Ciclo Cafe - Pedalling to a Palatable Ride

Seated in the comfy, well-lit and India's first cycle themed cafe, a flood of nostalgic memories struck me like Lord Krishna's Sudarshan Chakra! Until my food was served, I was transported to my childhood days where cycles were an integral part of my life - cycle races, commute to school in my first light roadster and go on long rides during the weekends by chatting to friends with the gentle wind blowing strongly in my unkempt hair. Ahh! Whooshhhh!! The waiter suddenly braked into my train or cycle! of sweet memories by spreading the cutleries on the table and serving the Bruschetta along with my Virgin Pina Colada. The strong whiff of the real tyres charmingly compensated for the borderline-okayish Bruschetta, which could have been a lot better, but the Pina Colada was smashing. 

I was more interested in the place than the food. The entire place was a cycle haven and it was indeed a heaven for all the avid cyclists. Ciclo cafe was delightfully pleasant to the eyes with their decor - right from the menu card which was extremely creatively in the form of a newspaper to the wall-mounted cycles, hangings of wheels, pictures, photos, gears etc. I was having a great time by visualizing the feel of cycling inside the cafe without the cycle! Once again, the waiter chose an inopportune moment to speed bump in my literal cycle of thoughts and feelings by bringing in the Arrabiata Penne Pasta.

Whenever I see the Penne Pasta, I have a mighty strong uncontrollable and insatiable urge to loudly sing Simbu's "Loosu PENNE" but due to Divine Interventions, I somehow manage to curb that ravenous desire to sing that dreadfully punny song! Overlooking the I-am-going-to-kill-you expression for the joke of a song, the Arrabiata Pasta was extremely good peppered with the right touch of piquancy. It certainly gave me the much needed zing to the other wise disappointing Bruschetta. The serving was well-timed as if they had a stop watch and a timer synchronized to keep track of their promptness! It is really good. It's only that the penchant for my long lost art of cycling which made me to feel that I was being rudely interrupted! I slowly turned the pages of the menu page for the dessert just as I used to turn my monster on wheels - with care and attentiveness. 

It was then I went on a Burj Khalifa-esque high! The Salted Caramel Cheese Cake simply blasted me out of my senses. With every bit of the bite, the Cheese Cake drove or pedalled! me into an insane mode of positive madness. I was like "Give me another of this gorgeous beauty for no charge". Despite the fact that even in an ideal world my wish will not be fulfilled, the Salted Caramel Cheese Cake was pure bliss and warms the cockles of your heart when you sink into the experience and savor every last piece of the mouth-watering glory.

Last but not the least, before signing off from this beautiful place, I went for a stroll in the ground floor and you can find all kinds of imported and premium brands like Bianchi, Schwinn,Cannondale etc. besides the accessories. The staffs were not shooting in the dark but were highly knowledgeable. In fact, they went to the extreme that they can possibly have a bespoke bike for my friend if I can give them his height accurately when I told them that my friend is looking for a Schwinn that would match his tallness. I know where to pitstop from next time whenever I feel the need to have a light snack. Do you?  . 

The Delish Battle of the Chinese

Okay. Fret not. Our descendants are neither having another big war lesson in the text books nor be in a complete state of catatonic comatose during the history classes as this battle is very different. It's a war of  taste. Tasty Chinese food to be precise!!

The encounter is between Mainland China Vs Flower Drum. May the best dish emerge victorious!

Some of my friends in TCS had recommended that Mainland China's buffet is really good. I have been wanting to try it for a long time. The opportunity got itself presented to me in a colorful platter! I stepped into one of the Mainland China's chain of restaurants at Phoenix Mall, Velachery. I was told by the hostess that they don't have the buffet in that particular place when I enquired them about the opening time of their lunch. I still went ahead to try out their other specialities only to be greeted by a vast space of empty chairs and a cheery Captain. The ambience was welcoming and had a good vibe on the overall mood of the restaurant. After comfortably settling in, the maitre d' hurried himself personally to cater to my starving stomach. In an unhurried manner, I ordered Chilly Teriyaki Potatoes and Exotic Vegetables Tofu. As I was completely unaware of the size of their portion, I decided to play the waiting game during the hunger time. The service was humongously prompt and courteous. The Chilly Teriyaki Potatoes were simply amazing sauted with the condiments. The Exotic vegetables & Tofu was equally good. The quantity was more for a single person and I had no other choice but to have it as a take it away. The dessert was indeed the icing on the cake! The Rambutan with ice-cream was fantastic especially with its presentation. It was smoking cool!  Though I couldn't go beyond the excellent starters sans the dessert, Mainland China is a place which I will definitely try again when I am on a voracious appetite.

