Those of you who’ve been following along here on the blog, have possibly noticed that I love LOVE love M.E.A.T. There I said it. I’ve tried being vegan and vegetarian, and while they were appropriate ways for me to eat at certain points in my life, I just love meat and so does my body (yeah yeah, I know, you’ve got proof I’m wrong, buzzkill!). So, when I come across a fantastic place for a meat dish, I’m in.
My friends, Mai, Kanch and I headed out to Ice & Spice on Saturday. A fairly popular joint but a place I had never eaten at. It was bustling on the weekend, even when there wasn’t anything special being hosted. I like how the mood was warm, against the cold weather. One could sit here at any time of year and soak up the flurry of activity, where a song by Sting (at night, when it’s contentedly crowded) is as appropriate as a song by Nina Simone (particularly at a time like this, when the skies were almost grey) is as appropriate as a song by Iron And Wine (during the early days of summer, when it’s still cool in the evening).

Mai had fish and chips, Kanch had the chicken steak burger and I had the lamb. My dish was incredibly juicy, tender, and came with fresh salad in a light dressing, along with mashed potatoes, garlic bread and chips (All for 200 bucks). I got mine with barbecue sauce, which is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted; the meat was tender enough to stick through with a fork, but hard enough not to fall off. It was so good, that I may surrender the pleasure of trying something new the next time I go for the flavorful taste of their best cut lamb.

Blogger and colleague - Pete, my ex colleague - Sai and I happened to be free on Sunday, so we went for lunch at a restaurant close to where we live. It was this place called ‘French Quarter’.

Outside it’s slightly noisy, but inside it’s calm. The chicken liver starters are delightfully smooth and thin, a demonstration of the chef’s skill. The meat pie topped with cheese and the meat-veggie dish tasted especially flavorful.

I have the ability to find fault with almost anything, but on Sunday, the food was nearly impeccable. It’s all enough to make one smile at any time of day.

After a bunch of petty thoughts — about the new guy— I try to convince myself that everything will be ancient history much more quickly than it took for me to write this. Nothing works, when I try so hard for it. So I just say, ‘eff it and write it anyway, even if you’re terrified and you can’t breathe, and put it out of your head even if that leaves you exposed, that anyone could read it, that people know something that you probably shouldn’t disclose, that you’re still thinking about him when every person is telling you not to, because none of it matters when it’s what you feel, and what you feel makes you you'.

I was introduced to this little gem by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. If you haven’t heard of them already, they are musicians of the singer songwriter sort and this piano song felt perfect when matched up with cold weather and the early night so common during this season. To get this week started I’ve decided to upload the track ‘Winter Song’. I hope you enjoy the music, there’s plenty more to come.

A Friday Night at the Opus

I wish I was one of those people who could get into a conversation with someone and start off with something like, ‘You know this one time in school/college...’ or whatever the case may be and get into this long narration about this unpredictably cool story. Frankly, those tales are dreadfully difficult to come by since I didn’t do a lot of cool things when I was younger. But now I realize that it just takes treading out of the house, preferably after dark.

That said, Friday night’s show was a blast! Absolutely beyond brilliant! The day was warm but the evening was breezy cool and the scales were tipped in the Das’ favor.
We arrived at some point in the 8 o'clock hour and it wasn't particularly packed. Events like these don't really get packed unless it’s past what my late grandfather would call ‘a decent bedtime’. After finding a seat at the table right next to the stage and ordering a Screwdriver, I got myself comfortable on a white cushiony mattress for a four-act night of soft alternative-friendly music. Soon friends, colleagues and friend’s friends arrived, filling up the place and we were in constant motion to make some room at the table for the newcomers.

From here, there are a couple roads to take.

A) The Place- The show was at the Opus. It was the kind of place you expect to sit in if you had an open mic night. Dim lights, the sound of a ready audience and the excited band filled the air, and there was not enough room to take my jacket off. There was not much between the performer and the audience- which made it all the more special!

