Bombay Signs & Sightings

December 25, 2007 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

^ above: Santa Claus – and Congress party head Sonia Gandhi – wish us a Merry Xmas. Santa looks concerned about something overhead…

Dec 25, 2007

I took pictures during a long taxi ride today (and some other days).

^ “Drink [it] cold, make/do enjoy!”

Below: Two women got into this three-wheeled scooter taxi:

…followed by a bicycle and a boy:

^ Dairy products

^ …and observe that the pillion riders (motorcycle passengers) almost never wear helmets – not that the drivers do, either. There is a helmet law in Delhi, at least for the driver, but it appears not to be universal across India, and only indifferently enforced.

^ I was trying to get the sign that’s partially obscured by Mr. Paunchy: “Ambulance Day & Night – Hearse”. Just in case the ambulance isn’t in time, I guess.

But “Nippy Caterer” is pretty funny, too.

Billboard outside a school: “Congratulations [name] – national topper in Cambridge International Examinations.”

“Topper”…?

^ There are many signs like this throughout Bombay, and, indeed, a great deal of incovenient roadwork going on.

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Dakshin Restaurant: South India’s Finest, in the North

December 23, 2007 Deirdre Straughan 1 Comment

^ above: a selection of chutneys (coconut, tomato, coriander, ?) with crunchy fried things to dip in them. Delicious as these are, don’t fill up – there’s a lot more food coming!

While in Delhi I spent a morning working at Sun’s office, which is such a hive of activity that desks are at a premium! Then Ritu, a colleague, accompanied Ross and me to lunch at Dakshin, a restaurant in the Marriott Hotel in the Saket area of south Delhi.

Dakshin means “south” in Hindi, and the restaurant features premium versions of the foods of south India, in a beautiful setting with excellent service.

We ordered the vegetarian thali, a traditional Indian style of meal which works very well as a tasting menu. This began with rasam, a traditional accompaniment to every south Indian meal: a thin, spicy soup served (in this case) in gorgeous heavy brass bowls.

I don’t have a lot of experience with south Indian food, but this was the best rasam I’ve yet tasted – a rich, aromatic broth, probably less hot than real south Indian norms in deference to the tastes of foreigners (and, for that matter, north Indians – real southern cooking is too spicy for many north Indians).

After that the main meal arrived: the thali is the large, round tray, in this case with a banana leaf perfectly cut to fit inside, with little bowls of goodies arranged around the rim.

From bottom center, going clockwise: tamarind rice, plain rice, lentils, a curry made from gram flour and coconut milk, potatoes, dal (lentils) with spinach, coconut curry with vegetables, something veggie which I couldn’t identify but liked, raita (yogurt). This menu will change according to season and what the chef finds in the market that day.

In other thalis, you might leave the space at the center free for a mound of rice, so that you have room to mix it with the dal and other goodies.

In this case, the center is occupied by appam, a bread made from rice flour and coconut milk – spongy on one side, crispy on the other, light, fluffy, delicately flavored, and thoroughly yummy! South Indian cuisine features many variations on breads made from rice flour, such as dosa and idli.

All in all a very wonderful meal, even though Rs. 1000 or so per head is extravagant by local standards – prices have gone up shockingly in Delhi, especially against the weak dollar.

India

Shopping in Delhi: New Discoveries

December 23, 2007 Deirdre Straughan 2 Comments

I have written before about shopping in Delhi; here I’ll add some more details and tips, organized by location. It’s a good idea to plan your shopping days geographically, as Delhi is very spread out and traffic is horrendous
– it can take over an hour to get from one place to another, worse during evening rush hour, which begins around 3:30 and ends at 9 pm!

Connaught Place

The multiple concentric circles of Connaught Place, in the heart of New Delhi, are going increasingly upscale (at least in parts), perhaps in response to competition from all the shiny new malls further out. There are shops for Levi’s and Lee’s jeans, Van Heusen and other American brands, and even some Italian mid-level fashion brands. At the moment, it’s still possible to buy some very nice clothing at lower prices than you’d find in Europe or the US – though it’s also possible to spend just as much! Depending on the relative values of the rupee and the dollar, this advantage is probably destined to disappear.

Connaught Place can be annoying, however. You can’t walk a yard without being accosted by touts: “Come look my shop”. For some reason the Kashmiri shop owners are the most aggressive; they manage to completely turn me off the mere idea of buying anything Kashmiri, no matter how lovely.

(A TV ad exploits the annoyance factor of many Indian shopkeepers to suggest that you shop on eBay instead!)

Near Connaught Place you will also find the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, and the long row of state emporiums, which I observed in passing seem to have been upgraded in the last few years, but I didn’t get to them this trip.

Greater Kailash N-Block

Full Circle Bookstore: A nice selection of coffee-table and other books on everything Indian, plus music, DVDs, and a nice coffee shop on the top floor.

Fabindia: Shops on both sides of the square. Hand-woven, printed, etc. cottons and silks for home and wear. Fabindia also now has an interesting line of organic cosmetics and foods, including spices, grains, jams, chutneys, etc.

