A Delhi Madarassi looking down on Chennai Madarassis

by Rishi Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:38 pm

For me, all Madrasis believe in “simple living”. They all have a Godrej at home, in which everything precious the family has ever owned is stockpiled. The clash of the metal handle, the movement of the vertical piston on the inside of the almirah panel, is forever etched in a South Indian’s mind.
Also, they eat in silence, while looking down at their grub. And they sleep on floor mats that they spread just in front of the Godrej, presumably to trip the burglar in pitch darkness. Finally, MS Subbulakshmi and RK Narayan are their mascots. If Chennai ever hosts the Olympics, expect to see soft toys and kiddie paraphernalia of these two in every shop and at every traffic intersection of Mount Road.
There is one other thing that Madrasis do. They resist change. Like the Nalli man who felt no need to formulate a new design, as perfection had already been achieved, we believe the same for our food, for our coffee and – crucially – for our music. It will forever be Palghat Mani Iyer for the mridangam and MLV for the vocals. Let’s not experiment, perfection was achieved earlier, or didn’t you know!
A local professor I meet at the conference tells me how difficult it is for his teenage daughter to suggest a modern interpretation to her Bharatanatyam teacher. The teacher always says, “Where’s the need. Bharatanatyam is perfect, there’s no point tinkering with it”.
Chennai is the only large city where I routinely find well-dressed people walking on the roads barefoot, people driving motorbikes barefoot, people driving cars barefoot. (My uncle told me once that the first time he wore slippers was when he went to college.) Where there are obstacles on the footpaths, barefoot men step down gladly to the soft earth, their feet forming little clouds of fine dust.
A village life is being led in the city, uninhibited and unreservedly.
I am reminded of one glorious passage in Nirad Chaudhuri’s Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, where he remembers a village dust road:
…We held this soft deep dust in great affection. We felt…contempt for those who walked on this road in shoes, missing so much…The best part of the pleasure of walking was to feel one’s bare feet sinking in the dust, just as the keenest edge of the joy of kicking, that activity so natural in children and so essential for them, was in raising dust as high as the head.
I take an auto to the famous Mailapur temple, to see if anything has changed since I visited the complex last, two decades ago, when, to my outrage, I had seen the sign “non-Hindus are not allowed” plastered near the temple mandapam.
Nothing has changed. Same kind of shops – exhibiting heaps of steel utensils and ground coffee in equal measure – line the alleyways. And inside the temple, the same greased and slippery paths. The temple itself, same “perfect” exquisiteness of architecture.
The celebrated Higginbotham’s bookshop on Mount Road, that fabricated Harry Potter-like magical experience in the mind of a Tamilian kid in the Eighties, is still there, and is packed. The bookstore is grand, like a high-ceilinged ballroom of yore, and a wonderful musty smell sits everywhere like cigar smoke. I see only books in the bookshop. They are clearly resisting adding new sections like Landmark has, of video games and music and soft toys. The bookshop owner still can tell you about each and every book that’s stocked in his shop. I engage him with my eyes, and feel like asking him how he plans to survive in an age where less and less people are coming to bookshops to buy books. But I don’t. Something tells me I know his answer already: Higginbotham’s will survive – there’s no need to change.
Having bought half a dozen veshtis for Appa from a veshti shop at – unbelievable but true – Chennai airport of all places, and waiting for the boarding call, I reflect on my short stay.
Chennai, I feel, is living the life of a frog in a well that was once majestic but now its water level has receded and its walls have corroded and the bricks are undone and scum has taken over the surface of that same sweet water. But the frog is reluctant to hop and skip and try to clamber out of this well – a well which it thinks is perfect.
Cities die if they don’t change. They become relics, of an ancient and glorious past, like Benaras. Chennai will die because its people believe it is perfect. Chennai is that ape that resists further evolution. A perfect ape.

http://www.newslaundry.com/2012/11/a-perfect-ape/

by Rishi Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:46 pm

Anand Ranganathan is an over educated idiot. He went to St. Stephens and has a Ph.D from Cambridge. What is the use?

by Kris Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:13 am

A local professor I meet at the conference tells me how difficult it is for his teenage daughter to suggest a modern interpretation to her Bharatanatyam teacher. The teacher always says, “Where’s the need. Bharatanatyam is perfect, there’s no point tinkering with it”.

