Dinesh Wagle's Commentaries

Latest stories – पछिल्ला टिप्पणीहरू

  • Cuppa

    a cup of tea
    A cup of tea. Hot, sweet and satisfying.

    The day before yesterday I went to Khanna Market (which is not very far from Khan Market that, unlike Khanna, targets rich customers) to eat at a south Indian restaurant. I had been hearing about this restaurant for long. Several people had sworn that the eatery serves excellent south Indian food at reasonable prices. (“AC and cheap menu.”) It took Satish and me no time to find Chidambaram’s New Madras restaurant.

    We went upstairs- in a windowless hall with plain and clean tables. There were four tables on one side, two on the other (our side). Three of those four tables were occupied by three couples. Three men- perhaps in their mid-40s- were furiously eating on the fourth. There was another couple just behind me. Initially I felt little bit odd as I was with a man. That oddness disappeared as we ordered food. I decided to eat Masala Dosa while Satish wanted to taste Onion Idly. Food was not the only reason for me to visit there. I wanted to see the restaurant and the market- Khanna Market. You don’t get out of a restaurant without eating something unless you are deeply dissatisfied with the menu, no? Moreover, I was hungry. (धेरै…)

  • Movie Time

    bollywood movie screening

    The probability is high for one to become a movie buff if the sole theater in neighborhood has been renovated recently and shows latest flicks. I have watched more Bollywood movies in the past couple of weeks than I did in the past year (in theaters, that is). Eros cinema, a landmark of Jangpura Extension, resumed its service a few weeks ago. It was under-construction when I came here in late 2008. At times I thought it would remain that way for another year or so because work didn’t seem to progress.

    Today I watched a Bollywood flick: Once upon a time in Mumbai. Not bad. Didn’t like songs interrupting storyline though one song was nice to hear (not to watch). Gangster flick but doesn’t show much violence and fights. Only one character, the protagonist, dies at the end (if I remember correctly). That too of a single gunshot to chest! Impossible for a Bollywood movie! Reminded me of Ram Gopal Varma’s Company (which also stars Ajay Devgan). Company starts from where Once upon a time in Mumbai ends. Well, not exactly but in some ways. Btw, the city of Mumbai has been extensively referred to as Bombay throughout the movie as it tells the story of the Bombay in the 70s. The city was renamed Mumbai only in 1996. Rightist forces in Mumbai in recent years have been forcing filmmakers not to refer to the city as Bombay. That is perhaps the reason for the title to have the word Mumbai. Still, I appreciated the filmmaker’s courage to use the word Bombay in the movie.

  • Khan Market Magazine Stall

    I am posting a photo that I tweeted a few days back. A man walks past a magazine store in Delhi’s Khan Market. khan market magazine stall

    This post is a part of my continued effort to give the site a Twitteresque feel. Recently I reactivated the P2 theme that its creators- Automatic- think will be useful for short updates like this one.

    Whenever I go to Khan Market I make it a point to visit this and other magazine stalls. You can spend awhile browsing magazines of all kinds at these stalls. A few months ago I was surprised to see a magazine called Blogger’s Park (third issue, I think), collection of blog posts from a certain blogsite- printed in the magazine format. I always wanted to do that- once upon a time- when I used to blog almost full-time. No Nepali magazines is available at these stalls though. Nepali newspapers also don’t come to Delhi and other Indian cities where as Indian newspapers are circulated everywhere in Nepal. But a south Asian magazine that is published from Kathmandu is available here. I had bought the July issue of Himal Southasian from this stall last month. The magazine had carried an article that I wrote.

    Related posts:
    1. Oh Jangpura!
    2. Hustle and Bustle of Chawri Bazaar, Old Delhi

  • Delhi Rains

    tree leaves and droplets

    Woke up this afternoon to see the neighborhood soaked in rains. Went outside, down the street, and walked around for a while. It was drizzling. Raindrops fell on my glasses. The view was partially obstructed. I was slightly annoyed but there was no hint of heat. That made me happy. It was refreshing. Back in the balcony on the third floor, I came close to the tall tree that is attached to the building. Rain had washed away dust from its leaves. They looked so clean. They were shining. I could see droplets sliding down those leaves and falling on the ground. Splash! Oh, I could almost hear that sound. It’s a peaceful day.

  • Man at Work. #Delhi

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    On a recent afternoon I woke up to see this man at work in a nearby building. A lot of construction work is going on in Delhi. Not just the government but private citizens are also fueling up the construction boom. This building along with the adjoining one, was built earlier this year. There were two old house here that they demolished and erected these houses. The new houses are better looking and stronger compared to the older ones. But the problem with houses here in Delhi is that they don’t have enough parking space for cars that their owners own.

