Posted in Interests

Neeraj Chopra, an athlete par excellence.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Neeraj took a silver and his mother said, Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan who took the gold in javelin throw also is like a son to her. The beauty is, Neeraj never mentioned his injury anywhere that still got him silver. Its magnanimous on his part not to draw the media or world attention to his injury. He goes on to say the day belonged to Nadeem. It takes a big heart and real sportsmanship to do what he did. Neeraj is the kind of sportsman not only India but the world can do with. Respects for him. Its also unfortunate that Vinesh Phogat got disqualified for weighing 100 g in excess during the final. Even if one eats a plate of biriyani the body weight will increase overnight by 1 kg. Hopefully she is awarded at least a silver. Right now the hearing on the court case is on. Is it too much to expect to wake up with a medal news? Further hope there is no politics involved in getting her disqualified. India is very unlucky this time around. So far 5 bronzes and 1 silver but too many near misses for bronze. The famous 4th place for Indians in many categories. It still means they are the world’s 4th best. Unfortunately that is hardly a comforting thought. At least 6 more medals lost to India by whisker.

https://www.mensxp.com/sports/olympic-games/167895-paris-2024-neeraj-chopra-wins-silver-despite-injury-without-excuxes.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawEjCUhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHeR0272VA-zaq8IkIbruDpG7_-7SiruEqovL4cvpcI44CsaWEMa6TVT-sQ_aem_ZMCfuWuSZkcomM1U3gNVGQ

Posted in Political

India’s Bangladesh Headache.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Why should the head of an Islamic state seek asylum in India, the Hindu country. Why couldn’t Sheikh Hasina flee to Pakistan or Saudi. What made Dalai Lama seek asylum in India. What made the Jews and Zoroastrians feel safe in India. That is the beauty of Sanathana Dharma, Hinduism, that eschews violence and adharma. Bharat is a sanctuary to all those repressed and on the run.

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How to push back the waves and waves of immigrants battering down the border. The spillover to India is going to have an immediate impact on our border states. Hindus are turning into minority in the seven sister eastern states of India with illegal Bangladeshi immigrants legalizing their residency and taking over villages. Its against the natural setting of predominantly Hindu India. The Rohingya muslims have made Kashmir their home. These disturbing factors are going to work against the majority Hindu state very soon as the muslim population in India thanks to unchecked refugee inflow is going to tip the already precariously balanced apple cart. In the state of Kerala we may be having a situation. Hindus have been reduced to mere 33% or even less and without family planning, the Kerala muslim population seems to have exploded. Wherever the native population has to dip, it is not going to bring in good news. The democracy of India in incumbent upon the demography of India. Hindus continue to have one or two kids maximum. Funny I don’t think that the idea of installation of Bhairava temples in the borders of India is strange at all, as suggested by a renowned Tantrik. With age you believe 100% in holistic ways to find remedy for situations including political and defence matters. With the Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina in India seeking asylum (hopefully on her way to UK), expect some 1.3 crore Bangladeshi Hindus to be hunted down by violent mobs. Any trigger in their political system, the Bangladeshi Hindus face instant backlash – with the women raped and the men murdered in the cold blood. Even temples get demolished and the temple priests hacked to death. The priests are the chief targets. All this for what? India investing heavily in Bangladesh. Bangladeshis given medical visas to get subsidized cataract surgery to cancer treatment in India. Our hospitals are teeming with their patients.

What kind of a state is that the head of the state must flee for life. This is not how masses in mature democracies conduct their affairs. Mass public looting looks scary. Most Islamic countries are societies where jungle laws prevail and the mob unrest is allowed to progress to extreme levels of even ousting the head of the state. Protests may be viewed legal so far as they remain peaceful and don’t turn violent causing damage to lives and public property. Arson is simply inadmissible. There seems to be a collapse of law and order in Bangladesh.

Had this conversation with a Zara shop girl. I said the quality of Zara is not what it used to be. The Filipino girl who was billing, whose face I don’t remember, said that is because the denim is now from Bangladesh NOT India and even the t shirts and tops were. To cut costs Zara moved factory to Bangladesh as India is expensive. Result: quality compromise. This is very much apparent in last few years. For a fact I shop for brands only when there is a sale. Even Zara fittings have gone haywire.

