Woodburns - An Interesting Blend

 Not sure how old it is, but I just got introduced. It's a whisky, with some a strong peaty taste.

I have been a fan of peated Single Malts for a while now, but this is a blended whisky, not a Single Malt. I guess it's also mostly a grain whisky, but aging in charred oak barrels makes a difference, and it's also totally indigenous.

All in all, a real value for money bottle at Rs. 2200 in Kolkata.

Another blend I really like for its smoothness is Royal Ranthambore. Different taste, not peaty, but nice.

Also pretty reasonably priced. Around 1900 in Kolkata.

Malts I have Tried

 Glen Grant, Aberfeldy, Singleton, Glenfiddich, The Glenlivet, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Smokehead, Ardbeg, Balvenie, Caol Ila, Dalmore, Jura, Dalwhinnie, Talisker, Old Pulteney, Loch Lomond, Ledaig, Glenmorangie, Kilchoman, Bowmore, Ardmore  among the Scottish ones.

Indri, Amrut, Paul John, Kadamba, Rampur, Godawan,  and a couple more of Indian ones.. Baliwada, made in Feni casks in Goa.. a bit strong for my taste.

Yet to taste the Japanese Malts.

Names I Have Encountered

 Of course, there is a big range, so let me take a look, alphabetically.

A -  Ananya, Aditi, Anchal, Arpit, Arpita, Ankit, Ankita, Abha, Anne, Annie, Aashish, Alisha

B- Bindu, Bhuvneet, Bhavana, Bhagya, Bibhuti

C- Chitra, Chitrangi, 

D- Dilip, Devapriya

E- Elango, Eeshita

F- Frane, Fanni (Chinese)

G- Garima, Girish

H- Hamir, Himanshu

I- Ishita, Indira, Ishan, 

J- Jayashree, Juhee, Jaya, Jogeswari

K- Kiran, Kanika, Karnika, Kulbir

L- Lubna, Lakshmi, Laura, Lionel, Leslie (USA)

M- Mohan, Mohini, Meghana, Manasa, Marla, Melinda (USA), Masoud (Irani)

N- Neeti, Narayan, Nishka, Nidhi, Natasha

O- Omana, Om, Oormila

P- Pratima, Padmapriya, Prachi, Pooja, 

Q- Quentin, the film director

R- Rimjhim, Rajan, Rajni, Ramakrishna, Rajhans, Ruminder, Ron

S- Sita, Samudrika, Smita, Shraddha, Sohni, Shruti, Shankar, Sujit

T- Tosha, Tanmeet, Tarika, Tanaya, Tanya, 

U-Uday, Urmi, Upasana, Usha

V- Vandana, Vishwanath, Viral, Venkat, Vaishali

X- Xavier

Y- Yapin (Chinese), Yagnesh, Yogesh, Yugmala

Z- Zenitha, Zahabiah

Interesting Names

 Since I have seen about half a million students by now, there were quite a few interesting names that came my way. Some happened in the U.S., but many in India.

Grafila Jain was a student at IMT Nagpur. So was Meenu Mynam. And Vidushi Gandhi. Among the more common ones (Ankit, Ankita), these stood out. Tosha Dubey too, who I met a few times later on. 

Yamini Shah was another unusual name. And Ratnashree. Of course, Laura, the Austrian girl too. Again at IMT.

Writabrita Ray takes the cake, among IIM Indore students, for uniqueness. Then there was Om Sai Keerthi Soppa, another long and unique one. Harapriya was also one of a kind, though it might be more common in Odisha. Sanket was also a new one, rare.

Nishka Kumar (now Rathi) at KIAMS, along with Jogeswari, were some of the unique ones. Both remain friends, many years after they graduated.

Among those I met elsewhere, Dhanali Sandesara from NIFT stands out.

Among foreign names, Godwin Udo from Nigeria, Yapin Qiao from China, Natalija from Lithuania, Masoud Abessi from Iran were some that were different. Alberto from Portugal also. And Samudrika from Sri Lanka.

Repositioning

 For a brand of any kind, repositioning involves changing its perception by the targeted market segment. 

For Hindi films, these are some examples-

the character of a bandit/daaku/dacoit used to be a dhoti clad, moustachioed character carrying a longish rifle for many years -until Gabbar Singh came along in Sholay. Tht changed the perception of the villager-dacoit. This one was more sophisticated.

