Kala Ghoda Festival Part 3

A few of the other things that I clicked at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.  Wall paintings I found at one of the by lanes near by.

The present Kala Ghoda against the noon sun, erected just three months ago. The plaque gives the name of the Architect as Alfaz Miller and the sculptor as Shreehari Bhosale. 

Those old Chai kettle is making a colourful comeback  

Some enthusiastic school kids were having a gala time in the drawing competition.  

And others were trying their hand at decorating a pie. 

The creation of some kid, her interpretation of Rapunzel 

Some kids had a feel of the potter’s clay. The pots they created were looking funny, but at least they got a good idea of how the potter’s wheel works. 

At a stall I saw this cookery book being sold, signed by the author Pooja Dhingra. 

At cross maidan there were some fancy food trucks dishing out some Indian food.  

While walking away from Kala Ghoda I noticed this building on the right which I feel is a part of Lion Gate. If you ignore the building in the background then the structure on the left and the one on the right can make a good street scene for a period film, maybe one of Bombay during the early forties. 

Bangalore to Bengaluru

 I just can’t believe that I am looking at a piece of wood which is actually twenty million years old. But that is what the sign board says. Technically known as Tree Fossil, it is right now placed at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore.

Had been in and out of Bangalore many times but this is the first time I actually paid a visit to the famous Lalbagh.

Had been there in the morning, but not early enough to see the morning birds.

The only one I could click was this one who seem to be looking back at me with his beady eyes. 

The early morning joggers were relaxed and they looked like the regulars over here.

The statue of Sri Chamrajendra Odeyar is slowly taking its toll, after all its been standing for more than a century.   

Had to click this as the contrast of the old and new can be seen here. The bandstand in the fore front could be from the British era as every public place had a bandstand in those days.  In contrast the steeple in the background is supposed to be the building owned by Vijaya Mallya. 

Enjoyed some authentic Korean food at a prominent outlet in Kalyan Nagar. I was fascinated by the small figurines kept at the hotel. 

There is a lot of change happening in the city including the fact that the name has been changed from Bangalore to Bengaluru. With the addition of the metro rail, the charm of walking down M G road is not the same. One has to pay the price for development I suppose. 

                                                                             pic source

On the way back home, I had some time to kill at the airport and tried the tea from this outlet known as Chai Point.  

You can pick up a chai as per your choice, and they have a variety to choose from.

I was impressed by their efficiency and cleanliness

It’s a pity that they don’t have an outlet in Pune.

I picked up a Dum Chai and sipped it watching our tricolour lazily swaying in the dusk.  

Come to think of it, there is a flag in front of every airport but we barely notice it in the scramble to catch that flight.

At the airport, I met an acquaintance with whom I had worked with in Pune. He is now busy shuttling between Germany and Bangalore.  While chatting with him I couldn’t help recollect the fact that some decades ago, I had worked with his father too in the same organization.

 

Calcutta streets - Part one

It is always interesting to observe people and if you can capture the same on camera, then it will put a smile on your face when you go through the results later.

Had been to Kolkata (Calcutta) recently and was there for four days. Right from the chai wala on the street who offered us tea in the mud pot, to the shop keeper who caught up on his forty winks, it was fun capturing all that happened around me.

The rickshaw puller weaving through the busy traffic is a common sight in Kolkata. 

I hope to make a video on the same, but the best I liked was the taxi service in Calcutta. Almost all taxis are of the Ambassador make. You may have your doubts about it being road worthy but they perform well, stop at your beck, and will take you to your destination. No hazzles about the charge, they go exactly by the meter and will tender the exact change.

I liked the way the Taxis were maintained. If the factory fitted bonnet locks are not working, they have their own cost effective way of designing a lock.

Their driving is neat and move about on the road with ease (managing not to scrape the vehicle with the other vehicles)  

The vehicles get washed daily morning. There is no dearth of water supply.

There are regular ‘washer boys’ who do it for a nominal fee.

(continued in part II. . . . click here)

Sunday morning

Yesterday was Sunday and as soon as we were out of bed, wifey told me that she was going to make Shakshouka

“What is Shakshouka?”

“You can have a look when I make it”

“I mean is it something edible?”

“Don’t  be so naïve, I am  making it for breakfast so obviously it is edible”

Well that narrows it down a little bit, but I was still curious about this Shakshouka.

On Saturday night I saw her browsing through her baking book. Was she going to bake something?  

“So tell me, is this Shakshouka something you put in the oven and take out after half an hour?”

“Keep guessing . . . . . .”  and she sauntered into the kitchen garden, while I went about my usual task of making the morning chai. (yes I like to call it chai instead of tea) The word chai itself gives it a special taste.

Wifey called out from the garden “honey can you pass me that scissors? I want to cut one of the capsicums”

“What? you are going to cut my babies today?”

 “Yes I want only one”

“Wait a minute, I did not click it today. Hold on, let me get my camera. . . .  .”  and  I dashed off to the bed room to get my camera.

While I was fiddling with my camera I realised that my chai was undergoing that extra boiling effect. Now it was not my cup of tea.

So I took the pan off the fire and went to the garden with the camera and the scissors.   

In case you are wondering about those green leaves in the chai, those are Tulsi (Basil) leaves. I always put in one or two Tulsi leaves .. . . .  . . good for health they say.

Coming back to the Capsicum, from the time we planted them I have been recording the weekly progress of its growth and yesterday was the third Sunday.

This was how it looked on the first Sunday

It may be surprising for many to note that the capsicum grows upright and does not droop down like most of the vegetables.

This was how it looked on the second Sunday.

In case you are wondering why I click only on Sundays, it has got nothing to do with the Sabbath day. It’s just that my weekly off falls on a Sunday and on the other days I am not around when there is enough light to click.

And this is how it looked on the third week before the axe. . , I mean the scissors snipped off one of them.

I realised that wifey needed only half of the capsicum.  So why not photograph the other half to know the inside story.

And the first half went in here. . . .  . . .  in the Shakshouka    

Wifey kept the Shakshouka in front of me and said “do you like what you see? ”