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Cheers to nostalgia
We love to eat. Err… we live to eat. Continental, Oriental, Italian, Mexican or our very own Punjabi food, we are game for anything as long as it is edible. Two hoots to people who mind our jumbo appetite. We even go ahead licking our fingers clean, once we are done. Figures explain it better. From five restaurants in the year 1962 to over 250 now, sure speaks about our love for food! Of course, the number includes many international food chains but that's not something we are going to brag about. In fact, the five old restaurants that are still thronged by foodies prove our point better. Here, we ask owners of these restaurants and their loyal clients to know about the history, food and ambience of these eating joints.
The same old furniture and the same old decor, nothing has changed in the Indian Coffee House in the past 50 years. The old pictures of Vyajanthimala and Mahatma Gandhi witness the rush everyday. The favourite hub of intellectuals like Balwant Gargi and Mulk Raj Anand in 1970s, it still serves the aromatic coffee and tangy sambar vada and dosa. As B.K Nayyar, assistant manager of the Indian Coffee House-17, says, "The place has a rustic charm as its interior has never been changed. The perpetual aroma of coffee and the distinct taste of food here overshadow everything else." If not to the décor, the eating joint has certainly added some bling to the menu. "Now we offer Chinese to lure young clientele," he adds. It is the nostalgic feel at the restaurant and refreshing ambience of the café that attract foodies to The Aroma-22, one of the oldest restaurants in the city that came up in 1963. In the past 20 years, the restaurant has seen its interior being changed at least 10 times. However, the old charm remains intact. Manmohan Kohli, owner, explains, "Though the decor has been changed, I haven't let the warmth of the place to fade away." And his belief is reassured by his old customers, "A few days back, a couple came and told me that that they had celebrated their honeymoon and dined here together for the first time. They share an emotional bond with the place." One has to change for the better, feels A.K. Malhotra, general manager, CITCO. One of the oldest hotels in the city, Mountview-10, was earlier run by the Oberois. Sprawling lawns and a serene ambience compliment the recently revamped coffee shop at the hotel. About the changes Malhotra says, "Certain changes have been consciously made to assure that all age-groups find it an apt place to dine at." But the USP of the restaurant is still its food. Lyons in Sector 17. The restaurant has been there since the existence of the shopping plaza. For the owner, Aditya Nath Sharma, it evokes a sentimental value. "The restaurant has seen all generations of the city eating here." And today, 50 years down the line, many things have changed. "To keep pace with new restaurant that targets youngsters, we have introduced the concept of students’ night on Mondays." And there is something else too that signifies restaurant's age, "We only play retro music of the 60s and 70S to gel with the age of Lyons." Ah Sea's father came to the city in 1973 and bought a property to open a Chinese restaurant. Today, Hong Kong is the oldest functional Chinese restaurant in the city and is doing well without making any compromises. "We don't serve chinjabi. Chinese may be very popular in the city but less than five per cent people know what authentic Chinese dishes taste like," opines Ah Sea. The interiors of the restaurant have been designed in tandem with those of traditional Chinese houses and temples. Extensive use of colour red and hexagon figures very particular to the Chinese home décor make it a must visit place. ashima@tribunemail.com |
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A story re-told
No, it's not just another book on Sikhism, though the theme may sound a tad too familiar. A Story of the Sikhs (Pursuit of Sovereignty) stands apart in two counts, one, it is the result of 20 long years of research and analysis by this former professor of English literature, Har Jagmandar Singh, and second, the book has more philosophy to it than history, 'Philosophy told in the context of history,' as he likes to put it.
