Anil Srinivasan, Pianist and the Madras String Quartet

Attended a tribute to the lives lost in the 2004 Tsunami with great poetry recital and instrumental music. It was kicked off by the celebrity pianist Anil Srinivasan.  He interspersed his concert with short stories and poetry. The next session was by this lady Sivagami, a serial poet and the last one was by the Madras String Quartet.  The acoustics in this open-on-the-side, submerged setting was great.  You could hear the upper tunes, without any squeaking.  Also, the seating was in a combination of mats on the floor and steps all around.  The cool Elliots beach air added to the ambiance.  This was a free concert thanks to the Prakrithi Foundation.  Also, they had free tea and some time to walk around the wooded Spaces complex.

Pianist Anil Srinivasan

Anil played a series of piano pieces around the stories that he had.  His command of English was comparable to his command over the Piano.  Most of the pieces sounded like children's songs but really a had profound story.  Kaveri was associating the pieces with nursery rhymes than she knew.  The piano and the pianist just blended together and production was so laid back.  It was possible for a casual audience to get full immersed. Anil's songs was about the greatness of the soil and the economics of India. He concluded the recital with a encore on-demand from the audience.

Sivagami mami seems to be a well known poet in the Besant Nagar area.  She focused her poetry on recent events in her life- like the marriage of her niece, visit with her daughter to Pudukottai and the death if a sister-in-law.  The peotry had a sequence of prose with a lot of current events. Of course, she covered the Kundakulam Nuclear Reactor safety.

Madras String Quartet.

The last part was the Madras String Quartet.  The group is a little controversial as they perform Carnatic songs with Western harmonics.  We listened to the first two songs- one was a varnam in Ragamalika set to Adi thalam by Patnam Subramanya Iyer. The second was a song Esane in Chakravakam set to Rupakam thalam by Papanasam Sivan.  Their fast pace and the interaction between the four musicians was very bright and brought life to the audience. 

Back to Anil.  One of his stories was about a conversation between Narada and Valmiki.  Narada goes to Valmiki and tells him there is an alternate Ramayana that is better than his, sweeter than his, with more eloquent prose.  Valmiki laughs and says that it is not possible.  He goes in search of Hanuman who has authored this other version.  At Hanuman's house, he sees a lot of leaves.  When he reads the prose on the leaves, he gets very sad and starts crying.  Hanuman asks him why he issad .  He says that this is so good that no one will read his version.  Hanuman crumpled all the leaves into a ball and ate it up.  When Valmiki inquired, Hanuman said the goal was to spread Ramayana, not who is the author.

Rede Drop Zone- Introducing Parotta-side dish as Mexican

If you want to get heartburn, this is the place to go.  The food is complete garbage.  The Chef and owner have never eaten Mexican food in their life.  First and foremost, there was no beans or cheese in any dish. 

I can list about 20 things that are wrong at this place.  But will restrict it to just a few.  Even the roadside dog will refuse consume this garbage.

I have lived for 20 years in California and visited Mexico multiple times. I also have Mexican friends and eaten at their homes.  So, I can consider myself as an expert.

The only thing right about this place is that they home-deliver and the driver carries a credit card machine.


What is wrong:
1. All dishes (be it Enchilada/burrito/etc) have the same filling- a mixture of long thin onions slices, crushed beans, carrots, bell peppers and lots of fire spices.  It was more like a side dish for Parotta! In authentic Mexican or even Oxacan food, first onions are cut into small pieces and not strips; jalapeno's are used for garnishing and not chili powder; and carrots are never used.  You need to beans for any and all filings.
2. The burrito showed up as a fried wonton with stuffing.  The only saving grace was that it was a corn chapatti.  My impression was they were trying a hard shell taco and failed miserably.
3. The food was so spicy that it was just not eatable.
4. The guacamole had no tomatoes and no onions.  Moreover it was not clear whether the dish even contained any avocados. The sour cream was really a hardened yogurt.
6. There was no cheese in any of the dishes.  So it cannot even be branded American Mexican.


All-in-all, my impression of Cascade restaurant chain is down the toilet.  They highlight the link to Cascade very prominently in all their literature.  I would definitely not go there ever again, even after my heartburn is over.


I talked to the Manager.  He said he that the Chef is from Taj and the manager has no clue what Mexican food is.  he was not even sure whether Burrito was Mexican or Italian!!

Bharathanatyam performances like none other

I am not a Bharatanatyam expert.  My review here is from a pure entertainment view only.  Experts can leave your comments below. After attending about 7 performs during the last 2 months, this event really stood out.  I would recommend this for the entertainment and educational value.

Gopikas and Shree Krishna in a elated and playful mood

I recently attend a unique dance performance called Prapathi Marg by a team of senior dancers- Roja Kannan, Priya Murle, Srikanth and Ashwathy Srikanth.  The show was at the Bharat Kalachar, which is in the PSBB School campus in Thirumalai Pillai Road.  This was not the traditional dance sequence of Jathiswaram, Thillana and Mangalam.  The entertainers told a story through the dance.  The performance was more focused on education and entertainment, as opposed to the technicalities of Bharatanatyam. Without letting out too much of the storyline, the storyline was based on the Vaishnava theme of total submission to the God.  The lectures by Srikanth were entertaining and were distributed throughout the performance.  His language combined "suddha" tamil and colloquial "bashai". The audience were truly spell-bound, including my four year-old daughter. There was no plastic oohs and aahs.     

Shree Krishna

What made this presentation unique was the combination of music, song selection, dance sequences, costumes, and the thematic rendering. The performers used the complete stage by introducing mood lighting, temple bells, playful action and an ongoing narration of the main theme.  The lighting, temple bells and the diction based on the onstage action were very well-done.  This reminded me of the RS Manohar dramas of a past era. 

