Saturday, March 31, 2007

Food For Nocturnal Creatures


If midnight is dinner time for you then you have enough reason to celebrate. You need not have to hunt for a place to have a decent meal late in the night after a spell of pub-hopping or after watching a movie over the weekend.

The city hotels in Bangalore have the late night buffet, during the weekends- that serve food from midnight to 3 a.m. The price range from Rs.149/- to Rs.795/-

The menu includes green salad, soup, raita, assorted papads, pickles, dum biryani,a non-vegetarian gravy, ghee rice, daal, chilli chicken, parathas, spicy and tangy curries,sherwa, dal and lip-smacking desserts. And for those who do not opt for the buffet -Dosas, appams, burgers, sandwiches and shakes are also available a-la-carte .

A few of the hotels that I turn to for a Midnight Buffet are:
  • Coral Court
  • Gateway
  • Le Royal Meridien
  • Limelight
  • Mynt
  • Park Kensington Terrace
  • The Capitol Hotel
  • The Chancery






I grabbed this picture @ about 0230 this morning, when all the tables were filled with people...Looks like the day when we would need to reserve a table for midnight buffet is not too far away.
With the city police coming down heavily on food joints that stay open beyond 2330,looks like more and more people are beginning to frequent places that continue to remain a hideout and serve good food @ a nominal price.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Is this the new face of patriotism?

I am no die hard cricket fan; however the recent behaviors’ of the so-called angry fans that went on a rampage because of India’s loss @ the hands of Bangladesh has got me concerned about the state of affairs…
The urge to see my country excel and win the prestigious World cup is deep rooted in my heart, and so is it amongst the millions of people who were glued on to their TV sets over the weekend wanting to see their country Triumph.
However,the impulsive behavior of the people who took to vandalism to show their displeasure is criminal.
It is not acceptable to display the support for ‘Team India’ by attacking the families and properties of the chosen sport stars.
  • Is this the way we demonstrate the love for our country and the SPORT?
  • Is this how we stand up for our players who represent us?
  • Is this the new face of patriotism?


If people in this country want the Team to come back (Home) just because they lost ONE match, may be the law should read that INDIA should not participate in any sport as we may lose.
When the country is celebrating campaigns because INDIA has arrived, hoping the new age Indian has reformed - in reality is there lack in the skepticism of our minds?

  • Is the Indian whom the world perceives as a Leader, actually hot-headed and destructive?
  • Is this the way, youth of a Pulsating country behave?
  • Has the fear of failure out-grown the faith in success?
The team that represents each of us has sprung, stumbled, run, fallen, rolled-over, won and lost….. for us.

We should neither accept mediocre performance nor should we take to the streets to express our displeasure, after all if we don’t stand up for our players who will?

Remember: Destroying public property and shouting filthy slogans should not be the new Face of Patriotism-However,love for the country and willingness to sacrifice for it,should represent the true feeling.

When the Great Scorer comes to write against our names he writes not if we won
or lost- but how we played the game.


Thursday, March 15, 2007

Moustache

The word Moustache comes to the English language via the Middle French Moustache which in turn is derived from the Old Italian Mustaccio which originates from the Middle Greek Moustaki, a diminutive of Greek mystak.

Common vernacular terms for the moustache are stache, tache, tash, pushbroom and mo. There are numerous others mostly reflecting the moustache's resemblance to a variety of animals.

Found this interesting moustache being sported by a door-keeper in a popular Bangalore Hotel.

