Masala Dosai in McDonalds!!!

No. No. No. No. No. McDonalds in India have not started serving Masala Dosais. Far from it! This post all about the 'Singapore' Komala's Restaurant in Chennai.

Last Sunday had been an intersting one for me. Forget about the need to go to Apollo hospital for something as small and silly as a foot sprain. But that gave me the opportunity to eat the quintessentially south indian dish of 'Masala' Dosai in a McDonalds style setting.

When we ordered out trademark dishes, I could not but feel that I am doing so in a McD rather than in an Indian fastfood with very South Indian name.

Here is how it goes. You walk up to the counter. Look up at the glowing menu on the back walls over the counter, and give your order.

 

 

You are given a bill. You the walk up to the serving counter, give the bill and you are then given a token with a number.
You wait for the number to be called out so that you can then collect your order.

 

 

The trays used for delivering food, the tables and chairs, even the dust bins remind me of McD!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Is Komalas really inspired by McD (and the sort) or is it that I am just nostalgic?
Either ways, I have more reasons to go to Komalas now! :-)

Aiyaiyo! Nooooooo!!!

The mega serial ‘Kolangal’ (SunTV) would sure go on for another 2 years now. Actually its ‘on-air’ life has been extended in the most depressingly intelligent way! Let me elaborate. The central weepy character, Abhi, has lost her business to her arch rival and has fallen into a ‘deep’ financial crisis. Oh my God, what an opportunity - to restart the whole story again (literally and virtually). I dread the coming days when I have to see Abhi & Co start all over again and go through the same ‘travails’, succeed in life only to fall again. What crap!

Now this blog is in no way intended to kindle your interest in this MEGA serial. That is one reason why I have not given the timings of the serial earlier in the first line. Also it is not that I am a regular watcher or a big fan of the same. I am just one of those pained souls who have to endure serials such as this because our dearest parents and sisters choose to see the same – every week day – without fail for however long the serial goes!!! I was just ranting. Please don’t tell my Mom. OK? :-)

The 'Bike-Hunt'

What bike to buy? Bajaj, TVS or Honda? Within TVS is Star City a good bike? Is Victor a really ‘solid’ bike as my friend vouches for it? I decided to check it out for myself today. So, I dragged my enthusiastic sister with me and visited the TVS and the Bajaj showrooms.

Here is how our conversation went in the TVS showroom.

Myself: I am looking for a bike with good mileage, comfortable ride and some decent looks.
Salesman: Go for Star City Sir. It is the best.

M: (But I had Victor in mind). How about Victor?
S: That is good too.

M: How much mileage?
S: 65-70 kmpl

M: Sure? I am talking about real traffic. I go thru the most dense traffic in the city – Kathipara junction. Will it really give me 65-70 mileage?
S: (The salesman slightly put off by my questioning of his knowledge tried to be polite and went on) It will sure give you 65. But as you know, it all depends on how you drive.

M: There you go! (I thought). How is pickup, power?
S: 8.5 BHP Sir. Good pickup.

M: Heard that Victor has some engine startup problems. Is that true? (I was now talking with a lot of confidence).
S: No. No. No. All that has been fixed in the latest Victor GX. Absolutely no problems Sir. (Now he has started sweating slightly).

S: Will you pay in full or are you looking at financing options? (trying to change topic from the current sticky one)
M: It depends (now I was outright condescending). What are the options do you have for financing? (I demanded. The Salesman ran to somebody and got him to us).
I got the new Salesman to draw up a detailed quotation – with out accessories, with accessories. Questions, questions and more questions!

S: You want to take a test drive Sir?
M: Hold on. Hold on. I heard that you provide assistance in getting Driving Licenses for people who buy vehicles in your agency?

S: (Taken aback for a second). We used to, but not now. Don’t you have a license?
M: No, not yet. But I have taken an LLR

S: (looking at me as though saying – ‘You don’t even have a license, but you talked as though you have been driving bikes all your life’). You first have to get your license Sir. Then you can do a Test Drive. Or better get a friend of yours to do a test drive!

