Chhavi Noticed This!

Juicing is hard work. Last month, I went to Janakpuri for a work visit and exiting the I just loved these two little boys who were selling sugarcane juice  (replacing the shakharkandhi chaat of the winter) from this rotary machine which took all their strength. There were plenty of takers on that hot day — one of the first sweaty ones in Delhi’s so-called spring…
Their ice blocks are covered with jute sacks and the sugarcane stems
are then passed between the two grinding wheels. The result — a flattened stick of fibre, and sweet, sweet, sticky liquid sugar

This was taken in the ‘backside’ of the rather happening Saket PVR shopping complex – boasting a multiscreen movie theatre, lots of bars & restaurants, a coffee shop, 3 music stores … (and every ATM besides ICICI bank’s!)
So, if you need a shave before going to any of these places, here’s the old-school nayi under a tree.
I think this is one guy who’ll stay in business even as the other ‘service professions’ die out in the wake of modernization — the door-to-door kabadi wala (recycler), naak-chhidane wala (ear piercer), and the cycle-mop-man (watch this space — coming soon!) are on their way out. This guy, with his sharp razor and the one-chair + mirror overhead will stick. What do you think?

No one at home likes this stuff, but I am turning into a shakarkandhi chaat fiend. I could live on this stuff. Well, all winter long, when it’s available, anyway…
It’s basically a sweet potato that’s been slow cooked over a coal fire and then peeled, diced, and shaken in a few spicy masalas and lemon juice. So yum! And hey, it’s cheap, easily available, low in calories and has a low glycemic index. Who could ask for a better snack?

In South Ex market, I spotted the chhuri-sharpening guy — sharpening knives with his self-powered bicycle tool. Pretty cool, eh?