Billions of Bungling Bufoons @ Barista!

This is probably the 5th time I've had a similar experience at a Barista/Lavazza outlet in Bombay - driving me to finally write about it somewhere.

These idiots have two types of coffees under every name. I have a Caffe Laate normally. Now they have a normal Caffe Laate and a Lavazza Caffe Laate. And both of them have a large difference in pricing. So a normal one will be 70 post tax and a lavazza one will be 110 post tax.

No issues here - im sure loads of people would want the lavazza tag and dont mind the cost. But I just want a simple cup of coffee. So I go there and ask for a caffe laate.

I get a mug of coffee - good coffee - no probs there.

When I get the bill I'm charged 110. Why? Did I ever ask for a Lavazza Laate? NO! But cause I asked for a Laate and a lavazza laate is also a laate, the whiz kid thinks its good to give me the most expensive laate thats there on the menu.

Good Coffee chains across the world make customers think about which coffee they want to have - but through variety. de-caff, sweet, sugar free, cream or milk, and so on. These idiots make me think about saving myself from being swindled. Its not about the money, but why would the counter boy decide that I want a Lavazza coffee when I see no difference between the two and therefore would not want to pay the extra charge!

The uniformity with which this happens convinces me that this is a corporate policy - its Barista's way of doubling revenues in a sence. Make all customers pay 1.5 times the price of a normal Laate and there you go. Revenues doubling in a wink!

I prefer the Barista atmo to a CCD anyday - but this problem will ensure that I will visit a CCD if its nearby. I'll visit a Barista only if there isn't any other Coffee shop nearby.

Rock on ---- an absolute delight!

Just came back from the movie Rock on ... I've been terrible with my blog writing ... but this movie made me do just that. Its conceited, but I guess that speaks a lot about the movie. *grins*

Rock is more a lifestyle than a style of music. And all true fans of rock will agree I'm sure. Ofcourse that leaves out all the bafoons who think that just by banging their heads on the loudest speaker in a concert they become rock fans.

Coming back to Rock on - the way the movie charts out 4 very interesting characters in their own right getting together to 'rock' is mind blowing! In such a short movie, they've brought to life 4 very different lives on the screen.

The interesting thing is that each character compromises with what he wants and moves on. And their time together towards the end of the movie is probably the only time in their lives where they are truely happy.

The high point for me was the music. I mean, there have been lame movies on music where the music itself is sad. Rock On is an exception. The music in the movie is true rock! I see a huge huge potential for hindi rock to really come into vogue post this movie.

The songs Socha hai and pichle 7 dinon mein are favourites and I would count them with great music creations by any of the better known rock bands. Ofcourse, the collections by bands like floyd, halen and others are path breaking. But these 2 songs in particular are right up there and I enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed listening to "The Wall" for the first time in my life (way back in 1998).

Great stuff ... a must see for everyone!

No dues ... :(

Damn ... I spent a large part of today settling accounts with junta in the company today ...

While with levers I used to bitch about the company's policies to take no due certificates etc ... and other processes ... now I see why they need to do it ...

Yaar, sitting in June - to explain people how their expenses in Feb have already been settled is such a pain in the ass! ... Finally I bow down to the stuff I've cribbed about till date ...

No-Dues certificates are in ... :D

Masala Rice!

I tried my hand at making biryani tonight ... And as usual, the master chef in me left people licking their fingers ... well, they were crying a bit too - cause it turned out to be mighty spicy ... but hey! thats was intended all along ... ;)

No but seriously ... I tried my hand at cooking after a year ... and I surprised myself ... it turned out quite nice ... I'm eating it right now ... and its so nice, that I just had to blog about it - the compulsive blogger that I am ... :P

Cheerio!

Mumb(ai) & Shang(ai)

Just read one more of those weird articles talking about Mumbai and Shangai in the same breath.

Everyone who stays in Mumbai knows that the city's infrastructure is woefully inadequate. If someone tries to quantify the efficiency loss due to lack of infrastructure, Mumbai is gonna be quite high up on the list of really screwed up cities.

Keep aside Shangai ... these days the discussions are more on comparing Mumbai with NCR, given the rate at which the other is developing. The only thing in my mind that ensures Mumbai's supremacy within India is the people. It is perhaps the only city in the country with a really high degree of professionalism even amongst small time service providers (say xerox waalas etc.).

So anyway, the only similarity between Mumbai and Shangai as on today is the 'ai' factor. :P

Earth Infected!

Mankind is a rash ... a disease ... a parasite on the face of the planet!

I remember something like this being said in the Matrix (first part - the only part that made some sense). But at that time it just sounded like a funky dialouge. Today I could feel the truth in it.

Ok, enough melodrama ... I took a rick from goregaon to powai today and passed through Arey colony. There were quite a few beautiful hills along the way till 2 years back. While I passed them today, I saw something wierdly awesome! The first hill had buildings till its foot hills, leaving the hill free and covered with vegetation. The second hill had buildings climbing up its slopes upto midway, leaving very little vegetation, but there was a huge banyan tree right at the top. The third hill ... well ... it was gone. It was covered with buildings and the only sign of there ever being a hill was the sloping roads in that area of human existence.

Now, if you were to look at the planet as a life-form from space, some 1000 years back you would have seen a very healthy planet with some bacteria on the surface doing something. You would see earth tolerating them and not doing much (like you being lazy and not squatting a fly sitting on you).

200 years back you would see earth getting bugged as the bacteria spread all over and do wierd things creating ugly nests of their own. In its anger, earth would squat the bacteria (earthquakes, floods, typhoons). But the bacteria would just move around from one place to another (like a musquito who just hops from one hand to another).




And now, the bacteria have spread all over earth's body - either earth will take a bath and wipe of all the bacteria (a great flood on melting of the polar icecaps) or earth will die of the cancer that is mankind and therefore mankind will die with it.

:) It all sounds mighty grose doesnt it?

Cheers!

Moonlit Madness ...

The Taj Mahal, known worldwide for being a part of the 7 wonders, is indeed a sight that leaves you feeling overawed! I visited this monument for the first time last week ... and I just had to pen down my thoughts on it.

A majority of visitors see the Taj during the afternoon, when the sun is at its peak and the marble structure sparkles away. This however does not present the Taj at its best.

I was fortunate enough to revisit the place at 7.30 in the evening, and that too on a moonlit night (close to full moon). At 8.00, the light in the background fades away and the moonlight starts reflecting off the marble ... the site is ... well, it can't be put into words ... you just have to see it for yourself ...

Its like some unearthly vision out of Xanadu ... Kubla Khan's palace ... something magical ...