The best tea in Kanpur

Banarasi Chai Stall in Kanpur

Without a doubt, the best tea in Kanpur. This town likes its tea without too much sugar. Makes life very difficult to people like me who like lots of sugar in their tea. The tea at Banarasi's is prepared on the spot with pure milk, a dash of elaichi, good helping of sugar and malai (cream) if you ask for it.

Look Ma, a T-Rex!

In the company of dinosaurs,

Sumit at the Kanpur Zoo

A(SS) **beep** College, I kid you not!

See! See! :)

A wider and more expansive hoarding, just before Kalyanpur, Kanpur

I do hope I make some believers now (see 'breaking news' post here). Mayu, are you listening! :P

The world is a amazingly funny place.

Mr Chef, don't brin' the brinjal!

Sign outside tiger's enclosure at Kanpur 'Chiddiyaghar'

I say the same for brinjals. Oh how dearly I hate them! And my mess chef in IITK (see menu here) has some special fascination, liking, fetish, obsession with them. Every alternate day. :P

PS: More zoo pics here.

The journey to IITK

(wrote this long back!)

My trip to IITK
July 21, 2007

Mumbai: After much deliberation, stressful visits to doctors and running around, I finally boarded the 2107 Down Lucknow Super Express at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 1625 hrs. I was waved off by my parents (concerned about my perennial sneezing and my food on the train more than the enormous amount of luggage I was carrying ;)) and my chaddi-dost Partha.

The journey in the train was uneventful in the most part. The real fun started as the train neared Kanpur. There was a definite observable pattern; all mud-houses had a particular advertisement painted on them - "Shilpa Banian, Underwear and Jhangiyas". ;) This reminded me very much of the Rupa & Juliet ads in Mumbai. And also of the oft-repeated-and-now-boring PJ - 'agar tum Rupa ke banian pehenoge, toh Rupa kya pehenegi'. So right before stepping foot in the city of Kanpur, the preferred brand of hosiery was made known. ;)

Two observations I made on the way to IITK in the cab:
1. A big signboard and building proudly proclaiming "A.S.S. Degree College, top-ranked institute in Kanpur". Ahem!
2. X-C-Lent English Teaching Class: We know how to tech (sic).

The temperature and humidity was killer. The temperature have only recently dropped to 29-30C from the 34-35C on July 22, thanks in large measure to minute rain showers. It is however, small respite.

IITK from the outset was a great experience. The campus is enormous and for a first time visitor almost overwhelming. Besides the academic buildings, IITK has 9 halls for gentlemen and 2 halls for the ladies, in addition to some hostels (count unknown) for visitors and married students. I was allocated to Hall 7 which is one of the recently built hostels in IITK and hence the quality and construction of the rooms is excellent. My room has all basic amenities and a 3-partitioned window with a view of the garden and the canteen. Right outside is the terrace, from where the sky spreads out its enormous expanse. No skyscrapers, no smoke, dust, just pure natural sky. No stars visible right now because of the clouds, but imagine what a treat the sky would be to watch in winter. ;)

And oh, did I mention the football & hockey ground right next to Hall 7, it is a lush carpet of green. They could probably use it for filming SRK's 'Chak De India'. :P Btw, Hall 7 is also online, www.iitk.ac.in/hall7.

Food as I have told (more like bragged) many of you earlier was never going to be an issue. In 2 days, I've spend a total of 2-3k on room stuff and only about 30 Rs on 6 meals. :) And the quality of the food is excellent as well. I mean a big tall glass of mango shake for Rs 10 wonly. Yummmmmmmmmy samosas for Rs 2. ME LIKEY!

I still await with bated breath my Internet connection, so I feel normal again. Life without email and IM is strangely inadequate somehow (note: this situation has now been alleviated, and hence this post ;)).

My room @ IITK

A virtual tour of my room at IITK

Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

A flier outside Screen 3 of City Pride, Kothrud

PS: Does point 3 (no "drinking") mean no water, Frooti, Sprite, Coke and no apple juice?! :P

PS PS: If you figure out why there's no point 10, leave a comment. ;)

Culinary delights

Care for some love-ly 'Sweet Corn *Mush* Soup'?

You have to try the excellent 'Chicken *Sesmi Troast*'!

Nothing like *dresserts* to finish it all up, is there?

These pics are clicked by Partha, my langotiya-yaar from KC. Chinese courtesy Ankit, Chembur and desserts at Tavaa, Bandra.

Sinful pleasures

Outside a men's loo, City Pride - Kothrud, Pune

I guess to know this, you have to be a guy 'in a emergency situation' for 2-3 hours. :)

Flower tracking at my desk

Day 1: Sweet, beautiful.

Day 2: Ready to blooom!

Day 3: The prime of life. Aaah, the good times.

Day 4: Lost one, but look at the others.

Singular with plurals with funny with ad!

Notice board, Pingala, Persistent Towers, Nal Stop, Pune

Dr. Do-Buffalo-Little

Buffalo in lush green fields, Panhala, near Kolhapaur, Maharashtra

The nameplate reads: "Dr. Raj Holkar, Dr. Neeta Holkar".

Royalty like.no.other

Outside Piramyd (sic) Mall, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune

Morning mourners rejoice

AR5 C8-4, Persistent Towers, Pune

Also, my abode!

Fun with fannies

On a Karnataka Bank FD certificate - 'Renewed backside of the certificate'

Is this fanny funny or what?

Breakfast anyone?

Sign outside a Frankies & Bread Rolls shop, Pune-Mumbai Expressway

Wildlife (actual animals ;)), IITK

Peacock outside front porch garden of CS Dept, IITK

Peacock standing over the railing of a tennis court (very Rapunzel like naa?),

Hall 5, IITK

Peacock in the hostel backyard, Hall 5, IITK

Spider swallowing a white moth, bathroom @ IITK

I have an admit to IITK. Will be joining on July 22nd, 2007. :)

Maha-ENJOY-baleshwar!

Joshi Vada-wale, Pune-Bangalore highway NH4


Back of a Maruti van, Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra

View from Harrison's Folly, outside Panchgani, Maharashtra

The plains below, Harrison's folly, outside Panchgani, Maharashtra

No "furnish" business please!

Outside ICICI ATM, Deep Bangla Chowk, Pune

Life or something like it

Bangalore, Karthik's house-garden

There was a blind girl who hated herself because of being blind. Not only did she hate herself but she hated everyone else, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marryher boyfriend. One lucky day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. She then saw everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend then asked her, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?" She was SHOCKED when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too. She said, “I am sorry but I can’t marry you because you are blind and it will be too hard.” Her boyfriend walked away with tears and said, "Please just take care of my eyes.”

This, a email forward, from my eighth grade English teacher. Thank you, Merlin Ma'am.

Sometimes, we do really strange things for people we love. We cannot explain why, or even how we did those things. The sudden change, the immediate impluse. Maybe it's not to be explained. Maybe it's always been there, and, was waiting for that precise moment to surface.

Qutub Minar, Delhi

The Qutub Minar

Did you know that the Qutub Minar in Delhi was to be superceded by another monument, the Alai Tower, but that never materialized. See this page for a very comprehensive coverage of the Qutb Complex (which holds both the Qutub Minar and the Alai Tower, the tombs of their erectors and lovely stone architecture).

The Alai Tower