Whazzup Delhi!!!

Yamato-Ya for Japanese ingredients in Delhi & Gurgaon

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Found a lovely store for Japanese ingredients (mirin, sushi rice, sushi and sashimi grade fish etc) in Delhi. Yamato-ya are at least 20% cheaper than Nature's Basket and INA market.

Their branch in Delhi is at
B-6/9 Local Commercial Complex
Safdarjung Enclave
New Delhi 110029
Tel: 41650164 / 65

They have a branch in Gurgaon too. Here's the address:
Yamato-ya
SCO 19, HUDA Market
Sector 56
Gurgaon 122 011
Tel 0124- 4238377

I have only been to the Delhi branch and its pretty easy to navigate if you have the time and patience. Items are labelled in English on the shelves on which they are placed. The staff is also very helpful and there is someone who can speak English, Hindi and Japanese around at all times.

If you can't read Japanese, make sure the jar/bottle you buy, has a note on it in English as to what it is. Else you may reach home to find them unlabelled and wondering between the mirin and sake

Visiting the Akshardham Temple, Delhi

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:32:00 +0000

The Akshardham Temple in Delhi is fast becoming a must-do on the itinerary of tourists to Delhi. While the spiritually inclined, visit for obvious reasons, the complex is well organised enough to make it a must visit for the foreign tourist or even someone unfamiliar with Hinduism and its traditions.

The Akshardham Temple has been designed to epitomise 10,000years of Indian Culture. This 100 acre sprawling facility was constucted in 5 years with 11,000 artisans and volunteers.

The Akshardham temple is quite serious about security, so if you plan to visit, do note that the only things you are allowed to carry inside other than the clothes you are wearing (cap/shawl/sweater, reading glasses, cooling glasses/shoes are all ok - knees need to be covered) the only things you CAN carry with you are your wallet (not purse) and house/vehicle keys. No food items, no mobile phones, no flowers, pen, paper etc. Leave all these behind in your vehicle and you will be able to avoid the queue to deposit and retrieve these "non-permitted items" at the cloakroom.

The temple sees 1000's of visitors daily, so the more queues you can avoid, the smoother your experience will be. Especially given how a majority of my country men and women seem incapable of understanding the concept of a queue.

When I visited the temple in Summer the visitors were minimal. In the peak of winter, we returned from the gate twice, just because the crowds assembled outside did not seem like the effort was worth it. This Tuesday, we shared the entry queue with at least 6000 school children who were visiting on school tours. The trust does its best to make queues move smoothly, but the sheer numbers involved can make entry very frustrating.We witnessed at least 2 people having long drawn out arguments with the body pat-down checkers "Why can't I take my phone with me? It will take too long for me to go back and deposit it at the cloak room or the vehicle"

There is a queue to enter the security queue. This first queue is to manage the crowd before they reach the security queuing area. If you have something to leave behind in the cloak room, then get into that queue before you come to this.

There are 2 physical pat downs following the security queue which are very thorough. But once you get past this, then things get much better.

Someone mentioned that you can bring in one transparent clear bottle of water. But there are enough free taps and Coke's Bon Aqua (15Rs for a liter) on sale to just ignore the hassle of carrying a bottle through security.

You enter past the 10 Gates and the Bhakti Dwar- decorated with 208 sculpted forms of God and his devotee - into a large and comfortable room. If you would like to pick up a basic guide to what you are going to see - brochures are available in multiple Indian and foreign languages for 5Rs.

On the other side of this building are 2 beautiful Mayur(peacock)Dwars with 869 scultped peacocks each. Between these 2 dwars is a little pond which bear the resemblance of the Holy footprints of Bhagwan Swaminarayan with its 16 chinh (sacred signs of God).

Turn left towards the Bharat Upvan - 22 acres of sculpted gardens with bronze statues of Child heroes of India, Patriots of India and Great Men & Women of India. The Sun Chariot and moon chariot are supposed to be the most beautiful, but seem to be missing for the last few months.The garden itself is very tranquil and a wonderful place for quiet contemplation.

Walk back towards the Mayur Dwar and on the left you will see a ticket counter for the 3 shows in the complex. If you want to see any of them, you need to buy the combined ticket which is 170 for adults, 125 for senior citizens and 100 for children.

As you start to walk towards the 3 exhibitions, you will come across a photographer who will take a picture for you with the temple in the background and provide you with an 8*12 print after half an hour for 130Rs (upto 6 people in a photogrpah). There is another photographer at the diagonal opposite behind the mandir, but I prefer this front view of the mandir.

Then proceed to view the shows. You will have to queue up outside each venue in turn.There are refreshment stands and washrooms at entry and exit of each of these exhibitions

I would personally recommend skipping the first show - the Sahajanand Darshan/ Hall of Values - the Animatronic show. The story is covered better in the film show. My experience of the ANimatornic show in the middle of Summer with minimal crowds was bad enough, that I wouldn't even suggest it during peak times. The problem is that the 50 minute show is spread across at least 20 different rooms with an entry and exit. And the majority of the people in the group will be pushing, prodding and pulling to be the first to leave, get the BEST seats etc etc. Its not worth the hassle, ensuing irritation and physical pain of being trod on by clods.

The Neelkanth Darshan is a 40 minute film on an IMAX screen. This is a beautiful, well shot film on the life and travels (12,000km in 7 years on foot) of 11 year old child yogi Neelkanth Varni who later came to be known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan. If you have no idea about the person to whom this complex is dedicated - the movie is a must watch. It also has some stunnign cinematography.

Sanskruthi Vihar is a 15 minute boat ride through 10,000 years of Indian culture and 800 lifelike statues on the banks of the Saraswati.

As you walk out from here, you will cross the Yagnapurush Kund. In the evening (post sunset) there is a 15 minute Musical Fountain show here, based on the Holy Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahadev (Shiv), their roles and respective musical isntruments. The show costs 30Rs and tickets can be bought at the counter bordering the shoe deposit counter.

The Mandir itself is surrounded by the Narayan Sarovar on 3 sides. The Holy waters of 151 rivers, lakes and baolis (stepwells) visited by Neelkanth Varni have been ritually added to this Narayan Sarovar fringed by 108 gaumukhs. As you walk along the 2 storeyed Parikrama - colonnade bordering the Sarovar, you will come across the Abhishek Mandapam where you can ritually pour a water offerring on the murti of Neelkanth Varni.

