No can do

I had written about the places I wanted to eat at, while in Bangalore. I am sorry, folks, but you will have to wait (if at all you are reading, but if I still have your attention, I am sure you are reading) for that.

Blame IIM-C. And, my Operations Management exam this weekend. Sunday, to be precise. And, after the 41.67% in Corporate Strategy (I am sure I should have gotten more, except that the majority of the class was somewhere in the 20s and 30s!), I would like much rather hit the Book, and slog it out ... Which means no gallavanting around the place. Just being a good boy, staying put in the Guest House, and Studying! Cheers ...

Hospitality and Money

There are a few recent incidents which got me thinking. Hospitality ... a la South Asia. And, this prompted me to write on this subject.

Different societies and different cultures have different outlooks to guests. These could vary from the American way (do they really have to come??), to the South Asian way, of Atithi Devo Bhava (Guest be God) ...

What I feel, this cultural difference shows. Very clearly visible in the hospitality and hospitality related businesses (travel, tourism, aviation, customer service ...).

The overriding impression I get in the Occident (I think the word is still valid, Pax Americana and Thomas Friedman notwithstanding) that the hospitality sector is not into it for serving the customer. Rather, they are in it with both eyeballs on your Wallet.

While nobody is in it for charity, because of this cultural difference, the differences in behaviour become quite glaring, and the warmth you would find in a hotel, or an airline in India, or Sri Lanka (I am yet to travel to Pakistan, but from what I heard, they are far warmer), to my mind, remains unmatched.

And I would think this would have implications for the BPO sector. Barring the narrow mindset of "losing American/British jobs to the Indians", I think culturally, the Indian BPO industry is far better placed than their counterparts in other parts of the world to handle outsourced, customer-facing processes, especially for processes which are with handling irate customers.

Bangalore next week

Something I have been trying to figure out for a long time ... There are people who can eat, and then eat, and then eat some more, and are still thin as a reed, while me ... I can grow fat listening to someone in the next room talking about Food!

I am off to Bangalore next week, and I am looking forward to Dinner at Hotel Empire ... The Mutton Kurma, and the Parotta they make up is delicious ... So is the Fish Curry and Rice at Koshy's ... Though, I think their Fish 'n'Chips is avoidable. Which is crazy, because the place is called Koshy's Fish 'n' Chips ... So their signature Dish seems to have gone ...

Utilization versus Customer ...

Over the last two days, I have come across scenarios at some of the most revered eateris in Kolkata (Calcutta if you may), which are unsavoury, at least to me!

At Peter Cat ... They believe that if the size of the entourage doesnt fit with the size of their table, you are not allowed in. So, if theres 2 of you, and they have a table of 4 which is vacant, perish the thought of having the chance to dine there. They would much rather leave the table vacant (on the assumption that they will get 4 covers soon!) ... One could argue that if they took in the 2 diners, 4 people would be inconvenienced (did i get that right?). But I dont think they have such altruistic thoughts behind this.

Or, take Flury's for that matter ... For some reason, the establishment believes that people dont drink (or, maybe, that they shouldnt drink) Tea or Coffee along with their Lunch. Presumably, which is why, they refuse to serve Coffee if you go there at Lunchtime. I had gone there with a colleague, and ... I was going to have a Pastry, and she decided to have Coffee (presumably because of a Diet!). And, the bearer told us that he cannot serve Coffee! Of course, he still wanted me to have the Pastry!

This doesnt take anthing away from the Food. The Chello Kababs are every bit as they ought to be, and Flury's still makes up the best Muffins.

Strangely, this is something I havent come across anywhere except Kolkata, though, by no stretch of the imagination could I hold this against the City i love ...

Food in Calcutta

Over the last couple of days, I have seen a peculiar situation in Calcutta. Just about every eatery in town is packed throughout the day, practically. We decded to have Dinner at Jimmy's Kitchen (if you have known Calcutta for a longish period of time, you cannot give Jimmy's a go-by!) ... A venerable old institution of Chinese cooking in Calcutta, the land of Tangda. To the extent that my Mother in Law was telling me once, that the first time she ate at Jimmy's Kitchen was when she was in School. Now, thats one old place!

What was indeed surprising was that at 8:20 pm on a weeknight, the place was packed. No place to sit, and the guard says it would at least half an hour to get a table. As luck would have it, one of my friends who was supposed to meet us there had already reached there, and was already sitting inside. The alternative would have been wooing the Princes of Calcutta (the taxiwallahs ... that time of the day, none of them seem to want to go anywhere!).

Though, the Wontons and the Spring Rolls were every bit worth it ... Just the way they should be ... Delectable! In other words ... Vintage Jimmy's!

Kolkata Khaowa ...

A few days in Kolkata (or Calcutta if you may), are always welcome. There is something about the city. The fact that theres no such thing as professionalism here notwithstanding, the city has a heart. And, belly ... Sure knows a thing or two about Food!

Yesterday it was Ilish Maach (dont ask me what preparation, but it was Shorshe Baataa, and Paalonk Shaag ...), and it was among the best Ilish i have ever had. That at a time when Bangladesh has banned the export of Padma r Ilish! How could they!!!!! From a place called Kastoori. I am told this restaurant is on Sudder Street, opposite where Jamuna Cinema used to be.

And if the Ilish is anything to go by, a visit to this restaurant is required.

Photograph from Kolkata

I just got a bunch of pictures from a colleague of the havoc the deluge played in Kolkata ... People trudging through hip deep water ... Camac Street seems to have been the photographer's favourite.

In all of these, there was a picture of a rickshaw-wallah ... Just an ordinary photograph, but a smile very human ... A smile which welcomes the rains, even with the waterlogging, and all the man made problems that it brings ... A warm welcome ... One that shall never be taken away!

Monsoons ...

This is the first post I am making on this blog. And, needless to say, its about the Monsoons ...

I was supposed to be in Mumbai right now, and had it not been for the rains ... Actually, not the rains, but more the way our infrastructure can handle them ... And, why Mumbai alone ... Kolkata was floating, too!

Though, the fact of the matter is, too, that the Monsoons unleash their own Magic ... the Magic of Saawan ... Of a bountiful crop, which feeds the vitality of a civilization. Of bringing life out of the laboured slumber of the Summers ... No wonder, then, that the Monsoons are celebrated across the length and breadth of the country ... Even if that means that washed clothes remain soggy for days!

Here's to the Monsoons ...