Merry Christmas by Sriram Raghavan! When you watch a movie and instantly remember the source of inspiration. You know exactly what the result would be and how the story would unfold. But, at the same time you always feel the Book would be better! I remember Reading the book last year. And a while later Realised the simplicity of the story. This is a slow burn, French Noir But having been adapted to the screen it could have been a little more edgier. The story is about two strangers who meet each other. One who is revisiting his home after 7 Years And the other who is out for dinner. They both go to the latter’s house and enjoy a drink! Then she remembers she has forgotten something and they go looking for it and are back home only to discover that her husband is killed ! This is when the story unfolds… And then this incident happens again With another man The plot thickens and slowly the mystery unravels. Merry Christmas is an inspiration and adaption of Bird in a Cage by Fredrick Dard a French noir writer and the film is now streaming on A popular Ott platform.
It might seem The southern part of India is my favourite. But, even I am not sure, what influences me to travel to that part of the country!
It was work for one part of it, It was sightseeing the Other Time and it was food and rejuvenation for this time.
All the sides of the South have so much to offer! Just like the other states of India! But, the flavours in the South are all so different.
While the common element remains the coconut in the flavours, Pepper and Masala in each of these states enhance the taste of the food.
South Indian Food
Kochi! Was such a food experience. The freshness of seafood, The softness of meat & Pork. The sharpness of Pepper and Rice and fullness of Appams was a treat every meal!
Backwaters Calmness and quietness through the journey in the boat was an experience of Stillness in a world of technology.
The Night at the Allepy snoozed us at 10 after another meal of Fish & Vegetable Stews!
The next morning we were back from the shores, not sure if we were ready to travel back into reality!
The heritage property where we stayed for another day in the city, was a museum with Vintage Cars, Camera, Projectors and an antique Radio system!
The whole Kochi experience wouldn’t have been complete without exploring Art Galleries & Independent stores that had so much to offer!
In terms of coffee, the Monsoon Malabar Roast is something you would enjoy the most. The Saltiness coming from the moisture in the air is what makes the coffee flavourful with the spice & nutty notes.
Stay:
Bloom Boutique hotel
Kumarakom Lake Resort & Boat
Eat:
Kashi Art Cafe: Asian Food & Eggs
Pandhal Cafe : Pizza, Tacos, Desserts, Coffee and Berry lemonade.
Brunton Boatyard: For South India food
Jew Town Cafe : Cold Coffee
French Toast : Coffee & Desserts
Shop:
David Hall
Pepper House
Jew Town
Hampi!
Virupaksha Temple, Hampi
Another city in the South was more about architecture and History with beautiful historic temples like Virupaksha Temple, Hemakuta Hill and Hazara Rama Temple are a must-visit on your visit to Hampi.
The Eco-friendly hotel at Hampi, felt like a restored heritage hotel, but in fact, was designed from scratch.
At Hampi, we were truly a tourist in our incredible India.
Hampi, had suddenly seen a spike of interest globally even the G20 was hosted in the city in 2023.
Stay:
Evolve Back Hotel
Bangalore!
Bangalore Palace
The IT hub! The widest roads in a metro city!
Where the joke for the city is.
IT professionals travel for about an hour on average to make apps and work for companies that promise delivery within 10 min.
The City, that’s clean & Green! A metro you would like to stay in if you have a choice!
The food options are many to choose from!
Andra-style south Indian food being our favourite.
But, the dessert and baking goods are one of the best in the city!
The city has a palace, whose architectural structure is like a British-style castle.
The vivid details, the signages, The bustling streets, the hop on and hop off buses,
The Lego store, Leicester Square and Times Square coming together in my memory!
The M&M World! Piccadilly Circle written faintly!
And the huge square, Trafalgar Square with the lion roaring.
The London Bridge! All that meets the London eye!
The erratic weather changing, like mood swings for humans in the city!
Brexit has happened from the last time we visited,
Still trying to figure things out here!
UK! LONDON! Seems …
Can’t get over it it’s been a decade since I visited London!
The memories seem crystal clear, walking up the bridge and witnessing the Thames…
Felt like a Lord! After taking them through the cricket ring that has so much history in the sport and St.John Woods Brownish, Beige rooftops and homes with a little redness never felt the same again!
Walking through the dining room and changing room of the Lord’s Stadium was a Kodak tour in so many ways! The sport that I couldn’t breathe & sleep without in childhood is a distant reality in my adulthood!
The Marketspace CAMDEN! IN Yellowish brown BOLD Font, was an interesting space of shops and cafes!
The London Tube and the Big Red Bus! Through Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Notting Hill!
The Tourist’s ness was rubbing on our shoulders, Afternoon tea and scones at Claridge’s was one splurge we did on our trip!
Oh! The now famous Pret A Manager that has India sipping and eating was one of our hangout spots after we strolled through Oxford Street!
Oh! We passed through Covent Garden which years later became a hub for Contemporary interiors and places to eat! Like the BKC In Mumbai.