Why can’t nations take care of themselves and not disturb other societies. India needs to seal her borders and if possible install a barbed wire fence. This is where I can appreciate Trump! It is also time to check the sops offered to Bangladeshi citizens in India while our own are poor. Modi government must remember: whatever you do to this kind of society is WASTED. It will be naive of India to expect gratitude or understanding from Bangladesh or Maldives because they are not Hindus. At the end of the day they will belong with the Umma. In Tamil we say ‘vizhalukku iraitha neer.’ If Tamil nadu once upon a time had Srilankan refugees, they were all Hindus and they were very eager to get back to the island nation once things cooled down. Every single one of them has left the Indian soil. That is it about Hindus. While we can empathize with Bangladeshi Hindus whose ancestors have faced worst and violent brutality of the masses, India cannot take on 1.3 crore of them. Plus in the garb of the Hindus it will be mostly the Bangladeshi muslims who will be sneaking in.

This is just the first acid test. SEcond test will be when Pakistan may break up (eventually). That is going to be the defining moment for India. The breakup of Pakistan with refugees knocking at our doors could threaten us with a breakup as well. Guess in one of my posts I have expressed this concern of just not me but most Indians. India is sandwiched between two very violent and bloody and poor and backward Islamic nations. Its going to consume every single ounce of our nerves to plan and be ready for such a situation. I hope the country will be then in good hands like Modi’s. If a rat like Rahul Gandhi must be in charge, then forget Bharat Matha. What the mugals could not do, what the British could not do – this maniac will do ushering in the death of India and extinction of Hindus with his cunning and ulteriorly motivated stewardship.

Who can change destiny. I believe even nations have destiny. From since I read the book ‘Sapiens’ by Yuvah Noah Harari, the best way out of Hindus is to go extinct like the Parsis than live in a world run by ….

Posted in Interests

Manu Bhaker first Indian woman to win 2 (bronze) medals for India in a single edition of Olympics.

Posted on by veeskitchen

I am not watching the Paris Olympics. But this is super news. Media should also give equal credit to Sarabjot Singh who won the second medal for India with her.

https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/another-bronze-for-india-manu-bhaker-creates-history-wins-second-medal-with-sarabjot-singh-in-shooting-at-paris-olympics-439416-2024-07-30

Posted in Political

Both Kamala and Usha have their roots in Chennai, India.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Kamala Harris and Usha Vance both have their roots in my hometown Chennai, India. I can give this to them being a south Indian woman myself 😀 : They must have substance! Its American politics so its alien subject for me. Another Indian origin man with roots in south India Vivek Ramaswamy was also in the fray but bowed out. The three have not reached this level in the US without merit. Kudos to the Indian American community! Recently Elon Musk heaped praise on Indian origin engineer Ashok Elluswamy for being the reason behind auto pilot innovations in Tesla. Way to go! Another Indian origin NASA astronomer Sunita Williams is caught up in trouble in the space. Let us hope and pray she lands safe.

Posted in Political

Wokeism: What happened to Elon Musk’s son/daughter.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Wokeism is the rage of the day. Overhyped. I can’t look at it in one dimension. Those who have suffered persecution for centuries/generations will know. But taking it to extremes is a reason for worry. As Rajiv Malhotra discusses in his channel, this issue of taking wokeism too far like for instance when it comes to gender identity and therefore rendering the sexual orientation irrelevant, we may be treading into very dangerous territory. In fact, we may be going right against nature and in particular biology. Chemotherapy destroys the good and the bad cells in cancer patients. Wokeism is something like that. However with the bad, we cannot afford the good to be swiped down in real world we live in. You cannot nullify all that has happened up until today. That can only take us back to square one. However the racial and religious grounds remain tense global matters. In India we have lefties with radical views. Everything must have an anti theory for them. We are looking at a ‘free for all’ scenario – dope, booze and sex without censorship. To an extent we all are for equitable social justice. But history cannot be undone. Transgenders are recognized as third sex even in India and every application form for university or employment or banking or even train/flight booking gives the third sex option for choice. But parents do have a legal hold and say on their children until they turn 21. Losing an adult child can be painful. I am not a big fan of Elon Musk but in this one case, my sympathies are with him. May be someday there will be truce. For a brief phase, estrangement between parents and kids can happen. This is not unusual, rather part of the growth process for the teens. And this is not a permanent status in one’s life. Its my reckoning that Musk takes it as a personal affront that his son should choose to become a woman. America seems to be trendsetter in every field: from silicon breast implants and egg donations to surrogacy, sex change surgeries and all, and once you go down this lane, there can be no end in sight.