Moving on to Flower Drum. Vegetarian and Chinese food are like the world famous Tom & Jerry. They don't go along with each other and fight a lot!  But, beneath the numerous tussles, there lies an intense love affair that is unspottable to the normal eyes. Fortunately, the big board on Prince Plaza can be seen amidst the heavy traffic on the Pantheon Road. I was super duper excited when my friend told me that there is an exclusive place for top class vegetarian Chinese cuisine. It was dimly lit and for a wednesday afternoon, the place was crowded. The order taker quietly brought in Tom Yum Soup and Kimchi followed by Khao Pad rice. The Kimchi and Pad Thai can actually serve 2 people very easily. I was not able to eat it fully and asked Jubie to pack away the remaining contents. Kindly do not order more than necessary and waste the delicious food. The service was prompt but not as efficient as Mainland China. But, the food was gorgeous. Finally, the dessert, which I couldn't spell and was more like a gibberish, - Kluay Buad Chee - translated as Bananas in Coconut Milk. It was nothing less than spectacular particularly the coconut milk. I was really reeling and dizzying under the heaviness of the dessert. The experience of having an authentic vegetarian Chinese made its worth in gold.

So, who is the winner? 

Both Mainland China and Flower Drum are unique in their own way with the exception that Mainland China has a wide repertoire of non vegetarian items as well. Though being a pure vegetarian and yes, MLC wins the bout hands down by virtue of their superior service.

PS:
The comparison is drawn only to the MLC @ Phoenix Mall and Flower Drum. As MLC is available across Chennai, the service might differ from place to place.

The Lobster - An Outrageous Disconcerting Beauty

By the end when the screen became black, I was petrified as if I had seen a Basilisk! The final shot of the movie left me thinking in circles as to what might have happened to David similar to the famous spinning top in The Inception. Beyond the bewildering ambiguous climax, The Lobster was by itself a bolt out of the blue film which dares not only to break but also to simply smash the hell out of the conventional beliefs held by the society.

It started with an innocuous discussion on Steve Carruth with my friend who suggested me to see The Lobster which actually led me to see this disturbing piece of amazing art in the first place. Why do I call it "disturbing" or "disconcerting"? You will know soon enough.

The first scene where a woman shoots a horse until it dies lays the foundation for what was to unravel in the next 120 minutes. In a certain place, all the single people are expected to find themselves a partner within 45 days of checking into the hotel else they would be turned into an animal of their choice just like David's brother who became a dog. The Manager further tells David that his unique animal selection to be a lobster is actually good because most of the people choose to be a dog and that's why the world is occupied with so many dogs! All the guests in the hotel are given lectures and skits to explain the advantages and benefits of having a partner. They go the extent that sexual stimulation is given in moderation to them by the Maid and masturbation is a punishable offence! Another eligibility condition to become partners is that both of them must have a distinct and common trait. With so many rules in place and limited time to find themselves a life long companion, the guests were in a soup.  After many twists and turns, David heads to the forests to join the loners where the rules are even more stringent and gruesome. Dance solo with electronic music.No romance. No flirting. No kissing. And the punishment for kissing is a "Red Kiss" where the lips are cut off and the offenders are made to kiss each other! The leader warns David that the punishment for anyone to indulge in sexual behavior is "Red Intercourse" and asks him to imagine it. The stars were shining upon David and he meets a short-sighted woman like himself and falls in love with her. What happens after that, I leave it to you to watch and find out for yourself.

