Saturday, June 21, 2014

Stunning Composition from Ramanujam

Thuli Thuliyai from Ramanujam is indeed a stunner of a composition tuned by Ramesh Vinayakam.
Looks like he has indulged in some scale play by taking the Harikambhoji raga and by more or less obliterating the 'Pa' (Panchamam) creates an interesting soundscape in Rageshri ragam. And on the rhythm side is the hardly noticeable camoulflaging of the 7 beat cycle Misram.

Abundantly rich on soul and feel , its a simple yet striking Indian melody laced with a tingy western influence and layered with a mild Hindustani touch making it a song that has a lot going for it.

Give in a listen !!
Thuli Thuliyai - Ramanujan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7JZBc4hTgQ

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Lord Sanga conquers Lords!

Another ton for Kumara Sangakkaara this time at the Mecca of cricket , Lords and he now equals Rahul Dravid with 36 test centuries.

The kind of distinguished records he possesses :
1)Fastest to 8000 , 9000 , 10000 and 11000 test runs.
2) Only player to make 4 consecutive scores of 150+ and only one to score 3 centuries in a row on 3 occasions.
3) Also the man to be involved in the highest ever partnership of 624 runs along with Mahela Jayawardene.
4) Easily the greatest southpaw since Brian Charles Lara and perhaps one of the greatest test players amongst those who made their debut only in the new millenium.

Lord Sanga - you truly are an all time Test Cricket Legend !!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Kaidi Kitchen - A Prisoner's Paradise !!

First things first , when i heard about a restaurant by the name Kaidi Kitchen , had a hunch that it would perhaps be authentic South Indian Veg cuisine but soon realised how way off the boil my intuitions were , not that I am complaining one bit.

I heard that this place gets very crowded over the weekends and so we decided to go on a weekday evening. The first thing you spot as you enter is the large Jail gate adjourning the entrance. As you open the jail to get inside , you find a slew of waiters adorning prisoner clothes with No.s written on each of their shirts and persons dressed as policeman taking the orders. You will also find a mocktail counter with bartenders. There are also Big Jails with No.s to accomodate large groups of people. Its thematically cool and definitely quite chic.

Now coming to the main part the food. The menu is gargantuan and it keeps going on an on as you keep flipping the pages. It was virtually a never ending menu with the left hand side having interesting info on prisons in different countries and right side explaining about the food. This place specialises on Mexican , Chinese , Italian and Indian. To boot , you really have so much to choose that you really will not know what to choose :).

We had a mexican soup which was spicy and red in colour. It had quite a few ingredients and gave a nice feel to the mouth. For starters we ordered one of their signature dishes - Greek Cottage cheese which was enticing to just look at and it totally lived up to its looks by literally melting in the mouth. This is a different kind of Paneer which i have tasted which are served in Popsicle sticks marinated over with cheese and cream and underneath you have a few grilled veggies and as you further splash the cheese sauce on it , it just turns totally yummyliscious. We had another appetiser - Champignon's ala toast which was herbed bread flooded with a coated layer of cheese with suateed mushroom interspersed in between along with clove garlic , chilli flakes and olives and was served with a salsa sauce. This too was a definite winner. Both the items win the brownie points not only for their delightful looks but also their delectable taste.

The main course was a tough choice to decide and we zeroed in on having a Lasagne Mexican style. We simply gorged on this where on one side you had a greenish spinach flour tortilla squishied over with a cheesy layer and on the other were an amalgam of exotic mexican veggies containing black beans , corn , roasted tomato , bell pepper , jalapenos , coriander etc . The whitish cheesy portion and the reddish Mexican veggie portion went along really well giving the thumbs up. The other item we had was an Italian Baked Macaroni with Cheddar and Asparagus. This contained pieces of Macaroni loaded in an abundance of bechamel sauce accompanied along with Olives , Parsley and garlic along with a layer of baked cheese. This too was impressive but we had the feeling of having something similar in other restaurants. We were already heavily loaded but wanted to try one of the desserts and had the Chocolate Fondue which was simply put a bowl of molten hot chocolate sauce served along with fruits such as apple , banana , grapes , pappaya and sweet cake where you had to fork the accompanient , dip it into the chocolate gravy and have it. Nothing special about this one but the choco lovers will surely devour over the chocolate sauce.

The rates are pretty exorbitant with almost each dish costing on an average 300 bucks. The ambience is nice and people love taking pictures inside the jail like setting and with the menu being so elaborate with such a widespread of items , it is ideal especially for visiting as large groups. The service is also really quick and those taking the order seem to have a good fair idea of the different items on the menu.

For veg afficianados craving for food different from what you get in Sangeetha and Saravana Bhavan , this comes as a welcome edition and I have a feeling this place will pick up the stakes big time like Creme Center. And for me personally with a good first time experience and being so much of a Paneer and cheese lover I still have so much to try and so will definitely keep going again to have a feel of the other items in store :). Surely seems like a prisoner's paradise.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Resilient Rafa - The Emperor of Clay!

With Djokovic not only winning his last 4 encounters but literally dismantling Nadal by claiming the last 8 of 9 sets played against him , this was one Roland Garros Final I was pretty apprehensive about Rafa coming through. Too many ominous signs and it was only further accentuated with Nadal dropping the first set.

But what a comeback by the Champ when under the pump raising his game to another level and winning the coveted La Coupe des Mousquetaires yet again for an all encompassing herculean 9th time.

Cometh the hour cometh the man - the raging Bull from Mallorca does it once again. Rafa you truly are the closest thing to perfection anyone has seen or perhaps would ever see on the hallowed Red clay.

9 time French Open Champion , 14 Grand slam Championships and now also winning atleast a solitary Grand Slam for the 10th year in succession. Truly the stuff of legends. Salute !!

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Energetic and Inimitable SPB!

There are certain songs which nobody but the great man can do real justice - the unmatchable energy , feel and sizzle he brings is truly a class of his own. In his own inimitable style he can elevate a song to an all together different level through his impeccable rendition.

Check out the way he just freaks out in this outstanding composition bringing out the perfect ambience of funkiness , craziness and wackiness. The way he goes Pa Pa Pa Pa Paaaaahhhh is just kickass awesomeness.
Sir , you really are a rockstar and truly epitomise legendaryness.

Happy B'day Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam aka SPB !!

Appappa Thithikkum - Japanil Kalyanaraman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2yGiUUAZ6c