Har Jagmohan was neither a religious person nor a writer to start with. And like so many other Sikh scholars of this region, his literary pursuit also has its roots in the deep-rooted anguish that came from Operation Bluestar. "It disturbed me and I could not find any book or article which explained the events to my satisfaction. So, I started musing over things, read and re-read and here is the result in front of you," says Har Jagmohan pointing at the aesthetically packaged book, which will be released at the Chandigarh Press Club on Saturday. The gestation period was rather long. But then as an author who wanted to dwell on an 'uncommon perspective', he had to get everything in the right order. So, he went way ahead of the starting point of Sikhism, starting with the advent of Aryans and how the escapist philosophy of life came to India along with them. In this book, he goes on to explore theories like how Sikhism became an independent religion in due course and how a new religion gave birth to a new ‘nation’. So, has such prolonged brush with religious texts and history changed him as a person? "It certainly has changed my thinking though I am still not religious in the conventional sense," he laughs. But then there are two more positive changes the book has brought into his life - one, for someone who flunked in history in his school days, he has become almost an authority on the subject and two, for his first love which used to be teaching once has now been replaced by a passion for writing and he promises his readers a novel next, based on his native village Mansa. parbina@tribunemail.com |
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Hrithik is best
She is known as the diva of the dancing world. But prolific dancer Isha Sharvani thinks no one can match actor Hrithik Roshan when it comes to shaking a leg.
Isha waltzed with the actor in Parle's Hide and Seek biscuit ad and she once again teams up with the actor in the forthcoming film Luck By Chance. "It was such an amazing experience to perform with Hrithik again. He's such a great performer. I remember, for the Hide and Seek ad, our practice session lasted for three days and one should see him practise. No one can match his steps. He is so full of energy and is so much fun to work with," Isha said. Apart from Hrithik, Isha assures that people will get to see a little bit of
dancing from her too in the film. Directed by debutante Zoya Akhtar, Luck By Chance is a menagerie of
characters and activities about making it big in Bollywood. Produced by Ritesh
Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, the film is releasing on January 30. Farhan plays the main lead and the cast also has Konkona Sen Sharma, Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor, Juhi Chawla and an ensemble of almost everyone in
Bollywood in walk-on parts. Throwing light on her character in the film, the 23-year-old said: "This is a whole film about making it big in Bollywood and I am a part of that struggle. I play the daughter of a diva played by Dimple Kapadia. While Luck By... has a different take on Bollywood. It's much more real. "I think Zoya has really put together a fantastic script and characters in the movie. The film is unique in its approach." Isha considers her getting a role in Luck By Chance as a matter of luck. However, the actor also had some sore moments while shooting for the film. "When I was doing a ring sequence in the film, I was suspended from a hook in the air and the costume I was wearing had a lot of diamonds on it. As a result, I ended up being completely scratched because of the diamonds but I am glad the sequence came out really lovely," she said.
—IANS |
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Busy Bee
It is going to be a very busy year for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She not only has Mani Ratnam's gruelling Ravana with husband Abhishek Bachchan to complete, she will also begin to work on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next movie, with Hrithik Roshan, to be shot in Goa.
But before that she has to shoot for filmmaker Vipul Shah's next film with Akshay Kumar in the lead. Both Vipul and Akshay, who are co-producing the film, were very keen to get Aishwarya for what they describe as a genre-breaking drama. Aishwarya has also signed up Excel Entertainment's untitled thriller to be directed by Abhinay Deo, who is currently busy shooting his directorial debut Delhi Belly. For the film, Aishwarya will once again team up with hubby Abhishek. Confirming the news, Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment said: "It would be a very stylish thriller to be shot entirely in Greece, Thailand, Istanbul and London. "My director Abhinay Deo and I want a particular look for the film. We're trying to get the DOP (director of photography) of the new Nike international commercial if not Jason West who shot our Rock On! He can capture that subtle sleek look, which the subject demands. We want the film's visual quality to be something never experienced by our audience." —IANS |
