Well, well, well, after my best chai story here I am with another scoop in yet another edition of my rather irregular blog. This time it's going to be music for your ears especially if they are rather partial to quality sound.
After listening to the Sony's, Onkyo's and Bose's of the world get ready to be introduced to the best value for money sound being manufactured right here in apna Delhi.
Handcrafted under the personal supervision of Mr Nakra, whom me and my partner fondly refer to as the Bose-Einstien condensate (he seems a bit of a genius to us) Enbee systems do not have jewels or cubes to boast of but they deliver on one place where it matters most - bang for your buck.
Till date everyone's who's been to a party at our house says a good word about the music system (and ours is 1984 old). Guess how many times has it been serviced in all these years - 0.
Anyway the reason why I am writing this now is the happy conversion of one of my good friends from Mass Comm (who spends half his life in a sound studio so clearly knows what it ought to be) who has just picked up an Enbee for himself. It's not that Bose is not good he said but this quality at this price is simply amazing. That leaves me personally thrilled for some reason.
If you'd like to contact Mr Nakra, visit him or buy an Enbee system of your own leave a comment on this Blog and I'll pass on the details. But hurry, he's in semi-retirement mode and may soon stop making these glorious beauties after all. And that will be one big loss for music-kind!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Does shaadi.com really work for 30+ or the second time?
Given that arranged marriages are the de facto way people get married (and it doesn't work quite as well when you're 30+ or trying the second time around) finding a way to connect the once bitten or marriage shy is both a challenge and an opportunity.
One would think the age new mate engines (sites like shaadi.com) would work well but one look at the 30+ profiles and I quickly logged off for a good couple of months (err I might have to go back though).
It's not the websites fault - it's us.
Seems no one in India splits until they were somehow trapped into marrying the nightmare of their dreams. Every second profile screams "Innocent divorcee" almost like it's some kind of desirable educational qualification. Really?? I wonder. Is there anyone out there who could be kinda repentent but better for the experience. I mean to me that sounds much more acceptable, don't you think! "Innocent..." is probably an invention of the same people who brought you descriptions like "wheatish girl, convent educated from respectable family, BA pass... " the first time around. Well the latter I could use to describe myself partially but never would (you know what I mean?)..so"innocent divorcee"...no way (even if you were taken for a ride)
But till then do people like me have much choice but to browse the likes of Shaadi: I mean one can't expect to run into prospects in a bar in Delhi, or does it happen all the time (and I'm the dummy)?
30 + singles / divorcees out there - your comments please!!!
One would think the age new mate engines (sites like shaadi.com) would work well but one look at the 30+ profiles and I quickly logged off for a good couple of months (err I might have to go back though).
It's not the websites fault - it's us.
Seems no one in India splits until they were somehow trapped into marrying the nightmare of their dreams. Every second profile screams "Innocent divorcee" almost like it's some kind of desirable educational qualification. Really?? I wonder. Is there anyone out there who could be kinda repentent but better for the experience. I mean to me that sounds much more acceptable, don't you think! "Innocent..." is probably an invention of the same people who brought you descriptions like "wheatish girl, convent educated from respectable family, BA pass... " the first time around. Well the latter I could use to describe myself partially but never would (you know what I mean?)..so"innocent divorcee"...no way (even if you were taken for a ride)
But till then do people like me have much choice but to browse the likes of Shaadi: I mean one can't expect to run into prospects in a bar in Delhi, or does it happen all the time (and I'm the dummy)?
30 + singles / divorcees out there - your comments please!!!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Rudali and other movies below poverty line
Why do they make movies like Rudali? Is rural India really so violent and inhuman as they portray it to be?
After a late night TV session these questions come to my mind.
It's just maddenning how Dimple Kapadia is treated by her fellow villagers. You never see any man being sympathetic to her throughout her life which the movie revolves around. And abuses are showered on her left, right and centre as if her life depends on them.
Disgusting!
