It has been about 7 weeks on road for me now. So decided to put up a list of the best food/drink I have tasted so far. I wouldn't bother you guys with the gory and disgusting details of the stomach upsets I have been experiencing. So here goes the list in no particular order:
1) Karim's in Delhi - This mughalai place is run by the bloodline of Mughal Empire's official cooks. The food is absolutely tasty and rich. No visit to Delhi is complete without a visit to Karim's. But be careful not to over order.
2) Chats in Dehradun - The dahi vada balla masala I tasted in Dehradun's main street has got to be the best chats i have eaten in ages. Hot and Spicy - the best way to satisfy a proud Gowda tongue. The old man has stood right at that corner selling chats for more than 35 years now. It was so nice to see passersby greet him every now and then - the great small town charm.
3) Thapa Tea Stall in Massoorie - Balajee and I have become life long fans of Chai though that means compromising on our Dravidian principles a little. There is nothing like sipping on a hot cup of chai as you sit on the road side observing the street and watching the world go by. The chai at Thapa Tea Stall at Massoorie Bus Stand is one of the best I have tasted. Mood and atmosphere guaranteed with all the Sherpa porters that hang around there.
4) Channa Chat with Kulcha - Though Channa chat is popular in North India the best ones are found in Rishikesh and enjoyed best on the banks of River Ganga. Two Kulchas and Channa chat (prepared by taking Channa, potato, tomato, thinly sliced chilly, salt, pepper and two sauces into a leaf plate as wide as a palm and tossing it with cupped palms to mix them) for just Rs 10. Wholesome, tasty, cheap food - a traveller's delight.
5) India Coffee House, Shimla - One of the most mentionable places of Shimla is the Indian Coffee House. The atmosphere in the old building is fantastic with government officials, lawyers, tourists and travellers occupying the tables. I guess I just love old time charm. If ever in Shimla, don't miss the Indian Coffee House.
6) Gulab Jamoons, Shimla - In the middle bazaar of Shimla there is a quiet unassuming snack place with mounts of samosas, pakoras and a big frying pan full of Jamoons at the entrance. The Jamoons were so delicious that it inspired a quote by me - "If Indian Sweets were the commandments, Gulab Jamoon has to be Adultery."
7) Momos, McLeod Gang - Just outside the temple complex gate in McLeod Gang there are two Tibetan Ladies selling Momos on the road side. Just Rs 10 for 5 tasty steamed momos that go so well with the spicy sauce that they serve. The best part is to see the two ladies co-operating and dividing the customers equally among them which is a rarity in today's competitive greedy world.
8) Deer Park Kitchen, Bir - Deer Park is a green and ecological campus with focus on reducing the footprint on environment. So there is a zero waste kitchen that serves absolutely tasty and healthy meals. Now that is a rare combination. Deserts prepared from fruits grown in the garden are the best. Completing the circle is the great practice where guests have to clean their own dishes after their meals. It goes without saying that you won't get any food if you come outside of the meal time allotted. It is so refreshing to see people trying to do their bit for the environment when it is so easy to be cynical in this 'unchangeable world'.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tattapani - destroying identities
From Shimla Balajee and I headed to a serene quiet village called Tattapani which is about two hours from Shimla. The roads leading to the place were perilous to say the least. Narrow roads carved out of tall hills, which are of course covered with hills in all directions (not four, all). There is no room, or should I say inch, for mistakes on this road for it would mean ending up in the depths of the valley.
Tattapani was one of the most beautiful places I have been to. The River Sutlej flowing just about 50 feet from out hotel balcony, tall green hills all around, a tall majestic bridge over the river connecting two hills and an old defunct iron bridge behind it. This place is famous for the natural sulphur hot springs that are found on the river banks, hence the name Tattapani.
In the evening we settled for Chai at a tea shop and struck up a conversation with a group of villagers. There we learnt that a dam has been constructed upstream on river Sutlej and when they decided to open the dam, the lower half of the village will be submerged. So in about a year's time, there won't be any natural sulphur hot springs for the present river banks would be submerged.
For the 'economic progress of the country', read power for urban India, a village is paying a price - that of its identity. The name Taatapani would be meaningless, almost ridiculous, without natural hot springs there. How easily they are destroying the most important characteristic of a village. And this is the model that is being followed throughout India. Systematicaly destroying the character, soul, history and depths of a place for blind 'economic progress' that benefits a few.