Musical Accompaniments

The two singer- Srikanth (different from the dancer) and Saranya were captivating.  Saranya's facial expression captured the moods of the theme on stage was a nice draw!  The combination of Tamil, Sanskrit and Hindi songs made it universally applicable.  The flutist really brought out Shree Krishna, though he was hidden from public view until the end of the show.

Each dancer in the group focused on a different phase of Krishna's life.  There was love, emotion, devotion and color as the different themes.  The story was simple for my four year-old to ask questions and wanting the understand the details of each story.  She said the best part was Draupadi (Roja Kannan) going round-and-round, depicting the de-robing by Dushasana. 

Roja Kannan as Draupadi

The role of Meera (played by Priya Murle) seemed to bring MS into the eyes of the senior generation. 

Priya Murle as Meera

Srikanth as Krishna did a awesome job and his small role a Rajput prince made it quite realistic. 

A similar theme is being played out by the PARASAH group at other locations during the Margazhi Season.

Vilasini Dance and Chandra Mandala

Chandra Mandala, 1, Elliots Beach Road, Besant Nagar, Chennai, 600 090.

Chandra Mandala is this beautiful set of performance stages in the former house of the late Chandralekha.  I had never heard of this lady.  Since that time, I google'd her and found a lot of interesting information.  Here is a nice link about her.

Chandra Mandala is an eclectic location.  It is across the from the beach at the quieter edge. The place has a nice forest atmosphere.  The buildings are in Kerala style with sloping tiled construction.  There are three stages.  One is a atrium with an open space all around.  The second is a fort-like enclosure with huge stage.  The third is a sunken hall.  All three have been built with openness to allow the cool (Ok, it is December in Chennai) beach air to flow through.

I had never heard of Vilasini Natyam dance form either.  So, this was a great introduction.  Vilasini is a temple, court and theatrical dance traditions of the Telugu Devadasis.  In olden days, this performing tradition was referred to as Bharatam, Karnatakam or Tsaduru.  The emphasis is on abhinaya (facial expression), the hand gestures simply allow the flow of the story through.  Unlike Bharathanatyam, there is not a lot of movement around the stage.  This form has recently been resurrected by a dancer called Swapnasundari. She is also credited with renaming it Vilasini Natyam.  It is still a very niche form and there is no Wiki page on it.  The dancer wears wooden hand crafted jewellery called ‘Ganiyam’.  A main feature is a seated performance, where the dancer sits on a pedestal or thinnai.  The hand guestures and facial expressions are all that are needed to tell the story.  There are minimal instrument accompaniments.

Chandra Mandala is a dance school and conducts regular shows.  It is worth visiting, just to take in the art energy.  It has a lot of resembles to Cholamandal Artist Village in the layout.  it will great to hear from others that know more about this dance form.  Leave your comments.

Wales National Dance Company Rocks- Great performance at Music Academy Chennai

Singing Light by the Wales Dance Company at Music Academy

National Dance Company, Wales- Performance at Music Academy, Chennai
Nostalgia. Expression. Speed. Emotions.

Attended a great performance by Wales Dance Company tonight.  We were completely spell-bound and entralled.  There were two major performances- B/olero & Black Milk by Ohad Naharin and Singing Light by Stephen Petronio.  The two sections were complete contrast.

The first was a slow and in darkness with simple lighting.  The costumes were elaborate.  Elaborate is relative to contemporary dance.  There were a smaller number of dancers and the moves were a cross between jazz and ballet.  The music was in the background, not heard, rather just guiding the musicians.  Some of the moves resembled middle-eastern styles, possibly emphasizing the Israeli background of the choreographer.  Even the costumes had a Lebanese connection. The faces were always in the shadows and they slowly kept come in and out of the shadows.  The music was very well synchronized with the faces moving in and out of the shadows.  The distribution of the white, green and purples offered a contrasting touch.  The choreographer has founded his own movement called "gaga".

The second was extremely fast paced.  There was a lot of action and with uncoordinated rhythmic poses distributed generously across the stage.  It was striking how these uncoordinated actions suddenly came together.  The music was composed to the word of Dylan Thomas,possibly the most famous Welsh poet.  The clothes were just wrapped cloth with interesting cuts that showed the body poses clearly in the bright light.  The red leotards was a class act.  The artists casually come in and out of the main stage.  It resembled a market with true cacophony but the food chain keeps chugging along.  In this case, it resembled a rocket.

I found videos of their performance on Youtube.  Feel free to view them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPmbtck35Ic->B/olero & Black Milk by Ohad Naharin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCZE-aeQfac->Singing Light by Stephen Petronio

Music Academy is a really nice hall.  It has been a long time since I have been there and the place has been done up quite well. The acoustic went without a hitch.

Best combination of cakes and savouries- Winner's Bakery in Alwarpet, Chennai

Cakes- Rs 25-40 ($0.50-.80); Bread- Rs 20 ($0.40); Savories- Rs 25-40 ($0.50-.80).  Two thumbs up!
Ever since my return to Chennai, I have been looking for the yummy cakes of my childhood.  Almost all the old and new places have disappointed me. They were too sweet, had too much icing, were soggy, and just did not taste right.  Most of them seem to have sudden urge to copy the American style of baking- more focused on the themes and shapes.  All I want is a tasty, goodness-to-earth cake. "Sugar, Butter, Flour" in Sunnyvale is always a point-of-reference.

