Let It Be

Food Review - Barbeque Nation (Andheri East)

2015-02-17T07:42:00.002-08:00

Being a Mangalorean and a hard core Non-vegetarian, it's bound to happen that i love Barbeque Nation. The food served here is excellent (Prawns especially). If i had to prioritize the delicacies served, I would rate them - Prawns (5/5), followed by Fish (4.5/5), Chicken (4/5), Veg (Not for me :P)

Service - 7/10

Attitude of Staff - 9/10

Ambiance - 8-10

Quality of:
Starters - 9/10
Main Course - 8/10
Dessert - 9/10

Value for Money - 7/10 (A bit expensive i feel)

P.S.

1: Make sure that you don't eat a lot before going to Barbeque Nation and if you do so, change your plan and go there some other day

2: Make sure you take breaks while eating and drink less.

Rohit Shetty
An above average South Indian - Foodie

Amul Pro Malt found in an unhealthy condition

2014-07-06T05:38:00.003-07:00

#Amul #AmulPro It was our monthly household shopping time. Everything seemed to be perfect until we bought this jar of Amul Pro (as we usually do). As soon as we reached home we noticed that the packaging of the jar had been scratched, the label was partially being torn off...Couldn't understand how the packaging could have been spoilt in this manner if it wasn't for someone who purposely did it... It didn't look like it happened during shipment. Not sure what happened here...but it didn't look good.

This is not the END When we tried to open the lid, we were shocked to see that there was no seal inside it.. usually a seal is always there in such jars to protect the malt inside. However, this time around it wasn't there. Someone had ripped the seal from the jar. Now the malt in the jar cannot be consumed as it has become a bit damp. It doesn't even smell good. Not even sure if someone has consumed it or not.

Being India's largest food products marketing organisation. .. you need to look into the services/products you bring into the market.. there are a lot of people who consume the products you come up with..You should take a look into this and make sure that this doesn't happen again...As far as i am concerned, i am sorry to say that I won't be going for Amul Pro or any other Amul product anymore.. This would be the last time i bought any Amul product. Be Careful the next time you go out to a store to buy such products.

Beyond Expectations!!!

2012-10-03T05:59:00.000-07:00

If you could walk with me a few miles,

You could have accompanied me for a while and understood...

the journey of togetherness.

If you could talk to me for a while,

You could understand my silence…

and my love for you.

If you could see what I could,

You could see right through those waves…

Where life resides.

If you could feel what I felt,

You could feel the pain and fear of losing someone…

Within me.

If you could trust me.

I would take you for a ride into my dreams…

beyond those clouds.

Only if I could understand her,

I would have never let her go…

I would have, looked into her eyes till my eyes closed,

Would have taken her into my arms and stayed still for a lifetime,

For now, all I can do is look up at the sky believing that even she is starring back at me..

wave my hands with a smile.

Love now and Forever

2012-09-27T05:06:00.002-07:00

It was her beautiful smile
for which I could die for.

But there was something missing,

I didn't know what that something was.

She wanted to say something, hear something..

And I always wanted to know, what that something was?

Walking along the waves, she turned towards me, held my hand, took a deep breath and promised me that she would never leave me.

and the very next moment there was this silence between us which was deafening.

She looked into my eyes without blinking her eyes waiting to hear that *something* she wanted to hear from a long time now.

I held her hand this time and I promised her that I'll hold her hand till eternity, walk with her until the end of this world and Wanted to grow old with her.
Her eyes started melting like never before.

We stood there realizing that mere words were not enough to express our feelings for each other.

This very moment nothing moved. It was like the universe was paused for this very moment.

The clouds witnessed this moment by showering rain on us, and blessed us with a colorful rainbow later.

As if everyone was trying to give us a hint that this is it.. this is what we both were made for.

Wind played its role too by swaying her curly hair on her forehead, something that I’ll always remember even when I am gone.

Nothing could separate us- I was the world she wanted to live in and she was the breath I needed to survive.

Value of a Common Man in India

2012-09-25T05:40:00.001-07:00

Yet another shameful day at the office for the Congress led UPA govt. As always, little did Mr Manmohan Singh (MMS) knew how his day was going to look like (Maybe Sonia Gandhi could have helped him with this as always bt to his dismay, even she had no idea abt it). On September 22nd, MMS had to address a meet on economic growth at the Indian Law Institute in New Delhi, where he faced the ire of the so called "Common Man". This happened just before MMS could open his mouth which is otherwise always shut and only opens when Sonia Gandhi gives a script in his hand.