>>>Just curious! Were the local professor and his daughter madaraasis? If so, doesn't the theory about 'stick in the mud' madrasis fall apart?

I am reminded of one glorious passage in Nirad Chaudhuri’s Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, where he remembers a village dust road:
…We held this soft deep dust in great affection. We felt…contempt for those who walked on this road in shoes, missing so much…The best part of the pleasure of walking was to feel one’s bare feet sinking in the dust, just as the keenest edge of the joy of kicking, that activity so natural in children and so essential for them, was in raising dust as high as the head.

>>>>Was Chauduri referring to madarasis specifically here?

....The temple itself, same “perfect” exquisiteness of architecture.

>>>> Wonder if the Sistine Chapel should have its ceiling art re-painted..It is change you know.

.... They are clearly resisting adding new sections like Landmark has, of video games and music and soft toys.

>>>And said landmark committed to change is on mars?

The bookshop owner still can tell you about each and every book that’s stocked in his shop. I engage him with my eyes, and feel like asking him how he plans to survive in an age where less and less people are coming to bookshops to buy books. But I don’t.

>>>Just as the conversation was not engaged in at the quaint bookshops near the oxbridge campuses.. Wait, this is a question reserved only for madarasis.

Having bought half a dozen veshtis for Appa from a veshti shop at – unbelievable but true – Chennai airport of all places, and waiting for the boarding call, I reflect on my short stay.local

>>>>Must admit I have never had this contemplative moment after picking up a jacket at SFO.. that unusual concept of marketing local apparel at the airport.

Chennai will die because its people believe it is perfect.

>>>Wonder where these denizens live, but I know that spoils the narrative.

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:24 am

funny article. dunno if correct or not, but funnily written.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:30 am

change for the sake of change is not good. there are new developments in BN and CM but the moron who wrote this article is probably too thick to understand. one of the most thrilling performances of BN (i am sure impy can say a lot more about the aesthetics of something like this) i have attended is leela sampson's solo interpretation of the kumarasambhavam. the idea is to interpret newer material without compromising the aesthetic and structural integrity. that is not easily achieved. and in CM, sanjay subrahmanyam has been doing all kinds of stuff including setting secular tamil poetry to music and singing it.

the fellow who wrote this article is too closed-minded and too self loathing to know. maybe he should just be content scarfing down his panneer dosAs with tomato ketchup and mint chutney (without an "i" that is. see when it is stuffed with panneer it doesn't deserve the "i" at the end).

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:59 am

Haha. Prof, a very happy new year to you.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:06 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Haha. Prof, a very happy new year to you.

likewise MD. happy new year.

by garam_kuta Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:22 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:change for the sake of change is not good. there are new developments in BN and CM but the moron who wrote this article is probably too thick to understand. one of the most thrilling performances of BN (i am sure impy can say a lot more about the aesthetics of something like this) i have attended is leela sampson's solo interpretation of the kumarasambhavam. the idea is to interpret newer material without compromising the aesthetic and structural integrity. that is not easily achieved. and in CM, sanjay subrahmanyam has been doing all kinds of stuff including setting secular tamil poetry to music and singing it.

the fellow who wrote this article is too closed-minded and too self loathing to know. maybe he should just be content scarfing down his panneer dosAs with tomato ketchup and mint chutney (without an "i" that is. see when it is stuffed with panneer it doesn't deserve the "i" at the end).

ha ! ha ! Surely, this will not bring out the chef out to apologize and say what did I do wrong, when someone asks for ketchup

by bw Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:48 am

imo, this is the most useful observation made in that article:

you see two people behave similarly and the seed of stereotyping or
generalising is sown at once. So much for statistical significance. It’s
a basic human tendency, perhaps even a need, to generalise – that is
how tribes were tagged and nations were formed. Not all Brits have a
stiff upper lip, not all Germans lack a sense of humour, not all French
are amorous…but we enjoy this bracketing, and we take it as a broad
truth.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:40 pm

bw wrote:imo, this is the most useful observation made in that article:

you see two people behave similarly and the seed of stereotyping or
generalising is sown at once. So much for statistical significance. It’s
a basic human tendency, perhaps even a need, to generalise – that is
how tribes were tagged and nations were formed. Not all Brits have a
stiff upper lip, not all Germans lack a sense of humour, not all French
are amorous…but we enjoy this bracketing, and we take it as a broad
truth.

