Category: Personal

Today I watched 3D blockbuster The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I was lucky to be accompanied by a friend, a die hard fan of JJR Tolkien, who had to explain the important plot points to me – a complete novice in the Tolkien world!

Take home point – an elf can kill a hundred orcs! As to why the dwarfs gave up so easily when they could not find the keyhole, it is because finding it has to be only magic and not by chance.

The cliff-hanger ending left me a with a look of disbelief. The 187 minutes of epic fantasy adventure were really over.

The winter is Christmasy and it is a good time now for eating out. Today I had an incredible lunch with a friend at Bohemian. We ordered two Bekti dishes for main course: Gondhoraj Bhetki and grilled Bhetki with Bengal berry sauce. Both were absolute delights! We sipped the Gondhoraj Julep mocktail all along. For dessert we shared the soul-filling Malpua Cheesecake, which was very light considering it was a cheesecake.

The new No Refusal taxis in the city offer a much more comfortable ride at the same fare. A ride in one of those cabs took us to Mrs. Magpie. The Christmas decor at Magpie was tastefully done and not in-your-face. We idled away the afternoon over a pot of Darjeeling tea.

Last evening I went to see a friend and we decided to pay a visit to this new Tibetan joint called Momo I Am. I quite liked the setting of the place – cosy and informal, small two seater tables with little cushioned stools. There is no AC but the drone of the ceiling fan and the whirl of the pedestal add to the charm of the place. We shared a plate of Chicken Shyapta, which turned out to be quite good. Then we had a plate of steamed chicken momos each. The momo-s were simply out of the world! The red chilli sauce is not for the weak in heart, but my partner in crime seemed to enjoy it quite a lot!

I read a short novel called Life is What You Make It by Preeti Shenoy. It can be categorized in the popular Chetan-Bhagat-genre of novels as in the main character goes to college and there are the joys and throes of youth, the tribulations of career, love and romance. But the book is beyond that, it delivers a strong message. It  deals with major depressive disorder, a psychiatric illness, and reminds the reader that mental illnesses are to be considered as any other physical illness.  The author goes on to explain that there is a full branch of medicine dedicated to that and laments that there is not enough awareness about psychiatric illnesses in India and the patients are socially stigmatized. The novel makes the reader feel for the protagonist and realize that just like any other disease, a psychiatric disorder can manifest at any time without prior notice and it is never in the control of the person. The book delivers a strong message, a welcome one when a large part of today’s society is blinded with certitude and intolerance. The story is also about hope and determination. I was deeply moved several times while reading. It is a gift from two years ago, I am glad I finally read it.

The most popular cafe in town, may be not so much for the food, but surely for the classy ambience. Very laid-back and delayed waiting which is good for the conversationists. The place is always packed with a long waiting queue in the evening. Menu offers great variety and prices are really low. According to a statistician friend, what would cost 350 here would make a staggering bill of 1700 at Starbucks. They use Twinnings tea-bags in their teas. If coffee is your thing, have the wise owl special cappuccino. You must avoid the lemon iced tea which has lost its earlier zing and tastes very bitter these days. The muffins are always great. They have stopped selling the cookies, a regret. A good indulgence would be the ‘Avalanche’, a big bowl of chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream with a dash of chocolate sauce. They serve great breakfast too. One must place the order by 11 am as they are quite strict with the time.

From the food to the interior, everything is eye-candy at Mrs. Magpie. Very warm atmosphere. Great Darjeeling tea that is served in a beautiful glass tea-pot. Bite sized eatables – perfect to keep the conversation going! The miniloafs and teacakes taste amazing and go great with the tea. For those with a sweet tooth, there is an array of cupcakes.

The city finally gets its Feluda-themed cafe on Rajani Sen Road – Baithak. Don’t I just love the concept of it! The cafe is very neat, not too bright and shiny – a small and cosy place to have an informal adda with your friends (and enjoy the free WiFi too!) While you are at it, you can choose from a variety of tea and coffee and leaf through the Sandesh magazine. An overwhelming list comprising myriads of sandwiches and shakes is in the offering. The ‘Meghraj’ chocolate shake or the ‘Brown Saheber Rohosso’ (bread based fritata) are interesting names on the menu that any Feluda reader will be thrilled to find. The very charming Swaralipi, who runs the place with her husband, was present herself on Saptami evening and she helped us decide what to order. We had Nathmull’s second flush tea and the crabmeat sandwich, mysteriously named as ‘Kankrar Khutinati’. The second time I visited the place was after a long day and Soumya (Swaralipi’s better half) recommended the refreshing Kokum shake. ‘Very berry Kokum’!

I first visited Bohemian during Pujo last year. And what an amazing experience it was! Each and every item on the menu reflected sheer brilliance and, thanks to our large group of school friends, we had tasted and savoured almost everything on the menu. Well, almost! I also had the opportunity to talk to Chef Joy Banerjee then, the man behind the adventure. I revisited Bohemian on last Sunday, only to be pleasantly surprised again.

Bohemian is clearly different from other Bengali eateries, for it is at Bohemian that the global adventure of Bengali cuisine begins! The adventure comes at a price though, but the incredible experience makes up for it. Where else would you get a delightfully tasting concoction of chicken, pomegranate and spicy mustard! Delicacies like bacon wrapped chickens, served in a tangy gravy of aam kasundi, to choose from. Or the Mutton Vindaloo for that matter. And desserts like Gondhoraj Julep to wash it down with. Then there is also the Gondhoraj Souffle of course, and, if you are not the calorie freak, you could also order your ‘Death by Chocolate’. The menu in fact can be a bit overwhelming and the knowledgeable staff do give some helpful pointers.

On my third visit, I got to taste two Bekti dishes: Gondhoraj Bhetki and grilled Bhetki with Bengal berry sauce. The Malpua Cheesecake turned out to be a soul-filling dessert. I am yet to try their pastas and hope to try on my next visit.

 The theme of the place could be labelled Gothic, as someone has pointed out in a review, yet very tasteful; it only gets louder on the walls of the washroom! What I don’t like though is how the washroom door opens right into the seating area, something you may not really appreciate while occupying the two-seater at the far end of the restaurant.

15 minutes into the movie and a mindless bollywood song starts, and I am thinking what I am doing here. Another one hour into the movie, I already regret my decision!

It is a good thing that Bollywood is making movies based on real heroes. Legends like Milkha Singh should be revered and celebrated. But in a movie like this, realism took a backseat. And people going “balle balle” every fifteen minutes made it a horrible watch! A story that could have been told in two hours straight, went on like forever. The flashbacks to Milkha’s childhood were okay but the intolerable filmy romance was not. (Nor was the predictable wronged-lad-getting-recruited-by-local-gangsta-storyline!) Glad that they at least kept the race sequences realistic, the second half was certainly more watchable.

A few words on the actors. Nehru was amusing – he looked more like one of the villains from those old Bond flicks! Sonam Kapoor looked pretty and, as a saving grace, din’t have much dialog to deliver. Farhan Akhtar quite got into the character, with his chiseled look.