Recently during my annual home trip I got a chance to pacify my long standing/lasting desire of having parathas from the very famous Parthey Waali Gaali of Chadni Chowk , Delhi.
So we boarded the Metro which dropped us till Chadni Chowk Metro station, from there Parathey waali gaali is just a 10 min walk. Those who are going very first time are in for a surprise as it is not like what one might have imagined, it’s just a small bylane which is just a meter wide and there are chances that you can totally miss it if you don’t ask constantly for directions from the shop keeper’s of very Crowded but vivid Chadni Chowk.
Once we went inside this bylane it was typical Delhi :)….Scooters, People all trying to get the max of that 1 meter wide road and then there were many cloth shops for which Chadni Chowk is so famous. Nice place for girls for getting their bridal gears for the D day.
To my right and left there were few Paratha shops offering the tempting but oily (but who cares :)) Parthas. I didn’t find many shops, just 5-6 were there which was quite a disappointment as I was expecting a road with some 20-30 shops :( (may be it doesn’t make much business sense). Anyhow we settled for one place and went to first floor of the shop where few college goers and few aunties were enjoying their afternoon meal.
To start with we ordered our regular choice like Gobi, Aloo & mix Paratha. Which was served to us in accompany with one sweet chutney ( with a slice of banana in it) , one green chutney ( very regular in north ), One Aloo Gravy , One Aloo Dry Sabzi and One dry pumpkin Sabzi and last but not the least pickle. The Parathas were a bit small in size and were deep fried instead of being fried over the pan but that’s the specialty of this place which makes it so famous.
Stuffing was good and side dishes were making the experience more and more pleasant. I specially like the pumpkin gravy. After finishing the first round we went for another one this time we were in experimenting mode so we order ‘Papad ka Paratha’ and green peas partha . Papad ka paratha was quite a delight as the stuffing was giving the taste of a real papad :) and green peas was quite nicely stuffed. To finish it up we ordered for sweet lassi which was good. Cost wise it was Ok as each paratha costed us 30 bucks.
After coming out of the shop we roamed around a bit to see other shops were people were jostling to get a place for there meal. All in all it was an satisfying experience. The place has lost its shine but still it is a must go place for any one who is visiting Delhi.
We wanted to go to Kareem’s (Near Jamma Masjid) which is very famous for it's non veg but we were full till our neck so we gave it a skip,did some shopping and again boarded metro from Chandi Chowk for our destination.
It was quite aptly written by great urdu poet Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq about delhi….
“Humne maana ki dakkan mein hai bahut qadre sukhan; Kaun jaaye Zauq par Dilli ki galiyan chhod kar ”
One reason which I could find behind his thought process must be food :) for which Delhi is so famous and Parathey Waali gaali is a proof of it!!!!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Gokarna – Trip to the land of beaches and tranquility
After visting two hill stations back to back it was time to hit the beach. So planned to go for Gokarna which is located in North Karnataka some 450 Kms away from Bangalore. As trip to munnar was quite fucked up by the Packaged tour operator. Thus this time we decided to go via bus with no specific booking at Gokarna. As it was an all boys gang thus we were flexible with our accommodation plan.
Onward Journey was comfortable apart from our bus starting late by 2 hours from Bangalore, A flat tyre and then a broken axle after which we were pushed to a new bus at Sagar. Thanks to all this we reached Gokarna around 1 in the noon instead of 9 in the morning. From the drop point we took an auto to reach Om beach.
Onward Journey was comfortable apart from our bus starting late by 2 hours from Bangalore, A flat tyre and then a broken axle after which we were pushed to a new bus at Sagar. Thanks to all this we reached Gokarna around 1 in the noon instead of 9 in the morning. From the drop point we took an auto to reach Om beach.
Om Beach from Top
Beach was pretty Ok by Indian standards, crowd was a healthy mix of Indian and foreign nationals. We had our lunch from one shack, which was reasonably priced and was Ok in quality. We enquired about Half moon and paradise beach and decided to trek towards these beaches by crossing the mountain instead of going via boat. Trek to Half Moon Beach was around 20-30 minutes a simple one, but this path should be avoided during rain.