Cake counter at Winner's Bakery.  Courtesy of chennaionline.com

Today, we stopped at the Winner's Bakery at the corner of C. P. Ramasami Road and C.V. Raman Road in Alwarpet.  The outside looks bright but very simply.  The car park could accommodate about 5 cars total.  It was in the corner of a corporation building.  I walk in and there is a dazzling array of colorful cakes, breads, cookies and savories.  The layout of the store was pleasing, extremely clean and the cakes looked really colorful and inviting.  You can also peak into an extremely hygienic kitchen.  The place was not crowded, considering it was a Sunday at 11 AM.  The puffs, sandwiches, doughnuts and pastries were in a separate counter.  The breads were stacked up really high behind the counter. 

The folks at the counter were extremely efficient and fast, unlike my recent visit to Reliance Fresh.  The cakes were not too sweet.  We ordered 8 different types of cakes- litchi, kiwi, chocolate, strawberry, Irish coffee, pyramid, black currants and black forest.  I first tried the litchi and the kiwi cakes. The icing was minimal and the cake was extremely tasty.  I could taste the tinge of the fruit in the cake, not sure whether it is artificial flavors.  The cake was soft but did not crumble.  They all had nice decorations.

The bread was another highlight.  We took home a sweet bread and a garlic bread.  The bread was baked with garlic bread.  We could see the pieces along the crust.  The bread was not over-powering with the smell.  Rather it had a nice tinge to it.  The bread was soft and tasty.  It definitely felt better than the mass-produced Costco bread that I have had in Sunnyvale!  We could eat it without any condiments or applications on top.  The savories were quite good.  We could taste the freshly cooked vegetables and the outer shell was firm.  It did not crumble and mess the whole eating area!!

Overall, a great experience and would highly recommend the place.

I researched the Bakery and found that it was built around a very noble cause.  A joint venture of Chennai Corporation, Rotary Club of Madras East and Chennai Culinary Institute, this Bakery provide free training to youngsters from economically backward families.  They also take orders for birthdays and special occasions.  Most 1 Kg cakes will be delivered within an hour of ordering.  Special shapes require overnight requests.

Bankcruptcy should be banned

A recent article and a interview with the most inept business adviser Henry Blodget, brought to force how America looks at spending and bankruptcy.  Debtors want to enforce age-old laws that provide prison terms for defaulters.  Henry is saying this is preposterous.  Is it really?

Americans are in such a bad situation because they live beyond the their means.  It is like a Ponzi scheme.  You get money form the Bank/credit card on one and you give it to a builder, yacht manufaturer or a car dealership, on the other end.  The Banks are stupid and accept you at face value.  But the biggest idiot is the one that lives beyond his means.  Or, does he think he is really smart?  All he does is simply "Keep up with the Joneses"?

This unfettered spending has helped the economy grow!!  This whole concept of putting debtors in jail is a great deterrent.  All the law-biding citizens will start being careful on how they manage their finances.  Of course, there are some free-thinkers that would prefer the free food in the jail.  This whole concept of bankruptcy gives people a false sense of security. It must be taken away. If the lady in the story owed $2K, she should be saving money on gas and walking around. This way she can save money. There is a concept of living within your means.

This stupid Henry and his stupider guest compares the  spending by a family to the investment made by a company.  Companies by nature are risky entities.  They take other people's money and try to build something.  Many will succeed but even more will fail.  For them the deterrent of jail will prevent investment and will not allow job creation.

What are your comments?

$8 Million for the Wedding banquet- How can spend so much?

Indian Weddings are the union of two families and it is considered for ever.  As it is conducted only once in each lifetime, the planning starts at the birth of the daughter. Typically the bride's side is responsible for all the wedding expenses and arrangements.  On this topic I had a very interesting discussion with the nephew of a very good friend of mine.

This nephew had recently attended the wedding of his sister and was explaining the arrangements.  The family runs a large catering company in their hometown.  The wedding arrangement including the banquet cost over Rs 2 crores ($400K).  By far, it is not the most expensive wedding.  In the recent past, there have been talks of wedding expense exceeding Rs 40 crores ($8 Million).

I wanted to understand how a parent could spend so much money.  Apparently it is quite easy.  Let us take the wedding that this nephew attended of his sister's.  There were 280 dishes, of which 30 were sweets.  210 of them were absolutely perfect and the reminder had some very minor, distinguishable flaws.  The banquet had a large number of themes- South Indian, Marwadi Jain, Chaat, Italian etc.  The new approach is to go with parlours as opposed to stalls.  The parlour gives the attendee a full and rich experience.  They are decorated in the styles and colors of the said theme (Gujurati, Rajastani, Tamil etc), the servers were dressed in traditional attire, and the cooks are imported from the respective regions.  The paanwallah guides you through the making process and then placed the paan directly in your mouth, so that you hands do not get dirty.

On to the decorations.  A net was laid out like a dome over the entire outdoor lawn area.  The net had candles and in the night only the candles were visible.  There were toy helicopters flying over that continuously sprayed perfumes over the lawn area.  There were parachutes with an arrangement of candles that floated over the reception for over 4 hours.  Of course there were the standard floral arrangement, large LCD screens with virtual banquet themes and big tasteful cutouts.  Along the way to the marriage hall, six large roadside billboards simply said "ABC Family Welcomes You".  As with IPL matches, there were a healthy load of cheerleaders dressed in Kingfisher costumes to welcome the guests.

The barat came on three elephants that were fully decorated.  The bridge came in a palanquin with a Rajasthani entourage and a leading announcers with traditional horns.  The wedding invitation was gold lined with a fine rosewood box containing exotic dry fruits from around the world. During the reception, an exclusive area reserved for VVIP and close family members had a full featured bar and private comfort area.

Lastly the sangeet was performed by Bollywood stars with dancers shipped from Bombay. Of course a wedding is never complete without a Bachelor/Bachelorette night.  In this case, it was called a Youngster night.