Agree...Everyone is his own informal statistician, and leads own life based on personal experience. This applies to even great statisticians when it comes to their day-to-day lives.

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 1:49 pm

The guy is not right. Chennai in the early 90s is so different from Chennai now. Back in the day, married women wearing salwar kameezes were looked at strangely. My young unmarried, college going neighbor couldn't resist and asked my, 'You are married. Why are you still wearing dresses?' The scenario is much different now. Now it's a common sight to find even middle aged aunties in jeans and kurtis or leggings and kurtis.

He talked abt Nalli's. For his info, Nalli's has a whole floor for men's sherwanis and speciality shops for designer sherwanis and men's kurta pyjamas. Tamil men wearing sherwanis and kurta pyjamas? It was unheard of a couple of decades ago.

When i was in chennai 5 yrs ago, i found two random girls (some boys danced previously too) in jeans dancing to 'Loose control', Rahman's hindi song at the center of a shopping mall. Such a thing was unthinkable before.

And yeah, Sangeet and Mehendi functions are a part of almost every tamil wedding in the city, i guess. I got invited to an Iyengar wedding this time which has all these. Couldn't attend it though. Saw the video. The bride and the groom and others danced away to glory at the sangeet function.

And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

by Kris Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:29 pm

kinnera wrote:...

And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

>>>> I really like the Sangeeta chain. A bit of a tradition when I go to India- my brother orders from there when he opens the highland brew. I love the karahi vegetables. BTW, the article by Ranganathan brought back a couple of memories. I went to school with one of the nalli grandsons, but isn't nalli super expensive now? I used to pop into higginbothams as recently as a few years ago on trips to india- love the place with the musty smell and all and Landmark too, not far from Palm Grove. The books are dirt cheap there- picked up Meditations (marcus Aurelius) there for a song.
Speaking of musty bookstores, there is something quaint about them. I have been to some in SF, Berkeley and even one in San Jose. They are often family-owned and are often the last holdouts. Maybe that's the romance of it.

Happy New Year

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:32 pm

kinnera wrote:
And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

where was ur camera when u went to sangheetha restaurant?

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:45 pm

going to higginbothams is like meeting a very old friend and having a leisurely conversation. i love to linger by myself, spend an entire day browsing the aisles, taking in the sounds, smells, and sights of the shop with people entering and leaving, and just enjoying the daily rhythms of a day in the life of an age old institution. i never want it to change during my lifetime. the panneer dosa eating anand ranganathan wouldn't understand.

i've never been to sangeetha restaurant though it sounds awfully close to my parents' place.

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:56 pm

page 6, they do spell them dosaI, dunno what kinns was talking about,

but ohhh ohhh ohhh

PEAS MASALA DOSAI
CAULIFLOWER MASALA DOSAI
CHEESE MASALA DOSAI
PANNEER MASALA DOSAI

TOMATO AMLETTE

maybe some narthie runs this joint.

by artood2 Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:59 pm

Vidya Bagchi wrote:page 6, they do spell them dosaI, dunno what kinns was talking about,

but ohhh ohhh ohhh

PEAS MASALA DOSAI
CAULIFLOWER MASALA DOSAI
CHEESE MASALA DOSAI
PANNEER MASALA DOSAI

TOMATO AMLETTE

maybe some narthie runs this joint.

shhh.. somebody adopted change and experimentation and moved on in life.. may be they have ketchup on the menu too.

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:21 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:going to higginbothams is like meeting a very old friend and having a leisurely conversation. i love to linger by myself, spend an entire day browsing the aisles, taking in the sounds, smells, and sights of the shop with people entering and leaving, and just enjoying the daily rhythms of a day in the life of an age old institution. i never want it to change during my lifetime. the panneer dosa eating anand ranganathan wouldn't understand.

i've never been to sangeetha restaurant though it sounds awfully close to my parents' place.

It's sad that you didn't visit Sangeetha restaurant in Chennai though it's so close to your parents' place. Next time you visit India, pls do so. Great food! And yeah, when you are there, pls check out the the menu card that's in the restaurant, not the menu at Zomato.com.

Here's the menu of Sarana Bhavan, the very tamilnadu restaurant chain in my area http://www.saravanabhavan.com/menu/U.S.A/gerogia_decatur.pdf

by Kris Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:25 pm

Vidya Bagchi wrote:page 6, they do spell them dosaI, dunno what kinns was talking about,

but ohhh ohhh ohhh

PEAS MASALA DOSAI
CAULIFLOWER MASALA DOSAI
CHEESE MASALA DOSAI
PANNEER MASALA DOSAI

TOMATO AMLETTE

maybe some narthie runs this joint.