Way to Half Moon Beach
Half moon beach was almost deserted with only few foreigners having sun bath and few preferring to swim long in the sea. As water was very clean (one of the cleanest I have ever seen in India) and calm we also decided to take a plunge in the water. A couple of beer added to the fun and then we went ahead with our trek to Paradise beach, it took us 30-40 minutes to reach there. Trek was a bit tiresome but still manageable, it was almost evening when we reached there.
Paradise Beach
Atmosphere at Paradise beach was different from Half moon as it was buzzing with people, trance was in the air all around thus we decided to spend our night there. Sunset was quite picturesque and mesmerizing. People were enjoying among themselves with Drinks, Music and food adding up as a good supplement. We tried enquiring about some beach hut but everything was booked but we were able to get some shelter as one of the hotel owner agreed to give us beddings in the open hotel area which was just 10 feet away from sea shore. I was able to see the sea, the moon, and the stars from the place I was sleeping; the feeling was just indescribable and gratifying.
Sunset at Paradise Beach
An Early Morning Shot
In the morning we wake up and had breakfast, spent some time at the beach then we trekked back to the half moon beach, where we again dived into the sea to cool ourselves as it was quite hot in the afternoon had lunch there rested for some time in the shack only and then again trekked back to Om beach and after spending some time there we went to the bus station to catch out bus. And believe it or not we again got the flat tyre :) on our way back.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Mystic Kerala – Trip to Munnar
Yet another long weekend and we were off to munnar as Bangalore can be very very boring and mean to you on long weekends.
As it was last minute plan due to unsystematic & uncertain kind of work environmnet we are into we didn’t have any choice but to book it via a tour operator. And as being typical boys are we never bothered to go into the finer details of the trip all we knew that it was 2 night & 3 days trip and it came at XXXX price to us.
So off we went to munnar from Bangalore around 8:30 pm on a sleeper bus only to be waked up to 7 in the morning by the conductor, we were the only two people left in the whole bus so we thought that the munnar has come but when we went down we came to know that we were at kattappana some 100 km away from munnar :) . It came as a rude shock but I prefered to play it down, so we went to a restaurant and order some aappam.Strangely you can have it with egg curry also at 7 in the morning!!!! Around 7:30 we were picked up by a mini man after some desperate calling to contact number given to us.
Drive was smooth and heartening as we were climbing up, breeze was fresh and view was mesmerizing. Always felt jealous of people who live in this kind of terrain as they have one thing certainly in their life and that is peace!!!
Finally reached munnar around 10:30 and met the person who was our tour operator there. As outsourcing is the in thing we came to know that our tour was out sourced to this guys agency, fine till now but then came the surprise. It was a free day for us, we were dropped at our hotel which was just OK, we freshen up just to look at each other and ask what we are going to do on this rest day. As we were two guys and perfectly straight also ;) so we thought it would be better if we go out and do some sight seeing on our own. We hired a taxi to show us around few points but as luck was not our side that day, it was pretty misty and finally end up coming back to out hotel around 4 after seeing loads of mist instead of any view point. Somehow survived that evening & night on our dependable source of enjoyment :).
Next morning we were off to some sight seeing and one thing I must admit that I have never seen so much to greenery in my whole life. It was tea plantation all around us no matter where you see and what you see. Went around few spots like photo point, madupaaty dam, shooting point, Echo point & Top station. But it also got over by 2 and then there was a strong desire to go back to bangalore and we felt that staying any more there was a sheer waste of time. But as luck was not our side that day also we end up spending that night also in munnar and as usual with the same source of enjoyment.
Finally the D day came and after cursing and abusing our local tour operator for almost whole day in his office as we have nothing better to do in munnar we again boarded a mini bus to go back to Bangalore via udumalpet. Finally god has heard us as route was very scenic and beautiful and as icing on the cake we have to pass through chinnar wildlife sanctuary and anamalai tiger reserve. It’s always thrilling to cut across a forest reserve when it is pitch dark and I really love that part of the journey although we didn’t met with tiger but we definitely encountered a family of elephant's who stopped us for nearly 20 minutes as they came on the road and were not very willing to get off it. The experience as tense and enthralling I loved every bit of it. Finally boarded bus to Bangalore and reached Bangalore around 5:30 in the morning.