Surrogacy must be reserved for those who cannot medically conceive a fetus: not for those who are physically capable. You see even the Bollywood stars like SRK, Aamir Khan etc., going for surrogacy to have not their first but third, fourth kids. Tamil actress Nayanthara in perfect physical shape and fertile age BYPASSED LAWS and had twin boys by surrogacy. Meanwhile, govt of India preferred to look else where. When values are trodden upon for material/business reasons, when a mother would not even want to carry her biological children in her womb so as to sell her body without disfigurement to make more money, then what is there left in that society to hope for? I wouldn’t say India is any better than Europe of US. My autowala used to say, ‘amma you don’t look for these things. you keep searching for any hidden temple on the way! that is why you are missing what is going on all around you!’ He pointed to me a young guy sprawled face down on footpath with drug overdose. My heart skipped a beat. We have blatant misuse of surrogacy concept in India. Drugs are available in kirana shops. Modi govt has lost total control. Is ineffective when it comes to dealing with dope issues. Under DMK, Tamil Nadu is witnessing a hitherto unseen spike in use of spurious drugs. What is the law enforcement doing. Taking commissions from ganja dealers? Laws must also be spruced up to allow surrogacy only for a first child to medically unfit couple incapable of conceiving on their own. Recently there was a case of a young man expiring on surgery table on careless administration of anesthesia for hair grafting. In productive years, why are our youth pre-occupied with frivolous superficial matters? A friend told me that a girl from Delhi or Punjab (not sure) who was attending a deemed university in the city sold her eggs to buy an I phone. I couldn’t believe this happened in Chennai.

However, there is a tendency among the Musk-Trump tent to brush everything under the carpet in the name of ‘wokeism.’ One only has to recall the suffragettes, Martin Luther King etc., to be reminded why it is at all necessary. The coinage may be new but the concept is not. We live in a fairly decent era in the present thanks to the rebellions and coups of our ancestors: bloody or bloodless.

Wokeism for just purposes in a peaceful manner must be okay. You cannot put a blanket ban on every protest, every banner, every social cause. Some of the issues may be sensitive and may warrant action. Things will work out fine in the long run. The younger generation has no patience left to wait for such a day. Injustices are balanced by nature in course of time. Time alone can bring justice. We have reservations in India to compensate for centuries of caste discriminations. Every tilt to one side will correct itself given some time gap. America too has done a lot for restoring social justice and equality among genders and races. Human rights SUPPOSEDLY matter more over there!

Sometimes I am glad and relieved I am 55, and we grew up in a nice sweet innocent and warfree world. Chennai was good old Madras then, resembling a huge village. So green, unpolluted. We never knew the meaning for the word ‘violence.’ Not even biriyani was there! Never happened to watch a street fight. Dance, music, academics, art, temples – this was what life was about. Sometimes I wish I could return to the 80s when my peers all had rosy teen years. It was the last of safe times we were seeing perhaps, little did we know then. Our world was insulated from the harsh world reality of bloodshed and material greed. Our parents led a simple but satisfying and happy life.