A predetermined lone man (Santosh Kumar Suman) rose to the occasion and chanted anti slogans against MMS and his party. Needless to ask, why? He expressed his displeasure against recent economic policies adopted by the govt by climibing onto a desk and stripping his shirt off. The man shouted” Bhrasht Pradhan Mantri Wapas Jao” (Corrupt Prime Minister go back) to which his (MMS) security staff immediately moved in and whisked the man away. " Bhrasht Pradhan Mantri Wapas Jao” was considered to be a bigger threat as compared to what the politicians are leading this country towards (Face palm). The protester now has been handed over to Delhi Police for further interrogation. The entire episode has put a question mark, with regard to the security measures in place for Prime Minister. This is all what media is talking about. Why don't you fucking media people figure out what the problem with that guy was before sympathizing with the PM.

What about the common man- he is always at the mercy of such corrupt politicians. Common man only thinks about his son/daughter, spouse, parents, siblings but these politicians think way ahead of what a common man can even dream. They (politicians) plan for their grand-grand childrens. They can even do much-much more but after all they can't think too much, can they? A common man has only two ways of dealing with the frustration within him- either keep quiet and commit suicide when he can't take it any more OR raise his voice against such BASTARDS. Though the end result will almost be the same. Both these options end up screwing their lives. I feel proud to be in a democratic country where people who vote for you and elect you have no rights to question you or revoke their support. A huge alarm rings when a politician is been slapped, thrown shoe at, abused, sketched, or yelled at. But all these alarms come to a standstill/ don't work when a common man faces problems.

One of the worst examples of what the Common Man goes through is - Sarabjit Singh, an Indian citizen who has been imprisoned by the Pakistani's for more than 2 decades now. His family has not seen him for more than 20 years. Take a minute out of your life, sit idle and just imagine if you are unable to see your father/son/brother for so long or for that matter put yourself in his shoes and think how would you survive without being in touch with your loved ones for so long. The sheer thought of going through the pain of staying away from one's family and atrocities carried out by the Pakistani's is simply unbearable. Only because he is not a politician's son, a businessman's brother, a sportsperson's son he is now going to spend his life in Pakistan for god knows how many more years. He is paying the price of being a common man. Infact, most of us are paying the price of being a common man. I hope this country gets to see a better tomorrow who do not wish to be called as "Common Man".

Poems from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

2012-08-13T04:08:00.002-07:00

Jab jab dard ka baadal chaya Jab ghum ka saya lehraya Jab aansoo palkon tak aya Jab yeh tanha dil ghabraya Humne dil ko yeh samjhaya …Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai Duniya mein yunhi hota hai Yeh jo gehre sannate hain Waqt ne sabko hi baante hain Thoda ghum hai sabka qissa Thodi dhoop hai sabka hissa Aankh teri bekaar hi nam hai Har pal ek naya mausam hai Kyun tu aise pal khota hai Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai

Ek baat honton tak hai jo aayi nahin Bas ankhon say hai jhaankti Tumse kabhi, mujhse kabhi Kuch lafz hain woh maangti Jinko pehanke honton tak aa jaaye woh …Aawaaz ki baahon mein baahein daalke ithlaye woh Lekin jo yeh ik baat hai Ahsas hi ahsas hai Khushboo si hai jaise hawa mein tairti Khushboo jo be-aawaaz hai Jiska pata tumko bhi hai Jiski khabar mujhko bhi hai Duniya se bhi chupta nahin Yeh jaane kaisa raaz hai

Pighlay neelam sa behta hua yeh samaan Neeli neeli si khamoshiyaan Na kahin hai zameen Na kahin

aasmaan Sarsaraati huyi tehniyaan, pattiyaan Keh rahi hain ki bas ek tum ho yahaan Sirf main hoon meri saansein hain aur meri dhadkanein Aisi gehraiyaan Aisi tanhaiyaan Aur main sirf main Apne honay pe mujhko yaqeen aa gaya

Dilon mein tum apni Betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum Nazar mein khwabon ki Bijliyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum Hawa ke jhokon ke jaise Aazad rehno sikho Tum ek dariya ke jaise Lehron mein behna sikho Har ek lamhe se tum milo Khole apni bhaayein Har ek pal ek naya samha Dekhen yeh nigahaein Jo apni aankhon mein Hairaniyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum Dilon mein tum apni Betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum

My Life Through My Eyes- 2

2012-03-12T05:04:00.008-07:00

Walking along the empty path today...
I feel there is something missing...
Searching around for someone, i see no one...
Which makes me realize..
I am missing SOMEONE and not something!