Reminds me of Lajja, the movie where just about any violent crime you could do against a woman was committed ending with the brutal murder of Rekha for a fault of her sons (falling in love with a woman above his social standing).
I know parts of rural India are dangerous but surely this is not the universal picture.
And so I hate such exaggerated versions of real India, despite all the great acting and stuff.
Besides leaving me all sad for the night, these movies do make me wonder if I am being unfair in being as demanding as I am from my life?
Is my living in this corporate suburb of Delhi an act quite sinfully luxurious for the other India? And more important - is there going to be a pay day - my own personal 9/11?
I shudder with fear. And tell myself to focus on happy things. Like the weather which is getting increasingly pleasant.
What else can I do - the time to donate my vast personal fortune to a "developmental" cause is yet to come.
After a late night TV session these questions come to my mind.
It's just maddenning how Dimple Kapadia is treated by her fellow villagers. You never see any man being sympathetic to her throughout her life which the movie revolves around. And abuses are showered on her left, right and centre as if her life depends on them.
Disgusting!
Reminds me of Lajja, the movie where just about any violent crime you could do against a woman was committed ending with the brutal murder of Rekha for a fault of her sons (falling in love with a woman above his social standing).
I know parts of rural India are dangerous but surely this is not the universal picture.
And so I hate such exaggerated versions of real India, despite all the great acting and stuff.
Besides leaving me all sad for the night, these movies do make me wonder if I am being unfair in being as demanding as I am from my life?
Is my living in this corporate suburb of Delhi an act quite sinfully luxurious for the other India? And more important - is there going to be a pay day - my own personal 9/11?
I shudder with fear. And tell myself to focus on happy things. Like the weather which is getting increasingly pleasant.
What else can I do - the time to donate my vast personal fortune to a "developmental" cause is yet to come.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
The best tea in the world that doesn't cost a bomb!
Thanks to modern dispensing machines, most corporate offices do a shitty job of tea even as the coffee is great. If you like drinking tea, home is the best place to indulge but here too conditions vary and the outcome is well not always as great as it could be.
When I started living on my own, making tea seemed such a time consuming task that I thought I'd give up my long time favorite beverage for life.
To make things simpler, I tried a popular brand of tea bags named after the monument that is now a new wonder of the world but to no avail. It was barely drinkable, and to my solitary self not worth even the little effort putting it together entailed.
So my tea less days started, till I figured how to make the perfect cup that cheers, that too in a rather simple way. Here's the recipe for you:
Step 1. Start with the best tea in the world. Now "best" is of course a relative term but so far my favorite from experience is a brand called simply Lopchu (why did they name it Lopchu? I have no clue!). It's not exactly a mainstream brand even in India where tea lovers abound. But it is widely available nevertheless.
(Just in case you're wondering - Lopchu is not one of those luxury teas that come in a wooden box that you pay a bomb for and then are completely let down by - you know the stuff you can't even add milk to coz it's so light!)
I use the Lopchu blue box which is INR 100 (approx 2.25 USD) for 250 grams.
Step 2. Boil a cuppa water on a gas stove. Add a tablespoon of Lopchu. You can add ginger or cardamom too at this stage if you like. Switch off the gas, cover the utensil with a lid and let it stand for about 4-5 minutes.
Step 3. Heat 1/8th glass of milk in a microwave (should be done in 45 seconds or less).
Step 4. Pour the tea in a cup, followed by milk (the less the better).
Step5. Add sugar to taste and enjoy a sip of heaven!
When I started living on my own, making tea seemed such a time consuming task that I thought I'd give up my long time favorite beverage for life.
To make things simpler, I tried a popular brand of tea bags named after the monument that is now a new wonder of the world but to no avail. It was barely drinkable, and to my solitary self not worth even the little effort putting it together entailed.