Munnar is a nice place but please try to go for 1 night and 2 day if you don’t have suitable company to kill your ‘Free’ time. For me it’s a big 'NO' to tour operator’s as I am not going to travel with them again!!!!!!!!!!!!
As it was last minute plan due to unsystematic & uncertain kind of work environmnet we are into we didn’t have any choice but to book it via a tour operator. And as being typical boys are we never bothered to go into the finer details of the trip all we knew that it was 2 night & 3 days trip and it came at XXXX price to us.
So off we went to munnar from Bangalore around 8:30 pm on a sleeper bus only to be waked up to 7 in the morning by the conductor, we were the only two people left in the whole bus so we thought that the munnar has come but when we went down we came to know that we were at kattappana some 100 km away from munnar :) . It came as a rude shock but I prefered to play it down, so we went to a restaurant and order some aappam.Strangely you can have it with egg curry also at 7 in the morning!!!! Around 7:30 we were picked up by a mini man after some desperate calling to contact number given to us.
Drive was smooth and heartening as we were climbing up, breeze was fresh and view was mesmerizing. Always felt jealous of people who live in this kind of terrain as they have one thing certainly in their life and that is peace!!!
Finally reached munnar around 10:30 and met the person who was our tour operator there. As outsourcing is the in thing we came to know that our tour was out sourced to this guys agency, fine till now but then came the surprise. It was a free day for us, we were dropped at our hotel which was just OK, we freshen up just to look at each other and ask what we are going to do on this rest day. As we were two guys and perfectly straight also ;) so we thought it would be better if we go out and do some sight seeing on our own. We hired a taxi to show us around few points but as luck was not our side that day, it was pretty misty and finally end up coming back to out hotel around 4 after seeing loads of mist instead of any view point. Somehow survived that evening & night on our dependable source of enjoyment :).
Next morning we were off to some sight seeing and one thing I must admit that I have never seen so much to greenery in my whole life. It was tea plantation all around us no matter where you see and what you see. Went around few spots like photo point, madupaaty dam, shooting point, Echo point & Top station. But it also got over by 2 and then there was a strong desire to go back to bangalore and we felt that staying any more there was a sheer waste of time. But as luck was not our side that day also we end up spending that night also in munnar and as usual with the same source of enjoyment.Finally the D day came and after cursing and abusing our local tour operator for almost whole day in his office as we have nothing better to do in munnar we again boarded a mini bus to go back to Bangalore via udumalpet. Finally god has heard us as route was very scenic and beautiful and as icing on the cake we have to pass through chinnar wildlife sanctuary and anamalai tiger reserve. It’s always thrilling to cut across a forest reserve when it is pitch dark and I really love that part of the journey although we didn’t met with tiger but we definitely encountered a family of elephant's who stopped us for nearly 20 minutes as they came on the road and were not very willing to get off it. The experience as tense and enthralling I loved every bit of it. Finally boarded bus to Bangalore and reached Bangalore around 5:30 in the morning.
Munnar is a nice place but please try to go for 1 night and 2 day if you don’t have suitable company to kill your ‘Free’ time. For me it’s a big 'NO' to tour operator’s as I am not going to travel with them again!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Somewhere I belong
How does it feel when reality hits you hard?
Why we try to live in the virtual world of our own when we know that we are real and our problems are real. Why we always run away from the ‘Facts’ and take shelter under ‘Assumptions’??
After been subjected to acute pain, loniness and frustration many times I feel it happens due to the way we follow our heart & mind. When one has to think with their ‘Mind’ at that point of time they act on the advice of their ‘Heart’. And when one has to follow their ‘Heart’ they end up getting instructed by their ‘Mind’ thus ends up being a mess.
As I am acting ‘Abstract’ today so will not dive into scenarios or examples but I hope you can empathize and can correlate.
Self love is important and I feel somehow it is driven by our mind but at the same time we can’t hurt any ones feeling by just behaving as I, me and myself. But what if when there is no way out and you have to hurt someone to settle your score or to get your peace of mind. We don’t hesitate as we are driven by our mind at that point of time and then latter on feel guilty as now we are following our heart. So why we do this way?
