All those colors, all that shines…

Few from your dreams, few from mine…

New hope on the horizon, new bottle of wine…

Wishing you a great 2008, safe and fine..

Here’s a bus stop with a laundrocart attached.

Unique isn’t it ? Happens only in India. You’ll find this dhobi cart virtually every day of the week in the Frazer Town area. In addition to a “shop front” on the main road, this man’s location is tailormade for him. It has a wide berth, a roof that protects him from the elements and plenty of “shelf space” for his clothes.

What else do you need?

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‘Old is Gold’ may not apply to the construction industry. Here the old has to let the ‘new’ take it’s place in the modernization ambit…

Here is a famous landmark building on MG Road getting reconstructed, the old structure was quite stylish as seen by the arches of designer corners that once used to hold tapering wooden roof….

Even as I write this, the quote of a well known filmaker recently in a magazine known for its ‘stings’ comes to mind. He said “….that many things happen by chance, we have no control.” Sort of how I discovered this restaurant last week. To avoid a traffic pileup near Begum Mahal on Ulsoor Road, I took a detour onto Gangadhara Chetty Road. At the 2nd entrance to Haudin Road, my gaze was riveted by this small building, almost like a converted outhouse, that had been done up in a very traditional way. Apparently, a Chettinadu restaraunt – Naachiyar’s – was being opened in 4 days time. I couldn’t help but smack my lips. You see, cosmopolitan Bangalore…er, make that Bengalooru (pronounced Bengalooru) has eating places running into hundreds covering 40+ cuisines beginning with A for Andhra and upto W for Western [ Pity, Z for Zoroastrian is not available unless of course, you're ok with P for Parsi! ;) ] but very few truly Chettinad food places seem to operate. So, this new addition had me all excited.
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It’s not new to use festive excitement for marketing, the big brands get more and more creative cashing on such opportunities.

Here is Fosters, a leading beer getting creative and displays a X-mas tree made out of beer cans outside a pub/restaurant nearby brigade road…

Koothu-p-Pattarai, a professional Tamil repertory group, staged “Woyzeck”, a German play bu George Buchner, at Ranga Shankara today, the 15th of December.

Franz Woyzeck is a soldier who has an illegitimate child by his mistress Marie, who is a prostitute. However, he thinks of her as his wife, and to make extra money to support them, performs menial jobs for his captain and also takes part in the medical experiments that the army doctor conducts. Once, the doctor tells him that he should eat nothing but peas…and Woyzeck begins to hallucinate. Meanwhile, Marie dallies with a handsome drum-major…and so the relationships, and the pressure on Woyzeck’s brain and emotions, develop…
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The picture here shows one segment of a traffic build-up from Pottery Road in Frazer Town, right up to Davis Road. That’s a long stretch, and sheer rotten to be stuck here at 10 am.

I have been living around Richards Town for the last twenty years or more, so I guess I’m qualified to provide a flash-back perspective. Looking back, what was traffic like around Richards Town / Cooke Town / Da Costa Square ?

For one thing, there was nothing like a “rush hour” in the morning. No clogging whatsoever at the “tunnel” near the police station. Going over the Mosque Road overbridge was a breeze. And the level crossing near ITC didn’t get your pressure to hit the stack. Your kids were safe on the road, old ladies didn’t need help to cross the road and auto drivers didn’t by and large miss you by a whisker if they suddenly wanted to go in another direction.
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Today and tomorrow (13th and 14th December), at 7.30pm, Ranga Shankara features “Pizzazz”,the English comedy by Hugh Leonard that Sharanya Ramparakash has already staged a few times. It’s a comedy dealing with relationships and the male and female thought processes….I have earlier reviewed this play (the review can be found at

Pizzazz Review

dated 17 Oct 07) , and I think that since the young theatre group, Dramanon, is evolving well, the play is worth watching.. For telebooking, call 99808 61057.

On December 15 and 16 (at 7.30pm, with an afternoon show on the 16th at 3.30 pm), Koothu-p-Pattarai, the Tamizh theatre repertory from Chennai, is performing the German classic, “Woyzeck”, in Tamizh, as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations. The work by George Buchner was also made into a movie by Werner Herzog. Ciontact Nikhil, at 99868 63615.

Ranga Shankara can be contacted on 2659 2777. However, they do not accept tele-bookings.