We silently accepted his suggestion, gathered our brochures together and slipped out of the showroom!

Analyze this...

Imagine that you are in the following situation:
- You have been arrested for fraud and have come out in bail only a couple of days ago
- All your financial assets have been frozen
- You are bankrupt thanks to the above freeze
- Your son too has been arrested and you had beg your arch enemy to pay for the bail money
- Your wife, daughter and daughter-in-law hate you
- You have sold your 2-crores-worth house for a paltry 40 lakhs
- You are vacating your house today and your heart heavier than mercury

In this situation will you go around with a 2-day stubble or be "as clean-shaven as a dressed chicken"?

Please don’t think that this is a silly question.
In fact in a recent episode of the SUN TV serial – Kolangal - the character that was in the above mentioned (pathetic) situation was shown to be clean-shaven.
The queer thing is the son’s character was sporting a 5-day stubble!

I never had (and will never have) high regards for Kolangal. But this stupid miss made me roll-down the floor and laugh.

TV serials will never change! Will they?

5 best ways to celebrate the Independence day

5 best ways to celebrate our esteemed nation's Independence day:
1. Listen to Namitha, Simran and Vadivelu speak about their personal careers in movies.
2. Engross oneself in the interesting and intense discussions (patti-madram) with Solomon Pappayya or Paul Leoni as the speaker ('naduvar').
3. Watch a super-duper, 'just-released-a-month-ago' (and most probably a 'super-flop') movie.
4. Or (even better) watch a real hit movie. But be warned it would not have anything remotely connected to the Independence day!
5. Watch even more TV.

If you had done anything else other than the above 5 items like, saluting the tri-color while it is being hoisted, doing real community service in some slum, orphanage etc, or just even thinking about our hard-earned Independence and the people who got it for us, then you should probably not be from this planet. Now, I was just kidding... But what percentage of us really did it!

May be our Independence day has become yet another public holiday? Or may be not!

Just a thought!

What does it take…

To become a host of a ‘dial-in’ TV show?

A very useful question, you guys would say (though with more than a tinge of sarcasm). But I am forced to think about this as I get to watch channels like Sun Music, SS Music et al.

Please note that I am purely going by what I see and hear in the above mentioned channels! So, if there are other VJs who don’t ‘measure up’ to the standards below, it is completely their mistake and not mine.

Enough of my deliberations, let me get into the details as to what I think that are UTTERLY necessary to become a VJ...
1. An interesting (read ‘weird’) way of addressing people. Like - ‘Hai Hai’, ‘Hhhhuullllhho’ or just ‘Hmmm tell me…”.

2. An ill-fitting dress. The dress should either be 2 sizes smaller or 4 sizes bigger than your normal size.

3. Speak at least 2 languages (say Tamil and English). Preferably talk both the languages at the same time – and that too in every sentence you speak!

4. Ladies don’t have to worry about physical looks. Forget about the word ’figure’ – you don’t even need to have a pleasant face. Gents don’t even have to think about it! Who is going watch you talk anyways.

5. Should be able to shake/twist your head for every 3 word one speaks (all thanks to ‘Pepsi’ Uma, this (bad) habit has really caught on).

6. Speak continuously without meaning much and of course without thinking much. How else can one stretch 5 songs (all played only half) in a 30 minute program!

7. Ask the same dumb and dead question again and again and again to every person who dials in! And expect a ‘drastically‘ different answer from every body.

Now that I have figured out what it takes to be the host, I am just thinking about what it would take to be one those intelligent souls who dial-in to these shows!

Rolled-back the previous 3 posts...

The main purpose of the blog is write about all the "nothings" in life.
Just realized that that I had wandered away from this over the past 3 blogs.
Have duly deleted them now.
I promise to be in line from the next blog! :-)

Life is all about sweet 'nothings'.

-Raga