Sitting on a beach in front of an ocean makes me realize something’s..
I can’t notice anything but deep blue water drifting along....
However, deep down everyone knows there’s life within
How I wish I knew what went around deep inside the ocean

Looking back at life, I ask a question to myself,
Is this what I always wanted?
Is this what I always waited for?
And I always got more question than answers

Every second when i start hating this small world of mine,
I realize this small world had once made me the happiest person I ever was, gave me the best gift ever
So I make my peace with it
And store my bundle of questions within me and walk along.

I’ll grow older with the feeling that even I have tasted life...
And to be very honest it was very sweet
One fine day I’ll say good bye to this sweet world.
But then I think i deserve a farewell from all those who were a part of my life and my small world

Trying my hands on Wordle- Infographics Tool

2011-09-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

Vodafone Zoo Zoo Ads-Silent ur Phone

2011-08-27T00:58:00.000-07:00

Center fresh new ad 2011 (Bank Robbery)

2011-08-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

Fewikwik Fishing Rod Ad

2011-08-27T00:55:00.000-07:00

Raymond Ad - Father and Child

2011-08-27T00:54:00.000-07:00

Monster.com Commercial Dadu

2011-08-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

Happydent_Palace.mpg

2011-08-27T00:51:00.000-07:00

The Amul Story Manthan - mero gaam katha parey

2011-08-27T00:49:00.000-07:00

A visit to a street which never sleeps- Mohammed Ali road

2011-08-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Mumbai 20th August’11- It was a bright sunny afternoon on Saturday, when I got a call from one of my friends-Jeevan Shetty (a.k.a- Jeevan anna) asking me to tag along as they were planning to go to Mohammed Ali road. I was thrilled to hear this from him as I was longing to go there for a very long time now. Now, I had to reply to him and the only words that came into my mind was Yes, haan, aaraha huu, done. My mind couldn’t register any other word. Just to let you know, Mohammed Ali road is a place in the southern end of Mumbai, where food lanes are abuzz with gastronomic activities inviting you to feast on a sumptuous spread to break the long-day feast in the holy month of Ramadan.

The conversation over the phone call ended within a minute, but he told me who all were joining us. I came to know that there were 3 more friends who have agreed to join and I was glad, since going to Mohammed Ali road with a gang will always be an add-on. It’s fun to be with a gang rather than going with just 2 of us. Since the moment I hung up, the thought of going to Mhd Ali was the force that was driving me throughout the day. Having said that, It seemed like everything was going slow. I guess this happens with everyone when they wait for a moment for which they have waited for a long time. Slowly but steadily, sunlight started fading turning the day into a wonderful evening that I was looking forward to. My boring day was suddenly lit up by the thought of going to Mhd Ali.
To add to it, my ex office colleagues planned to meet up at Powai (the place where we frequently meet up). One more reason for me to be cheerful and alive. I reached Powai to see my friends waiting for me. It was a regular meet up but it definitely gave me a kick up. We headed to one of our favourite place MOD (Mad Over Donuts), shared half a dozen donuts amongst us.
We were just about to leave from MOD, when Joe (one amongst us) wanted to carry away half a dozen donuts back to her place. Having said that, she was a bit confused on whether she should go ahead and buy it or just chuck the whole plan. So she decided to buy Donuts in the later part of the evening. After MOD, it was Gloria Jeans turn to serve us with their services. None of us were interested in having coffee or should I say no one was interested in shelling 100-130rs for a coffee: P. Disha was the only one to have a cup of coffee and thanks to her we sat comfortably on the couch without having/spending anything.
After a while, Joe and Nikhita had to leave and just to remind you Joe finally took half a dozen donuts back to her place . Finally it was time for us to fly back to our respective places too and that is what everyone did except me, but I had some other plans.

All the 5 of us were supposed to meet Jeevan anna’s clinic by 9.30 and I reached there along with Sushant who picked me from Gloria Jeans. I was shocked to see no one else. As we were expecting more people to be present. To my dismay, they were not even answering, this when Sushant and Jeevan tried to change the plan of going to Mhd Ali road. But I was sure that I wanted to go to that place. So it was decided, if any of us could convince one more person to tag along with us only then will be the plan be on. I quickly went through my contacts and the first name that came to my mind was Anish. I gave him a ring and asked him if he could join us to which he agreed to. Surprisingly I did not have to convince him and I told this to the others. Now, here we were- no more discussions about changing the plan :P.“Grabbing the opportunity with both hands” suited the situation very well for me. Off we headed to pick Anish near R.city mall, Ghatkopar in Jeevan anna’s dhanno (his car):P.

