Touch to order- The Desi way

I read this article about Touch based menu implemented in a restaurant in New York. The visitors are allowed to choose their favourite food along with their choice of wine.

You know what my brain would have thought at that moment  Yes… Bringing it to India  As always, implementing as it is will not be addressing our needs… So first plan is to desify it here in our blog space and next is to locate its implementation in Our India 

The major task is to make the touch surface hard enough to withstand the angry water boy and his water glass banging fury, our junior horlicks kids who always stay naughty, the angry couples who bang their fist on the table at any given point of argument… Ultimately the touch table should be water proof, paan proof, chai proof, posters proof and political party logo proof 

Next is language… Menus should be available in English, hindi and the native language of the place where it is implemented… Does this sound like a Tata sky package?  Never mind… Business matters 

Apart from the regular menu, we must have a button called “extra” … This is very important for us, as we always want something extra….“extra” sambar, “extra” papad ,“extra” plate (to feed the kid who’ll refuse to eat even from that extra plate)… So all these “extra”s will be met by clicking our “Extra” button 

When we order, we always end up customizing the dishes according to our needs… For eg. when we order a masala dosa, we narrate “The making of Masala Dosa” in such a way that can make the people sitting in the neighbouring tables assume that the world’s leading chef is beside them  Right from the quantity of oil, the way it should be roasted…every minor details is explained to the waiter who barely shows interest…. But at last, end up eating what is served… In order to avoid this confusion, we implement the “comments” near the chosen menu… We can add comments like Deep fried, less butter, no sugar etc… but definitely it is limited to 100 characters… we don’t want the entire history, geography, physics, chemistry and biology about the dish 

Wonder why did I leave mathematics in the above mentioned list?It needs special mention here… Yes rates… We are very very particular about it. As I have already mentioned, we are a crowd that loves discounts and offers. So we must have a special tab that offers“combo deals” ,  “festive offers”, “Buy 5 get 1 free” (Buy 5 full meals and get a buttermilk free  ) But shhhh… we won’t disclose this now… We’ll add a simple star at the top and say‘terms and conditions’ apply  In the checkout page, we will have to show some irresistible offers that can be combined with the order…

In the beverages section, we must include the options like one by two (1/2), two by three (2/3)… Of course…We are good at fractions and also our teachers have taught us Shaaarrrriiing   

Once the order is decided and the checkout button is clicked, a copy of the order along with the table number will reach the billing section. Another copy will reach the cook.

Errr… here is a problem… Our cooks are accustomed to get only oral dictation from the servers that too in a specific tone and modulation… So we’ll have to convert the order to audio format… On pressing the button, the order will be called out to the cook along with the table number. Until he presses the button, a red light will be flashing to indicate the pending order 

If implemented, the biggest advantage will be to not ask the frustrated waiter to repeat the menu in the sing-song way again and again in his 10000x speed 

PS: Sponsors for the project are welcome… At your own risk 

My Clicks

I wouldn't call myself a photographer... But you know, sometimes miracles do happen ;)
I was going through few albums and there were few clicks that caught my attention :)
All these were either clicked through my HTC wildfire S or NIKON coolpix.

Kanchipuram, Orikkai

Lalbagh, Bangalore

Mysore Bird sanctuary

Bhavani sagar dam

Tanjore

Chilli parota @ Madurai

Yummy Breakfast

That's all for now... The next set of pics will be delivered shortly ;)

My Days...

The memory is still so fresh in my mind… A little girl came and stood near me…. leaning on me… She was so small, so delicate… she stood there with her arm around me… I understood, it was her first day here and she held me for support. No sooner, a small boy came running towards us and offered her a chocolate. She hesitantly took it and the little boy took her to other kids… The little girl now became a part of that naughty gang.

Everytime I see her running around me, sitting near me after a tiring play, she also prefers to sit away from her gang…. near me… if she is angry with them about something…I have been a part of all their games… There were 4 tall naughty boys… They were taller, elder and much stronger than this little girl. They were bullying her and her little friend, when she showed no fear… they grabbed her favourite white stuff dog and threw it… They threw it in such a way it got struck high above… I tried my best to sway and throw it down… But these dirty branches! They made it tough…

Sigh! I saw tears building in that little eyes and I felt bad… very bad… guilty… I was helpless… I saw her come with a chair… She lifted the chair which was taller and heavier than her… I couldn’t stop smiling… She climbed the chair and slowly the parapet near… She lept to get hold of her toy… I wish I could hold her, I was scared she might trip… I bent as much as I could so that she could reach me… Finally, she did  Her smile made my day 

She grew up…. She used to wait for her van to pick her up… She used to keep her school bag and lunch bag near me… Maaan! Her school bag used to be so heavy… Don’t know how the little girl managed to carry it.