Now, dissecting the movie into its naked form, The Lobster is based on the prevailing mores in the society that it is essential for everyone to have a partner and that it is imperative they have something in common so that they can lead a happy life. This is precisely what The Lobster tries to blast in a dark jet black satirical way. For a true open minded person, marriage is something which is a match of hearts and not based on common features or traits to lead a happy life. If the two people in question have a shared characteristic then it's just an additional bonus. For those who are truly in love with each other, they see beyond the mundane trivialities and it wouldn't matter to them one bit whether the common interests exist or not.

The Lobster really makes a tremendous mark in capturing the essence of the traditional stereotype to bundle and give it as a bitter syrup to all the pedestrians. However, the handling of the subject is so unsettling that at times you feel it's safe to close your media player rather than to watch it. Whenever I saw an animal in the forest, my first instinctive reaction was to think whether it's really an animal or a human transformation and when David kills and skins one of the rabbits for his lady love, I was more than horrified. The director has done an exceptional job by strongly implanting the beguiling idea of transformation in the mind during the early stages of the movie and does not bother to look at the road since then. This is where the genius and sheer brilliance of the movie lies as The Lobster could have been a stunning sci-fi had the director progressed and proceeded on the "transformation" route but instead he chooses to go astray from that genre into uncharted territories. The background score was equally comfortlessly ominous as the cinematography. Howmuch ever deeply destabilizing, ultimately, the curiosity in you wins the battle and makes you to eventually sit up right till the movie's double-edged conclusion.

Finding Dory - A Spellbinding Visual Hide N Seek!

What is it with Pixar movies and handkerchiefs? Someone should really do a regression analysis and establish the correlation between the 2 variables to explicitly show the strength of their relationship to this world! 16 films prior to Finding Dory and every single one of them had freely let my tear glands open up to cascade slowly and silently while watching the Pixar wonders. I went into the IMAX with a small bit of wish in me that Finding Dory would be Pixar's awry. But, that was not to be the case. When Dory reunites with her parents, I tasted something salty in my lips. No, it was not the tasty trail of the popcorn! I had no idea when and how my hot tears started to stream down my face. But, one thing that I realized was that my handkerchief was drenched beyond dryness and that I had to carry minimum two with me whenever I visit a Pixar wonder. Casting aside my emotionally tearful tryst with Finding Dory, without further ado, let us deep dive into the oceanic awe created by Stanton & Co.

Finding Dory swims from where the director had left Finding Nemo which was released 13 years ago. I was super excited when I read the news that Finding Dory was getting released and was completely over the moon when I saw the trailers. Such was the profound impact that Finding Nemo had on me when I saw it for the first time - be it the splendid visuals or the gorgeous screenplay - Pixar took the animation level to a different planet altogether. So, it was as easy as ABC that Finding Dory was again going to be nothing short of another visual spectacle. The real question to me was "How different is it going to be from Finding Nemo especially with Dory helming the reins of this second instalment and Nemo pushed alongside as the sidekick or is Finding Dory just another sequel to cash in on the immense popularity of its predecessor"?  Put on your oxygen masks and swim further to find out.

Dory's herculean memory stumbling block was a roar this time as well. For some time. Unfortunately, there were times when you were actually yawning! It was understandable too. As Dory is the captain of the ship and considering her special needs, the repeated amnesic jokes were making it difficult for the smiling muscles to smile! If it hadn't been for the bad-tempered yet good Hank, the Octopus or from Dory's perspective - a Septapus! - Finding Dory would have been truly forgettable! It was a master stroke on the part of the writers to use the real defence mechanisms of an octopus in the movie - like camouflaging, squirting ink or moving quickly instead of giving it unnatural super powers. We have had enough super hero stuffs in the last 2 months and the octopus would have been the latest addition to that list! Fortunately, sanity might have struck the writers and they had beautifully used the many-colored octopus and their numerous counter defences to help Dory in her quest to be with her parents so that he can gain his freedom by being safely in an enclosure. Marlin and Nemo do their parts with ample assistance from the crazy-eyed Becky in tracing out Dory when they were separated due to a giant squid attack. As luck would have had it, Fate brings Dory to be in touch again with her childhood WhaleShark friend, Destiny and a neighbouring echolocator Whale. How Dory reunites with her parents with the help of all her friends is told in a poignant and smart way that actually has a lot of learning lessons in real life. The most important of them all is that it is sometimes okay to be without any plans or rationalizing too much on a situation but doing things by simply having a leap of faith - The Dory Way!