Tattapani was one of the most beautiful places I have been to. The River Sutlej flowing just about 50 feet from out hotel balcony, tall green hills all around, a tall majestic bridge over the river connecting two hills and an old defunct iron bridge behind it. This place is famous for the natural sulphur hot springs that are found on the river banks, hence the name Tattapani.
In the evening we settled for Chai at a tea shop and struck up a conversation with a group of villagers. There we learnt that a dam has been constructed upstream on river Sutlej and when they decided to open the dam, the lower half of the village will be submerged. So in about a year's time, there won't be any natural sulphur hot springs for the present river banks would be submerged.
For the 'economic progress of the country', read power for urban India, a village is paying a price - that of its identity. The name Taatapani would be meaningless, almost ridiculous, without natural hot springs there. How easily they are destroying the most important characteristic of a village. And this is the model that is being followed throughout India. Systematicaly destroying the character, soul, history and depths of a place for blind 'economic progress' that benefits a few.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Shimla - History and Random....
I had always known Shimla only as a beautiful hill station. But I came to realise that it was also a historically significant place. Being the summer capital of The Raj Indian Empire, the entire administration of the Indian subcontinent was carried out from here.
One morning we visited the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, which was formerly the Viceroy Lodge. About 13 British Viceroys governed the Indian subcontinent from this building during the summers. After independence it was the summer residence of the President until Dr S.Radhakrishnan donated the building to be an educational centre.
The guided tour of the building was very interesting and informative. I was in total awe of the conference hall when it was pointed out that this was the hall where The Indian National Leaders and The British Officers met and the decision to divide the land was taken in that very place. The table on which the documents were signed was also right there. It was quiet a strong place where such monumental historic decisions were made.
One of the most mentionable places of Shimla is the Indian Coffee House. Balajee and I enjoyed as many meals as possible in that charming old place. The atmosphere in the old building is fantastic with government officials, lawyers, tourists and travellers occupying the tables. I guess I just love old time charm. If ever in Shimla, don't miss the Indian Coffee House.
The main street is called The Mall road. But soon I realised that the city centre in every British built Hill Station is called the Mall road. I saw it in Massoorie, Dalhousie and Manali too. I read somewhere about a hill station in Pakistan with a Mall road. But I should say these roads have character and soul that the shallow Malls we have in our big cities don't.
One morning we visited the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, which was formerly the Viceroy Lodge. About 13 British Viceroys governed the Indian subcontinent from this building during the summers. After independence it was the summer residence of the President until Dr S.Radhakrishnan donated the building to be an educational centre.
The guided tour of the building was very interesting and informative. I was in total awe of the conference hall when it was pointed out that this was the hall where The Indian National Leaders and The British Officers met and the decision to divide the land was taken in that very place. The table on which the documents were signed was also right there. It was quiet a strong place where such monumental historic decisions were made.
One of the most mentionable places of Shimla is the Indian Coffee House. Balajee and I enjoyed as many meals as possible in that charming old place. The atmosphere in the old building is fantastic with government officials, lawyers, tourists and travellers occupying the tables. I guess I just love old time charm. If ever in Shimla, don't miss the Indian Coffee House.
The main street is called The Mall road. But soon I realised that the city centre in every British built Hill Station is called the Mall road. I saw it in Massoorie, Dalhousie and Manali too. I read somewhere about a hill station in Pakistan with a Mall road. But I should say these roads have character and soul that the shallow Malls we have in our big cities don't.
Shimla - Walk in the nature.....
From Rishikesh, Balajee and I headed to Shimla after a brief, nothing to write about stop at Chandigarh. Shimla lived up to its reputation of a beautiful hill station.
One morning we set off on a walk trying to find a meadow based on the information in our guidebook. After about two kilometers down the main road, we turned left to a mud road and were soon in the woods. Tall pine trees covering us on all sides. At one point the canopy was so thick that I felt like it was late evening though it was a hot afternoon. We walked through a path next to a beautiful stream. We were surprised by a pleasant waterfall which was about 100 feet tall. The water peacefully fell on the rock and then slowly flowed down without splashing or any hurry. We continued walking down the valley enjoying great views, expecting the road to somehow lead us back to the main road. We went on and on and we seemed to be climbing down into the valley and there was no sign of the path joining back to the main road.
