Loknath ki gali...fruit cream & lassi..

Visit to Loknath ki Galli

Winter chill setting in and a visit to Allahabad is incomplete without a visit to the Loknath ki Galli. After a sumptuous dinner at home, all the children insisted that we should visit the galli famous for its sweets and lassi,

The excitement and the buzz about the place made me eager to visit the place. We reached the place half past eleven in the night. The small bylanes made progress difficult as hand driven cycle rickshaws and animals flocked the streets. We parked our car 200 metres away from the market and walked towards the lane.

During our walk, cows on both sides of the road and tricycles honking were music to the ears. The language spoken by the common man on the streets was Hindi (Khaike Paan Baneras waala) style and it was not easy to to pick the language. It was very different from what you hear in the metros.

Our first stop was Loknath Kulfi Bhandar. From the exteriors it looked like a ordinary sweet shop but as the owner got into the groove and served us the first lassi, it dawne don me why people in the house insited that I should visit the shop.

We requested him not to put rich cream in our lassi and that did not amuse the shop keeper. However he did not say anything to us and went on making his lassi. Rohit’s joined us and seeing the local boy with us made the shop-keeper open up and warn that he will not serve lassis without the cream. The Poor soul was offended and wanted his guests from Delhi to enjoy the lassi as he prepared it best.

He put some extra cream some Kesar essence as topping. We did compliment him for making such tasty lassi and told him we will make a mention to our friends back home?
He was silent and was happy to taste us some fine White Cheese (Paneer) with some salt. The Paneer just melted in our mouths and for once we felt that we were eating boiled eggs.

We promised to visit him everyday during our stay and before we left the shop did ask him whether he will put some special stalls during the Ardh Kumbah Mela next year in January. He retorted negatively and assured us that he had no plans to put stalls near the Ganges. He assured us that his business will be roaring during the 45 day period and people visiting Allahabad will come to his shop to enjoy the delicacies through word of mouth publicity. We enjoyed our lassi and before saying goodbye to him praised him for the lassi. He was overjoyed but did not find time to enjoy the compliments as another bunch of kids landed up at his shop to enjoy some badam milk and lassi.

Ganga maiya mai aayaa..

journey to the land of Ganes

Train journey to the land of the Ganges.


We decided to go to central India to enjoy the climatic conditions in the holy land of the Ganges. Allahabad is one of the important cities in Uttar Pradesh and is a pious place for Hindus. A dip in the river Ganga is considered holy as it washes all your sins and a visit to the place is a must on every India’s calendar in a lifetime.

We boarded the train from New Delhi in the wee hours of the morning. My nephew Bharat was happy as in six days time he had traveled the length and breadth of the capital city. He knew that it was time to get back to base camp and enjoy life in his hometown. He was also excited about catching up with his relatives especially his great grandmother who was waiting impatiently to meet him after six days.

We waited at the station on platform no 7 as the train was late. The train departed from New Delhi station 20 minutes late. Within minutes of boarding the train the little czar was caught up in enjoying the site of the outside world with his mother by his side. He did explain with his expressive thoughts and his nascent understanding the unhygienic conditions on the platform and on the train. He was also tired that his uncle (the host) was constantly observing him and did not miss an opportunity to capture any of the moments.

He was so tired being under scrutiny and soon managed to even scores with his uncle. He got hold of the camera, and did show his photography skills.

We all decided to catch up on our sleep and got up in time to enjoy the freshly home made lunch from our Bhabhi’s home in Kanpur. Some puris soaked in ghee, aloo Kachoris with some pickles, some lovely vegetables, kichdi and sweets made our lunch.
The train arrived in Allahabad and the little dude was excited as his father (rohit) was there to receive him. A warm embrace and some silence between the father-son did tell stories that elders may might hours to narrate.

He was happy to be back home and our drive back home was like a walk down memory lane for the little champion. He looked at every street in his hometown with awe. Rohit did stop the car outside our ice-cream parlour on Civil Lines and the little champion took time out to sit on the bonnet of the car. Relatives and well wishers say a politician in the making but for the little champ his idea to declare to his friends and family that he is back and ready for some mischief.

On entering the porch, the little czar rushed to say namaste to the guard of our house (Thakoo in reality his name is thakur). He rushed and embraced the guard and then rushed home to meet his great grandmother and then got into the groove of getting into the act of Light Camera Action. I am back with a bang.

Visit to the temple

It was time to thank god for the all things done, especially taking care of my better half when she was down with the deadly disease DENGUE. My Bhabhi, mom-in-law, nephew, my better half and myself decided to visit the temple. I decided to join them as I thought I had never visited any temples in the colony and it was time to get some good pictures of the religion crazy country India.