Stanton would have scratched his head that the movie lacked an action sequence. So, he cleverly packed a spectacular truck-falling-off-the-bridge scene to free all the fishes, Hank and Dory. The good thing about the climax block was that the sequence did not seem like a fish out of the water! Forgive my dreadful pun, it was indeed a gorgeous delicacy to the eyes. The IMAX effect made sure that every penny spent on the expensive ticket is value for money.

Is Finding Dory that good? Finding Dory is not as good as Finding Nemo but is sure to be Oscar Nominated. So, will it go all the way? Disney's Zootopia is my hot contender for this year's top spot due to its outstanding satirical narration told lucidly in a very humorous manner.

But, Finding Dory is definitely worth a second time just for Baby Dory. OMG! Baby Dory literally broke the gates of heavens in my heart. And I am very much confident that you will also be head over heels in love with Baby Dory. Just head to the nearest IMAX theatre to indulge in some rich Pixar amazement to be madly in love and have fun with the fishes. 

Acham Yenbathu Madamaiyada - ARR's Cracker of an Aural Thunderstorm!

Two decades and 4 years before, Yeah! the Flashback starts!,  the Kollywood music industry was shaken to the core by a phenomenon known as AR Rahman. The moment "Chinna Chinna Aaasai" lit up the screens with the freshness of a morning dew to the electrifying "Tamizha Tamizha" which is now regarded as one of the top 10 best soundtracks in the world, AR Rahman firmly took the Tamil film music by the storm and sent everyone into delirious state of positive madness. Little did the whole world at large knew that here was a musical genius then who was to transcend not just the boundaries of the numerous Indian States but also globally with his sheer groundbreaking and dynamic brilliance that enabled him to pocket the most prestigious and coveted Oscar Awards - not just one but two! "Don't give us lecture on ARR. We know enough about him already. Why are you giving us this gyan on ARR now when you should be telling us how AYM is?". I can telepathically sense your screaming mind voice. I will definitely tell you exactly why I took some time to give a brief intro on ARR by the end of this review. With awards galore and 288 months down the line, ARR has once again proved in AYM that music is not only his heart and soul but everything in his life. 

When "Thalli Pogathey" was released as a single number in Jan 2016, it created tremendous amount of excitement just like how "Chinna Chinna Aasai" made each and everyone to get all worked up and go over the top! Sid Sriram, who made his debut with ARR's "Adiye", literally teases and tantalizes you with his mellowed down voice for the first few minutes. You think he is going to hit his famous "Adiye" top pitch but he doesn't. ARR and Sid make you wait and wait. To put matters into perspective, it's like the fox and the grapes story!  And then Sid does it. Simply magical as he goes to his high range and together with Aparna's vocables in the middle and ADK's rap, "Thallli Pogathey" was the "Hosanna" of AYM.  It set the expectations sky high for AYM.

Then, "Rasaali" happened in early June as yet another single track. It is nothing short of a pure carnatic blast. You don't have to know carnatic music but unless you have an ear for carnatic music, "Rasaali" is like a dazzling and colourful rainbow to a blind person. Sathya Prakash sets the right tone for this palatially breezy and enchantingly mesmerizing melodious number. Just like the Nadaswaram bit in the fag end of "Omana Penne" which elevated the song to completely new heights, the violin cum percussion in "Rasaali" sends you in  raptures that all you can say is "Aha! Pramadham!" by admiring the Maestro's carnatic touches. Shashaa Tripathi takes "Rasaali" into another orbit with her "Ninukori" bit and surely gives a run for Harini's "Nilakaigirathu" in the second half. By the end of it all, you will feel that your heart is extremely gladdened and your soul is brightly warmed with this richly immense and intense musical bliss.