Blistering barnacles!- The Adventures of Tintin (Secret of the Unicorns)

Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles! and Ten thousand thundering typhoons!- An Absolute Must Watch.  The Unicorn really comes to life in this awesome movie by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson.

This is the first time in my life that I have see a movie on the first day- first show and is probably the best movie I have ever seen in my life.  The movie really brings the comic characters into a 3-dimension life form.  For Tamil movie lovers, this is "Michael Madan Kama Rajan" in English with finesse and Crazy Mohan replaced by Herge'. It feels like I am turning the pages of the book and can see it come to life.  The story line was kept along the same order and speed of the book.  The action packed scenes kept moving at a super-fast pace.  I could not bend to get my drink, lest I missed an important scene.  Spielberg had done a great job into weaving animation into the storyline, especially in places at sea.

The cinematographer has made full use of the 3-D by making it realistic, as opposed to scary.  This movie is not appropriate for kids below the age of 10, as the pace might frighten them.  The costumes and the makeup were really outstanding, especially for the Thom(p)son and Captain Haddock.  The 3-D made their nose standout and, of course, showed Tintin's hair in the natural flair.  The speeding away car, the innocent detective work by the Thom(p)sons and the bottle on the head with stars were nicely brought forth.  A melodious music of John Williams really produces the effect at major points at sea and in the final chase down to the sea coast.

Capt. Haddock does a great job in both the drunken state and in the motivating Tintin to go forward, especially where he explains that realism is a euphemism for defeat.  Snowy was probably the weakest link, though the scene where the huge dog became a puppy in front of him was a really nice touch.  The 3-D made Snowy look much bigger than he should actually be.  Also, Tintin takes less interest in him and displays less emotions relative to the book.  I am not sure whether this was a adaptation need for a movie.

All in all,  a fantastic movie and a must see.  For those with 3-D TV's make sure you get a original copy for your collection.  All those that have read the "Last of the Unicorn" in their childhood should look forward to it.  I am already waiting for the remaining two movies in the trilogy.

For those of you that have never heard of Tintin or the movie, here is a link to the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW6TkX1YOK8.   For the adventurous one's, the link to the book on Amazon is http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Unicorn-Tintin-Herge/dp/1405206225/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321036549&sr=8-1-fkmr1.  To learn more about Tintin, go to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin. A video game on the same theme has been released.

I would like to thank my mother-in-law for getting prime tickets to a sold-out first day show! The crowd really enjoyed the movie. 

Sathyam Theatres Chennai takes movie watching to another level.  The whole auditorium shook with the ship and the pirate cannons could be felt with every Boom.  The theatre has done a fine job in making every aspect of the experience very pleasant, right from the concierge to the parking attendant.  A note to my friends in the Bay Area- tickets for 3-D movies in India are Rs. 120 + Rs. 20 (for glasses), a grand total of $2.75.

Did you know there is a Tibetan Monastry in Southern India?

Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery (or Thekchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling) is the largest teaching center of Nyingmapa – a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism – in the world.

 My latest trip to Mysore and South Kodagu (Coorg) was an amazing trip for a number of reasons.  One of them was meeting my best friend's mother in Medikari (Mercara for the English-speaking World).  The second was the visit to a large Tibetan congregation in Bylakuppe.  The last was the meaning of exemplary and outstanding service.  More on this in a separate blog.

Before I start, below is the link to all the photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/kaverideepak/111104TripToBylakuppe?authkey=Gv1sRgCJLMwcymlvy45gE

Bylakuppe is a land leased by the Karnataka Government for the Tibetian refugees that relocated to India in 1959.  The place has a great weather. As you turn of the Mysore-Medikari Road, the whole landscape and people's complexion change.  The green meadows are fittered with the Buddhist prayer flags.  As you go further, you will be greeted by shops selling Tibetan clothing and other paraphernalia. 

The Monastery is very inviting and has a very open layout.  The students are cordial and are ever willing to answer your questions.  There are 6000 students and about 110 Lamas.  The students come from different parts of the Himalayan land including Sikkim, Nepal, and Arunachal Pradesh.  We even saw a 7 year-old from Oregon among the students. 

A visit to this relaxing place is an absolute must.  Send me any questions about this and I will be happy to answer them.

World's Best Video Game

Two of my greatest interests are video games and golf.  Both have obstacles and challenges.  This is probably why I love driving in Chennai traffic.  The challenges are immense and there are more obstacles than in a video game. 

This is a photo of Oragadam with similar obstacles & challenges. Photo Courtesy: The Hindu

Yesterday, we had driven to Mogappiar West.  10 years ago, this place did not exist on the map.  There was probably no Pin Code or post office.  There were a few industrial complexes, that polluted the neighborhood, but nothing else. Now it is a sprawling suburb with Malls, grocery stores and restaurant.  It even has a 6 lane elevated expressway cutting right through this Pin Code.  That is where the similarity between this and any Chinese suburb ends.  Once you get off the road, there are simple cut outs that act as roads.  Most are unpaved.  If paved, they have been completely demolished by the school buses and water lorries (trucks). 

This was the highest water point.  At other places it was 2 ft.  Courtesy: The Hindu

During our visit, there was a massive downpour.  We were driving through fast and furious rivers with tar cutouts cutting into the bumpers.  We had to stay away from the trucks that were splashing the water like elephants enjoying a shower at a waterhole. Of course there were cars, bicycles, motor cycles, autos (three wheel motored vehicles), pedestrians, cows, cute goats and every other form of live creatures.  Not to be let down, the adjoining trees were weaving their branches in and out of the road.