>>>> I didn't know they had 'amlette' - will try it next time I am in that neck of the woods.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:34 pm

Vidya Bagchi wrote:page 6, they do spell them dosaI, dunno what kinns was talking about,

but ohhh ohhh ohhh

PEAS MASALA DOSAI
CAULIFLOWER MASALA DOSAI
CHEESE MASALA DOSAI
PANNEER MASALA DOSAI

TOMATO AMLETTE

maybe some narthie runs this joint.

barking up the wrong tree again. i have no problem restaurateurs catering to people's tastes. there are all kinds of people who live in chennai. can't help it if some of them demand goose excreta.

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:35 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Vidya Bagchi wrote:page 6, they do spell them dosaI, dunno what kinns was talking about,

but ohhh ohhh ohhh

PEAS MASALA DOSAI
CAULIFLOWER MASALA DOSAI
CHEESE MASALA DOSAI
PANNEER MASALA DOSAI

TOMATO AMLETTE

maybe some narthie runs this joint.

barking up the wrong tree again. i have no problem restaurateurs catering to people's tastes. there are all kinds of people who live in chennai. can't help it if some of them demand goose excreta.

what makes u think i was barking up ur tree? i was just making a general observation.

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:37 pm

Vidya Bagchi wrote:
kinnera wrote:
And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

where was ur camera when u went to sangheetha restaurant?

I forgot to take my iphone. Felt like borrowing my brother's and taking a pic of the menu card, but resisted to do so. If I did, I had to give him the reason for my act. And if I told him the reason, he'd be shocked. He won't believe that ppl fight over the spelling of dosa and abt a professor's online obsession in calling it dosai. I don't want him to think that NRIs are nuts. And he sure won't want me to be a part of this madness.

by Kris Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:39 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:...

i've never been to sangeetha restaurant though it sounds awfully close to my parents' place.

>>> There are a few of them spread out around town. Tasty food , very reasonable prices- quite convenient when you are running around with not much time, which is usually the case for me. I think I have even been by the Adyar location.
Kind of an updated version ( would make Ranganathan proud!) of the old woodlands drive-in menu.

by Rishi Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:40 pm

Kris wrote:
kinnera wrote:...

And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

>>>> I really like the Sangeeta chain. A bit of a tradition when I go to India- my brother orders from there when he opens the highland brew. I love the karahi vegetables. BTW, the article by Ranganathan brought back a couple of memories. I went to school with one of the nalli grandsons, but isn't nalli super expensive now? I used to pop into higginbothams as recently as a few years ago on trips to india- love the place with the musty smell and all and Landmark too, not far from Palm Grove. The books are dirt cheap there- picked up Meditations (marcus Aurelius) there for a song.
Speaking of musty bookstores, there is something quaint about them. I have been to some in SF, Berkeley and even one in San Jose. They are often family-owned and are often the last holdouts. Maybe that's the romance of it.

Happy New Year

Just curious.

How clean is their kitchen?

Do the waiters put their fingers in the glasses while serve water?

How do they wash the plates and cups? Do they dip them all in one bucket of water and clean it with dirty towels?

by Kris Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:45 pm

Rishi wrote:
Kris wrote:
kinnera wrote:...

And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

>>>> I really like the Sangeeta chain. A bit of a tradition when I go to India- my brother orders from there when he opens the highland brew. I love the karahi vegetables. BTW, the article by Ranganathan brought back a couple of memories. I went to school with one of the nalli grandsons, but isn't nalli super expensive now? I used to pop into higginbothams as recently as a few years ago on trips to india- love the place with the musty smell and all and Landmark too, not far from Palm Grove. The books are dirt cheap there- picked up Meditations (marcus Aurelius) there for a song.
Speaking of musty bookstores, there is something quaint about them. I have been to some in SF, Berkeley and even one in San Jose. They are often family-owned and are often the last holdouts. Maybe that's the romance of it.

Happy New Year

Just curious.

How clean is their kitchen?

Do the waiters put their fingers in the glasses while serve water?

How do they wash the plates and cups? Do they dip them all in one bucket of water and clean it with dirty towels?