The hero never got into comedy..there was always a separate character doing comedy, until Amitabh and his drunken solos came along. The hero became an all-rounder, and did everything himself- dancing, comedy, action.

Same with the heroine, to some extent. She also tried out her vampish side, becoming a grey character, a seductress, etc. And did 'Item' numbers in others' films too.

Indian films themselves used to be technically backward in special effects etc. Bahubali and the recent crop like Robot, RRR etc. have changed that perception too. Though song and dance rules, as before. Natu, natu..

Kids I Used to Know

 One of the benefits of getting old (I am not old-just getting there slowly) is to look at the dramatic changes in how many of the kids you know (including your own, if any) look after a decade or more.

So many kids I can remember, among them my cousins' kids from India and abroad, and some who migrated abroad from India. We don't meet as often, but pics are good enough to figure out.

Another age group is my students in their early twenties who are now young parents in many cases, with their own cute kids. There are hundreds in this category, and I have met a few of their kids too. Some I have only seen on facebook, but it gives you a great feeling to know someone for so long, more than a generation. 

An Indian parent used to have only two wishes in the earlier generation- to see their kids "settled" (meaning married) and then, to see them have kids. I don't insist on any of these, maybe because I feel like a grandpa by proxy to all these kids!

Not to forget, kids make some of the best models, so you can also indulge your passion for this hobby, with your camera.

Foodies in a Lockdown

 Most of us would have learnt to cook by now, if not learnt how home-cooked food tastes. Thanks to the virus going around the world. Here are a few good eats, made right at home, not necessarily by me. Pics are always better than words, esp. when related to food. Drinks have been kept out, so imagine those..

Sabudana vada.

Rava dosa with onion, home-made.

Stuffed brinjal, with roti.

Spiced rice, or masalebhaat.

Sabudana khichadi (above), Pasta in red sauce (below)

Chat, above, and a rounded meal with baingan bhaja..

Taadgola, or Ice apple -above, and Thalipeeth, below.

Rice paper rolls with hot sauce.

Mallu favourite- veg stew, above, and Chinese stir fry, below.

Potato gravy above, a humble omelette below.

Brands That Surprise Me

 Either with good product quality, or with service, I mean.

Dabur Red toothpaste. It looks good, tastes good, and I have the same kind of loyalty to it (my wife discovered it, to be fair) that I once had for Colgate. But Colgate was in a monopolistic situation, with not much of competition. Dabur is also a home-grown brand.

Polo. I have grown fond of the mint with a hole since the pandemic began, and I usually have it around me in office and at home. It's comfort food, and doesn't do much harm.

Airtel has improved its service over the years. Now, it's pretty good. Pre-sales and after-sales, particularly. 

Wion, among TV channels that I watch for news, is pretty decent. Also, I am now a regular watcher of some films and serials 3 days a week on TV 5 Monde (Asie), which has no ads, and decent evening content with English subtitles. 

Branded clothes, I was never a great fan of, I care more about fit and comfort, which no brand seems consistent with. So I am a switcher, and stick to a budget.

The deliverers and their back-end have improved a lot. The food deliverers are a deliverance for many during the pandemic times.

Bookstores. I am now a fan of Blossoms and Bookworm, both on Church Street, Bangalore. I recently found a few Nero Wolfe (by Rex Stout) books at Blossoms, so doubly a fan. 

Sayaji at Indore used to be consistently good with food. Barbeque Nation is their brand, though I haven't seen much of that.

Park hotel in Belapur was pretty good with its service, and I spent a lot of time there. The breakfast buffet was very good, better than a lot of others. In Kolkata, I liked the Peerless Inn. The Adamas Hotel in Hanoi was a good international one I stayed at. 

ANA, the Japanese airline, and Sri Lankan were two that surprised me pleasantly. Almost everything about Sri Lanka as a destination, actually. 

Anopheles and Our Media

 Anopheles came back into reckoning, when she confronted me the other day. It was a quiet evening, but only because my TV was off. Still, she had somehow caught a whiff of the news playing on it the last few weeks. 

As soon as she flew in, she asked pertinently- "Who is Rhea? " 

I said, as truthfully, based on news that was floating around, "She's something like a Black Widow who can do black magic." That threw her off, just a  bit. "What do you mean," she said?

I said, "Well, she can cast a spell from some distance, and make people do something they don't want to."

Anopheles said, "Like what?"

"Anything, you name it." 

"Can she make you dance?" Anopheles knew my shortcomings too well. 