Having played motor sports on every video gaming system including Atari, Commodore, arcade, Xbox, Wii and PSP.  I still have not seen anything come even close to this experience.  And the best part is that it is not simulated.  You actually feel the road jerks, the wind blowing, the truck splashing and road rage.  Unlike the US, there is probably no one walking around with a gun.  So, you are safe to shout back. 

Never seen this in any Video Game. Let us see if today's teenagers can handle this. Courtesy: The Hindu

A game designer would get so many ideas out of this single journey than all his imagination can ever provide. 

Best real estate in Chennai (Madras) India

Developers are picking up new patches of land (or old buildings) faster than a cat can lap up the milk in it's bowl.  Construction signs and dust is everywhere.  Chennai Metropolis is getting a massive face lift.  One area that seems to have gone in the opposite direction is Foreshore Estate.  Growing up, I have fond memories of my parents taking me to Foreshore Estate Beach every evening.  We would play on the white sand, make castles and simply run around.  There used to even be a bridge along the beach that went across the Adayar River to the Theosophical Society.

Today I took a walk along the same Foreshore Estate.  It has changed- better or for the worse.  But what is unique is that it has been untouched by development.  No developer evacuating the residents offering them great apartments in Oragadham or Guduvanchery.

Growing up the beach used to be  desolate with an occasional car and a handful of kids running around. Today, there are 100's of tents that double as huts and houses for migrant population that are building up Chennai.  These folks do not have to worry about electricity shutdown, or sewage backing, or broadband access is too slow, or have to pay the monthly rent.  The rent is free, air-conditioning is provided by the waves of the Bay of Bengal, sewage is the Bay, trees provide the firewood and the job provides the minimum food required.  These rent-free folks do not need the basic necessities of Chennai called an Inverter (see my story next week on purchasing an inverter).  Irrespective of whether the Chennai Electricity Board is able to provide electricity, they get lights, A/C, hot water and TV service.  Lighting is provided by the Sun and the Moon, the Bay provides a massive swimming pool, beach is the exercise gym, ogling service at the street edge and an evening of city-lights. What we city-slickers pay $100-600 to enjoy a quiet weekend is their daily way-of-life.  So, should we jealous of them or do we love our stressed-out, time-starved lives?

I loved just walking on the beach road.  Yes, it did stink and there was slush everywhere, but life was going on like normal households.  The kids were bursting crackers, ladies cooking and the men sitting around chatting.  It got me to think about much lower their stress was, and all the great amenities around them.

On a side note, I have found my perfect walking route.  Ok, so it is not quiet, or pristine or clean.  But it has a long walk along the beach road, which is all that I really care about. 

Basera- A BBQ Restaurant on ECR, Chennai (Madras), India

Basera Restaurant, Injambakkam, Nr. Prarthana Theater, ECR, Chennai(Madras), India
3* Restaurant/ Rs 408/$8 (Veg) and Rs 450/$9 (Non-Veg) /Open to lush garden

Happy and Satisfied Customer

Courteous staff, great BBQ and a fantastic dessert layout.  The lush garden is a very romantic setting, but available only for dinner!! During lunch, the A/C indoors serves a buffet.  The place is extremely clean (toilets too!!) and everyone is courteous. The Manager comes to your table to inquire after every course. We ate a buffet in the cool confines of the indoor restaurant. The diners are IT-types that come in large groups on bikes and sub-compact cars, families with kids, lovey-dovey couples like Vaishnavi and myself, and local elites in 7-series BMWs.  There were quite a few regulars but we were treated no differently from them.

Dessert Table

The first thing to say about the food is that the dessert was extremely good.  The fruit salad was fresh, cut evenly and tasted good. The caramel custard tasted was so delicious, that I am out of words to describe it.  Of course they had a payasam/kheer and ice cream.

BBQ: Left are the vegetarian and right are the meat

Lemon-mint drink and the 5 starters

The buffet appetizer had five veg. and five non-veg items.  Five were BBQ items including prawns, mutton, chicken, paneer, and a veggie kabobs. They BBQ on a nice chargoal grill in the middle of the table. Being October and in A/C, we did not feel uncomfortable.  It might be the case in peak summer.  The BBQ items were extremely tasty and were cut to the right size, seasoned very well.  The meats and the veggies felt fresh and firm with a little juice.  They actually made sure that the meats and veggies were placed separately. This was important because my wife is a strict vegetarian.  The other five were fried items- fish fry, veg wontons, gobi manchurian, tandoori chicken and aloo tikki.  The wonton was a little soggy but the rest were very well done.  The fish tikka was immersed in a little too much spices and grease. So, it was a little suspicious.

You could match the appetizers with a lemon-mint drink which was quite refreshing.  We actually requested for a refill three times. They had soda drinks but we did not bother. 

Moore mulaghai- delicious

Salad, Yogurt and pickles

The main course was a combination of North Indian dhals, channa and naans with South India rasam and curds.  The curds was hard and very tasty, with no added sugar.  The The best part meal was the moore mulaghai (chillies soaked in buttermilk,dried then fried), a South Indian accompaniment to rice + curds. The dhaal and the kadai vegetables were very tasty.

All in all, it made our marriage anniversary a extremely good one.  Then we were off to pick up our daughter from the grandparents house.

Shopping for fireworks in Chennai (Madras) India- A video

Fireworks is probably the most important aspect of Diwali.  Of course there are others items of equal importance such as new clothes and sharing sweets.  More conservative types will apply oil on their hair, recite religions slokas, take blessings from the elders, visit the temple, and finish all this by 5 AM.  Then they would start bursting crackers.  For the uninitiated, Diwali is the festival of lights.  It is celebrated all over India except Kerala, where until recently was not even a holiday.

I took this video while the young girl was picking up all the items from the display.  You get a four-page sheet from the desk and mark out everything you want.  Then you hand it to one of these jugglers and they go around the display on tip-toes like Ballerinas, and get the boxes.  After that you have another person make the bill for you and another person that collects the money. 

