Constantly working legs

The sweet/snack shop always wears a festive look round the year, for it is always brimming with people ..Who wants a reason to savor sweet and snacks? That too, being located in a neighborhood which doesnt boast of too many hang out locations, there is always crowd in this shop..Order and order, the bhaiyyaa's behind the counter are busy perennially preparing samosa chaat, bhel puri without onion, sandwich with less butter , and the specifications only grow..The men behind the counter make sure they understand the requirements and never fail to put a smile on their faces when the preparation is ready to serve..This goes on day after day ,all round the year..I wonder if their legs would ache at all..Why are the employers not concerned about their required-to-stand-always situation and make amends in the kitchen counter such that the slabs are located not too high from the ground and a couple of chairs placed where these men can occasionally , if not always use them to rest their legs and feel comfortable? I wonder if these employees are too scared to ask their bosses for such an arrangement? My legs ache if I stand continuously for I-dont-know-how-long..depends ..But,I cant imagine standing for hours together which these men do..

This is a common sight in quite a few places around us, especially in restaurants, in retail stores . Do the employers think if the employees were sitting, that would lessen the customers entering the shop? Folding clothes and stacking at the right places for members of the house is quite a task..Imagine doing it everyday for the umpteen clothes that customers just pick and see and drop at random places in a 10000 sqft shop..Wouldnt the clothes refrain from folding if people who do the job do while sitting on a chair?

There are forums which disucss and probably take steps to implement facilities that are friendly for everyone (especially differently-abled people)..while such steps are taken, it will also be good to see employers understanding the pain-points or needs of employees and address them..I will ask the sweet shop bhaiiya what he thinks about constantly having to stand and will update his(their) inputs here..

Hello Blog post and a quick round-up

Hello Blog! I've been away for quite some time now, neglected the blog, but had quite a few posts written in head all along, but not sure when they would all see the light of the day..Anyways, without dragging too much, I will jot down the highlights of what I was upto while away from blogger

* I turned thirty !! Doesnt feel any different.We had a simple do with family at South Indies..Did a good amount of shopping two weekends prior to the D-day.In fact, I keep telling S that some of the items for the big three-oh are still pending, which I would shop in due course .I have taken some resolutions for myself , starting from letting-go of incidents that disturb me, to not be scared/frightened and to build teh courage to see how things unfold, to read more and to write more and to be decisive.

* I visited my parents after a gap of 6.5 months. Even while I was staying away from parents, I used to visit them every 4 months, but this time, I managed to be connected with them by phone for 6.5 months.

* My dad fractured his hip and it scared the hell out of me..This happened two days after I met them (which I'd mentioned in the previous point) and my dad was put up at a different place that day from my mom and the 7 odd hours of travel before which my mom could see my dad and convey me how he is was a huge period of stress for all of us..Thank God, Thanks a million for protecting dad . Kindly bless daddy and help him recover fast.

* I met my friend from college after 8 years .We were constrained for time, but glad that we met and did a quick catch up.

* My friend HV and I , inspite of staying in the same city all along, we hardly meet..We catch up on phone and text messages often, but, have not visited each others homes so far..This situation was reversed when I went to her house last Friday. It was raining, maid hadnt come, mil not home, I had to prepare dinner after coming back, and left office not-so-early..Inspite of all these reasons, I decided not to postpone and went ahead..Glad that it happened, instead of my usual procastination..

* The one year of not celebrating festivals have come to an end (due to S's uncle , and the first aniversary is also done ). I had a relaxed schedule during the festive ocassions, since there wasnt work in the kitchen preparing delicacies, but, glad that the year went by , as it was quite boring to put up dolls for Golu or invite Amman to our home for Varalakshmi Vratham or do the 4:30AM -oil bath on Deepavali.

* I've become addicted to Fruit Smasher game . Everyday I play atleast 3-4 times and end up straining my eyes and scolding the game :)..Need to come out of it soon..

* In between all of this, our team delivered a major milestone under my leadership and  there is a line-up of the next set of milestones..Thanks to the team for staying by and making it happen.It was a roaler -coaster ride with many weeks and months of slogging over days and nights and over weekends!

