Gusto!

December 26, 2007 at 12:57 pm (daily diaries, foodoholic, the big screen)

Ahh! i just love these kind of weekends, which comprise of way too many holidays. A four-day weekend and nothing much to do. And the sudden realisation, that there is so much to do, apart from ‘working’ on holidays. Holy Lord, i work for an events website. Logged onto my own website, to know what is happening in the twinkle-town. It was a typical ‘matargasti’ season, with checking out of new places to eat-out, catching up flicks, ogling at men, buying tik-taks!

Saturday was a check-out guys day which turned out into a meet-ur-best-friend day! loitering in the lanes and by-lanes of Connaught Place, I inadvertantly stopped by at Central Park to see the photography exhibition. It was an unalloyed experience. With black and white pictures from the 19th century, the watch was worth it. It was followed by grab-some-grub from Wengers, which housed special Christmas cakes.

The next day was followed by Tare Zameen Par. What a fantabulous movie! I was reminded of my childhood. No, i aint giving any expertise comments of the movie. But it reminded me of those days, when i had a crush on a guy called Soundarapandyan( because he had given me a Jesus cross, and i thought that he gave it to me, because he loved me! i was just in class 2, then). It reminded me of those days, when i used to get scaled on my knuckles by Miss Stella, for not doing my Maths homework. It reminded me those days, when i had just shifted to Delhi, and i got a ‘shoonya’ in ‘shrutlekh’ and the teacher made me a cock in front of the whole class! It reminded me of those days, when i had no friends, and my toy-dog used to be my only companion. It reminded me of those days, when i thought that i was incompetent. There were times, when i related myself to the protagonist of the movie. Of misfires, of flame-outs, of fizzles, of misplays. And much-more.

Oops, this was supposed to be a post on my hair-raiser week-end. Lets get back to it.

I visited quite a few new places. Khan Market’s Chocola, Khan Chacha and Big Chill. then Greater Kailash’s Minar and Cafe Turtle. All in a span of four days! Chocola is a neat upmarket place, that doesnt have much on the menu, but has got lot of comfort with its refined furniture. Of all the places i have been, nothing can match Big Chill. Amazing place, amazing people, amazing cuisine, and has the best mousee in the city! Minar is a family dine-out place, with formal seating, and too boring for a friends-get-together. Cafe Turtle, was a quiet place, with nothing non-vegetarian in their menu(atleast i could’nt spot any!). Any place with no non-veg is too ho-hum for me! Khan Chacha, he needs no description, atleast not mine. He is certified with an ISO 9001 mark. You have to savour his rolls, to know that the place is actually good.

I also went for a teerath-yatra(religious expedition) to the Church and the Gurudwara. It was a head-trip. The Sacred Heart Cathedral, one day before Christmas, is a sight to see. With the Church braided in beauty, and little kids dressed as Santa Claus’s rehearsing for the choirs, adored the place. It was followed by a trip to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, where I learnt pretty much about religions. I thought that the most exciting part was the ‘langar’, which is said to be a token of God’s blessings. Men, women without discrimination of caste, creed, religion, sect, sit together on the same mattress and have food together. The guy smelling of the penetrating odor of stale sweat, to a woman who cannot afford to offer two square meals to her children, to people who can afford everything they desire are offered the same treatment. And you aren’t supposed to waste even a morsel of food that is given as ‘langar’ you actually realize how lucky you are, when you meet people of those sorts, who cannot afford the minimalist pleasures of life, and yet are content with whatever they have. And we people, who have the basic needs and still lust for more! What a stark difference in the same ambit.

Guess that’s a lot for one-weekend. I am gifted with a gargantuan potential to be on the move, within the constraints of my time. I can just go round and round places, exploring hang-out joints. It’s like a pastime. I hate to visit a eat-out place, more than once. If a place is good, it is good; you don’t need to go twice to re-affirm the fact. You might as well try a new place, and rate it!

So there is the story of my transit from a holiday mode, to the work mode, as I sit at work to type this post. Gusto!