  • Wakefulness

    I couldn’t sleep a wink last night
    Because we had that silly fight.

    LOL. There was no fight but a night passed by without me sleeping a wink. First time in many years.

  • Indian Level Crossing

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    I am always fascinated by anything related to railways. Traveling on trains is one of my favorite things in India. Sometime I do write about my fascination with Indian railways. One scene that particularly attracts my attention while traveling on a train is that of people waiting for the rail to pass by so that they can cross the railroad. They have proper level crossing at many places but they are not enough, perhaps. People just cross from anywhere they feel like crossing. Whenever I have to go to Lajpat Nagar, I go via one of those unofficial level crossing near block B of Jangpura. (Chorbato, I was told by my colleague who first showed me that path.) It’s like crossing the road, you have to be careful and watch on the both sides. You have to be quick too. I can see many people crossing from here. Recently I took photos with my iPhone.

  • At Rohtang Pass, Himanchal Pradesh, India

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    Previous post: A trip to Manali, India.

    women walking under snow at rohtang pass, india
    Women who sell tea and snacks at the Rohtang Pass return to their homes

    Not many options were available to us at the taxi stand. Manali is a small town, every taxi driver appeared to have known the other fairly well. So the bargaining ended pretty quickly. The journey started with an unexpected warning from our driver. The road ahead, he said in a calm voice, is not so smooth.

    man and horse in snow rohtang pass himachal pradesh india
    Near the Pass: A man leads horses down to Manali

    Five kilometers passed in a jiffy. Songs from Hindi movies were blaring from the taxi’s CD player. The driver spoke again. It would be very cold up there, he said. Our clothes were not enough to keep us warm there, he explained. “There’s a shop a few kilometers ahead,” he said. “They rent jackets, trousers and boots.” Was he telling this because he had some sort of understanding with the renter for commission or was he genuinely interested in making us warm at the pass. Either way it wasn’t a big deal. I mean renting jackets. (धेरै…)

  • Bharat Bandh

    facets of india kathmandu post
    Facets of India. Kathmandu Post (15.07.10)
    Bharat Bandh happened on 5th July. The following is a part of an article that appeared in the Kathmandu Post yesterday. The first part of the article, available here, is about the India that is rapidly modernizing. Indian democracy is dictated by the flourishing middle class, says a professor.

    So you thought bandas solely belonged to us Nepalis? India saw a Bharat Bandh (the spelling used here) last week in protest against soaring inflation and rising prices in recent months. As it happens with many Indian things, this also got world attention. The term “Bharat Bandh” was the top topic trend on Twitter on July 5 meaning most Twitter messages posted that day were related to the Indian strike. Many opposition parties including Bharatiya Janta Party and Communist Party of India (Marxist) had called for a strike that would affect normal life and economic activities throughout the country. But India is too huge be completely banda (closed). It was just like a normal day in large parts of Delhi while protestors demonstrating in other parts disrupted the Metro rail service for several hours at some stations. Public buses, many of them operated by the Congress-led Delhi government, were on duty as were the privately run auto-rickshaws. Mumbai, the ultra-rightist Shiv Sena’s bastion, was perhaps the most affected. Delhi where the ruling Congress party is strong was less affected. Many shops remained closed in some markets, but many others were doing business as if it was a normal day. Even a cinema hall, newly opened Eros of Jangpura, was running shows without any sign of Bharat Bandh. I went there to watch a movie called “I Hate Luv Storys”. I loved the fact that the theatre was open during a banda, which is unimaginable in Nepal. But I hated the movie.

    (This article, first appeared in the Kathmandu Post yesterday, continues here.)

  • New Delhi of Old India

    a car sails through waterlogged delhi road
    A car sails through waterlogged Delhi road

    It was not surprising when the company that build $3 billion terminal at New Delhi’s international airport recently decided postpone the beginning of the operation of the landmark building by at least two weeks because of lack of “confidence”. After all this is India, the land of contrasts and paradoxes that is being touted as the next big thing on the world stage. The construction of such a lavish structure at the airport is a sure sign of India’s arrival but the reported lack of confidence is the proof that India still is very much a third world country that has millions of hungry beggars roaming on the streets. Contrast. Paradox.

    Delhi’s Metro Rail is a $4 billion (and counting) mass transit system that provides excellent service on the world class infrastructure. More than a million passengers ride in the metro daily. So it’s not really surprising to see the large crowds waiting for the train at the Metro stations. Sometimes the crowds get so large, even by Indian standards, that passengers have to struggle hard to enter inside. Pushing, screaming, pulling, swearing and yelling are parts of the process. Some days are more animated than others. Like today (yesterday actually- Monday 12 July). The sudden downpour meant unexpected surge in the Metro ridership. The rush  resulted in delaying of the Metro service. (धेरै…)