Let me also put up a short review of restaurants that we ate at in the recent past:

Samarkhand:  Rich , mouth watering Afghani Dhal is the highlight for vegetarians..So are the nannas, plain ones which are so soft on the mouth , rather a bit heavy on the pocket..Afghani rasa-malai melts in the mouth..I ordered Kumbh Ki Galouti against the chef's recommendation , and if anyone is reading this, pls dont order this when you go.Order Kumbh Khazana, if you are choosing one of he kumbh flavours. It is pricey , but can be done once...in a while..Last I remember going there was with my colleagues many years ago, when I used to like their parathas, but now we settled for roti and naan. The interiors are dark, with dim lighting, service is prompt , portions are small, but taste is real good., pricing is on the higher side.

Nandoos: S suggested this place and their speciality is this "peri-peri" which is nothing but different levels of red-chili in their food varieties..
For veggeterains, there is this traditional burger, sandwich,pasta, pizza, ..we ordered a burger and pasta and the pasta was good , when compared to the pasta served at Pizza Hut kinda places..Pricing is similar to Chilis, but portions are smaller compared to Chilis.I hear that Nandoos is famous for their chicken delicacies..

Sreeraj Lassi bar: we have become fans of this place..Our regular order there is Gud-Bud and Falooda. Very very nominally priced, Gud-bud is rich with three flavours of ice-cream, nuts, cherries, wafers, essence..Falooda is also equally good. soft on the pocket and when it comes to the taste of the ice-cream(considering the price-point), I dont see a much difference once you start gorging on it..

Corner House: Corner House is another of our frequently visiting ice-cream shops..Our standard there is Hot caramelo pudding, but last time, we ordered fruit jackpot, and another cone, thanks to the overdoe of ice-creams last week, S is sneezing and coughing now(:

Imli: This is situated in the interior streets of Indiranagar (inside the road where Domino's Pizza is on 100ft Road,IndiraNagar). We wnet for a dinner, food was just average, servers didnt know what is the speciality of their restaurant, they say every food item listed in their menu is their speciality, which is good for their marketing, but it is not shown in the food they served..we had specifically ordered lassi without any sugar in it, but we were provided with a glass full with loads of sugar in it..We were frustrated and didnt want to spoil our evening/night by arguing with them, hence wated the 100 bucks on lassi (: It still haunts me for having paid for the lassi which we never had(: Very average food, I wouldnt go there again..

Books ..

and me..

During the growing-up years, my association with reading was limited to textbooks, library books once in a while, weekly "Young world ", "Siruvar malar" (from Dina malar), books obtained as prize and ocassional readers digest during the mid teens..I'm unable to pin-point exactly as to why there was close to "no-exposure" towards books of different kinds, especially comics during the early years..Is it because I didnt show any specific interest or if the school or surroundings didnt have such kind of a "encouraging-children-to-read" atmosphere (Definitely, the school, neighbors,tom,dick and harry laid stress on reading every other book prescribed by the class syllabus, but I'm referring to the habit of reading age-appropriate books of different genre or rather inculcating the habit from childhood..),..Whatever the reason, I grew up where after school hours was spent playing outdoor untill about 10 years, then moving to indoor games , then, there was explosion of cable TV and you know where time would have been spent..All this if we get time above and after doing all the hand-breaking homework, lessons to cram for the next day test , attending school untill 4 or sometimes 5PM from morning 9!!

There have of course been days when I've tried my skills for events during sports day, annual day, sister feast (since I studied in a Christian school), inter-school competition etc etc..Looking back, I do remember the thoughts I had when I visited my friends house (this friend's both parents are Doctors) and when I found that she was sitting and reading a voluminous book of Sidney Sheldon .When she went in to get tea, I glanced the book and wondered how she got around reading such a big book with so small letters !! Having accustomed to short stories and at the max the non-detail for English-2 at school, I could'nt get myself at how stories could run for so many pages..I didnt ask more details to her and when the tea arrived, we started chatting our school-gossip/politics :) ..I didnt have the natural inclination to didnt bother to  push myself to explore what reading was, neither did someone/some event give me the curiosity to venture into reading..Now, when I come across many who refer to the various books that they have devoured at each stage/age in life and how they still vividly narrate the characters/story line or rejoice when they see that their child reads the same book and enjoys reading as they did years ago or how they describe that they found solace in reading or books gave them good company while growing up,I feel good reading about them..At the same time, it triggers me into an introspective mood, where I start thinking about my hobby is..

