More books

And then after that I read

1. The Guardian of the Dawn, by Richard Zimler
Which, set in early 17th century Goa, claimed to be ' a riveting historical mystery', 'impeccably reasearched' and ' a powerful reinterpretation of Othello'. It was none of these things. It was, in the beginning, a detailed description of Jewish customs four hundred years ago, nof of a way of life that Jews on the west coast of India might have had come centuries ago. And later it was a whine about the persecution of Jews during the Inquisition, and not in any way an examination of a set of historical factors, actions and circumstances. A large part of it was a justification for religious intolerance (as Tiago's impossibly intolerant father is the moral centre of the book).

And no, just because Tiago got to sleep with a Hindu that does not make it all better. That only happened because the author cleverly manages to have the Hindu girl convinced of how Hanuman is a character from a Judaic tale. No recognition of her seperate religious identity. She needs to be assimilated. And the Muslims of course are evil and must die. Even addressing the issue of self-loathing and guilt, as the book tried to do in the end couldn't salvage it for me. By about half way through I'd had it with the irritating family, and was completely unsympathetic to all but the Christian wife of the converted uncle (who the book was intolerant of). Anyhoo. I finished it. And I will not be buying Richard Zimler again.

2. Brilliant- Marne Davis Kellogg
This was not published by Penguin. And it had no pretensions to historical accuracy, 'spark of genius'(yes I'm still quoting the cover of the Zimler book) or profound exposrations of human nature. It was a fast and funny flighty little book about crooks who are past their twenties and still attractive. I haven't read all those many books with middle aged heroines, who like their food, sex and beautiful jewellery. I wouldn't read it again, but I would recommend it to someone who had to spend all day in bed with a cold, or recovering from a nasty ex boyfriend.

And now i am part way through The Harmony Silk Factory. I shall wait until I am atleast one third in to form an opinion.

new house

so i finally have a place of my own. which is making me really happy. even when i get back at 10 at night and there isn't anyone else who might have kept dinner for me. once the weirdness of having only myself for company wears off i think i shall begin to like it.
and- this is no small announcement- i have discovered what is, in my opinion, the best chicken tikka roll in delhi, right down the road from the house. well- down the road and left. it was perfect. not too spicy, with onions and cabbage in a salad (not just reeking of onions), and with a really yummy green sauce, wrapped in the lightest rumali roti, that refused to turn into a stretchy rubbery mess, even after an hour ( i kept a bit- just to check).
most yum
and in two pieces, with 3 tikkas each, for a hundred rupees. not bad at all i thought.
joy

So this is what I have been reading

1. Black Swan Green- by david Mitchell.
I loved Cloud Atlas, despite tiring a bit at the end, and not caring enough about the last story. All the other bits were great. I must read everything else by this man. And according to wikipedia he looks pretty nice too.

Black Swan Green I enjoyed a lot too.


2. The Memory Keeper's Daughter.

Did not like this much. Am now suspicious of things that have an Oprah's Book Club sticker on them. The last few have turned out to sentimental American pap.

Eating out in Bangalore

The last few weeks have been a blur of socializing, madly mugging Spanish verbs, and zipping about the city on strange errands for parents and grandparents. All resulting in me having, and not really minding, eating out a lot. A lot.

I'm a little tubbier than I was last week, but once I go back to Delhi I won't be able to do this, not much anyway. Food of the kind that costs 200 rupees here costs about three times as much there. And is usually not better.

Some Delhi foods though I really miss. Like crispy chilli potatoes, especially of the form found in north campus. At every place that offers this in Bangalore I have ordered it, sometimes to the despair of companions, who have tired of eating potatoes at nearly every meal. Today, at a restaurant called Rendezvous in Koramangala we were served french fries with masses of chopped and fried green chillies. Nice, but not the real thing.

In the same way I long for the gobhi manchurian that places like Sukh Sagar, Megh Sagar and the others in Bangalore do, so oilily (not a word? but fun to type) and so yummily. Gobhi manchurian in Delhi is a disappointing affair. Gloopy and wrong.

My hunt for the perfect lasagne in Bangalore continues too. As I leave in less than a week I doubt I'll get any closer on this visit.

Oh well.

P.S- Rendezvous is the reincarnated version of Friends, that used to lurk in a lane parallel to the one on which the Koramangala Corner House in on. It has acceptable beef steaks (not to be found everywhere), and an extensive menu. I tried a strange drink called Pussy Foot- coke and pineapple juice (not to be repeated). I would have liked to have liked the place more. It's got a pleasant airy feel to it, with rubber wood furniture, and an attentive but not-too-enthu waiter. Didn't like the sauce in my pasta bake much though. And the garlic on the bread was a particularly tenacious sort. Despite having brushed twice, since returning home, the ghost of garlic breads past still haunts me.

new found enthusiasm for crabmeat.
must.have.more.

more tv

i have a faster internet connection now. this means that i can watch what i want, shortly after it airs.

in large part due to cat deeley (so charming), i have become addicted to so you think you can dance. this particular dance routine, i've watched about five times so far. and i think i'll be getting on to youtube to hunt it down again. and since i've just learnt how to put youtube clips here-




the same week in which i have watched the untouchables, watched a documentary on deep-dish pizzas, am having something of a mood overload.


also (totally unrelated)i have recently discovered
i) the wombats
ii)the pigeon detectives
the music is nice. but i'd listen to them anyway- such fun names.

True Blood

Is such a fun show. And had me hooked from the opening sequence. The song and the montage, and the whole Gothic-South thing. Especially the slow-motion snake.



Having spent the last two days watching both seasons back to back I can't wait for season 3. Must go out and locate the books. I remember not understanding the fuss that everyone made about Buffy, or about Angel (boring boring boring). But this one is sex and drugs, then vampire-sex and vampire-drugs. With that Jace Everett song always in the background.