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Dedicated to Pigeons WORLD OVER

May 1, 2012 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

I have always been fascinated by these feathered fellas , they seem to have an amazing survival technique and are such fun to observe !

I have spent many an evening at Trafalgar square admiring these naughty birds .They always seem to gather around in a hungry bunch whenever they see anyone eating anything at all, not only are they super swift in swooping down at lightning speed to pick up the crumbs as I nervously and rather hungrily gobble my sandwich on a wooden bench watching the fountain and watching the pigeons too from the corner of my eye …. lest they attack me and steal away my meal deal , gosh with a few coins left in my purse ,couldn’t afford another !

Burping and satisfied after a sandwich,crisp and drink meal later , I lazily lounge on the bench as the birds curiously walk around my feet and search under the bench for more crumbs , they then fly to the top of the statue and perch there. I wonder how they always find such prolific locations to poo on !

I have therefore pldeged never to work hard enough to become so famous that after I fall dead someone thinks of erecting a statue of me somewhere, imagine I’d become an instantly popular new ”poop spot” for pigeons,not a pleasant thought that is it?

I always avoided KABOOTAR KHANA at Dadar as much as I could cause the very thought of a zillion pigeons gathered in one place to eat grains donated by willing masses and poop all over the place later ,though may sound ideal to any pigeon , I always feared what if they all decided to gang up against us humans and peck out everyone’s eye balls for fun ? shiver shudder shake shake …. brrr scary thought that .(KABOOTAR KHANA , KABOOTAR in Hindi Language means a Pigeon, can you imagine that in a city like Mumbai , we have a place named after Pigeons and a whole area dedicated to the, isn’t that proof enough for how powerful and omnipresent they are ??!)

(best ever image of Kabootar Khana is taken by Humayunna Peerzaada and is available to be viewed on at the following flickr link – http://www.flickr.com/photos/humayunnapeerzaada/471662046/ ) ( I love all the other albums in his link as well , amazing photography I must say !)

Theres another way I entertain myself while I wait at bus stops (during the Olympics I shall have to do that more frequently me thinks šŸ˜‰ !!) ,at any given point of time there is always a small group of busy pigeons strutting their feathers near the bus stop, walking around the bin which is always there next to the stop and trying to snuggle up between people’s feet ,maybe to keep warm?

If you observe pigeons on Oxford Street for example I swear , they are busy chatting amongst themselves and checking out the millions of tourists walking all over the place .Whenever I am crossing the road at the main signal at the 4 exits out of Oxford street tube station there will always be a bunch of pigeons walking yes WALKING alongside us humans crossing the road , now why on earth do they do that ?? You have wings fellas remember ??They almost obediently wait for the signal , all the time tilting their neck to one side as if to say ” What ya looking at woman , keep your eyes on the signal will you ?” as soon the signal turns green there they are marching alongside oblivious to the thousands of feet stamping nearby. At times I swear I saw one of the naughtier ones trying to tilt its neck and peek up a womans’ skirt ! Just as it was able to , another pigeon came over and nudged Mr.Peea-Kaboo hard enough , they both then majestically walked away pretending as if nothing had happened ! HA ! Little did they know that I had SEEN their dirty little trick humphfh !Naughty little perverts !

Not to mention the clever ”KABOOTAR’S” that I have encountered in India . They even have an entire song dedicated to them in one famous hindi flick , yes yes it’s true, here’s the link !

This song is proof that Pigeon Mail is faster ,more reliable and more affordable than posting letters at least for our Bollywood stars.This is just one song , there are many more such songs where the pigeons have pivotal roles that get the other actors in lead roles together for a happily ever after end …hummmm

And then I have this pal who now is wiser after studying a few more years but has a passion for breeding ‘homing’pigeons , yes yes and yes , he was rather good with it too.After all they always came back ‘home’ AFTER they were sold šŸ˜‰

Now with all these observations over the past many years I am sure that pigeons world-wide have some sort of an internationally recognised body run and functioning solely supported by pigeons alone wherein they plan and strategize survival techniques against the growing atrocities by us humans .

Given their amazing ability to stay warm in harsh winters, feed themselves and maintain their population at a constant healthy number ,they are doing a marvellous job at it !

I am never short of opportunities to click snaps of pigeons cosying up, here’s just one such example….