Once we reached there, within a few minutes we saw Anish walking towards our car and again off we went to our final destination, but this time without a halt. We reached our destination within 45 minutes expecting a huge crowd and very busy lanes, but luckily the lanes were not as crowded as we expected it to be. It came to us as a surprise or maybe the rain stopped people from coming out at that point of time. On a normal day, the stretch from from bhendi bazaar to Mohammed Ali road turns nocturnal in Ramadan and these food lanes, a favourite spot for foodies and shoppers. As we were strolling around, we could see a wide range of mouth-watering Non-vegetarian, vegetarian and sweet dishes which drew our attention. We started our dinner with one of my favourites- “Shawarma”.
For people who don’t know what it is, Shawarma is very similar to Frankie/Roll, but instead of vegetable stuffings it is stuffed with beef, chicken or lamb pieces. It is served in a plate with some pieces of carrots and radishes along with Hummus. Shawarma is made by alternately stacking strips of fat and pieces of seasoned meat (beef, lamb or marinated chicken) on a stick—an onion or tomato is sometimes placed at the top of the stack for additional flavoring. The meat is roasted slowly on all sides as the spit rotates in front of, or over a flame for hours. Traditionally a wood fire was used; currently, a gas flame is common. While specialty restaurants might offer two or more meat selections, some establishments have just one skewer. Shawarma was liked by all of us.

We headed to see if we could find some more delicacies. While strolling, all we could see is stalls displaying yummy but very oily food. A good 10 minutes walk gave us an entire picture of what the stalls had to offer. Throughout our walk, we smelled something sweet, which was the mesmerizing aroma of sizzling Malpuas. My eyes lit wide open. I was eager to have Malpua, but not before having biryani. Jeevan anna knew a place which was famous for its biryani. Shalimar hotel! It was. So I bid goodbye to the Malpuas, but not for long. So here we were at Shalimar, one of the busiest hotels I know. We were asked to sit at the waiting room as there was no place for us to sit and have dinner in the hotel. The waiting room seemed to be much bigger than the conference room at my previous organization. After 10 minutes we were asked to have a seat and order food which is when we realized how busy and chaotic this place is. I saw two to three broken glasses inside which proved me right. Waiters were running into each other in order to serve quickly. It was a restless night for the staff. They followed a simple principle of serving at the earliest, so that we can relish our food quickly and make way for others to sit.

It was time for us to order and we ordered a chicken starter, 2 Manchow soups, a Mutton biryani and few cold drinks. The food was served pretty quickly and if you ask me, the food tasted just above average. Still, we took our own time to eat the food. After a good 20 minutes or so, our stomachs were nearly full, but somewhere down the line we knew this was not the last dish we were having here. Yes, although we were quite full, we went on to have Malpua. Since our stomachs were really full we ordered only one Malpua. They say- “mil baat ke khaao”. We did the same and shared one Malpua. But we were not even able to share 1 amongst 4. This is when we realized we couldn’t have anything else after this. There was so much to explore, eat but sadly we couldn’t. I was planning to have “Firni” as well, but I missed out. Unfortunately, Malpua was our last dish. No big deal, I’ll have it next time (this is how I controlled myself).

By the time we were done, I was almost convinced that my weighing scale was going to rise, which is when I realized why you’ve to fast all day before you feast all night. The one thing that I saw here today was, these small lanes do not differentiate between rich and poor, popular or a common man. This street is for every individual who cherishes every bite that he has here.

So this was an extraordinary evening for me. I’ll be back with more such events that I come across. Till then,

My Life Through My Eyes

2011-07-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

Chalte-Chalte aasamaan se baatein karna seek gaya,
lehro ke saat behna aur khamosh raato mai gungunana aagaya. Na koi shiqua na shiqayat thi kabhi zindagi se.
Fir bhi chalta raha mai.....

Raahien anjaane thi, galiyaan sunn-saan,
Maano yeh sab kuch kehna chahti thi, is khamoshi mai bhi ek shor hai jo mai samaj nahi paaya
Fir bhi chalta raha mai....

Kuch pal saat chalte hi, duur ho gaye ek dusre se phir kabhi na milne ke liye.
Aankho se ojjal ho gaye sab apne. Waqt tham sa gaya jaise. Ek hi pal mai sab badal gaya ho jaise.
Fir bhi chalta raha mai....

yaad aaye woh lamhe, namm hui yeh aankhein.
Fir dil mai ek aarzu jaagi. Ek baar aur palat kar dekhne ko jee chaha. In sabko chod
Fir bhi chalta raha mai....

