July 2005 – { :from => Delhi, :about => everything }

Metro from CP to DU

Posted on July 12, 2005 by Manik Juneja

Delhi Metro: A dream come true

Daily, I read in the newspapers, about the new metro line from CP to DU running full capacity. It is great news. To sustain the high standard that metro intends to set for Delhi, Delhi Metro must be a profitable venture.
I read about trains being delayed because of overcrowded compartments. I think very soon we might need “Professional Pushers” like those at JR stations in Tokyo. These JR employees, push people when the pneumatic doors are closing, so that they can be packed inside the compartment. Once the doors get closed, there is a lot of space automatically created for everybody to stand comfortably. The Yamanote line, which circles Tokyo like our ring road is the most famous for these professional pushers.

I hope to get a ride of the underground section sometime soon.

Kakori Kebab

Posted on July 5, 2005 by Manik Juneja

Kakori kebab: melts in the mouth

Kakori kebab, the stories tell was first prepared by the cooks of the Nawab of Kakori in Awadh, who had lost his teeth but not the craving for Kebabs. These kebabs are so soft that they melt in the mouth. The cooks say that there should be the right proportion of papaya mixed with minced meat for the kakoris to have this softness.

In Delhi, I have had Kakori at two places and have liked them at both of these

I first had it at “Aap ki Khatir barbeque”, which was at the Humayun’s tomb near Nizammudin. But later had to move to a place around 50 metres away from its awesome location. Jagmohan found it not worthy of being so close to a heritage monument.

The second place I had Kakoris was at Delhi Haat’s Awadh stall… I think the stall’s named Shaan-e-Awadh or something similar.

Do you know of any other place that serves this delicious kebab? I have heard about Al-Kauser but have still to try it there.

how do you read blogs?

Posted on July 5, 2005 by Manik Juneja

As the number of blogs that i read daily increased I tried using a RSS2IMAP tool to read the blogs. But it was very unmanageable and used to clutter my outlook. Later I discovered bloglines. It is very convenient and has a lot of very useful features.

Now i never miss a post and do not have to have any software running on my own pc for it.

Dry Day

Posted on July 4, 2005 by Manik Juneja

I searched for “dry day” on google. It showed up results about rainfall, bed wetting and menses..
The sites from India, showed results consistent with the meaning that we have attached to “Dry Day”. It is not lack of rainfall or “absence of bed wetting”. It is that day in India, when no alcohol is sold at the Liquor shops. Even the bars do not serve
liquor on a dry day.

Most of the festivals and public holidays are declared as a dry day in India, to avoid people from drinking themselves crazy.

And the government publicizes the dry days for each month in all the newspapers, so that people can stock their drinks and be prepared for the dry day.

I simply fail to understand the logic of having dry days. Those who have to drink themselves crazy will do so anyway, dry day or wet day.

Pizza Hut at Karol Bagh.

Posted on July 4, 2005 by Manik Juneja

We went to the Pizza Hut at Karol Bagh yesterday. My advice to anybody planning to go there… avoid it . The service was pathetic. The food was not good. The olive oil in our Sphagetti was stale. And it took them 10 minutes to find a bottle of tabasco sauce for us.

If you like a pint of Foster with your food, head to Pizza Hut C.P. They don’t even serve beer at Karol Bagh.
The C.P outlet is worth the wait.

Tata vs. Reliance

Posted on July 1, 2005 by Manik Juneja

The summer in Delhi, seems to be over atlast. The peak summer is the acid test for the Electric Power Transmission companies in Delhi. And this year Tata Power owned North Delhi Power Limited [NDPL] has done much better than Reliance owned Bombay Suburban Electric Supply [BSES]. While the BSES served areas went without power for hours together, NDPL served areas were never without power for more than a few minutes.
People also complained of poor response from BSES customer care centers. While people who had to deal with NDPL were a happier and satisfied lot.

And when i happened to visit the BSES office a couple of days ago to register a complaint, i heard a BSES employee cribbing about how badly BSES treated them as compared to how NDPL treats it’s staff. He was telling his colleagues that NDPL had given Titan watches to all it’s employees. And NDPL was also offering an interest free loan to all it’s employees to buy Tata Indicas and Indigos.

Reliance was busy deciding which brother gets Papa’s watch and which brother gets papa’s car. And so the employees were getting nothing. Else i could have had a better and cooler summer 😉