Only after I started working, I enrolled myself into a library near the hostel where I was staying and I am thankful for that! I got into reading and devoured many Sheldon's..(I figured then how a story can extend for hundreds of pages and how one can sustain interest in a loong novel..:)) After marriage, thanks to S, who had an interest in books and reading, introduced me to other authors..There was a stage (I think in 2010) where I was found having a book in hand after office hours, every single day..The urge to buy books over clothes was intense during that period and my hands would go over to flipkart every now and then to order a new book..Now wait..all this enthu happened during a period and that period was short lived..I was again back to normal, sometimes, not touching a book for months together or sometimes, getting bored in every third page of a book (though the book would be a thriller!)

I sometimes wonder what was/is my hobby? My interest seem to be short-lived..I tried my hand at clay/pot painting last year, did a few of them and the ceramic and pot placed n the cup-board are accumulating dust..I started writing some short-stories, but after a few of them, the book lies untouched for many months now..So, when I see people who say books have been giving them company since childhood, I definitely dont deny the fact that books are indeed capable of , bit what does it take within a person to be have sustained interest? I laugh at myself for writing such questions, for I know the answer..or atleast I seem to know..The answer is: who can know what can interest a person but the person him/her self?

I do enjoy reading these days and hope that I can have sustained interest.Thats the point here..And when I see mommy-bloggers who write about introducing their child to reading early or who rejoice in the fact that their kid is inetrested in books, I think within that I will also make the effort to begin reading to my child/children very early and try to inculcate the habit of reading..But, if the child doesnt have the interest in it, what can be done? Ok, these questions can wait I guess, and depending on how future unfolds..For now,let me go the Archer I'm reading now (The Fourth Estate)..

Bliss is..

after you board the train, you call up the parents to tell that you have boarded and that the train has started its journey and by chance you come near the door of the coach just to have a glimpse of your house while the train passes by the railway line road where your house is put up , and viola! cant beleive your eyes, you spot your mom and sister waiting by the road and both the parties spot each other and wave hands..!! Doesnt stop here with waving..While hands are swaying, one wave suggests a "Bye, untill wee meet next time"..another sway of the hand suggests to go back..Mom and sis suggest the son/brother to get back to the berth and not stay near the steps in the moving train..The grown up lad waves and the asks the women of his house to get back to their house, for its dark in the night..

The joy of caring for each other : B.L.I.S.S and to witness this is some more of it !

Restaurant hopping

S and I like to try out various restaurants, cuisines..I shall put down some of the restaurants that we have visited  and will give my comment/review for each of them

Chillies : Ever since S introduced me  to this restaurant sometime in 2010, I've got hooked to it. Earlier , it was located in Old Airport Road, next to the Total Mall. We have usually been there for the evening snacks which doubles up as early dinner too. The Big Mouth Burger ,Fajitas, Quesedillas and the glucamole they dish out is awesome to taste. We have been regulars there and over time, I feel that the quality has come down a little bit.The charges have also gone up (: They have now moved to Phoenix Market City . Compared to many other places that we have visited, I feel this place offers a decent value for money. Rating : 4/5

California Pizza Kitchen: After my trip to the UK, I've been  caught in this love-for-pizza (italian cuisine) and this place being relatively new (remember seeing this chain only in 2012 and not before) , we went ahead ..Nothing great to offer, if you are a vegetarian. The pizzas were cold and portions in the starters were very less. Expensive food and not really worth for the money. Rating: 2/5

Rajdhani: Before I moved to the current work-place last year,I used to have my work-place at Whitefield for about 2 years and this place was introduced by one of our colleagues who gave his farewell lunch there. Good service, and a good variety of dishes for a vegetarian meal.  The regulars in the thaali are  dhal-bhatti, two veggies, jilebi for sweet, soft and small chapatti (not-the tandoori roti), bajra roti, and another roti which is a kind of a biscuit,  dhal chawal, white rice and curd rice..Good food and if you want to eat a wholesome meal, can head out to this place. rating: 4/5. They charge ~350 for a thaali. Not sure if they have different rates for weekends these days.

