eeee

January 30, 2008   Comments (7)
 

cornsTiny kiosks selling “American Corns” have become both cottage industry and franchise opp nearly everywhere in metropolitan India. I see them in every market and every mall and movie theatre.
The other day, near a stall that sell the steamed “corns” (in masala – yum, Chinese – too salty, Italian – too much oregano, and American – absolutely bland flavors) I found the discarded packaging of the frozen kernels.
It gives me the absolute heebie-jeebies every time I see it written down as corns (plural).
I always, always get a mental visual that grosses me out. In fact, a simple google search will show you exactly what I mean.
Ick, ick, ick, ick.

 
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picture perfect poster

January 27, 2008   Comments (6)
 

Long gone are the days when posters and billboards were painted by a human being, lovingly and sometimes with hilarious results. But some of us can’t help deface the photographic posters that adhere to every single surface, I guess. I found this ‘improved’ Titan ad featuring an even more ruffianesque Aamir Khan utterly brilliant. I wanted to juxtapose the original but, alas, was unsuccessful in finding the image online. If you spot the original, in Delhi or anywhere, do email me a photo!

Incidentally, I’m far from being the only person documenting this. Check out the poster-art by the very funny, very talented Annu Palakunnathu Matthew (whom I interviewed for the now-defunct Masala magazine eons ago).

 
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sweep me off my feet …

January 22, 2008   Comments (1)
 

mopsThere are several of these dudes who criss cross our neighborhood on these decked out bikes, crying “jhadoo, mop, wiper” in their sing song voice. I just love the sight, though I confess I have yet to give any one of them business… but when I lived in the States, I often yearned for an old fashioned stoop-and-sweep ‘jhadoo’. I never got the hang of the witch-type brooms.
I think I like the Rastafarian feather dusters best, though the red halo type rings are very intriguing, too.

 
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birthday flowers

December 19, 2007   Comments (6)
 

I recently celebrated a birthday — and had myself a party. And got more flowers than I knew what to do with. Every single vase in the house was in use. Finally, I resorted to breaking up the bouquets and chucking the baby’s breath and other fillers to fit the actual flowers into smaller vases. I squeezed the remainders into a pen stand, wine bottles, and even a breezer bottle.
Fresh flowers — I think I’m addicted. Just looking around my digs makes me happy. Six days later, the place still smells great! And the corridor outside looks stunning, if I do say so myself 😀 So I had to document it with my camera phone and share my handiwork! Pause a minute. Take a deep breath. Maybe you’ll be able to smell the roses…
(The rest of the flowers have been photographed on my Olympus and, therefore, don’t belong on the blog.)

 
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andar ki baat hai

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andar wearsThis gem from a hosiery/underwear store in Lajpat Nagar Central Market 🙂 Don’t miss the fact that “Romance” is juxtaposed with the rather prosaic “Groversons, etc.”…

When I lived in Poland, I would frequently be frustrated at the attempts at English signage by local businesses. Maybe I’ve just gotten old, or jaded, or lazy — but I have started finding such bizarro spellings and bastardizations of English charming these days 😉 Andar ki baat hai.

 
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vedic robotics?

December 16, 2007   Comments (0)
 

Uhh, this board is at the ISKCON temple (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) inviting people to the ‘Vedic Expo’ at the Glory of India Vedic Cultural Centre.
It’s the “World’s number 1 Spritual Adventure”, and a “hi-tech
production” featuring “1. Bharat Dharma, 2 Bhagwad Gita and 3. Robotics”. Uh, when I worked for Science & Theology News, we’d have jumped all over this. However, at this point, I confess to be slightly alarmed at the juxtapositioning of Krishna’s ‘universal appeal’ with 9 robots. I’d rather go to Essel World and get my thrills there!

 
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‘o’mygod – and I quote ;)

December 10, 2007   Comments (0)
 

This was taken in Sarojini Nagar market — the capital for surplus and export-rejects shopping. Here you can keep up with the Joneses (literally) by shopping for U.S. department store brands in the open — and you can bargain down, too!

If you’re lucky, you could find three samples of the very same grey wool sweater with each one bearing a different label: Gap, Express, or Abercrombie & Fitch. As I did — I got the A&F one 😉 For the equivalent of $3.80.

But if you’re really, truly lucky, you’d definitely want to thank your maker for such a fantastic price as on these ‘stolls’ and ‘skarps’, non?

 
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aah, chaat

December 9, 2007   Comments (1)
 

shakarkandhi chaat wala with innovative decorationsNo 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? 😉

 
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intoxication

December 1, 2007   Comments (0)
 

alstoniaTowards the end of October and then through December, there’s a totally heady scent that cuts through the gritty grime, the fumes, and the general smell of something burning, here on the streets of Delhi. There’s a huge tree right outside my house, in fact. And though it’s done blooming, there are plenty in the neighborhood under which I pause just to inhale the scent. Late one night, a friend and I were going to coffee in Defence Colony. We parked under one of these near the gumbad, and asked one of the parking attendants the name of the tree. He did tell us what it was called but the next day neither of us could recall what he’d said.
But, then I asked my handy dandy walking-talking Encyclopedia-Botanica (my mother) and I hadn’t even gotten to describing the sheflara-like leaves when she pronounced I was drunk on Alstonia Scholaris. She said it’s the only thing she misses about Delhi.

 
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teakit

November 29, 2007   Comments (1)
 

train thermosLast month, Ma and I traveled by train to Amritsar — my first train ride since last January, when V and I went to Agra (and I left a trail of vomit all over the city and station.) I did get a headache on the way back, but was still charmed by the fact that while the colors have changed, we still get served tea in thermoses on the Shatabdi. And a ‘tea kit’ with sugar, dairy creamer, a tiny stirrer and lots of sugar.

 
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