We reached the temple just in time for the evening aarti. It is a puja performed in the temple during the evenings and people flock the temples as bees to the honeycomb.

My nephew found the temple surroundings very similar to our house. Open space and no need to wear slippers and can enjoy his home run without any distractions. He was thrilled and zipped like a SUV inside the temple premises.

The temple bell caught his fancy and the pandit in the temple was a happy man to let the young champions handle ringing the bell while the aarti was on. The kid rang the bell with zeal and energy that left all of us spell bound.
The elders finished the prayer while he enjoyed his heart content and as we got ready to leave. He was happy that the visit to the temple is a must every day as parents give them the freedom to enjoy life though for some minutes the way they want.

sleep is precious! SSh! do nt disturb

arre bhai main bhi saath hoon

yeh kahan aa gaaye hum

A ride in the metro

It was excitement in the air as we got ready to board the metro train to showcase Delhi to our relatives. Metro train has now donned the role of one of the prime attractions of Delhi. My 25 month old nephew Bharat was all excited about his visit. My bhabhi Taru my Mom-in-law and my better half embarked on the journey from Rajiv Chowk to Chandani Chowk.

The little czar of our eyes enjoyed his trip in the metro train the most. He caught the sites and was amazed to see the deluge of crowd and the pace in which the people zipped in and out. The Escalator trip was another treat for the little champ as he loves the ride up and down the aisle.

The markets of Chandani Chowk are the most crowded market in Delhi but if you visit the capital city it is a must visit location. It has various bazaars but our idea was to visit Paratha Wali Gaali. We forget all diet charts and enjoyed the delicacies in the market. The Gaali famous for its parathas is also a heaven for shopping especially saris.

The poor soul was so bored with this affair that he decided to catch a good sleep and got up just in time to catch the metro ride back to Rajiv Chowk. He jumped in joy and watched with eyes wide open the see of people of zipping past him. His world is not more that two. Anything that he talks about is two. So when he saw the busy streets of Delhi, he wondered how on earth can there be so many cars.

The cynosure of our eyes was soon left to fend for himself as the rest of the family got busy talking about the shopping and the cheap bargains that they had struck. The little kid was wondering what went wrong but he soon realized that shopping can cause you many a trouble.

We came back home but the trouble was far from over. The second round of trauma started as the women of the house got together to appreciate the saris themselves. He was bewildered but felt that the trip in the metro train was worth all the pain.

He had caught the best trip of his life and was all kisses for his uncle who made his day while the women were now busy on the phones telling folks back home about the good bargains they had managed.

All in all: the Metro is the new place to take kids out on a holiday and kids just love it.

Rajesh sundaram= our friend

Rajesh Sundaram has been a mentor and a guide and learnt my basics of TV journalism from him. He has been my guide and has helped me in many walks of life.

He is currenlty associated with a south Asia channel and is currently in Doha the channel's headquarters to celebrate 10 years of the channel.

I wish him the very best as he enjoys camel burger in Doha.

ORRY= Doha to the world

PICX courtesy
Rajesh Sundaram

Doha+ ORRY= Asian games

Picx courtesy
Rajesh Sundaram
Picx
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Doha = ORRY Land

I had recently been to Doha ( Qatar) the city that on thw owrld map does not have a presence but has manged to host the Asian Games Come December. ORRY the games mascot is all over the city and it is a wonderful site to see ORRY become the spirit of the games. They have ORRY in hotels, malls and in the middle of the city. These pictures i have taken from my firend Rajesh Sundram who was in the city of Doha recently. I will post more stories and pictures from Doha as the Asiam Games spirit and excitment heats up.

lamps of the world

It was winters seting in and I was driving down the mountain roads from surajkhund to Delhi as I saw this large herd of sheep . It was such a wonderful sight to catch them walking with whispers in a herd. The sheep were walking oblivious of the traffic jam they had caused.

Drivers on both sides of the road stopped and let the sheep enjoy thier morning walk as we waited patiently.

The herd leader did realise the problem his team had caused and soon they walked in a straight line and that brought a smile on all the drivers faces.

It was a sight uncommon for delhiteis but certain lessons to learn from the Lamps of the world

my world

my world is my better half. She also works in the media and is associated with TV news for the last five years. She has been associated with AAJTAK and now with CNN -IBN as a special correspondent. She exposes truth and is a nightmare for the law breakers of the country.

A 30 year old journalist based in New Delhi India, working for the national broadcaster in India. The Blog is about news from South Asia, my friends, my world, the places I go to and the places that come to me.