After the Parikrama, Narayan Sarovar and Gaumukhs, you can then come inside to the next concentric walkway which is the exterior of the temple. The Gajendra Peeth is 1070 feet long along the exterior of the Mandir. It features 148 sculpted elephants in the themes of Elephants and Nature, Elephants and Man and Elephants and the Divine.

Before entering inside the main Mandir, you will have to leave your shoes outside at one of the 2 large counters designated for this purpose.The Mandir is stunningly beautiful and as well carved and intricate as the rest of this building complex. It is so beautiful and has so much detail that one can spend hours just lost in the intricacies of each element. Look up at the beautiful domes and samvarans (quadrangle pinnacles) In the centre of this mandir is the 11foot gold plated murti of Bhagwan Swaminrayan. The consecrated Gods inside this mandir are Shri Radha-Krishna, Shri Sita-Ram, Shri Lakshmi-Narayan and Shri Parvati-Shiv.

When you have absorbed as much as is humanly possible, step out and take a seat and let it all sink in. Once you collect your shoes, do remember to collect your photograph if you have got one clicked.

Head left outside the mandir and cross the Yogihriday Kamal - 8 petal lotus shaped garden and you will arrive at the Premvati Food Court (detailed review on my restaurant review blog). The food is definitely worth trying.

Since you can't take any pictures you may want to consider buying the 50Rs photographic souvenir of Akshardham at the Souvenir Shop. There are also pooja sets, agarbattis, religious books, ayurvedic medicines and other such items on sale at very reasonable prices.

Once you have picked up your souvenirs, you are done, but you may not be ready to leave the tranquility of Akshardham and re-enter the real world traffic of the Delhi-Noida crossing.

Timings:
April to September 10am - 7pm
October to March 9am-6pm
Monday Holiday

There is ample Parking Space. Parking fee is about 20Rs for a car.

Please Note: Photogrpahy is not permitted inside Akshardham - the picture used here is from http://www.akshardham.com Please click on the links above for more pictures.

Sultana Daku - Gulab Nautanki Company, Kanpur

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:29:00 +0000

IHC's Bards and Minstrels Of India Series presented - Sultana Daku, a comic account of a dacoit on a mission by the Gulab Nautanki Company from Kanpur

The Gulab Nautanki Company was founded by Gulab Bai: The Queen of Nautanki Theatre. Nautanki is a folk theatre tradition peculiar to the North India region. Nautanki can be considered a precursor to Bollywood as entertainment for the masses. This particular production of Sultana Daku was directed by Madhu Agrawal, daughter of the legendary Gulab Bai.

The tale itself is quite straightforward - Sultana Daku is a desi Robin Hood who shares the wealth he steals from Zamindars with the poor. This also buys him their loyalty and makes it impossible for the Indian police to catch him. Mr Young a British detective/inspector visits the area charged with capturing Sultana Daku which leads to a cops & robber (chor police) chase.

For me this was my first experience watching Nautanki and I was quite fascinated for the most part. My inlaws who were with us have watched more performances and my Father-in-law had the privilege of watching Gulab Bai herself. According to him, in Nautanki the whole performance is sung and there is very little dialogue. This particular performance was split 50-50 across songs and dialogues.

When it started off, there was high energy, but this began to flag half way through. With hardly 45 people in the audience (unexpected rains and not enough promotion) it must have been a dampener for a cast used to larger audiences and continuous audience response.

The scene where one of the dakus on guard relays messages between a mysterious woman and Sultana Daku could have flowed better with a split stage rather than entire sets of characters walking on and off to change the scene setting every 3 minutes.

The script could have done with a little tighter editing and the episode with the zamindar and his daughter could have been avoided completely without losing track of the story.

Some performances were brilliant - The actor who played Sultana Daku for one and the person who played the bumbling policeman - was an absolute stand out.

There were some really funny dialogues and the script itself was quite amusing and entertaining. Just a little tighter editing would make this play completely outstanding.

The accompanying orchestra

The daku hideaway

Sultana Daku and his girlfriend - played by Madhu Agrawal

The guy who played the chaddi clad policeman was excellent!

Mr Young appears on the scene to begin his machinations against Sultana Daku

Sultana Daku and the Zamindars daughter

It would be great if IHC could give more coverage to these events before they happen, (poster on the notice board etc) so mpre people can attend and encourage our fast dying folk forms.

CEO Chefs Share-a-Smile Lunch - Genesis Foundation - Photo Essay

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 23:36:00 +0000

Genesis Foundation conducted its 7th CEO Chefs Share-a-Smile Lunch at Petal Garden, The Crowne Plaza Today, Gurgaon on the 29th of January.

Genesis Foundation is an NGO in India that raises funds for medical care of under privileged children who are critically ill.

There were 10 CEO chefs in attendance cooking a variety of cuisines ranging from Japanese and Malay to Indian chaat and flambeed crepes. While the CEO chefs were in charge of cooking one dish each, served up hot on the spot, the Crowne Plaza kitchen staff had put together a wonderful mini-buffet associated with each cuisine.

The food was excellent and our contributions were for a good cause, so it was a win-win situation all round. 7 children are hopefully ging to be treated with the 15lakhs collected at this event.

The pictures are way more evocative than any words that I could write so here they are:

The Grey Goose Bar

One of the cocktails specially created for the occasion.

Fresh Oyster in Bloody Mary shots

The Sushi Spread

Martin Jones, CEO, Marks & Spencer rustles up some salads.

Manu Anand, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India. mixed up some Laksa

Siraj Chaudhry, Chairman, Cargill India (P) Ltd and Antti Öhrling, Co-founder, BLYK Media India (P) Ltd were at the Chinese counter making spicy spinach and nut wonton stir fry and ginger fish

Sanjay Coutinho, CEO, Barista Coffee Company Ltd stuffed up some shawrmas with an array of Lebanese dips on the side.

Sashi Mukandan, CEO - BP Group Companies was in charge of the vegetarian kebabs and an interesting Benarasi chaat served in hollowed out tomatoes.

While, Vineesh Kochhar, CFO, DuPont India (P) Ltd took on the non-vegetarian kebabs

The Indian Buffet

The Dessert Station

An extremely apt spelling error :)

Aditya Ghosh, President of Indigo Airlines flambeeing Crepe Suzette with Grey Goose.

The Flambeed crepe suzette with chocolate

Little Big Tragedies - NSD Repertory - Ovlyakuli Khodjakuli

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:39:00 +0000

Aleksandr Pushkin - the 19th century author considered by many as Russia's greatest poet and the founder of modern Russian lierature. In the fall of 1830, he stayed on his farm in Boldino while recivering from Cholera. However, he was extremely prolific during this period and it is considered his most creative period.

