SG OwnBlog

Kolkata is a busy city. It is not as busy as any of the other Indian metropolises or even some of the other major cities of India. There are few industries left. So not many people from other states come to set up shop. Instead, the young and the educated leave the city for jobs in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. Among those who are left, no matter what, are the traffic policemen and women who patrol the city and maintain law and order. Their job is most challenging during the ten days of Durga Puja. Even though most of the police force is Hindu, they are barely able to celebrate the Puja the way we are able to.  The city is 'sensitive' and the traffic snarls that the city suffers makes their presence mandatory. In numbers that are greater than usual. The consequences of their deployment is felt right away. The cars move, the jams are reduced to a minimum and hooliganism is reduced. But all this comes at a cost. A cost to the men, women and even kids w...

Kolkata is famous as a culinary delight for food lovers the world over. Ok, if that's too much let's just say it's famous all over India. I am not saying it provides the best food, but it's great, cheap and unhygienic. So here are the top 10 restaurants that Hindus can try out while they are in the city. Hindus in Kolkata, being a minority, can find it difficult to find places that are both famous and yet conform to their spiritual practices. So keeping that in mind here's the list. I have kept out small joints and shops selling sweets simply because it's not recommended to fill your stomach with rosogollas alone - no matter how much you like them. Safety tip: Always ask beforehand if they have beef on sale. :) It is still recommended that you ask before you place an order if the place serves beef as demand may require the establishment to provide it. In that case please let us know and we will update it. Some of these restaurants will have multiple ...

Coming home is always a special affair and rightly so. Everytime I come home, I feel great. This time I chose a slightly different route than the one that I usually take. Actually it was my Dad's idea. He said that instead of spending a lot on moving from Bangalore to Kolkata directly by air, I can move to Chennai by train and take a flight from there. It actually saved me around Rs. 6000! After somehow doing my work at office I left for the railway station - the Bangalore City Junction. After a sleepy ride to the station in a crowded AC bus I reached the Majectic Bus Stand. From there I got some help from a fellow passenger to identify the road to the railway station. The station was great. Though initially I was scared that I might not make it in time, I was relieved to find out that I was about a couple of hours before time! So I had a sandwich that sucked. Then after sometime I went to a eatery and had Veg Biriyani. They served it on a banana leaf! That was great. Rest ...

I am romantic. Okay I am an emotional fool and highly romantic. When I was a kid(not that I ain't now) I did all kinds of extreme things. Like proposing to a girl when I was in the third standard. I of course never did drugs but how about quarrelling with your 'girl'friend's mother? That too in the ninth standard! Well, there are many but many of my teachers even believed (rightly) that I was(and am) incorrigible. I don't know much about Fate. Or destiny for that matter. Of course I know what they mean in the dictionary, but that is just all about it. If you ask me about it and may be speak on them for a couple of hours I would probably fill them with ummm, aahhhs and your yawns. But what do you do when what happened to you long back come back to you the exact same way? How do you react to such a situation? The similar feelings, mixed with the grown maturity and all the complexities of growing up start playing against each other. Its almost like becoming a footba...