It is probably the most inefficient system I have ever seen.  There are people asking for prices, there folks with one item request, others asking for recommendation, and more folks trying to get out of the store.  In between all this there are gazers and the people that have already filled out the list for the purchase.  This is chaos theory at work in the ultimate possible way.

There are over 300 different types of fireworks on display.  There are all unique, as you can see in the photo below.

It was such a entertainment just watching the whole tamasha  ongoing in the store.

The real fun occurred at home when the whole family got together on the terrace (roof-top) to light up the zameen chakrams, flower pots, pencils, sparklers, butterfly chakrams, multi-colored rockets, and on and on.  It was a real treat to finally enjoy Diwali like it should be enjoyed- with family and lots of fireworks.

Can't wait until Wednesday, after nearly 20 years.

A different kind of School- V-Excel, Mandaveli, Chennai (Madras) India

I happen to live across the road from V-Excel Educational Trust.  Those who are from Mandaveli, might be familiar with Leelavati Nursing Home.  Leelavati was a legendary gynecologist that has delivered babies in the Mandaveli area for over 40-50 years.  Even my great grandmother was her patient in '50-'60's. Leelavati nursing home is now V-Excel.

Board outside V-Excel

Now, on to V-Excel.  V-Excel is a Educational trust that works with special needs children.  These include teacher training, parent support group, schools and a variety of other groups.  In addition, they have a special community program every other Friday. From my window, I watch the children play and learn through individual care and attention.  The teachers and care-takers are truly dedicated and are all of all ages.  The kids can be very aggressive and the care-givers have to be extremely patient.  Every afternoon around 2:30, the kids play cricket.  It is amazing how a simple sport can bring out the best in kids.  The kids are howling with excitement and the decibels hit dump truck levels.  The kids are running around, making their best effort and playing their very best.  The teachers are very encouraging and helping the kids to really demonstrate their mettle.

One interesting thing about V-Excel is that they welcome the neighbors to attend and participate in their programs.  Last night they had Diwali celebrations.  I took Kaveri and her friends for the program.  They were sharing fire crackers, sweets and excitement with all who showed up, not just their students.  Kaveri got her first action with fire crackers.  Initially she was scared but warmed up when she saw all the other kids playing lighting away.  It was a such a fun experience.  Today, they had a Carnatic music concert.

A month ago, they had a Special Needs Specialist visit from Boston.  He was answer some very seemingly complex questions from the parents.  One parent had a child that was constantly breaking any glass item- tumblers, bowls, flower pots etc.  This Specialist broke it down into a few parts to ascertain the root cause of the problem.  Was the kid attracted to the sound of the glass breaking or the action of something breaking?  And the simple solution was to record the sound of glass breaking and replaying, or to give him lego blocks to throw down.  The second is harmless but he gets his desire fulfilled.

It is truly a remarkable school concept and the way they work with the community.

To learn more about them, I visited their Website.  It has a lot of information and topics of interest on the available resources, suggestions of complex situations and how to bring up special needs kids.  If you have time, visit their site at http://v-excel.org/.  To donate, visit http://v-excel.org/donate.shtml. 

Crimson Chakra- A great meal combination in a Single Restaurant

4+* Restaurant, Average is Rs 500/$10 per person including dessert.  Each entree is about Rs 250/$5.

This place is all about service, ambiance and personalized treatment.  right from the time, I made a reservation the treatment was above par.  Among all the upscale restaurants in South Chennai, I have visited this is the best service.  They call me a few hours before the reservation time to remind me and also find out if we had special requests.  I told them that we want to be in the quiet part of the restaurant.  When we got there, they had reserved a table close to the entrance but was private from the other diners. My daughter felt it was below her dignity to sit in a high-chair. They first put cushions on the existing chair, and when that did not work, they gave her a high revolving chair.  They were really creative.  The diners were also very discreet at this place. Cream Center has better food but this place has quieter ambiance and a more relaxed eating environment.

The best part of their food are the salads that come with the main course, mud pie dessert, and the fresh-baked bread that we start off with.  Their menu of South Indian (Crimson Chakra) and Continental (Cornucopia) is very complementary.  The restaurant is called Crimson Chakra and the Cornucopia name is there just for nostalgia.  The food is anything but nostalgia.  Both these menus have a different chef.  Both menus are very authentic and the selection is wide.  The hardest part is to select the right item out of the menu.  The continental menu has exotic names that could be overwhelming to some, myself included.

Their Lasagna sauce seems like it was allowed to simmer for awhile and it brought out the spices in the sauce. They had a three layer with minimal amount of cheese.  The taste was authentic to our tested American taste buds.

When I want a quiet meal or to chat up with a old friend, I would always pick this one.  The reastaurant closed at 10 PM but they let us stay until almost midnight. They did not show any signs of wanting us to leave and did not try to dim the lights.  Also the entree price is much lower compared to all the restaurants of similar standard in Chennai.

Desserts in Chennai (Madras) India

Fruit Shop on Greams Road. (Sweet without a strong sugary flavor. Excellent. Average per person- Rs 35-75/ $0.8 to 1.6)

Standalone Desserts Entrees are really hard to find in Chennai.  Most of them are glorified ice cream shops with loud music and, even louder paint patterns. The few good one's are simple affairs, without any decor, and carry traditional south Indian treats like badushahs, jilabi, or Bengali Sweets, like srikandh and rasmalai.

One of the first dessert-only places that showed up in Chennai (Madras) India is the Fruit Shop on Greams Road.  Not only is the name extremely attractive and captures your imagination, so too is the decor.  After dinner at my parent's place and leaving my daughter with the grandparents, we sneaked over to the one in Besant Nagar. I have always passed by it but never ventured in.

