The Real Desperate Housewives

No, not Bravo's show. I'm talking about the famous Indian Housewife. Once stereotyped as spending her day in the kitchen cooking meals for her family is now tech savvy, doing brunch with girlfriends, and dressing in make-believe designer clothes... The Indian Housewife has come a long way, eh?

How do I know these housewives? I see them in their different avatars as I go about my day - at work, at the gym, at the stores, at cafes, and every where else. They tell themselves that they are all that - hip, sexy, and smart - they facebook, workout, eat out, plan holidays, and all of those things...

Listening to this conversation made me chuckle. I was on the treadmill in the gym and the pretty lady next to me started talking to her buddy on the next treadmill. "New restaurant try maaddha? My hubby and I went for valentine's day [big smile], nice but pricy ya. All these other younger college kids were there, my husband was starring at those girls[smile disappears]. My gymming wastu [frown appears]. BTW, my MIL is going through menopause I think. Bloody moody she is. Yesterday's bill she wanted to know. WHY? Berre kelsa ilva?" To this her girlfriend replies, "Adhella biddu, you saw Ashwini's baby's pictures on facebook? So cute no! The baby is so much fairer than her, good for her." And the conversation spun in different directions. I switched off my iPod. I can listen to the black eyed peas anytime, but such interesting conversations are hard to come by.

Times have changed and we tell ourselves that our generation has evolved, but have we really? The reason I call these upbeat-sexy-saavy woman desperate is cause they talk of no goals, no responsibility, no personal expectations. They think its about them, but really, its not about them at all. Soon enough, I'll also be a married woman, but someone slap me if I become as desperate.

And in no relation to this topic, I have this other lingering thought which I want to post before I forget. It's about how comfortable parents have become about posting pictures of their adorable babies on facebook. Yes, they are darlings, and all of your friends have the nicest of things to say... but put yourself in your little daughter/son's shoes. Imagine growing up, learning to type aka becoming facebook eligible, and finding all your diaper pictures strewn on facebook. I for one would be pissed if I found my childhood pictures all over the net. Post your own pictures guys, not your children's!

Choco-Là!

I was fortunate to take a mid-week break and travel to Pondicherry for 2 days. It was just what my friends and I needed – aimless, relaxed, and uber fun! And while I want to dedicate this post to the time pass we did in Puducherry, I think this one place needs special mention. It was one of those “gotta do it again” places… Choco-Là… a corner chocolate shop on Mission Street.

Where do I start? Miniature mousses that melt in your mouth? Or better still, cake chocolates that are little bites with moist cake as your choice of filling. Rum-&-raisin, dried fruits, marzipan... the options are endless! One of the unique offerings is a chocolate drink (NO, not hot chocolate), a warm rich chocolate concoction that isn’t sweetened by sugar but cocoa drops. Take my word for it, “it is to die for!”

I ate more than is good for me. I tried 4-5 different creations and they were all very satisfying. I give it a 10 on 10. Try it next time your in Puducherry, it’ll be the best money you ever spent on chocolate!

P.S: I may have a little something to do with one of the miniature mousses, its named after me! :D Not really, but let me enjoy my moment of pride!

How about some Indian Mexican?

Thinking outside the bun, Yum Brands will open India's first Taco Bell in Bangalore soon. I'm curious to find out whether this fast food will be Indian-Mexican or American-Mexican? In any case, Taco Bell is not Mexican-Mexican, so what culture combination are we gonna get this time?

Most of us might take to the taste, cause Mexican food has a decent amount of spice and flavor (the Fire Border sauce is yumm!). And I believe they're gonna price the tacos and burritos quite cheap (around 40 cents a piece - about 20 bucks which is affordable). Will this give Shiv Sagar's Mexican menu a run for its money? Hmmm... price vs value...

Source: Yum Brands Bets on India's Young for Growth

Chocolate makes you Smarter!

I ate chocolate cause it made me happier… but now I found out that all along it was making me smarter as well! Supposedly it triggers the creation of new brain cells. You can read about the facts here, I don’t particularly care to elaborate. Its just one more benefit added to the list!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE chocolate. Dark Chocolate is like a piece of heaven. I have to have a piece of chocolate everyday, if I don’t, I admit it – I become cranky (my friends will testify to this). I always say, I could give up chocolate but I’m not a quitter. What all this rambling boils down to is that I’m one chika whose happy to continue eating this sweet treat. Join the bandwagon; after all its the holiday season!

Sak Town

Sak Town, known to most people as Sakleshpur, is a few miles from Hassan in Karnataka. It is a coffee and pepper growing hub. The chief occupation of the residents here is agriculture, and when they are not attending to their money minting crops, they spend their leisure time in the Planter's Club (a very apt name for its location). I had the pleasure of traveling there this past weekend with a couple of majaa (=fun in Kannada) friends. Our excuse was to visit another majaa (for the lack of a more interesting adjective) friend who has now become a planter himself, and more over, a very active member of the Planter's Club.