During autumn, when my fruits and leaves drop down, her friend and she have a game “PACHHAKS game” they call it… Funny kids  The one who squeezes most of the fruits with their feet is the winner… They love the way fruit burst out giving way to the seed when they stamp with their tiny feet. Shhh… secret… she still does this “PACHHAK” when nobody is around… Don’t tell her that I told you this 

There was a cyclone, she and her friend were amazed to see the way I was swaying… They have never seen me so restless… It was a terrible evening for me… The wind pushed and pulled me in all possible ways… I was hoping that I can stand strong… The little kids neared me… I somehow wanted to push them away as the wind was too strong… When they came closer, I saw a wire hanging free on the road from the lampost. The kids were so lost in seeing the way I swayed that they completely missed the wire…I wanted to shout out or pull the kids away… At that time, a lightening struck me, breaking my branch… I swayed and made the branch to fall on the wire. This made sparks to appear from the open ended wire which scared the kids away… Uffff! It was a scary night!

Days passed… Even when she lost her key or her door was locked, I never let her down… I was there always for her and kept her comfortable under my shade 

She grew up…I remained the same… Today I see her rush to her bus for her work in the morning and wait for her to return late in the evening…. She doesn’t have time to stand near me like before….But I don’t complain…To me, she is still the small little girl, who came and stood next to me, seeking my support, the first day 

Yours affectionately,

Neem tree near Aishu’s house

Tour to be cherished

After a lot of discussions and planning, it was decided that we will be leaving to Erode and the places nearby(my dad’s native), the following weekend. Me as well as few of my cousins had been there just once(that was long long ago… so long ago… nobody knows how long ago  ), the excitement and anticipation knew no bounds…  The entire week passed off in a jiffy and finally the day of the tour arrived.

We were just 3km from the town, when suddenly the van came to a halt. The driver examined the vehicle and told us that it would take 15-20 min for him to rectify. Soon, all of us started loitering around with my dad and aunt showing us the places which was once upon a time, their farm. There was a house in the vicinity which was looking very beautiful with farm surrounding it. We saw a man stepping out of the house and seeing us stand there, he offered us to be seated in his house. He compelled us to get in, showed us the farm, allowed us to take pics and also was suggesting places to visit. His wife got us fresh lemonade and made each of us drink 2 to 3 glasses. We were complete strangers to them, but they treated us like VIPs at their home. I also got to know that, its a practice there to first offer water to anybody who arrives at their doorstep irrespective of who they are or where they are from. I was stunned by their affection, as in city, first instruction that we are given is, never open the doors to strangers… even if it is courier, get it through the grilled door and lock the door soon 

Next thing to amuse me was the temple festival…Being brought up in city, I never had the chance to see such crowd pulling gala events. Each shop got its due attention and kept its share of audience crowding in the entrance. I paused at a stall where the shopkeeper was demonstrating his chopping skill. He cut all the vegetables in all possible ways within 2 min… He advertised the product “Are you bored of staying in the kitchen for long? Are your mega serials getting affected? Does your husband and children complain of delayed lunch? We have heard all your problems and have come up with the solution… “Anjali cutter”… It cuts not only your vegetables fast but also your worries… Get home “Anjali cutter” and appreciation follows “ (This was in tamil… I have translated it  ) There were people advertising about “Murugan driving school” for which advertisement goes like
“The RTO asks the boy to trace an 8 with his bike…He says I can trace not only 8 but even 1 to 7 as I learnt  in Murugan driving school…” Immediately the RTO offers him the license and the ad ends by blaring ‘Murugan driving school, Murugan driving school, Murugan driving school’ in loudspeakers … It made me giggle 

There were stalls that offered ‘Each Rs.10…Pay Rs 10 and take anything.’ There were all household items , gift items  and stationary items… Here if we pay Rs 10 we will just get a packet of biscuits… nothing more 

As they show in movies, such festivals had giant wheel, balloon shooting, ring-the-item and the surprise element here was ‘marana kinaru’ (death well)… The name and the advertisement(through loudspeakers) gave a chill run through my spine and I was curious to see it. When I reached the place, there was a huge crowd around a circular ring and I could hear the acceleration sounds of bikes. It was a 10ft deep hollow well like structure and 2 bikes and car were gearing up. The show started and the bikes started moving up around the walls with ease. It stunned me as they were riding along the circumference, maintaining the speed and were spiraling up to where we were standing… The car followed suit… Even a second of distraction could result in serious accident… Their skills and risks involved made me freeze.