I always factor in the variance – the standard deviation which accounts for a small percentage of noncompliance – the nonconforming. We need these odd balls to practise our tolerance. Variety after all is the spice of life. The diversity is what is the beauty of our existence than the boring monotony/familiarity. Once upon a time, Hindu women had to throw themselves into the funeral pyres of their husbands who passed away. Burnt alive. Probably a woke mind virus afflicted Raja Ram Mohan Roy to take up the social cause and correct the situation, right Malhotra ji? WAs India’s freedom struggle wokeism? The women and the shudras of my country had to fight legal battles to enrol in schools and universities. Nobody called it ‘woke’ but it was the need of the hour. When we skip or postpone righting the wrongs, we are inviting civil wars. However we can attempt to improve the situation than call for dismantling the establishment. Therein lies the difference.

SEx change in Hindu history Mahabharatha: SHIKANDI. Fifteen to ten thousand years back, India/Hindus recognized transgenders who even changed sexes supposedly. Both Malhotraji and Musk must note.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikhandi

Poor Vivian/Xavier. We can all speak from the lectern. Post comments in social media. But what to say to a kid who is all confused about sexual orientation. It can be baffling. If this is not suicidal then what is. Someone is born a transgender not by genetic disposition or any disease. It is just a single chromosome going freak when the sperm breaches the egg. It can happen to anyone. Any normal healthy couple can beget a transgender kid irrespective of their race or religion or caste. Nobody to blame: not the genes or the family tree, not the community. Just one of those unpredictable accidents of nature. If Musk cannot understand even now, then its better that, that child of his is lost to him. Denial will someday hopefully lead to acceptance and understanding. All of it does not boil up to wokeism. Seriously we observe that there is a lot of mind related problems in the US. People care more for dogs and cats over fellow humans. We are all for wildlife and domestic pets – and in fact our forefathers did not bring any species whether human or flora or fauna to extinction like the Brits and other Europeans did. But if you have enough love to show for humans, the mind will be free on that one monumental expansion touching so many lives. There can be fewer counselling sessions and less medication. Regrettably India is walking down the same road.

Have all the freedom on earth – subject to limits. Your freedom ends when you stamp on your neighbour’s foot. EVerthing in moderation. Never take law into your hands. Go by the law. Play by the rules. Pieces will fall into their places with time. This is my final word for wokeism.

Posted in Food For Soul

Puri Jagannath saved Trump’s life?

Posted on by veeskitchen

Did Hindu God Puri Jagannath save Trump’s life recently. It emerges now that in the year 1976, when everyone refused ISCKON space, Trump gave the Krishna temple the space near where the assassination attempt took place. Right now ISCKON Rath Yatra is on in all parts of the world celebrating Krishna Consciousness.

  • Puri Jagannath (ISCKON KRISHNA) is one of the most powerful Hindu deities with followers around the world.
  • ISCKON is NOT HIPPIE. It is Dharmic, it promotes veganism and non violence and harmony among humanity.
  • Abrahamics try to reduce Hindu Dharma to idol worship wholly aware that its only the first basic step in the pyramid of Dharma that you have to climb. The rest of the way is steep. Manifestation of deities in idols makes it easy for layman to develop strong faith and focus. Deities are not stone blocks or metal chunks. Just like we don’t think of our national flag as our entire nation. Idols are merely symbolic. They are manifest with immense powers from rigorous vedic chantings and prayers on ‘Prana Pradishta.’ In ancient India, Hindu sadhus used to pledge their prana (life) on the deities installed giving the idols their meditative powers of a lifetime. An idol to Hindus is a living/breathing entity. You have feed the entity, you have to robe the Gods and Goddesses. You have to entertain them. Its no joke. There are those who see Ma Kali walking within the Kali temple, Calcutta even today. Many Hindu deities have revealed themselves to true and intense bhakths. There are spiritually evolved Hindus who see the deities the way they envision. When you say God has no form, you lose your chance to have a look at god. God has no form indeed but you can manifest god the way Hindus do as different deities. Every Hindu deity is manifest with differently endowed power. The aura of the temple idol magnifies manifold with increasing footfalls in the temple and mass prayers and daily mantra chantings. This is why, visiting temples is as important as praying at home. Christianity has suddenly woken up to rebirth concept and is about to patent it as theirs as usual stealing it from Hindu Dharma. In Hinduism, the heaven is only the higher consciousness you achieve after probably millions or zillions of births and rebirths. Nirvana is freedom from this Karmic birth cycle. You simply merge with the light – with the collective consciousness. This concept is best explained in Avatar, picture. Even the word Avatar (reincarnation) is Hindu. This is my small attempt at explaining idol worship which is only the tip of the iceberg.
  • Just like the white people reduced ISCKON to Hippies, they are trying to reduce Yoga to beer Yoga, goat Yoga etc. Now their latest toy is Meditation. EVerything is now stamped as christian meditation, christian yoga. By next century, all the Hindu concepts including rebirth and yoga and meditation will be incorporated as christian fundamentals. Yoga is one of the tools that can help you in self-realization as it can hone your concentration, alignment, meditative powers etc. YOga is the essential physical and mental discipline if you want to evolve to higher state of consciousness WITHOUT HACCULINATION AIDED BY SUBSTANCE.
  • Our Hindu ancestors never patented calculus or plastic surgery invented before the birth of Christ. The Hanuman chalisa clearly mentions the distance between the sun and earth. All these and many more discoveries and inventions are now deemed American or European.