So, two down and the date of release for AYM was set for June 17. As the D-Date arrived, my first reaction was to listen to the techno number "Showkalli". A teaser got released prior to the album's release capturing the mind-numbing and unbelievable fast rap portion in the song. I was like "what just happened here" by the end of the teaser. So, my natural inclination was to listen "Showkalli" first as I had played "Thalli Pogathey and Rasaali" in a non-stop and continuous loop for many a day and night. The teaser was like the start of a bike. The entire song was simply vroooooommminngggggggggggggggggggg and zippiiinnggggggggg at full throttle. It was complete bonkers! In a perfectly good way. Adithya was like the calm before the storm in this highly energetic and passionate song for bikes. But, the song belonged to the rappers, ADK and Sri. They went all bananas, mangoes, oranges and other fruits! in the final phases of the song and were totally unrestrained like a free horse running at lightning pace across the moors. ADK and Sri were simply blazing all guns with fiery gusto and frenetic outburst in their rap portions. ARR might have felt that he was not a part of this raving party. So, what did he do? He cheerfully demolished the entire song single-handedly with some terrific hard and heavy electronic beats that is sure to be whacking great in theatres. Just hoping that Gautam Vasudev Menon has done justice with the visuals to this feverish techno-explosive.  

It came down to the last two. "Idhu Naal" was sparklingly lively and delightfully youthful especially with an out of the world chorus in the final few minutes of the song. To give a comparison with VTV, it was heads and shoulders above "Anbil Avan".  Aditya does a Vijay Prakash's "Hosanna" here and Jonita Gandhi literally took the breath away with her smashing rendition on the lines of Shreya Goshal's "Munbe Vaa". Unfortunately, the ending steals the show from the talented singer which was divinely delicious like the nectar churned out of the ocean particularly from 3:00 till the song's completion. It was simply too good to be true!

Finally, the last one. Imagine you are sailing on a boat with your King/Queen on a full moon day and a gentle breath of relaxing breeze waves across your faces in that dear moment. "Avalum Nannum" is that kind of song, if you are a romantic type, in the typical Vijay Yesudas' execution though certain parts of the song somewhat reminded of "Chithirai Nila" from Kadal. Nevertheless,"Avalum Nanum" is the perfect soother amidst all the high octane and bubbly bubbly breezy songs from the Master Musician.

To put it in a nutshell, AYM is ,without any doubt, going to be the irresistible chartbuster of the year by busting all the charts - be it pie chart, bar chart, column chart or line chart!  Overlooking my poor joke, AYM songs are just going to be on the lips of everyone much like VTV. Your ears are in for a killer overtime with the head phones to be in truly love with the ARR's magical AYM.

Is it better than VTV?

AYM manages to just crawl and inches a step head of the gorgeous VTV. The wonderful combo of ARR-GVM-STR does it again!!  

PS:

It is there very much on my mind. I did not forget why I had a short brief on ARR prior to the actual review. Just like how "Thalli Pogathey" created a skyrocketing expectation around AYM and strongly laid the platform for the to-be-released scrumptious AYM's album when it was released way back in January, I wanted to have a strong foundation for the review.  What better way to do it than to show my gratitude and salute to the ever humble, always soft-spoken and the eternal Mozart of Chennai.

Irudhi Suttru - The Final K.O.

I can still remember the girls in my van swooning over Madhavan with his charming smile in Alaipayuthe. The talks were infinitely endless about him. It was literally a nightmare for all the boys! That was 16 years ago. There was no sense of resemblance to that smart and handsome chocolate boy in 'Irudhi Suttru'. Here, Madhavan was really beefy and brawny.  He has stepped up and sweated it out everything for this role. And yes. It was a screamer of a performance only to be eclipsed by the debutant and real life fighter, Ritika Singh. As Ezhil Madhi, she was flawless - be it her free spirited nature or devil-may-care attitude or her self-confessed love towards her master - Oh my goodness. Anushka did not steal our hearts this time but Ritika Singh certainly did!