"No, except that, she can do almost anything. She can make you disappear in a jiffy, if she wanted."

"Well, those must be prized skills. Why don't you guys use them to get rid of this cheeky virus that's stopped your world?"

"I think we like the Work From Home idea too much -we'd have to go to office, and drink the horrible canteen chai." I tried frivolity. (my speciality)

"Ha, ha. Don't forget, we can bite you more often at home." She was equal to the task. "But tell me, who is this Rajput guy she hung around with?"

"I really don't know too much. He was an actor, and he was from Bihar- an engineer too, I believe."

"That's depressing." That word triggered something. 

"He was also in a depression," I said. Don't you have such diseases in the mosquito world?

"Certainly not. We are quite busy doing something all the time. And we don't live in the make-believe world like some of you seem to.." with that stinging reply, she flew off to be with her REAL WORLD, leaving me to believe whatever it was that I wanted to..

Wedding of a Friend's Daughter

Weddings are certainly an Indian speciality, with multifarous dimensions. One such was that of Aditi, a friend's daughter. Lots of IIMB classmates and spouses added spice or zing to the proceedings. Some pics-

 The parents of the bride, with the two ..

 Beaming couple..

 A candid moment..

 Guests, spouses and batchmates.

 Bride's brother Amogh, with his girlfriend Camille.

 The feast (above), and Aditi (the bride) with my wife.

 Some of the guests..friends from MBA.

 Part 2- Another party ..and more friends turn up..

 The grandpa (89!) joins the bride and the father of the bride on the dance floor  above, and the lovely bridesmaids- below.

 The bride's now dressed up in a white gown.

 ..and comes in with dad and Uncle..

..to a groom who's getting edgy, and singing away.. watched by his dog.

Indian Brands

India, in spite of worshipping Coke, Domino's, and Cannes (yes, we can), has some remarkable brands of its own. MNCs have not been able to displace them for years.

AMUL is one such brand. Seemingly ubiquitous, because its butter is everywhere, and so is its milk. It is also a cooperative, and its history therefore is unique.

Fevicol, another brand that uses humour to advertise itself (like Amul), is a great Indian brand in its category (sticking things together)

Symphony air coolers is the top-of-the-mind national brand, known early on for its distinctive design.

Asian Paints, for its decorative paints, remains the leading brand for decades.

IPL, though not exactly unique, is a sports brand with a huge following, and international cricket players want to be a part of it.

Among the recently launched ones, Carvaan, a music player from Saregama, has made waves.

Uniquely Indian Things

Band baaja baaraat..nothing like it anywhere in the world..Ghodi pe hoke sawaar and all that!

Chain-snatching. Nowhere in the world do we have so many chain-snatchers..NY and Chicago have their Mugger-gangs , but not chain-snatchers.

Pan- the unique concoction of a betel leaf is used after food (Pet pooja) and the leaf alone is also used in many of our poojas/functions like haldi kumkum.

Chai..nobody drinks the kind of chai that we do-if we discount the wannabe Lattes, I mean.

The saree- maybe Sri Lanka also has a version of it in 5 yards, but the nine yard variant is certainly found only here.

Noise..everywhere, on the street, in the bazaars, and the aforesaid Baraats, we are a high-decibel society.

Song-and-dance in films.

The nod-it's different!

Malt Mania

There is this group called Malt Maniacs, and it has as its only Indian member, Krishna Nukala, my new guru. If you have to follow your passion, do so in style, is a lesson I learnt from him the other day, when he gave us a fascinating insight into the art of appreciating Single Malts from around the world (Taiwanese and Japanese included!). Starting with lighter-flavoured sherry-cask ones (Glenfarclas 21 year-old), we moved towards some known and some unknown (to me, not him) names that went towards the peaty, topping off with some Ardbeg that he got in an auction. A rare version of Amrut and a Paul John, both Indian, were represented, and made me proud. Some glimpses into the tasting - heady stuff!

I won't forget this evening in  a hurry!

 He launches into the fascinating stories, and a taste of the best.

For more on Single Malts, you can go read https://www.maltmadness.com/index.html

Thinking of Titles

Everything needs a title, and it's tough to think of one..for a film, a TV show, or for a position. In Tamil nadu, and Andhra/Telangana, every star has a title, I am told..the titles could be Superstar, Star of Stars, Never-before-seen-star, or any other bizarre set of words. The announcement when a monarch entered his court, whether it was Akbar in Mughal-e-Azam or Shivaji in his court, included their titles.