Pigeons posing for me

But the most amazing incident by a pigeon in London that I witnessed left me utterly speechless and CONVINCED that pigeons really ARE very, very smart ….on a dreary day in London (even a bright sunny day can turn dreary especially if you have a day out planned!) this pigeon STOOD alongside several passengers on a busy platform and actually BOARDED the train after us humans **gasp,gulp,gasp*

Then it proceeded to strut under a seat and peck at errant food particles dropped by a messy teenager who had just wolfed down a LARGE sandwich.About 2 stations after this clever bird had BOARDED the train it looked left and right when the door opened at a station,made some cooing sounds and HOPPED off ! GAWD, if I hadn’t consumed coffee that morning I would have certainly slipped into a coma.It definitely beats flying in rainy weather I’d say and ticketkless too.TFL , are you listening?! Guess not…baaah!

Ah well, I better get back to life now and observing more of my feathered companions along the way šŸ˜‰ Adios !

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: dadar, flickr, kabootar ja ja ja, Mumbai, naughty, olympics, oxford circus, oxford street, peekaboo, piegons, pigeon, trafalgar square, tube, world

South Indian Food – A family obsession !

March 1, 2012 by manjirichitnis 8 Comments

Ever since I immigarted to London ,it’s been a year by the way ,already (!), I get these craving sto go eat some certain type of food that is so commonly available in Bombay that one take sit for granted .

But once you live abroad and you know that you are a self confessed FOODIE , it becomes a real thrilling task to keep a track of all the places that offer “AUTHEHNTIC” Indian food !It’s easy to get confused by the number of options available but clearly many of the places do not live up to expectations of “AUTHENTIC” Indian taste or simply fail mierably on offering basic service or are just so grubby looking one wouldn’t want to sit after setting foot inside !

There are many area’s in London, namely East Ham,Croydon,Tooting,Wembley and ofcourse the FAMOUS South Hall, which are easily accesible by the tube which serve up some really authentic Indian food in the form of mouthwatering delicacies at awesome rates !

My most favourite for south indian snacks – I crave MEDU VADAS and Doa’s with a passion at times and I head staright to Tooting to SARAVANA BHAVAN !

The first time I visited a branch of SARAVANA BHAVAN was at East Ham after the Roayl Wedding . I did manage to catch a glimpse of the beautiful ,now Duchess of Cambridge,Ā  Kate Middleton .She was waving to the cheeringĀ  crowds whowent absolutely MAD when the car inw hich she was travelling passed us by , she ofcourse was then taken to the abbey to wed her Prince Charming ,my husband and me never made it anywhere near Buckingham Palace to watch the famous kiss on the balcony but yes we did manage to see it live on a MASSIVE screen set up at one of the branches of the HOUSE OF FRASER and all the people who had crammed themselves inside actually sat down on the floor and a very gracious member of the staff served us a yummy fruit flavoured bubbly as soon as the couple was married on screen, with millions viewing teary eyed, the world over!After watching the wedding we decided to escape the crowds of Central London and the thousands that were moving out from the streets after having waved to the Princess. So we rushed over to Victoria Station before the tubes became suffocatingly over crowded or worse !

On a whim I suggested we head to East Ham  to dig into some really good south indian snacks.

I must confess it was LOVE at first BITEĀ  for me at SARAVANA BHAVAN, they are present in many locations worldwide and I frequent 2 of their branches in london , the one at EAST HAM and the one at Tooting. Noteworthy feature is that they have an impressive JAIN MENU , since my closest buddies here are a Jain couple, S even has her own Jain Food blog(!),it is always a challenge to find tasty JAIN food options in London. For the uninitiated JAINISM is a religion in India and one of the aspects is that followers are quite strict with NOT consuming onions and garlic in their food.In the past few months I have learnt so many recipes which I didn’t know existed all thanks to my JAIN buddies ,not to mention that S is an exceptional cook and stir up the most amazing recipes in a matter of minutes.My tummy is witness to many such preparations, she also her own versions for Bombay’s most popular street foods!

Anyway back to our discussion about south Indian snacks,The upma was so tasty atĀ SARAVANA BHAVAN- EAST HAM , I was transported straight to Matunga where I often head to a place called ANAND BHUVAN to savour their yummy dosa’s vada’s idli’s and my favourite comfort food BISIBELE BHATH- a rice and dal dish all spiced up , dish which satisfies the mind as much as it does the tummy and is extreemly healthy and good on the pocket too.

ANAND BHAVAN is a traditional south indian UDIPI joint in Matunga East in Bombay. The food is exceptionally taste , the service is warm, the look and feel of the place is totally old world and charming to say the least ,something like walking into an old irani restaurant for “maska pao and cutting chai”.

