Yesterday my colleague drew up the roller blind to let in sunlight. He exclaimed: “Kandravi” and closed it immediately.
Through the window we get a straight view of a cozy looking secluded corner seat in the Coffee Day in the next building. You know that it is a seat where couples try to get as much privacy as they can in a public place. The couples who come to this Coffee Day are truly unfortunate to give people the opportunity to stare at them. Well, Coffee Day is to blame. I hope they put some window blinds near that seat.
Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts
I was paying for my purchases at Naidu Hall Naihaa. There was a guy standing next to me whose body spray had a familiar, somewhat chocolaty smell. Within a moment, I recognised the smell of Axe Chocolate. The guy seemed to have used up one-tenths of a bottle.
Another guy who came to my office had also used Axe Chocolate body spray, and more or less the same quantity of it. The men had fallen hard for the “Spray more, get more” line.
Are you wondering if I am familiar with the smell because I have a boyfriend who wears it, or friends who douse themselves with it? Naah.
I used it for sometime. YES. I DID.
Once in a while I have an uncontrollable craving for chocolate. When I was looking for a body spray in Health and Glow, and couldn’t find one I liked, I thought of trying Axe Chocolate Temptation. The saleslady was, of course, very surprised at my taste. But I can be quite unconventional every now and then.
I didn’t buy the fragrance after that. I liked it, but didn’t find it exceptional, and of course it was a bit strong.
One more unconventional habit of mine – I read FHM (For Him Magazine, for the uninitiated). The magazine is truly entertaining. My MD subscribes to it. My ex-colleague used to read this magazine, and her habit rubbed off on me. According to me it is not just For Him Magazine, but also For Her Magazine ;-). Girls, go get your copies to know what your men are reading.
I will henceforth keep you updated on the seemingly crazy things I do. Ciao.
Another guy who came to my office had also used Axe Chocolate body spray, and more or less the same quantity of it. The men had fallen hard for the “Spray more, get more” line.
Are you wondering if I am familiar with the smell because I have a boyfriend who wears it, or friends who douse themselves with it? Naah.
I used it for sometime. YES. I DID.
Once in a while I have an uncontrollable craving for chocolate. When I was looking for a body spray in Health and Glow, and couldn’t find one I liked, I thought of trying Axe Chocolate Temptation. The saleslady was, of course, very surprised at my taste. But I can be quite unconventional every now and then.
I didn’t buy the fragrance after that. I liked it, but didn’t find it exceptional, and of course it was a bit strong.
One more unconventional habit of mine – I read FHM (For Him Magazine, for the uninitiated). The magazine is truly entertaining. My MD subscribes to it. My ex-colleague used to read this magazine, and her habit rubbed off on me. According to me it is not just For Him Magazine, but also For Her Magazine ;-). Girls, go get your copies to know what your men are reading.
I will henceforth keep you updated on the seemingly crazy things I do. Ciao.
I cut my hair in a short bob last May. Now it has grown to chin level. My mom’s fretting about my hair not growing fast (I am also losing a lot of hair these days). She is particularly worried if my hair will seem too short when ponnupathufying happens. So is an aunty who is close to my family. And the aunty has already told me about 20 times what kind of clip I can wear to make my hair look beautiful when it grows longer. My ears are sore.
My mom has an imagined reason for her worry – the fact is that she is worrying, so I will not react if she scolds me for having cut my hair short. (She didn’t like the bob, and yes, she still scolds me!) But is the length of hair a criterion for marriage? Of course it isn’t. But why do people hold it as a major criterion for attractiveness?
And while on the subject of Maplai/ponnu pathufying…
There is a photo of me in which I look like an aunty. I am wearing an oversized ethnic kurta with a pearl necklace. It was taken for sending to potential maplais. And of course my folks (and some others in their age group) believe that I look beautiful in that photo. Yeah? I also look 30 years old in it!
That’s enough cribbing on the subject for now I guess…
My mom has an imagined reason for her worry – the fact is that she is worrying, so I will not react if she scolds me for having cut my hair short. (She didn’t like the bob, and yes, she still scolds me!) But is the length of hair a criterion for marriage? Of course it isn’t. But why do people hold it as a major criterion for attractiveness?
And while on the subject of Maplai/ponnu pathufying…
There is a photo of me in which I look like an aunty. I am wearing an oversized ethnic kurta with a pearl necklace. It was taken for sending to potential maplais. And of course my folks (and some others in their age group) believe that I look beautiful in that photo. Yeah? I also look 30 years old in it!