We knew we were in shit but we kept digging deeper. Luckily, we found a group of cow herding women who said the only way to go back to Shimla was turning around and taking the same path we took to come here. It sounded simlpe - take back the same path. But soon we realised (me for the nth time - my friends would know about the famous compass incident) that retracing your path in a forest is difficult work. I thought we had come down one straight path but when we headed back we began to see the path breaking into two at various points. At one point, when the path split into two again, we decided to take the one going down as we could hear the stream that we had passed on our way down. But after about 15 minutes, the path just ended at the stream, except somewhere much down the stream where we hadn't come before. So we retraced back and took the other branch. It was great relief when we finally saw the waterfall that we had passed in the morning. Now we could just go back to the city but we were dog-tired after all those hours of walking and the whole way back was uphill. We were practically dead by the time we reached the main road and we had two more kilometers of uphill walk left.
Back home in Bangalore I have given lifts to any and every stranger that asked for it with a pointed thumb. So I thought this was a good time to cash in on my karma credits and tried to get a lift. For the first ten minutes not a single vehicle passed. And later not a single vehicle stopped. Then came the police who chased us away from there (But we were very happy because it showed how beaten we looked :D). So we just pulled our beaten, tired and exhausted bodies back to the city. And I decided that there was nothing called Karma.
One morning we set off on a walk trying to find a meadow based on the information in our guidebook. After about two kilometers down the main road, we turned left to a mud road and were soon in the woods. Tall pine trees covering us on all sides. At one point the canopy was so thick that I felt like it was late evening though it was a hot afternoon. We walked through a path next to a beautiful stream. We were surprised by a pleasant waterfall which was about 100 feet tall. The water peacefully fell on the rock and then slowly flowed down without splashing or any hurry. We continued walking down the valley enjoying great views, expecting the road to somehow lead us back to the main road. We went on and on and we seemed to be climbing down into the valley and there was no sign of the path joining back to the main road.
We knew we were in shit but we kept digging deeper. Luckily, we found a group of cow herding women who said the only way to go back to Shimla was turning around and taking the same path we took to come here. It sounded simlpe - take back the same path. But soon we realised (me for the nth time - my friends would know about the famous compass incident) that retracing your path in a forest is difficult work. I thought we had come down one straight path but when we headed back we began to see the path breaking into two at various points. At one point, when the path split into two again, we decided to take the one going down as we could hear the stream that we had passed on our way down. But after about 15 minutes, the path just ended at the stream, except somewhere much down the stream where we hadn't come before. So we retraced back and took the other branch. It was great relief when we finally saw the waterfall that we had passed in the morning. Now we could just go back to the city but we were dog-tired after all those hours of walking and the whole way back was uphill. We were practically dead by the time we reached the main road and we had two more kilometers of uphill walk left.
Back home in Bangalore I have given lifts to any and every stranger that asked for it with a pointed thumb. So I thought this was a good time to cash in on my karma credits and tried to get a lift. For the first ten minutes not a single vehicle passed. And later not a single vehicle stopped. Then came the police who chased us away from there (But we were very happy because it showed how beaten we looked :D). So we just pulled our beaten, tired and exhausted bodies back to the city. And I decided that there was nothing called Karma.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Rantings of a Wannabe Socialist
Balajee and I stayed at the Omkarananda Ganga Sadan Ashram while we were in Rishikesh. The Ashram is situated on the banks of the River Ganga offering great views of the Ram Jhula bridge, the Ganga in all its fury,the temples on the other bank, green hills in the background etc. I spent hours and hours on the banks reading Shashi Tharoor's "The Elephant, The Tiger and The Cellphone". The self proclaimed rightist's views on urban development in India left me fuming.
Shashi Tharoor bluntly says Calcutta is finally on the path to development because "people are now dining in affluent restaurants". He is very happy with the model of development urban India is following. He should know that annual family holidays and visits for conferences do not suffice as enough experience to comment on the path the Indian Cities are taking. As an urban Indian from Bangalore, I can see the cultural denigration happening in the city. By culture I of course don't mean the traditional Hindu/Indian culture. Every city has a character, a soul and a depth which we seem to be continuously ignoring in out blind pursuit of economic 'progress'. To give a simple example - shopping malls and commercial complexes are becoming the only public or community spaces in Bangalore. The city is drowning itself in the gaudy of consumerism while happily ignoring (and even burdening with higher costs of living and real estate) the economically lower sections of the city. But Shashi Tharoor wouldn't mind as long as people are "dining in affluent restaurants."
He waxes eloquent about the great infrastructure at Bangalore's infosys Campus and says Infoscions have the best work environment. Does working 12 hours or more in a day qualify as the best work environment? An environment where a big part of the urban young seems to be living just for the weekends. An environment where the IT generation thinks taking kids to McDonald's on weekends is spending quality time with them. (Of course it is not just Infosys but most Indian and Multinational IT/ITES / BPO/KPO and the like companies.)
