Chhavi Noticed This! » Delhi

the ironing world

chhavi — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:10:33 +0000

Spotted this in delhi. We were on its right, then its left. The van was absolutely unmarked. Nothing differentiated it from any other white van. Then when we were behind it, we found it offers some salvation. To the IRONING WORLD. But … that was all they wrote. I want more information.
Have you seen this van?
What are these mysterious solutions they offer to the “ironing world”?
(And what is the ironing world?)

upside down in delhi

chhavi — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 06:42:12 +0000

Where else but in saadi Dilli? This one is a pretty old – taken from Outer Ring Road, with a friend in the driver’s seat. We spotted this one night heading back after a film, soon after the #CWG and were awestruck. A whole, huge directional sign hung upside down, pointing the wrong way. Yes, that sign is above the other lane.
The next night we were heading back, we tried to capture it – shakily and blurrily and in motion, sorry!
Well, Mumbaikars could counter that at least Delhi has visible road signage! Here, every time I go to the airport, I see a car (sometimes two!) attempting to back down the flyover, having totally missed the tiny sign on the left and then having spotted the Sahar hotel, thinking “Oh $#!%@”

Fanfare for a fan-samosa (fan)

chhavi — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:38:42 +0000

Uh, so this post’s title ran away from me …but never mind. What you see in close up is a Japani Samosa. We read about this in the paper – this store run by a Sikh has been selling Japanese samosas for the last 60 years, so 4 days before I packed up my life in Delhi, we went scouring the streets of Chandni Chowk and Chawdi Bazaar for all the old-world treats. (we also bought jewelry on Dariba Kalan, the silversmith street, but the food really was the biggest draw). Here, across Moti Cinema, is Manohar’s Japani Samosa stall. The samosa is shaped like an accordion fan (think deep fried, stuffed, fanned phyllo.) The chhole, though, were to die for. (And after two helpings each, we were close.)

tagged

chhavi — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:13:33 +0000

Since I got tagged by aditya, I’m doing a random post that doesn’t quite fit ☺
To be true to my own blog, the photo is of a place I have lived in. This cool dude used to show up and hang out in my balcony last year in Delhi

4 Jobs I’ve Had (in chronological order): Girl Friday at King College, News producer at boston.com, producer at an Indian radio station, & freelance radio content producer at my company ~~News Radio India~~ Sonologue.
4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over: Dr. Strangelove (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb), Noises Off, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, & How to Steal a Million
4 Places I’ve Lived (in order): Bombay, Delhi, Bristol, & Boston
4 TV Shows I Like: uhhh… Absolutely Fabulous, Little Britain, and I’m lame, I can’t even think of 2 more I’d watch … Black Adder maybe. Hmm, I’m seeing a theme. Let’s throw in Monty Python and we’re all British, all the way
4 Favorite Foods: sweet potato maki, malabari fish curry, chocolate cheesecake, mangoes
4 Places I’d Rather Be: only 4? Angkor Wat, Alleppey, Boston, Majorca …
4 People I’m Tagging: s4ur4bh, swash, shilpa, & dhruv.

masosas!

chhavi — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:13:10 +0000

We used to know a pair of lhasa apsos called Samosa and Moongphali Anyway, this is not about them. This is about where your samosas come from Behind the halwai, in a dingy, cavernous room is where the raw samosas – still tender in their doughy skins – await their flash in the pan. So, I’m romanticizing Sue me. But the contrast was too stark to not post. Enjoy your next samosa… Oh and the post’s title? I knew a kid who couldn’t say “samosa”

fabric!

chhavi — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:10:17 +0000

India, shining, rising and ever colourful. The travel guides gush about the vivid colors everywhere (hmm, actually, so does every book on India ever, no?)
Of course, it’s true. We do colourful very well here. We sometimes leave vivid way, way behind and move into the territory of garish and outlandish with some dexterity.
Anyway, this is the inside of a teensy tailoring shop that is owned by a lower middle class sharp-talking, tobacco-chewing lady who employs three ‘masterjis’ to do the actual tailoring. At the outer edge of this tumble of color and texture you can see one hunched over an old-timey sewing machine.

Kala, not work!

chhavi — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:14:23 +0000

I’m such a gavaar, I did not know that the Triveni Kala Sangam (~ arts center) in our capital city has a lovely garden cafe. I was quite pleased that someone in community radio suggested meeting here one spring afternoon. Ironically, we were seated right beside this sign and it totally tickled me. Apparently art and work are mutually exclusive. And maybe meetings, they think, kill – just like cigarettes do. It’s a distinct possibility, no? ;D

(In case it’s not clear enough to read, the sign says: “Right of entry reserved. SMOKING or MEETINGS Not Permitted”)

trapped

chhavi — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:35:11 +0000

I am back in a neck brace. And I didn’t fall down the stairs this time. Let’s say it’s a combination of bad computer posture, too much computer time and a PT-teacher-turned -drill-sargeant- turned-yoga-instructor who pressed a stressed shoulder a bit too hard. Anyway, this is what I feel like. (Yes, yes, I’m in full drama queen mode. Also known as iWithdrawal.)
In the picture is Rajinderji, Man Friday at Breakthrough, who tracked down the funny smell in the second room –> pigeon fledglings amidst feathers and droppings inside the AC! And bravely caught them and relocated them. Outside. Sigh.
(Oh and for those of you feeling bad for me: continue to do so, please. Though I’ve read more books in 5 days than I have in as many months and seen more movies than I can keep track of, I’m in PAIN! and work is piling up. And I’m too OCD to deal with this much longer!!!)

reminds me of that Adnan Sami song

chhavi — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:39:58 +0000

This was taken in Delhi. I’ve seen images of gods adorning walls in public places all over India – a brilliant idea to stop our desi brethren from peeing just anywhere … though it’s now against the law.
However, this set of Hindu deities inside the elevator of an office block puzzled me. It was kinda cool to see the two doors whiz shut and the pictures appear Ok, yes, I’m still a kid
Oh, and the song is the one in which Mr. Sami is beseeching god for a ‘lift’ (up, not a car ride): “Thodi si to lift kara de/ Dollar de ya pound de de/Cash de de, check bana de/Dirham-o-dinaar de de…”

fine!

chhavi — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:31:06 +0000

When my brother and I were little, my mother decided we were using too much ‘bad language’ — we were calling each other ‘stupid’ and ‘moron’ – and to curb our tongues, she instituted a fine. We were to drop 25 paise into a gulak for adjectives like that, 50 paise for using sh!#. These colorful gulaks in Mazjid Moth, Dilli, reminded me of that failed behavioural modification experiment
Were this gulak thing instituted in our house again, all of us would be contributing quite a bit — parents included! Hmm, maybe we could use the spoils to get some good PG-13 DVD’s …