That’s enough cribbing on the subject for now I guess…
My Ode to a whiff of Ghee scented Gandhinagar
I came down to Adyar today afternoon, to leave my Activa at the Kun Honda showroom in Kasturba Nagar for repairs. After this, I walked from there to the bus stop near Aavin Roundtana. (Anyone who knows Adyar will probably know the Roundtana.) I enjoyed the walk alongside a platform, traffic and numerous puddles. I carefully manoeuvred these puddles, like the people walking in front of, and behind me, with a degree of calm that amazed me. I think that calm and enjoyment is to do with the fact that I walked here after months, and I don’t remember walking the entire length of the foot-wide platform with broken stones (for literally eons… now I'm cribbing) along this large and busy stretch of Sardar Patel Road.
As I walked down, the aroma of sweets prepared meticulously and snacks made of dough smothered with ghee gave me an olfactory high. Ahhh… Grand Snacks! The heavenly smell reached me from a shop that is located on Gandhi Nagar 2nd Main Road (note the location). The shop is well inside Gandhinagar, on the opposite side of this huge road, I am sure the smell pervades almost the entire Gandhinagar area everyday.
Grand Snacks has been a part of our lives (my family) and kitchen shelves since I was a kid. Grand Snacks makes sweets and savouries that have a truly homemade authenticity and taste. (Not like those Jhangris that taste of sugar and oil, or mass produced milk sweets falling below standards.) Grand Snacks is set up in an old house with pillars, and a yard – you’ll find such houses in Adyar and Alwarpet (to my knowledge). The picture the shop presents makes you feel as if it has been there for decades. My mind conjures up a black and white image of an orthodox Brahmin cooking there.
Grand Snacks has for years been having women workers with sarees of the same design. For a long time the sarees were of Mysorepak colour. (Perfect for a sweet shop, wasn’t it?) My Dad always reserves a portion of his income for Grand Snacks. He loves the potato chips and Bombay kaja – a picturesque creation made of maida and a sugary substance that I think has khoa in it, and it’s tastiest when it is freshly made. Bombay kaja is a fat oval Mysore Sandal soap shaped spiral, with almost the same colour (my Grandpa still calls it Mysore Sandal soap sweet. And I know you’re probably craving sinfully delicious things now, but I am looking at Bombay kaja from an artistic perspective. I avoid sweets and fried snacks unless I am forced to eat them.) Another pride of the sweet shop, the Laddu, deserves to be only referred to by the adjective Royal. The other creations at Grand Snacks are also superb – lip smacking Sonpapdi, Coconut burfi, perfectly shaped yum milk pedas, kaju katli, and much more; the delicious savouries include thattai, pretty kaimurukus, gama gama pakodas and more. My relatives have their favourites. One of my cousins loves the Cheedai, another cousin is a big fan of the Kaju Katli, and my Dad loves the Pakoda and likes to have the Kaaraboondhi at 11 pm.
There’s more to Grand Snacks. You can indulge in treats like Adai Avial, Sambar Vada and Badam Milk (out of this world) every now and then. Grand Snacks also offers curd / tamarind / coconut rice, but not very often. These delicacies are served in “Dhonnais” (old fashioned leaf cups) and are given for free. But these come in small batches and customers will be waiting to grab them… you’ve to be alert. Grand Snacks also sells tomato and onion thokkus, vathakozhambu, adai and rasam mixes, & podis. Whenever my aunt comes from Mumbai, she buys some tomato thokku.
What started as a blog post ended up as a PR article. (I can imagine you nodding in agreement… I hope you aren’t nodding off.) But I am happy that my ode to this Adyar landmark is truly heartfelt, as it came in a slew of words I couldn’t hold back. Grand Snacks deserves praises from a million people for all the happiness it gives away with each of its offerings.
As I walked down, the aroma of sweets prepared meticulously and snacks made of dough smothered with ghee gave me an olfactory high. Ahhh… Grand Snacks! The heavenly smell reached me from a shop that is located on Gandhi Nagar 2nd Main Road (note the location). The shop is well inside Gandhinagar, on the opposite side of this huge road, I am sure the smell pervades almost the entire Gandhinagar area everyday.
Grand Snacks has been a part of our lives (my family) and kitchen shelves since I was a kid. Grand Snacks makes sweets and savouries that have a truly homemade authenticity and taste. (Not like those Jhangris that taste of sugar and oil, or mass produced milk sweets falling below standards.) Grand Snacks is set up in an old house with pillars, and a yard – you’ll find such houses in Adyar and Alwarpet (to my knowledge). The picture the shop presents makes you feel as if it has been there for decades. My mind conjures up a black and white image of an orthodox Brahmin cooking there.