In what way Sanathana (Hindu) Dharma is different from and FAR AHEAD OF ABRAHAMIC FICTION? Only Hindu Dharma figured it out and which is why we are the only unbroken civilization for over 10000 years in the world. Awareness is kicking in now among Abrahamics. They know they lost it even before the race began. And their missionary mafias spend billions trying to convert my Hindu nation to christian!

God does not discriminate between us like a mother will never discriminate between her children. Good or bad, the mother feeds the kids alike when they are hungry. You don;t have to be good really to earn the mercy of God. A staple benevolence will always be upon you. REst will be taken care of your Karma. God has no role to play in your Karma. Even if its Her game, She leaves a few pages blank for you to fill up. What you inscribe their will decide your destiny and the ensuing Karmic cycle.

Posted in Interests

Chess: When you have 3 players under World top 10.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Three Indians now figure in the world top 10 in Chess. What an amazing feat! The soft power that India is. Conquering the world with brains, hard work and soft skills like Yoga and Meditation. Hindu Dharma. REason for Indian temperament laying strong foundation on non violence.

Gukesh and Prag are from Chennai. Waiting for them to become world no.1 in near future. Too young they are. Gukesh and Prag are not even 20. Extremely proud of them. God bless. The poor country that mine is, whenever anyone excels by sheer talent, it totally touches me. These guys could not even get proper sponsors in initial stages.

Posted in Interests

Men in Blue, We love you!

Posted on by veeskitchen

Wanted to record this post hot, hot! A while since the world cup came home! After Dhoni, very well deserving for Rohit and Virat and of course the entire team to be bringing the trophy to India all the way from West Indies. Watched only the matches played by India in the WI. What beautiful locales. Have to thank the windies for being such gracious hosts and conducting the tournament without hickups. We can see the reasons: sponsors such as Aramco! Before congratulating our men, I would like to record my displeasure and distaste for having this Jay Shah at all as BCCI sec and as ICC Director. Its a shame for the entire nation that money and power can play such an obvious and vulgar role in our midst and we have to stand watching the entire tamasha without a comment. Its also very disrespectful for the game of cricket to have women starting from Mandira Bedi to analyse the game along with experts without actually having played it. There are dozens of Indian women cricket players who can fit the bill. Glamour seems to rear its ugly head up over talent and merit. Otherwise very proud of the cool way India handled the tournament. They were very much there in every single game they played and remained unbeaten. Match was almost lost when South Africa had to score just 30 out of 30 balls and victory was well within their grasps. An iota of hope against hope sneaked in as the batsmen were tailenders. Bumrah and Hardik reined in the last few overs. The Suryakumar catch reversed the fortunes and at that point India found the foothold to get back into the game. Had it been a sixer with Yadav dropping the impossible catch, the match would have gone the South African way. SA played a great game as well and it felt bad watching their players weeping in the tv. Equally winners no doubt about that. Its also a satisfying victory for India who tamed Australia and Pakistan. The other arrogant nations are Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Australia kicked out of the tournament without having a berth in the semi finals probably taught them a lesson. The Pat Cummins comment in the last final we toughed it out, that he would make entire India go silent still reverberates in my ears.

