Hauz Khas Village

Today was one of those days when people feel that sense of attachment to each other thanks to our strong national fabric. We are today proud of our Constitutional forefathers who had shown great political character and statesmanship to yield such a brilliant Constitution which has more or less stood the test of time. It was raining since early hours but that would in no way dampen the spirits of young men who would still gallop to reach for the flag hoisting in time. The flag looked so beautiful in that drizzle. We were all soaked but it wasn't the rain. Emotions. Patriotic emotions. Overwhelming patriotic emotions.


As for the rest of the day, I felt like experimenting with some sea food joints across NCR as we had the rest of the day for ourselves. Nikhil seemed excited about the idea and we two embarked upon the delicious journey it was to be. Now when you enter the place for the first time, all you come across are dingy lanes with clumsily manufactured streak of restaurants. You get a feel that they never gave a damn to think about the claustrophobic foodies. But then, you should not judge these little gifted kitchens by their frontiers and should rather let the food speak for itself.

Now I would here give a disclaimer that the best options at HKV would be the lake facing ones. One such example is the Out of the Box (OTB) which is on the main lane itself. Do not get discouraged while climbing up to the roof top setting. It feels like you are going up the Burj Khalifa or the likes but the moment you reach there and grab a seat on your table overlooking the beautiful lake, its all worth it. In fact, that is one of the Unique Selling Point (USP) of eating places at HKV. Now about this place called OTB, real good sea food and the traditional basket is equally delicious. All in all they serve good variety from Mexican to Spanish! Some might feel it is little expensive but then you are freaking Hauz Khas and not Pallika Bazar! I would personally recommend this joint for trying out Prawn delicacies. And make sure you get that corner seat on the roof top. You will never have a better meal experience.

Then, for deserts, always and always go for this Kulfi Joint which is just next to the entrance of OTB which offers like myriad flavors one doesn't usually find. And then in preparation for round two of food, you can take a stroll in the park on the other side of the lake. You can also take a walk along side the lake which is sadly so thickly populated with algae that you start pondering how the damn ducks are surviving there. On our walk we found this little kid throwing trash in the lake. When we told him not to, he was probably amused. He could not understand the sense of it. We all know its not his fault. But it hurts to see that we are not doing anything about it. I think childhood and adolescence are very crucial periods and as adults it is our duty to guide and shape them. We have to get the act right when the metal has not solidified.

Anyways, from this we moved on to discuss what great potential the place had to attract tourists but sadly undone by the absence of aesthetics. It is a pity. The place has great eating joints, remnants of the Sultanat Period, a modest lake and think forest cover around. What else you need to spend your day in peace. But the dirty lake is a sure mood killer and must be looked after. Overall, its a great place for spending your day off from work. Try out variety of food, sit along the grass covers and walk around the not-so-beautiful lake!

Thanks Nikhil for your great company!

BABY * *

My Rating 2/5
Director: Neeraj Pandey

These days the movie business has become a B-Plan which has an excellent commercial success rate and hence every Tom, Dick and Harry is venturing into it resulting into a zillion number of production houses yielding equal number of movies. So, generally people apply the "Good Director" formula in selecting a movie. And when it goes like "From the Director of A Wednesday and Special Chabbis", people would hardly have second thoughts. So most people got into this one with great expectations.

It starts on that tone, that very fast paced style of story telling which made us fall in love with this guy, Neeraj Pandey. But as they say, do not judge a movie by the first half itself. In terms of pace, the first half does well and keeps the audience hopeful that they are in for some serious climax twists. Something which never comes across. They start although with the cliched idea of a "Secret Organization" of the government to deal with the spread of terrorism in the nation. Sad part being that they could not add anything new to it.

The Plot of the movie is very much broken down to bits and pieces each of them resembling to some or the other Hollywood action flick. A major chunk of the first half revolves around getting a guy from Nepal to India so that some information can be hacked from him which he easily submits to at the end. It's like flying all the way to the USA to have a bite at the Burger King in spite of knowing the fact that the same stuff is now available in Saket.  Pure shit.