So my tea less days started, till I figured how to make the perfect cup that cheers, that too in a rather simple way. Here's the recipe for you:
Step 1. Start with the best tea in the world. Now "best" is of course a relative term but so far my favorite from experience is a brand called simply Lopchu (why did they name it Lopchu? I have no clue!). It's not exactly a mainstream brand even in India where tea lovers abound. But it is widely available nevertheless.
(Just in case you're wondering - Lopchu is not one of those luxury teas that come in a wooden box that you pay a bomb for and then are completely let down by - you know the stuff you can't even add milk to coz it's so light!)
I use the Lopchu blue box which is INR 100 (approx 2.25 USD) for 250 grams.
Step 2. Boil a cuppa water on a gas stove. Add a tablespoon of Lopchu. You can add ginger or cardamom too at this stage if you like. Switch off the gas, cover the utensil with a lid and let it stand for about 4-5 minutes.
Step 3. Heat 1/8th glass of milk in a microwave (should be done in 45 seconds or less).
Step 4. Pour the tea in a cup, followed by milk (the less the better).
Step5. Add sugar to taste and enjoy a sip of heaven!
Blogger's Manifesto
After the initial euphoria of just being able to blog (and publish one's raves and rants for the world to see) I must start to give this affair some direction. Specially if I hope to attract a regular readership (which I do).
So here is my Blogger's Manifesto:
A specter is haunting the Internet. A specter of a world where no one's lonely for everyone has at least one friend - in this blog.
A virtual companion who shares experiences, opinions, tips, tricks and whatever else that such companions do, this blog may be described as a Tamagotchi for the connected.
You could be cold or hot, geeky or squeaky (excuse my rhyme), old or young, famous or unsung - the idea is to form a connection with you and the 365,893,994 other English speaking internet users out there.
If the writing in this blog touches a chord somewhere, encourages you to react, helps you feel connected, reinforces something you felt and makes you come back for more then the purpose is served.
So here is my Blogger's Manifesto:
A specter is haunting the Internet. A specter of a world where no one's lonely for everyone has at least one friend - in this blog.
A virtual companion who shares experiences, opinions, tips, tricks and whatever else that such companions do, this blog may be described as a Tamagotchi for the connected.
You could be cold or hot, geeky or squeaky (excuse my rhyme), old or young, famous or unsung - the idea is to form a connection with you and the 365,893,994 other English speaking internet users out there.
If the writing in this blog touches a chord somewhere, encourages you to react, helps you feel connected, reinforces something you felt and makes you come back for more then the purpose is served.
Sunday Pleasures
I love reading the newspaper on Sunday.
The useful part i.e. sans classifieds (which I suspect is more than half the weight on weekends). Living in in Delhi / NCR, Hindustan Times and Times of India are my subscriptions of choice. The Times of India is very readable, entertaining and light hearted. The Hindustan Times I require for a balanced diet. In any case this is the staple brain candy I grew up on and so am habituated to.
(PS: For the record my all time favorite newspaper is The Guardian which I read infrequently - when traveling abroad).
On Sundays, HT packs a punch with Brunch and Vir Sanghvi. Both are entirely edible (I mean readable). This week's Brunch was about using the Internet to do the sort of thing I'm doing - creative self expression (blogging, posting videos etc). I must say it's still a relatively new concept in India and hardly any of my regular friends have a blog though they all have their Facebook and Orkut scraps.
I didn't read the article - who wants to read old news - but I did read Vir Sanghvi's gourmet musings as usual. By now reading Vir's Sunday ruminations on his favorite food, chefs and restaurants ("XYZ does a mean..."BXR has the finest blah blah in India) peppered with tales from boarding school, son, Gujarati food, meals at fancy European restaurants and my favorite (which happens once in six months) -- two full pages on wines followed by something to the equivalent of 'I suspect one can't tell the difference and it doesn't really matter' is well entrenched in my Sunday routine!!!
Vir is undoubtedly the most readable Indian mainstream journalist around and nobody does edits quite like him. I've been following his writing since his days as the editor of the Sunday magazine and his approach is always the "common sense" view - if you're liberal, centrist, forward thinking, middle/upper middle class you are bound to find everything he says entirely agreeable. Plus he has a sense of humor which makes it fun to pursue.