Finally cricket is just a sport. The popularity of the game has a lot to do with the masses of the subcontinent taking to cricket, playing it out in the streets without having to spend a naya paisa. The reason cricket is a huge obsession is that its not sophisticated like tennis or any other sport. To a large extent you can enjoy playing the game without having to spend much – unless otherwise you want to be a professional. IPL has made cricket very much a financially viable option for our youngsters who nowadays don’t even want to play for national team! I stopped watching IPL because to me its overkill. It can either make the players extraordinarily fit or fatigue them completely. Besides, the commercial sports somehow never seem appealing to me.

As for Pakistan, they have to come out of their denial first. For them every single Indian win is match fixing. Only if you admit that you are not competitive enough, you may want to work on yourselves. For me, Indian win is mainly based on strategy. India focuses on batting line up instead of on bowling attack. Our poor stamina is one plausible explanation. Our tropical climate being next. Its instrumental to build ourselves stronger first than trying to destroy others. The focus must be on the self.

As the tournament was in progress, Dipa Karmakar won the gymnastic gold for India in artistry for seniors at Asian level, for the first time in our history. Neeraj Chopra won few more golds in javelin throw. At least 2 to 3 in world top 10 in chess are from India. Impressive that Indian athletes have qualified for Paris Olympics. To get on to this stage is a feat as we all know. Cricket does shadow every single individual success in alternate sporting fields and events. Its sad. But the masses relax with cricket like with no other game. In the April-May heat wave see our stadiums packed with kids for IPL. Cricket is also A class fitness.

We have the younger generation who cannot be under the sun for 10 minutes. Real physical fitness and stamina is the ability and endurance to be under the scorching tropical sun for hours. That way I find that cricket shall keep our young men and women healthy. For every other sport you have to pay out of your wallet – cricket is free until upto a stage. May the poorest of this country enjoy the game that is reaching their drawing rooms without them having to pay a single penny for it. May the urchins keep breaking window glass panes playing street cricket with tennis ball. Indian team also is seeing a lot of players in recent years who are making it big from small towns. Dhoni being the prime example.

Anyway, what an evening today! Quality entertainment!

Blue army, the Bharat army deserved to win. They really were in the game throughout. They played a disciplined game and were a balanced team. Their temperament was good. As the venue was not India, I think the pressure was off them. Very noble of Virat Kohli to announce his retirement in time unlike Sachin Tendulkar and even Dhoni who blocked the younger players for years. Retiring with grace is important to infuse flesh blood into the team.

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School time memories: Huge fans we girls were of Viv Richards and Geoff Dujon! Cannot forget the time they toured India and were in Madras too in the ’80.

Posted in food as therapy...

Sweet Tomatoes: A sweet sensation!

Posted on by veeskitchen

fully loaded! my salad plate!

For the first time had a buffet lunch at Sweet Tomatoes in Arizona. My daughter’s recommendation. Its out and out American, and therefore I really expected junk food frankly! But what a surprise the restaurant was. Packed to full, it had queues waiting for the weekend lunch. As a vegetarian from birth, I could not have hoped for better. Like in some buffet lunches in restaurants back home in India, the salads took the place of pride. There were dozens to choose from: broccolis and carrots and lettuce and mushrooms and beans and cheese and others such as pasta and raisins with meat portions and sea food combinations. Toppings were interesting. The main course had the regular breads after soups. I settled for broccoli my favourite anyday. My drink was Hibiscus green tea. Everything in the restaurant is farm produce freshly procured. I have never had such a healthy restaurant meal in the US so far. The dessert was tapioca one for me which was not bad. I had to settle for vegan choices as I had to avoid egg content. Otherwise the desserts such as brownies looked droolworthy! Sadly I had to miss even some bread selections for the egg presence. Even so, I had my plateful! The buffet was more than sumptuous. We paid only $66 dollars for four of us and the baby of the family was not billed. The men had good portions of chicken. I wish I had discovered Sweet Tomatoes a lot earlier. Food is a big issue for me given my vegetarian bearings. Even in breads and deserts I have to avoid those with egg as ingredient. I am a fussy eater. So Sweet Tomatoes came like a blessing. Truly a godsend! I am a huge fan of American coffee already. Had my fill as usual. I like their roasts with hazel nuts and macadamia nuts. Highly recommended chain of restaurants in the US. Worth the wait for your table and more than worth the bill. Healthiest. Love my Buddha bowl always with yum salads and Italian seasonings even in India. Light on your stomach. But Sweet Tomatoes will be the best salad restaurant I have eaten at to this date in my life.

