Posted on by Santulan · 26 Comments

Hola for some yummy Mexican food

This is another place that I stumbled upon by accident. I was looking for a place that accepted online orders and payment for home delivery orders, when I came across HOLA Mexicana. I enjoyed their food so much, that I ended up ordering at least once every week for some time. Soon it dawned upon me that while I have had their yummy food many times, I haven’t actually been there even once. I made up my mind to go there over the weekend.

HOLA Mexicana is quaint little place nestled in a building complex Fatehganj, Baroda. Their banner is well lit, so that you don’t miss it. The only catch is that you can easily park a two wheeler, but a car will need some efforts.

holaent

They have a warm looking interior, which can easily manage 20 or so patrons. One of the plus points is that they have A/C and wifi, so it makes spending the hot noons or evenings easy.

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One of my regular orders over here is their mexican rice. While they offer both veg and non veg options, I like to go with the chicken version. It is a fabulous combination of rice, sauces, spices, tanginess, vegetables, beans, shredded chicken (since I go for the non veg version) and cheese. I have had it almost everytime I have ordered from them, and I still enjoy it each and every time.

This is what the bowl of mexican rice looks like when you receive it.

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I like to give it a nice mix, before diving in.

holarice2

Not one to get satisfied with just one bowl of rice, I order something else to go with it. This time I ended up with one of their omelettes.

holaome1They make a nice fluffy omelette that has stuffing inside the fold. Mine had chicken, vegges, spices and cheese. Needless to say it was absolutely delicious.

holaome2

What is even better about the place is that in spite of serving such delicious food, and giving you a warm and comfortable ambience, they are easy on the wallet. Here’s a snapshot of their menu

holamenu

This is hands down, one of my favorite places in Baroda to have mexican food. I will leave you with a picture of the HOLA Mexicana team who were happy to pose for a pic for me.

holateam

 

 

Written for day 8 of the A to Z challenge

Posted on by Santulan · 21 Comments

Gokul Ras thad, a delicious discovery

I love those happy accidents when I find a place I have never been to before, and end up having brilliant food at it. One night, my old room mate and a friend came over and asked me to join them for a drive. Since none of us had dinner, the idea was to have something on the way. We had taken the old NH8 highway out of Baroda towards Ahmedabad. Around 9 kilometers on the highway, we stopped outside this place which we hadn’t seen before. Since the place had opened only two months ago, few people knew of it then.

Gokul board

I absolutely loved this idea of having small tents over each table. This way you can enjoy the cool breeze that is blowing, and yet maintain your small personal space. There are lights and pedestal fans inside the tent, for when the wind is not enough.

gokul tents Gokul tentThese are how the tents looks up close. There is enough space inside for a group of 6 to sit and eat comfortably.

Three of us were in the mood for Kathiawadi (belonging to Saurashtra region of Gujarat) food, so this is what we ended up ordering:

Wagharela Rotla (Broken flat bread that has been stir fried with spices and sauce)

Gokul rotla

There was Lasanya Bateka (Potatoes made in a gravy with loads of garlic)
Gokul bateka

The friends love Brinjal so we ordered Ringan/Baingan Bhartha (Squashed Brinjal)

Gokul bhartha

And some Ringad ane papdi nu saak (Brinjal Sabjee with beans)

Gokul brinjal

Of course we had piping hot rotis with fresh white makhan (butter) on them

Gokul rotibutterSince I felt adventurous, we had fried sated chillies (which I didn’t eat , and my friends had to finish)
Gokul chillies

And this is how my plate looked when we were eating.

Gokul plate

 

So, if you ever end up with a craving for Kathiawadi food, with some lovely ambience, I will accompany you here.

 

Written for day 7 of the A to Z challenge, 2014

 

Posted on by Santulan · 25 Comments

Fun and Love

I have been to two high schools for my studies. While I spent lesser time in it, St. Gregorios has been responsible for some of my most memorable experiences, and wonderful learnings. I imagine that this is the speech that I have been invited to speak over there.

 

This is a very interesting feeling, to be on this side of the stage and speaking on the microphone. I have been nudged more than once by a friend when I had dozed off in one such speeches, and called out when a friend saw me eating chocolates or chewing gum. What are friends for, if not to occasionally get you into trouble?

