Ebrahim Saheb Street- A Foodies delight

A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I were roaming around aimlessly (like we always do…. No sense of direction, whatsoever!) And found ourselves in the back alleys of Commercial Street. The name sounded familiar… Ebrahim Saheb Street… I think my mother would go there to shop for intricate embroided dress materials… (Why I am even talking about embroidery.?!?) Anyways, the surprising thing about the street in reference is that it has a large number of roadside eateries with a large variety… from jalebis, to churmur chat and the quintessential South Indian delicacy, Idlis and Dosas. The street reminded me of the “Parathe Waali Galli” in good ol’ Dilli, only much M-U-C-H smaller… (Sorry dilli wallas, if I have offended you…. Just a mild comparison…. I might be wrong…. Very wrong)

The only thing that amazed me was that I hadn’t heard about these Idli and Dosa joints before, being a Bangalorean all my life (Shame!!). We decided to start the proceedings with the soft Idlis and some chutney (very hot!). In no time we had gobbled up about half a dozen of ‘em….. We then went for a Dosa with generous amounts of clarified butter and dollops of white butter thrown in at the end…. I must say, the Dosas were indeed good. We also tried a Dosa with onions thrown in and oh…. Not to forget the vadas that acted as fillers while waiting for the dosas! Quite a meal for a hungry twosome…. The important thing is, we didn’t spend too much money and the food was a zillion times better than the thrash which is dished out in those stinky “Darshinis” (I despise those places…. Why is the sambar sweet, for cryin out loud?). People, who are paranoid about eating on the street, don’t worry, because, I am pretty sensitive too and it didn’t throw my bowel movements outta gear….. ;) For dessert we wound up at Bhagatrams, made famous by their DELICIOUS Gulab Jamuns and Gajar Halwas…. I think I have been going to Bhagatrams for as long as I can remember…. The gulab jamuns taste just the same… I hope it stays that way….

To wrap things up, I will go with three out of Five for the Dosa joints at Ebrahim Saheb Street (We didn’t explore too much though). I think the next time, I will make it a point to try some jalebis at a shop close to the Dosa place….

(PS: My next review: Veena Stores, Malleswaram)

p.s - review by AJ

Water reVu !!!

Well...posting a review of Water ..this review was done by one of my friend called AJ (no..not the Backstreet Boys Guy!!!...but close!!!)...its a really neat review ...here goes...

Water- a review:

Water, the third part of Deepa Mehta’s elements series and Canada’s foreign film entry to the Oscars, is a story set amidst the widows of Benares. The film, which was supposed to be shot in Benares itself about seven years ago faced much criticism, and the sets destroyed by Hindu extremists was later shot in picturesque Sri Lanka with a different set of actors.

The film is set in the 1930s colonial India, amidst the rising power and popularity of Gandhi and opens with the young Chuiya being widowed after her much older husband dies, a husband she does not recognize or a marriage she does not recall. She is, almost immediately, sent to a widows’ home by her parents, an act which makes your heart go out to the young Chuiya. The widows’ home almost immediately, changes after her arrival in a way which makes the widows question their faith and their way of life. The Sri Lankan girl Sarala, in the role of young Chuiya is adorable and she breathes life into her character. The film also captures the lives of other widows namely Lisa Ray as Kalyani and Seema Biswas as Shakuntala. The Lisa Ray track is your quintessential love story, wherein the rebellious widow finds solace in her love interest, played by John Abraham. I think, this track has helped portray to the foreign audiences the much romanticized image of India. John Abraham has done justice to his Gandhian character, Narayan and Lisa Ray is promising. Seema Biswas is in her usual best, and she plays her middle-aged widow role with ease. All credit to Deepa Mehta, with her amazing ability to make even the smallest characters stand out. For example, the character of the ladoo loving Bua, is beautiful and makes you laugh and cry at the same time. The downside is that the movie is a little sluggish in certain places and the scenes play out slowly which makes you lose interest. But this shouldn’t hold people back from watching this wonderful film. Personally, I thought 1947-Earth was a better film. Screenplay and Cinematography are excellent and the editing is crisp. All in all, this is the story of a group of strong willed women, essentially like the Indian woman and this is where the film scores on originality.

I don’t know why I am making this point so late in the review but here goes… The background score and songs composed by maestro A R Rahman are speechless haunting. Lyrics by Sukhwinder Singh are ideal and he should write for more films.

All said and done, this film is a huge loss for India and the Hindu extremists made a huge mistake by hampering the shoot. So, it eight out of ten for Deepa Mehta’s Water and two thumbs up for her courage to tell the story of the plight of widows. Lastly, hats off to the little girl Sarala for being this little powerhouse of talent playing a role which is truly difficult to play.