Buffet restaurants are always known for their signature starter salads. Sweet Tomatoes was no exception. Even if the main course that followed was equally a vast spread, the salads won hands down. You have to go here for the array of salads. The meat eaters rejoiced over the shrimps. The drinks were non alcoholic and non carbonated herbal teas with infusions of floral and fruity flavours.

Would as well use this space to record my displeasure at the way the Absolute Barbeque in Chennai has deteriorated. Been here nearly half a dozen times. Our Indian grills can be somewhat unhealthy. As a vegetarian, here too my choice is limited. But recently, was shocked to see the crowds cramped in their restaurant space jostling for a foothold as the business house has grown greediest to take in more orders/bookings than they can afford to. No respect to time-slots. For 12 to 2 noon booking, we got our table by 1.30. The place is no more hygienic and is devoid of any ambience. If its Doha, Absolute Barbeque will be sealed for good, never given licence ever to open again. Food safety inspectors do a great job here. Tables have to have decent gap between them ensuring at least a minimal privacy for diners. Its chaos in AB and we regretted having chosen this place for a party celebration. The waiters are overworked. Avoid at all costs. Buffets to me have lost their lustre these days.

Sweet tomatoes appeared like an apparition really! Its changing the way I think about buffets. In India, buffets mean fries and grills mostly. Slick with oil and can be even unappetizing! Just forget the calory count! Over-priced in gaudy restaurants. Not much to say about ambience in Sweet tomatoes and not at all for romantic candle-lit dinners or cozy birthday parties, but can appreciate their purpose and efforts.

Posted in Science Engineering Technology

Airport Showcasing: Building strong, Basement weak!

Posted on by veeskitchen

Airports need to be utility oriented, user friendly, serving the purpose. Nothing more nothing less. Airports are not a nation’s showcase.

Always wanted to record this about airports. We are having upgrades even in India. Chennai domestic and international got a facelift just recently. Far more efficient now and spacious. Quicker services. Apart from that I don’t look forward to aesthetics in airports. If something mild and extra is there conspicuously, its fine. Let us remember that airports need not have to be a statement. The promise lies outside the airport.

As I take my connecting flights all around Middle east, I get bedazzled by the expansion and luxury of the airports at Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai etc. One word that comes to my mind is: unnecessary. Airports need to be functional basically that’s all. You don’t have to showcase your airports to world connoisseurs so forcefully trying to market your country. The green Changi airport at Singapore etc., are fine. May be the smaller nations with just a single or double airports feel the need to identify themselves to the world. With nearly 500 airports, a nation like India can hardly afford that.

Besides, after seeing the US airports stripped to the basics, I am all admiration for their business mind. There is NOT a single piece of art in them! No posh Chanel and Estee Lauder and other customs duty free shops. May be one or two maximum in rare few. Only the cafes and washrooms tucked back to back after every gate. The American airports handle heavy traffic flow compared to rest of the world. I like their connectivity within airport terminals using airlinks such as shuttle buses/trains. The shuttles give you an idea of the size of the airports and the volume of trade handled by them. One thing about them: noway you are made to climb stairs lugging your cabin bag. All the growth stories of America lie outside the airports. They leave it to you to find about their glory by yourselves than try trusting their supremacy on you right in the airport. There is no gloating commercial in the American airlines flights either telling you where to shop and how to relax on holiday in the city you are disembarking. MOST IMPORTANTLY NO RELIGIOUS PRAYER. I like even their short snacks of pretzels, biscuits and cranberry/apple juice with water/beer for shorter flights. Nothing fancy. I am reminded of the operational efficacy on shoestring budgets cutting costs when things are kept bare minimum. Sprawling airports with multiple terminals seeing a thousand flights take off and land with million footfalls every single day. Immigrations. Security. All handled quietly and efficiently.