It has been rightly said the greater the materialistic choices in a society, lesser the rights. So as long as there are "18 restaurants" to choose your lunch from and "a world-class gym" (that you don't have time to use) in your office, don't bother about asking for labour rights like fixed working hours and fair Overtime allowances. Few argue that we can't complain about these things as we are a third world country and we need to be happy with the jobs (which give disposable income too!!) we have. But why should we let ourselves be slaves of the time in history and follow a "beggars can't be choosers" attitude? Why should we give up our lives in working, shopping and watching TV? But more and more people do not seem to understand this as , more and more people have made their jobs and incomes their lives.
Shashi Tharoor bluntly says Calcutta is finally on the path to development because "people are now dining in affluent restaurants". He is very happy with the model of development urban India is following. He should know that annual family holidays and visits for conferences do not suffice as enough experience to comment on the path the Indian Cities are taking. As an urban Indian from Bangalore, I can see the cultural denigration happening in the city. By culture I of course don't mean the traditional Hindu/Indian culture. Every city has a character, a soul and a depth which we seem to be continuously ignoring in out blind pursuit of economic 'progress'. To give a simple example - shopping malls and commercial complexes are becoming the only public or community spaces in Bangalore. The city is drowning itself in the gaudy of consumerism while happily ignoring (and even burdening with higher costs of living and real estate) the economically lower sections of the city. But Shashi Tharoor wouldn't mind as long as people are "dining in affluent restaurants."
He waxes eloquent about the great infrastructure at Bangalore's infosys Campus and says Infoscions have the best work environment. Does working 12 hours or more in a day qualify as the best work environment? An environment where a big part of the urban young seems to be living just for the weekends. An environment where the IT generation thinks taking kids to McDonald's on weekends is spending quality time with them. (Of course it is not just Infosys but most Indian and Multinational IT/ITES / BPO/KPO and the like companies.)
It has been rightly said the greater the materialistic choices in a society, lesser the rights. So as long as there are "18 restaurants" to choose your lunch from and "a world-class gym" (that you don't have time to use) in your office, don't bother about asking for labour rights like fixed working hours and fair Overtime allowances. Few argue that we can't complain about these things as we are a third world country and we need to be happy with the jobs (which give disposable income too!!) we have. But why should we let ourselves be slaves of the time in history and follow a "beggars can't be choosers" attitude? Why should we give up our lives in working, shopping and watching TV? But more and more people do not seem to understand this as , more and more people have made their jobs and incomes their lives.
Chai, Chillum, Chapathi......
One morning in Rishikesh Balajee and I planned to visit the abandoned Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram which is better known as The Beatles Ashram. We found ourselves asking directions from a sadhu. When I enquired if there were any guides around, he said he was a guide himself and this led to one of the best experiences of Rishikesh.
Suraj Giri Baba, our guide though he didn't know much about the Beatles Ashram, is a 25 years old Naga sadhu. He is from the city of Lucknow and was made a sadhu at the tender age of 8 years old. All of 25 years, wearing an orange T shirt, short hair, shaved chin - he was not the typical sadhu of my imagination. Suraj Giri Baba is of the kind where one should not judge, try to reason, to understand or decipher. It is just to be experienced. Here are the excerpts from an interesting monologue:
"It is bad times to be a sadhu now. I fold my hands and greet people with Jai Hari Om and people already begin to shoo me away like I am a beggar. How do they know if I have come to ask something or to actually give something to them.
"I want to be self-dependant. I don't want to go other sadhus' ashrams and survive on others' devotees money. I want to live on my own. So I got into the tourist line. I take foreigners on tours to Shimla, Haridwar, Pushkar etc. Because I am sadhu I dont charge them but just take whatever they give me as donation. There are people who give me 10,000 , 20,000 and even 50,000 for just one week's trip.
"I generally don't entertain Indians. People have given me such bitter experiences that Indians have lost my respect, though I am Indian myself. Indians don't treat sadhus well but look at me like a beggar. If I am with a lady tourist, they pass indecent comments. I have got into fights so many times because people pass filthy comments and some even try to molest them. I go on my own path and am happy with the tourist line. I agreed to guide you guys because I felt some good energy, some brotherhood. Otherwise I never entertain Indian tourists.
