beingdesh

Category: India

  • Fear of Motion Sickness

    The idea of traveling is often accompanied by a variety of emotions and a switching mental state. Love, laughter, disgust, amazement, fear, curiosity are all significant emotions one can relate with travel. But nothing disturbs our mental state more than the fear of motion sickness on travel.

    Motion sickness is a condition in which a disagreement exists between visually perceived movement and the vestibular system’s sense of movement (Wikipedia).

    In simpler terms it involves travelers puking, or feeling uncomfortable in an about-to-puke stage (called nausea) while traveling on different modes of transport. Interestingly throughout my life I have been through all of the above listed emotions when it comes to motion sickness.

    As a kid I was completely occupied by the idea of vomiting on travel. I recall the bus journeys we took to Bilaspur to catch trains, or the long drives from Korba to Jabalpur, or the shared taxi rides from Bhopal to Devas, I had left my mark on an entire state. Avoiding food, gulping soda, keeping a clove in my mouth, drinking less water, popping Avomine pills or keeping the window open- I tried everything, but everything failed. The constant fear in my mind of vomiting on road journeys, the disgust of actually doing it, and the love of my parents when they helped me clean up sort of sums up how I traveled on that dusty, warm, red-soiled, bumpy, teak-wooded M.P. landscape. Just to add  I was traveling on the worst roads in the world.

    And one day it stopped. I went through an entire road journey without throwing up. I was amazed by the sudden stoppage of uneasiness and vomiting. What a relief it was!!!

    But nothing can actually beat the relief one gets immediately after the act of vomiting. The freshness which follows vomiting is in a close competition with the event of a first rain, or that of taking a dip in an icy chilled Ganga at Har ki Paudi, or drinking water having saunf.

    But I started missing it, motion sickness was inseparable component of all my travels as a kid, almost as inseparable as a Digital Camera is to any travel nowadays, and from that day the way I traveled changed forever.

    Although like all things motion sickness came back again and again in all my travels, and non-travel situations, stirring up various emotions and creating memorable instances. Few of them which come to my mind:

    1. I was almost about to land in Mumbai when I saw the acres of slum encroachments visible near the landing strip of Mumbai Airport. All of  a sudden I smelt a strong smell too. I was amazed at the degree of stench and filth of the slums that it was able to reach the interiors of plane flying above it!!! Till I realized that a kid sitting behind me had puked.
    2. We had just had a brilliant Kerala style ayurvedic massage in Munnar and stepped out for a light bite. All of a sudden I see my friend who had undertaken the same treatment running all over the place and vomiting. The situation was extremely funny and evoked a sort of a contagious laughter with all other friends catching on to the situation.
    3. Every morning we used to reach Shimla bus stand early in morning, in between the steaming chai vessels, an army of sweepers cleaning the stand and the buses coming out of yard. One significant feature of Himachal buses are their vomit-stained sides from the previous days. In Himachal I realized that motion sickness is just a way of life. If spitting outside the window and leaving a Guthka mark is common to buses in M.P., vomiting is normal to people in Himachal. So when motion sickness came back to me after so many years on road travel, I felt normal, without any guilt or disgust.

    More than the stories I guess if you are or have been suffering from this sickness I have my own set of cures for the same. Please try them at your own risk:

    1. Never ever brush your teeth by Colgate in morning before you leave for journey, Colgate Gel works but not regular Colgate
    2. Mix three tablets of Hajmola in one glass of cold Limca and drink it, works wonders
    3. Avoid dairy products and high on sugar drinks
    4. Have fruits which leave a kasela swad in your mouth like Jaamun, Amla
    5. If you stop on the way on a temple, and if the prasad is Coconut, keep it in your pocket and eat it after the journey

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    Do you have interesting stories related to motion sickness or some whacky cures for the same which you would like to share?

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    Featured image by Prasoon Gupta

  • A Day in the Life of an Indori Jalebi

    Indore is my kind of place: vibrant, extrovert, loud, confused about its future, and yet rooted to memories it has grown with. Despite being known across India for its food, the place is rarely explored except for people from Central and Western India. One can claim to have had its namkeens and sweets, but it’s a different thing to be there and be part of the Indori culture, so heavily dominated by its gastronomical aspects.

