Am I a Fool

I think I am a fool or something is seriously wrong with our crime investigation agencies. Since last week CBI has been raiding homes of police officers involved in allegedly conniving in the henious crimes at Nithari in NOIDA.I would assume that in order for a raid to be effective it has to be done suddenly and without prior information to the person or persons who homes are going tobe raided. This is at least true of Income Tax related raids, information on which are only shared in the last moment with only relevant officers of the department and raids are essentially carried out at ungodly hours so that the raidees are caught unawares. After the first raid on a junior police officer's house a more than a month after the case came to light, the CBI claimed to find some incriminating papers. So far so good.What did they do next? Spoke to the press and said that more raids would follow! This is what I read in newspapers yesterday. What was the wisdom behind this cute piece of communications to the press? To inform us that CBI is really working hard on the case? Or to inform the other suspected policeman to be aware and make best efforts to hide all incriminating papers before the raid happens? I dunno reallyOR is that the safe assumption of CBI that police officers do not read newspapers an watch television?I think it is the pathetic desire to talk more and work less that drives most organisations these days. In teh zeal to talk they sometimes forget what they should talk and what they should not talk about. This bug seems to have bitten many ministers, government departments, police and even the judiciary. I guess normally quiet and reticent government types are learning their communication skills pretty fast from the coprorate types:)

Confessions of a Sinner

Yes, I have been sinning regularly since I have arrived in Mumbai. It's a new city, I am alone, I work pressure is too much... all these have forced me to sin. It all started one Friday evening as I was walking back home from office [yes, i enjoy that rare pleasure in Mumbai of not having to drive or take a train to work:)]. As I was walking back home I discovered the pleasures of forbidden fruit and helped myself to one. It helped since it was highly discounted, Rs 200 only instead of 800 or so of the actual cost. Since then I indulge in it regularly and now it has becoming a habit and whenever I am travelling inside the city I keep an eye out for forbidden fruits and help myself to a couple of different ones every week. My appetite has grown to a all time high.Now, do not let your imagination run high on this one. Simple, i have been an avid reader and collector of books, but ever since the system of book advances have started and ever since I have stopped visiting Daryaganj on Sundays, I have not had my fill of books. In Mumbai i discovered the world of pirated books.. nice things they are, almost an exact replica.... some pages are badly printed... but what the heck? they are real value for money.i know it is not correct legally to buy pirated stuff.... but who can afford a book at market price? Only those who buy books to decorate shelves not to read them.... I have therefore been sining deliberately and enjoying eveny moment of it. In the bargain I have finished reading such books as "Blink", "Tipoing Points", Freakonomics, and many others.....So for the time being I would at least say One Cheer to the Pirates.....

Food and Booze Gujarati Style

There are cooks who write, conduct TV shows on food and there are wine experts, whisky exeperts and expertson cocktails who write and or conduct tv shows on how to mix a tipple. These are generally pros and they follow two cardinal principles of pros: Talk yourself and your product up and second do not pass opinions on others.

Then there are food and wine critics who nornally write about restaurants they are asked to visit or booze they are asked to sample. These critics are with a few notable exceptions are a part of the marketing exercise of the restaurant or the booze company and are generally invited to wine and dine and if they are still awake at the end of the evening write something good in the morning with a few dashes of "neutral criticism" like the lighting could have been better OR the wine was excellent but the price a tad too high....

Very few people write for consumers with an honest feedback on food, restaurants and drinks and fewer still write practical stuff. It is no point mentioning a dish ingradients of which can only be found either in France or by bribing a friendly airhostess. Or for that matter about a cocktail components of which have to be wholly imported...
I have found two notable exceptions to this rule one writing on food/rstaurants and chefs the other on booze [sans wine]. The first is Vir Sanghvi and the second is Bhaichand Patel. Both write from the consumer point of view and since writing respectively about food and booze are their fourth or fifth pastimes, they write freely without looking over their shoulders... It helps that Sanghvi is a cook himself and Patel enjoys making and consuming drinks...

Unfortunately both of them write in Brunch the Sunday supplement of Hindustan Times and if you do not subscribe to that newpaper you shall not be able to read them. More unfortunately, we just read the last column by Patel last Sunday, he has discontinued writing for Brunch. I Hope Vir wil lcontinue to write his column quite aptly titiled "Rude Food".
Vir is a stake eating gujarati and Bhaicahand is a scotch guzzling one. The former food item is a religious taboo not only among gujaratis but a large number of Hindus. Scotch of course is a political taboo in Gujarat whence the ancestors of both the gentlemen came.

So the best writer on food (especially non-veg) and Booze are both Gujaratis..... Did I hear someone say Indians are dogmatic?

Dry Day and Wet Lips

Why do we have dry days in our country especially on religious and election day? Who started this stupid thing? When and whay? These are some of the questions that bug me once again on the occasion of Republic Day. I can afford to pontificate on the issue since I have stocked up for series of dry days that are coming up in Mumbai in the next one week caused by a heady mixture of politics and respect to the Mahatma.Is it to show respect to our gods and goddesses? If you are a Hindu which the majority of alcohol consumers in India would we, you would know that our Hindu gods and goddesses are capable of quite a few naughty things inlcuding drinking, bitching and politicking. In fact what makes Hinduism so lively is the almost human like behaviour of its gods and goddesses. If you are a Christian, there is no religious taboo on drinking. If you are a Muslim and follow the scriptures you are not supposed to drink and all days are dry for you, if you do not follow the scripture, then there are no dry days. I do not know about sikhs' buddhists' and jains' views on this hence will not comment. But I think Hindus, Muslims and Christians would constitute 90 per cent of the drinking polulation of India and dry day rules would not apply to them specifically. During election time dry days are justified by the fact that booze would be dsitributed to the voters to influence voting. Even if we accpect that voters are stupid, what would stop political parties from stocking up booze especially since they already know that election days would be dry days?

I find it funny, millions of Indians get drunk everyday, go bankrupt chasing the bottle, beat up wives, spoil lives of their children and their own lives but we have only so few dry days.... how pathetic..... Now I need that beer:)
Cheers