Mumbai, meri jaan!

Welcome dear readers, time certainly flies - and how! As I near Diwali, I feel obliged to share my experience of living in Mumbai - I've spent almost 3 months here and it all so feels like yesterday that I was packing my bags and getting ready to bid adieu to Calcutta. The festive environment in the office today, on account of several people going home for Diwali vacation, made me take a look at the happenings in my life in the time goneby. Starting off on the work front, I am slowly easing into my job and the unpredictable nature at which things shape up here -- also the delay in delivering targets on time is becoming a daily routine -- or maybe the Project Managers just plan things that way! Anywhich way, I am enjoying my job at the moment.

Coming back to the city, well I am disappointed to some extent. Frankly, I'd come to Mumbai expecting, anticipating the rush that this place gives you. But one look at the roads in the morning - either the traffic jams or the long line of people waiting for autos - and I wonder how this city can continue running smoothly with so much chaos all around. And oh, say nothing about this city being the city that never sleeps - visit bandstand / carter road or marine drive after 1 in the night and you will probably be asked by the police to pack your bags and push off home. Most restaurants/bars/pubs here close at 1 am, so whatever justifies the tag "the city that never sleeps"? Well, I can only propose (as a way of explanation) that probably the exhaustion caught up with the city and now it has decided that a few hours of sleep needs to be built into its itenary too! I can only ask them to take some inspiration from a metro like Kolkata where people party harder - and longer - than Mumbai!

But you know the most amazing part - everyone here has a story to tell. Be it the autowalla or the small-time shopkeeper, people have loads of stories and time to share with strangers like me! And interestingly, even Maharastrians can't do without their afternoon nap - who said that only Bengalis are the lazy sorts?? I'll love to share a bit more of my experience but I got to rush to office too! And before pushing off to bed, I need to wash the dishes and sweep my flat! Talk of multitasking guys!

Oh, how sorely I miss Calcutta's Park St and Barista's coffee and the apple cake!!

Last days mark the beginning -- ??

Mmmmm... The bread is extra soft today as I bite into it .. The sandwich is perfect - just the way I like it.. And oh the frappe - it's so heavenly delicious, not all that sweet with the right amount of bitterness stirred in with the coffee!

Oh shucks, there goes my try at being a writer - the last line was so ... so... I am lost for words here! But anyways, to cut a long story short, I have finally completed my stay at Zacks; today was my last day and I am now sitting at the Barista outlet next to Forum.. probably having my last cup of coffee here - it sure remains a very special Barista for me!

Anyways, you all know my travel plans - so I won't repeat them here again!

Hope to get on with my packing again tonight -- it's proving to be such a pain in the arse guys! I am not quite liking the feeling of being unemployed -- today and tomorrow! Everyone is kinda giving me a farewell -- feeling pretty numb and dumb! I guess, the fact that I'm leaving Calcutta is yet to sink in!

Anyways, I believe that the last days in calcutta will mark the beginning of the next phase in my growth - personally as well as career wise! Hope this change brings along some much needed luck - I desperately need it! Well, I can keep rumbling on & on & on without making much sense, so please pray that I settle down on landing in Mumbai. 'Til, play hard and party harder!

Hey readers, it's been a long time since I last wrote here. My last post was a movie review of Kismat Konnection. Sadly, I have not been able to watch any other movie after KK. However, I did have the luxury of being asked to sample some of the new coffees launched at Barista this week, the best among them being Espresso Creme Shekerato! It's an awesome concoction of a drink and it sure will strike a chord with strong coffee lovers who prefer their coffee cold! This drink is perhaps the ideal cold, strong coffee. Served in a wine glass, it's best enjoyed when taken chilled, un-stirred.

More on the coffee and my plans for this week later! Enjoy!

Rumbling on & on!

It's been a long time (yep, only 24 hours) since I last scribbled my thoughts in this space. I can think of a multitude of excuses to explain why I didn't but I wonder if anyone will be interested in listening to me going on on! Just in one of those states of mind when the mind is tired out of its wits and is still fuming over the mistakes committed some time back!