The "Little Tragedies" were written in 2 weeks during this period. 4 thematically related one-act plays aimed at creating tragedy within the framework of an ideological artistic unity. Each of the main characters faces intense Inner conflict which then determines the plot and structure of the play. All four dramatic scenes are written in verse and can be considered compressed Chamber Dramas.

In Mozart and Salieri, Salieri is a hardworking, but not very creative student whose jealousy of Mozart's genius, drives him to murder Mozart. Don Juan in The Stone Guest lusts for Dona Anna, so he kills her husband and then tries to woo her. In The Feast During the Plague, a plague survivor struggles with the conflict between the loss of lives (which include his wife and mother) and to live his own life to the fullest. The Miserly Knight is a tale of conflict between a knight and his son with different but equally misguided ideas of honor.

Pushkin focuses on human passions and the interplay between free will and fate: though each protagonist could avoid self-ruin, he freely chooses it.

Ovlyakuli Khodjakuli, chose to dramatise the first 3 stories in his production of Little Big Tragedies with his cast of 10, chosen from NSD Repertory.

The set was extremely simple and was just a background, except in The Stone Guest, where it forms an intrinsic part of the story line and is almost a character itself.

Flowing robes in yellow, red and blue for costumes served as a visual cue to mark the change in stories.

The dialogues were very difficult for me to follow with my colloquial knowledge of Hindi. BB who understands Sanskrit and Urdu could follow about 60% of the dialogues. But the beauty of the play is that it did not require an understanding of the dialogue to be engrossed and moved by the performances.

Beautiful movement, wonderful acting and expressions, use of fabric, the music, the sound effects with simple implements on stage, all combined beautifully together. The script is long and can get heavy because of the poetry and subject. But This was a PERFORMANCE! Brilliant!

More Pictures and details on http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/tragedy.php

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The Butcher of Quietly - Actor Factor - Sunit Sinha

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:25:00 +0000

The invitation for the Butcher of Quietly introduced the play as A woman’s skull buried deep down in the dark pages of history. A secret investigation leads us to the first ever murder committed in cold blood in a jungle kingdom called Quietly. The play reflects on our current politics of indifference and power based on total ignorance of the social good. The Butcher of Quietly is at times poetic, at times rip-roaring funny, mostly theatrical, and quietly dark.

Sounded promising and since this was at 7pm at IHC and promised to be 75 mins long, I bought the tickets as I felt we had enough time to reach NSD to catch the 9:30pm show of Little Big Tragedies.

Most theater plays start on time or a maximum of a 5-10 minute delay in extenuating circumstances. We reached the Stein auditorium by 6:45pm. But we were all requested to continue to stand outside (guard politely declined permission for anyone to enter the auditorium premises) until "The Womb Ensemble" finished playing.

"The Womb Ensemble" is a noble initiative to bring pure sounds from around the planet on one stage and the musicians Shashwat Srivastava, Arnab Das and Vaishali Chakravarthy were good. But they kept playing until 7:10pm and the audience was forced to stand outside and shiver in the cold waiting for them to finish, so we could finally enter the Stein auditorium.

The play finally started at 7:25pm and by 7:35pm sections of the audience had already started walking out.

We stayed on hoping things would improve, but the script was weak, what were intended as jokes (urine and crap related with the jester sniffing butts and crotches) were crass and fell absolutely flat, the music was piercing and painful during what were supposed to be crescendos. Varoon Anand as Soola was the only decent performer, but even he couldn't do much with the dialogue that he was given.

Each dimming of lights, saw more people rushing to the exits and by the time 30 minutes had passed, half the audience had walked out and unfortunately we felt compelled to do the same. This is the first time, we have ever walked out halfway through a theater production.

This is a play that should never have been made.

First The Leela Tapes which was average and now this. I don't think we will be watching their productions anymore.

What Hapenned? The 80*81 Findings - Project by George Diez & Christopher Roth

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:13:00 +0000

George Diez & Christopher Roth called their production a "project" in the promos. This should have been an indication to the audience that this wasn't going to be a "regular" theatre production. But then audiences don't read the fine print very well, do they?

It was in the year 2010 that two researchers came up with the idea that the years 1980 and 1981 represented a major shift in world history, the Great Transition. The play is the representation of the findings of this research that Diez and Roth called 80*81.

This was the premise of what was presented on stage and what was presented on stage was a mind trip. A lot of the audience who couldn't figure out what was going on started walking out. There was one man in the audience who had a loud argument (louder than the performers voices) with an usher saying "Yeh kya bakwaas chal raha hain?"

The project used a variety of methods to present itself - documentary style footage from Paris, North Dakota, Johannesburg and Rishikesh, some acting on stage, Roth & Diez reading out conference style papers, a live crooner, the action on stage being recorded live and projected onto a screen behind. It was an assualt on all ones senses and on ones intelligence and beliefs (what we currently believe are true facts).

The researchers based on some sources that had survived since 80*81, seemed to have got a lot of their facts and data mixed up and reached the "wrong?" conclusions

The directors say that: This unlikely time travel (2081 to 1980*81) is in part about post-modernism and the history of post-modernism in reverse, to get a retro-futuristic narrative out of the plethora and confusion of histories.

Chritopher Roth is no stranger to controvery. His film Baaderwas first trashed when presented at the Berlinale Film Festival, but later highly appreciated even winning the Alfred-Bauer-Preis

It seems that the directors were aiming for something similar with 80*81. Present something so confusing, confounding and gob smacking that after several viewings might showcase itself as postmodern theatre. I hope they manage to achieve this objective, so that they can then publish the answers that the audience still seated until the end was left with - "What the hell, were they trying to convey?"

While everyone drew their own conclusions, nobody seemed convinced that they had reached the right conclusions and we would love for the directors to tell us simpler minds what they hoped to convey and portray.

More Pictures and details on http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/8081.php

The Barber of Seville - Eric Vigner (Albanian)

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:30:00 +0000

Even in an opera as well known as The Barber of Seville, it is great to have subtitles flashing across the top of the stage when the production is in Albanian.

While Eric Vigner and his CDDB - Theatre of Lorient, National Drama Centre, France and National Theater of Tirana, Albania did a good job, I was expecting an opera performance, so this was a bit of a let down. This perofrmance was more of a play with a few odd couplets being sung.here and there.