Sanjeevanam : Located in Madiwala, this place offers Rajakeeyam Lunch .Conceptually, its a health food restaurant and there is no on-ion,garlic in any of their menu items. Its a saatvik spread and quite good too. You'll find the same spread in the menu any time you go , still the quality and teats has been good so far. We went for the Onam sadya today and felt that the usual spread is much better than this Onam Sadya special food they offered. For regular Rajakeeyam Lunch: Rating is 4/5. Its 300 bucks for a thaali.

Barbeque Nation:

South Indies: The day we went, there was raw banana curry, which I'm not too fond off. Have heard that Appams is a speciality in this restaurant. I didnt find anything special or exciting in this place.
 Normal food , nothing worth mentioning. Rating: 2.5/5

Annapoorna: Located at both Cambridge Layout and at 80 feet Road, you can find Tamilians flocking the place on weekends..The usual sambhar, rasam, thayir, with sweet and appalam is the spread here. For seniors who want a break from their own cooked food at home, can head to this place. Other than that, nothing special worth mentioning here.For dinner,Apart from the usual, different types of dosa, they also give a dosa combo which has raagi dosa, masala dosa and akki roti. Rating: 3/5

NH8: The spread is similar to Rajdhani. ie, Rajasthani Food. But , if one is particular about rajasthani food, you can as well heda for Rajdhani. The taste is not as good compared to the later. Located in 80 feet Road, Indiranagar. Rating: 3/5.

Indi Joe:  Varied spread: starters, chaat, pizza, live pasta, breads, roomali roti, assorted veggie side dishes, fruits and a big spread of desserts on weekends. My team at work prefers this place for team -lunches. Rating: 4/5. High rating mainly because of the different options under one roof.

Punjaab: Located at RMZ Infinity, same campus as Indi Joe. Decent vegetarian spread, minus the pizzas and pastas, Instead have a couple of starters and chaat counter. and the usual dhaal, roti, sabzi, chaawal along with thick buttermilk. rating: 3.75/5. Tastes good. Actually can rate a 4, if a couple of more options are provided for vegetarians.

Vivanta by Taj,Whitefield: After having a lavish buffet in Taj Bengal last year, I've been caught by this love for Taj. ie, when any mediocre restaurant charges approx 400-500 bucks these days , I feel what Taj charges  for its magnificient spread , quality, service is definitely worth it , atleast once in a while. So, we were debating whether to go to Taj Residency, Vivanta or Taj West End for quite some time and everytime, I used to pick another restaurant thinking "is it really necessary to spend a grand on just one lunch ?"thinking like this, I've seen the rpices go from 900 per lunch to 1300 , which we went to a couple of weeks ago. We went to Vivanta by Taj at Whitefield and it was Srilankan Food festival that week.  A long spread starting with soups, breads, starters,mocktails, usual north indian dal,roti, desserts,fruits ,juices..Since it was srilankan special, in the vegeterian side, there was lemon rice, a dish made out of cauliflower and potato, rice roti and plain paratha . These are the only two Taj hotels I've vistied and I benchmark any "Taj" food to Taj Bengal. So, comparatively, this is rated 3.5/5

Tangerine: Located in 100 ft Road, Indiranagar. Used to serve good , filling sizzlers, But, during our third visit, the quality came down so drastically that we stopped going there. Can be rated 3/5

Kobe Sizzlers: Located in CMH Road, Indiranagar, a so-so place for sizzlers. It proved that Tangerine is better. Portions are smaller, rated: 2.5/5

More to come later..

Being seated

The other day while travelling in BMTC bus, I placed my bag next to me in a two seater ,and since the bus had many empty seats, didnt remove the bag untill I found that one particular lady was alone standing while the rest of the seats were occupied.

So,I pulled my bag to my lap and called out to the lady and sit, while she refused!! yes, have you observed someone willing to stand and in turn, she asked me to place the bag and sit comfortably..This she did not tell sarcastically, but , probably I'm thinking that she saw me closing my eyes briefly and it could be that I looked tired that day and hence she allowed me to relax! Inspite of my second invite to her, she didnt consider sitting..She waited untill a different seat went empty and sat there after a few stops..

I havent come across situation like this, where a stranger considers your comfort than theirs, especially when it comes to seating in public transport..I've only seen people rushing to occupy any available seat and this was indeed new to me.Hence , wanted to pen it down here.