How she was stubborn as a mule and refused to attend her regular trainings but had a sea change of heart when she learnt that Madhavan had sold his precious bike for her sake and the way she transforms into a proper boxer with her rigorous training under the careful sight of Prabhu and wins the world title in the end, the director has really captured the essence of the fighting soul of the film in a beautiful way. Irudhi Suttru is not only about a slum girl with no chances of even qualifying for a prestigious tourny yet lifting the championship but also the intense sibling rivalry, sleazy and dirty politics as to how the authorities misuse and abuse their power to satisfy their own personal agenda instead of focussing on the larger picture is shown with a great set of characters - be it the girls in the train who tell Ritika that it's only a advisable thing to accommodate with the chief's desires to grow in life or her own sister asking whether Madhi slept with the coach to get a shot at the main event or Dev removing Madhi's name from the list to have a go at Prabhu for his earlier rude and arrogant attitude towards him - the events are very realistic to the core.

Irudhi Suttru is not only a rag to riches story but also it is about having the fire constantly and continuously burning in the belly  to achieve a bigger and meaningful goal in life rather than just to get a railway job or to fulfill materialistic desires . Prabhu notices it instantly in Lux when he see her for the first time and dismisses her for her lack of passion and strong conviction despite she being trained for more than 8 years. Likewise, he sees a tremendous spark in the fiery Madhi who shows great zeal in her hard punches. Santhosh Narayanan's BGM stays attuned with the story and the romantic number "Hey Sandakara" was a rustic delight to the ears. Overall, Irudhi Suttru is a story strongly grounded in reality with well-founded characters anted up further by the commendable performances of Madhavan and Ritika Singh.

Beach Beautification

Chennai will be all smiles and shines by this time next week. Confused? Wondering how?

For the seventh straight year, Chennai Trekkers Club are once again organizing a massive drive to clean up the Chennai Coasts. CTC was established in 2008 by a group of trekking enthusiasts. As there is no membership fee or any other hidden charges, the group began to expand slowly and gradually by strong word of mouth. As of today, there are more than 27000+ members in this non profit nature of business which purely thrives on equal sharing and volunteering basis - be it for the treks or any awareness initiatives. This has ensured the tremendous success of CTC which has a very solid loyal base in South India due to their infectious passion and commitment shown towards the environment.

I have been a part of this initiative thanks to Gopi Krishnan Rajkumar. It's really amazing to see 1000s of volunteers bustling with energy on the quiet early hours of a Sunday morning to ensure that our city is green. Kids, Youth, Corporates, 60+ young men and women gather up @ multiple locations teeming with fire and spirit in teams to improve and make better the condition of the coasts.

How many times we would have said that Marina Beach is littered with garbage? Now is the opportunity for us to make it right. That's how I saw it when I started to take part in this initiative. It is not only merely collecting the rubbish from the beach but also the segregation is done according to the category as Hard Plastics, Soft Plastics etc. so that it will be easy to dispose or recycle.

Some might feel it would be demeaning to pick up the wastes left intentionally or unintentionally by others. Still others might think that how could this be a permanent solution when the shore is bound to get mucked up immediately after the clean up. I agree that it is only a temporary fix and a long term solution is the order of the day by means of eliminating the source that causes the beach pollution in the first place. It's like you have a disobedient child at home who refuses to change his bad habits. What do we do? Incrementally ensure that the child is disciplined. In the same way, constant awareness is being given to the slums near the beach. Rome was not built in a day. The seeds of awareness are being sowed by the CTC members on a regular basis to the people living along the shores. The effort will take time to fructify.

In the mean time, as Gandhi rightly said "Be the change that you want to see in the world". Everyone can make a difference in our own small ways but the sumtotal of the combined effort is ginormous.

Depending on the location, team strength and the volume of waste present, the exercise can go up to noon. At the end of it all, when you look at the beach after your own herculean efforts and see that our Stink aagura Chennai is transformed into Singara Chennai, for once, you will realize that your sweat is sweet.