United Coffee House...not so uniting experience!

From UCH to Uhhh…

Alrite...this happens to be my first piece in my blog regarding a review of a restaurant, and I must admit (at the very start of this article) that it doesn't really seem to be the bestest of restaurants to start my restaurant - review writings with…
…nonetheless it seems important to share some information with the frequent visitors to Connaught place (CP), a renowned Lutyen property now a commercial business centre, in short shopping haven for Delhites, the Victorian architecture modeled after the Royal Crescent in Bath, England

In the middle circle of CP there is a queue of fine dine and wine restaurants, a Gourmet’s paradise as they say and this is where in E block nestled a heritage restaurant, United Coffee House.

It was not my first time I visited United Coffee House (UCH) but this time the memories lasted more than before, as bad memories stick better than good ones, as proven by research and studies (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20603272/). I was with M, my CEO, a veteran in Public relations and a holder of immense knowledge on almost any subject matter available around. I remember the last time I was in the same place with him and my other two colleagues; I hated the idea of having our evening snacks and drinks at this place as suggested by one of them. I had remembered when I was a fledgling in the corporate world attending to my first job in CP and accidentally had barged in from the door of UCH only to find my face covered with thick clouds of smoke, as soon as I had taken a glimpse of the seemingly drunk looking, pot bellied front table occupants, I had put off the idea of having my meal there.

Incidentally, I was here again, more or less for the same reason I was here the last time, this was the closest restaurant in the vicinity to a prospective client’s office we had been almost regularly visiting to in the last few weeks, plus who has all the time and energies to think of another option, so here we were at UCH…

As soon as we entered I was pleased to see the gentry this time, or at this hour of the day, people sitting across had casual looks, a foreigner reading her book, though a noisy place, the instrumental music they play at the backdrop seemed to have never changed since Bryan Adams days…

The classic motifs, an intriguing art form and the enormous chandelier near the bar are very typical of UCH, they again have never seemed to have changed to probably maintain or to retain the classic look of the era it belongs to…the room below kind of gives a bit of dark gloomy look…all the chairs at the ground level were occupied (oh… is this related to complacency of the staff), I was relieved, we had to talk, probably it would be quieter at the upper level, we were asked to take the narrow staircase that followed to a small room filled with more than few pairs of random tables and chairs

Apparently, M had not had anything since morning, and it was past 4 in the evening already, he had been too busy preparing for the business pitch, too earnest to have thought of having breakfast or lunch before he was sure he had delivered his hard work well in form of the presentation.

A disgruntled man (as he had a sad sullen sulking look on his face) came to us to help place our orders, he seemed in a bit of a hurry. We asked him what all was available as lunch menu, as we knew it wasn’t exactly the lunch hour. ‘Everything is available’ he snapped. A usually calm, composed M and a bit hungry would have ignored only if he would have not repeated his folly. As we ordered for a Masala Dosa for him, his simple choice as a South Indian and a steaming cup of south Indian coffee for me…(isn’t the place supposed to be living for its name…), the same UCH staff member waited to indicate – ‘is that all?’ We politely confirmed that was all. M asked how long it will take for Dosa preparations, he was told 15 – 20 minutes. After little difficulty we accepted this. Had we been to a place like Savarnah Bhawan, Sagar Ratna or even any other multi-cuisine restaurant, I wondered if they too would have taken this long. We asked him if he could in the meantime serve some plain water (and not packaged/ distilled one) before he could bring us our order, he rushed only to kept us waiting for his return. He came back only with my coffee. There were few more unpleasant instances in the same visit like not being able to offer another fresh cup (assuming it would be used by the other person and not the one who ordered it) for tea, I could have waited more for plain water, had there been no intervention by their senior staff member, more wait than usual for the cheque, overall not a tasteful experience at UCH…

Ratings from AJS:
- Food and Presentation: *
- Ambience & Decor: **
- Customer Service: *
- Value for Money: **
- Cuisines: Chinese, Indian, Mughlai, Continental, South Indian
- Facilities: AC, Both Veg & Non-Veg, Credit Card accepted
- Timings: 9 am - 11.30 pm

The Hungry Tide

'Most fascinating, traditional and yet contemporary from one of the finest writers India ever produced'

- AJS -

Amitav Ghosh - the name may be known to at least a million now, readers or no readers of his latest or any other previous books. An author who may write many more wonderful, well researched, thought after storylines to become bestsellers across the world, in this book has brought out the jungle beauty of the Sunderbans along with weaving a very complicated yet delicate net amongst the characters in the story.