Today he spoke about Mother Teresa's religious bulimia (my words) which was again very well written though why he woke up weeks after everyone else has done this issue to death is beyond me. Perhaps he was on vacation!
Vacation reminds of Shashi Tharoor, who I thought was on vacation in India post his UN non assignment but is nowadays permanently stationed here and trying to do a one up on Vir I suspect with his TOI Sunday column (TOI's attempt not Shashi's). Now Shashi is one of my favorite writers (I just love the craft of his Great Indian Novel) but he should really stay away from writing columns for he has little talent in this domain. I suspect he's realized this himself that's why after a few non starts he now almost every week brings us his definition series of all things India. I never read more than the blurb. Someone should soon appoint him ambassador of Inberia or SAARC head some other happening Post (outside of India) before he reaches the letter Z and puts us all to sleep.
Talking of columnists I must put in a good word for Poonam Saxena who absolutely entertains and delights with her weekly take on entertainment and non delights of the television world. On weeks when I've been out of the country I just have to read Poonam to put the fun back in TV. Way to go girl!
Well enough talking on people who write about the news (!!!). I'm off to take a nap now.
I must add (for the benefit of Vir and Shashi's fans) that the opinions expressed in this column are entirely mine and not a part of any sting operation.
The useful part i.e. sans classifieds (which I suspect is more than half the weight on weekends). Living in in Delhi / NCR, Hindustan Times and Times of India are my subscriptions of choice. The Times of India is very readable, entertaining and light hearted. The Hindustan Times I require for a balanced diet. In any case this is the staple brain candy I grew up on and so am habituated to.
(PS: For the record my all time favorite newspaper is The Guardian which I read infrequently - when traveling abroad).
On Sundays, HT packs a punch with Brunch and Vir Sanghvi. Both are entirely edible (I mean readable). This week's Brunch was about using the Internet to do the sort of thing I'm doing - creative self expression (blogging, posting videos etc). I must say it's still a relatively new concept in India and hardly any of my regular friends have a blog though they all have their Facebook and Orkut scraps.
I didn't read the article - who wants to read old news - but I did read Vir Sanghvi's gourmet musings as usual. By now reading Vir's Sunday ruminations on his favorite food, chefs and restaurants ("XYZ does a mean..."BXR has the finest blah blah in India) peppered with tales from boarding school, son, Gujarati food, meals at fancy European restaurants and my favorite (which happens once in six months) -- two full pages on wines followed by something to the equivalent of 'I suspect one can't tell the difference and it doesn't really matter' is well entrenched in my Sunday routine!!!
Vir is undoubtedly the most readable Indian mainstream journalist around and nobody does edits quite like him. I've been following his writing since his days as the editor of the Sunday magazine and his approach is always the "common sense" view - if you're liberal, centrist, forward thinking, middle/upper middle class you are bound to find everything he says entirely agreeable. Plus he has a sense of humor which makes it fun to pursue.
Today he spoke about Mother Teresa's religious bulimia (my words) which was again very well written though why he woke up weeks after everyone else has done this issue to death is beyond me. Perhaps he was on vacation!
Vacation reminds of Shashi Tharoor, who I thought was on vacation in India post his UN non assignment but is nowadays permanently stationed here and trying to do a one up on Vir I suspect with his TOI Sunday column (TOI's attempt not Shashi's). Now Shashi is one of my favorite writers (I just love the craft of his Great Indian Novel) but he should really stay away from writing columns for he has little talent in this domain. I suspect he's realized this himself that's why after a few non starts he now almost every week brings us his definition series of all things India. I never read more than the blurb. Someone should soon appoint him ambassador of Inberia or SAARC head some other happening Post (outside of India) before he reaches the letter Z and puts us all to sleep.
