Last Weekend

What I did last weekend...
We had our neighbours for lunch Sunday afternoon.
The menu for the lunch was
Tomato Soup
Fries - onion pakoda, palak pakoda and aloo pakoda
Vegitable biryani
Bagara Bigan
Chana Masala
Plain rice
Kakarakay vepudu
Dondakaya Vepudu
Custard
Ice Cream and
Salad

Chat Bhandar

            In Hyderabad there is a chat bandar called Gokul Chat Bandar. Here you can get every verity of mouth watering chat. What makes this place so unique is the verity of items that it offers and the price. You can find the items like Mirchi, Pav Bhaji, Pani Puri, Somosa , Cachori, Ragada, Bhel Puri, Save Puri etc. Some items are served in sweet-cold yogurt. This yogurt verities are not that spicy and yogurt adds that bit of extra flavor. All these items are priced in the range of Rs 20 - 25. 

            The Chat Bandar is situated in the busy locality of Koti Bazar. This place is know for Big collages, General hospitals, shopping area and traffic. Many people visit this place especially students. I have gone to this place so many time. During college and after that as well. Almost for every treat this was the place to be. Who can resist yummy food !!! Because of the price at which these are offered we could offered it within our allowance. 

            I have tried out almost all the varieties that are offered on the menu. I don't like spicy food but still I eat all the hot items and then I cool off with a dhai puri or any of the milder sank. So every time I go there I end up eating two plates :-) After eating my favorite 'snaks' I happily go home and skip my dinner :-))

            Because of the popularity of this place its always crowded. Initially it was a 2-3 rooms shop where all the cooking was done. Costumers used to stand on the foot path and eat. There is some place behind the shop where 20-30 people can stand and eat. Now the shop has expanded, sitting arrangement is provided in first and the second floor. It has the restaurant kind of atmosphere.  As you can expect I like the old way, nothing can beat the experience of holding a hot plate in your one hand and balancing you back pack and eating while having a conversation with your mouthful with your friends. That sounds gross but these are the experience that stay with you... (Yeah... you can call me nuts!)

            As a popular hang out this place also has suffered some tragic events. These being the closure of the place by the municipal authorities and the 2007, bomb blast. Few years back the place was closed down for health concerns. Municipal office said that the food was not prepared in hygienic manner. The shop was cleaned up and it opened soon and with in no time the business was as usual. In August 2007 there were two bomb blast within few minutes in Hyderabad. One was in Lumbini park and other was at Gokul Chat bandar. At least Forty people were killed in these blasts. It was closed for more than two months. After the investigation and major reconstruction it was reopened. This time security guard is placed and backpack are not allowed inside. And the life goes on...

            I was so happy when the chat bandar was reopened. It shows that we are not scared. The terrorist cannot rule our lives. Ha how my post has change... All I wanted to write was how much I like the food at Gokul. Yeah I miss the food and all the good times I had there. Next time when I go home i will definitely go there and eat to my hearts content. This is one of the thing i miss about my home. I have been raving about chats and all but the best food I have eaten till now is the one that my mom makes... Its right - "We appreciate the things only when they are lost."

The Voice In My Head

Today I was seeing or to put it rightly I was staring at the image I have chosen to be displayed on this blog... The one which has these beautiful fragile flowers that are rising from the ground to the sky. What made me choose this particular Image? I like this picture, these flowers captured the essence of thoughts.
I pictured thoughts like these flowers, thousands of them springing from the fertile grounds of our mind and presenting themselves. This is a never ending process. Our mind is always working - even when we are sleeping (dreams), all these thoughts go on and on.
Few years back I attended a yoga class. There I was introduced to the art of meditation (It's another story whether I continued to practice what I learned!!!) We were taught the techniques of calming our minds and knowing the actual thoughts that's running in our mind.
At any time you just give a pause to the activity that your doing and hear to that 'voice' in your head - yep to that all familiar voice. It says so many things at a time. You want to know what my mind is saying right now - "clean up the house, wash those dishes in the sink they have been there from yesterday, throw the garbage out... Did you water those plants? When will you get back to the C book that your supposed to read now? Oh that mystery novel is so tempting its sitting right next to you... come on read it - just few pages.... When will you complete the subject books???.... I am hungry... What's there for lunch?"
This is just a small segment of thoughts that are going through my head now. Just like in the picture where some flowers are in the focus while some are not so are the thoughts. After few minutes you forget what you were thinking. You may recall it or just like these fragile flowers they are lost forever.
How can one capture these thoughts? Can anyone accomplish all the things they think of?I guess we cant... All we can do is divert these thoughts in one single channel and try to achieve the goals. In this process we leave behind so may things, we could have done, so many different lives we could have lived...
All that matters is what are our priorities and what are you going to about them? and the single most important question "Am I doing right???"
Thus we are all guided, saved, ridiculed, confused and many time tortured by this voice - The Voice In My Head.

Corn

Yesterday in the farmers market I bought few corn cobs. I have so many Good memories associated with them...

With the first shower of Monsoon rains I used to run home from school and ask dad for corn. In our place we call it Makka Butta". (Well I am Hyderabad - India) The vendors who sold the corn had a typical set up. They used to have wooden cart, which was basically a wooden board placed on a metal frame and which moved on four cycle tyres. It allowed the vendors to have mobility so that they can move from street to street and sell they goods.On the cart there was an iron container which holds burning coal. On this red burning coal corn is roasted. Taste of a corn done in this way is so good - hmmm my mouth is watering with these thoughts... The cart had enough space to store up some 70 to 100 corn cobs and enough char coal.

Selecting the right corn was a ritual to Dad. He would press and see for a good quality corn in this initial selection only 2-3 corns were discarded and then if he liked the feel of a corn he will remove the cover a bit and look at the corn beads. They should look good and feel good. They should not be too soft or too hard. Small beads will just melt away on your mouth, they will be sweets but then you will not have nothing to munch and if the corn is too hard it will be tough to chew and taste will not be good and more importantly it will be no fun!!! So dad will select only the 'good' corn and give it to the vendor. He will then remove its cover and place it on the hot charcoal. From time to time it will be roasted such that corn is done in all sides evenly. When its done it rubbed with lemon which is dipped in a bit of salt and chili powder. These add up with the sweet taste of corn and provide you a delicious delight... When you hold the corn in your hand you can feel the warmth and the smell is inviting you to just dig-in.

When Dad used to buy me corn mum always said "Why do you buy her that now, She will not eat any thing for dinner..." Well mum, now i am having corn for lunch :-) Its a whole meal for me. Its nutritious and it tastes Good with capital G :-)

Corn is best enjoyed during the rainy season, with temperatures coming down and having hot corn cob in your hand is magic. For me rains meant corn and vice verse. Here in California I cant get the vendors who will roast me the corn. Some day I will try roasting the corn on a barbecue grill for now I eat it raw. It does not have the same taste but then its the corn and for now that enough for me...

See how one Innocent looking corn cob can wrap up so many memories in it. That was the nostalgic trip I took for today. I munched up my corn, enjoyed it alot and shared these memories with you... Hope you had as much fun as I had writing it...

That's all for now.

Enjoy and have lots and lots of fun...

Bye.