Talking of the art of using "Good Actors" to enhance the credentials of the movie, you get a gem like actor KK in your movie and then give him like five minute of screen time of which he speaks for like 30 seconds, what the hell, its like Cinematic Sacrilege for crying out loud! Then they attempt to airlift a terrorist from a foreign land without intimating the country. But the whole act comes out as so dumb at the end that it stands no where to the original Argo! Ironically at the end you do remember the punchline of Argo and dedicate it to the makers of Baby, "Go F**k Yourself!"

Okhla Bird Santuary

Pic Credits:Akshat

After another round of classes on the Customs Act, here it was again, our beloved Weekend. After missing out on the Heritage Walk to the antiques of old Delhi, I was looking forward to this Biking trip that was being planned to Murthal essentially by the foodies who had agreed to drive around 80 Kilometers to and fro to grab a bite of the acclaimed Punjabi food that is served their. But i guess, the "Inflation" took us all down and in light of the indifference, it was decided to scrap it altogether.

The Plan B came alive all of a sudden and Okhla Bird Sanctuary was suddenly the place to be. Now even when people do like bird-watching all the time but going to a Bird Sanctuary is still taxing to many and hence there were only eight who showed interest and turned up. Early morning is usually the best time to see those migratory birds and in this light it was decided that we embark upon our voyage around 0730 hrs. Akshat dude, I would say that was quite ambitious for a Sunday when clearly people are having a hard time getting up at Nine on weekdays. But the God is kind, there was a huge blanket of fog and we delayed it and only started by Nine.

On the way we wondered whether Birds also delay their flight plans on the occasion of a chilly winter morning with overwhelming mist. I guess procrastination is common to all species. We finally reached the place and were welcomed with a debate on whether the driver of the cab is obligated to take a ticket. It was quite amusing that such minuscule things which not even deserve an ephemeral part of your attention become so large. Anyways, here we were, midst the Elephant Grass in this scenic Bird sanctuary with polluted black water witnessing the miracle of so many flying....Crows!

The place was literally full of them as if they were some invasive species who have outgrown all other bird species for whom came so many tourists. But then appeared this guy on a boat from almost nowhere and enlightened us that we were on the wrong side of the sanctuary. God bless him and his mutilated boat. Now along with us was this huge group of foreigners who were completely armed with Binoculars and Cameras with these huge lenses. As compared to them we looked like a bunch of technologically handicapped hippies. Nevertheless, we trekked further towards a watching tower encountering on the way more  litter than birds. Such an irony. We pollute the environment like hell and then sit in it wondering where the damn birds are? Such irony!

But then we agreed upon a brilliant idea that on the future Nature/heritage walks we would carry poly bags and stuff and we could contribute to the Swachcha Bharat Abhiyaan while touring around. After reaching atop on the tower  we missed those foreign tourists dearly. Not really, actually we missed their Binoculars. Although it was a breathtaking panoramic view in front of us but no detail was visible to the naked eye. We could only see them from the awesome pictures taken by Spencer! We decided to go near to the lake so that we could see some of species whose names we had mugged up as a part of Environment Syllabus for UPSC. When we reached there, to our surprise, most of them looked alike, most of them looked black. We blamed the dirty black water!

Pic Credits: Spencer

Overall, it was nice, as it always is when you are in the lap of nature. Just to sit there along side the waters seeing them in large numbers just idling around is definitely refreshing. It energizes you. Especially, for the week ahead full of lectures. Since we had time left on the clock, we decided to raid Hauz Khas Village for some Sea Food. From seeing birds to eating them...time flies so quickly!

Thanks Akshat for this wonderful outing!

[Book Review] Alex Furguson -My Autobiography

My Rating: 2/5

Since the day he retired from managing Manchester United, I have been pondering over a question. I am a Manchester United Fan or a Sir Alex Furguson Fan. Or are these two same actually the same.  When a man remains manager at the club for twenty freaking six years, the club and the manager kinda do not continue to have separate existence. Perhaps the most successful manager in the domain of sports. Duh! not perhaps, as Jesse Pinkman would say "Yo! he is the Bomb!". I mean SAF, I doubt your claim of being a normal human being. How the hell you believe a simple good old "man" can do what he has!