"Let me know if you want Charas or Cocaine. Rs. 900 for 10 grams of Charas but very good stuff. This price is because you are Indian, but for foreigners it will cost more. When I got loads of money from tourists, I blew it up on Cocaine and other stuff. But now I have learnt my lessons, a man needs a roof above his head. So next time i make big money, I will buy a piece of land and later build a hut. It will be enough for me and some wandering sadhus who come for shelter. At least people cant shoo me away, like they do now, when I am sleeping.
"I will not attain Moksha from this life. I do drugs, have sex etc and hence it is not possible for me to attain Moksha. But whatever I do, I don't hurt/harm others. I just want to do enough good deeds so that I will at least be reborn a Human Being. To attain Moksha one will have to go and live in deep forests or high mountains and not come in contact with other men and devote all time in meditating." And then seeing my expression, "You are from big cities, you don't believe in Moksha and Dharma. But most Indians, especially in the rural side, believe in the concept of Moksha."
We ended it with a Chai and Cigarette. The impressive Baba signed off with, "Hum Sadhuon ko chahiye toh bus Chai, Cillum, Chapathi.... aur ho sake toh Ch*th. Zindagi Kat Jaati Hai" (All we Sadhus need is Tea, Drugs, Food and if possible Sex. Life will go on."
I could just go on and on about the sadhu's impression of other sadhus, his philosophies in life, his favourite tourists, etc. It was an amasing experience for me. But it left Balajee, our Beatles fan, very disgruntled. The Baba did not know any trivia or interesting facts about the Beatles stay in Rishikesh. He had to satisfy himself with graffiti of Beatles' fans on the Ashram walls.
Suraj Giri Baba, our guide though he didn't know much about the Beatles Ashram, is a 25 years old Naga sadhu. He is from the city of Lucknow and was made a sadhu at the tender age of 8 years old. All of 25 years, wearing an orange T shirt, short hair, shaved chin - he was not the typical sadhu of my imagination. Suraj Giri Baba is of the kind where one should not judge, try to reason, to understand or decipher. It is just to be experienced. Here are the excerpts from an interesting monologue:
"It is bad times to be a sadhu now. I fold my hands and greet people with Jai Hari Om and people already begin to shoo me away like I am a beggar. How do they know if I have come to ask something or to actually give something to them.
"I want to be self-dependant. I don't want to go other sadhus' ashrams and survive on others' devotees money. I want to live on my own. So I got into the tourist line. I take foreigners on tours to Shimla, Haridwar, Pushkar etc. Because I am sadhu I dont charge them but just take whatever they give me as donation. There are people who give me 10,000 , 20,000 and even 50,000 for just one week's trip.
"I generally don't entertain Indians. People have given me such bitter experiences that Indians have lost my respect, though I am Indian myself. Indians don't treat sadhus well but look at me like a beggar. If I am with a lady tourist, they pass indecent comments. I have got into fights so many times because people pass filthy comments and some even try to molest them. I go on my own path and am happy with the tourist line. I agreed to guide you guys because I felt some good energy, some brotherhood. Otherwise I never entertain Indian tourists.
"Let me know if you want Charas or Cocaine. Rs. 900 for 10 grams of Charas but very good stuff. This price is because you are Indian, but for foreigners it will cost more. When I got loads of money from tourists, I blew it up on Cocaine and other stuff. But now I have learnt my lessons, a man needs a roof above his head. So next time i make big money, I will buy a piece of land and later build a hut. It will be enough for me and some wandering sadhus who come for shelter. At least people cant shoo me away, like they do now, when I am sleeping.
"I will not attain Moksha from this life. I do drugs, have sex etc and hence it is not possible for me to attain Moksha. But whatever I do, I don't hurt/harm others. I just want to do enough good deeds so that I will at least be reborn a Human Being. To attain Moksha one will have to go and live in deep forests or high mountains and not come in contact with other men and devote all time in meditating." And then seeing my expression, "You are from big cities, you don't believe in Moksha and Dharma. But most Indians, especially in the rural side, believe in the concept of Moksha."
We ended it with a Chai and Cigarette. The impressive Baba signed off with, "Hum Sadhuon ko chahiye toh bus Chai, Cillum, Chapathi.... aur ho sake toh Ch*th. Zindagi Kat Jaati Hai" (All we Sadhus need is Tea, Drugs, Food and if possible Sex. Life will go on."
I could just go on and on about the sadhu's impression of other sadhus, his philosophies in life, his favourite tourists, etc. It was an amasing experience for me. But it left Balajee, our Beatles fan, very disgruntled. The Baba did not know any trivia or interesting facts about the Beatles stay in Rishikesh. He had to satisfy himself with graffiti of Beatles' fans on the Ashram walls.
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