The sets were beautiful and I loved the multi functionality of what seemed like a simple white wall. The performers were also good, but I was expecting more.

The story of The Barber of Seville revolves around Count Almaviva in love with Rosine who is being hid away in a tower by her avaricious guardian Doctor Bartholo. The Count enlists the help of an acquaintance of his Figaro - who has access to the house by virtue of being a barber.

More Pictures and details on http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/lebarbier.php

Charandas Chor - Anup Hazarika (Assamese)

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:03:00 +0000

The Inaugural Performace at the 13th Theatre Bharat Rang Mahotsav festival of NSD was Anup Hazarika's (himself an NSD alumnus) Assamese version of Habib Tanvir's Charandas Chor.

While Habib Tanvir used local Chattisgarhi actors in his play, Anup Hazarika brought a new perspective infused with Assamese music and dance.

Watching the performance was like being invited to sit around a warm fire in the village common grounds to watch a local theater troupe perform a play with music, dance, slapstick comic relief and a moral to the story.

Charandas Chor is originally a Rajasthani folktale about a thief who promises his guru 4 things - never to eat off golden plates, never to ride at the head of a procession on an elephant, never to marry a queen and never to accept kingship. Amused by his self declared promises, his guru asks him to make one more promise - never to lie (since he refuses to give up stealing which he says is his vocation) and the story goes on from here.

The original script does not include the songs, so Director Hazarika uses nagara naam, naokhelor geet - boat racing songs, biya naam - marriage songs and other Assamese folk forms.

Jitumoi Gohain as Charandas and Chandan Boruah as the Hawaldar were excellent performers. The live music performances on stage kept the beat throughout and set the scenes.

Do catch this play if you get the chance.

Visit http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/charandas.php for more pictures.

13th Theatre Bharat Rang Mahotsav - NSD - Inaugural

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:46:00 +0000

The 13th Theatre Bharat Rang Mahotsav festival of NSD opened on the 8th of January and will continue until the 22nd of this month.

Around 6 plays will be held daily in the evenings across Kamani, LTG, SRC and 5 spaces within the NSD campus.

Tickets are selling out really fast. They are being opened in 3 phases. By the time I reached on the 2nd day of the first slot, most of the plays were already ":house full"

There are plenty of international performers this year and I'm looking forward to catch some of them.

The inaugural ceremony heard the principal Dr. Anuradha Kapur, Chairperson Mrs. Amal Allana, Chief Guest Dr Leela Samson and Jawahar Sircar - Secretary - Ministry of Culture speak a few words.

Mr Sircar was entertaining and I wish we could have heard more of his original ideas rather than the address written by Mr Manmohan Singh (PM and Minister for Culture) for the occassion.

He did announce a grant for theatre groups to create their own spaces to put up performances. The government will give them 50 lakhs as assistance for construction, but management would rest with the theatre groups themselves. A noble idea if it can be put into practice.

Shopping at South Ex 1

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:49:00 +0000

Shopping at South Ex was extremely fashionable before the big malls came to Delhi. All the big brands available in India were retailed here.

With the opening of the malls in Gurgaon and now all over Delhi, the glamour of this market faded a little, but it still is home to big brands.

BG's is a big draw for their clothes and fashion jewelry.

If you are looking for real gold and precious stones, you can choose from Tanishq, Mehrasons and others. The window displays are so beautiful that any woman would be tempted to slow down even if its just to appreciate the designs before passing by.

Among the international chains, you will find Nike, Benetton, Reebok, Levis and Tommy Hilfiger Kids. The Tommy Hilfiger store has some really cute options for kids from 2-16 years old. There were a couple of sleeveless sweaters for little boys that were quite adorable. They have a few more colours in store other than the standard blue, white and red.

For silk saris, there is no better option in Delhi than Nalli Silks a brand that most South Indian women will swear by. I personally love Nallis, but I've found that I have good days and bad days here. Sometimes I find it difficult to choose just 1 or 2 saris and sometimes I don't find anything at all no matter how hard I search.

All the major bookshops including Om Books and Teksons have a presence here.

Eating options include Bengali Sweet House (Vegetarian), McDonalds, acouple of coffee shops and a rather large bhelpuri and juicewallah stand. For more substantial meals you may want to move further down to the Haldirams and Pind Balluchi or cross over to South Ex2 which has more choice in eateries.

The market is closed on Mondays.

Parking in this market is quite problematic, especially noon onwards. The parking attendants do their best to help, but the volume of traffic is too high for it to be smooth sailing.

The prices (of non branded items) may seem higher than other markets in Delhi, but the products are of high quality. If you want to enjoy the open air while shopping, it is a good idea to head here instead of a mall.

The Manganiyar Seduction at the Purana Quila

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:12:00 +0000

Last Sunday, Delhi was witness to an amazing event - The Manganiyar Seduction conceived and directed by Roysten Abel. First created for the Osians to open the film festival in Delhi 2006, the show has since travelled the world, performing at Festivals in Sydney, Singapore, Holland, Dublin, London, France and at the Lincoln Center in New York last week before returning to India

The set is a vertical construction of 4 rows of 9 cubicles each lit up by tiny lights and covered with curtains. The curtain opens just before a performer makes his appearance in the piece and the lights turn on each time he performs, creating a wonderful visual spectacle to go with the music. The set up is influenced by the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur and the Red Light Districts of Amsterdam.This awe inspiring set is 3500kgs of solid wood and metal that takes a crew of 8 around 6 hours to set up.

The Manganiyars are a community of Muslim court musicians who hail from villages around Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Barmer. Their repertoire ranges from ballads about the kings to Sufi songs written by various mystics. And their music is a synthesis of folk music, Sufi music and Indian classical music.

The instruments played in this performance include the sarangi (considered the most difficult Indian instrument), been, khartal, kamancha, algoza and morchang among others

The performance is absolutely mind blowing. The range of instruments, the symphony, the collaboration and not a sheet of music in sight. This is one of those experiences, that if ytou have the fortune of witnessing it live, it will remian embedded in your mind and heart forever. JT - a wise friend of mine, who was also here, said " performances like these, remind us that any display of devotion other than music, seems so shallow in comparison"

The performers are all grounded in reality and go back to till their lands between performances. Abel attributes this to their past when they performed for royalty and then went back to their own homes. The group faces its own sets of problems when travelling. In their last trip to the US, they were 42 Khans in the group and 6 got held back for "special" questioning, their performer visas not withstanding, when they were asked to spell their mothers names in English. A tough job for the performers who barely understand English. But they persevere just for their music. And people like me are blessed to witness a performance in our lifetime.

