Andhra Mess ku Swagatam!!

When I spotted a humble yet welcoming and cheerful restaurant specializing in Andhra cuisine closer to my workplace, my happiness knew no bounds. I immediately gathered my bunch of easy-to-convince friends and decided to explore Andhra cuisine for lunch that day .

"Naidu Andhra Mess" said a board displayed at the entrance. This was probably the humblest of all restaurants I had ever visited. It was a simple rectangular hall with chairs arranged around tables. The blue walls had paint peeling off in places. A large table at the end of the hall had food placed on it. A mirror and a wash-basin occupied one corner while a payment counter occupied the other.  The interiors of the place made me wonder what the USP (Unique Selling Point) of this eatery was. 

It was lunch time and tables were getting occupied really fast. We too selected a table and made ourselves comfortable. Even before we could think of what to order, banana leaves for each one was laid. Small buckets filled with different kinds of curry placed and in no time our banana leaves (used as plates) were filled with fluffy, white, steaming rice!

This promptness of service was delighting and the variety of dishes served, intriguing. There was this typical South Indian Sambhar along with Rasam and thick Indian Dal (known as Pappu in Telugu). Then there was Vepudu: crunchy and spicy parwal (snake gourd) coated in gram flour- garlic paste and deep fried. The very sight of it set my salivary glands working!

Being a self-confessed lover of all things crispy and crunchy, imagine my joy when we were given a generous helping of crispy crunchy fries! These were probably made from rice-flour, am not too sure though.

The one thing that was unique here was Podi. This is basically powdered dal (pulses) to be eaten with rice and very little sesame oil. It has a unique tangy, salty taste, the perfect combination of I-don't-know-what to satisfy those taste buds.

Pickles are an indispensable part of Andhra/Telugu cuisine. At Naidu Andhra Mess, we were served two kinds of pickle: raw mango and okra. You need to taste to believe how tantalizing these pickles were.

Just when we thought we had eaten way too much than our tiny tummies could hold, we were served a glassful of chilled, fresh salty buttermilk. Unable to resist, we quickly gulped in this tempting Indian drink. 

Once at the billing counter, we were shocked to hear that we had to pay only Rs. 50 each for all the food we had eaten. This was awesome. Unlimited quantity of quality food at such low rates, what else could one ask for! 

As I walked out of Naidu Andhra Mess that afternoon, I looked around to see the faces of others leaving with me. 'Contentment' shone brightly on each one's face. Instantly, I knew what the USP of this humble road-side eatery actually was!

Chennai Ahoy!

Ch - en - nai!! 

Yes,  this is where I live as I write type this post today. Many friends shared their views on the city when they came to know that I would be/ am living here. Here are some of the most amazing things people had to say.

• Being in Chennai is like saja-e-kalapani ( saja: punishment, Kalapani: a colonial era prison in India)
• In Chennai, its either hot, hotter or hottest (with reference to the climate :P)
• You will forget Hindi and begin speaking Tamil ( Credits: Stephen from A Solitary Writer. :D )
• Intolerable humidity
• Hours without electricity due to frequent power cuts 
• In Chennai you don't get wet, you only sweat ( big LOL for this!!)

Huh!! So you can very well imagine/understand how skeptical I was about shifting/living here before I actually did ;) All said and done, its almost been 10 days here and believe me when I say, all my friends were TRUE but only partially! 

Now let me quash and put to rest all the myths that people have about this city. So here we go.

• Saja-e-kalapani: 10 days is too early to comment on this one ;) :P
• Chennai IS hot. If the winter temperature can go up to 30 degree Centigrade, then image what summers will be like!! I already imagine roasted chicken walking on Chennai roads this summer :D 
• I never understand the language these auto-rickshaw walas here speak. Somebody said, "Tamil teri maa" and my North-Indian friends almost broke into a fight with him until somebody intervened, "Tamil teri maa means do you know Tamil?" :P  (For all those who din't get the joke here, "teri maa.." is used as a slang in North India. :D )
• Humidity?? All's well as of now. Living in air-conditioned rooms does have its merits. :)
• Power cuts are rampant. One has to get accustomed to 2 hours of power cut each day. Also, once every week or month there is power cut for 24 hours at a stretch. :O  Lord have mercy! Lord have mercy!
• There is a shortage of water in Chennai but nobody I know of has had problems due to this. Most houses store water. The rest can be concluded from views above. :) 

I haven't been to the beaches which Chennai has many. To survive in Chennai one needs friends, and loads of them to have fun together. I have made a few and God is kind. Life has been good so far. Hoping to make the most of the rest of it. 

Much Love. Thanks for reading :)

 

Dear Faith,

I have gone through a lot in the past few months. Well, Life likes to teach us lessons and I seem to be one of Life’s favorite pupils. J

There have been times when I felt low, when I thought there was nothing left in life to look up to. I appreciate the way you handled me then. Thanks for reminding me each day that “Nothing in life is permanent”, and that “This too shall pass”.