>>> My rule of thumb: will i get sick eating there? So am guessing that they re probably no worse than the roach coach that used to park outside my office in LA back in the day. I noticed they also have one in the UK now.

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:48 pm

n

Kris wrote:
kinnera wrote:...

And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

>>>> I really like the Sangeeta chain. A bit of a tradition when I go to India- my brother orders from there when he opens the highland brew. I love the karahi vegetables. BTW, the article by Ranganathan brought back a couple of memories. I went to school with one of the nalli grandsons, but isn't nalli super expensive now? I used to pop into higginbothams as recently as a few years ago on trips to india- love the place with the musty smell and all and Landmark too, not far from Palm Grove. The books are dirt cheap there- picked up Meditations (marcus Aurelius) there for a song.
Speaking of musty bookstores, there is something quaint about them. I have been to some in SF, Berkeley and even one in San Jose. They are often family-owned and are often the last holdouts. Maybe that's the romance of it.

Happy New Year

Yeah, Kris. I loved the food there. That's my bro's favorite restaurant too and he didn't want me to leave Chennai without eating there.
Prices are actually reasonable at Nalli or in chennai in general compared to Hyd. So I usually do all my shopping at Chennai. But the usual Nalli, Kumuran, Pothi's etc didn't appeal to me this time. There's a crop of new designer shops in chennai. They are awesome! Tulsi Silks at Mylapore.....omg! Excellent designer sarees! Kajol is another one with good analkali's and salwar suits.
I have good memories of visiting Higginbothams (i think on cathedral road) with my husband when i lived in chennai. This time, I've been to Landmark. It was pretty crowded. Don't know what the author said in the article. Chennaiites still seem to be voracious readers.

A very Happy New Year to you too, Kris Smile

by Kris Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:56 pm

kinnera wrote:n
Kris wrote:
kinnera wrote:...

And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

>>>> I really like the Sangeeta chain. A bit of a tradition when I go to India- my brother orders from there when he opens the highland brew. I love the karahi vegetables. BTW, the article by Ranganathan brought back a couple of memories. I went to school with one of the nalli grandsons, but isn't nalli super expensive now? I used to pop into higginbothams as recently as a few years ago on trips to india- love the place with the musty smell and all and Landmark too, not far from Palm Grove. The books are dirt cheap there- picked up Meditations (marcus Aurelius) there for a song.
Speaking of musty bookstores, there is something quaint about them. I have been to some in SF, Berkeley and even one in San Jose. They are often family-owned and are often the last holdouts. Maybe that's the romance of it.

Happy New Year

.... But the usual Nalli, Kumuran, Pothi's etc didn't appeal to me this time. There's a crop of new designer shops in chennai. They are awesome! Tulsi Silks at Mylapore.....omg! Excellent designer sarees! Kajol is another one with good analkali's and salwar suits.
I have good memories of visiting Higginbothams (i think on cathedral road) with my husband when i lived in chennai. This time, I've been to Landmark. It was pretty crowded. Don't know what the author said in the article. Chennaiites still seem to be voracious readers.

A very Happy New Year to you too, Kris

>>>>> It is so crowded around where Nalli is. My grandfather's house as on Usman Road, which is where I was born. Looks like it is prime real estate now, but of course in keeping with family tradition of buying high and selling low, he sold it for next to nothing back in the day. Another opportunity missed ... Smile

by Guest Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:04 pm

Kris wrote:
>>>>> It is so crowded around where Nalli is. My grandfather's house as on Usman Road, which is where I was born. Looks like it is prime real estate now, but of course in keeping with family tradition of buying high and selling low, he sold it for next to nothing back in the day. Another opportunity missed ...

Oh gosh, Kris! You'd have been a millionaire if only he had held on to it. I know someone whose dad had bought a huge piece of land on Nungambakkam high way back in the 70s. His kids do nothing now except to manage the rentals (which is a few lakhs every month) from the high end shops there. I wish my dad or grand dad had done something like that :-(.

by Kris Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:09 pm

kinnera wrote:
Kris wrote:
>>>>> It is so crowded around where Nalli is. My grandfather's house as on Usman Road, which is where I was born. Looks like it is prime real estate now, but of course in keeping with family tradition of buying high and selling low, he sold it for next to nothing back in the day. Another opportunity missed ...

