The king of chaats

Mango at its best!
I'm a total maniac when it comes to chaats, especially the street chaats, much to the annoyance of my mom.
Bangalore is a total loser when it comes to making chaat, and worse still is when they name the chaat stall as 'Bombay Chaat'! The UPites say Bombaites don't know how to make chaat, and the Bombaites say that the Bangaloreans don't know how to make chaat, but this one time Sid and I went to this horrible place called the Innovative Film City in Bangalore (don't go there, its not even close to ...remember, I said 'horrible'). Anyways, coming back to the point, we stopped at a chaat cart, looked up the menu and, as always, I wanted to try something that I had never had before. "Saar, undo mango chaat! Undo Congress Mix!" 
And next, the chaatwala cut up huge pieces of raw mango, much to my delight, and added the unexpected. It was a tadka of rye and a few masalas. He stuck a toothpick on one of the cubes and here we go! We had one bite and it was totally 'Oh My God!'.
The beauty of this simple chaat was that the mango is slightly on the sweeter side and the rye masala tadka was spicy. Brilliant combination.
"Once more Saar, I say!"

May I have a err...khao pawww ..emm...may I have all of these words please?

The night watchman :)

One of my presents to Sid on Diwali

Mixie Mountain

Spotted this while I was passing by Dharavi.

Our first Diwali pooja

Our first Diwali pooja together!

Say yes to fashion!

Saw this shop sign at the local market at Jayanagar, which is popularly known as 4th block, while I was on a Diwali shopping spree.

Auto Lounge

Found this auto rickshaw with pink interiors and sofa seating at a fuel pump.
Five star travel huh?

What a place to google!

Spotted this one on the streets of Santacruz!

Train stations are fun to watch. I use the subway at CST station everyday to cross over and there are loads of shops and stalls inside which sell funny things like these. Very innovative I must say! I mean, how do they come up with such weird ideas? This one is a badminton racket to kill mosquitoes. It has three layers of wire mesh and you gotta plug it to charge. As soon as the mosquitoes start bugging you, you gotta trap the mosquito into the wire mesh which gives out a small current! End of it.Marrr gaya saala! 

Make way for the V.I.Ps

Back off, move outta the way, Hey you...Stop! Don't you see? Our dear Governor's wife has come to see the butterflies?
OK! You say what the hell and you get out of the way of the press while the Governor poses with the butterflies in his hand and his big smile is being captured by the paparazzi, and what do you find? An ambulance and a FIRE BRIGADE waiting outside?? Whatttttttttttttt.....

Mickey Mouse, Spiderman, Hanuman - all in one :)

I just love this one :)

Butterfly Park at Bannerghatta Biological Park, Bangalore

The Butterfly Park is within the Bannerghatta Biological Park. I found it thoroughly interesting since this is the first time I saw one. What amused me most was that most of the names given to the butterflies were that of animals! Common Indian Crow, Plain Tiger, Spotted Tiger, Leopard something, and so on! Any explanations, anybody?

Chai Patty Teafe

Sid and I were in Indiranagar (Bangalore) and were hungry (as usual. Boy! This does make us sound like gluttons right?) We randomly stopped by for some chai only to say," Hey wait! this looks pretty cool!" There were yellow walls (my favourite), cane furniture, low seating, an easel (I'm impressed), and lots of accessories and toys which looked 'very Delhi'. Then we realized that these items were created by a brand called 'The Colour Caravan' and they were on sale. I remember seeing those items at 'Delhi Haat'. Anyway,we got egg omlettes with flax seed wheat bread, chai in a 'kullad'(50 bucks!), and milkshake in a tradition Indian milk bottle. It was so old school :) But the Gujju in me laughed at the sight of 'Chai and Snakes' image that was painted on the wall!

Son-in-Law ice-cream

Another strange name I came across in Chennai. Jamaai in Gujarathi / Hindi literally means 'son-in-law'. Thats the first association that came to my mind when I read the signage and immediately I cracked up at the thought! Like, I mean who in his right mind would name an ice-cream (of all things!) like this? Then, on second thoughts, it could even mean 'jamaai' in Hindi meaning 'the process of freezing', which seemed like a possible explanation to this. But then, why give a Hindi name to a brand in South India. I mean, there are no rules, but...well, never mind! So I said to myself, I think too much (for all the wrong reasons), so I just laughed at it again, clicked a picture, asked for one of the tacky ice- creams and walked away!