    I have traveled to Indore on numerous occasions, as a doting nephew to two loving aunts, as a caring brother and as a loving friend, and as a traveler exploring Indori food.  And on every occasion I have returned gratified although with an upset stomach due to excessive eating. It is difficult to go through the details of Indori food in length of a post, so I thought of having a companion whom I have met on every trip to Indore, and who could help us navigate the way Indore lives and eats (synonymous terms at Indore), the Jalebi.

    Jalebis are crispy saffron-colored sweets popular across India. They came to India through Iran, although India had its own version too, the Imarti. Jalebis are prepared from refined flour batter, fried in Ghee or Oil and dipped in sugar syrup. Imartis on the other hand are prepared from Urad Dal batter. There are other versions of Jalebi too like the Mawa Jalebi which is popular in Madhya Pradesh or the Chenna Jalebi popular in Orissa, both of them tasting a bit like Gulabjamuns and equally appealing.

    Jalebi at its core symbolizes everything about Indore’s culture and people. It lives the way an Indori does, in a bright and a colorful manner, sometimes arrogantly crispy on the exterior, but with a soft and gooey heart. It is an amalgamation of everything Indori, and is surely the most interesting person to know in town, as it can lead one to not only a plethora of culinary introductions, but also give one a snapshot of Indori life. It is an important component of the Indori food construct, it is not the superstar of Indori cuisine, but it helps us navigate through its delicacies as it is popular, pervasive, and present across all the meals.

    Every morning Indore wakes up to the smell of Jalebis served with Poha. Poha is snack prepared using water-soaked flattened rice and few basic spices, garnished with the famous Indori Sev and Jeeravan (a masala similar to Chat Masala, without the Amchur component). At Indore, the Poha is always fresh and soft as it is prepared and kept over a steamer. The soft feel of the Poha gives way to the crunchiness of Jalebi, with the spicy clove flavored Sev mingling with its hot and syrupy sweetness. A crunchy and refreshing start to the day, topped with a cup of hot, milky and sweet tea.

    A Jalebi can take two distinct flavors based on its thickness. The ones like the popular Chandni Chowk Dariba Jalebis are thickish, with a mushy-juicy center, crisp exterior and much more seeped syrup. They leave a more long lasting flavor as one tends to nibble on them for a relatively longer time. The others are the thin more crispy ones, like the ones served at Haldirams or at Indore with Poha in mornings, not so sweet, and very difficult to eat once cold. Most of the Jalebis lie on this spectrum of thickness, with the ones on the extremes tasting the best.

    Back to Indore and its lazy afternoons. Post the lunch and a nice siesta Indoris are ready for a dose of Kachoris (both stuffed with dal and with potatoes), Samosas, and Batla Patties (A Pea filled snack, with a covering of Potato). What I have noticed that the Jalebis served in evening are thicker and softer, probably because it is served with crisp evening snacks. Along with the snacks, sometimes a plate of thick dahi or a glass of lassi (the famous one at Ghamandi Lassi) is combined with Jalebi to create a tempting Khatta-Meetha combination, driving Indoris to work and have engaging conversation throughout the evening.

    Further in the evening the old city area in Indore Sarafa-a jewelry market turns into a salivating marketplace of delicacies. Here one would find Jalebi’s elder brother- the Jaleba. Served only in sizes of ½ Kg and 1Kg Jalebas are the perfect for families and friends to share and enjoy. And it is the perfect way to end a snacky evening tour of Dahi Wadas, Kachoris, Garadus (Yam deep fried and tossed with chutneys, like Delhi’s aloo chat), Bhutte ka kis (grated corn cooked somewhat prepared like Poha) and Shikanji (a fusion of rabdi, lassi, falooda) one can have at Sarafa. And there are few dishes like the Jhannat Kachori (Kachori filled with red chilies) which certainly can’t do without the pairing of Jalebis.