Aaj itni duur nikal aa chuka huu mai, bhool gaya kaha tha mai? kya tha mai?
Dard toh seene mai aaj bhi uthta hai- Tanhai mai toh aaj bhi jee leta huu mai
Kabhi they saat jo apne, woh aaj milte hai sirf sapne mai, Koi nahi bas ek parchayee si hai,
Jiske saat aaj bhi mai chal raha hu....

By Harsha Bhogle to a man they call GOD- SACHIN TENDULKAR

2011-04-13T04:02:00.000-07:00

Remember when you failed an examination. How many people recall that, your class, friends, relatives? You failed to make it to the IITs or IIMs. Who remembers. How many times have you had the feeling of being the best in your class, school , university, state….., you failed to get a visa stamped this quarter…, you missed a promotion this year…, how did it feel when your dad told you in your early twenties that you are good for nothing…..and now your boss tell you the same...

You keep introspecting and go into a shell when people most of whom don’t matter a dime in your life criticize you, back bite you, make fun of you. You are left sad and shattered and you cry when your own kin scoffs at you. You say I am feeling low today. It takes a lot from us to come out of these everyday situations and move on. A lot??? really? Now here’s a man standing on the third man boundary in the last over of a world cup match. The bowler just has to bowl sensibly to win this game. What the man at the boundary sees is 4 rank bad bowls bowled without any sense of focus, planning or regret. India loses, yet again in those circumstances when he has done just about everything right.He does not cry. Does not show any emotion. Just keeps his head down and leaves the field. He has seen these failures for 22 years now. And not just his class, relatives, friends but the whole world has seen these failures. We are too immature to even imagine what goes on in that mind and heart of his. That’s why I would never want to be Sachin.

True, he has single handedly lifted to moods of this entire nation umpteen number of times. He has been an inspiration to rise above our mediocrity. Nobody who has ever lifted the willow even comes close to this man’s genius. His dedication and metal strength is unparallel. This is specially for those people who would have made fun of him again last night when India lost. They are people who are mediocre in their own lives. Who just scoff at others to create cheap fun. Who have lived in a small hole throughout their lives and thought they have seen the oceans.

Think about the man himself. He is 37 years of age. He has been playing almost non stop for 22 years. The way he was running and diving around the field last night would have put 22 year olds to shame. The way he played the best opening quickies in the world was breathtaking. He just keeps getting better which is by the way humanly impossible. Its not for nothing that people call him GOD. But still I don’t want to be in those shoes. We struggle in keeping our monotonous lives straight, lives which affect a limited number of people. Imagine what would be the magnitude of the inner struggle for him, pain both mental and physical, tears that have frozen with time, knees and ankles and every other joint in the body that is either bandaged or needs to be attended to every night, eyes that don’t sleep before a big game, bats that have scored 99 international tons and still see expectations from a billion people. And he just converts those expectations into reality. We watch in awe, feel privileged.Well I think its time that his team realizes that enough is enough. They have an obligation, not towards their country alone but towards sachin. They need to win this one for him. Stay assured that he himself will still deliver and leave no stone unturned to make sure India wins this cup. This is not just a game, and he is not just a sportsman. Its much more than this. Words fail here.....

Trying to post regularly from now on

2010-12-31T02:26:00.000-08:00

It's been quite some time when I last scribbled something on my blog and I think it's high time I start it over again. Just to give you all a fair idea of what I am going to post here- This blog will cover topics like Friends, Photography, Sports, Movies, Songs, Lyrics, Ad's, Business, Politics (Seldom), last but not the least our own 9tanki entertainment. At times, I might sound like a critic but yeah, I have the freedom to speak and express my views and that's what I'm going use here. Today 31st December 2010, a wonderful year(at least for me) is going to come to an end and tomorrow we'll enter into a new Era. I hope it brings joy and success to everyone. Wish you all a very happy and a successful new year in advance. Have fun, enjoy, party hard but be safe and stick around! ;)

Remembrance

2010-05-29T22:57:00.000-07:00

As I grow older,

I’ll always remember the moments we walked together.

Every single expression of yours is locked deep inside my heart.

Standing amidst a number of people,

If you fail to find me, just turn around and look through those beautiful eyes of yours.

You will find me where I always used to be, just next to you!

As you are far away from me now,

I dream of you coming back to me from the widespread open sky someday.

I’ll wait for that moment to come, even when I know it won’t ever happen again.

Someday I’ll die and get buried,

but not as deep as deep are feelings for you in my heart.

Life’s nothing without you and I’ll feel happy that I am with you.

Heaven for me is where I can be with you.

Now that you are not here, I have to live my life in hell and grow older.