The highlights of the weekend included the

5 hour bus ride on the Karnataka Sarige Bus (on which I had planned on sleeping but my friends had challenged themselves to annoy me), fresh filter coffee, chicken ghee roast (2 whole kgs of it!), akki roti, the local bar tender cum waiter who kept us liquored up for the 30+ hours that we spent there, and the visit that never happened to Gautham's estate.

It was a relaxed comfortable weekend. I wanted to mention Planter's Club cause its a place with a unique character. Its definitely not comparable to the lush resorts that are coming up in the Malnad region, but its got its charm and at a very reasonable price. Its a clean friendly place with the facilities (not read spa) you'll need for a weekend getaway. For all the food and liqour that they shower you with, you'll probably end up spending only half of what you would on a night out in town.

As to why I've titled this post "Sak Town", I'll save that story for another day. I wish I could go back this weekend too, but life must go on in namma Bangaluru. I'll just have to stare at the half empty plate of chicken ghee roast and console my belly god. *sigh*

Since I've been back

I’m trying not to make a big deal about the transition back to Bangalore but so much has changed in the past 3 years. And everyone I’ve met has asked me the same question, “So what’s changed in the city?” For starters, my city’s name has been changed to Bengaluru. I don’t like the name change; Bangalore was so much cooler and metropolitan sounding.

The first thing I noticed was the new international airport. Though I imagined it to be bigger, I like the order and neatness, and of course the access to the duty free stores before you walk out. The next thing is definitely the increase in traffic on the city’s roads. Our roads have been widened with fewer signals, but crowded with more vehicles than ever before; and I have to comment about the accompanying increase in road rage and honking. The Namma Metro work is chaotic, hopefully when it is finally functional it’ll make up for the damage it’s done. Volvo buses have supposedly become a handy form of public transport, though I’m yet to vouch for that myself. Autos are becoming eco friendly and hence being painted green. Their drivers however, I feel, have become more audacious and arrogant in refusing customers and reckless driving. And yeah, Bangalore’s cops have become more vigilant and tech-savvy. They carry BlackBerrys and enter a faulty driver’s information right away to a central server. And apparently, they’ve become pretty strict about DUIs and seizing licenses for repeat offenses.

From an economic aspect, I’ve realized that my small wallet doesn’t fetch me much. Cost of living has shot up beyond many Bangaloreans’ affordability. A 3 month gym membership is over 12K, a movie ticket costs twice as much, and Rs. 100 won’t buy you a decent dinner any more. Yet the nouveau riche don’t seem to stop splurging and crowding the city’s stores. Malls are filled with so many window shoppers that’s its actually quite impossible for a genuine shopper to find what he/she is looking for. UB City is finally open and is filled with expensive designer stores with arrogant shop keepers (but I really like its architecture and food court). Everyone and I mean everyone has gotten a cell phone. And the rich have gotten richer and I don’t think the disparity between the rich and poor has really reduced.

Many old school places unique to Bangalore have closed, and the HAL airplane has been removed from historic junction. We have a new Vikasa Soudha identical to Vidhana Soudha. Bars close at 11.30 pm (my dad is very happy to have me back home so early) and Empire is no longer a late-night food paradise. We now have more coffee days with more expensive coffee offerings. Moviegoers are many and multiplexes are minting money. A new trend in the theatres is to play the National Anthem before the movie and everyone stands for it (impressive)!

Thanks to all the immigrants/job seekers from other parts of the country, Kannada is being spoken far less than before. Bangalore has expanded beyond Yelahanka and Bannerghatta. Every corner of the city is becoming self-dependent; people no longer have to travel a long distance just for a nice restaurant or shopping mall.

So many fewer trees along the roads (earlier Golf Road was one of my favorite roads to drive on because of the way the sunlight made its way through the leaves of the trees that lined that road; now that’s history). In an attempt to upkeep the green image of the city, the corporation is painting fairytale waterfalls and forests along the walls of the flyover. I guess I should give them credit for trying to cover the concrete jungle mess.

All said and done, some things may never change like the lack of customer service, men constantly letching at passerby women, or the respect for a waiter’s or janitor’s job. But the good that’s come out of all the corporate mayhem is that people are more aware of their jobs and responsibilities, not taking it as much for granted as they used to before.

Of course, I’m glad that some things haven’t changed like the love and care you get from family, hot home cooked meals, my dog’s slurry kiss, petty witty jokes by my friends, and the abundance of company. All-in-all, it’s good to be back home in Bangalore!

How’s that for service?

I always write about how awful my flight experiences are, so it’s only fair to make note of a pleasant one. No, I didn't get a free upgrade to business class, though that would have been nice too. Instead it was a very nice gesture by the flight crew to take note of my request.