Grand Snacks has for years been having women workers with sarees of the same design. For a long time the sarees were of Mysorepak colour. (Perfect for a sweet shop, wasn’t it?) My Dad always reserves a portion of his income for Grand Snacks. He loves the potato chips and Bombay kaja – a picturesque creation made of maida and a sugary substance that I think has khoa in it, and it’s tastiest when it is freshly made. Bombay kaja is a fat oval Mysore Sandal soap shaped spiral, with almost the same colour (my Grandpa still calls it Mysore Sandal soap sweet. And I know you’re probably craving sinfully delicious things now, but I am looking at Bombay kaja from an artistic perspective. I avoid sweets and fried snacks unless I am forced to eat them.) Another pride of the sweet shop, the Laddu, deserves to be only referred to by the adjective Royal. The other creations at Grand Snacks are also superb – lip smacking Sonpapdi, Coconut burfi, perfectly shaped yum milk pedas, kaju katli, and much more; the delicious savouries include thattai, pretty kaimurukus, gama gama pakodas and more. My relatives have their favourites. One of my cousins loves the Cheedai, another cousin is a big fan of the Kaju Katli, and my Dad loves the Pakoda and likes to have the Kaaraboondhi at 11 pm.
There’s more to Grand Snacks. You can indulge in treats like Adai Avial, Sambar Vada and Badam Milk (out of this world) every now and then. Grand Snacks also offers curd / tamarind / coconut rice, but not very often. These delicacies are served in “Dhonnais” (old fashioned leaf cups) and are given for free. But these come in small batches and customers will be waiting to grab them… you’ve to be alert. Grand Snacks also sells tomato and onion thokkus, vathakozhambu, adai and rasam mixes, & podis. Whenever my aunt comes from Mumbai, she buys some tomato thokku.
What started as a blog post ended up as a PR article. (I can imagine you nodding in agreement… I hope you aren’t nodding off.) But I am happy that my ode to this Adyar landmark is truly heartfelt, as it came in a slew of words I couldn’t hold back. Grand Snacks deserves praises from a million people for all the happiness it gives away with each of its offerings.
Random Thoughts / Polambals
≈ If I get my hair bobbed when I’m 24, why does anybody and everybody who’d like me to get a good varan become happy if my hair grows long enough to be tied in a ponytail, so that the hairstyle can be done when the payyan’s family comes? Can’t I cut my hair real short and never feel unhappy? Everyone has an opinion, but why do they want us to accept it?
≈ Looks matter very much in arranged marriages. If you see 5 photos of potential husbands / wives and are told that all five will be considered or whatever, would you judge the men / women by their appearances or not? Well… it helps me because looks do matter to me… hehehe… I am shallow that way. But then why do parents sometimes show a photo of a guy who doesn’t look great and say… “Romba nalla vaelala irukkaan. Adutha levelku eduthundu pogalaama?”… if they say this, why do they want me to see the photo? (By the way, have you noticed that all shaadi.com and bharatmatrimony.com ads (both paper and internet ads) have pictures of “beautiful” people?)
≈ Staring at women seems to be a favourite habit among men. Should they list it as a hobby in their online social network profiles? (I didn’t want to revisit this topic, but it is fun)
≈ When I come back from office after a tired day and simply want to sink into a chair and have some peace and quiet, why does someone who visits me regularly at that time ask me a ton of questions, right after asking me something similar to “Tired-a irukka”? (And then she will go on “Ippo enga veetku vandhu dosai sapdraya?” (She lives on the next street). This has been happening for days on end… so I can’t even appreciate her offer.)
≈ If I take lunch early, why does a colleague who finds me eating alone ask: “Romba Pasikradha” with an amused look? This happens often. The first time he asked “Enna… you are eating alone! I told him: “Romba Pasikradhu”. When I am terribly hungry, I don’t see why I should prolong my suffering by waiting for my colleagues. Not that I am against the “eat with your colleagues” culture.
≈ Looks matter very much in arranged marriages. If you see 5 photos of potential husbands / wives and are told that all five will be considered or whatever, would you judge the men / women by their appearances or not? Well… it helps me because looks do matter to me… hehehe… I am shallow that way. But then why do parents sometimes show a photo of a guy who doesn’t look great and say… “Romba nalla vaelala irukkaan. Adutha levelku eduthundu pogalaama?”… if they say this, why do they want me to see the photo? (By the way, have you noticed that all shaadi.com and bharatmatrimony.com ads (both paper and internet ads) have pictures of “beautiful” people?)
≈ Staring at women seems to be a favourite habit among men. Should they list it as a hobby in their online social network profiles? (I didn’t want to revisit this topic, but it is fun)
≈ When I come back from office after a tired day and simply want to sink into a chair and have some peace and quiet, why does someone who visits me regularly at that time ask me a ton of questions, right after asking me something similar to “Tired-a irukka”? (And then she will go on “Ippo enga veetku vandhu dosai sapdraya?” (She lives on the next street). This has been happening for days on end… so I can’t even appreciate her offer.)
≈ If I take lunch early, why does a colleague who finds me eating alone ask: “Romba Pasikradha” with an amused look? This happens often. The first time he asked “Enna… you are eating alone! I told him: “Romba Pasikradhu”. When I am terribly hungry, I don’t see why I should prolong my suffering by waiting for my colleagues. Not that I am against the “eat with your colleagues” culture.
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