This place is in an un-modified home built in the late 70's.  When you walk it, you get the feeling of warmth and openness.  The color are simple.  There are bold messages about the health benefits of fruits and nuts. The menu size is probably the only negative at this place. There are over a 100 items.  Many of them have exotic names that mean absolutely nothing.  For example, there is one called Jughead.  Most of them say exactly what they are, like banana milk shake.

I ordered the Chikku milk shake and my wife got the Falooda.  First off the bat.  The Falooda had a great collection of fruits.  They looked and tasted really fresh.  It is impossible to find mangoes in the city and they had an abundance in the drink.  The noodles were soft in the Falooda.  Towards the bottom, it got a little too sweet. On the Chikku side, you could taste the chikku in the milk shake.  There was no extra sugar added or any syrups.  So, the mouth felt really refreshed and fluffy.

All-in-all, it was a great hangout and a great feel-good dessert.  I would highly recommend a visit.  The place has a Website: http://www.fruitshopongreamsroad.in/.

Ambiance without the Ambiance at Lunch

Babal da Punjabi Dabha (Very flavourful and tasty khaana (food) Average per person is Rs. 200/$4)  

Chennai is not known for anything beyond South Indian foods.  There are so many varieties of South Indian food that it can really keep you occupied for years trying them all.  Once in a while, you want to venture out to something else.  One such meal is Punjabi khaana. Babal da Punjabi Dabha is right across the road from KJ Hospital. Most North Indian places in Chennai are expensive and have a huge amount of cream/sugar added to the dishes.  Dabha Express is probably an exception but that is for another day!!  North Indian places are also very pretentious.  Anytime a friend recommends a nice quiet place, I am always game to try it.

This time it was my dear buddy Manesh Sehgal.  I was talking to him about some business ideas that I had.  He gave me a good and quick rundown on the entire retail industry.  My MBA did not teach me these things and I paid over $60K for the coveted piece of paper from a top-ten school!!

Back to food.  This place has absolutely no ambiance.  They have soft music, white tablecloth, low lighting and a few photos on the walls.  The ambiance is really about who you are with and the type of conversation.  In this case, Manesh was it.  Manesh has been a food connoisseur since our days together at DB (Don Bosco). Snacks would be the puff at the Cafeteria and paratha kurma lunch at Atlantic Hotel.  In between, there would be the munching of the fluffy and flaky samosa at the Travancore Egg Mart. Back to the Dabha, the fact that he knew the place and knew what to order was great.

We started off with Fish Tikka.  The fish was firm and soft, the flavors were embedded.  It looked like a perfectly cut slice of fish! There was nothing dripping from it. If you wanted more flavor, onions, chillis and a green chutney were provided on the side. Manesh had his with the spicy chutney and mine was more American!  To prevent any taste degradation, we decided no juices, lassi or soft drinks.  Next we got the palak paneer and butter chicken. The paneer pieces were big and the chicken had butter, but no visible cream.  They were a little spicy but not overdone.  There were no bones in either the fish or the chicken.

The best part of the meal were the naans.  There were fresh, right from the tandoori, and just melted in my mouth.  One of the best naans I have ever tasted outside of a home.  We had the plain, letcha and garlic naan.  The garlic naan was the best of the lot.  After we finished the gravy, we ordered a butter naan.  It was awesome to just eat the naan.

The waiters were always handy and brought the food/water very quickly.  They did not object that we were a party of 2 and had taken a table for six.  I would definitely go back with my family.  Ambiance would then be my daughter talking!!!!

Lost art of eating- Reborn

Mylai Karpagambal Mess 

(Awesome and tasty food, Zero Ambiance, Cheap. Average per person is Rs 90/$1.8)

I am talking about food served on a eco-friendly vaazhai ilai or banana leaf and food eaten with fingers (Photo below and the video following below). When finished the leaves are fed to the cows in the backyard. Everything goes through the full cycle.

Eco-friendly table service

I have heard about a number of restaurants in the old Mylapore area of Chennai (Madras), India. These provide home-cooked food in a decent environment.  Many of them have been around for 20-40 years.  The one I have heard most often is Mylai Karpagambal Mess.  Partly because the house where this Mess is (more on this word later) was owned by Mom's uncle (Chitappa).

Menu Board and coffee corner

There is no menu, just a board with names and prices in Tamil (Above). The names are what they are, no fancy make-believe names or food served on silver platter.  The food is delivered on banana leaf on top of a big plate that the waiter serves from.  There is no question of - Bisleri or regular?  Aqua is all you get. There is a small A/C section but it was full when we got there. Prices are about 25% more. It is one of the few places where Pepsi costs Rs 10/$.20 and Bisleri mineral water costs Rs 15/$.30.

Tasty and yummy-looking food!

How-to-eat with your fingers... A education

The food is outstanding. There is a how-to-eat video above! The best part was the coffee.  My wife is a coffee connoisseur and she said it was the ultimate.  I had a vaazhai poo vadai (banana flower lenthil cakes) and keerai adai with avial (spinach pancakes with a mixed vegetable coconut gravy in curd ). Vaishnavi had a rava dosai (crepes made of semolina) and idi appam (noodles that are steamed after threading) with kurma (mixed vegetable in a coconut sauce).  The food was very tasty.  There were a number of items on the menu that would only be available at homes.  The food was authentic and tasted like home-cooked. Those with a American tongue would find the food spicy. Make sure you drink a lot of water.

They were no fruit juices or other artificial beverages. They had one Pepsi bottle in the fridge, that was it.  They had a shelf at the entrance with appalams, pepper powder to go with the crepes and other essential home items. Below is the photo of the counter and the owner of the restaurant. The place is surrounded by photos of various Hindu Gods and Holy men.