Maid amaivathellam..

definitely needs a lot of luck..We were indeed indeed when Lakshmi was our maid for close to 31/2 years. We need not tell her anything..She would just come in, do all the job, we need not even worry about leaving cup boards open .Many a times,I've placed jewellery in side tibles and all other sundry places, but they have gone un-touched..Only if some paper is torn, she would trash in dustbin, else, she would take and keep it on table for fear of throwing away something which we might want later..Her elder daughter visits her 3-4 times a year and stays over for extended period. On two ocasssions during her elder daughetr's visit,I've two two of my gold earings..Inspite of my MIL noticing that this daughter tends to pick up things (decent word for "steal?) and informing/warning me and inspite of me being careful the second time, I lost another one (the first one was a ruby earring gifted by parents and the second one to, from parents, but this one a pearl one bought many years ago and my school friend, when she noticed me wearing this before my wedding commented that I was wearing the same one since school days..It fitted me so well, that it wore it most of the time without changing!). Though we knew very well that its Lakshmi's elder daughter who had pocketed two of my precious earings, we didnt ask/tell Lakshmi because she would feel bad and we thought it might spoil the our relationship..And knowing her daughter, she is not going to accept her mistake or return it back! Hence, we didnt bring it up to Lakshmi, though my MIL happened to tell her that I was sad because I'd lost my earrings.!

All was well , suddenly she got an offer from someone who desired to take her and her second daughter to the US to work as a live-in maid. We were happy that she was going to a different country and as she wishes, she was going to  make some money that would help hee second daughter's marriage expenses. So, there was no news from her for about 2 months and one fine evening, she knocks the door, telling she is back and her visa was rejected and she will come over to work the next day onwards..This time, she said she cant come for job twice a day, instead can come only once. We were not too concerned and was only happy  that she is back.

Again, for a brief period, all was well. Now, she didnt turn up for 15 days and repeated phone calls to her were not answered. When I call from my office number after 15 days, her daughter picked up and said she would be back in about 2 days time. another week passed by and no news. Now, when I call her again, daughter replies that mother has already gone for her daily work. Now, we thought she would come to our home at her usual time, but she didnt turn up..Next day, daughter again says that her mother would come today. But didnt turn up..At this point, I have to mention that my phone calls to her were answered rudely during her loong break.So, I again ask her and daughter says that her mother wouldnt come..

We tried a  couple of other maids, but none of them fit-in well..So, I went ahead and requested Lakshmi to come over. Everytime she joins after a break, she asked for a increase in wage and we accepted it without a single argument. A few months pass by and the same story above repeated. ie, she would go without informing and no answer for repeated calls and suddenly after a month or so, if I persist in calling, the second daughter would says the he mother wouldnt turn up here after. I have to again extend a special invite and she would join back.

Few months passed by, the quality of her work got reduced and she would always be in a hurry to go over to a different house (where she was being paid peanuts for the amount of work she was subjected to). And the same drill repeated. Now, we got tired of her drama and decided not to go behind her.

In this period, we have been appointing one maid after another (this time, young ladies) and none of them seem to be regular. they want leave for 5 days in a month , and give excuses for another 10 days for not doing one work , for another 10 days, they come late (late: meaning come at around 6PM or so!) when we would be done with all work after getting frustrated with waiting for them..
A new maid was appointed on the 31st of July, and out of these 18 days, for 5 days, she was out of town, 1 Sunday, she didnt turn up, 2 days: went for collecting her ration card, hence didnt turn up, 3 days, some domestic issue in her house, so turned up at 6 PM, 2 days: someone from a different house in which she is working is travelling abraod , so she has lots of work, hence turns yup at 7PM.

Yes, in real life, you face all of these, but why not inform us, whatever be the case..Just tell that I will come late or I wouldn't turn up..These days, maids don't care even for  such minimal expectations..In fact, we have counseled, told in nice sweet language and asked them back if they were in our position, would they accept this kind of behavior..No response from them, they simply continue to do whatever pleases them!!!Phew! Today, when the maid turned up at 5 PM after we were done with all the work, I had to raise my voice.I usually don't do any of the negotiations or ask them for reason for why they were not coming..But, my patience also reached its saturation today!