Sunday, May 27, 2012

Vada-Pav: The Poor Man's Burger

Mumbai is synonymous with Vada Pav. Its importance here is less as a snack and more like a delicacy. People here swear by the Vada Pav. It is easily available in every nook and corner of the city. It is not an unusual site to spot people parking their Mercedes and BMWs to enjoy Vada Pav's and chai on the roadside stall. It is poor man’s paradise as well. Priced at a meagre 6 rupees, it is an easily affordable meal for the hand to mouth people.


 I had heard a lot about Vada Pav via TV, friends, movies etc before coming to Mumbai. So I was really excited about trying Vada Pav when I first came to Mumbai. And then one fine day I tasted it. I know a lot of people will hate me for this but I did not find anything special about the Vada Pav. I mean I am definitely not saying it was bad but yea I have had better things. So this whole hullabaloo about the Vada Pav seems a tad bit overrated to me.



I have seen people crave and die for Vada Pav and the whole madness just escapes me. I mean isn’t it just potato in the bread? Maybe this is something I will never manage to understand. Meanwhile day by day I cross paths with at least one person who is mad over Vada Pav’s. Someone who can eat one Vada Pav for breakfast and two each for lunch and dinner. Continuously day by day! Sheer madness I tell you...!
I dedicate this post to all the Vada Pav fans out there!


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Cooking Escapades - Part 2

Well, contrary to what you think, I do not only write movie reviews! My last two posts have been of movie reviews and I was desperately trying and thinking hard of blogging about something totally different and distinct. So here I am with a post about something that is the third best thing I love doing ~ Cooking!

If you have been following my blog for long you will be aware that my food related posts are not-so-visually-appealing, because of the not-so-good camera and not-so-good utensils and not-so-pretty backgrounds. Well, in a PG with 7 different types of girls, what else would you expect? Anyhow moving on...


Those are mixed veges, please don't miss the endearing and alike shapes of the potatoes and beans :)

This is my favorite egg curry, boiling away to glory (in my tummy)!

A close-up of the mouth watering egg curry!

That would be masala aaloo baingan ( Spicy Potatoes and Brinjal)

Yep, thats Chicken! Very very yummy it was...

My mouth just filled up with a lot of saliva after looking at this pic!


That was an experiment which was very successful! Presenting  Spinach  Corn  Potato salad!

Kashmiri Spinach with dried red chillies

Thats aaloo baingan chowka, I learned to make from my Orissi Roomie

Sweet Corn :)

Vegetable Pulav ~ The rice is hidden behind all the vegetables !

Good old vegetable maggie with my Mom's homemade carrot pickle!

Mixed Vegetables cooked today , I mean like just now!

The close of the just now cooked vegetables :)



I know the post sounded a bit too narcissistic but I feel really happy when I cook. And I feel all the more happy and excited when I see pics of my cooking results. So please don't mind the over-enthusiasm reflected in each caption!


Lots of Love:
SEPO



Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Movie Review : Ishaqzade



First things first, watch this movie strictly for the awesome performance by the lead actors (Parineeti especially gets a few extra points). The chemistry between the actors is fire crackling, their energies and passion is highly infectious and will definitely keep the adrenaline pumping throughout the movie. Arjun Kapoor makes an impressive debut with this movie.


The story of the movie holds nothing new and nothing special. It’s a same old same old sort of a movie involving family rivalry and hate. The kids of the families fall in love and how it turns against them and how they choose to protect it is basically what the movie is all about.


The music of the movie is highly refreshing. Main pareshaan is already topping the charts and on repeat mode in my cell! The title track is kinda groovy too. However the items songs picturised on Gauhar Khan are a huge disappointment. But Gauhar’s sexy moves and patli kamaar more than makes up for it. The girl should be cast in more movies.


So winding up, the movie deserves to be watched at least once. My rating 3.5/5

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Movie Review – Jannat 2



I was definitely not looking forward for this movie. In fact I was not even aware that it is going to release this weekend.  So in short Jannat 2 just happened and it was not that bad an experience. The movie is nowhere in continuation with its Part first but yes the story in somewhat similar. Small town guy with an uncanny talent, a love story, his contact with influential people which ultimately leads to his downfall.

The movie starts on a very good note with SD KKC (Sonu Delhi Kutti Kamini Cheez aka Emraan Hashmi) giving intro to the nature of his job. Emraan’s character is affable and endearing. Randeep Hooda plays a cop who wants to eradicate the supply of illegal arms. He is back after Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster with a superb piece of role and acting. His brooding past makes him protective of his informer/friend Emraan and his girlfriend Jhanvi (Eesha). Eesha ups the glamour quotient of the movie but she needs many classes in acting. The love story between the lead pair is extremely boring and predictable. There is no spark and no chemistry whatsoever.

The villain of the movie is menacing and good for his part. The guy who plays Emraan’s childhood friend is good too. The best of the movie according to me was Randeep Hooda. He is awesome throughout the movie. The movie captures the essence of Delhi to the fullest. The men in the movie have more expletives to utter than the dialogues! So be really for a lot of gallis throughout the movie. Some dialogues (especially Emraan’s and Randeep’s) are whistle-worthy. Music of the movie is hummable and decent. The movie overall is good and definitely worth a watch.
My rating – 3/5

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Prescription Phobia


A Doctor is supposed to be a person you can trust your life on. The confidence and faith on a doctor is tremendous and extreme. It is one of the most unusual and pure relations in the world. One will blindly try and follow whatever the doctor will ask them to do.

