The Masala Dosa Trail – V

I have been to the Airlines Hotel twice earlier. The last time I had been there was in 2012 when we had a pit stop there during a heritage walk at Cubbon Park. My photographer friend Priya Mitran was kind enough to share these pictures from the 2012 walk.

Picture courtesy: Priya Mitran

Picture courtesy: Priya Mitran

Picture courtesy: Priya Mitran

Last evening, I went to Cubbon Park in the hope of taking pictures of the Tabebuia impetiginosa and ended up feeling thoroughly disappointed. I went by a report in the Bangalore Mirror which had pictures of the Tabebuia impetiginosa in full bloom. But when I reached the gates I realised that I was way too late. Darkness had enveloped the park and the guards were sending back visitors. I felt angry with myself for getting late. The guard sent me back too. What is more he asked me to go back home and listed out the bus numbers that would take me home.

I didn’t want to go back home so soon. Moreover, I started feeling hungry. After some thought, I stopped a rick and asked the driver to take me to the Airlines Hotel on Lavelle Road. The idea was to check out their masala dosas and continue my ongoing masala dosa trail.

i don’t remember dining al fresco in the recent past. It felt nice dining under the skies. I ordered a plate of masala dosa and coffee. Considering that it was a Sunday, there weren’t too many diners. Most of those dining that evening seemed to be shoppers who had come down for a chaat break. There were a lot of children too.

The service was quick. The waiters were friendly. The masala dosa came with two bowls of chutney and a bowl of sambar The plate of masala dosa was tasty. I think one of the chutneys was sweet. I experienced a tinge of sweetness as I ate.

Unlike at other restaurants that I have dined at, at the Airlines Hotel, they serve warm jeera (cummin-flavoured) water. The pleasant taste of jeera added to the dining experience.

Coffee came in the same kind of glass that was used to serve beverages when I last dined here a decade back.

Nothing much has changed at Airlines Hotel. The all-encompassing Banyan tree still stands tall.

I would rate my dining experience here as 4.5/5.

The Masala Dosa Trail – IV

The skies were overcast and it was certain that there would be rains. Despite the inclement weather, I had to leave home as I had some urgent work to attend to. The deadline would end in a few hours. Ignoring the deadline spelt trouble. I raced out in the hope of catching a bus before it was too late. To my luck, a bus screeched to a halt just as I reached the bus stop.

There wasn’t much traffic on the road; I reached my destination earlier than expected My work was done in a jiffy. I called my friend and told her, “Hey, I am done!”, “Great! Now go home fast. It is going to pour. Go!” replied my friend. I had other ideas. Shirdi Sai Baba’s temple was close by. The weather was the typical “chai-pakoda” type. I decided to go the temple and then treat myself to some good food.

Om Sai Skanda Dosa Camp in the vicinity of the Shirdi Sai Baba temple is a bustling eatery. As the name suggests, their USPs are their dosas. The soft “yummilicious” dosas dished out here attract large crowds. The food has to be partaken on the footpath.

I ordered a masala dosa. In another 10 minutes, the food was ready. The dosa was piping hot and I almost dropped the plate. “Ah ah ah ah…” said the man at the counter in a nervous tone. Luckily, I managed to do the perfect balancing act after the initial hiccup Taking a picture of the plate of dosa was tricky. But, I somehow managed.

The dosa was accompanied by chutney, sambar and a red gojju.I tried out the dosa with all three accompaniments. The dosa tasted good with all three. The soft as butter dosa with a large dollop of aloo masala at the centre tasted good. I liked it.

I washed down the grub with a tall glass of frothy tender coconut shake at Lassi Point strategically situated opposite the eatery.

I would rate my overall dining experience as 4.5/5. The faint drizzle that started when I was having the dosa continued but that didn’t deter me from walking back home.

Midway, the drizzle turned into showers. When I reached home, I was completely drenched. I must say, it was fun walking in the rain.

The following week, I had to come back again for some work and that gave me the opportunity to check out something new. I opted for an onion dosa. The dosa arrived on a larger plate with four accompaniments. There was aloo masala, a green gojju, chutney and sambar, The dosa tasted out of the world. I have never seen or tasted a more crisp onion dosa and it was perfectly cooked. The dosa tasted equally good with all the four accompaniments.

I completed my culinary journey that day with a tall glass of almond coffee at Lassi Point. The coffee tasted divine and picking up the two almonds fron the bottom of the glass turned out to be a fun exercise.

I would rate my combined culinary experience with the onion dosa and almond coffee as 5/5.