    Even when the markets close and it is late at night Indore is still awake and craving for a glass of hot sweet milk garnished with Chironjis. At the bus stand or at Rau one can grab a glass of milk with a healthy layer of malai and gulp it down with a Jalebi, probably cold and prepared sometime in evening, but becomes more than edible with the hot milk.

    After a hectic day of work and eating one has to just wait for a few hours, it will be morning again and Jalebi will be back with Poha.

    Indore would go back to be same again: vibrant, extrovert, loud, confused about its future, and yet rooted to delicious jalebi-filled memories it has grown with.

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    Which is your favorite city for eating out? Any city which beats Indore?

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  • Return to Korba

    Over the past 2-3 years I have travelled across various parts of the country. Most of these trips were planned and executed around a friend’s wedding, and given I have had so many friends getting married in the recent past, and at locations such as Indore, Dhanbad, Raipur, Kerala, Rajasthan, Interiors of Maharashtra, and Delhi, these trips have resulted in experiences worth mentioning. On some trips the destination overpowered the entire wedding experience, and at some the wedding was an event to remember. Needless to mention I have also returned gastronomically satisfied from most of these trips, learning a lot about the diversity across Indian food preparations, wedding delicacies and food on the road, rail, air and even water.

    But out of all the trips the one which I made this weekend holds a special place, simply because of the people and place involved. And yes as always slightly because of my flirtations with food on the trip.

    I was going back to Korba after about 9 years, a period in which I have moved away significantly from what I was at Korba. A relatively simple person who was mostly immersed in books, gully cricket, and mostly lost in his own thoughts went on to talk, travel, eat, make friends, and talk a lot. I became more expressive and confident, adapted new habits – both good and bad, met a lot of people from different backgrounds, slowly started spending more money and became more experimental about life in general.

    It is interesting to note how roles change once we are back in Korba, whatever we have done in the past so many years, when my school friends get together, we behave as we behaved for all those 14 years in school. Surprisingly, they are the only ones who know how to make me sit quiet. Very rare! And for us everyone is still the same, no one is a Doctor, MBA, Engineer, CA, or a businessman; everyone is just the same old DPS Korba student they were, and I am still the Pattu they met in 2002.

    Korba has changed, the township hasn’t. The city seems well maintained with brilliant roads, shining shopping complexes and even a flyover! Although all the forests around the city have disappeared and all I saw on the road from Churri towards Korba and beyond were just power plants.

    The township remains the same, all our addas are still there as we left them. But I heard that the kids are gone (after 6th most of them are packed away to a IIT/Medical coaching location), people hardly come out, there are no fights in club for badminton courts or on Mansarovar to play cricket, and those community gatherings and activities which gave the township its life have become rare.

     

    Random pic about Korba

    Oh, by the way I also tasted the famous Chhattisgarhi Daal Wada with the spicy brick red chutney (a cross between a schezwan sauce and a pickle masala), my favorite Indian Coffee House Cutlets –potato and beetroot stuffed and shallow fried tikkis (although I tasted them in Nagpur as I knew I won’t have time in Korba), 4 different dosas (one outside the CST subway, value for money Butter Sada; second from Nagpur Coffee House, now Rs. 40 as compared to Rs. 14 back in the days of school; third at a friend’s home at Bilaspur, simple homemade dosas served with a spicy peanut and dal chutney; fourth on the return journey at Bhusaval junction, a regular dosa with a Jeervan like spice sprinkled on top, hot and fresh), and some good food at the wedding. But for me the cutlets stood out, and to benchmark them I even had the railway cutlets (https://beingdesh.com/2010/04/the-story-of-indian-railway-cutlet/), but I would say the Coffee House ones win, again because of the memories attached to it. On the healthier side we munched onto tonnes of Oranges and Sandwiches parceled in Raipur. The craving for sweets was satisfied through Spongy Rasgullas, Flavored Dry Fruit Bites (a sweet which according to me is the true competition to my other favorite, Mysore Pak), and Santara Barfi (a petha style sweet, flavored with orange juice).

    As always I have deviated from the core discussion around Korba to food, but then things have been this way since back I was child, food has always been a key component of my discussion, at Korba, or after that.

