Dilli Diary

Eating out: Good, bad, ugly

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1. Good: Saving condiments
Was pleasantly surprised and was really proud to see a place to deposit unused condiment sachets in a fast food restaurant. Have seen it multiple times since then at variety of places.

2. Bad: Standardized boring food
I was told that Delhi is the best place for a foodie. I have been dissapointed so far. May be it is an information asymmetry problem.
Everywhere you go it is the same old stuff – dal makhani, paneer makhanwala or variation of it with meat and veggies with the same base. I am sure there are so many interesting local dishes so why dish out the same old? Other options are MacD, sandwitches, burgers, and other standardized ‘western’ food at exhorbitant prices. I know I can go to CP for different cuisines and old delhi for local food but I am perplexed by the lack of real food in our vicinity. I miss thali in Pune or for that matter weekend Buffet at Rasoi in Providence, RI. I can’t believe I ate well in USA than in the capital of India. sigh

3. Unbelievable: Saving energy at the cost of food
We realized last week that shops just switch off the power to the freezer every few hours to save electricity cost. Thought it was a particular shop but then started looking for it and it is rampant. As it gets warmer outside (read scortching hot) the dairy products seem to have really short life, Dahi is sour. I haven’t started buying frozen meat yet and most probably I will just forget about it. I worry about medicines that need refrigeration. How are we supposed to know if the medical shops do this too? Hope it is a local problem and not a regular practice everywhere.

Dilli Diary · Musings

International Kala Mela

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Last week I started feeling frantic as the sun felt hot and unbearable mid day, a signal of the excruciating heat to come that will stop all excursions for 5 months. As I looked for city walks, fares, or food tours and such found two things that I decided fit the bill: International Kalaa Mela organized by Lalit Kala Akadami and the Hunar Haat, a fare organized by the ministry of minority affairs to give platform to minority artisans. More about Hunar Haat later.

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It was a fascinating experience, so many different materials, genres, techniques, and motivations. The most intersting conversation was with ….. Sen. I was commenting about the different techniques on display and how it might be educative to students and artists alike when she commented – Seeing all these techniques makes it difficult to find yours. You have to unlearn to find your voice. Unlearning is much more difficult than learning.’ That stopped me in my tracks in addition to her beautiful paintings capturing different moods of the sea. We had a long chat about capturing sea, my impressions of paintings about sea and sea related art while I lived in Providence-Boston area, and the reason why her blues pulled me in more than I had ever experienced before. I started looking at all the things I was seeing with a different eye after these conversation. Sometimes I complain that some of the classical vocalists favour gimmic over expression. I started seeing that in the paintings as well.

Couple other conversations with artists about how they decide to frame their piece was an education in itself. I wonder if these practicalities are formal part of an artist’s education or they aquire the sense over the years experimenting with colors, textures, shapes, and empty space.

Some experiences were wordless silent observation. Like this pair painting without any thought to the onlookers.

 

Musings · Social Media, Technology & Education

Finding/creating Quality Data

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I have heard from Parag and many other people who work on India related topics about incomplete datasets, data parameters that do not match over the period making it impossible to look at anything over a longer time period. Just yesterday I was reading some of the DataCop blog posts about cleaning data as well as their apps that help collect data where data connectivity is difficult.

Today however I realized that one of the bigger problems of all is sanctity of data collected.
We received furniture delivery today. Overall, buying furniture and then choosing to buy it online has been a trying experience to say the least.  With this background this is what transpired:
The delivery guy updated the status on his mobile. Then he asked me to check the messgae I got. So far so good. Then the following conversation ensued:
Me: Ok received the message.
Deliver person: Click on it and click submit.
[Clicked on the link read the question ‘How likely are you to recommend Pepperfy to…’. The value was set to 10]
Me:  This is a feedback form. I will complete it later.
DP: Just submit it, it tells them how was our delivery.
[Stands next to me till I click submit]

How is that data point of any value to anybody?
I would have likely given an 8-9 or even 10 to that question and would have liked to give different values for different parameters. For example, 10 for professionalism of these particular delivery people but 3 for the overall process and communication. 8-9 to the studio personnel and the way they helped patiently. 7 for the website etc. However, that crucial data wasn’t captured. This problem is easily fixable by tweaking the feedback form.
The most problematic point however is the person standing there and making me submit the form because he perceives it to be his evaluation and linked to some kind of reward/punishment.