B) The People- You had all of them, the artsy types, the ones in jackets and jeans, the ones who even looked like they had come for a hip-hop rush. One guy in particular....we weren't really sure if he knew what kind of music was going to be played. His obviously clueless look made me want to guffaw but the night was not about him so I spared him the foul look. Then there was everybody else who was so very much in the middle of the music.
As soon as the music started up, there was this willingness and readiness to just sink into it regardless. There was head bobbing and looks of approval from the listeners, rising with every song. For me, I do little more than tap my foot and hoot aloud after every number. I work like a radar at these situations cos I know I will be writing about it later. Also, every so often I turned to the people sitting next to me- Yuvi, Ruan and my favorite blogger Pete, to make a comment and to watch them respond to the sounds in their own little space. They looked happy.

C) The Music- Like I had mentioned before, this was a mellow music night type thing. Our buddies there, Tony Das, Chris Das and Judy Das and Avinash Grubb were outstanding. And while my opinion might be a tad bit biased, other spectators tell me all four were fantastic, in fact.
The show started with Judy’s rendition of Corinne Bailey Rae’s ‘Girl put your records on’. Snow
Patrol’s ‘Run’ and Sara Bareilles’ ‘Love song’ were dedicated to yours truly, who became quite famous by the end of the night. One song in particular was pretty catchy, "Englishman in New York" and when I uploaded the track on my last post I had no bloody idea that they were going to be singing it. Pretty weird! By the end of the first set the band had definitely and undoubtedly gotten the crowd’s undivided attention and could do no wrong.
The second set had the band sounding pretty good on tracks like Ingrid Michaelson’s ‘take me the way I am’, Eagles’ ‘New York minute’ and Chris’ original composition ‘Breathing memories’ and I thought to myself that this was one of those performances that actually lived up to it’s buildup. It was a pretty cool night and the Das’ had done it with enough spunk to be entertaining without being overdone.
Anyway, this entry is longer than I intended, but it was a good night and it was great to go out and hear great music from people that I love. There's so much more to tell, but your attention span is probably disappearing right now. For more of Chris Das’ music head over to http://www.chris-das.com/. But before you do so, below is a recording of Chris’ version of ‘Run’ (should give you a feel about the show). Stay tuned, kids and thanks to those who made it!

I meant to post this yesterday but I was caught up with so many calls. The post was supposed to start something like this-‘Today was boring. Nothing new. Boring….’ (well, you kinda get where I’m going with this.) But yesterday wasn’t just one of those typical days at work. The day had begun with pregnant clouds and the dark sky pressing hard on the city and it had ended very cruelly.
Restlessness and tension built in the air. Something felt wrong. I could see it on the face of my colleagues. They tried to be really subtle about it but it didn’t work. Ck came out of the training room and his face looked rather ghostly. The next thing I heard out of my colleague’s mouth was, ‘there’s been a bomb blast!’ (Get outta here! In Bangalore?) And the news covered it all, 8 bomb blasts. A blast had occurred close to our office and we were told to leave as soon as possible. I had called friends and family incase the phone line got jammed later on. Everyone I knew was ok. During my wait for calls to connect I thought of how this had shaken our little life in paradise. It was chaos on the road and the commute back home was hell. It seemed like the traffic was far deadlier than any bomb.

Meeting my best friend tonight who was in the same area the blast occurred. He saw the whole thing. The city is getting back to normal and everybody is trying to forget yesterday as a bad dream and I wish none of us would experience any such thing ever again.

Hoping the smoke clears. Till then stay cool.

This just reminds me how fragile life is. ‘Breakable’ by Ingrid Michaelson:

Let There Be Noise

A new rage that’s hitting the western world and its only time before it hits ours: the new "married singles". According to news the ‘married single’ is the newlywed woman who isn't joined at her husband’s hip. She is her own woman. Her new husband moves into her place, she has a great career life and her own bank account. This spells empowerment for women, women to be financially independent of men at all times. I think its best that women never have to stay in marriage because they can't afford to be alone. The Cinderella story doesn’t hold true anymore really.

Amy Winehouse. This chick is nuts, but she can sure put out a catchy tune. I loved the whole 60’s feel she’s got going with her music. Not going to rehab never sounded so good. Never mind that she could really use some weeks at the latest celebrity flush house.

Far and away the best thing I listened to on the radio today was this woman who goes by the name of Ingrid Michaelson.