This is something which needs to be thought upon and strategized going ahead.
There is no thing as perfect relationship, perfect person and perfect attitude the only thing which is perfect is the ‘Circumstances’ and the ‘Situation’ which always get the worst out of you. How many times have you pondered back on your acts done in the past and thought that you could have reacted better!!!!
So think on these lines...as usual I am keeping it short...Maybe this time I want you guys to fill the blanks!!
Why we try to live in the virtual world of our own when we know that we are real and our problems are real. Why we always run away from the ‘Facts’ and take shelter under ‘Assumptions’??
After been subjected to acute pain, loniness and frustration many times I feel it happens due to the way we follow our heart & mind. When one has to think with their ‘Mind’ at that point of time they act on the advice of their ‘Heart’. And when one has to follow their ‘Heart’ they end up getting instructed by their ‘Mind’ thus ends up being a mess.
As I am acting ‘Abstract’ today so will not dive into scenarios or examples but I hope you can empathize and can correlate.
Self love is important and I feel somehow it is driven by our mind but at the same time we can’t hurt any ones feeling by just behaving as I, me and myself. But what if when there is no way out and you have to hurt someone to settle your score or to get your peace of mind. We don’t hesitate as we are driven by our mind at that point of time and then latter on feel guilty as now we are following our heart. So why we do this way?
This is something which needs to be thought upon and strategized going ahead.
There is no thing as perfect relationship, perfect person and perfect attitude the only thing which is perfect is the ‘Circumstances’ and the ‘Situation’ which always get the worst out of you. How many times have you pondered back on your acts done in the past and thought that you could have reacted better!!!!
So think on these lines...as usual I am keeping it short...Maybe this time I want you guys to fill the blanks!!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Letting Go
Just wondering why I am writing this on a Saturday evening but it’s something which is coming somewhere from inside!!!
Never been a master of the art of befriending people but do feel that I had my share of good people around me. Like bad stuff even good stuff comes with an expiry tag on it. And then come’s the biggest question of letting people go out of your life.
How easily you let someone go out of your life depends upon the importance of that person in your life. So sometimes it is as easy as just exchanging one big hug and saying ‘keep in touch’ and then taking your own path but sometimes this whole affair becomes very painful and tormenting.
What one can do and what one should do is very individualistic approach and thus people take it differently. For me it’s always been tough to get out of it but once they becomes bygone they remains bygone. One should look forward instead of looking backward as you will only end up falling if you look back.
Just a word of advice, always trying putting yourself first in these situations and then try to think about others.
In the end just want to share two lines with you…
“Log jaatey huey mausam ke tarah hotey hai,
Yeh jamaana he kisey din tujhey baatlayega”
So look forward and let it go dude!!!!!!!!!!
Never been a master of the art of befriending people but do feel that I had my share of good people around me. Like bad stuff even good stuff comes with an expiry tag on it. And then come’s the biggest question of letting people go out of your life.
How easily you let someone go out of your life depends upon the importance of that person in your life. So sometimes it is as easy as just exchanging one big hug and saying ‘keep in touch’ and then taking your own path but sometimes this whole affair becomes very painful and tormenting.
What one can do and what one should do is very individualistic approach and thus people take it differently. For me it’s always been tough to get out of it but once they becomes bygone they remains bygone. One should look forward instead of looking backward as you will only end up falling if you look back.
Just a word of advice, always trying putting yourself first in these situations and then try to think about others.
In the end just want to share two lines with you…
“Log jaatey huey mausam ke tarah hotey hai,
Yeh jamaana he kisey din tujhey baatlayega”
So look forward and let it go dude!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Mystic Kerala - Trip to Wayanad
After running from pillar to post during last 30 days; Changing my source of income, Shifting my loyalties, Making new acquaintances, Moving from Kolkata to Bangalore and dropping from 65 to 46 in Indi rank finally I am back :)...Bangalore has changed a lot in these 4 years and I think it has become better than what it was 4 years back when I left it anyways this is not about Bangalore :) it’s about Kerala and to be more specific it’s about Wayanad.