The next week offered me another culinary experience at the same place. This time, I opted for set dosa. The man who handed over the dosa to me chuckled, “This madam keeps coming every week to taste our dosas.” The other men laughed in chorus. Another man said, ” And she takes photos too.” The set dosa paled in comparison to the onion dosa and masala dosa that I had in the earlier two weeks. The dosas were not cooked well. There were five accompaniments – chutney, sambar, two gojjus and a dollop of aloo masala sandwiched between two of the dosas.

Like I did on earlier occassions, I crossed the road to have something cold at Lassi Point. I asked for a glass of Arabian shake. True to its name, the Arabian shake tasted magical. There were dates in the drink and picking them up tickled my funny bone.

I would rate my culinary experience that day as 3.5/5.

In case you are planning to have grub at Om Sai Skanda Dosa Camp, Bon Appetit!

A luncheon to remember

We often fight and then patch up. I and my friend Roshni were totally out of touch with each other for almost 7 months after a WhatsApp fight. “I will never ping her again,” I said to myself after a quarrel.

Roshni has been one of my most helpful friends who has stood by me through thick and thin. She is also an ex-colleague. I was so happy to see her message a month back which read, “Suj, are you still angry with me?” I wasted no time in replying , “No Roshni, not at all,” My joy knew no bounds.

Roshni came down to Bangalore in early November and treated me to a sumptuous meal ar our old “adda” Ballal Residency.

After a terrible auto ride because of which I got late, it was a revelation meeting Roshni. She was looking fresh as a daisy and gleaming with happiness. Her mood was as sunny as the pretty blue kurta that she was wearing. She was looking good. I loved the top and the botanical prints on it..

“Come! Let’s not waste time. We are already late. Let’s go eat!” she said as we walked towards next door Ballal Residency. Ballal has a very inviting ambience. With its lovely interiors, Ballal is a great place for a meet-up.

We reached the hotel in a few minutes. It was crowded for a week day. There are a lot. of companies around and some residential apartments too. That may be the reason the hotel was so crowded..

The dining space at Ballal is aesthetically designed. The red-cushioned sofas and chairs are very comfortable. The white Formeca-topped tables present a pretty picture. The walls are adorned by pictures. The mirror-adorned pillars stand out.

We decided to have a South Indian thali meal. The meal served here is wholesome and tasty. If you are very hungry, you could consider going to Ballal.

For the South Indian meal, Ballal offers a choice of chapathi or puri. While Roshni, the fitness enthusiast that she is, opted for chapathi, I chose to go for puri.

The food arrived early with rice and papad in separate plates. As accompaniments we had sambar, rasam, beans’ poriyal, dal, curds, pudina chutney, pickle and sagu. There was enough on the plate to satiate our hunger.

We left content and with our tummies full.

I would rate my dining experience at Ballal as 4.5/5

We decided to extend our dining experience with a cup of coffee at a nearby Cafe Coffee Day outlet.

• 

Cafe Coffee Day outlets as everyone knows are a great place to chat. We thus ended our rendezvous with a cheerful banter. Hope I get to meet my dear friend more often.

A visit to a mosque

Until I visited Masjid-E-Khadria in Benson Town, I never thought women were allowed in mosques. It all started with an invite that I saw on Facebook asking people from all faiths to visit the mosque regarded as one of the most beautiful mosques in the garden city. What is more, it was a free event. I thought why not attend this event. I have no idea what a mosque look’s like inside.

After a lot of thought, I decided to go and “see beyond the walls”. In fact, I made up my mind at the last minute and in the process lost a lot of time that I could have otherwise utilised to reach the mosque at the said time. “Would it be okay if I reached the venue by 4.30pm,” I asked one of the organisers. “Yes madam! Don’t worry we will be starting only around 4.30,” he replied.

I had boarded the auto around 3.30pm which I must say was a tad late. There were way too many signals en route which left me wondering whether I should have embarked on this trip. I finally arrived at the destination at around 4.40pm.

As I entered the premises of the mosque, a couple of ladies from the Muslim community came running towards me. “Welcome, welcome,” said one of them. She directed me to a register where I was asked to fill in some essential details. When I looked around, I saw a lot of female volunteers all of whom smiled and waved at me. They made me feel very important.

Soon, a young volunteer came running to me and introduced herself. After exchanging pleasantries, she ushered me inside. Sanah, the volunteer, is a college student and a Bangalore resident.

“There are so many women here,” I said to Sanah, “I never knew women were allowed inside mosques,” I added. She smiled and replied, “Women are allowed in some mosques but not all. While it is compulsory that men offer their prayers in a mosque the same is not the case with women. We have the option to offer our prayers at our home.”

She showed me to the shoe stand where I had to remove my footwear. “Will you have some tea,” she asked. “Yes,” I replied. Two cookies and a date were served as accompaniments with the tea.