  • Is this perception based in truth? I hope not. Pinning the customer’s willingness to be a brand ambassador on one transaction out of many is ridiculous.
  • How did the delivery guy come to think of it that way? Was he briefed to nudge the customer to give feedback but something was lost in the communication and thought it was about him?
  • If somebody asked him to get it done in that particular way, what was their motivation? Are their incentives pushing them to make sure that they get 10s?

This particular problem is on one level about training everybody involved to follow data collection protocols. Followed by communicating why the data collection is important and what is done with it. Secondly, it is about making sure each person buys into the organizational vision and understands how the data helps fullfill that vision. If everybody is working towards the vision then collecting the data becomes a way to learn how it can be achieved rather than a check mark. Incentive structure (real or perceived) goes hand in hand with this. If the average rating is the basis for salary increases or commissions, there is a huge possibility that your data is useless.

In India I wonder if it is also about the basic attitude. Gaming the system and short termism is built in the DNA. More about that later.

Dilli Diary · Musings

Delhi Diary

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We are one month old in Delhi. 🙂
After living outside India for 12 years when we decided to be back in India, friends and family cautioned us that it is going to be a huge adjustment. A good friend in Delhi pointed out that there is getting reacquainted to India and there is getting used to Delhi. I wholeheartedly agree. Delhi is a different animal altogether.

Here are some good, bad, ugly, and just plain different:
1. Delhi Metro: The best thing so far. Second day in Delhi we got ourselves a metro card and it has been smooth sailing since then. First day it reminded me of NYC subway. Something familiar and so liberating. Since then I have realized that it is much better – it is clean, easy to navigate, and has pretty good signage.

2. No restaurants in sight: This one is specific to the area we live in. First day we wandered around trying to find something for breakfast. We still have tough time finding something decent. There are chaat corners, winter chaat vendors, chaaiwalas but just 1 restaurant in our area (10-15 mins walk) and another walking distance of half an hour that we found closed for renovation the day we decided to eat out. *sigh*
North Delhi I am told is the old culture while South Delhi is cosmopolitan. It sure shows in the food scene.

3. Expectation of man to man talk: It is extremely difficult to get anything done from anybody. The electrician, the plumber, the Bosch installation person look at Parag every time they answer a question, even when I ask the question. For the last 20 years I have done all these things myself so it is quite frustrating, infuriating. I have to keep pushing Parag to ask questions, negotiate or give ultimatums (which is part of a normal conversation here. More on the conversation/negotiation dance later). If you know Parag, it is the most difficult thing for him to do. This is, I am sure, very specific to Delhi or may be North Delhi (or North India?). I have never had this problem in Pune.

4. Security check in Metro and Malls: Every time you enter a metro station you have to go through a metal detector, get patted down, and put your bags through a scanner. Same with malls or big commercial buildings. There are separate lines for women with lady police officers and a ‘private’ space for the pat down. It may sound appalling to my friends in US but surprisingly I got used to it in a day (might be because of similar experience in Pune during the 2011 visit). Now it is part of the everyday rhythm. A family member of mine in Delhi who takes this as a given is appalled at the thought that NYC or for that matter any of the US or European city public transport systems do not have ‘security’. ‘How can you be safe without it?’ is his bewildered question.