    In hindsight moving out of Korba was probably good for me, as I understood life and India in a better way and become truly Desi. But still Pattu remains a part of me, and I hope it continues to be.

  • Our obsession with the 100th 100

    कब बनेगा शतको का शतक?
    (आज तक, 193 times since Feb’11)

    Ever since end of February 2011 all of us have been waiting for Sachin to score that century. Personally I have been counting every run of his backwards from 100, from the 16 left against Pakistan at Mohali to the 27 left at Melbourne the wait for that perfect figure still continues. Throughout this time I have been through a multitude of feelings. I have been logical and appreciative of opposing bowlers at times; erratic and abusive to the bowlers, Dhoni and even Sharad Pawar at times; emotional and thinking about the century too much; nostalgic and thinking about classics from Perth to Chennai to Sharjah; a fool to neglect all the other action around him; a connoisseur of the game and loving every moment of the awesome test cricket which has been on offer this year and above all obsessed with him reaching his 100.

    Reaching 100 is not just a milestone for Sachin, it just a manifestation of all our childhood dreams. We have been always chasing that 100, that perfect number. Ask a Father back in 90s and he would have told My kid should get 100 in Maths, बाकी अंग्रेजी वगेरा के नंबर कौन देखता है.

    So the child would run behind that target, he would get a 25 on 25 in unit test, but that is like getting a 100 in Bangladesh or in a Ranji match. One needs a 100 in exams, so he would then get it in Half Yearly, only to hear Son, its still not the finals.

    That kid would burn the midnight oil to get that 100, he would reach 97, 98, 99, but it was always the 100 which mattered. All along this time there were classmates doing brilliantly in multiple areas (like Kallis: scoring 100s and taking wickets), becoming excellent orators (like Dravid, Sanga, scoring 100s and winning hearts with their speeches), being naughty (like Ponting, scoring 100 and being that arrogant naughty brat in the class), becoming school leaders like Head Boy/Girl (like Kumble taking wickets and showing his leadership mettle both on and off the field, or like Ganguly, always leading from the front and scoring 100s too) and going around with pretty girls (like Warnie, one of the best bowler ever, and pretty smooth with girls too :)).

    But there was always that silent humble chap in the class trying to score a century in Maths (or maybe Physics, Chemistry, Biology, our quest for excellence never goes beyond the Science subjects). The entire set of teachers, kids, and parents just looked up to him to score that 100, and he was just expected to do that, where as the rest of the class was doing many other things. Many kids and parent idolized him as the perfect student, as millions around the world have idolized Sachin now, as the perfect student of the game.

    The simple issue here is, for us Sachin is they way we have lived our life for over 22 years, beyond his 100th 100 there is nothing else left for us to chase. Some might say that we have reduced Sachin to a mere number, but its just the way we have been with him, we have just wanted him to score hundreds, hundred after hundred, without thinking about simple things like India’s victory, Sachin’s happiness, and just Cricket.

    For me the attempt to give him Bharat Ratna is nothing different from the Scholar Blazers/Markers Cup/CBSE Merit Certificate (just stamping our approval of his perfection)

    I wish everyone leaves Sachin to his own, like Dravid leaving the cricket ball. The wicketkeeper (read the ghost of that 100th 100) would be there to catch him, but Sachin for sure knows his way around.

    Even the perfect student wanted to participate in debates, become the School Captain or talk to girl sometimes ;).

    Featured Image by Vikas via WikiMedia Commons

  • किस्सा कचोरी का…

    रविवार का था वह एक आम सा दिन,
    दूरदर्शन पर चल रहा था चंद्रकांता, कैसे रहते लोग कड़क सी चाय के बिन.
    चाय के साथ था कुछ खस्ता, रस्क, और नमकीन,
    पर जब घर आई कचोरी और जलेबी, तब खिस्की ज़बान तले ज़मीन.

    समोसा, आलू बोंडा और मंगोड़े भी देते है टक्कर,
    पर कौन रह सकता है कचोरी के स्वाद से बचकर.