We were soon inside the prayer hall, which was extremely spacious. A section of people was on their knees. It was the evening prayer session.

I was mesmerised by the enormity of the praying space which was illuminated by pretty lights, the kind that I had never seen before. The entire prayer hall was carpeted and spick and span. Large windows let in enough light from all sides. The pillars were all decorated with geometric designs. At some places on the ceiling, there was Arabic or Urdu script.

“How old is this mosque, and can you tell me something about the architecture?”I asked Sanah. “I will not be able to help you with the details of the architecture. You will have to Google it,” she said.

The ambience of the prayer hall for some reason reminded me of The Arabian Nights. It was a land totally unfamiliar to me. The space was enchanting and mystical.

The prayer hall

The mosque was also hosting a science exhibition. Large charts celebrating the achievements of Islamic scientists, inventors, astronomers and physicians were all over the place. A lot of effort seemed to have gone into the curation of the exhibits.

Also on display were surgical instruments of yore and some mechanical exhibits like compasses and various instruments:

I breezed past the exhibits as I did not have much time to spend. Sanah led me to the first floor which had another prayer hall. As we took the stairs I clicked pictures of a couple of large and beautiful windows and chandeliers. Have a look:

The prayer room on the first floor had lesser occupants and offered more photo opportunities:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I left Masjid-E-Khadriya on a happy note but not before some more clicks, this time pictures of the facade.

The auto ride to the mosque from my home was arduous. Not wanting a repeat journey of that sort, I decided to walk to Wheeler Road to have a chaat at Shankar Bhel House. Shankar Bhel House was a favourite haunt of mine when I worked at an office on Wheeler Road. I must say my three-year stint at this office was the best part of my career. Travelling to this office was like travelling from one home to another. From lunchroom banter to covering events and interviewing celebrities I just loved my job here. The company was like a start-up and the salary was peanuts but I learnt so much on the job and picked up confidence thanks to some of my very talented colleagues and bosses. I miss my three years here. If it weren’t for the recession I would have stuck on. Sob sob!

When I saw the menu chart at Shankar Bhel, I was spoilt for choice. I decided to try the Bombay Mix. Although Shankar Bhel House is a tiny eatery, the fare on offer is very yummy. And the service is quick. Despite the crowd, I managed to take a picture of the grub although not a good one. It tasted great!

After the tantalising plate of Chaat, I walked on hoping to board an auto from the same auto stand in Cox Town where I boarded autos 12 years back only to discover that the situation is not the same as it was back then and boarding an auto is next to impossible at that place. My heart was in my mouth and I kept wondering whether I would have to spend my whole night on that road. I had to wait for an hour and a half. It was well past 10pm when I finally got an auto driver to agree to take me home.

I thus ended my Saturday, the 5th November, on a sweet and sour note.

“Khuda Hafiz”!

Smartphones!

Photo by Terje Sollie on Pexels.com

It’s been five years since I have been using a smartphone. I must say the impact the excessive use of the device has had on me has been in many ways funny.

Sujatha: Every now and then, Sujatha checks for WhatsApp updates.

Sujatha’s inner voice: Sujathaaa! For heaven’s sake keep that phone aside. Do something creative! Use WhatsApp but exercise discretion!

Sujatha: The gong strikes 7. Sujatha hears a motorbike. She runs to the gate to fetch the newspaper.

Sujatha’s inner voice: Good girl! Always stay abreast of the daily news. Sujatha’s inner voice is happy and flashes her pearls. But not for long. The smile turns to a grimace when Sujatha tries to enlarge the prints on the newspaper with her thumb and her second finger. Sujatha’s inner voice slaps her and raises her voice, “That’s a newspaper and not your smartphone you nitwit! Put on your reading glasses!”

Sujatha: Sujatha reaches out for her reading glasses even as she holds her right palm against her cheek. It’s the impact of the slap.

Sujatha’s inner voice: “Read on!”

Sujatha: Sujatha likes an article. She searches for the Share button, the happy emoji and the number of Likes the article has received.

Sujatha’s inner voice: “Oh no! This lady has gone to the extremes.” She shouts, ” Not again! That’s the newspaper and not your cellphone.”

Sujatha: Sujatha is bewildered. She continues reading the newspaper. Her expressions keep changing like the Bangalore weather. You cannot blame her. Some of the articles are happy, some funny, many sad, some way too sorrowful, some scandalous and blah blah. And for a change she realises she is reading a newspaper.

Sujatha’s inner voice: For a change, Sujatha’s inner voice is at peace with herself.

Ssssh! The drama repeats the next morning.