Naming something-your child, or the brand your company has conceived-has the same problem-namely, the name. And once you name someone or something, it's branded for a long, long time. Naming films would be an equally difficult job, I am guessing.

Trying to recall names of some popular shows we watched on American TV in the late eighties, the following come to mind- The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Hawaii Five-O, Miami Vice, Remington Steele, Murder, She Wrote, ..or those later, such as Friends, Castle, The Big Bang Theory, Game of Thrones, etc. one can see a pattern of using the names of places, characters (or real ones, as in Cosby's case), and sometimes, the subject- such as Family Ties starring Michael J. Fox, or Friends.

I personally prefer short titles- Rajni, for instance, or Mahabharat, but Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi was also a favourite TV show when it ran.

Filmy Character Names

Some memorable filmy characters, mainly due to their names-

Dr. Fu Manchu- Peter Sellers in The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, who drinks a youth elixir made out of diamonds, stolen by a band of henchmen whom he calls "dacoits."

Rice Plate Reddy, a villain in the funny film, Quick Gun Murugan, which also had a seductress named Mango Dolly.

Dhurandhar Bhatawadekar -the incomparable Utpal Dutt, in Rang Birangi

Mogambo - Amrish Puri in Mr. India, who made "Mogambo khush hua" a household dialogue.

Soorma Bhopali- Jagdeep in Sholay, speaking in his inimitable style.

Virus in 3 Idiots, played so well by Boman Irani.

Circuit in Munnabhai MBBS. Arshad Warsi's best role, maybe.

..and finally, Lola Kutty, the delectable Mallu lady of the T.V. show by the same name. "Aalex"  was her frequent companion.

The ABC of Single Malts

This is an educational post, about a class of drinks that has no parallel. These are called Single Malt whiskys, or sometimes, just Malts.

My limited experience with them, about ten years now, has led me to the following conclusions (though influenced by writers or friends, mostly mine)-

There are a variety of single malts, and you may become a devotee of one or more over time. Once you are a Malt worshipper, it's hard to go back to the blends (see below for definition).

There are areas of Scotland (like Islay, Highlands, and others) which have somewhat distinct Malts. Ageing and the casks used for these (previously used for carrying Sherry or Bourbon sometimes) add to the flavours of a Malt. So does the use of peat (a sort of coal) for the roasting of Barley used in its making.

The Single Malt is so named because it does not get mixed with whiskys from other distillers. Blends (like Johnnie Walker or Ballantines) are usually a mix of several whiskys blended together. Just like Brooke Bond Red Label (a blend of teas) and tea from a single estate (equivalent to a Single Malt). Consistency of blends is maintained by tasters who do taste-tests.

My own favourites are Ardbeg, Laphroaig, The Glenlivet, and Glenfiddich, and I have also tried The Balvenie, Glenmorangie, Talisker, Jura, Macallan, Dalmore. My favourites tend to be the smoky or peaty ones.

Amrut, an Indian Single Malt, is available in a few variants and I like its peaty variant the best, out of the three I have tried.

The Meaning of Life

There is a great joke I heard on American T.V. that for me epitomizes the answer to this question.

 A guy from America was searching for the meaning of life (like all of us). He had heard of many great gurus in different countries, met many, but was unsatisfied. Then, someone mentioned a recluse who lived in the Himalayas, and said he would not disappoint him. Finding him after many months of trying, this American went up to the meditating man in some corner of the mountains. He waited until the guru opened his eyes.

 Explaining his quest, what pains he had to take, and the good things he had heard about the guru, the man asked him the question he had been longing to get an answer for. “What is life?” The guru replied instantly, “It is a fountain with water flowing out of it,” and fell silent.
After waiting for more, the American asked him,“That’s it? Is that why I came across the seven seas to you? This cannot be the answer to my question…blah, blah..”  “You have to give me the real answer.” “Ok”, the guru said. “I will tell you the real answer. Life is a fountain with no water flowing out of it”, and fell silent again, for good. I find this story hilarious, but also insightful. We are so full of ourselves that most of the time, we are blind to the abundance of life forms, and inanimate objects in nature. The universe is so big and unfathomable, that whatever we might achieve, we are dwarfed by it. Essentially, life is what you choose to make of it, or believe it to be.