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Naomi Campbell has finally put to rest the legal dispute with her former maid, who had accused the supermodel of being a “violent super-bigot”. The 38-year-old catwalk queen has settled the lawsuit with her ex-housekeeper Gaby Gibson, but the details of the settlement have not been disclosed. “Everybody’s happy with the way it ended,” said Campbell’s lawyer David Breitbart.Gibson sued Campbell in November 2006, charging that she thumped her when she couldn’t find a pair of the supermodel’s Stella McCartney jeans. She also alleged that she was a “violent super-bigot” who poked fun at her broken English, called her a bad Romanian and yelled “You are not in the Third World anymore, stupid!” —ANI
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Comedian Jim Carrey’s lover Jenny McCarthy has revealed that whenever the Yes Man star is away from home on shoots, he would perform saucy dance routines for her through the webcam. McCarthy, 36, says that even though most of 46-year-old Carrey’s moves get the audience laughing, she on the hand finds that his kinky moves sets her pulse racing. “I haven’t done any dancing, but I make him do that! It’s nice!” said she. “With the I Chat, we’re always afraid that there’s a third party watching! We’re a little bit careful, but it’s a great way to have that face-to-face connection! “I go online and check him out. I tell him his outfit looks cute!” she added. The actor also put down the notion that she and Carrey, who are both known for their work in comedy, do not have serious moments in their lives. “It’s not that we are that funny - like ‘ha, ha, ha’ when we are with each other. I’m a little more serious now with my work. We talk about real issues,” she added. —ANI
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Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton was caught gate-crashing at the Golden Globe after party, and the more embarrassing fact was that she hid herself in a bathroom. After she made her way into the party, CAA’s Kevin Huvane loudly demanded that she be shown the way out, as she was not invited. “Kevin was outraged at her sense of entitlement, and he was adamant that she be removed,” a source was quoted as saying. “He was storming around, yelling ‘Who let her in? She is not invited, and somebody had better get her out of here immediately,’” the source added. After hearing Huvane’s ranting, security lined up outside the bathroom where Hilton hid herself and 15 minutes later, the hotel heiress came out red-faced. —ANI
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Golden Globes’ top winners Slumdog Millionaire and actor Kate Winslet have now also garnered Bafta 2009 nominations. While Danny Boyle’s film walked away with four trophies at the Globes, including one for the best dramatic film, the Brit actor took home two gongs-Best Actress for Revolutionary Road and Best Supporting Actress for The Reader. And now, both the runaway favourites are set to repeat their success at this year’s Baftas ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House on February 8. The movie, which follows the story of the young boy from rags to riches, has won Bafta nominations for Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Music, Production Design, Sound and Outstanding British Film categories. Competing against it for Best Film would be The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader. Fellow winner Kate was nominated twice in the leading actress category for her roles, one for The Reader and one for Revolutionary Road. The Titanic star will be going against Angelina Jolie for Changeling, Kristin Scott Thomas for I’ve Loved You So Long and Meryl Streep for Doubt. —ANI
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Fashion ka jalwa
Health and fashion, what do they have in common? Guess nothing. But this Friday saw an amalgamation of the two, as we heard Bollywood numbers, saw foot-tapping dance items, girls walking the ramp, a skit and women clad in vibrant hues at
Fortis-Mohali.
Though the weather was gloomy outside, we cheered up immediately once we stepped in. And all thanks to Sahayak, a dialysis-support group of the hospital who believes in educating people through entertaining programmes. This particular one was on infection control and the venue was the hospital auditorium. Happy and chirpy voices and the sight of patients and their attendants sitting together and enjoying in an event that resembled something of a college annual day function, the event was unique in its own way. Going by the programme as it happened, sending across the message of infection control the nursing students of the hospital presented a skit that saw the students dressed as devils in black attire with tiny red horns. In this we had the Yamraj sending his dhoots to spread infection in different hospitals. Humorous though it was, it sure taught ways to curb infection. Highlight of the event-a fashion show that started with the all-hit song,
Fashion ka hai yeh jalwa, saw the girls walking in style wearing shinny red-black and black-green combinations along with protective gears like gloves, glasses, gown, shoe covers etc. Well, the fashion show also saw models talking on the importance of hygiene with soap talking her importance, water about his value and how when they both come together fight germs. This is not all. We even saw gloves speaking at length about their importance. All in all, an entertainer that came with a
message. jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com
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Bag it