Take a sneak peek at the videos here:

If you are impressed with what you see, then do consider buying the CD or LP from Amarrass Records who has created a non profit initiative - the Amarrass Society to help provide such traditional musicians and musical instrument makers with a sustainable livelihood which will eliminate their need to head to city and give up their traditional crafts. The CD is 500Rs and half the profit goes back to benefit the musicians and the craftsmen who supply their instruments. The Amarrass Society plans to also sell some of the instruments online giving the craftsmen a wider market than possible in their villages (many such craftsmen have migrated to the city to make furniture, forgoing their skills with instruments)

IITF @ Pragati Maidan

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:41:00 +0000

This year is the 30th occurance of the IITF India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan. Hailed as the best fair held in Delhi, I decided to accompany my husband who had to go there on a market visit (his company was one of the sponsors of the fair).

Inspite of having sponsor and delegate passes, we had to get into the long queues outside the maidan. The police were reasonably efficient and it wasn't too much of an ordeal. Those who did not have bags went through after a personal check. Those with bags had to pass them through a scanner before gaining entry to the grounds.

The state pavillions all had displays related to their green endeavours. Except UP, this had more pictures of Mayawati, her elephants and the constructions she had carried out and named after her favourite men rather than anything concrete. It was also the most chaotic of all the pavillions we visited and the only place I felt threatened by the possibility of a stampede. Most other State pavillions had one floor dedicated to green endeavours and another to products crafted in their state.

The Maharashtra Pavillion had a beautiful Ganesh pandal just as one entered.

The Karnataka Pavillion was designed like an ancient temple and had some wonderful wood work on display.

The Rajasthani Pavillion had a beautiful and intricately worked ceiling covered with mirrors and miniature paintings.

We had heard a lot of favourable things about this fair and how it was a shoppers paradise. The International Stalls are a huge draw for shoppers who hope to acquire something that can be labelled "foreign" especially if they don't possess a passport.

There were stalls from Iran - foods, Pakistan - stone work, foods and fabrics, Turkey - lamps and ceramics, China - accessories. We only went into one of the foreign pavillions, but once I picked up the Pakistani masalas I was looking for, we were done.

The fair is so large that it is impossible to visit all the pavillions, so we had to skip a few. There were entire pavillions dedicated to cosmetics, household goods and the like which we just didn't have the time to see.

By the end of the day, we realised that we had only picked up edible products. Gajak from a small mithaiwala who had come from Eastern UP. Masala Powders from the Pakistani brangs Shaan and Laziza (brands I grew to appreciate when we lived in Dubai), especially the Memoni Mutton Biryani Masala. Bhoot Jholakia (spiciest chilli in the world) from the Assam pavillion. Assorted churans which were carefully selected by my husband after umpteen samplings. Some lovely ginger infused honey which is a wonderful antidote to the itchy throats this weather is causing. Amla laddus which are excellent digestives. Tri coloured Rajasthani papads. Berries and saffron from Iran.

I found quite a few products I had been searching for, for awhile and some new items that were begging to be tried out. The fabrics and handicrafts weren't at all enticing, except in the Khadi Pavillion. They were decent quality but none of the uniqueness of products I saw at the Dastkaar Nature Bazaar.

My favourite of all the pavillions was the Khadi pavillion with traditional hand spun cloth and traditionally prepared handicrafts.

With 150,000 visitors last Saturday and the 50,000 delegates, the area was quite crowded and it was an ordeal to push through which had us more exhausted than we should have been. Most families were in a holiday mood and had carried picnics along with them.

Other than the hard-to-find food items, the other highlight of my day was the 4pm show put up by the armymen with their extremely well trained dogs.

Not a bazaar I would return to, unless I visited during one of the business only days before it is thrown open to the public.

The Food had so many varieites, that it deserved a seperate Blog post of its own. View my Photo Essay on the Food on offer at IITF

Launch of "The F Word"

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 10:14:00 +0000

I'd been reading snippets of Mita Kapur's The F Word even before the book was launched. A few illustrations with short tantalising explanations were enough to excite the foodie on me to start desperately searching for her book as soon as she announced that it was out. But it wasn't to be found in a single Delhi book store. Not surprising considering that Harper Collins hadn't launched it yet in Delhi.

So when the invitation came for the book launch at Cafe Zaffiro in Zamrudpur on the 15th, I jumped at the opportunity and dragged my visiting Sister-in-law along.

Driving to Zamrudpur was an expedition in its own right. Fortunately Cafe Zaffiro had put up enough sign boards to assure us that we were headed in the right direction. And when we reached there I realised that the hardest-to-reach places in Delhi can throw up suprising little gems.

Cafe Zaffiro is attached to Zaza Home - a store that sells clothes and knick knacks for around the house and kitchen. There were plenty of little items catching my eye, but we didn't want to be late and so we rushed upstairs to the terrace where the launch was to be held. And a good thing that we did, because inspite of sufficient seating, the location soon became a standing room only affair.

Mita Kapur comes across as a demure soft spoken lady, but she quickly dispelled any fallacies about her being the Adarsh Bharatiya Nari. A woman of chutzpah and determination showed herself in the hour to follow.

She said her motivation to write the book, came from her husbands threat to write a sex story that would be sold at Railway stations across the country, if she didn't write something more substantial herself.

I must mention here that the book is not just a collection of recipes. It is part autobiography detailing the struggles of a working woman trying to feed a nutritious diet to her husband and children which is still exciting enough to eat and slowly trying to healthify traditional Indian recipes which are tasty but heavy and rich. Part memoir and partly a legacy that she wanted to leave to her children with a dose of advice and tips on how to cook healthy meals in a hurry.

The book can be enjoyed as a good read with enough recipes in it to excite the foodie reader yet not distract the casual reader from the humour in the stories behind the food.

Rocky and Mayur from Highway on My Plate were there to help launch the book and both confessed to not having read the book entirely. With Mayur confessing that his lack of reading skills made him depend on his wife to tell him what the book was about.

A triologue followed with Rocky & Mayur inviegling invites to be adopted by Mita and her Mother-in-law and be fed for perpetuity.

When asked if she had ever faced any disaster in the kitchen, she remembered the time, she and her sister-in-law had first made Gulab Jamuns from a pre-mix. The recipe called for making tiny balls. But her sister-in-law declared that they were too tiny and stingy and should be made much bigger. So what looked like regular size jamuns when rolling into balls, expanded to the size of cricket balls when being fried.