Ned Flanders on The Simpsons uses a variety of nicknames for his mustache- nose neighbor, soup strainer, Dr Fuzzenstein, among others. He also once had it called a hippie-lip by a boss.
Popular Moustache's:

  • Dalí - narrow, long points bent or curved steeply upward - Named after Salvador Dalí who was known to sport such a style later in his life.
  • English - narrow, beginning at the middle of the upper lip the whiskers are very long and slightly curled;the ends are pointed slightly upward.
  • Fu Manchu - long, downward pointing ends, generally beyond the chin.
  • Pancho Villa moustache - similar to the Fu Manchu but thicker; also known as a "droopy moustache.
  • Handlebar - bushy, with small upward pointing ends.
  • Fingers - also known as a "spaghetti moustache", because of its stereotypical association with Italian men.
  • Imperial - whiskers growing from both the upper lip and cheeks, curled upward (distinct from the royale, or impériale)
  • Moustachio - bushy moustache, with hair sometimes growing down the sides of the mouth. Also known as the Nosebeard, or the Moustachio Fantastico.
  • Pencil moustache - narrow, thin, closely clipped, outlining the upper lip, with a wide shaven gap between the nose and moustache. Also known as a Mouthbrow.
  • Toothbrush - thick, but shaved except for about an inch (2.5 cm) in the center; associated with Adolf Hitler and Charlie Chaplin.
  • Walrus - bushy, hanging down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth.
  • GG - bushy hair grown only over the corners of the mouth, shaved in the middle. Named after musician and performing artist GG Allin.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Dog-Tired Of Stray Dogs

Bangalore- India's third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan, has recently called for criticism about the way the authorities have handled the four-legged menace.

It all started with a ghastly shock-when a pack of stray dogs mauled 8-year-old Sridevi to death (Chandra Layout) in January and rabid canines brutally killed four and half year old Manjunath (Banaswadi) in March. These incidents finally got the concerned authorities, animal right activists and all the citizens in the city into a tizzy.

Government:
I am left wondering if the government some day would order all humans to be culled because they have been involved in murders,execution,extortion,genocide,theft,slaughter,massacre,sexual assault & flesh eating.Will the state authorities advocate more such ghastly deaths like that of Sridevi & Manjunath?
Animal Right Activists:
Will animal right activists continue to raise a hue and cry about unethical treatment meted out to Strays and choose to remain silent during the death of innocent children? Will these groups continue to claim success because the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme - a part of the amended Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 championed by Maneka Gandhi, succeeded in tackling barely 3000 strays over the last six years(after spending over Rs 5.64 crore) ?
Residents:
Will the residents continue to throw garbage as per their fancies?Continue to open meat stalls without adequate permissions and dispose waste in ways best known to them and cry foul when dogs attack humans and vice-versa?
Will responsible residents adopt the dog and keep them @ home?

Has everyone forgotten the difference between being Proactive and Reacting, where have all the responsible people gone???
Has this city run out of visionaries?
Has this city run out of responsible citizens?
Is this incident a mockery of what we’ve always called as - Life?

The problem is far more serious, consider the thousands of cases of dog-bites, those involving postmen, telephone mechanics, courier or pizza delivery boys, which never get reported.Stand up for what it takes to be RESPONSIBLE.
Be Proactive

Friday, March 9, 2007

Think creepy crawlies, and your blood curdles. But butterflies, which are also insects, evoke a pleasant reaction.
This weekend if you want to do something Zara-Hatke, then drive to Bannerghatta National Park that is situated 22 km south of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. (The journey to the park takes nearly half an hour from Bangalore)
The hilly place is the home for one of the rich natural, zoological reserves. The 25,000 acre zoological park makes this a major tourist attraction of Bangalore.The Butterfly Park that is tucked away in one corner of this vast land, spreads across 7.5 acres, it comprises of a butterfly conservatory, a museum and an audio-visual room. The dome of this park is a 10,000 sq.ft. circular enclosure, inside which the environment has been carefully designed to support over 20 species of butterflies. The environment has a tropical setting — complete with the humid climate, an artificial waterfall and a host plants and shrubs that attract butterflies.

Should you go?
Yes, because you need to believe that the Government is capable of executing some great ideas.Also,because the Butterfly Park at Banerghatta is not only a jewel in the crown of Bangalore, but also because it is the first of its kind in the world that integrates tourism, education, research and rural livelihood all under one roof.

Tips:
Food is not allowed inside the Park(Phew - Finally Somebody thought about this)
Carry your Camera if you want to capture these beautiful creatures.