There's somethng about Biriyani!

There's in fact something about biriyani that I fail to understand.

Today, I went to a prominent restaurant on ECR to get some food packed. The restaurant was full - with vacant tables, on Sunday afternoon, when it is supposed to get the maximum business. I saw the manager walking lethargically to a space alongside the restaurant which actually used to be another prominent restaurant. Apparently, both these restaurants have the same owner. It is another thing that the owner does not need the restaurant to run, to earn a living. Think about those people who invested their life's savings in opening a concept restaurant with a novel idea and end up on the wrong side of it.

What do they do? The answer is simple. Biriyani. Squeeze biriyani into the menu somehow. Better income is guaranteed. The other day, I went to an eating joint in the IT Park in which I am working. I was really impressed by their grilled items and combos, which were tasty and reasonably priced. I was shocked to see that the menu had changed (ON PUBLIC DEMAND..SO THE POOR GUYS SAY). From now on, their sandwiches will be replaced by the great biriyani. What a pity!

This is just one example. There are Italian restaurants in Chennai which had to include biriyani in their menus to survive. What is this obsession with biriyani? I once asked a colleague of mine about how he/she liked the buffet in a classy hotel. I started the conversation like this."Wow, that was great lunch! The food was amazing. What do you think?" Swift came the reply. "Yeah, the biriyani was superb."  I wish I had never asked.

Again two of my colleagues gave me those nasty glares when they came to know that I hate biriyani. They gave me the feeling that I just confessed that I had murdered someone. Well, COME ON!

If you have the right to like biriyani, I have the right to hate it as well.

This comes from my heart, as I have had plans of starting a restaurant of my own. Now, that idea seems to be stupid as the only way to earn money out of it will be to feed people with something which I personally abhor. Then again, people might argue that every wine shop owner is not a drunkard. Well, yours truly do not believe in this principle. So, to hell with it! I am not starting a restaurant. That's it!

I must say that Chennai is not a haven for real foodies who like to try out new cuisines. I know that people in Nungambakkam will beg to differ. But you can't expect people to travel to another district every week to have good food, can you? Or for that matter, another state. (Couple of weeks ago, we were in Bangalore and absolutely savored whatever we had. So much variety! Wah.)

So, that's it.

There is something about biriyani, which I don't understand and probably never will. AND NEVER WANT TO.

Team India White Washed - Should we really be bothered?

20 months as the world's No.1 test cricket team and holders of the ICC Cricket World Cup. The Men In Blue had reached The Summit. From there, it is either coming back, or exploring the other side. Either way, it was going to be a downward trip. Well, one should admire the Captain, the Coaching staff and the Senior members of the side for reaching there and maintaining the position as the No.1 test side for 20 months. All this, with just one quality bowler - Zaks. Kudos to them. They were a brave side. 

We were the ones who walked with our heads held high because 11 men slogged their ...es off in the middle. We were the ones who flaunted those expensive Team India jerseys and Bleed Blue t-shirts just to show that we were the loyal supporters of the greatest team that India has ever produced in any sport. So why shy away from that role, when our team - which had given us so much joy - needs us the most.

So what if India was beaten by England (apparently the country where the sport originated, and a nation which did not have it in them to win the World Cup even once) in England under seaming conditions with an injured Zaheer and a tired team (thanks to World Cup and IPL and West Indies and ads and parties and you name it). God knows it and we know it too, that we can beat them hands down in their own sport on any given day. We have been doing it since Lagaan. If Bhushan and Co. can do it, so can MS and Co.

Now, we have seen our boys get there and remain there for a considerable time. Let's see how they maintain their position. If today it's the Aussies, tomorrow it's the Indians; if the day after tomorrow it's the English, the next day will belong to the Proteas. For all you may know, the next world cup may well be won by the Zimbabweans. That's the beauty of sport, ain't it? So just sit back, relax and enjoy.

There is only one Sachin, one Dravid, one Sehwag, one Laxman and one Dhoni. There is only one place where you can see all of them to gether - Team India. Let us maintain the integrity. Let's be there for them.

So what I propose to all the cricket lovers of India is this:

Abuse the system; abuse the selectors; abuse the sponsors who make ads; abuse everything that make cricket bad, but NOT THE PLAYERS and NOT THE TEAM,

coz I believe there are too many in this country whose only known identity is - "SUPPORTER OF TEAM INDIA"

It's cloudy in Chennai...

This should serve as a good title as Chennai seldom gets cloudy. I wonder if it has something to do with my blog template. Maybe it's just me. I always have this uncanny knack of relating everything that is happening in this world to my own "GREAT" life. It's too bad that I can't enjoy it as I am having a really bad cold and am blowing my nose away to glory. The "eternal rain lover" that I am, it hurts when I realize that I won't be able to enjoy rain as much as I used to once upon a time in Trivandrum.

It's surprising however, that, almost 90 per cent of the people I know in Chennai, hate rains. I wonder why! Inspite of the fact that rains in Chennai means respite from the scorching heat, less power cuts and a good night's sleep for many. But then, I should not forget that this is India. Rains also mean waterlogged roads, clogged sewage channels, overflowing drainages. floating filth and so on and so forth.

Gone are those days when kids used to splash rain water on each other on their way to school and back. I consider myself lucky that I was born and brought up in a "tier II" city (in economic terms) enjoying this lovely phenomenon called rains. Then again, that tier II city rarely had sewage or drainage issues as it was blessed with a hilly terrain. So, if at all there was water logging, it used to be only in low lying areas or ponds or fields. Frankly, I am not sure of the situation in this once beautiful city now.

There used to be not one child who would come to the school totally dry on the day of school reopening (June 1st) and I guess the date still remains June 1st. It is the most amazing  feeling and I feel sad that the kids of today cannot enjoy it as much as we did.

Now the question remains. What does it take to make rains an enjoyable experience? The answer is simple - better sanitation, better roads, proper dainage facilities, responsible officials, less corruption and also all the way upto Lokpal Bill.

Well here's another reason to support Anna Hazare's campaign - we want  to enjoy rains without any glitches.

Jai Hind!