Musings

Aren’t we beautiful enough

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Our first grocery shopping excursion in Delhi saw this and was apalled. I know Indians are obsessed with whitening creams but this was a bit much. A simple moisturizer doing double duty to make you lighter:

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Vaseline
healthy white 
lightening 
With vitamin B3 and triple sunscreen.
Restores for visibly
fairer skin in 2 weeks

Not just the lighter skin but I can see the obsession with ‘western’ features. All the shops I have seen so far in my area and in CP have mannequins looking like Europeans rather than Indians – Blue eyes, light skin, specific cut of the face and chin. First I thought it was in Western brand shops but apparently showcasing  saris and lehengas also need ‘European’ looking women. I wonder if this is a newer phenomenon or I just forgot how it used to be growing up.

Update Feb 17, 2018:
I was googling to see how the particular design for these mannequins came to be. Did not find anything specific about Indian or Delhi mannequins yet but found this interesting post on history of mannequins.

 

Musings

Good Bye NYC!

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As we planned and re-planned the details of our move to India, one thing I knew for sure – we will fly out of New York City. I have no emotional attachment to Boston and it would be such a shame not to see NYC, the love my life, for one last time.

I thought a lot about what I want to do in NYC and scratched all the touristy things that we listed together. The only thing I wanted to do was to hang out with friends, walk the streets, eat whatever random street food we saw on the way and just soak in the city that I called home for a decade.

Met some of my oldest friends in NYC. Extended lunch over dimsum till we couldn’t get up, warm bowl of ramen on a wicked cold night, gyro on the cart, ate our way through the Bryant park holiday market, managed to eat horrible Met cafeteria food as well just for old times sake.  😉

Cigar making demonstration as we wait for some Cuban food near Washington Square park:

  

Walking the city was a hit and miss. The snowstorm and the arctic wave did not make it easy but we did good. 🙂
Peak into a random church to get warm as we wandered in UWS:

Walking around TC and Columbia campus was mostly about getting things done like the post office visit, popping in the Columbia shop to buy some memorabilia. TC was deserted due to the holiday. But Parag insisted on getting photos in the deserted corridors. So here is one just to say I was at TC:


I am content as I leave this city. Many memories, no regrets!

Musings

Reimagining Maharashtrian/Marathi Cuisine

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Facebook is inundated with Diwali faral photos and recipes. First it was exciting and now I can’t stand it. So when Angat Pangat a facebook group posted its Diwali ank link I was excited. Reading Diwali ank was integral part of my Diwali holidays. I wasn’t able to keep it up after moving to NYC.

At first glance, thought this Pravaas: a Degustation by Swapneel Prabhu might be just the antidote I needed. Boy was I right. 🙂 Swapneel has taken the essence of key ingredients of different regional/ethnic Maharashtrian cuisines and presented it in surprising combinations of taste, texture, and presentation.

I was floored going through just the first two courses. The ingredients and the stories Swapneel shared reminded me of my summer and Diwali holidays at my grandparent’s place in Khanapur (Close to Belgaum) and one carefree summer spent in Savantvadi at my mavshi’s house. I can still remember the first time I saw mori masa (Shark) in the maasali baazar (fish market) and the texture of the flaky flesh in the first bite.

Varanaphala in the main course/pasta course moved me from ecstatic/nostalgic to introspective. Varanphala is a contentioys issue in our house. It is the most favorite comfort food for Parag and his family. Equally revolting for me. Swapneel’s take on it captures the essence of varanphal for Parag while giving it that suprising element of filling like a tortellini uplifiting it to something I can enjoy as well.

Many other beautifully conceptualized and plated dishes inspired by Nagapuri, Kolhapuri, and CKP cuisine. I don’t know the cuisine or do not feel passionately about these dishes so I better not comment.

Ending with kharavas and kunda crisps was a master stroke.

As I was about to post this comment I started thinking about my latest couple of posts talking about Indian food and cultural appropriation. I was aghast when I found the vanilla flavored ghee; livid when Saheli shared the Samosa Doughpods. So why is Swapneel’s “PB & J (Pavta Bharit aani Jondhala) Cornetts” inspired by bhakari, bharit, dahi and lahya were so exciting in spite of being presented in a completely alien way to the traditional items it points to?