Airports need not have to be swanky at all. They need to be super functional that’s all. They need to cater to the transit passengers with seamless efficiency. Airports need not have to become advertisement for your home country. AIRPORTS ARE NOT A COUNTRY’S IDENTITY. Let the world discover you. I must say I enjoy the comforts of the transit airports. I fly a little around. My flying years may be drawing to a close slowly. But I am not the one to judge a country looking at their airport. The covid brought to end the on-plane marketing of luxury brands including those such as Swiss watches and Bvlgari etc., advertised in glossy inflight magazines that used to be so common until very recently. I really loved those mags and miss them! I noticed something else: gone are the days of butter and cheese going with bread! Governments can spend on their airline food instead of splurging on their airports.

I look forward to excellent washroom facilities in airport, charging points and if possible lounges, nothing more in airports. Once was stuck in Dxb (Dubai) airport for 12 hours. I was lucky it was Dubai airport as I could survive within airport and afford opting out of a night’s stay in a five star hotel at the expense of the airline. In last couple of years, using the lounges that I find are able to keep me less tired. One of the reasons for travel tiredness as I realize is that, eating less by way of airline food. I have a good appetite. So the lounge food completes my platter by supplementing to the airline food that is meagre. I have also made it a point these days to keep myself well hydrated during my travel times be it train or air travel. I therefore have regained strength on landing that I used to miss in the earlier years because I used to keep my fluid intake minimum. I used to hold my bladder. No more I do that. I have plenty of fluids, don’t shy about using the washrooms at regular intervals, eat sumptuously including at the lounge and eat again on landing on way home (if its Doha). That practically restores my energy levels. I recover fast from the flying sickness or tiredness, typical with many of us. More fluids most importantly. No holding bladder skipping fluids.

Another thing about the rated five star airports is that, sometimes the aprons are not ready in them when flights land early/later than scheduled time. They make you board their shuttles lugging your cabin bags climbing down steel stairs on foot from the planes after a long tiring journey. Once someone who wanted a wheelchair even questioned the cabin staff about the inconvenience. The steward then offered to carry their bags down the steel staircase to the waiting shuttle bus. The aero bridges are the most convenient way to alight from a flight for tired passengers. It is a must for wheelchair users. In what way are these so-called five star airports disabled-friend when you make senior passengers exit from flight down steel stairs carrying their bags. Then what is the point in boasting of world class airports. At the end of the day, passengers are left in the lurch when you don’t have ready aprons for incoming flights. Airports have to simply build as many aprons that’s all. If you are a rated airport, that is the least passengers may expect of you. I don’t know how airports get rated. But I can imagine, it is not a fair or free method.

Chennai International may be moving to somewhere 70 km away within next ten years. Looking forward to dedicated expressways like they have in Hyderabad – like a bubble – dedicated totally to airport traffic. All these years we had the luxury of flying out of the city from the heart of the city. In our senior years, we will have to travel a bit to board a flight out of Chennai. But its okay, the city is expanding beyond our imagination. Energy (from solar power) and services efficient: this is what I want from new Chennai international. Not chandeliers and duty free shopping.

In Tamil we say, துடைப்பக்கட்டைக்கு பட்டுகுஞ்சலம். Really gaudy airports with uncalled for luxury remind me of this! Just be travel efficient, that is enough. Airports are not our national museums. Or our barometer to measure culture and economy. Airports are just airports. May our airports be slick and efficient handling business and air travel business alone. The rest of the paraphernalia can stay away.