Oh gosh, Kris! You'd have been a millionaire if only he had held on to it. I know someone whose dad had bought a huge piece of land on Nungambakkam high way back in the 70s. His kids do nothing now except to manage the rentals (which is a few lakhs every month) from the high end shops there. I wish my dad or grand dad had done something like that :-(.

>>>Hey, how do you think I feel? It is worse to have owned and lost, than never to have owned at all Sad

by bw Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:45 pm

kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:going to higginbothams is like meeting a very old friend and having a leisurely conversation. i love to linger by myself, spend an entire day browsing the aisles, taking in the sounds, smells, and sights of the shop with people entering and leaving, and just enjoying the daily rhythms of a day in the life of an age old institution. i never want it to change during my lifetime. the panneer dosa eating anand ranganathan wouldn't understand.

i've never been to sangeetha restaurant though it sounds awfully close to my parents' place.

It's sad that you didn't visit Sangeetha restaurant in Chennai though it's so close to your parents' place. Next time you visit India, pls do so. Great food! And yeah, when you are there, pls check out the the menu card that's in the restaurant, not the menu at Zomato.com.

Here's the menu of Sarana Bhavan, the very tamilnadu restaurant chain in my area http://www.saravanabhavan.com/menu/U.S.A/gerogia_decatur.pdf

i've been to adyar a million times but have never eaten at the sangeetha there. there's one at spencer's plaza and i always have a dosai/kapi there after visiting landmark. their vazhakkai(plantain) bajji was good.

note to self: when visiting chennai next, check out their kitchen and dish washing methods, carefully observe the waiters and their fingers and check the menu card for the missing "i". appropriate authorities on SUCH will be notified.

by artood2 Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:50 pm

bw wrote:
kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:going to higginbothams is like meeting a very old friend and having a leisurely conversation. i love to linger by myself, spend an entire day browsing the aisles, taking in the sounds, smells, and sights of the shop with people entering and leaving, and just enjoying the daily rhythms of a day in the life of an age old institution. i never want it to change during my lifetime. the panneer dosa eating anand ranganathan wouldn't understand.

i've never been to sangeetha restaurant though it sounds awfully close to my parents' place.

It's sad that you didn't visit Sangeetha restaurant in Chennai though it's so close to your parents' place. Next time you visit India, pls do so. Great food! And yeah, when you are there, pls check out the the menu card that's in the restaurant, not the menu at Zomato.com.

Here's the menu of Sarana Bhavan, the very tamilnadu restaurant chain in my area http://www.saravanabhavan.com/menu/U.S.A/gerogia_decatur.pdf

i've been to adyar a million times but have never eaten at the sangeetha there. there's one at spencer's plaza and i always have a dosai/kapi there after visiting landmark. their vazhakkai(plantain) bajji was good.

note to self: when visiting chennai next, check out their kitchen and dish washing methods, carefully observe the waiters and their fingers and check the menu card for the missing "i". appropriate authorities on SUCH will be notified.

what only dosai/kapi? no k-idli/v-pongal? What happened to soaking in the local delicacies ?

by bw Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:58 pm

artood2 wrote:
bw wrote:
kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:going to higginbothams is like meeting a very old friend and having a leisurely conversation. i love to linger by myself, spend an entire day browsing the aisles, taking in the sounds, smells, and sights of the shop with people entering and leaving, and just enjoying the daily rhythms of a day in the life of an age old institution. i never want it to change during my lifetime. the panneer dosa eating anand ranganathan wouldn't understand.

i've never been to sangeetha restaurant though it sounds awfully close to my parents' place.

It's sad that you didn't visit Sangeetha restaurant in Chennai though it's so close to your parents' place. Next time you visit India, pls do so. Great food! And yeah, when you are there, pls check out the the menu card that's in the restaurant, not the menu at Zomato.com.

Here's the menu of Sarana Bhavan, the very tamilnadu restaurant chain in my area http://www.saravanabhavan.com/menu/U.S.A/gerogia_decatur.pdf

i've been to adyar a million times but have never eaten at the sangeetha there. there's one at spencer's plaza and i always have a dosai/kapi there after visiting landmark. their vazhakkai(plantain) bajji was good.

note to self: when visiting chennai next, check out their kitchen and dish washing methods, carefully observe the waiters and their fingers and check the menu card for the missing "i". appropriate authorities on SUCH will be notified.

what only dosai/kapi? no k-idli/v-pongal? What happened to soaking in the local delicacies ?

k-idli - i detest it. i hate corrupting(some call it embellishing) any form of food with this and that muck. idlis should remain simple. they might as well stuff it with paneer.

v-pongal - who orders that at a restaurant?

by artood2 Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:00 pm

bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
what only dosai/kapi? no k-idli/v-pongal? What happened to soaking in the local delicacies ?

k-idli - i detest it. i hate corrupting(some call it embellishing) any form of food with this and that muck. idlis should remain simple. they might as well stuff it with paneer.

v-pongal - who orders that at a restaurant?

