Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Profiling a Bangalorean

Bangaloreans are a bunch of hilarious and good natured people.Hence no offense to the below observations as I too, am a pukka b'lorean!

- You will see most localites taking an early morning walk in the neighborhood or the park.Over the weekends,these walks culminate with a whole hearted south indian tiffin at a popular darshini.

- Cafe Coffee day revolutionised the cafe culture in India.This Karnataka brand however is just an extension of the B'lore personality.While it may be cool to hang out at a cafe,most localites remain die-hard filter coffee fans.

- How are you doing? how was the dinner? how was the movie? a classic B'lore answer to most of these questions is "First class"!!

- Old world B'loreans are hospitality par excellence.They will make sure you overeat while they will eat only after you finish.

- When in high school and college,your vocabulary will automatically include slang such as sidey, maccha,guru,swami,maga etc.

- Young or old,all are addressed as "boss" even if you are their friend/relative."Man" even if you are a woman or a kid!

- aa, aaa and more aaaa's.If you are new to b'lore dont be surprised most nouns with a suffix of "aa".Example,jayanagar is jayanagaraa,Ram is Ramaa.These aa's are not restricted to nouns only,ya.

- If you need to exclamate,the words "ayyo" and "yabbha" will be most helpful for others to sympathise with you.

- B'lore is a very cosmopolitan city.No wonder english has trickled into certain vernacular phrases.Like "simply adjust maadi","one taraah","chill maadi","enjoy maadi".Another one which cracks up north indians is "chuma" which is nothing but "simply".Brings lot of local flavor when you use it.

- One humble thing you notice in Bangalore or in most places in south india is that if someone touches you with their feet by mistake they apologise with a hand to chin gesture.This indicates that slight kicking is a very unholy act.

- Most B'loreans like owning a bungalow or a house.How much ever far the plot or site may be,B'loreans are most likely to save up and buy the piece of land to build their own house.These days however the scene has changed a bit and many are going in for apartments due to the congestion in the city.I remember somebody told me once that Bangalore was called the Garden city because every house had a garden in its yard(this is in independence days).Alas,this cannot be claimed any more.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Blast from the past!!!

Below is the cover story of Bangalore Monthly magazine in 1997 featuring my mom as the "Bangalorean of the year".A proud moment for the family!Saving the article for future reference.












Friday, December 11, 2009

M.G Road bull-evard

In April 2007,I saved TOI's photos of the picturesque M.G Road boulevard.Two years later,I come back to find a dusty unfinished 'Metro' flyover.While I hope the public transport system brings relief to the bustling city,one cant help missing the old world charm of the erstwhile south parade.



Monday, November 30, 2009

My must eat in blore!

These are the places I love visiting while in Blore.Not an exhaustive list but covers the neighborhood and the areas I grew up in.I like to call them quintessential blorean:)

1) Masala puri: spicy dish surprisingly not available in Bombay and further north.I think it's an classic Bangalore dish available at well known chaat vendors.

2) Bun Nippat : Karnataka's answer to vada pav!Instead of the vada,you have a hard crunchy vada called the nippat which is sandwiched with sweet and spicy chutneys.A little bit of tomatoe and sev make the dish complete.Must eat at Chetty's corner near the popular Gullus chaat in kumara park.

3) Masala pepsi: another local favourite available at chetty's corner.Its just pepsi/coke mixed with chaat masala,jalajeera etc(they have their own recipe and method to create this concoction.Works wonders with any snack item.It is now being made all over town,,especially near colleges.

4) Food street at Vishweshwarpuram:Any blorean worth his salt would have made it to this ultimate food gulli.The variety of food available here at every step makes the trip so exciting and worth every penny.

5) Any darshini or south indian fast food: masala dosa,rava idly and hot hot filter coffee breakfast is a great way to start your day.

6) Halli mane in Malleshwaram : akki roti/raagi roti,maddur vada topped with mosambi juice is heavenly!

7) Kabab corner in Gandhinagar : been taking take aways from here since I was a kid..as much as i hate the area and even more the loafers roaming around,,the kababs or chicken fry as they call it are delicious!

8) India coffee house: I was sorely disappointed to see the coffee house building demolished when i visited Blore this time.Was comforted just in time to find it temoporarily shifted to Church street.Eggs,dosas and hot coffee,courtesy India coffee board is the most charming coffee shop you will find in blore.Coffee day and Baristas may be successful commercially but one cant beat the old world charm of india coffee house.One of my favourite memory of Blore has been sitting in the window seat sipping coffee looking out on the M.G road boulevard.Not to forget the "rani blue neel" coloured royally dressed waiters!

9) Tijori@ Hotel Atria: I can still taste the extremely delicious taste of mutton biryani in my mouth.


10) Open sandwich at Iyengar bakery: These bakeries are the best you find in blore.Purely local and the most mouth watering snacks of all varieties can be found here.

11) Infinitea on cunningham road :Definite try out for tea lovers.A pot of masal chai and steamed momos-the best way to catch up with old and new friends.

to be continued...


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Bangalore print for sale

Interesting photographic print of Brigade Road,BLR available for sale on Art.com.
Photographer :Walter Bibikow