I was asked before being invited back here, to speak on the path of life. Of course non one needed to have gone through the trouble of inviting me. One can never be invited back home, we just walk back in its comforting presence. What better manner to talk about the path of life than to speak through the memories that I cherish of this place, some similar to what you will end up with as well.

One of my most memorable craft classes was the one involving masks and puppets. As the class assignment all of us had to prepare a mask or puppet each. There were no compulsions as to what we had to interpret or portray, or which craft skill we had to use. One would think that in itself the act of mask making would be fun enough, we were told that the kindergarten classes would be grading us. The final class would involve us putting up a team effort to enact stories with our masks and puppets for the KG kids.

The whole idea behind our work changed, and it was as fun for us as the KG kids when the acts were being performed. I don’t remember who was more excited on the final day, the KG kids who were having enjoying the show, or us who were having a wonderful time putting on the act for them. What I am trying to tell here is that if you have to do something, you put in more effort if it is fun, and you enjoy it.

Of all the classes we had, I think the one that I ended up loving the most was Library. I know, library doesn’t have a set curriculum, or something specific to learn like we have in other subjects. But library gave me something that many classes cannot compare to. It gave me the love of reading. While it was never forced that we had to issue a book more than the once per week Library class, a bunch of us ended up issuing books much often. Reading was always encouraged for us. We were taught how to write reviews, and there was pride in one’s review being displayed on the library notice board for others to read.

I remember the discussions we had, students and teachers together. Discussions about the book we had last read, what we thought of it, and the recommendations to the next book. At the height of it, we were issuing books every second day, using the lunch time to change our books from the library. The books would get devoured in the bus on the way back home. Home was no different. Once home work and studies were done with, and dinner eaten; I would be in the bedroom propped with the latest book that I had had issued. Hours could go away on such nights and on holidays to the extent that a person like me would have to be called twice to the lunch table.

I remember when we had been to Bangalore for an inter-school competition, and were on the way back to our accommodation from the event site. We were playing a Harry Potter quiz, and Principal ma’am commented that had we put in half as much effort in our course studies, we would have all been scoring more than 90%.

The idea over here is to find something that you love. The moment you start loving something, you forget the amount of effort you put into things. All that will matter is doing it. Fun and love. These are the two things that I believe you must have, in your path of life.

 

 

Post written as a guest author for the team of Project 365. The prompt was to “You’ve been asked to speak at your high school alma mater — about the path of life. (Whoa.) Draft the speech.”

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Written for day 6 of the A-Z challenge 2014.

Posted on by Santulan · 23 Comments

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie that I stumbled upon while doing a search on how our memories work.

Joel Barnish (Jim Carrey) is a withdrawn man with an inactive social life. One day on his commute to work, he has an urge to go to Montauk instead of work. On the way back from Montauk to New York he hits it off with Clementine (Kate Winslet), who is the polar opposite of him. She has brightly colored hair, and is an unrestrained person who speaks what she thinks. What they do not know is that they had had already been in a relationship for two years, and when it turned sour they broke it off.

The reason why they are unable to remember any of it is, is that Clementine had had her memories of Joel erased. The heartbreak of the relationship breaking off too much for her to bear with. While Joel was managing to deal with the relationship not working out, he broke down when he came to know that Clementine had him erased from her memories. Distraught, he goes to the same company (Lacuna Inc.) and signs up to get her deleted from his memories.

The way it works is that representatives of the company ask the customer to hand over all items they have that are personally associated with the person that want deleted. Then they ask you to think of the memories associated so that they can form a brain map specific to the person. Once the configuration is done, they attach a computer based apparatus to your head and begin a systematic deletion of memories while you sleep.
This dream/memory world is where most of the movies takes place. Starting with the earliest, Joel goes through all the memories associated with Clementine. The most recent memories are painful, and full of angst with all the passive aggressiveness they had displayed towards each other. The deletion of these memories serve as a catharsis for him. However as he goes further in the past, he begins to recollect all the happy and rosy moments he had shared with her. He begins to realize that the pleasure of these memories is worth living through the pain of not being in a relationship anymore. But being stuck in the dream/memory world, he cannot do anything to stop the process which is taking place in the real world in his apartment.

The memory sequences are absolute brilliance. The narrative of the story jumps across time here. From a scene which takes place in the past, to a scene in the future where the movie started, to what is happening in the present where the Lacuna crew is deleting the memories. The visual imagery as to how the memory gets deleted, and what Joel tries unsuccessfully to prevent it captures the viewer with awe.