Ever heard of an A/C bed?

Ever heard of an A/C bed? I did! In Chennai.
Can anyone tell me the meaning of 2 Nos bed sheets? :)

Would you like to eat a pillow?

Ever thought a pillow could be eaten?
It's perfectly possible! Halidram's Mo'Pleeze's Fun Bites, presents TRI-D PILLOWS! Completely edible! For the first time in India!

Jeez! I sound like a chalta- firta (moving, walking, talking) advertisement for these guys!
And, btw, if you do figure out what that blue globe is doing in the middle of all this, please let me know! ;) Probably the chips...err sorry...pillows came from outer space!

This one doesn't need a title!

Came across this sight on the way to Taj Mahal, Agra!

Random truck art :) :)

I was returning from Deolali (Nashik) to Mumbai by bus and I was happily sitting on a cloud watching the earth with a pair of binoculars in fairyland (I was fast asleep), when my sister shook me and said,"Jinxxx!!! Jinxxx!!! Wake up! Our bus has broken down! Do you even know? We have been stuck here for more than an hour. Log kehte hai clutch plate toot gaya hai!" (it was totally ROFL!)
"Whatttttt!! Where! Why! How!Yeh sab hamaare saath kyu hota hai?", I said, rubbing my eyes, crash landing from the cloud back into the exisiting world of chaos, like Tom and Jerry on Cartoon Networkk! Peeeeeeeewwwwwwwww!! Dhisshhhhh!

I scowled, as my thoughts went back to the ticket agent who tricked us into hopping onto this tacky bus by telling us its leaving now! In 15 minutes. Hurry! And we took the horrible bus which had seat numbers(1,2,3,4) printed on the tickets and alphabets printed on the seats (A, B, C, D), just to save time. I mentally congratulated him for putting us in this situation!

As I pulled back the dull brown curtains (which the designer in me thought didn't go very well), I was treated with this sight! Sheer delight and a smile on my face! Needless to say, this deserved a 'Click! Click!'

Isn't the podgy uncle with a wrist watch, moochi and 'telkat'(oiled) hair-style, just a perfect endorsement for a body builder! ;) ;) lolz... I just love India! It's full of surprises! Jai Hind! :)

Now a friend tells me, its not 'some' podgy uncle...its Chandrashekhar Azad. but what has that got to do with being a body- builder?

Britannia!

Tucked away in a the lanes of Ballard Estate, this Iranian restaurant is throbbed by loyal customers who relish the signature dish here - the berry pulao!
I had heard a lot about this place, but being a vegetarian, I thought it wasn't for me. But one day, I went there just out of curiosity. Just to see what it was all about! And believe me, while my friends were enjoying their meal, I was more intrigued by the charm of the place than the food and was busy clicking pictures and absorbing the atmosphere. The wooden staircase, the red, checkered table cloth, the typical wooden chairs that one would find in an Iranian cafe, just gave it that homely old-school look that is so different from the cliched modern restaurants which have an urban air around them!
I found the place very local and immediately felt at home, since the owner, Boman Kohinoor, came and spoke to us, wished us a Happy New 2011 and took our order. He is probably the most photographed gentleman around there! I saw him showing postcards and pictures of Queen Elizabeth to some foreigners at the next table. We went there during lunch-time and the place was packed with foreigners and office goers. I ordered an egg berry pulao, some bread and some yummilicious custard. By the end of it, neither of us could get up! :)
My favourite thing about the place was that it seems so non-commercialized. Kecko, the cat, was snoring away at the cash counter after eating a lot of fish and refused to get up. We tried to wake him up, but he was probably blissfully chasing a mouse in his sleep!
Overall, a must visit for all non- vegetarian food lovers!

Wanna eat the dollar?

I was out on an afternoon stroll during my lunch break and stopped at a small stall to get some toffees. Here's what I stumbled upon :) :)