The Science of Everyday Life-Book Review

Marty Jopson is the author. Apparently British, as he calls a biscuit a biscuit- and not a cookie. One of his most interesting takes is about the difference between a cake and a biscuit- if it turns hard when you leave it out in the open for a day or two, it is a cake; if it turns soggy, it's a biscuit.

Also, he explains  how an induction top works, in language that anybody (I) can understand. Also, the GPS and how its use for locating anyone (through your mobile phone) is based on Einstein's theories.

He's got a lot of stuff about food and drink (my favourite chapters), bathing and why it causes wrinkles if you dip too long in a tub, why teapots/kettles dribble and how you can stop it (applying butter to the spout can do it!).

Other interesting things as to how the ice being less dense than water is responsible for us being alive as a species on earth, and so on. Why we all dream, but only some of us remember them, why all sweat does not smell bad (deo customers will be able to 'defogg' themselves), why paint needs a quickly evaporating substance to be mixed in it- this also has something to do with the shape of coffee stains.

Well, some other interesting things to know- including simple ones such as how a refrigerator works, and why Alternating Current (A.C.) is used in transmitting electricity over long distances-and why Fall colours like Orange and Yellow and Red appear on tree leaves in colder climates like the U.S. Lots of humour in it too. Recommended.

Eateries at Nagpur

I had a chance to eat at a few more places thanks to farewell parties, golf group parties and faculty get-togethers in my days at Nagpur. Here is a quick review of the sights-sorry, eats.

Centre-point at Ramdaspeth has good food, and a new look. The top floor at the other, Airport Centre-point has a live singer in the evening. Food is Ok, service is good.

Repose, a ninth storey lounge in Sriram Towers has a very good view of Nagpur. Though the lighting could be better, the seats are comfy, and food is good. Music is set at a volume which 50-year-old ears can tolerate, unlike some other places devoted to Youngistan decibel levels - as a prof. of yore said, it is a debacle, not decibels in those.

10 Downing Street makes it unnecessary to visit U.K. , what with the rupee value and the 3 lakh deposit that the Empire asks of you to go there. If you can have the ambience here, why bother? The menu is innovative, with lots of variety. David Cameron, you just lost a tourist.

L.B. has a party hall, and so does Tuli. Both were adequate for our purposes, and managed to customise it as per our order- a  TV was added for using the Karaoke mike.

For local flavours, hot and hotter, some of the Saoji food joints are good too. There are a few more as well, but I have forgotten the names.Some other time, perhaps.

 

Eating Out in Nizami Style

Very few eateries get their mutton right. Usually it is under-cooked, or stale, hard or the meat is overshadowed by the bone. But I must say that Nizam's Kathi Kabab in CP, Delhi,is a place that gets it right on every count. Delicious stuff, the mutton curry, just the right amount of flavour, taste, melt-in-the mouth consistency, and so on. The only minus would be the quantum of oil, but then, all the pluses count for more. This place is behind Plaza cinema on one side. It was not crowded today, unlike earlier times. So we actually got a table (probability of that is pretty close to zero normally).

The keema balls were delicately flavored, well-done and again, melting in your mouth variety. When done right, few things can be compared to this, my favorite concoction. Pathhar ka gosht from Hyderabad maybe, or a Gilawati kabab from Lucknow. Not much else! Subhanallah. Connaught Place seems to have a bombed out look on account of endless digging up though, making the approach to this place a bit tough.