What Once Stood There

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There comes a day when you return to your childhood neighborhood and realize that you're the only one who still remembers what once stood there. For me, that neighborhood is Malleswaram. When people think of Malleswaram, they think of CTR, Janata Hotel (it's common in India to call a restaurant a hotel), Veena Stores, Sai Shakti and the other iconic eateries that continue to thrive. I think of the ones that quietly disappeared. Button Idlis from New Krishna Bhavan. Bangalore is famous for its darshinis—quick, self-service eateries where people stop for a bite before getting on with their day. When we were living in Kasturi Dhama Apartments, I would invariably find myself at Sahyadri, located near the 8th Cross bus stop on Margosa Road. The fluffy idlis, the steaming hot sambar with just a hint of jaggery, the freshly made coconut chutney, and the potato palya that accompanied the dosas had a way of pulling in anyone walking past. My favorites were always the idl...
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Ties and Knots

A day prior to the career fair, we had to get our bearings right. This was our only exposure to the industry world through the school. So, off we went to JC Penney to buy formal trousers and neckties. I somehow have this fancy for ties. They look so colourful with a tinge of cushion protruding at the end. Myself, Samarsen and Karthik Sadanandam took a cab and we expected to come back in about an hour's time. Samar and I had a tough time selecting our trousers. Trousers that suit our waist size along with perfect length was tough to find. There was not many a choice to make the selection. We roamed around the store for quite sometime trying out various combinations to select the best fit. After a great difficulty, both of us ended up getting the right colours and the right fit. Then, we had to go to the ties. When I saw the ties from a distance, I thought that it shouldn't be all that difficult to get the right tie. But only after I started seeing the ties did I realise how difficult it is going to be to chose the right one. Samar and I explored various available ties and trashed everything with some explanation or the other. Oh! This is too dark. No, this is too light! Come on, the pattern on that tie doesn't look too good! This has no stripes! Oh! That has too many stripes! It has stars! This is good but it wouldn't go well with the shirt! It has this and that and what not! Karthik was a silent spectator to this mental onslaught. We had to make the decision and it had to be quick. Finally, both Samar and I picked up ties of our choice. We were still not sure. Is this better or that stayed in our minds for quite some time.

At the end of it all, we were fed up with our selection policy, and headed back with what we thought were the best ties that could be picked up from the store. I never realised that shopping could be such a nightmare. Thank God my mother did the shopping for me when I was in India!

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