Sips of fancy........पानी पानी रे .....

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When its a question of spherical/circular/cyclic vs flat/linear, I notice that I tend to lean (in a very linear way) towards the former. Time and again life throws up instances which keep on reminding us of something that has happened before. Nothing changes permanently. But things keep changing, only to reappear in a cyclic manner.

Sometimes in a very high-end,pseudo-posh manner. For simple things, like drinking water.....

This introspective outburst has been inspired by a blog post that I read, (which had me absolutely seething in disgust, at the contents):

Claridge’s, London has one of the most extensive water menus. Prices range from US$ 10 to 21 a bottle….. Sommelier Pierre Legrandois of Pierre at Mandarin Oriental blind-tasted more than 60 varieties of water before choosing nine. In Singapore, French Restaurant Jaan, in Swissotel, The Stamford is launching a water menu with 17 varieties.

First, the guy who is trained to drink wine, inexplicably, drinks water. For a fee. He calls himself a Sommelier, and calls the stuff a "water menu". All this supercilious tasting of various "bottled" waters, swishing it around in your mouth and spitting it out (Hmmm), and then passing opinions , which raise the cost of the bottle of water to , say $21. All this as vast amounts of so called hankering, sophisticated followers struggle to hear the verdict.

Airlines that should know better , get taken in by all this and announce that we get it if we pay for first class. Well, never was economy more welcome.

French or not, its still H20. Please.

So what else can we look forward to?

Say its the summer of 2020.

French and German people hoarding up sugarcane wine, after Moet fought with Chandon , people diversified , and started marketing limited edition sugarcane wine under the Ganna Cooperative label. Mrs Sarkozy introduced it to the swish set in Paris as an accompaniment to a thorny snack called Chakli, which is imported. Of course , a blogger by the same name sued them for Intellectual Property Rights and so the price of Chakli has doubled.

Oscar de al Renta introduces this year's hot item, Purti; most people in India identify the material as that used to mop floors. Or Potu as it is called. Trust the French to convert it into Purti's, organic tops , which come with a smell of phenol built in. Little holes here and there for authentic ventilation. Gives you a real clean feeling, as you move around in all those auto emissions.....

And guess what. Safety Pins are IN ! (I can only think of all those times I was singled out in the school assembly line, for having a safety pin holding my uniform belt together. But then we weren't the fashion capital of the world. And even if we were , I am not sure Mrs Dawson would have heard.)

Buttons , zips and hooks are passe. Dow, after taking a beating for hobnobbing with Union carbide, has now started making polymer safety pins in various colors. Some folks who might have been called square 20 years ago, still use metal safety pins in various colors. The Beckham children model for the safety pins, ever since S Man Khan , who was earlier chosen because of his over-ripped jeans, refused to turn up.


Levi's are into promoting their latest Baniya brand. Trousers are now made of flowy material, which kind of gathers around, tapering towards the ankle. Some trousers are kind of wrapped instead of stepped into. And sometimes one trouser side is higher than the other. The inspiration is supposed to be the Dhoti worn by shop keepers . The style is being sold as the "Dotty", ever since Prince Charles wore it for his son's Coronation.

And did you know that they have introduced a new liqueur, which tastes similar to the ginger and lemon concentrate that my mother used to make me drink when I had a nauseous stomach situation ? Its called "A la Limbu" and has become the rage in Paris, ever since Bedekar Fils started exporting it in their little lemon size glass shakers. Galleries Lafayette ran out of stock in 4 hours on the opening day.

Rumor has it that lady chefs from India are being flown over to make the original foodstuff called Bhakri. Ever since the Italians declared cooking a performing art, these ladies have been completely booked for the next 3 years.

Renowned for their percussion abilities as they tap on the bhakri dough on the Pol Pat, (nothing to do with Cambodia), with their unmanicured rough fingers, the bhakri magically, grows radially, and is then delicately put on a gridle , an expert hand smears water lovingly on one surface , much like wiping a babies cheek with a wet hand.

A few turns, and the final fling on to the open fire, the bhakri blooms, is cut, partitioned, and served in what has become known as Cordon Lalu style : with a dollop of butter, tangy greens , slit hot green chillies, pickled garlic, and a piece of onion , mashed by a single blow of the fist......

Ouch. What a thud ! Back to 2008............

All this amazing stuff has parched my throat .

Water ? Positively , no. The tap isn't working.

Chai? I used to love it till Amazon and Starbucks entered the fray.

Maybe I'll just have a nice, milky, ginger and pudina(mint) boiled Rajawadi tea.........

(before some tea taster , slurping tea into the back of the mouth at 125 miles per hour, lands up and upgrades the beverage to vague unattainable levels .........