This is my couch - Suri

[Suri]

Back after another quick weekend dash to Madras. Have to say that now in Indian Railways, Third A/C is the new second class.A/C has lost it's exclusivity and it costs probably just a tad bit over bus fare (ok, Volvo fare).

Got to flavor the Chennai local bus after a looooong time. Got into a "Sogusu Perundhu" (luxury bus) for a local ride for 45 minutes. On a Saturday morning, must say, it was a breeze. The interior was pretty damn good, comfortable - comparable to a US public transport bus - if there were dusty ones with no A/C. Not bad considering it cost Rs.10 for the 15km ride. Speaking of which - the bus conductor had a hand-held printer-with-a-keyboard thingy. He just punched a code and out came a coupon like ticket. Cool stuff. No more holding 10 different denomination tickets in between fingers, punching holes and dispersing tickets coated with the conductor's saliva.

Had one more encounter with coolness at a local joint - had lunch at Nala's, a food spot specializing in aappams (for the un-initiated, these are fluffy frisbees made with fermented dosa batter - or something like that). As I was waiting for the waiter, noticed a furiously blinking LinkSys wireless router fixed on the wall near the ceiling. The waiter approached us with a HP PDA in hand and took our order, tiptapping with his stylus on the tiny screen. Asked him if I can peek - there was a neat little PDA app with all our info and a Send button waiting to be pressed. The young waiter eagerly explained that kitchen gets the order as soon as he sends it. On further querying, he said most restaurants in the area use this and there is an IT vendor that supplies hardware, software and takes care of support etc.

Trickle-down technology at work. For some of us who lament the lack of a local IT market - maybe future is not so bleak. It is happening - slowly, cautiously as it always is in India. Adopters may be slow, but with some heavy duty nudging, it can happen.

Oh btw, I did see a middle-aged waiter taking orders using his pocket notebook and pen at the next table...

[MRSS_R2I_2009]

Cool,

Where is this restaurant in Chennai?

[sumachechi]

"a food spot specializing in aappams (for the un-initiated, these are fluffy frisbees made with fermented dosa batter - or something like that). "

Hey, I used to describe them to friends as pregnant dosas! Though there's more to the batter than just rice- what about all that coconut?

[boca]

#73 If you or anyone is wondering why I thanked, I learnt something new about Chennai that I did not know. One of the few positive notes about that place.

All I hear is potholes, politics, buses running over someone or the non-availability of beer! Nothing new. We have potholes, politics, no buses, and drunken drivers in the US.

[Suri]

The Tamasha Begins

Another IPL season has begun. and they have opening ceremony for these things too?

Which I should say truly lived up to the image of the tournament. Gaudy, garish, loud, phony and segments that match the attention span of a teenager. After the new IPL commissioner guy and the other two top BCCI guys made their customary spotlight hogging long speeches in 3 different accents while trying to look like tiki statues, various meaningless performance burst on into the ground. Lest the people in the stadium or the TV audience may forget that this is the INDIAN Premier League and may mistake it for the Australian or South African ones, we got a dose of dancers body painted in tricolour practising mediocre moves. As soon as Ravi Shastri or some other hyper excited commentator blathered "this is where the focus on cricket starts", 3 buxom lasses wrapped in what can only be described as gold-colored gift wrapper, started yelling some Hindi remix that had words like Dum, Khel etc, while 2 mimes on what looked like a 30ft stilts made of flexible material started swaying up in the air, never coming in contact though, just like bollywood song sequences featuring couples enacting grotesque facial expressions when a tree stands them and a wild makeout session. This was followed by a metrosexual guy crooning some kind of english tune, which could be some version of backstreet boys meeting spice girls. Now that the "focus on cricket" was over, it was the turn of badshah of Bollywood's turn to "entertain" - starting with condescending but required dialogues in Tamil and a bad version of a dabbaankuth dance.

The IPL trophy still has successfully retained its record of being the ugliest sports trophy in the world - after all, it has to show something worthy of all the gold and diamonds in it.

All that said, it still is good to see some cricket going on when one comes home and to lap up bits and pieces while sitting in front of TV with work and laptop, not having to care who plays who, or what is the result - just take it one ball at a time and forget the whole thing the next day.

[moneyIsNot_funny]

Did you notice towards the end, how Shriya was running after Shah rukh, mouthing the words 'Shah rukh, shah rukh' constantly, while the man himself was so nonchalant and unconcerned? Talk about lack of stage presence.

Later on, she went on to say to the scribes how the whole of South India is impressed with Shah rukh. Shriya is not whole of South India, lest she forgot that...

[Suri]

Couple of days ago, was in Chennai Adyar area, on hospital duty for close family. Out on a coffee break, ambling around, looking for some authentic filter coffee - a favorite pastime and an obsession of mine during every visit to Chennai. Searching thru the by lanes, I stumble right in front of what seemed like the holy grail, the very anti-thesis of caf?offee day, if you like. A small, cozy and neat looking 200 sqft joint that looked and smelled like good coffee. Even the board saying “Vivekananda Coffee – Kumbakonam degree coffee” was coffee coloured and tastefully done. Inside were 2 counters, covering cash register, traditional coffee grinding machine, a couple of huge stainless steel coffee filters and a couple of steel drums, apparently filled with coffee or coffee powder.

I pulled up a stool and ask for a strong cup. The grim faced owner meanders to the counter and slowly mixes up the decoction from the filter with thick, steaming, sweetened milk in a monogrammed paper cup. I take a sip and ask for more decoction. A few more millilitres of the dark decoction and my poison is complete. As I indulge in sip after sip staring at the wall in front and the traffic outside, the owner switches on the radio. In an instant a hauntingly simple yet sophisticated tune just freezes me. Last time I heard this tune it must have been 30 years ago or even before. Memories which I never knew existed seem to tumble out. Was this a trigger to the past filled with many a morning-coffee-from-mum and getting-ready-for-school sessions with AIR blaring in the background? Why does this song sound so familiar and so wonderful when I have no memory of ever listening to it intentionally?

Back home, today, switched on the TV – channel surfing and lo! Ended up with the original singer of the same song reliving it with a show host. Lightning strikes twice.

The original song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4TdHTtuVQ8&feature=related

A very good attempt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=YuPyDivL-_w&NR=1

[PeterGriffin]

Welcome back!

L.R. Eswari was the pop-singer of the 60s and her voice had a definite pep to it.

[Lively]

Enjoy the flavor of degree kaapi reclining on that couch made so popular by you in these forums.

Welcome back from your hiatus and hope to hear more of your memories, movie reviews and more!

[VS007]

Welcome back from your hiatus and hope to hear more of your memories, movie reviews and more!

Suri, miss your movie reviews man! Please oblige us once in a while.