Is it because he is Indian/Marathi (or thereabouts) and the doughpod person isn’t? How Indian or xyz ethnicity a person needs to be? I think it is more than just being Indian or having some connection to Indian. If that was the only criteria, I would not be so irritated with the Indian fusion at ‘India’ in Providence while  I still talk about Chauhan Ale House in Nashville as the best Indian food I ever had this side of the world.

Chauhan had dishes that you would never see on any Indian restaurant menu. The most memorable dish they served was fried Calamari, a staple in New England restaurants but not in India. The herbs and spices used for seasoning however captured the essence of the way I cook and the ingredients I use – like the aroma of kadhipatta crisped in the oil for chivada and the crunch of the rice flour+rava coating on a fish fry making you salivate with anticipation of the soft inside.

Question still remains: Who decides if a reimagined dish captures ‘the essence’? I am still muddling through this particular jumble of thoughts/questions. Any help/opinion/comment is appreciated.

PS: Happy Diwali

India Outside India

Indian Food gone wrong

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Some WTF moments shared by my friends related to my post about flavored ‘Ghee butter’:

This DoughnutPlant abomination. Doughpods introduced August, 2016 are savory filled yeast doughnuts:
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The Ghee butter conversation:

Parag’s photo share of Dosha bars at Wholefoods:

Dosha Bars at Wholefoods

Ayurveda, is the new buzzword at its peak. I have seen it used as an alternative nutrition/diet thing that everybody is following which is already disturbing. People study for 4-5 years minimum for a basic Ayurvedic Doctor degree you know and then MD etc after that. They practice with seasoned Vaidya’s before they start practicing on their own. So how about don’t use the word casually. Knowing your grandma’s herbal remedies is not Ayurvaeda either. I diagress. But you can see why my brain has gone haywire:
Dosha® Bar – Cherry Chakra (Balances Vata)
Dosha® Bar – Blueberry Balance (Balances Pitta)
Dosha® Bar – Apple Cran Awakening (Balances Kapha)
People please desist. I am fine with it being a snack bar and consumed as such. Not a ‘dosha balancing’ bar.
If it was that easy to figure out which dosha was aggrevated and then balance it with a simple snack bar who would need Vaidyas or Doctors.

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India Outside India

Cultural misappropriation: Ghee butter, Chai tea,

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Ghee butter? Really?
Explaining the absurdity of ‘chai tea‘ was my first pet peeve when I moved to NYC. But this tops it all.

We saw ghee first in the upscale predominantly white farmer’s market on Hope street. The vendor selling ghee waxed elloquent about health benefits of ghee and offered it for tasting on a piece of bread. Unusual choice.  I wasn’t quite sure what to think about it. Then I saw a shelf full of flavoured glee bottles in Whole Foods and WTF is the only exclamation I could conjure.

The double name as usual – Naan bread, samosa potstickers, ghee butter ….
No no no! It is not spreadable butter. Ghee is not butter. That is the whole point. There were some ‘ghee oils’ in that shelf. not sure if I would rather take that than calling it butter.

Ghee has fallen victim to the health craze unfortunately and seems to have captured people’s imagination. Himalayan salt, Turmeric, and Vanilla were the offerings when I visited last week – two flavours to bring the healthy Indian to merge with the newly found health food and the vanilla to give some ‘I know this’ comfort to the regular American I guess.
(I am disturbed by vanilla chai but once again this tops it)

The bottles do not explain the method of preparing it. Is it clarified butter made of cream or butter churned from yogurt? The distinction is very important according to Ayurveda from where I am assuming the whole health food excitement is coming from.

Now to the suggestated pairings. I can live with using it to saute, sear, and bake. The vanilla ghee however is sugested to be pairied with coffee. Once again WTF