That brings up a very interesting question.. Why did you recommend that to me??!!!

by bw Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:14 pm

artood2 wrote:
bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
what only dosai/kapi? no k-idli/v-pongal? What happened to soaking in the local delicacies ?

k-idli - i detest it. i hate corrupting(some call it embellishing) any form of food with this and that muck. idlis should remain simple. they might as well stuff it with paneer.

v-pongal - who orders that at a restaurant?

That brings up a very interesting question.. Why did you recommend that to me??!!!

coz you are an outsider who was planning to eat at 'akbar' or 'aurangzeb' or some such place in chennai. i asked you to taste the local dishes. for us local people, v pongal is something that is made easily at home and is not really a "restaurant" item. for people like you who do not know better, i suggested eating those instead of stuffing yourself with insipid paneer muttar masala or some other goop like that as you were planning to do. NI food is usually terrible in chennai.

k-idli is something you brought up and yes, me detesting something doesn't make it a non-local item.

by artood2 Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:22 pm

bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
what only dosai/kapi? no k-idli/v-pongal? What happened to soaking in the local delicacies ?

k-idli - i detest it. i hate corrupting(some call it embellishing) any form of food with this and that muck. idlis should remain simple. they might as well stuff it with paneer.

v-pongal - who orders that at a restaurant?

That brings up a very interesting question.. Why did you recommend that to me??!!!

coz you are an outsider who was planning to eat at 'akbar' or 'aurangzeb' or some such place in chennai. i asked you to taste the local dishes. for us local people, v pongal is something that is made easily at home and is not really a "restaurant" item. for people like you who do not know better, i suggested eating those instead of stuffing yourself with insipid paneer muttar masala or some other goop like that as you were planning to do. NI food is usually terrible in chennai.

k-idli is something you brought up and yes, me detesting something doesn't make it a non-local item.

Hmm. I had never heard the term k-idli (though I had eaten it many times).. looks like you nuked the old id. Anyways, Happy new year.

by bw Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:25 pm

artood2 wrote:
bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
what only dosai/kapi? no k-idli/v-pongal? What happened to soaking in the local delicacies ?

k-idli - i detest it. i hate corrupting(some call it embellishing) any form of food with this and that muck. idlis should remain simple. they might as well stuff it with paneer.

v-pongal - who orders that at a restaurant?

That brings up a very interesting question.. Why did you recommend that to me??!!!

coz you are an outsider who was planning to eat at 'akbar' or 'aurangzeb' or some such place in chennai. i asked you to taste the local dishes. for us local people, v pongal is something that is made easily at home and is not really a "restaurant" item. for people like you who do not know better, i suggested eating those instead of stuffing yourself with insipid paneer muttar masala or some other goop like that as you were planning to do. NI food is usually terrible in chennai.

k-idli is something you brought up and yes, me detesting something doesn't make it a non-local item.

Hmm. I had never heard the term k-idli (though I had eaten it many times).. looks like you nuked the old id. Anyways, Happy new year.

i will dig it up later - anyway, it is possible that i did list it in my suggestions to you despite my reservations.

by the way, did you visit chennai and if so, where did you eat? what did you eat?

happy new year to you too!

by bw Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:28 pm

bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
bw wrote:

k-idli - i detest it. i hate corrupting(some call it embellishing) any form of food with this and that muck. idlis should remain simple. they might as well stuff it with paneer.

v-pongal - who orders that at a restaurant?

That brings up a very interesting question.. Why did you recommend that to me??!!!

coz you are an outsider who was planning to eat at 'akbar' or 'aurangzeb' or some such place in chennai. i asked you to taste the local dishes. for us local people, v pongal is something that is made easily at home and is not really a "restaurant" item. for people like you who do not know better, i suggested eating those instead of stuffing yourself with insipid paneer muttar masala or some other goop like that as you were planning to do. NI food is usually terrible in chennai.

k-idli is something you brought up and yes, me detesting something doesn't make it a non-local item.