Da Milano, the luxury brand, has recently introduced its collection of portfolio and computer bags for men. This range is a blend of finest Italian leather, unmatched craftsmanship and cutting edge design. These functional bags are perfectly designed to carry a laptop and documents. Da Milano's collection of men's bags is crafted from the finest Ostrich and Croco embossed Italian leather, matt finish leather and full grain Italian leather. These bags feature multiple compartments to store a laptop, files, documents, mobile phone and other essentials. The bags interiors are fully lined with satin and have a padded compartment that can accommodate a laptop sized between 11"-17". To ensure maximum comfort these bags have a leather padded top carry handle and come with removable and adjustable shoulder straps. Stylised with brass buckles and zippers, the bags are fitted with a combination locking system to secure your belongings. These bags are an ideal companion for young professionals and businessman who need to carry all their essentials to office or for a short business trip. The collection showcases vibrant colours ranging from olive green, navy blue,burgundy, white, cognac and tones of black and brown. —TNS
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The stage is set
Quoting the celestial Thespian peer, Bharatmuni's delineation, "When human nature with its joys and sorrows is depicted by means of physical and other modes of acting in a designed stage performance, it is called a drama. But much that we know from our historical epics and scriptures over the centuries only an esoteric group of people had been practicing Talking on the popularity of good meaningful theatre, Pali maintains that the real promoters are the audience. Theatre is the quintessential art of the collective participation of back stage artists, actors, playwright, director who cannot exist without the spectator. Their relation gives the theatre a special passionate delight, which inspires the artists to perform again and again. With their over 200 years old established theatre tradition, especially Jatra Bengali theatre marches adopting to new innovated techniques and forms to meet the aspirations of the people. The Punjabi theatre too needs to shed the old melodramatic and fixed thematic form to come up age, he suggests. A playwright and director with about fifty Punjabi plays the academician thespian's off Stage Theatre company is contributing substantially to enrich the Punjabi theatre to compete with International level in the realm. His resolute resolve and ceaseless efforts are meeting with success if the tremendous applause to his plays like Terrorist di Premika in Pakistan and Raat Chan ni, Dukh De Kalire and Wrong Number staged in Canada is to go by. Theatre is our family affair and visitors to our home 'Off Stage' at Moga relish our rehearsals, dialogue deliveries of the plays in the making, says Sandeep Kakkar, a beautiful art and life partner of Pali. Actors Palvika Singh (15) and Shabaaz (11), who won applause for roles in plays like Ghar Ghar from Punjabi Sahitya Akademi are accomplished actors and back stage performers. The Punjab Arts Council and NZCC is organising Nawan Punjabi Rang Manch a festival of Punjabi plays
written, directed by Pali Bhupinder and staged by his Off Stage company at Randhawa Auditorium-16. January 21 Terrorist Di Premika Fom January 21 to 24 daily at 6.30pm. |
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Bon Appetit
How we all adore our micros - the wonder gizmo that has taken the pain out of the khaana re-heating ritual. Most of us have tried actual cooking in this magic-box and discovered to our utter dismay that an extra blink of a nanosecond can overcook and toughen any given preparation, rendering it fit only for the doggy-bowl. The advantage of a microwave curry is that it is a clean and efficient way to cook and you can serve it in the same bowl you cooked it in! Microwave cooking increases the flavour of salt, herbs and spices so it's advisable to reduce these quantities while you experiment. If need be, you can always add more of them later. Microwave cooking evaporates less moisture from the food so reduce the liquid specified in your conventional recipe by ¼th. For instance if you are supposed to use 4 cups of water, you'll need only 3 in the microwave.
Paneer Makkhani,
Ingredients 300 gm Paneer, cut into 1" cubes ½ cup Tomato puree 1 tbsp Ginger, grated 2 Green chillies, chopped ½ tsp Cumin seeds 2 Bay leaves 1 stick Cinnamon 4 Cloves 4 Cardamoms, crushed 1/5 tsp Mace powder Salt and chilli powder to taste 1 tsp Garam masala powder ¾ tsp Coriander powder 2 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped 50 ml Fresh cream 1 tsp Sugar 4 tbsp Butter Method Melt butter in 1 ½ litre bowl on 100 percent power for 30 seconds. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves, green cardamoms and ginger. Mix well and microwave on 100 percent power for two minutes. Pour in the tomato puree, salt, sugar, red chili powder and mace powder. Mix and microwave on 100 percent power for two minutes. Add finely chopped green chilies, coriander leaves and paneer cubes. Mix well and microwave on 80 percent power for three minutes. Add lightly beaten cream. Mix and microwave on 60 percent power for two minutes. Discard the whole spices and serve garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves. |
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