Episode: Beautiful silver items for the home, including elegant modern Ganesh statuettes.

The Next Shop: Some fascinating home decor items, most of which, unfortunately, are too heavy or too fragile for me to carry home in a suitcase. But here’s where I first discovered the range of incredibly designed stainless steel and porcelain dinner and serving ware from Magppie:

“This Indian enterprise is an offshoot of a 30 year old family run business of rolling stainless steel.” It’s a fascinating synthesis: the design team, at least as presented on their website, is entirely foreign, but many of the products reflect Indian sensibilities as well as Indian uses and traditions. Beautiful stuff!

We later found an entire Magppie store at a mall in Gurgaon. If only they offered international shipping…

Khan Market

I only knew Khan Market for Anokhi, the home of fine hand-printed cloth items. Anokhi has now split into two at that site, one on each corner of the block for home furnishings and clothing.

Khan Market has some other interesting shops, including a Biotique, which I noticed because there was an autographed photo of Johnny Depp in the window thanking them for the almond kajal that he wore in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” So I went in and bought some, and it is indeed very nice kajal.

Gurgaon

This suburb which used to be a village is home to many multinationals as well as bedroom community for the city. It now boasts a long row of shopping malls, some specialized in housewares or clothing, others a bit of a mix. As you can see in the photo above, many of the brands are familiar!

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India

Delhi Sunday Morning

December 16, 2007 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

I’m sitting on a rattan footstool in order to be close to the modem – the wifi doesn’t seem to be working, but there’s an Ethernet cable, and the ADSL connection is good. Outside the window is a small, presumably ancient tomb, I have no idea whose, another of Delhi’s many semi-abandoned Mughal relics.

But the patch of land it sits on seems to be protected: there are trees enough to attract bright green, long-tailed parrots, and the little chipmunks whose backs are said to be striped because Lord Ram stroked them in thanks for helping build the bridge to Lanka.

We arrived in Delhi late Friday night on the Shatabdi Express from Dehra Dun, along with about 200 Woodstock students “Going Down” to return to their far-flung homes, and 14 staff members who were responsible for getting them onto myriad flights. A Woodstock staffer’s job emphatically does not end with the end of the semester! Some will have been on duty for 24 hours before they saw off the last of their charges yesterday afternoon – even longer if departures were delayed, as they so often are in Delhi’s foggy winter.

Fortunately for us, we only had to go across town to Green Park, where we are staying in a guest house/apartment belonging to a Woodstock alumna. It took us a while to find the place – our hired driver, being from Rajasthan, doesn’t know every corner of Delhi. But, then, I’m not sure anyone does.

The apartment is a third-floor walkup, nicely, if simply, furnished. The location is fairly quiet at night, though I suspect that we are due for some disturbance as the neighbors have had a huge awning put up for some sort of celebration. This morning I was awakened around 7:30 by steady drumming. Seems an odd time for a wedding rite (and also the wrong time of year for weddings), so I wonder what this is about.

As the city wakes up, more sounds impinge. A man on a bicycle pedals through the neighborhood crying: Kabadi kabadi kabadi (“second-hand goods” – he’s looking to buy them, including scrap clothing and paper). Another shouts Koel – I don’t know what that means. Cars make strange chirps and whistles to alert us that they are backing up. But mostly right now I hear parrots, mynahs, and pigeons against a muted rumble of traffic (relatively less – today is Sunday).

Delhi wildlife: can you spot two green parrots and a stripey squirrel?

I’m breakfasting on fresh papaya, bought from a well-stocked fruit stall around the corner, and Nescafé. Yes, this latter is a terrible comedown for a long-term resident of Italy, but India’s coffee culture is still developing. When I go out I’ll find a Barista or Café Coffee Day and have a decent espresso – Barista was recently bought by Italy’s coffee giant, Lavazza, a brand we drink at home.

I would be happy to sit around and work and listen to the morning symphony, but I’m cramped and chilly. Delhi is much colder than I expected at this time of year, but everything here is built for the fiercely hot weather of summer. Rooms which are doubtless delightfully cool and airy then are shivering cold now, with no possibility of heating. The shops, on the other hand, tend to be too warm without their habitual air conditioning. I’m going shopping!

Woodstock School

Woodstock School Arts Evening

December 15, 2007 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

We’re in Delhi now (Dec 15th), but what with everything (including a day without any Internet at all, probably due to the weather in Mussoorie), it’s taken me a week to get this video completed and uploaded.

The last Saturday of the semester, students and staff mellowed out with an evening of performing and static arts. I completely failed to get photos of the paintings, drawings, sculpture, etc. – my apologies to the artists. But I did get video of most of the performances, in spite of technical difficulties…

Countries Beginning with I

Bombay Signs & Sightings

Dakshin Restaurant: South India’s Finest, in the North

Shopping in Delhi: New Discoveries

Connaught Place

Greater Kailash N-Block

Khan Market

Gurgaon

Delhi Sunday Morning

Woodstock School Arts Evening

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Connaught Place

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Deirdré Straughan on Italy, India, the Internet, the world, and now Australia