Hyderabadi Biryani: Part I

7:30 pm Diamond point, Secunderabad, traffic seems to have gone cuckoo at this five way. This is nothing new for any Hyderabadi but for me it is more than just another reason to feel irritated, especially after having spent better part of evening traveling in minibus. No wonder I'm beginning to hate Hyderabadi drivers. There seems to be single line rule for driving in city of Nawabs and that is "pehle main". There is another peculiar thing, whenever you see a traffic jam, invariably you will find an able traffic constable standing right in the middle of it, trying his very best to make things worse. I think they are trained for this or something. Khair had enough of traffic tonight!

Keeping traffic aside for a while, there is one thing that really stands out in favor of Hyderabad. It is an outstanding place if you are talking about food. Not just the amazing taste and variety of cuisine available here, most of the restaurants are simply exquisite when it comes to esthetics. Perhaps it is the only aspect of Hyderabad that I have been able to explore well in past few months that I have been here. Following is the list of some of my favorites.

Our Place Amazing open air restaurant

Angeethi Cool authentic Dhaba style interior

Tabla Fundoo Tabla shaped bar

Liquids Pub, Great ambience

Mainland China Exclusive cocktails

Non Veg - Shon Veg

We were on our monthly kabab hunt, me and gp. On most of such occasions we end up having Chicken Patiyala at SP. This time it was different, we decided to take our hunt to next level. Fir ki tha, assi chal pade te ja pahunche Cafe Mondegar. However, this was not for kabab, but to have a couple of pints after long drive to VT. I like that place, especially with French Open mens final on. Perfect!

Anyways our original destination was Cafe Royal at Colaba. This Old Iranian restaurant is great. Small, cozy and yet very sophesto. They say Clinton visited this place when he was here. Alright there, not bad huh! And what shall I say about the beef steak sizzler that we had, simply amazing as GP would say. I strongly recommend the place.

Ironic

Mumbai, 1st June 2005, Page 1, Times of India

"Govt stubs out tobacco scenes in films, TV"

"Liquor to flow more freely in state soon"

I wake up at half past 11 and glance at newspaper to find above two headlines. Ironic! Yes thats the first word which stayed in my mind longer than I expected. On one hand first article describes the growing concern of Indian Govt over the indirect advertisements of tabacco products and its effect on young generation. On the other hand, Maharashtra govt all of sudden intends to be more liberal about making beer, wine, Indian Made Foreign Liquor and country liquor available to the public. Not that I have any issues with either of them, but I found them tussling over the logic. I for one, strongly believe in free will and self accountability for every thing one does to himself. Anyways an interesting start for the day.

What The Hell: Part 2

Recently read this article by Prasoon where he condemns capital punishment for rape convicts. He cites Nagpur court incident, in which mob killed the rapist in the court premisis, as inhuman and worries of day when killing may be justified in the name of justice. But tell you what, sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do. Killing of kaurvas was wrong, but pandavs had to do it to suppress the evil force. Rape is the most heinous of all crimes, and the person responsible deserves not less than hell. I do not support mob killing the rapist, but a justice system can and should surely give capital punishment to rapist and child killers like Dhananjoy. It sends out just the right kind of signal.

Speaking of killing, why not kill editor of saamna which justifies rape on the context of ‘below-waist’ fashion. Mallika sherawat in her recent short skit named My Short Skirt, aptly said "My short skirt Is no excuse to rape me".

First Day at Job

This Thursday was not technically the first day at work, nevertheless was first day of my training with my fellow ETs (do not confuse with ET). A room full of 33 vibrant MBAs and not so vibrant 5 IITians spent almost entire day with their backs glued with chairs listening to non-stop lecturing from big shots of company. Midway through the day something strange started to happen. No, it was not that room started to be filled with some poisonous gas, but something even worse. Slowly and steadily, I developed a feeling, that my life will never be the same again. I was about to loose my complete freedom and infinite supply of lukha time. For rest of my life I would be doing what millions other s do, "Burn their butts off to please their superiors". May be I was overreacting, may be it was just cold feet syndrome like the one people have before marriage. Anyway I have one and half months left before I actually join fellow ETs in Hyd. Till then "Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya..."

What the hell is happening in our country?

This is the exact question that rose in my mind when I read this. Apparently, this is third rape case in past 10 days in my hometown, Delhi. I am more than just shocked. I have grown up in capital and have known it forever that it is not a safe place after all. However, the rate at which crime is increasing in Delhi and NCR is worrisome. Especially crime against women, have increased tremendously over the years. I strongly feel that our system is too generous to criminals. Rape for me is far more heinous crime than cold-blooded murder. Yet, I recall only one incident in recent past when capital punishment was given to rapist in case of Dhananjoy Chatterjee. Most times, either the rapist is not convicted or if he is, then maximum punishment he gets is a life sentence. I think SC must send out strong signals by giving death sentence to all rape case convicts. For all those anti-capital punishment lobbyists, I would I ask a simple question; would they still oppose death sentence to rapist, if the victim was their own sister?

Dean Jones Out of The Race

Just read a report about the final four contenders for the post of Coach for Team India. Sad to find out Dean Jones could not make it to final four, while Tom Moody made it along with Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil, and Greg Chappel.

Point that worries me is that, what happens if Tom Moody is selected as Indian Coach. For the record, he has played just 8 Tests and 76 odis. If I am not wrong, many of senior players in current Indian team have played more than 50 test matches and 200 odis. What sort of Coach would Tom Moody turn out to be? As far as his bowling talent goes, he was a mediocre for me. In terms of his batting, he would come make a quick 20-30 and then leave. Only time he looked good was in 1999 World Cup. Again how would he gain command and respect over a team who has players of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who have vast amount of experience and are exponentially more talented than Tom Moody is. However, I do not have any info about his coaching skills.

Although I am a big admirer of Dean Jones but as far as Greg Chappel is concerned, I think he could be an equally good bet. He was winner in all respects in his playing days and does give an impression of being an aggressive individual. Team India at this point of time requires a coach who can give it an aggressive outlook, discipline and self-belief for there is no shortage of talent. For Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil, I would say, no comments!

Sandeep