Talking of columnists I must put in a good word for Poonam Saxena who absolutely entertains and delights with her weekly take on entertainment and non delights of the television world. On weeks when I've been out of the country I just have to read Poonam to put the fun back in TV. Way to go girl!
Well enough talking on people who write about the news (!!!). I'm off to take a nap now.
I must add (for the benefit of Vir and Shashi's fans) that the opinions expressed in this column are entirely mine and not a part of any sting operation.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Musings on an extended weekend
Tuesday is Rakhi - the Indian festival of expression of love between brothers and sisters. I have decided to skip all celebrations (helps that my brothers are out of the country), take the Monday off and have a nice extended weekend doing absolutely li'l things.
I'm consciously trying not to call up anyone and do only the minimal requisite follow-up for office. I have a couple of appointments that are unavoidable but other than that this break is just about taking time out for me. And it's been a pleasure so far, considering I'm only a day and a half down as of now.
Even within this short span of time I notice a few strange developments already. The fact that I'm not talking or chatting to the usual suspects means that I have more free time on my hands to think. This is an obvious outcome but you can never be prepared for the sheer volume of time just limiting your talk time seems to make in your life. Imagine if I actually switched my mobile off.
Thoughts about organizing my closets, reading up some of the books I bought a couple of weeks back and even thinking what I want to do with my life leap out of the shadows.
I wonder what my regular days have come to -- a routine that revolves around maid minding, office grinding, compulsory (read grocery) shopping, chatting, browsing and (weekend) partying. Among all the "ings" are a lot of things that keep me busy but the positive zing is missing.
Perhaps I'm missing a boyfriend or a recent whirl of success or the high of major change. The kind of days you have to pinch yourself to believe you're living. The days I know from experience and which have only raised the bar for the rest of my life.
Well, I'm no Yelena Isinbayeva but I must try and improve my life till the point I can experience the contentment of an existence I'm largely satisfied. And while one would usually call on God at such moments I decide to excuse him for not focusing on me this weekend with all the poverty, war and (excuse me for saying this) celebrity jailbirds of this world.
I decide to improve my life myself @ one magic moment a day! Starting with a Mango feast for today. Considering we're in end-August the fact that I still have mangoes in the fridge is decidedly a pinch-worthy experience.
Overall the weekend promises to be quite fruitful (don't squirm - the pun was intended)
I'm consciously trying not to call up anyone and do only the minimal requisite follow-up for office. I have a couple of appointments that are unavoidable but other than that this break is just about taking time out for me. And it's been a pleasure so far, considering I'm only a day and a half down as of now.
Even within this short span of time I notice a few strange developments already. The fact that I'm not talking or chatting to the usual suspects means that I have more free time on my hands to think. This is an obvious outcome but you can never be prepared for the sheer volume of time just limiting your talk time seems to make in your life. Imagine if I actually switched my mobile off.
Thoughts about organizing my closets, reading up some of the books I bought a couple of weeks back and even thinking what I want to do with my life leap out of the shadows.
I wonder what my regular days have come to -- a routine that revolves around maid minding, office grinding, compulsory (read grocery) shopping, chatting, browsing and (weekend) partying. Among all the "ings" are a lot of things that keep me busy but the positive zing is missing.
Perhaps I'm missing a boyfriend or a recent whirl of success or the high of major change. The kind of days you have to pinch yourself to believe you're living. The days I know from experience and which have only raised the bar for the rest of my life.
Well, I'm no Yelena Isinbayeva but I must try and improve my life till the point I can experience the contentment of an existence I'm largely satisfied. And while one would usually call on God at such moments I decide to excuse him for not focusing on me this weekend with all the poverty, war and (excuse me for saying this) celebrity jailbirds of this world.
I decide to improve my life myself @ one magic moment a day! Starting with a Mango feast for today. Considering we're in end-August the fact that I still have mangoes in the fridge is decidedly a pinch-worthy experience.
Overall the weekend promises to be quite fruitful (don't squirm - the pun was intended)
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