The movie however is not just about these two. There is a crew of three working on the deletion, of which Mary (Kirsten Dunst) and Stan (Mark Ruffalo) are in a relationship. The third character Patrick (Elijah Wood), is using the personal files and objects of Clementine that had been given to create the deletion as means to gain knowledge to impress Clementine and date her. This small but very wonderfully told sub-plot is as interesting as the main story line.
We already know that Joel will be unsuccessful in preventing the deletion on account of him not recognizing Clementine in the future when they meet in Montauk. While they start afresh , oblivious to what has already happened between them they receive records of their memories from an employee at Lacuna who believes that the company has done something very wrong, and has sent all the customers their records. You will have to watch the movie to find out how the two of them deal with this disclosure.

The title of the movie is inspired from the poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope. The poem is about the tragedy of a love affair that couldn’t be, and the heroine’s believes that she can only be at peace if she can forget about this love that could not be.

 

How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d;

 

This is one of my favorite movies that seamlessly combines romance, science fiction and philosophy. I will leave you with the trailer of the movie.

 

 

Written for day 5 of the A to Z Challenge

Posted on by Santulan · 23 Comments

Doug Stamper, and why he fascinates me

I took to the A-Z challenge thinking that I would write about things that I like, places that I’d like to be at, stories that fascinate me. So after a recipe, and two food joints I want to tell you about a character who fascinates me. The central characters in most stories get a lot of attention and love. In itself there’s no harm with that, they are the central characters for a reason. However there are times when the supporting characters are awesome on their own. One such character is Doug Stamper from the House of Cards TV series by Netflix.

dougflix

Doug Stamper is Frank Underwood’s (a central character of the series) Chief of Staff. He is ruthless and efficient as Frank, and seems to lack a conscience quite like the underlying essence of the show. It doesn’t how something needs to be done. What matters is the when and the what. This is why he is an essential man by Frank’s side, part of all his schemes and manipulations. He is more than a henchman, he is fixer, and a failsafe. He deals with situations and people many times, keeping Frank updated so that Frank can do what he has to.

The premise of the series is that Frank has been promised the position of the Secretary of State for his work in securing the election of the President. However once in power, he is passed on as the President feels his need in the Congress instead. Soon Frank and his wife start their covert machinations to gain power, influence and what was to be rightfully theirs. All this with a generous helping of vengeance. Doug doesn’t question any of this, he understands. He accepts this in a very matter of fact manner, as if it is to be the natural progression of things.

He uses coercion and fear as means to get his things done. He is keen at spotting weaknesses of people, and then how to exploit them. Such is the effect of him and his machinations on people that, when approached about it by a member of the press the person chose to let their life and troubled past be out in the papers instead of telling of what Doug got done through them. His machinations go on to the level of setting up people much in advance, only for them to be brought down at the right time, in the right manner for Frank to benefit from it.

While Frank (who routinely breaks the fourth wall to address the viewers) has many wonderful quotes in the series, one quote of Doug’s and his manner of delivering it is very impressionable. He was once an alcoholic where it got so bad that it began to interfere with his life and work. He was one of the few people Frank gave a second chance to, and Frank has been undyingly loyal to him for it. He has remained sober for more than 14 years, but still attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. This was what he said at one such meeting, which he as a sponsor took a recovering alcoholic to.

dougaazero

I’m Doug and I’m an alcoholic. One of the things I do for a living is count. I count votes. Yays, nays, neutrals, abstaining. And I’m good at it. But the most important count I do has nothing to do with work. It’s the number of days since April 4th, 1999. As of this morning that’s 5,185. The bigger that number gets, the more it frightens me because I know all it takes is one drink for that number to go back to zero. Most people see fear as a weakness. It can be. Sometimes for my job I have to put fear in other people. I know that’s not right. But if I’m honest, like the fourth step asks us to be, I have to be ruthless. Because failure is not an option. The same goes for my sobriety. I have to be ruthless with myself. I have to use my fear. It makes me stronger. Like everyone else in this room, I can’t control who I am. But I can control the zero. Fuck the zero.

Michael Kelly, the actor who plays Doug has my respect for his wonderful performance. He really puts the spirit in the portrayal of this character.

