayali restaurant was where I was treated to dinner on my first outing. Another wonderful place. Waiters here are clad in green kurtas and white dhotis, wrapped around as a lungi. Try some pomfret with the usual appam. I forgot the tongue-twisting name of the dish.
As is apparent, this is a very crude overview of this majestic place and the best of my knowledge about this place so far. I look forward to adding lots of chapters to this.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Life at 21
Life at 21 has a new meaning. Strangely, the entire perspective of life keeps changing as we move along. I no longer crave for those big cartons wrapped in colored papers or the festoons draping the walls, I no longer look forward to blowing the candles, or the greeting cards that follow. But somehow, I miss it all, the innocence especially. I miss the thrill of unwrapping my first Parker or the latest Hot Wheels set. I miss those forceful cuddles and hugs, as I desperately tried to get loose and explore the pile of gifts. I miss the day when I could get away with any tomfoolery, without a penalty to be paid. I miss the Paayesh that Maa used to prepare with utmost care for her darling son, or the huge cake that Baba used to bake. I miss putting the first piece of cake in my brother’s mouth, or the juvenile arguments we had over the ownership of a brand new GIJOE model gifted by someone.
Years passed, priorities changed. I now looked forward to my 16th birhday, when I would be getting my favorite pair of jean trousers or the ‘Metallica’ captioned T-shirt I had spotted in a showroom. That too was left far behind and soon, I was 18, butted into a new, unfamiliar year of my life. I was on my own now, everything at the disposal of my fancy. All shackles that had tied me down till now, lay broken. But I no longer fantasized the Parker or the T-shirt. The new life was my surprise gift. And I agreed with Bryan Adams more with each passing day.
Today I stand at the threshold of another year of my life. I turn 21 today. Perceptions have changed. Ideologies have changed. To start with there’s an ocean spread in front, and no compass to navigate. There’s no start or end, just a notion of it. As we go ahead with life, our longing to go back to the days gone by increases. Fleeting sparks of joy illuminate things momentarily, when we seem to be living the time of our lives, but soon all gets shrouded again. And that’s the case with most of us. At every step we regret the previous one; some regret it a little less, but regret is inevitable. That’s the common outlook towards life that every human has. We try to base our present on the past and the future on our present. And that has been human tradition and nature from time immemorial. Think! A more refined outlook can lead to a refreshed life. Let every rendezvous be the beginning of a new relationship, and every moment a fresh one without any consequences. Let every failure be an adventure and not a blame on life. And let every joy, however little be the reward of this new attitude towards the gift called life. I keep the faith, as I try.
Years passed, priorities changed. I now looked forward to my 16th birhday, when I would be getting my favorite pair of jean trousers or the ‘Metallica’ captioned T-shirt I had spotted in a showroom. That too was left far behind and soon, I was 18, butted into a new, unfamiliar year of my life. I was on my own now, everything at the disposal of my fancy. All shackles that had tied me down till now, lay broken. But I no longer fantasized the Parker or the T-shirt. The new life was my surprise gift. And I agreed with Bryan Adams more with each passing day.
Today I stand at the threshold of another year of my life. I turn 21 today. Perceptions have changed. Ideologies have changed. To start with there’s an ocean spread in front, and no compass to navigate. There’s no start or end, just a notion of it. As we go ahead with life, our longing to go back to the days gone by increases. Fleeting sparks of joy illuminate things momentarily, when we seem to be living the time of our lives, but soon all gets shrouded again. And that’s the case with most of us. At every step we regret the previous one; some regret it a little less, but regret is inevitable. That’s the common outlook towards life that every human has. We try to base our present on the past and the future on our present. And that has been human tradition and nature from time immemorial. Think! A more refined outlook can lead to a refreshed life. Let every rendezvous be the beginning of a new relationship, and every moment a fresh one without any consequences. Let every failure be an adventure and not a blame on life. And let every joy, however little be the reward of this new attitude towards the gift called life. I keep the faith, as I try.
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