What happened was this – my carry-on bag was too big to fit in the overhead compartment of the small narrow plane. So I left it at the end of the jet way for planeside check-in. I took my window seat and scanned the things around me. While I looked out of the window, I saw my bag lying alone at the bottom of the stairs of the jet way. I figured it would eventually be added to the remaining baggage. Five minutes later it was still there and the flight attendant made an announcement that we were ready to depart. So I got his attention and told him that my bag was still lying there. He ran up to make a call to the ground crew to take care of it. Another five minutes later, no response from the ground crew. I complained again as I heard the doors being shut. And then I see the Captain walk down the stairs of the jet way and take care of my bag himself. The flight attendant came back and asked, “How’s that for service?”

I’m glad I spotted my bag lying there, because dealing with lost baggage is a giant pain. But I was knockout impressed with the Captain! I was expecting to hear reasons such as, ‘we can’t delay take off,’ or ‘we are understaffed, there is nothing we can do,’ or ‘it will reach your destination aboard the next flight’, etc. To top all of that, this morning when I checked in a bag, it was 2 pounds extra, and the kind lady behind the Delta counter let it slide (once somebody made me remove stuff because it was 0.5 lb over). And… all my flights were on schedule today. Being the end of the holiday weekend, I expected chaos at the airport. It was a good flying day after all!

This one tops my list for airline customer service. And to answer the question of the flight attendant, “Your service today was remarkably noteworthy!” Thank you Captain Drew and flight crew of flight NW 1224.

Nasty Airlines

I’ve had to do a lot more flying than I would have liked in the last couple of days. As I mentioned in my previous post, I don’t particularly enjoy it, unless I’m flying home to India in which case I have something to look forward to.

Airlines have become very creative in charging us for the most basic things, which they conveniently bracket as fuel surcharge. How about a fuel discount when crude oil dropped below $50 a barrel a couple of months ago? That seems unquestionable! What gets me the most irritated is the $2 charge for water/beverage. Checked baggage fee, curb-side check in fee, booking fee, refund fee, exit row seat fee, cancelation fee… the list goes on and on. Any service that was once included as part of your ticket, is now subject to charge (read the fine print!). I won’t be surprised if we soon hear about a lavatory fee.

My worst experience has been with the change/refund fee. United Airlines charges $150 for changing your itinerary or requesting a refund. How much is that going to leave you with? (They're hoping nothing.) And they are very happy to resell your seat for an exuberant price to another innocent customer.  

All this travel is doing me no good expect for the frequent flier miles that I collect. And rumor has it that those miles are worth less each day. So much for loyalty programs, customer service, and convenient flying. One tip that has come handy for me is to travel with very low expectations, that way you leave little room for disappointment. If I could start my own airline and show them how it’s done, I would. But until then I will blog my frustrations away…

P.S: Not all airlines have stooped to this level; I have to give credit to Southwest and Northwest for still serving their thirsty passengers with a free cup of water/soda.

On this one flight...

I was traveling to the west coast dreading the 8 hours of being stuck on cramped airplanes and in busy airports. I’ve come to dislike most airlines cause of their stingy attitudes (they even charge for water!). Not expecting much from this travel experience I charged my iPhone to capacity, carried a book, and took some nutrition bars on board.

I was seated between this 10 year old kid who had the window seat and this other older lady who had the aisle seat. I began talking to the kid. He was traveling alone and returning from a visit to his Grandma’s house. I have to say I was impressed with the kid’s behavior and good mannerisms. It always makes me happy when I see a kid who isn’t rowdy and misbehaved.  

I wasn’t so happy about the passenger on the other side though. The lady kept coughing and she had me on the edge of my seat fearing she had swine flu! I must have used an entire bottle of Purell trying to disinfect my hands every time I had to touch my face.

The Captain was kind enough to point out that we were flying over the Rockies. It was definitely a scenic view, a first aerial view of the Rockies for me. An hour later we landed. Everyone eagerly awaited the air-hostess’ go ahead to switch on their cell phones. It’s interesting to see how people rush to call a loved one to convey that they reached.  After calling that someone, I felt blessed that I wasn’t one of those people who didn’t have anybody to call. The little boy next to me called his Grandma and said, “I reached safe Grandma. Thank you for letting me come and visit you. I hope I wasn’t too much trouble.” I was moved by this little kid. I smiled at him and he smiled back. I guess it wasn’t such a bad flight after all.

 

House Rules

For those of you living with incompetent roommates and/or partners, here is a set of house rules that you can introduce them to...

If it’s open – close it.

If it’s on the floor – pick it up.

If it’s dirty – clean it.

If it’s hungry – feed it.

If it’s sad – love it.

Simple, practical and handy, don’t you think? Now it’s just about getting them to follow these rules!