Written for Day 4 of the A to Z Challenge

Posted on by Santulan · 8 Comments

Devoid

How difficult it is to survive

the emergence of the routine

that is everyday?

The madness that is to conform,

chipping and chiseling at yourself

unless someone else takes a hammer to you.

 

When that is not enough,

there will be a blade.

With your own hands if not others’,

it will go inside and empty you

of what you were.

 

And then when all that is to be done,

I will present myself to them.

A deformed, and wretched version of what I once was.

Devoid of anything that was me,

devoid of anything that had unparalleled value.

 

A hollow, twisted trophy

to what they are capable of,

and a testament of my own inability.

This is what I shall offer.

 

When they’re looking at me,

beaming and proud

at the handiwork they asked for,

I will smile.

 

The smile will not be enough

and I shall laugh.

 

Laugh until hurts,

laugh in a manner that is unrestrained.

Laugh at the memory of who I could have been,

laugh at who I have become.

 

And then I will laugh because

I will be the only one laughing for it.

There will be no one there

to appreciate why.

 

And before my laugh merges

with theirs, I will know

that the joke is on them.

 

Written for day 3 of NaPoWriMo. The prompt was to use non Greco-Romian mythology. I couldn’t come up with anything, I chose the option to free style. Using an old poem of mine that has not been on the blog.

 

Posted on by Santulan · 35 Comments

Canara Coffee House

One of the first things that I wanted to know of, once I had taken up a job in Baroda was where all the good food is available. I have friends from college who call Baroda home, and they were more than happy to take me to the right places. One such place is Canara Coffee house.

1-Canaralogo

 

Canara Coffee house is a place where people have been going to with their family for years now. The place is popular strictly on account of word of mouth at how good their food, or because someone from the family has been going there for at least a generation now. The thing that Canara Coffee house is most famous for is Poona Misal.

3-canaramisal

Misal is a Marathi word and means mixture. Typically sprouted moong (green gram) is mixed well with spices and pastes, and topped with chopped onions and tomatoes along with some namkeen chewda. Namkeen Chewda is in itself a spicy mixture of dried and fried lentils, chickpea noodles (called sev), peanuts (called sing), roasted rice puffs (called mamre), and more.

A generous helping of curd is given along or dabbed on top so that it serves to cool this hot and spicy mixture. You can choose to have it as it is, but that is not fun. You can take a spoon, and mix it all up. This gives you a lovely mixture of things hot and cold, sweet and spicy, crunchy and wet.

4-canaramisal2

Another thing that this place is famous for is their South Indian food. You will find the standard fare of Dosa, Idli, and Uttapam here. MY personal favorite happens to be the Masala Uttapam which is pan cake made from a batter made mainly from rice and dal. Then a generous layer of spiced, mashed, boiled potatoes along with onions is applied. When you have it with their Sāmbhar and chutney, it is absolutely yum.

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Look at these pictures which show how the place still retains its old charm.

8-canaraext 7-canaracorner 2-canramenu
The thing with the lights is their menu. They have a wonderful concept for the menu here. The menu has a listing of all the dishes they serve along with its price. Since the things that are served change for breakfast and evening meals, each item has a light turned on to show if it is available for serving at your time of order. I absolutely love it.

6-canaramenuclose

If you ever want to visit this place, I am attaching its location on Google Maps. Let me know when you’re coming, and we’ll enjoy a meal together.

 

 

 

 

Written for day 3 of the A to Z Challenge 2014

Posted on by Santulan · 87 Comments

Into the abyss

When I stood at the edge of the abyss,
I closed my eyes and
fell into it with open arms.
Drifting through its vast emptiness.

When I opened my eyes
I saw in the infinite
what I couldn’t see up close.
Other souls like mine.

Souls that celebrated their being,
questioned the infinte
and saw beyond the fear of boundaries.
It was like falling in love.

NaPoWrimo

Written for Day 2 of NaPoWriMo. The prompt was to write a poem based on the quotation given by the Bibliomancy Oracle. My quotation is :

If you wander far enough
you will come to it
and when you get there
they will give you a place to sit

from “Oh No” by Robert Creeley

Posted on by Santulan · 59 Comments

Barista, the place I belong to

Everyone has a place that is special for them. A place which they are not just fond of, but a place that makes them feel comfortable, a place where they get a feeling of belonging. The Barista Lavazza café in Baroda happens to be mine.