Hmmm.. You guessed it right! I want to let go of some pent up emotions, feelings, my thoughts on some things that I've done. Take Monday for example - nothing too outstanding about it except that it was yet again hot, sunny and unbearably uncomfortable! We were all praying for rain but the Met office dashed off all such hopes, saying that no rain was expected in the next 24 hours! And lo & behold, look what we got - a solid downpour which lasted for over 2 hours and yes, yours truly was stuck, taking shelter under a bus stop for the entire duration when it was pouring and howling like cats and dogs!

Anyways, past is past and what's gone is over and done with - still, my mind is aches from all the rain it witnessed yesterday! Oh, and my fascination with the art of cooking still continues. I've finally perfected the art of making that Barista Frappe as reported yesterday.. Took me 4 glass-full of efforts but the end result was worth the effort. However, the state the kitchen was in at the end of this trial was another matter altogether - took me longer to clean the kitchen than it did for me to make the cold coffe. --- sigh --- Innovation (& creativity) sure do come at a great cost

The SenseXXXational Brewmaster :-) !!

Hey readers, the trouble with my net connection continues! Spent over a hour in the reliance outlet on saturday trying to get the trouble rectified but to no avail yet. They may replace my modem with a new one if the problem does not get resolved in the coming week or so! 'Til then, I got to live with that slow connection - sigh!


Had a productive session on Saturday despite the frustrating time spent in Reliance. Went to Victoria Memorial and got a few photos of the surrounding area! Hope to do a feature on Victoria Memorial in the near future - once the speed of my net connection improves. Am currently looking for a few topics to write upon - I would be very glad to take up a topic of your choice! So please feel free to ping me on Gmail or leave a comment here if you have an interesting topic to share with me!


Oh and by the way, I have mastered the technique of making the perfect Barista Frappe - Yes people, I'm well and truly on my way to becoming a brewmaster too! I forgot to take a pic though - so am sharing one of those pics which I found on the net! And here is my secret recipe - the serving is adequate for 3+ people:

4 spoons coffee powder (I used Nescafe)
4 spoons sugar
1 glass milk (250 ml)
375 ml water
6 scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream (Use Kwality Wall's Vanilla Pack for the best effect)
Heinz Chocolate Sauce (optional)
And oh, several ice cubes!

Firstly, we need to brew the coffee - for this pour the water into a vessel and add the sugar & coffee to it. Now stir them well and let them simmer/boil for 15-20 minutes. After that, add several ice cubes to the mix (10+) to rapidly cool the hot black coffee. After the temperature has gone down, pour the black coffee into a mixer and add milk & ice cream to it! Mix them well and lo and behold, you are all set and ready to enjoy a lovely glass of Frappe! The chocolate sauce is basically used as a dressing - I'll actually need to shoot a video for this and then share it with you!

N.B.: Some of you may need more sugar - I advise you to add sugar according to your taste.

A lazy Sunday morning!

Hello readers, sorry for not blogging for the last couple of days! Slept till 4 pm yesterday after which I did some shopping and of course, collected my cool new specs and disposable lenses! This was followed by a 30-minute wal -- I was trying to make up for the fact that I was not able to visit the gym .. call it my guilty conscience or what ever that was at work...

Had a lovely evening though! After a late dinner, went with a few family members (13 to be precise) for a cuppa of coffee in the swanky Sector V .. However, much to our chagrin, the Barista Coffee shop had downed its shutters -- so we then jumped over to the CCD lounge in the Infinity building adjacent to the building housing Barista. After some lovely coffees and leg pulling, we finally reached home after 12:30 .. the drive back home was pretty amazing too!

By the way, I have finally bought the Canon PowerShot S5 IS camera! N lemme tell you, its a beauty and a steal at the price I bought it for! And do take a look at some of these Harley Davidson bike pics! They sure are sexy and make me wish I'd the fortune of owning one of these. Was initially trying to upload an ad for the Harley Davidson bikes which I got from one of my friends in the media and advertising industry. It was taking such an agonizingly loooong time to upload -- so I then did the next best thing and uploaded some pics!