But how correct or righteous is it? Is the blind faith we keep on our doctors a tad bit overrated? If you ask me I will definitely say YES!

There was a time when the means of communication and knowledge were limited. People did not have an easy access to good books, journals etc and hence the information horizon was extremely limited. In this scenario Doctor was considered to be someone equivalent to God. His word was power and his touch was magic. I have heard my parents’ recite the stories of Doctors, who with just a look at you would tell the symptoms as well as the details of the disease being faced by you. The medicine they gave would cure you in no time at all.


After the huge globalization, the Internet and Google the scenario has changed a lot.Today everyone considers themselves to be doctors by merely putting  symptoms on net and checking the solution.One good thing about this is that people are highly aware of their conditions and the fact that what exactly needs to be told to the doctor. In addition to this people also have an easy access to check the medications provided to them, their usage and side-effects; all can be known with just a click of few buttons.I am not saying that doctors have lost their worth and don't mean anything. I am totally aware of all those magical surgeries that happen all over the world. The hard work, that extra intelligence and that power is really commendable. I also understand that to the families of such people doctors are just like God or should I say angels in disguise.


But the bone I have to pick with doctors is strictly based on my personal experience. After I shifted to Mumbai (I write this line in every other post of mine now-a-days) I frequently started getting ill. Not that I did not fall ill before but yea before these troubles were taken care by my parents and not me. However here as I am responsible for every action of mine and falling sick is not as easy as it had been before.

So my visits to the doctors here have been nothing short of a trauma and tension. The general tendency of any doctor now-a-days is to hear the symptoms, jot down a long list of tests relevant (or irrelevant) and that is all. Rest of the information will be given after the reports are obtained. I mean “hello, did I just pay Rs 500 to get all these tests done”? “Couldn’t I just do it myself and know what I am suffering from?” Not to mention the extra cost to be incurred for all these tests.



I have not been able to build any sort of a relationship with any of the numerous doctors I have visited here. I have to trust the doctor in order to respond to his medications (yes I am that weird). I strongly feel that the amount of trust I have on a doctor is directly proportional to the speed with which I recover. Also I have a habit of giving a detailed description of the symptoms and the problems that I face and I hate it when the doctors nod their head impatiently over the vivid and clear picture that I present. Now I will present1` before you a list of varied and different types of doctors that I have met in the past 1 year:



1. The Impatient one - This one lady doctor that I have visited more than twice. She has already written the prescription while I am still narrating my symptoms. In-between she will interrupt me to ask my name and age to fill in the prescription. I end up feel so incomplete and hurt. I mean isn't it really bad to interrupt someone while they are talking? And not just some random talking but conveying important information to you! So this is like something I really don't approve off and that one quality that I never expect to be in my Doctor.

2. The Come-Hither one - This is the one Doctor that I visited only once (for which I curse myself everyday). Now he had some serious doubts about this profession. I strongly feel that the animal inside him thought that he can pretend to be a doctor and take advantage of the situation which presents him to be alone with a only-lonely girl visiting him. So to check my breathing he took his own sweet time. And his hands refused to be removed from my stomach where he was apparently checking my digestion! This was one of the ugliest moments of my life and I am dead sure that this has happened with at least 90 % of the girls out there.

Girls, next time whenever a doctor tried checking your breathing by putting his stethoscope on your chest, just interrupt him and tell him to check your breathing from your back. As per the information that I have received Doctors can check our breathing perfectly from the back and are even encouraged to practice this for Girl patients.

3. The One-Medicine one - This was one strange doctor who insisted on giving his own medicines. Ok! So far so good. But then I noticed that a woman in my PG suffering from Epilepsy popping the same Green Pills he had given to be for headache and nausea. Now I know that Homeopathy medicines are the same for all but he was not a Homeopathic Doctor. He was a Physician (or so the board on his clinic said). Needless to say, his green pills freaked the hell out of me and that was the last I saw of him.

4. The Over-Smart one - This one doctor I visited for severe shoulder pain. So the prescription consisted of all the tests I had ever heard (and unheard) off. Ultrasound, ESR, X-Rays, Blood Test, Urine Test and what not! Apart from that a few medicines. When I tried to probe him with some information about the medicines all I got in reply was "Painkillers". Okay, painkillers, fine. After going home I randomly checked the medicines on Google and my-oh-my! Mr Smarty Pants together with painkillers was feeding me Anti Depressants and Tranquiller. I mean hello? Not where did that come from? Still I did not lose faith in him, I immediately consulted my family doctor, who by the way freaked out the moment I mentioned the names of the medicine. That was the last time I saw Mr Smarty Pants and his anti depressants.

These different varieties of doctors have shaken by belief so hard that it is really hard to fall sick now. What I have decided to do is, accumulate my diseases, go home to Jammu and consult my family doctor and be relieved of this tension and trauma.