Baroda is not where I came to know of Barista, our connection is much older than that. More than 10 years ago when I used to haunt the Crosswords book store at Mithakali in Ahmedabad, I would spend time in the adjoining café with the book I would have had bought. That café happened to be Barista. It was a ritual for me to read my pre-ordered Harry Potter on the day of release in Barista. When having bought anything other than Harry Potter, I would spend less time in there, but a visit was always on the cards.

Then something horrible happened. Barista shut down, and was replaced by some other chain of coffee shops. It was decent, but didn’t have the same feeling as Barista. Years later, when I had to meet a friend in Baroda, she asked me to come to Barista. I was overjoyed to learn that Barista had opened sop again. Lavazza had taken over, and opened up at new places. They were smart in the fact that they didn’t change what was already bringing back the old loyal customers, and yet had something for new lovers. My love was back.

After renting out a different place with new roommates in the same area, I could easily spend more time at Barista. It was natural for one of us to be tired from work, and ask the other to join him for coffee at Barista. Barista still serves some of the best coffee that I have had. Their hot chocolate is to die for. Let me walk you through the place with pictures.

Welcome to Barista

BaristaoutsideThis is one of the few places that I know where people love sitting outside as much as they love the insides. There is no special sitting arrangement outside, just two ledges on either sides of the door where you have glass panes. There is enough space to sit on it.

Baristaoutsit

There have been many nights when roommate and I have spent sitting there just chatting away into the last hour of the night forgetting what happened at work, or sometimes just reading in silence.

baristagroupspot

When we went in as a group, this was our spot. One could keep track of the score if there was a cricket match going on. We could all have our drinks and snacks placed in front us, on the centre table.

baristamochaWhen it came to hot drinks, I prefer their Cafe Mocha. It is such a wonderful blend of chocolate and coffee. The cookies help as well 😀

baristabrrista
At times when I felt like reading alone, I would order a Brrista for myself. It is their version of a cold frappe which has icecream blended with coffee. The only sad thing about this is that I end up finishing it quickly in three sips, and am left wondering where it all went.

baristaart2 baristaartThey have such lovely wall art decor. The first one has “AT ANY TIME OF DAY A CUP OF COFFEE DELIGHTS, REVIVES AND STIMULATES THE SENSES.” on it.

BaristacoverThis is another lovely piece they have, that takes up almost half of the wall. I love how they have not drawn the features and expressions of the people in it, and have left it to the viewer’s imagination.

BaristaMyspotThis is my spot when I go there by myself. If someone is already occupying it, you may find me sulking about it. The moment they leave, I get up and move to it before anyone else does.

baristapanaroma

This a panaroma shot from the spot. I can cover the entire place from it, corner to corner. I can see the wash room and wait at my seat instead of having to wait at the door for the person to come out. The barista can signal for me when my order is done. I can look at the outsides through the door and glass panes, and keep an eye out for a friend who may have made plans with me. It also has a charging point right behind the chair, and I can keep my laptop plugged in. I remember sitting hours over there playing games on my laptop.

baristacupOne day I received a call from the Barista office regarding a feedback form I had filled up. They had called to confirm my address, and they sent in this lovely mug as a gift along with a letter.

baristaletterThe letter reads as :

“ Hi Hrishikesh,

Thank you for writing in!

We appreciate feedback like yours that inspires us to move in a positive direction.

I am enclosing a small souvenir with this package.

Please keep writing for customers like you are the ones we work for. 🙂

 

Barista Team.

BARISTA FOR ALL.”

 

They’re the best!

 

 Written for day 2 of the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.

 

The first prompt for NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) is to write an Ekphrastic Poem. Ekphrasis is the description of a piece of art.

 

One of my favorite artists is Alice Zhang. Some of her works on pop culture are simply wonderful. I am using this work of hers which is titled as “An Ocean of Oil”

Laugh now,

but know that I shall sow the seeds

of vengeance,spite and envy

and wait. Patiently.

I shall water them, nurture them

and let them grow in to big large trees .

And when then when they bear fruits,

I shall set the whole thing on fire.

I shall watch it burn,

and with it

burn every bit of this place to ash.

When there is nothing else left to burn,

I shall finally dance.

 

 

Thanks to Janaki for telling me about NaPoWriMo