I had ONE  photograph, I had clicked using my Nokia E63 in 2010 of ANAND BHAVAN , here it is:

ANAND BHAVAN is THE BEST place to eat yummy south indian snacks according to me as there are a zillion outlest in close viccinity in Matunga thanks to the large south Indian community that resides there ,but nothing as quaint an experience and so good on the pcoket as ANAND BHAVAN .

MATUNGA , a suburn in BOMBAY,INDIA,also has a huge market selling every imaginable fruit and veegtable erquired for south indian cooking and regular cookingas well , shops selling traditional clothing, a temple,a dance school , a NALLI store and ofcourse shops selling freshly ground coffee powder , just one whiff is enough to take you staright to Chennai I suppose :).You there is a unique quality about this suburb that there are pockets that feel diecidely south indian , some extreemly Gujju dominated and some so very Maharastrain. It’s this amazing way of different cultures mixing and offering such a mindboggling variety of culinary experiences that makes Bomaby much of what it is today. A cosmpolitan city with a rocking attitude, a space for and BY everyone so to speak.It’s a city that liberates and ofcourse because it is an ISLAND city the best and most breathtaking sea side experience is yours for a taking.I could go on and on but I wish not to ramble, because there will always be a large part of BOMBAY in everything I write about .

Though at my in laws place there is a huge debate over which of these many south indian outlets really is THE BEST .My mother in law likes another small but great place bang opposite the station called SHARDA BHUVAN, she like the fact they are still so old world with no A/C and no fancy seating but that the charm of the place really and the food is amazing ,really , she often heads there eraly morning before she heads to the library at FORT to get some steaming hot idlis and chutney followed by the traditional Filter Coffee- aah !My hubby is a fan of HOTEL RAMA ASHRAYA and has a particulary yummy sweet prepartion that he heads there to gobble ona regular basis with one of his buddies.This one is a short walk from SHARDA BHAVAN and  HOTEL ARYA BHAVAN, is set between flower shops and a coffee powder shop and faces the lane which has the local post office,which in turn is surrounded by about a dozen flower shops selling garlands big and small and an apt place to pick some for a visit to the temple or for a wedding.

Now my dad in law likes a totally different place,it’s called HOTEL ARYA BHAVAN,it has seating at a basement level ,is hot and humid and crammed but the food is tasty and the loaction is spot on!

South Indian Restaurants or UDIPI joints as they are more popularly know are so popular in Bombay and so easily accessible in Bombay that one gets really used to just popping in and eating an idli or a dosa and walking out happy, the whole thing about craving such ood in London is trying out several such places and coming up with THE BEST and a second best, I have picked mine already.Ofcourse SARAVANA BHAVAN is “THE” bestĀ  in terms of the quality of food and the number of loactions, additional brownie points for the Jain Menu ofcourse, now there is another outlet called DOSA and CHUTNEY , they have 2 branches one at Tooting and another at Croydon in London, they also offer Non vegetarian options ,my favourite is Kottu Rice,it’s a spicy rice dish with meats,veggies and a Sri Lankan roti ! They serve generous protions, the prices are very good and the place is clean not to mention the sevice is swift as well , I normally wash down a spicy dish like Kottu Rice with a delicious Mango Lassi or followu up a dosa with a hot filter coffee :).The staff is friendly and I often reach there on a lazy weekday , eat some lunch and then do my grocery shopping !

I am right now walking these streets of Bombay especially MATUNGA, in my mind, right now and taking a million pictures, I promise myself that I shall do justice to this post by uploading pictures when I do go to Indian this year, I simply cannot wait now! I do plan to visit all my favourite haunts including BADE MIYA for kebab’s and hopefully catching a glimpse of SRK who is said to visit them at times ( a famous rumour in my college days), eat berry pulao at Brittannia, of course gulp down unlimited amounts of PANI PURI at Elco, Bandra and the list goes on and on and on!

Dreaming of food? Why not try some of my recipes?

  • Steamed Idlis
  • Tomato and Coconut Chutney

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: Anand Bhavan, Arya Bhavan, authentic, bade miya, bandra, bandstand, Berry Pulao, best, Bombay, Brittania, clean, clothing, craving, Croydon, culture, dosa, East Ham, elco, filter coffee, flower, food, fort, garlands, good, hotel, idli, India, Indian, Kottu, library, london, Matunga, meat, medu, NALLI, non vegetarian, pani puri, Pilao, post office, Pulav, Rama Ashraya, restaurants, rice, service, Sharda Bhavan, south, Sri Lanka, Stattion, steam idli, temple, Tooting, tube, udipi, vada, Wembley

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