 I find some writers particularly insightful at explaining the niceties of the inexplicable in a palatable way. J. Krishnamurty, the teacher-philosopher, is one of them. He advocates freedom from all dogma, and not to believe anything unless you have experienced it for yourself. If we look around, we will notice that everyone has an agenda. Also, everyone has limited experience, based on which they generalize. For example, before I visited the U.S., I could not have visualized what a 4-lane highway looks or feels like, because I had not seen or driven on one in India. Essentially, think and experience things for yourself before you start believing in anything, is the learning from this man. 

Another writer I found very good at philosophical yet understandable writing is Richard Bach. From Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, the story of a seagull who is grappling with questions about the meaning of life, to his other books, he has a good take on life, rebirth, reincarnation, religion, and many other issues.
 Among current writers bordering on the philosophical, Robin Sharma and Paulo Coelho are probably the best (also indicated by their sales). With a simple yet effective style, they are able to get beyond the ordinary stories that they tell.
 

I would also rate Osho as another great author. The sheer volume of his writings is amazing. His wide sweep of all possible religions, belief systems and his interpretations are a treat to read/listen to. He was a unique guru in many ways, who dared to confront the hypocritical ideas of all religions and yet explain the good things about each one of them. His persecution at the hands of the U.S. and other governments proves that they were really scared of what he was preaching, maybe because much of it was true. One other trait I liked in him is that he was not scared of the white man. Many of the ex-colonies of white nations seem to carry the slavery in their minds even today. 

I also have a theory of life. I call it my Mega Theory of Life, and it has a simple explanation for all that we do-BOREDOM. We are all trying to get ourselves out of a state of boredom, by doing whatever we do. See if it explains everything or not-the wars, the seeking of pleasure, the quest for money, the religious discourses, and so on.
 

Book Review- Mr. Majestic by Zac O'Yeah

Yes, the author's name may sound stranger than that of the book. He is a Swede settled in Bangalore. This is his second book I have read, thanks to a friend who gifted it to me. The first was something about Scandinavistan.

A good read, and an original style of writing. This guy, Mr. Majestic, is a small-time crook and a tout in a seedy area of Bangalore (named CD Road, quite appropriately). In fact, like Asterix comics, the names here are quite revealing of the character. So you have Gundajee alias Rhino, a bigger crook, Mensinkai (chilli in Kannada), a medium-level crook with more experience than Majestic, and assorted other crooks with colourful names.

The humour is pervasive, dark at times, sardonic at others. The author abviously likes to explore the underbelly of Bangalore, where forgers, touts and louts have a field day. Some of them, like our hero, indulge in cybercrime too, in collaboration with the Nigerians.

There is also Jagatprasiddha, the demi-god actor who can cause riots just by falling sick, and cows on the road who can stop even him. In fact, the nuances of Indian reality lend authenticity and punch to a narrative that in itself is not a great mystery. There are a few twists to the storyline, nevertheless, and Majestic, named after an old cinema hall, resolves them with panache, just like the Sandalwood (Kannada film industry) heroes.

You will get more out of it if you are familiar with Bangalore, and a bit of Kannada, but even without that, it's an enjoyable autorickshaw ride, pot-holes and all.

Typically Indian Songs

Some words used in Hindi film songs are typically Indian, non-global ones. Some songs featuring such words-

Beedi jalile jigar se piya from Omkara. Beedi is very commonly smoked in India. Made Bipasha Basu famous.

Kajra re kajra re tere kaare kaare naina...kajra is an Indian tradition, for the eyes. Other songs have also emphasised the word, such as Kajra laga ke, gajra saja ke..Gajra is also a flower decoration for hair typically used by Indian women.

Sharm is another such word..Sharm aati hai magar aaj yeh kehna hoga, is a song using the word. Sharmilee was a whole movie based on the idea, with a title song that went O meri, o meri o meri sharmilee,...

Panghat is a place where water is filled, typically by women in villages. Recently used in the song Radha teri chunri in Student of the Year.

Cricketers in a Word or Two

Sunil Gavaskar- Stolid
Wadekar- World-beater
GR Vishvanath-Silken touch
Sachin- OMG!
Sehwag-Nonchalant
Saurav-Heart-on-his-sleeve
VVS Laxman-Smooth
Azhar- Glanciator
Solkar- Acrobat
Prasanna- Off-the-cuff magic
Chandrasekhar- Armed to the leg
Kumble-Smiling assassin 
Kapil- Leader by example
Dravid- Gentleman cricketer
Zaheer- Swinger
Srinath- Idli power
Sandhu-A googly for Greenidge (started the downfall of Windiestowards the World Cup)