Mumbai's answer to the fast food world!

Though my Mumbai's visit has been on the wrong time, I got a glance on what Vadapav means to the Mumbaikars.

(Courtesy: Google Image search)

The poor man's Burger is what came to my mind when I first happened to take a look, though its very different from what a Burger tastes or looks. Generally a Vadapav costs 4-7 Rs., but 2 Vadapavs can make for a lunch (perhaps my tummy is too small! ;) ).

A vadapav with a chilli and followed by a nice Sugarcane juice, makes a wonderful combo! Sugarcane juice, is one more thing, which is surprisingly common (and decently clean) in most places of Mumbai, and wouldnt make you cring in terms of cleanliness as it happens in the other parts of India.

Interesting learning from Yoga

I have started attending Yoga classes quite recently, one of the observation has impressed me a lot. Well, I thought I would share it in my blog. It is about 'Chin mudra'. Chin mudra which is shown in the picture below is one of the basic mudra used in Yoga and meditation. It is a mudra (or hand gesture) in which the pointing finger is kept at the root (or tip) of the thumb, the last three fingers are unfolded.

The explanation or the significance behind this mudra is what impressed me a lot. I have actually read 2 explanations. One, ofcourse which talks about cosmic energy, psychic centres and flow of energy. This I hardly understood well.

The second one is more profound in my view, which is more symbolic. It says the three unfolded fingers represent 'trigunas' - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The pointing finger represents the 'I', the self, and the thumb is the God, the Supreme Being. The mudra represents the 'I' 'reaches' (or attains) God once he goes beyong the Trigunas. And the normal hand shows that God stands aloof of the Gunas and the sense of 'I', since the thumb stays apart from the other four fingers.

Sudden revelations

These are a few revelations which occured to me during the past 3 months I was staying in Vizag. They will be updated as and when there is a new revelation.

1. TV remotes dont have a Fast forward button!
I hardly see movies, and especially over the past 4 years in IITM, if I ever saw a movie, it was always within 20 minutes. Thanks to M player, my finger was always on -> Arrow key and I could achieve my target. Recently again after 4 years, back to the TV world, I was searching for such FF button in TV remote.

2. Bikes doesnt have a reverse gear!
When I was learning bike in December, I was cursing all along on changing gears. Then recently I have learnt Car. Parking in jam packed roads, parking places and steep roads in vizag, I was wishing for a reverse gear for the bike.

3. I have an initial steep learning curve.
Be it in French or Arabic, Yoga or Swimming, Car driving or cooking, I have realised that Ihave a steep initial learning curve. But as the days progress its slope tends to become '0' and sometimes negative too!

4. Never search for a Malayali restaurent in Kerala!

I have tried it in Ernakulam and I wonder whether its worth trying actually. Anyways, Chennai does offer 3-4 wonderful Malayali restaurents!

Farewell delayed but not denied!

"On the off-side, first there is GOD and then there is Sourav Ganguly", once remarked our Yorkshire man, Geffrey Boycott. 'Prince of Kolkatta', after declaring that he has two more years of International cricket left in him, a couple of weeks back, finally plans to hang his shoes after the Aussies series. I admire him for taking his decision atlast, and I wish that he will be given a wonderful farewell by Indian cricket team winning the series.
Sachin, Kumble, Dravid and Laxman! are you listening?

Go GREEN...

Hey...dont run away! The intention of posting this blog is NOT to preach about ill-effects of Global warming, Greenhouse gases etc., Well, as I have promised earlier, I am planning to stick to the lighter side. This is about Green Tea!

Green tea is fascinating in many ways. Be it in terms of the invigorating aroma it carries, the golden yellow color appearance or the positive effects it has. The first gulp is definitely not too charming enough as I boast of. But, a couple of cups will make you get the taste of it. (Probably like Beer. Though I have wonder how people drink it with the pungent (read it as stupid) smell it carries). Ofcourse, the Green tea drinking is still an avant garde art for the regular chai drinkers in India. Mainly, because we have it sans milk.

But, those of you have read so far, I would advice you to have a cup of it sometime. and all those health conscious guys in these patient readers, pat yourself when you have it, since it carries high amount of anti-oxidants!

A joke or a coincidence?

I was seriously blogging on the topic of, "The Present Speaker... and the next President in making?" in my other blog. Then I have noticed an Ad by Google in my blog, which was:

President of india
Immediate Requirement in Offices Submit Your Resume Now!

Clicking upon which, I was led to Monster.Com.
Shall I upload mine for it? :D

Ambrosia

….And that’s what I always look for 3 times a day everyday, though I rarely succeed. ;)

I boast of being a ‘Gourmet’, most of my friends generally dispute it. They believe that I am more of a ‘crazy gourmand’ and nothing less than that. I have always experimented when it came to food, inspite of repeated failures and never-ending reprimands from my dad and friends. Perhaps, let me not be too ambitious in self-appraisal, and bargain for a ‘flexitarian connoisseur’, since I prefer vegetarian to the non-vegetarian, though never left the latter completely.

My stint of this experimentation has started when I was about 9 years old, when I have ordered an American Choupsey in a small restaurant in Vizag. I doubt whether the cook in the ‘cuisinerie royale’ knew anything about the dish, forget about my family members who had no clue about it. Well, it turned out to be just good for remembrance and perhaps to write a blog 12 years later, but nothing other than that.

Well, the four years of B.Tech. at IIT Madras, I got to do a lot of adventurs with food. Well, none objected it, because it was my palate's affair afterall. Thanks to NSS, because of which I got to tour extensively in Tamilnadu, I tried most of the Tamil dishes: both traditional vegetarian and Chettinadu. Ofcourse, Chennai being a metropoly has always had something more to offer me on my plate. My 3rd year days were filled with a good study of various cuisinery and its dishes like Chinese, Thai, Italian, French and Indian etc., basically for eating than cooking.

I would probably write another blog, where I would give details about good eat outs in Chennai, which can help some amateurs and foodies like me.

Reasons for starting this blog

I have always been thinking more in terms of politics and the decision making, and ofcourse I love analysing politics and understand their relevance (or irrelevance) of the decisions and policies made.

I have wrote a 13 blogs, which are on politics, and now I have started another different blog ID altogether for 3 main reasons:

1. Firstly, I wanted to PROVE that I am not a geek! :D Yes... I am not!

2. I wanted to write pleasanter things, which neednot make much sense afterall. I wanted to write something just for the fun of it, without much digging into histories, facts and dates. See, I am already mastering it! ;)

3. I wanted to share my ideas on other components of life. I want to express myself!

The Blog ID

Visit this blog somtime soon, to find out something which isnt definitely serious!
Light-max is a word from the 'lingo' of IIT Madras, especially most heard among the 'gult' clan of the IITians. It means 'chill maro', and it said with 'pacca' gult accent! That inspired me to name my Blog id with it.