The Audience was then treated to some traditional Suryamukhi kebabs (with smoked meat) whose recipe is also in the book. The rest of the snacks served were also very tasty. But as we were in a hurry, I didin't find out if the preparations were from Mita's repertoire or the kitchens of Cafe Zaffiro.

I'm still reading the book and will review it on Jhovaan - My Food Blog once I have cooked a couple of dishes from the book.

The book is now available in Delhi bookstores. I saw it at Om Books the other day. The Jaipur launch is on the 30th.

And I will go back to Zamrudpur to investigate that market further.

"Rediscovery of Peru" - Travel, Food & Adventure Talk and Food Demonstration

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:46:00 +0000

The Attic in Delhi is a lovely space in the Regal Building in CP which plays host to some wonderful talks and demonstrations. I had been following their newsletters while I was in Egypt sorely missing attending their food talks, so this was one of the first places that I checked out when I arrived in Delhi. For the last few months, they had to hold their lectures at the IIC while CP was a mess of construction debris. But this months talks are now back to being held at The Attic.

While some of the talks are held by expert researchers in the field, some are conducted by people who are just passionate about the subject. Zorawar Shukla was recently back from a trekking trip in the Andes and promised to talk about travel, food and adventure on the Andean trail.

Zorawar's month long trek covered the Peruvian and the Bolivian sides of the Andes visiting Cuzco, Arequipa, Lake Titicaca and La Paz.

He observed a number of festivals while at Cuzco where he started his trip and was told that there was either a protest or a festival being celebrated every day of the year in this city.

While he did speak of the culture of South America, I focussed on the pictures and descriptions of the foods that were mostly new to me.

The food in the Andes region is an amalgamation of local native ingredients (chiefly maize, corn, potatoes and chillies) and ingredients that came in through the Spanish conquistadors, the African settlers and then the Japanese.

Potatoes and chillies were introduced to the rest of the world from South America and the varieties available in the region run in the thousands. Corn is used in everything from drinks to desserts. Quinoa is indigenous to this region.

Coca Leaves are abundantly available around the Andes and while illegal to transport, they are chewed regularly (like tobacco) in the region to supress appetite and increase energy levels. They are also brewed in tea and help in acclimatising to the high altitudes of the Andes.

Street stalls sell delicious treats around each corner. While knowing what the items are, may make them a little difficult to eat, they aren't as shocking as the oferrings at the street stalls in Thailand.

Saltenas are a popular snack that are munched on through the day.

Pisco is a grape liquor from this part of the world and The Pisco Sour is Peru's national coctail. Made with Pisco, lime juice, bitters, ice, sugar and egg white, Zorawar demonstrated and served us all a shot of the cocktail.

He also demonstrated Papa a la Huancaína substituting mozarella for queso freso and green chillies for ají amarillo.An interesting salad.

The fruits in Peru were absolutely fresh, larger than normal and bursting with flavour.

Peru has its own take on Chinese food, coming up with unique a Peruvian Chinese cusine on the lines of Indian Chinese cuisine.

Bembos is a popular local fast food chain in Peru and it actually has a branch in Bandra in Bombay.

The rest of the food he described and showed pictures of looked and sounded so delicious, that I'm sure that most of the people in the room, wanted to make a trip to Peru ASAP :).

Zorawar described a lot of other dishes, which I do not seem to have got the right transliteration in English.

Some of the terms may have different spellings, the errors are all mine

Annual Blind Relief Association Diwali Mela

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:33:00 +0000

The Annual Blind Relief Association Diwali Mela is the most talked about Diwali mela and once I reached there, I realised why. This year it is on from the 26th of October to the 31st of October. (2436 1376)

This mela is a blend of Dastkar Nature Bazaar and the Akshay Pratishtan Mela

Some stalls by charitable organisations, others purely commercial. Also a lot of stalls by people/companies that do not have shops and showrooms in this country, who mainly export their wares or sell to other companies who then sell these items with a markup for adding their own brandname.

The Blind School itself has a stall which sells candles, diyas and paper products made by their students. This stall has the largest throng of people around it. The second longest line was at the free foot massages being provided by the students (contributions voluntary).

The food available here is all vegetarian, a Rajasthani, South Indian, Dilli and chaat stall sums up most of whats on offer. There are a few kulfiwalas, sweet corn, cotton candy kind of stalls too.

Prices range from extremely reasonable to extremely expensive. But there is something for every kind of shopper. Overheard around the reasonably priced clothes area "Let's get out of this junta area, there are just too many people here and I'm not going to buy anything in this price range!"

My favorite stalls included Antarkranti - a collaboration of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan with the inmates of Tihar Jail with wonderful dhoop sticks (incense cones) and face packs. The Aarohi natural soaps with some unusual fragrances like Saffron, the wonderful diyas by the Blind School, a Rajasthani stall that was selling sari borders, Kumar Industries neem wood combs which they promise will stop dandruff and hari fall (an eternal quest) and Baby's Pride which had pre stitched saris for kids of all ages.

There are Gardening stores, Wonderful terracotta products to decorate your home and garden, some stalls selling unique kitchen gadgets among others.

Entry is free. There is also a free shuttle service from Aman hotel where you can park your car.

Annual Dastkar Nature Bazaar

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:02:00 +0000

The Dastkar Nature Bazaar is an annual bazaar held around diwali at the IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts) grounds. This year it is being held from the 26th of October to 1st November.
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Dastkar has over 28 years of experience in the crafts sector (they have their regular outlet at Shahpurjat) and that reflects in this bazaar. Almost 200 stalls selling traditional Indian arts and crafts. Handlooms, textiles, home made food products, organic cosmetics, furniture, bamboo work, terracotta cutlery and decorative pieces are all on offer.

This has been my favorite of all the diwali bazaars I attended this year. The range of food stalls, is also the best at this particular bazaar.

You can buy bead jewelry starting from 30Rs to Parsi Ghara hand embroidered saris for 50,000/-Rs at this bazaar. A lot of the stalls sell products by NGO's that work with the underprivileged in society. There are plenty of good causes with excellent quality products.

The best part of this bazaar is that you don't need to worry about carrying cash. If you want to make a big ticket purchase. Get a bill at the stall of your choice and visit the central located counter operated by Dastkaar and pay by credit card. Go back with your proof of payment and collect your purchases from the stall. As simple as that.

This year, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a special guest and is operating a few stalls.

Entry to the bazaar is free.