As last weekend was a long weekend so thought of visiting Wayanad. After a lot of hiccups we set out for Wayanad in a rented Qualis. We started early morning on Friday around 4, our plan was to reach there by 10 in the morning. Route was simple Bangalore -> Mysore -> NH212 -> Gundalpet -> Wayanad (Right turn from Gundalpet approx 50 km). Faced a little trouble at the Kerala border as the vehicle papers were not up to date …as a result ended up in paying Rs 1500 as fine and 1 hour delay. Nevertheless we reached Sultan Bathery a place in Wayanad around 11. Quickly found an economical place to stay. After getting fresh we went out looking for lunch. To my surprise food we got was pretty good & economical. If you are Non Vegetarian then you will love the Kerala food. So ended up in having fried fish & Kerala style chicken biryaani (this was best modified version of chicken biryaani I ever had, chicken was fried but it tasted good).
After having lunch we went to see Eadakkal Cave. One needs to walk about 1km on steep and difficult terrain to reach there. One has the option to take jeep also although we went all along by foot and found the terrain a bit tiring..Once reached up the view was good but there is no comparison of Edakkal caves with the Bora caves of Aarku valley (near Vizag, AP). Anyhow came back to our vehicle and went to saw Karapuzha dam. It was a small one but a good one…got a chance to get on the top side of the dam...view was good. From there we moved back to our hotel and visited a little known view point called Phantom Rock …This was the best one of the day….a good view point where you can sit and see the world coming to a standstill. Spent 1 hour in just sitting there and admiring the god’s own country!!
A view from Karapuzha dam
A view from Phantom Rocks
Next morning we went for Meenmutty water fall ...entry fee for that fall was 300 bugs for a group of 10 but as we were only 3 guys we waited for some more guys to come. After a wait of few minutes we were off to the 2nd largest waterfall in Kerala, way to waterfall was one of the most tiring and dangerous track I have ever taken in my whole life. We went all the way down through coffee plantation and on latter part using the bamboo/rope support. So if you’re an ‘OMG!!that’s Dangerous!!’ type of guy or gal please avoid this one :) ... View of the fall was just OK…but I really enjoyed the way to the fall…as it was exiting, dangerous and challenging. After that we went to Suchipara waterfall, a more popular one as it was bloody crowded. So avoided the temptation of taking a dip in the water.
Meenmutty Falls
On our way back from the fall we stopped our vehicle at a point where there was a small channel of free flowing water. So we went all out and enjoyed the natural Jacuzzi. As it was getting dark we moved back to out hotel and decided to move back to Bangalore next morning as there was nothing much to cover apart from Wildlife Safari but people advised against it as there was nothing worthwhile apart from deer & peacocks. On the way back to Bangalore we stopped at Mysore to visit Mysore palace..Sheer waste of time …I felt …entered Bangalore by evening via outer ring road ….and finally back to home!!!!
As last weekend was a long weekend so thought of visiting Wayanad. After a lot of hiccups we set out for Wayanad in a rented Qualis. We started early morning on Friday around 4, our plan was to reach there by 10 in the morning. Route was simple Bangalore -> Mysore -> NH212 -> Gundalpet -> Wayanad (Right turn from Gundalpet approx 50 km). Faced a little trouble at the Kerala border as the vehicle papers were not up to date …as a result ended up in paying Rs 1500 as fine and 1 hour delay. Nevertheless we reached Sultan Bathery a place in Wayanad around 11. Quickly found an economical place to stay. After getting fresh we went out looking for lunch. To my surprise food we got was pretty good & economical. If you are Non Vegetarian then you will love the Kerala food. So ended up in having fried fish & Kerala style chicken biryaani (this was best modified version of chicken biryaani I ever had, chicken was fried but it tasted good).
After having lunch we went to see Eadakkal Cave. One needs to walk about 1km on steep and difficult terrain to reach there. One has the option to take jeep also although we went all along by foot and found the terrain a bit tiring..Once reached up the view was good but there is no comparison of Edakkal caves with the Bora caves of Aarku valley (near Vizag, AP). Anyhow came back to our vehicle and went to saw Karapuzha dam. It was a small one but a good one…got a chance to get on the top side of the dam...view was good. From there we moved back to our hotel and visited a little known view point called Phantom Rock …This was the best one of the day….a good view point where you can sit and see the world coming to a standstill. Spent 1 hour in just sitting there and admiring the god’s own country!!
