Cafes

 Of late, it's raining cafes.. I mean, I have been visiting unusual eateries, for me unusual. I am a simple biryani and Irani chai wala aadmi- not aam admi, but almost one.

So it has meant that I ate Italian, or French, without going to either country. Some examples of what I ate at Pune and Bangalore.. if the company is good, I don't mind hi-fi food (for an aam admi)

Not Paris, but Bangalore.

Exotica, with Anusha Soni at Pune (above, and below)..on Prabhat Road.

A visitor, Suyasha from Pune, in a Bangalore Metro.. and above, with her aunt and Uncle.

Hauz Khas Village

It's anything but. A village, I mean. It looks like a European street, in Paris or Amsterdam. It's a small cluster near a deer park (opposite IIT Delhi), where there was a Madrasa built by Allauddin Khilji. There is a lovely lake that reminded me of Ulsoor lake a few years ago. There are also nice 6 centuries old buildings which housed the madrasa.

But today, the hip crowd of Delhi and foreign visitors frequent the place, which has antique stores, art galleries, and cool cafes which have a European-sounding Menu (and prices). The desi  touch comes from shops that have old Hindi film posters. And some dirt and half-finished construction- we are always creating and destroying, right?

My guides were my new friends in Delhi, Devapriya Roy and her husband, Saurav Jha, who are both  authors, in different genres- she has to her credit "The Vague Woman's Handbook", a fictional work, while Saurav is an energy consultant who has written a book about Nuclear energy. He also consults for FICCI and govt. of Bihar on renewable and conventional energy. They are also collaborating on The Heat and Dust Project, a travelogue in India, with a difference.