The counter

The ambiance

The food came fairly quickly, the waiter was very good in making recommendations based on our interest and liking. He was almost like the Ask Jeeves Search Engine. There were so many items and his assistance is absolutely essential to select the right items.  I have never seen this type of service by a waiter. The ambiance includes street noises and everyone filling up the next empty chair. You could be sharing your table with 3 unknown, but friendly folks.

Mylai Karpagambal Mess is a 500 meter walk from the rental house we live in Mandaveli.  You can take the sounds of Chennai during this walk.  The blaring religious music, autos honking, hawkers screaming, mid-size cars polluting the place trying to drive through the crowd (or plough through them), birds, animals etc......

Tuscana at Chamiers, A Italian restaurant on Chennai

4* Restaurant/ Average about Rs 500 per entree /Nice decor and Ambiance /2 Thumbs Up.

One of our favorite outings are visits to new restaurants.  Our goal is to never repeat a restaurant, unless we find one we like so much.  Then we end up going there every week.  Since we have traveled widely, we tend to realize which restaurant is authentic and true to their heritage.

Yesterday was Navaratri celebrations.  More on that in a separate Gollu subject.  Tired after a long day of working around the house and the job of entertaining guest, we decided to drop off the daughter downstairs.  Off we went to the new restaurant on Chamiers Road, across from Hotel Park Sheration in the Boat Club Area of Chennai (Madras) India.  It was past 9:30 when we got there but the staff was still wide awake.  The location is a old home that has been slightly remodeled. The interior seems to have been maintained, just painted with occasional paintings. This looks similar to Cornucopia/ Crimson Chakra.

The valet instantly opened the door for both of us.  They waited until we firmly got out of the car, before presenting the token.  I hate it when the valet is just rushing to get you out of the car.  Similarly on the return, he had the car nicely positioned for us to get in.

As we had no reservation, they took us to a quiet table.  Funny that it was the same table that my wife had the last time she was there.  This was my first visit.  They brought the menu and stayed away until we called them. 

Before the food, they brought the bread, sticks and toast.  It was all fresh.  They center tray was really tasty and colorful.  It has a hummus-like spread, chopped olives in a olive oil/vinegar sauce and tomato bits.

My wife ordered the gnocchi in marinara sauce while I order Kritiko Boureki, from their Middle-Easter Menu.  The gnocchi were soft and seemed fresh, as opposed to store-bought.  Now, I wonder where you could buy it in Chennai.  We still have our stock from the US.   Mine had a nice pastry covering for my potato and zucchini pie.  I could actually taste the zucchini.  But stunner was the salad.  The leaves were bright and strong.  The dressing ting to it that make the salad just roll in your mouth.  I did not want to sallow it at all.

I had a Fresh Lime soda with salt.  The drink was strong and felt good after a long days work.

The menu is huge and is split nicely between vegetarian and meat dishes. There quite a few desserts and there is a ice cream shop on the Ground Floor (They also sell high-quality beef). The only negative is that music is too loud and the noise from one table runs through too all the nearby tables.

Neighbors and neighborhoods provide your daily dose of adrenalin

 Pooja at Navaratri- On our street.

In the US, you can stay hidden from your neighbors for a really long time.  We did not speak or make eye-contact with the house next door.  Now, we are not classified unfriendly.  We knew everyone in our neighborhood, where we were the Chairman of the Block Action Committee and the Neighborhood Watch.  So much so, our friends continue to call us after we have relocated to India.  In the US, a good neighborhood is where the school district is extremely good and there are no cars hoisted on cement blocks. 

In India, it is the neighbors and not the neighborhood that makes the difference.  They can protect, impart knowledge, reveal deep secrets of the area, best shopping deals, make your life miserable and demystify daily chores.  Our neighborhood has a little bit of everything- yuppy condominiums(flats), street houses in narrow by lanes, old cozy homes and modern monster houses. The area has easy access to everything- restaurants, markets, beach, doctors, public transport and friends!! But the main attraction are the sounds.  I am not talking about the washing machine or the pressure cooker whistle.  I am talking about the birds tweeting, sounds of kids playing, live classical music ....

The sounds of our neighborhood really make it worthwhile to wake up every day!  The lady across the road does not miss a single happening. She was able to pinpoint that our driver had not shown up for 4 days in a row.  She protects our house.  The neighbor to the right plays the volume up on the afternoon oldies music for the whole street to hear.  In the morning, the neighborhood senior bachelor chants the prayers for the whole street and then turns to news radio.  Then there are holy prayers on the loud speaker from the neighborhood temple, mosque and church.  As the day progresses, we have the vegetable vendor hawking his fresh items of the day, traveling tailor with the machine over his shoulder,old paper wallah (recycle industry), auto rickshaws and so on.

This is a big change from the suburban California living that we have become so accustomed too!!  You need the neighbors here. The lady downstairs takes care of the gas delivery, courier and the laundry delivery when we are out.  Of course, we contribute as well.  We share the open/close of the water valves, pump and motor, cleaning the garden and watering the plants.  The kids are constantly running up and down the stairs. It is possible to leave them alone in the compound and not constantly watch over them.  They test food at both homes and select where they want to eat.  Do they play XBox/Kinect upstairs or Nintendo Wii downstairs?  Is it iPad or iPad2?  Is it Noddy coloring or painting pots? and so on. 

Kids develop close friends from the neighborhood, not just from school.  This is why you need to move to India.  Forget about the comfort of drivers, cooks, maids and convenience of home delivery on everything.  There is little privacy, noise pollution is everywhere and things are dirty. But it is India.