There are a few folk art performances that happen sporadically at the venue. There are some live demos by craftsmen of their particular brand of workmanship.

If you visit the IGNCA, also step in and check out the Wild Tigers Photography Exhibition (on till 3rd November) and the Exhibition of masks and puppets (on till 20th November)

Here's a glimpse at some of the stalls:

Shopping at the Meharchand Market

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:03:00 +0000

I had recently read 2 articles, I think it was in the Hindustan Times and Time Out, Delhi extolling the virtues of Meharchand market. I was all prepared for something like Khan Market or GK1 N Block market especially given the big names of some of the shops here and its location on Lodhi Road, behind IHC.

However, once I reached, the market itself did not inspire a lot of confidence. Its difficult to find a "clean" market in Delhi, but this was worse than most. A lot of run down shops scattered in between a few new ones. This was less Hauz Khas Village and more Hauz Khas Market.

There are a few gems in this street though, if you can be patient or know exactly where to head. The big shops are to the left of the Cafe Coffee Day. If you head to the right, you will land up in the MCD Market which doesn't have much on offer at all.

CMYK is my favourite of the shops here. A bookshop started by Roli Books, it stocks all their inhouse publications - an excellent selection of Photobooks and Coffee Table books - and a few other books that aren't very easy to find in other bookshops in Delhi, that mostly cater to bestsellers. They supposedly have a terrace upstairs which I did not know when I visited, I will definitely check it out the next time I am there. The store itself is starkly furnished in black, with chairs from Pantone that are on display, lending some bright colors to the decor.

Picture from Live Mint

Crazy Daisy (2464 5087) is a fun quirky store with a lot of hand crafted gifting options. From hand painted ceramics to make up bags and wine stoppers. Its a lovely place to pick up some gifts for the slightly offbeat in your friends circle.

Appna by Nafisa Ali (2465 4441) is located on the first floor, so you will need to look a little harder for its entrance. She designs most of the clothes herself and has some trinkets designed by her friends. Sizes range from XS to XXXL. It is a small boutique, so don't expect to find a lot to choose from. Because there are a few select designs in the standard sizes. But the qulaity of embroidery is very good and the designs are very wearable

Soma (2462 7046) is well known for its hand block printed clothes and furnishings. This is their only other outlet in Delhi, if you don't want to head all the way to CP.

Karigari is a furniture shop with a mix of modern and antique looking furniture. Some items were reasonably priced while some were more expensive, depending on the wood.

I did not step into Ochre or Tantra (t-shirts) as I was a little pressed for time, but I think I will stop here again the next time I head to Jor Bagh market for meat and explore just a little more.

To grab a bite, there is the Cafe Coffee Day and I think I also spied a Slice of Italy Outlet. I did not however check out if there was a sit-down option or it was only for takeaway and deliveries.

Akshay Pratishtan Mela

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:50:00 +0000

The Annual Akshay Pratishtan Diwali Mela was held on the 23rd of October this year. Its normally held on the Tennis Lawns at "The Grand", Vasant Kunj. (near the DLF malls)

Since it was held by an NGO, I was hoping to discover quite a few more NGO's whose products were created by the less privileged. While there were a few such stalls, I could count them on my fingers. The remaining 90% of the stalls were of self styled designers selling clothes and shoes for the most part and some knick knacks for around the house. There were some nice clutches and handbags too

Most of the crowd around, was what the newspapers these days refer to as the "page 3 party set" of the Mini skirted, high heeled, air kissing variety.

I picked up some diyas made by the inmates of Tihar Jail and some home made spice powders by a womens self help group.

There were 2-3 food counters organised by "The Grand" Hotel serving pastas, pastries and sandwiches and one stall selling a variety of churan and mukhwas. That was it for the food.

I hope I have better luck at the Dastkar and the Blind Relief Association melas. It may be a lazy option of being charitable, but it does feel good to buy quality products from people who are trying to better their lives by honest means.

This is not a bazaar that I would return to next year, but if you are looking for clothes with a few new concepts and are willing to hunt around a bit, you could be quite happy with some of the options.

Master Creation 2010 @ Dilli Haat, (INA Market)

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:42:00 +0000

Dilli Haat is a must visit for anybody who wants to pick up handicrafts directly from the artisans who create them.

An innovative concept that keeps changing and reinventin itself, so each visit feels new. This gated market (for want of a better descriptor) is built to resemble a traditional village market place (or Haat) with little individula stalls that are rented to artisans for a week or so at a time. Artisans from across the country come here to sell their wares.

As part of the CWG experience, Delhi Tourism has organised Master Creation 2010 at Dilli Haat. Plenty of artisans who have won National Awards for their intricate work have set up stalls and are selling exquisite wares. While textiles dominate (saris, shawls, stoles, salwar kameez, bedsheets) there are rugs, stone and metal carving and other crafts on display too.

They were also showcasing a different state each day, but I think this is now over. The day I visited, Arunachal Pradesh was in focus.

The Entryway:

The whole place is festive with beautiful colours

Metalwork

A Rajasthani Stall

Puppets from Andhra Pradesh

An exhibition of some of the National Award Winning pieces

White metal work and an intrciate Madhubani painting on the right.

Soft wood carving of Ma Durgaji from West Bengal

You can also try out a variety of food from across the country at this venue.This time I ate at the Assamese Stall.

Do visit if you are looking for exclusive items of clothing. The master craftsmen have some beautiful and unique handworked items on offer.

Folk Performances on BKS Marg

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:17:00 +0000

As part of the Incredible India festival on Baba Kharak Singh Marg organised by Delhi Tourism as part of the CWG events, they have invited folk performers from across the country to perform here and showcase their arts.

The day I was here, the program started with a Veerabhadra Folk Dance from Karnataka

Followed by some Rajasthani Dancers

Then some Koli Dancers from Maharashtra

The next to perform were dancers from Sikkim who put up a semi-comedic routine, but unfortunately my camera battery died before I could take their pictures. I have some on my phone that I will try to upload here sometime soon. Until then, here are some pictures of their costumes.

The troupes that perform each day are different. But you can catch them almost all evening along this stretch.

The Jute Rope Procession on BKS Marg, Delhi

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:02:00 +0000

As part of the CWG in Delhi, Delhi Tourism officials have created a sampling of "Incredible India" on Baba Kharak Singh Marg near CP in Delhi. There are a number of temporary food and handicraft stalls from across the country that have come up for these 15 days.

The star attraction for me was the entire wedding/royal procession that has been created out of Jute ropes and is on display.