London, The UK! Hadn’t seemed to have changed much! But, what had changed was it had become expensive to live and holiday here! Transport fares had doubled, and the pricing of basic goods & services too had doubled. And on the other side, Ireland was thriving with tourism, and had seemed a better bet for the UK Locals to move there! Irish Cream was a nice country with beautiful bookstores and odd-looking people with colourful hair. The Vibe & energy in Ireland felt more for youngsters and youth. With Good food options and not just 90 minutes by Air from London City Ireland indeed became a good option for UK residents to shift.
Galway & Cork were two small towns, each having their charm & differences.
The Bars were hangout spots to enjoy the Guinness Beer or have a cup of Irish coffee.
A pizzeria in Galway was also not just in Ireland but had been accoladed with the 16th best pizzeria in Europe in 2022 and 37th best in the world in 2022.
Well! Ireland is also well known for Bailey’s liqueur – A popular coffee-based alcohol and Butlers chocolates. A bar of chocolate that melts away!
And last but not least the Jameson whiskey outlet – The Secret ingredient behind the Irish Coffee.
The last highlight, An 18th-century Century Church that was restored over seven years in the late nineties until mid two thousands was opened in 2005 and still has the rustiness and architecture of the 18th Century. Information:
Ireland
Cities: Galway, Cork, Dublin and Belfast.
Enter through Dublin and travel through trains to the other cities.
Stay:
Ashkings Hotel Dublin
Buy a leap card from the station. You could use this across public transport (Trams, Trains, Buses)
In the Year 2023, I read a few books on Disability characters, And all of them have been written around in the last decade They all have had a personal connection with the author and the story.
The disability ranging from intellectual to physical disabilities. Have only made it more human to have a sense of fulfilment of how fortunate they are those who haven’t gone through any of these experiences, that challenges ones existence for a small task that seem simple to the ones who are completely mobile or have all their senses functioning to the fullest.
Whether it was The housekeeper and the professor. A story about a professor who has only 80 minutes of memory in a day and he likes to associate with numbers. To Elena a story about a missing daughter and a mothers struggle to find her daughter while the mother is suffering from Parkinson’s.
To the injustice the disabled have to deal with in the “disability visibility by Alice Wong.”
To a child who suffers from autism is being curious about a dogs death and how he associates certain daily activities for his day or week to go by.
“True Biz about Deafness “in a world that can see. Through sign language one could learn to communicate with another deaf person.
“Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow “protagonist who has been physically hurt by an accident. And how he has to bring certain changes into his life.
These stories have been pushing the acceptance of what these disabilities are and why one shouldn’t take advantage and be more considerate to the ones who have to deal with so much from the ones around them.
These stories aren’t just about children, but also about Adults who have more challenges to face than the younger ones.
While these are the books! The question that comes to mind is Films and television.
What controls them & stops them from adapting these stories, that could have a wider reach and be more influential in accepting disabilities?
These books out there only have pushed the boundaries of acceptance of the existence of disabilities that we haven’t made any arrangements for.
Best Books on Disability: I have Read
Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
Elena Knows by Claudia Pinerio
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon
Having been a home brewer for years, and enjoying a good cup of coffee daily!
The Roastery tour was fascinating.
The effort, that goes into the brew of a single cup of coffee is huge, and within a few sips/Slurps, we have our verdict of liking or disliking the coffee.
The tour began with all those interested in assembling in a room and introduction of themselves, and what interested them about coffee and the tour.
We then moved to the storage room, where 1000 Kg gunny bags of green coffee beans were stored.
Each bag had a variety of green coffee beans which is sorted manually for good, bad and damaged beans.
They are then collected into a storage box before they go into roasting.
Each day 180 Kgs of green coffee beans are sorted manually at the Roastery.
There are a couple of green coffee varieties. They are Natural, Washed, Honey Processed (Red/Yellow) Malabar, and anaerobic fermentation.
Each of these beans have their own texture and size.
Natural: They are the natural ones. No Water or machines used to remove the coffee beans
Washed: They get washed away by water and then dried.
Malabar: A variety that’s popular in India. Is salt-panned coffee beans.
Honey Processed: A Process where coffee beans are de-pulped and dried without being washed. The golden sticky substance that remains is something like honey, which is why it’s known as honey processed.
Anaerobic fermentation: This is when the coffee cherries are locked into an airtight fermentation tank after being harvested, to stop any Carbon -dioxide from escaping.
The second room was the roasting room.
The green coffee beans that has to be roasted are thrown into a hopper then a roasting profile is set ,that the roasters thinks is the most appropriate for the coffee beans and then the coffee is roasted into the roaster. There are three drums within the roaster.
And the coffee once roasted is flushed out in a section and spun over a few minutes where it cools down, before it can be taken into production for the cafés brewing, for cafe retailing, for E-Commerce purchases and other outlets that source beans from the Roastery.
The packaging is done within minutes and ready to be sent all over.
The beans Preferably should be consumed within a month from the date it has been roasted to enjoy the flavour profile and taste of the coffee.
Post our Tour we also tried the coffees at the Roastery.
We brewed the pour over method and tried the drip bags too.
Oh! Please note before the Roastery brews a large batch of coffee, they have a portable roasting machine, that they use to sample beans.
The Roastery has to choose coffee from about 800 odd samples from which they choose about 40 odd samples they would produce under their Roastery.
A K H I L N A N D A 