Thanks for proving to me, in your own tiny ways that “Every cloud has a silver lining”. You told me how everything happens for one’s own good. You calmed me when I refused to listen and made me wiser with each passing day.

Remember the day we went for “Life of Pie”?  I felt really good after watching it. I could somehow connect. I felt I was Pie and this phase of life was akin to his journey across the Pacific. I felt happy thinking that in the end, I too would survive.

Pie and I had another thing in common, and that is you! This is when my belief in you grew stronger than ever and I decided to never let you go.

Thanks for being by my side forever, for becoming stronger with each challenge that Life throws at me. You are a man’s best friend, and I shall keep Faith for-ever!

 -Love, me

 

Linked to: Theme-Thursday  Prompt: Faith

Picture Courtesy: Mrsupole of Theme Thursday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the Future

It has been a tortuous climb. Thank God I could make it here! Yes, I believe in God, and its a good thing to believe in something, someone, somebody..it gives you hope. It makes you last, its makes you fight..until the victory is yours.

That was some insightful into the life I had been leading in the last few months. That very much explains my absence too. Thankfully its all over now and thoughts are streaming out of my mind as (best) they once did!

------

I met this guy at an interview the other day. He too happened to be a software engineer but had no technical knowledge. He was the kind of engineer who never attended classes in college and cleared semester exams with marginal marks, thanks to last minute studies. This was not surprising because more than 60% of the software engineers I have met till now belong to the same category. (More on this in future post/s)

What I actually found surprising was the fellows views on corruption and bribery. Well here was a young 20-something guy, the so-called "future" of my beloved India proclaiming quiet confidently that corruption was his birthright! All that he aimed for in life was a government job, not because he wanted to serve the country but because he all he wanted to do in the name of work was play cards.

"Paisa kamaana hai, par mehnat nai karni.. (I want to earn money but do not want to work hard)", said he with a sombre looking face. "Ek baar sarkari naukri lag jaaye bas...fir to table k upar taash aur niche paiso ki gaddi...(Once I get a government job, It will be cards above the table and money under it)", he added.

To speak the least, his thoughts left me aghast! Where is my country headed?! His thoughts worried me and his views left me perplexed. My bubble of belief that I belonged to an anti-corruption generation was suddenly burst, and how! 

The fact that he had already cleared first 2 rounds of the Staff Selection Commission exams and was waiting for the final interview scared me. What if he succeeded in his endeavors? What if he became a Central Excise Inspector, and Income Tax or a CBI Inspector?? I shuddered at the thought.

-----

This meeting has really got me thinking. I wonder how many more youths like him must exist. I then tried to trace the roots of this mentality that the guy so strongly adhered to. My search ended at his family. The fellow's father happened to be an officer at State Bank of India, a government body. According to him, his father had no much work at office and received innumerable free facilities from the government. Many of his relatives had government jobs too. So naturally conversation in the family always revolved around government jobs, which aunt took the highest amount as bribe, how a certain uncle had become a crorepati thanks to corruption, which cousin had no work pressure at office and lived a life of luxury, so on and so forth.

-----

I love my country. I am worried.

yaaY its souP, possiblY!!

My earliest soup memory goes back to when I was almost five. We had gone out for dinner and mum ordered tomato soup. She said it would work as an appetizer. Everything went fine until the next morning.

Dad and I were standing by the sink brushing our teeth. Suddenly the muscles of my stomach stiffened, the toothbrush stopped in my mouth, I bent over and the next thing I knew the entire sink was full of the tomato soup!  The brick red liquid was dripping down my toothbrush.

Since then I avoid ordering tomato soup at restaurants. J

Written for Theme Thursday



3 and 3
are 2 women, the 2nd itching the 1st one's back!

3 and 3
are lovers, He making up to Her.

3 and 3
are Martha's tiny hairclips, left on the floor.

3 and 3
are twins, happily co-existing.

3 and 3
are a cartoon's ears, lost and found here!

3 and 3
are 6, 9, 8 and 33.

I say 3 and 3
'coz possibilities have no decree!

For Theme Thursday


 

...& all that

I am broken. My wounds sore. I can’t fight you anymore.

You proved me wrong

whenever I took a decision
and tried to move on.

 Why do they say

"live to the fullest” when
all we have to do each day is compromise?

These dreams are mine,

I cherish them!
Who then are you to come in between us?

Stop stopping me from moving forward.

Dear Life,

Do not forget                                                    

That even you have no existence without me.

 

 

 

Gloom

Life and its cruel games!
It caresses u but with claws ‘guised in fur
Pushes you to take that one next step and then mocks you, sneers at your failed efforts
Just as you try to collect yourself, its vicious laughter reeking in vanity echoes
It flips sides faster than the pulse yet somehow it is never on your side.
In this never ending duel, you give up one day to realize:
“All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players…”