The setting is modern, situations and circumstances are current, practical and seemingly real. Describing the intricacy and mystery of the jungle, the author laid emphasis on the flora and fauna that may not always be green and romantic for either the local inhabitants or the first time visitors /outsiders on the island. The cast includes almost formidable characters like Fokir, Kanai, undeterred and yet vulnerable Piya, an achiever Maashima, deceased dismissed as an idealistic Nirmal etc...

The writer seemed to have spent some nice number of years in Sunderbans as he used the geographies and surface details to have described the seasons, inhabitants, dialects, costumes remarkably well. All these have been put to good use at the backdrop of a realistically set slightly inclined towards being a romantic story. (In this case then, it’s a romantic story with a sad end). A struggle between choosing mind or heart, an inexpressible connection between two odd human beings, one that has a scientific bent, a researcher, the other a stark contradiction, an illiterate, a villager to its core, a married unsung hero of the jungle (and presumably of this story), a father, a dismissed soul ‘Fokir’. But I would like to put this more as a book that describes the adventures hidden within the scenic Sunderbans, leaving behind some strong visual memories of the counters with Tigers, snakes, crocodiles, sea, rivers, storms and most unique the Irrawady Dolphins and the Orcaellas.

The traditional religious believes like those of worshipping Bon Bibi are staged with lining the mythological story to the current settings. The Goddess, believed to save the mankind from the demons and evils that prevail in the jungles and only one with a pure heart may live and come out unhurt if lost in the vastness, dark and hungry jungle.

The Hungry Tide as the name suggests may be a rendering of writer’s mind where tide may be coined to describe the tide of time, situation brought out by the relationships growing complicated amongst the characters, brought by the sudden storm and by the intertwined hearts, bodies and mind. The tide changes life thereafter forever, for almost all the ones in the story. Its hungry as it consumes them, consumes them of their rationale, their emotions, their energies, strength and capabilities of reasoning…leaving for nature to select, to eliminate - the ones with pure heart may only to remain. The outcome is as to what would remain after the stormy tide that washes away the fertile surface of the soil, ripping apart its past green grass, leaving it barren and fresh for a rebirth…

I think I will now consciously try to read all the past works of the author and look forward for many more. The writing definitely is impressionist, the characters, the setting stay back with the reader for many days after finish reading the book. There’s a Piya in me, trying to outgrow fears, overcome struggles and yet susceptible enough to fall prey to animal named ‘Man’ in this jungle.

Om Shanti Om Vs Saawariyan

It's never too late... I would have lived my life the way it is even without writing this blog, but thought this new age PR tool may help create some balance headed publicity for the movie mentioned latter in the title.

Something more was impressive with OSO and not with Saawariyan that may have attracted the crowd, or rather the herd...the promotions, advertising and the defensive mode of the spokespersons of Saawariyan. The timing of the release was just a sheer unfortuntate coincidence for Saawariyan, the things would have certainly been different otherwise.

But what perplexes me is the bollywood veterans managed to fool the audience with the pre-release hype and extravagant stardom deliberately been itemitized in the movie. The frivoulous and again deliberate comedy baring few sensibly placed spoofs on stars like Shabana Azmi, Manoj Kumar, Suraj Barjatya can be considered for appreciation. The most amazing of things is that the audience went hysterically wild on atti batti katti...who's your daddy...the SRK's attempt to look and sound funny...my south Indian friends did not like it though.

I can write many paragraphs and many more web pages that may be proof enough of my inclination towards Saawariyan... for reasons I shall tell you soon... but again this is an effort to play a balance pitch and not sideline the efforts of starcast / film makers and many more involved at either sides... The idea is to be able to agree or open a dialogue atleast on movie that is not meant for masses, is meant for a close group of audience - for those who love musical theatre and classic movies/authors, like the stage settings, liked characters rather than the cast playing them, like the settings of the story rather than the sets. The movie may not be positioned well, it is not the fault of the actors or the film maker but probably their publicity and promotion agencies. The movie was meant for those who wanted the theatrical representation on the larger screen, who had the love for emotions underlying the art of story telling and empathy towards the characters. Though the movie may have lacked some finer nuances or technical sharpness, but was not that bad that the masses rubbished it away...

May the Indian audience grow a little more mature and also try appreciate another league of art form, may they have enough choices and a larger heart to accept variety and uniqueness... may they go crazy for hockey rather than cricket...

till then... keep watching Bollywood