So that makes a great case for reading his autobiography for all the non-Manchester United fans. For rest it is more like a fundamental duty, a tribute to the legend. His managerial work has become a case study at the Harvard Business School. We see great teams changing managers every year like what a tree does to its leaves. But how the hell this guy managed to pull this out for so long. Sheer luck?! Got to be more than that.

He starts with his Scottish roots and his time as a player himself and how aggressive his play was. Then perhaps he used to give the dreaded "Hair-Dryer" to his fellow team-mates and his manager. He was ferocious, passionate about the game. His association with the running of bars as his family business also helped him a lot with learning the essentials of management. In his early days of managing teams, he was a no non-sense manager right from the very beginning. He would never ever run the clubs on the whims and fancies of the owners. He would do what suited him and the team the best way to perform.

You have to give him credit that he talks about a plethora of aspects and possibly covers all the aspects the fans would be interested to read and know about. He talks of the early years in detail which is something the current fan-base might not be so familiar with. He talks of the crucial relationships with Beckham and Ronaldo. He talks of the Class of 92. He talks about the ups and downs with Rooney, Wenger and Mourinho. All in all a complete package.

But know comes the hard part. Not a very good writer or narrator I would say. He has filled most of the spaces with lots of facts and figures. But the reader gets those normally on the Sports supplements anyways. The reader wants to know beyond. The reader wants to connect at a much deeper level perhaps. But there is hardly any leeway for achieving that. But then again, you cannot have it all folks. Just relax and enjoy the Theatre of Dreams, though "literally" this time! 

[Book Review] Narendra Modi- A political biography

Book Rating: 3/5

Author: Andy Marino

So, the first million dollar question that comes to your mind seeing the author of this political Biography is that who is this foreigner who has been cornered to write a book about possibly the most important contemporary political figure in the country. Was he really able to understand the dynamics of Indian politics and the zillion parameters which it is based on. And perhaps it would have been way better to assign this task to some insider who knew the history, the biases and the moments of truth.

But then again there is this counter view that is equally real and persuasive. Imagine an insider knowing all the relevant stuff but then wouldn't he be having certain biases by the virtue of his long association with certain quarters here in India. Would he be able to present am objective depiction of the political career of our present Primus Interpares! And hence comes an outsider who can present the things he learns about this man in a crude and objective manner!

The first impression is that the content seems superficial and certainly seems to be lacking the much required depth in the hunt for facts. Certainly this was not an easy task given the political standing of the person concerned and the unfortunate events that surround his political career. At the end you feel like there could have been more aspects to the story and there could have been more effort on the part of the author.

Secondly, there is a chapter on "Development and Governance" showcasing the freaking awesome administrative skills of Modi in transforming the state of Gujrat. The vision he had, the ways he adopted and the execution skills they are all just Epic! I feel that every administrator must read this very chapter as it broadens our administrative horizon in many ways. And this is not like some "paid article" as it is all out there for you to see. Facts speak for themselves.

Another point is that there seems to be an imbalance in the listing down of arguments in certain facets of debates. It seems that the author is pressing upon the views he might have formed upon his own observation. That certainly should not be the case. This should not be a case of prejudiced political discourse.  And lastly, i feel with so much happening in the run up to the last General Elections, this book needs to be heavily updated as it fails to capture the exponential political rise of the protagonist in the recent times. Overall a good read to know the making of the Prime Minister we have been waiting for!



Some good lines....

"Emergency years was one the best experience that I had. I became aware; I understood the Constitution. I understood the rights, because before that I was living in a different world. The emergency became a university for me!"

"The appeal increased to the extent the ideology got diluted. Wherever the ideology was strong, its appeal diminished!" - Advani on Jan Sangh.

"All the allegations act as my fodder, all the criticism is my fodder, which improves me!"

"Those who throw stones at me, I collect the stones and make a staircase, and I am going up and up. With the help of those stones I am rising and rising and rising!"

"For centuries, India was exploited by Foreigners. Indian resources were used for Western benefit. It is time to use Western Money for Indian benefit!"