In Mumbai for the weekend

Mumbai has it’s own special place in Indian culture. Every Indian city has a culture but Mumbai really is different. And everytime I come here, I am reminded of it:  Life is meant to be lived to the fullest, in a fair and enjoyable way. I wonder what “attribute” would a Marketer want to own in tourists’ mind to attract them : alive, vibrant at all levels, optimism, cosmopolitan are some of the first ones that come to mind. I am sure Mumbai-kars would have tons more, but would love to hear a couple of the ones you feel strongest about.

Also met my kiddo cousin over dinner after work, who is now at SP Jain, one of India’s good B-schools. Kid cousins always grow up faster than you expect, and faster than you want them to . One day you are guiding them and the next day, they are so smart it makes you proud and surprised at the same time. Time never stops for anyone, eh !

She took me to this great restaurant in Andheri West called Sigara. Some of the best Indian food I have ever had; not kidding. It doubles as a flavored-hookah joint. Their special Seekh Kebabs were finger-licking good. In fact, we had an Ice Tea, Seekh, Biryani, Raita, and Mudcake and it was all yummy. It has to be good to make me want to write on the blog after some 7 months!!!! and more !

From now till the next post, hopefully very soon … auf weidersehn.

 

Sorastro – a great dining experience

Sorastro in Drury Lane is a great dining experience. The food is good, nothing spectacular but nothing bad either. And prices are very reasonable for London

But it’s the decor that make you feel great – it’s set up almost like arabian nights decor – big and varied chandeliers and lamps, rugs/carpets, balcony seating available, glittery beads etc. It’s just a great place to chill out and enjoy a chat and look around.

On sunday and monday, they do an expensive set menu but it’s accompanied by opera/music performances by artists from Royal Opera House etc: meaning really good performances.

Go there when you are in a mood to feel happy.

 

Random Dinner with the Irish – great fun

Instead of going to McDonalds for the Fillet-o-Fish I felt like, I was lazy and stopped at the Spanish place next to home. San Miguel’s Restaurant & Tapas Bar is quite a cool place, with live music and well-known for its ambience and food.

So I come in, sit at a table with my Economist for keeping me company, and this 40-something lady says “are you alone, join us if you want”; and so started an hour of great conversation. It was two Irish friends, a guy and a girl, having their brandy having just finished their dinner.
We talked about literally everything: how Ireland and India have similar cultures because of being family-oriented (and the flags are similar, I reminded them!), how the Irish cricket team now is finally known in Ireland, how emails make our life event-driven now (and how Blackberry email responses can honestly wait till you get to work), student loans in UK. I mean everything

And it ended with the lady dancing to the live music and finding a partner with another restaurant 60-odd year old guest, who then later talked about his 3 ex-wives!!

Sometimes random encounters can be great fun

 

A great play, 3 movies, good London food but ohh the weather

This post should be long but interesting:

1. Finally saw Les Miserables at the West End.  This play was special, well it is the longest running play (some 21-odd years)  so it should be I guess.  There were some unique elements about it: (A) it was a very “acting” focused play (B) the theatre seating was, well, unique (C) the lighting was superb and (D) the circular stage dias was used very effectively.  Let me elaborate – the play did not deal in grand stage settings or props (so there was no liquid in the glass when they had wine, or no water when the protagonist splashed his face from a pond). It was a musical but very focused on human emotions through facial, body and tonal expressions. (hence A). The theatre had such a slope that I sat scared in the first 30 minutes honestly (hence B), can’t explain lighting in words it was so well done though. And finally, the stage was used for travel indication, the actor just moved along the circumference of the circular dias to denote going from one place to another (helped by great lighting effects). The story is quite popular, of a convict and his maturing amidst the French Revolution

2. Brought home 3 movies after getting sick of my 2nd year MBA project: Wall Street, The Queen and Kabul Express.  The last two are fantastic movies, Wall Street was too dated to enjoy and too similar to all books and movies about greed in the financial services industry. The Queen has some stellar performances from Helen Mirren (Her Majesty) and Michael Sheen (Tony Blair), it’s a movie I highly recommend. The tagline “Tradition Prepared Her. Change Will Define Her.” is apt. Helen Mirren of course got the best actress Oscar. The story is incredibly recent (1997)  relevant (the death of Princess Di) so can be related to. There’s a dialogue the Queen makes to Blair (when he respectfully suggests she might be out of touch with the masses) about how one day he might find himself in a similar situation, when suddenly out of nowhere, the way you have always done things and people have agreed turns against you. Think Iraq!!

3. Shola, on Edgware Road, serves the best Indian food in London (for the price it charges anyway, around 6-7 GBP for a dish).  Check it out when you are around there. Its at 130 Edgware Road, phone number 020 7569 3091, and no I do not hold a stake in this company! I just love their food a lot, and this coming from an Indian who doesn’t readily like being served restaurant Indian food. 

However, the only regret is its May and it still is too windy for Summer; for god’s sake my Cap was blown away from my head  yesterday.  But it’s expected to turn around and I have my first cricket match of the season on Saturday