As always, there was this giant masala papad being sold, sugar candy, bubble water, kaleidoscope, sugar cane juice (Rs 5) etc… Do you think I would have spared any of these? 

Apart from this temple festival we visited many other temples, dams , parks , river (without water  ) , coracle ride (parisal)… a form woven boat… I googled the equivalent word  )etc. The waiters were no different… They served with so much care… In fact, when I stopped him while he was serving rice, he was like “This is so less…This is the age to eat… Eat more” I was reminded of my granny 

One funny incident that happened was , I asked for the availability of fresh juice and the waiter responded by telling “All the juices here are fresh, ma’am… we don’t sell old stocks”making me 

Another interesting sight was, all houses had an yellowish green paint on the floor. Later I was informed that its a custom there to mix turmeric and cow dung and to use this paste to mob the floor. It served as an antiseptic and also created beautiful uniform patterns on the floor making me think its a design 

On the whole I enjoyed this trip and was in awe of most of the sights I came across… Now I understand why my dad always tells ‘His childhood days spent there, were the best’ How true… I missed growing up in a place like that…sigh!

Free! Free! Free!

Yesterday I watched a short film… It was a very cute film where the dad, who is a barber in a village, wishes to make his son study in an english medium school… The challenges faced and whether he enrolled his son in that school is the climax. There were many scenes in the movie that made me smile… When asked for the reason for not choosing free education that the government offers, the dad says “Free education… So teachers won’t teach properly.” The attendant sarcastically snubs him that when anything else is given for free, everybody takes it…. But when its education everybody has a problem 

That dialogue is so true… Whatever is given for free, we feel an urge to get..Regardless of whether we need it or not 

Last week my neighbour got a biscuit packet which promised a free gold coin inside if you are lucky. Going by the daily astrology predictions of being lucky that day, she got this biscuit packet. I casually went inside her house and to my surprise found that aunty to have kept the biscuit packet in the pooja room. She was mumbling constant prayers and opened the wrapper as if diffusing a bomb… I couldn’t hold back my giggles  Her daughter and me were waiting for her to offer us the biscuits… she was all the more occupied in searching for the gold coin. When it wasn’t found at the top, she immediately justified that it might be in the middle of the pack cos in the ad, the boy eats the biscuit and then finds the gold… so logically it should be somewhere in the middle 

I nodded and got the biscuits at the top… Her daughter and me started eating one biscuit after another from the top, giving new tinge of hope after every biscuit till we reached the last  Well, there was no gold in it… But aunty was one among that ‘try try till you succeed category’… She went on to buy another packet 

We got groceries from supermarket… I was repeatedly instructed by my mom that we are going to buy only the most necessary items and there is no room for anything else. When billed, it summed upto Rs 850… The lady at the cash counter told me that we have free gifts for Rs 500, Rs 1000 etc… So now you’ll be falling under Rs 500 category… My mom and me exchanged a look and immediately my mom asked me, “You wanted some lotions and creams right… Go get it and come” . The bill now summed up to 1050… The lotions were clearly uncalled for here but we felt it bad to let go of the better free gift… the free gift was nothing but a shampoo sachet, diary milk, pen and a salt packet 

When I was a kid, I was getting into this perfect Indian Jantha mindset… I used to buy a bubble gum to get free tattoo… The tattoo stays inside the bubble gum wrapper (marketing tricks you see)… The bubble gum company owners would have earned loads cos of my friends and me  We kept buying that Re1 bubble gum continuously, just for the sake of that tattoo collection :P

Similarly, I saw a scene where a guy goes on to introduce cell phones to villagers. He advertises saying you get free talktime if you buy this phone.Seeing this ad, one of the villagers asks the other, what does talktime mean? The other guy replied that ‘Who cares… They are giving it for free na.. We’ll get it’ 

No wonder everybody is cashing in on our ‘freebie’ syndrome 

P.S. People who expected something to be got for free seeing the title… Oops! Don’t be disappointed… You read the post for free