    कचोरी कई बार अपना रूप बदलती,
    राजस्थान मैं पूरी तो गुजरात मैं लड्डू बनती.
    रूप के संग इसका ह्रदय भी बदलता
    कभी मूंग कभी आलू कभी प्याज और कभी मटर से इसका दिल है धड़कता.

    दिल्ली मैं चाट की शोभा बढाती राजकचोरी,
    या दही सौंठ के अभिषेक से बनी दही कचोरी
    उत्तर प्रदेश मैं आलू रस्सा संग रस रचाए
    कचोरी हर रंग रूप मैं हमें है भाये.

    इंदौर मैं सराफे का वजन,
    या कोटा-जयपुर मैं इसका प्याज से लगन
    गंगा मैय्या किनारे मोहन पूरी वाला,
    कचोरिया ऐसी जुग जुग जिए बनाने वाला.

    मेरा तो है बस यही अंतिम विचार,
    कचोरी के है चार यार
    चटनी, सौंठ, दही और तलने वाले का प्यार.

    -अभिषेक ‘देसी’ देशपांडे

  • Rail-pedia

    As I was sitting with my friends on the Raipur station yesterday and waiting for our train (7 hours late) to arrive I saw a passenger train coming before our much delayed “super-fast” train. I said to my friends how come this happened and an Uncleji came from nowhere, “Yeh special passenger hai, Navratri hai na, Mata ke darshan ke liye Dongargarh jaa rahi hai, superfast ke upar preference milegi”. As those words came out from that awkward smelling ghutka infested red mouth of his I realized that there tonnes of knowledge in this country, especially when it comes to the topic of India Railways.

    It starts as a simple thing, by buying the Railway timetable (which I am sure half of these Uncleji’s memorize), but then there is other information which comes only with experience. Topics range from simple delays, food and politics and reaches a different level by touching upon deeper issues like personal hygiene, development and the pluralistic nature of our society.

    I have been through a few of these, have you?

    Consider these:

    Uncleji sitting next to you in the train and reading his newspaper, the train has halted and another train passes by, Uncleji who has multiple explanations of the event:

    “Beta time kitna hua hai..Uncleji 2 baje hai…haan to yeh Gitanjali chodd di humse, superfast hai na” or “Beta yeh signal down kia hai, dusre track par 2 baje repair chaalu hota hai na” or “Beta gaiyya kat gayi hogi, yaha crossing par har saal kat jaati hai” or “Yeh Howrah waali gaadi pehle chodd dete hai, ab beta tum hi batao, is desh main rail mantri kaha se aaye hai, bas do rajyo se Bihar ya Bangal, ab waha ki traino ko to faayda milega hi na” or “beta yaha par engine badalta hai na, abhi yard se aaya nahi hoga, to pahle hi rok di” or “beta yaha hamesha ka natak hai, yeh rok dwete hai, lekin chinta mat karo, bahut jaldi cover karegi”

    Or Uncleji’s gyaan on other tracks:

    “Beta aap kaha se ho…Uncleji Maharashtra se hu, waise kayi jagah raha hu…Maharashtra main originally kaha se ho…ji Yavatmal se lekin waha kabhi raha nahi…arre Yavatmal, waha ki gaadi to Nagpur se kat leti hai, choti line hai, to ho kaha se…ji Jabalpur se…oh Jabalpur se Nagpur fir badi dikkat hai beta, choti line hai. lekin Jabalpur main to Railway ka bada zone hai, bahut accha hua…Uncleji aap kaha se hai?…Beta bas kya bole humaari to poori zindagi kat gayi rail main safar karte karte (I can understand)”

    Or on food:

    “Chai chai chai….arre Chaiwaale, ek chai pilaao, woh dip waali to nahi hai na….nahi ji taazi bana ke laaya hu…thik hai ek de do, beta aap loge…nahi uncle…Uncleji chai peete hue, accha kia beta nhai li, 5 rs lete hai aur poora paani daalte hai, Chai to beta Nandurbaar station par Chowdhary ki milti hai, Chai ho to chowdhary ki, aur Chai ka majja to humaare jamaane main kulhad main tha, mitti ka swaad hi kuch alag hota hai” or “Beta yeh Pantry car ka khaana pahle se Quality main kaafi improve ho gaya hai, Chawal bilkul Dubraj use kar raha hai aajkal…Bhaiya nan-veg main kya hai aaj, anda curry milega…haanji milega…thik hai, Pantry main Ramesh hai? Usse bolna Sharma ji ka order hai, Anda Curry special banaye….Beta humara to humesha ka hai train se, Ramesh apne hi gaav se hai, accha ghar jaisa bana deta hai”

    Or on politics:

    “Bhaisahab kaam to Lalu ne kiya tha Railway main, kayapalat kar di, kya shaandaar system banaya hai, Bihar ko faayda karaya lekin aam aadmi ka khayal rakha hai usne” or “Yaha gaadi delay kara denge, yeh mantriji ki constituency hai na, unka aadesh hai ki har station par rukwaaya jaaye”

    Or on sanitation issues:

    “Beta yeh jo bhi bolo, chai ke bagair pressure banta hi nahi” or “Beta yeh railway ka toilet dekh kar aati nahi, pressure hi nahi banta” or “yeh Bilaspur par cleaning waale aate hai, hum to uske bhi toilet ke liye jaayenge”

    Or on life:
    “Beta aap to accha padh liye, humaari bhi iccha thi khub padhne ki, chalo hum nahi aap sahi” or the final classic one…

    “Beta yeh jeevan kya hai, railgaadi hi to hai!!!”

    Can’t agree more.

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    Just a a slight deviation from the main topic but whenever I think of this I laugh a lot, one of my friend told me that the pay-and-use toilet at Khandwa station was called Bobby Tatti House, in honour of the great Raj Kapoor classic… 🙂

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  • टेस्ट क्रिकेट का अंत… या शुरुआत?

    आने वाला है क्रिकेट इतिहास का एक अमर क्षण
    जब होने चलते स्वयं के टेस्ट के पूरे दो हज़ार रन,
    १८७७ मैं शुरू हुई थी जो प्रथा
    २०११ मैं क्या हो गयी है इसकी व्यथा.

    अंग्रेजो ने नीव रखी क्रिकेट के खेल की
    खेल खेल मैं उन्होंने फैलाई सभ्यता ब्रिटेन की,
    शुरू मैं था बस यह अंग्रेजो और उनके के गुलामो का टकराव,
    वो क्या जानते थे एक दिन गुलाम ही करेंगे इस खेल का ऐसा बदलाव.

    उन दिनों यह होता था खेल गौरव का, प्रतिष्ठा का
    सज्जनों का और वतन के लिए खेलने वालो का,
    पर जब से आई एक दिवसीय और टी-२० क्रिकेट की बहार,
    बदल ही गया इस खेल का व्यवहार.

    अब लोगो को पसंद है मार पीट कर खेलने वाले बल्लेबाज़
    गेंदबाजों की अस्मत पर गिरी है गाज,
    वो दिन थे जब थरथराते थे गेंदबाजों से बल्लेबाज़ हर क्षण,
    गेंदबाज़ थे की थे वो लंकापति रावण.

    वक्त बदला, तकनीक बदली, मैदान हुए हरे भरे, वेश भूषा हुई रंगीन
    दूरदर्शन ने दर्शको का अनुभव बदला, तो कम कपडे पहनी नर्तकियो ने किया मामला संगीन
    बस कुछ नहीं बदला
    तो वो है क्रिकेट-प्रेमियों के प्रेम, और महानता की परिभाषा.

    महानता के सर्वोच्च उदहारण,
    उम्मीद है लोर्ड्स पर करेंगे अंग्रेजो का हरण,
    भगवान् से मेरी है यही गुज़ारिश
    अपने अवतार के ज़रिये हमेशा करते रहे रनों की बारिश.

  • विस्फोट, तुम फिर आ गए!

    विस्फोट, तुम फिर आ गए!
    जीवन की कीमत तो तुमने समझी नहीं
    कम से कम
    भय की परिभाषा तो समझ लेते.

