Travel report : Delhi, Mumbai

Recently returned from work-family-friends travel to Mumbai and Delhi. I had a blast, but I'm also very glad to be back..

First, for those who complain about traffic in Bangalore - you ain't seen nothing yet. Apparently 1-2 hrs in traffic in Mumbai is just par for the course. The average Mumbaikar prepares for the commute: fat book to read while stuck in traffic - check. Water to drink while ditto - check. Umbrella in case one has to de-vehicle and walk the rest of the way - check. Nothing was mentioned about adult diapers, but I have my suspicions.

Delhi has none of those issues - roads are wide and the city is well-planned. However, the weather is reminiscent of an overheated sauna even while ostensibly at a mild 33 degrees. Tests the strongest deodorant, I must say. The smart delhi-ite refuses to budge from the A/C, global warming be damned.

Food
Instead of waiting a polite duration before introducing this topic, I'll just jump right in, shall I ? Better people than I have raved about Swati Snacks in Mumbai. Exotic (to me,at least)snacks like Panki and Sabudana Kichdi ...yummm. My only regret is that I have but one stomach to give to this incredible, unpretentious, squeaky-clean restaurant.

Under the Mango Tree sells single-source honey via Moshe's in Mumbai. These folks bring honey from a single type of flower to the market. Each type of honey (Mango, Clover, Seame etc) has a unique and distinctive taste. Alas, when I went by Moshe's they'd run out of everything but the clover honey, but I grabbed a huge bottle of that. Don't cry for me, Argentina.

All kinds of silvery and showy sweets, plus assorted namkeens from small stores. In Chandni Chowk, pure sweets from the venerable Chaina Ram's near the Mosque at the end of the road. I was treated to generous samples of various sweets before I put togeher a box for my near-and-dear ones. What with the calorific helpings, plus gigantic jilabis from (self-named) Old and Famous Jilabiwallah and a lemon soda (aka banta) from Pt. Ved Prakash.....

....on top of the heavenly veg biryani from the Park Baluchi that I gobbled up for lunch, well, I just could not eat a bite for dinner. However, I managed a Sangria at La Sevilla and part of a neer dosa at Sagar.

That night I dreamed about meeting a long-lost and model-skinny friend who frankly and scornfully disdained the weight I'd put on.

Guilty as charged.

But that didn't stop me from scarfing three parathas with snow-white, freshly-churned butter for breakfast the next day.

Dasavathaaram : Mental Callisthenics for All

Let me first say that I heartily recommend this movie to one and all. If you don't understand any Tamil you will be somewhat flummoxed, but that won't differentiate you much from the rest of the audience. That's because the first thing you need to enjoy this movie is called "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" . The second is "A Fondness for Kamal Haasan".

Where to begin ? Better not to begin at all, and let all of you who have missed this magnum opus enjoy Kamal in his various roles as a -

1. Singing and fighting Vaishnavite priest
2. Japanese Kung-fu master avenging his kung-fu daughter(because all Japanese know martial arts)
3. Scientist
4. Old lady
5. Some kind of dark-skinned guy
6. Dubya
7. Telugu police officer
8. Assassin

and some other people, somehow adding up to 10.

BTW, the Dasavatharam website mentions that he may also appear as a dwarf and an emperor. If that is indeed the case, then I have somehow missed spotting these worthies.

On the plus side, Mallika Sherawat is NOT played by Kamal Hassan. But pretty much everyone in the movie does double duty, including the heroine. Perhaps this is to save on costs, because I am told the producer spent about 3 crores on the first few minutes alone.

Also, watch out for people spouting blood at any excuse, from any available orifice.

And a tsunami, plus voice-overs on Chaos Theory. Or perhaps it was on Lepidoptery.

Now you'll have to watch it, won't you ??

Answer to Perplexing Question

According to Bengalooru Banter, the Cauvery circle confoundedness is part of a plan to build the world's first everyday roller-coaster. Not too far off from my maze hypothesis.

More sinister is The Hindu's theory that the magic boxes are embedding themselves into roads willy-nilly. At any rate, the heading of their story "Magic Boxes to enter Raj Bahavan Road" gives that impression.