Hmm. I had never heard the term k-idli (though I had eaten it many times).. looks like you nuked the old id. Anyways, Happy new year.

i will dig it up later - anyway, it is possible that i did list it in my suggestions to you despite my reservations.

by the way, did you visit chennai and if so, where did you eat? what did you eat?

happy new year to you too!

here you go - i did suggest k idli. :-)

https://such.forumotion.com/t3266-india-and-tamil-nadu-at-each-others-throat#27900

"Kachivaram idlis are idlis adulterated with some spices. It is a wannabe
dhokla. The method of preparation is also slightly different. I tasted
them for the first time yesterday."

by Kris Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:38 pm

bw wrote:
bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:
bw wrote:
artood2 wrote:

That brings up a very interesting question.. Why did you recommend that to me??!!!

coz you are an outsider who was planning to eat at 'akbar' or 'aurangzeb' or some such place in chennai. i asked you to taste the local dishes. for us local people, v pongal is something that is made easily at home and is not really a "restaurant" item. for people like you who do not know better, i suggested eating those instead of stuffing yourself with insipid paneer muttar masala or some other goop like that as you were planning to do. NI food is usually terrible in chennai.

k-idli is something you brought up and yes, me detesting something doesn't make it a non-local item.

Hmm. I had never heard the term k-idli (though I had eaten it many times).. looks like you nuked the old id. Anyways, Happy new year.

i will dig it up later - anyway, it is possible that i did list it in my suggestions to you despite my reservations.

by the way, did you visit chennai and if so, where did you eat? what did you eat?

happy new year to you too!

here you go - i did suggest k idli. :-)

https://such.forumotion.com/t3266-india-and-tamil-nadu-at-each-others-throat#27900

"Kachivaram idlis are idlis adulterated with some spices. It is a wannabe
dhokla. The method of preparation is also slightly different. I tasted
them for the first time yesterday."

>>> I think I have had it once and didn't like it. I am not much of a plain idli person either. Maybe its the name Smile

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:01 pm

Kris wrote:
bw wrote:
"Kachivaram idlis are idlis adulterated with some spices. It is a wannabe
dhokla. The method of preparation is also slightly different. I tasted
them for the first time yesterday."

>>> I think I have had it once and didn't like it. I am not much of a plain idli person either. Maybe its the name

My grandma used to make the Kanchipuram idlis... that was a time when I did not like idli, dosai, adai, vadai, nada...nothing in that variety. It was like an idli in a tumbler with other spices. some mistake it for Rava Idlis - which I liked. This is with regular idli dough with spices but cooked in a tumbler.

I preferred the "pound cake" that came in a tumbler shape.

Later when I came to like idli, etc... I came to know that it was still served at some hotel in Teynampet - some 15 years ago.

by Hellsangel Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:33 pm

A Delhi Madarassi looking down on Chennai Madarassis Imag0415

From Saravana Bhavan

by southindian Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:59 pm

kinnera wrote:The guy is not right. Chennai in the early 90s is so different from Chennai now. Back in the day, married women wearing salwar kameezes were looked at strangely. My young unmarried, college going neighbor couldn't resist and asked my, 'You are married. Why are you still wearing dresses?' The scenario is much different now. Now it's a common sight to find even middle aged aunties in jeans and kurtis or leggings and kurtis.

He talked abt Nalli's. For his info, Nalli's has a whole floor for men's sherwanis and speciality shops for designer sherwanis and men's kurta pyjamas. Tamil men wearing sherwanis and kurta pyjamas? It was unheard of a couple of decades ago.

When i was in chennai 5 yrs ago, i found two random girls (some boys danced previously too) in jeans dancing to 'Loose control', Rahman's hindi song at the center of a shopping mall. Such a thing was unthinkable before.

And yeah, Sangeet and Mehendi functions are a part of almost every tamil wedding in the city, i guess. I got invited to an Iyengar wedding this time which has all these. Couldn't attend it though. Saw the video. The bride and the groom and others danced away to glory at the sangeet function.

And yeah, dosa is spelled as 'dosA' in Chennai. Check out the menu card at Sangeetha restaurant at Adyar.

KV and Tamilians from the 80's will get a heart attack reading this.

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