    मुंबई शहर में लोग हर क्षण है मरते
    ज़िन्दगी की भागदौड़ में दबते कुचलते
    इस भाग दौड़ थकान के बीच
    किसे है समय भयभीत होने का.

    भय है बढती महंगाई का, नौकरी का,
    भय है घर बार का, सब्जी तरकारी का.
    अरे विस्फोट तुमसे हम क्यों डरे
    मुंबई की बारिश की तरह हो तुम, रोज आते जाते,
    रोज की बारिश से
    किसे है समय भयभीत होने का.

    अब ये मन भयभीत नहीं
    यह बस सुन्न हो चुका है, थक चुका है
    एक प्रश्न पूछूँ तुमसे – उत्तर दोगे?
    क्या तुम नहीं थके?

    – अभिषेक देशपांडे ‘देसी’

  • Is it the end of the Chai-Biscuit era?

    Today I received an article from a friend of mine, Where did conversation go? No where. It talks about the “about-to-die” habit of having conversations. It also debates whether forms of new media have eclipsed the intimacy of having a one-on-one, or sharing a happy moment together.

    So is it the end of the Chai-Biscuit era? Chai represents much more than to us than a mere beverage, it is a conversation starter, our true friend during a conversation and the tastiest dip for a biscuit. From the addas which are still commonplace in Bengal, to housewives sipping that post-siesta tea, from office tea breaks to evening tea with families, chai has shaped the way Indians converse and share thoughts for a long time.

    So what happened now? When did walking to someone’s home without telling them in advance become a crime, when did talking about things personal and private online become a habit, when did the happiness of connecting with a few and bonding with them transform into the ever increasing desire to have more Facebook friends and Twitter followers, when did the keeping things to oneself become more than a one-off thing, when did our life become private in front of our parents and elders, when was the real smile overshadowed by the fake smileys, when did chatting and messaging steal the look of the face and tinkle of those eyes, and when did we start getting detached from the world, lose our sense of being together to being more individualistic?

    So is it the beginning of a new era, the Coffee-Cookie era? Coffee shops have replaced the meetups at home, 5 Rs. Parle-G has been replaced by 40 Rs. a piece Cookieman cookie, but more than that both of them represent a transition. A transition in habits, triggered by technology, economy and the society as such. It is not bad, its a transition, although its fun to live in nostalgia, these are changes which will shape the future. It is useless to trigger the age old debate of tradition vs. modernity, and it would be ruthless to declare a winner.

    In my world, Coffee exists with Chai, with Parle-G in one pocket, and a Cookie in another.

  • काश ये दिल होता Tupperware का

    हम प्यार करते थे उनसे बेशुमार,
    उनके इश्क मैं हुए थे बीमार
    हमे लगा वो भी है उतनी ही बेक़रार,
    कर बैठे प्यार का इज़हार.

    फिर क्या कहे क्या हुआ
    अच्छे खासे दिल का मालपुआ हुआ,
    दिल तो हमारा था कोमल और नाज़ुक
    पर जब टूटा तो आवाज़ आई जैसे चले कोई चाबुक,
    कांच की तरह टुकड़े हुए उसके हज़ार,
    सारे अरमानो का हुआ मच्छी बाज़ार.

    काश ये दिल न होता कांच जैसा brittle
    और हर बार ना होते इसके टुकड़े little little,
    अगर ये होता Tupperware जैसा मज़बूत
    गिर पड़ संभल कर भी रहता साबुत,
    प्यार की गर्मी और चाहत की सर्दी झेलता
    हर मौसम येह ख़ुशी ख़ुशी खेलता,
    हर सप्ताह नयी नयी गृहणियो के संग पार्टी मनाता
    कुंवारी ना सही, शादीशुदा का ही संग पाता.

    पर क्या करे यही है कुदरत का न्याय,
    Tupperware के दिल का कभी ना खुल सकेगा अध्याय… कभी ना खुल सकेगा अध्याय.

    Dedicated to all the losers in the world :)…