A view from Karapuzha dam
A view from Phantom Rocks
Next morning we went for Meenmutty water fall ...entry fee for that fall was 300 bugs for a group of 10 but as we were only 3 guys we waited for some more guys to come. After a wait of few minutes we were off to the 2nd largest waterfall in Kerala, way to waterfall was one of the most tiring and dangerous track I have ever taken in my whole life. We went all the way down through coffee plantation and on latter part using the bamboo/rope support. So if you’re an ‘OMG!!that’s Dangerous!!’ type of guy or gal please avoid this one :) ... View of the fall was just OK…but I really enjoyed the way to the fall…as it was exiting, dangerous and challenging. After that we went to Suchipara waterfall, a more popular one as it was bloody crowded. So avoided the temptation of taking a dip in the water.
Meenmutty Falls
On our way back from the fall we stopped our vehicle at a point where there was a small channel of free flowing water. So we went all out and enjoyed the natural Jacuzzi. As it was getting dark we moved back to out hotel and decided to move back to Bangalore next morning as there was nothing much to cover apart from Wildlife Safari but people advised against it as there was nothing worthwhile apart from deer & peacocks. On the way back to Bangalore we stopped at Mysore to visit Mysore palace..Sheer waste of time …I felt …entered Bangalore by evening via outer ring road ….and finally back to home!!!!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tuesday Special – Few Good ones (Part IV)
Disclaimer: None of the below is mine; I am just an admirer and collector of good words!!
Aadatan tumney kiye vaadey,
Aadatan humney aitbaar kiya,
Teri raahon mei tanha ruk kar,
Humney apna hi intezar kiya….
Ek pal mei ek sadi ka maza hum se poochhiye
Do din ki zindagi ka maza hum se poochhiye
Bhooley hain rafta rafta unhey muddaton mei hum
Kishton mei khudkushi ka maza hum se poochhiye
Aaghazey aashiqi ka maza aap jaaniye
Anjaamey aashiqi ka maza humse poochhiye!!!!
Mera Dil bhi shauq se todo Ek tajurba aur sahi
Lakh Khiloney tod chukey ho Ek khilona aur sahi
Raat Hai ghaam ki aaj bugjhaado Jalta jua har ek chiragh
Dil Mei andhera ho hi chuka hai Ghar mei andhera aur sahi
Dam Hai nikalta ek aashiq ka..Bheeed hai aakar dekh tu Lo
Lakh Tamashey dekhey hongey Ek nazara aur sahi
Khanjar Le kar sochtey kyaa hoo Quatl kar daalo
Daag Hain sau daman pe tumhaarey Ek izafa aur sahi.....
Previous posts : Part I , Part II , Part III
Aadatan tumney kiye vaadey,
Aadatan humney aitbaar kiya,
Teri raahon mei tanha ruk kar,
Humney apna hi intezar kiya….
Ek pal mei ek sadi ka maza hum se poochhiye
Do din ki zindagi ka maza hum se poochhiye
Bhooley hain rafta rafta unhey muddaton mei hum
Kishton mei khudkushi ka maza hum se poochhiye
Aaghazey aashiqi ka maza aap jaaniye
Anjaamey aashiqi ka maza humse poochhiye!!!!
Mera Dil bhi shauq se todo Ek tajurba aur sahi
Lakh Khiloney tod chukey ho Ek khilona aur sahi
Raat Hai ghaam ki aaj bugjhaado Jalta jua har ek chiragh
Dil Mei andhera ho hi chuka hai Ghar mei andhera aur sahi
Dam Hai nikalta ek aashiq ka..Bheeed hai aakar dekh tu Lo
Lakh Tamashey dekhey hongey Ek nazara aur sahi
Khanjar Le kar sochtey kyaa hoo Quatl kar daalo
Daag Hain sau daman pe tumhaarey Ek izafa aur sahi.....
Previous posts : Part I , Part II , Part III
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