Here are some pictures:

The Princess in her palanquin

The Drummers and Band baaja

This is India, so we have to have an elephant :)

To give you a size perspective

Delhi Bookshelf

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:05:00 +0000

I've not posted on this blog for ages. I hope to be able to remedy that.

In a prelude to my good intentions, I thought I would post this selection that Penguin sent out.

No one knows DELHI like we do!

Penguin India is proud to present the incredible

Delhi Bookshelf

Featuring twenty-one fantastic books

on Delhi’s history, geography and culture!

Penguin India’s collection of must-read books on Delhi is not just the most varied and comprehensive list that any Indian publisher has; it also showcases every aspect of this fabulous and vibrant city—its history and contemporary urban legends, its celebrated sites and obscure byways, its flavours and flora. Just about every famous writer, scholar and traveller who has chronicled Delhi’s past and present and captured its unique mix of energy, diversity and resilience is to be found on Penguin India’s Delhi Bookshelf.

From anthologies to biographies and histories, from fiction to travel guides and books on food, Penguin’s Delhi Bookshelf covers the entire gamut of experiences associated with the capital metropolis.

The anthologies, City Improbable, Celebrating Delhi, Finding Delhi and Trickster City, have Delhi’s best writers portraying the city’s different localities and people, the famous and the obscure alike. The biographies, Sam Miller’s Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity, William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns and Ranjana Sengupta’s Delhi Metropolitan map the newer Delhis, bringing its many chameleon faces to life. The glorious, technicolour Mughal past is celebrated in Mahmood Farooqui’s Beseiged: Voices from Delhi 1857, William Dalrymple’s The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857 and Pavan Varma’s Ghalib, The Man, The Times.

In fiction, Khushwant Singh’s Delhi: A Novel, Nayantara Sahgal’s A Situation in New Delhi, Omair Ahmad’s The Storyteller’s Tale and Sarnath Banerjee’s graphic novel Corridor are perceptive explorations of the city’s politics, myths and urban landscapes.

The DK Eyewitness Travel guide, Delhi Agra and Jaipur is both comprehensive and easy to use while The DK Eyewitness Top 10 Delhi will lead you straight to the best attractions the Indian capital has to offer. Whether you're looking for the most interesting historic buildings, the best places to eat or venues to see local performing arts: this guide is the perfect pocket sized companion. Rely on dozens of Top 10 lists for all budgets - from the Top 10 Bazaars of Old Delhi and the Top 10 Shops and Markets to the Top 10 Places of Worship, Restaurants, Parks and Gardens, Museums and Galleries and Bars and Clubs, there's even a handy phrase book!

Pradeep Krishen’s classic Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide is a wonderful evocation of Delhi’s unusual flora and seasons while Road to Commonwealth Games 2010 lays bare Delhi’s level of preparedness for the Games. Flavours of Delhi is a guide to the city’s tastes from street food to old family favourites; The Essential Delhi Cookbook has the most authentic and easy to follow recipes of traditional Delhi cuisine and finally from the famed kitchens of the legendary Moti Mahal restaurant, The Moti Mahal Cookbook: On the Butter Chicken Trail, which is replete with the original recipes of their signature dishes..

Penguin’s Delhi Bookshelf features a great selection of reading that visitors to the city as well as Delhi’s residents will be interested in looking at, especially now, when there is an international spotlight on the city.

View this wonderful collection of books, take part in exciting contests and win some great prizes, learn more about your city with interesting factoids on Delhi and much more in our specially created website www.penguinbooksindia.com/delhibookshelf. The Delhi Bookshelf is also available on Facebook and you can follow us on Twitter as well.

THE DELHI BOOKSHELF

ANTHOLOGIES

Celebrating Delhi edited by Mala Dayal

City Improbable: Writings on Delhi edited by Khushwant Singh

Finding Delhi: Loss and Renewal in the Megacity edited by Bharati Chaturvedi

Trickster City: Writings from the Belly of the Metropolis translated by Shveta Sarda

BIOGRAPHIES

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple

Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity by Sam Miller

Delhi Metropolitan: The Making of an Unlikely City by Ranjana Sengupta

HISTORIES

Besieged: Voices from Delhi 1857 compiled and translated by Mahmood Farooqui

Ghalib: The Man, The Times by Pavan K. Varma

The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857 by William Dalrymple

STORIES

Corridor: A Graphic Novel by Sarnath Banerjee

Delhi: A Novel by Khushwant Singh

A Situation in New Delhi by Nayantara Sahgal

The Storyteller’s Tale by Omair Ahmad

JOURNEYS

Eyewitness Travel: Delhi, Agra & Jaipur

Eyewitness Travel: Top 10 Delhi

FOOD

The Essential Delhi Cookbook by Priti Narain

Flavours of Delhi: A Foodlover’s Guide by Charmaine O’Brien

The Moti Mahal Cookbook: On the Butter Chicken Trail by Monish Gujral

OTHERS

Road to Commonwealth Games 2010 by Sunil Yash Kalra

Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide by Pradip Krishen

For more information on the Delhi Bookshelf please contact

Hemali Sodhi at 4613 1400; hemali.sodhi@in.penguingroup.com or

Rachna Kalra at 4613 1413; rachna.kalra@in.penguingroup.com

So, How Many Have YOU Read?

The Leela Tapes

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:13:00 +0000

Watched The Leela Tapes this evening.

Performances were average, but the script was weak

Won't ruin it for you if you are planning to watch it. So spoilers tomorrow :)

Broken Images

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 02 May 2010 17:57:00 +0000

Watched "Broken Images" at the Epicentre in Gurgaon. It was a last minute thing. 4 of us women left the husbands at home to watch their cricket match and headed out for the play.

Good fun. Met more friends at the theatre who had landed there independently. That's the great thing about Gurgaon, you keep running into people you know.

The play was a solo performance by Shabana Azmi as Manjula Sharma, who only shared stage time with her alter ego / sub conscious / image of herself on a large TV screen.

Based on Girish Karnad's, Kannada play Odakalu Bimba Manjula sharma is an English professor who writes short stories in hindi. Her first novel in English based loosely on the life of her paraplegic sister who has recently passed away, but had been living with her since their parents died.

To say anything more would give away too much. Shabana Azmi was brilliant, her timing in conversations with the pre recorded image was impeccable. What seemed like flaws in the performance in the first half, explained themselves at the end.

The Epicenter is a lovely setting to watch plays. Not quite like Prithvi, but a comfortable, cosy ambience never the less.