Saturday, April 18, 2009

Indian Summer

It was 40 degrees in Calcutta today! Not to mention the oppressive humidity. It presses against your chest and makes each breath an effort. There's a reason why the phrase "Indian summer" finds repeated mention in English literature.

I didn't leave home till the evening. Went and had a strawberry-banana smoothie first. It was really nice...it had low-fat milk, yogurt & ice cream, apart from fresh strawberries & bananas. Then I went to Crossword and bought 2 books - 'Hungry Tide' by Amitava Ghosh (haven't read him before but have heard good things about the book. Besides, it's set in the Sunderbans & I'm just back from the place, so thought I'd check it out!) & 'The Devil Wears Prada'. Have seen the movie - and loved it (the clothes...Christ!!). The book should be fun too, I hope!

I usually like reading the book before I watch it's on-screen adaptation b/c they never really show the whole thing in the movies, but sometimes it can be fun the other way round too! You can imagine scenes from the movie while reading the book, so it becomes that much more visual.

Then went for dinner to this hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant called 'The Bistro'. I call it a 'hole-in-the-wall-place' b/c that's quite literally what it is. The owner has converted what seems like the garage of his house into a restaurant! Small though it might be, it has very classy wooden interiors and just a few tables. It has a very European ambience and good Italian food (any kind of good non-Indian cuisine is difficult to find in Calcutta).

Overall, it was a good day spent with people I like being around. Looking forward to tomorrow as well :)

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The IPL isn't even half as fun to watch as it was last year, and it's mainly b/c of the change in location...for me at least. The pitches are flat...the ones last year were belters!! The matches might be sold out in South Africa but the crowd is tame. The crowds last year were roaring!

The other thing I don't like about IPL this year is SRK's underhanded antics. First the entire 4-captain controversy. Then he replaced Sourav Ganguly as the captain of KKR (inspite of repeated statements in the media that Ganguly will remain the captain). And now he's dropped 'Kolkata' from the name of the team! They're only 'Knight Riders' now. What nonsense! Last year I was supporting the KKR but I now need to find a new team to support. Suggestions, anyone? As long as you don't say Bangalore Royal Challengers I'm willing to consider. They are going to suck big time this year as well - inspite of Kevin Pietersen. One man not a winning team maketh. They were 50-4 when I switched off the TV!

Am off to bed now. Goodnight peeps, and have a fun Sunday :)

11 comments:

Kalyan Karmakar said...

And then they won...So imagine how bad Rajasthan was.

I think Knightriders should be called ANZ Knightriders.

I am leaving them too. Logic suggests Mumbai Indians. Though i find them a bit boring.

Try the fish a la diana at Mocambo.

Its blazing hot here too but the sea makes it slightly bearable

Scarlett said...

I want Mumbai to win but I can't support them. I feel dumb supporting a team called 'Mumbai Indians'! I think I'll go with Gilly's team :)

Kalyan Karmakar said...

yah they are slightly lame. I have begun to like Blr too. Like the way Deccan and Blr have come back.

How did you sruvive the Earth hours in Cal? My brother said that it was the hottest day in ten years and they they had cut off the power for the match. That's masochistic

Scarlett said...

North Cal was hit worse by the power cut than SoCal. I didn't have power from 4.45-6pm but North Cal was out from 4pm-12am apparently! And yes, your brother is right - it was insanely hot the last 2 days....in the 40s I think!

There was a major fault with CESC, so all of Cal suffered. We got the power back in time for the match but not like it mattered...they made 101 in 20 overs, in a T20 match!! I ended up watching the re-run of Roadies instead as I'd missed the show earlier in the evening due to the power cut.

Kalyan Karmakar said...

we live in South Cal...it was 4-12 there too. Apparently the power came when Ganguly came to bat and went once he left...which wasn't too long

To top it my bro is in Dhanbad today which is 46

I wasn't planning to watch the Knightriders match then gravitated towards it.

Thankfully I had Bostan Legal just as you had Roadies

Moonshine said...

I am supporting chennai CSK!!!! Deccan chargers i also like!!! Hate KKR.. dont like Mumbai Indians either!!!

Kalyan Karmakar said...

Moonshine...I bumped into almost the whole of CSK, except Dhoni, at the Mumbai airport. Murli was chatting away with some girls and signing autographs. I went to Balaji and congratulate him. I think he'd bowled very well the previous day... Stephen Fleming was by himself

Scarlett said...

@Moonshine - Any team except KKR is worthy of support. SRK & John Buchanan have made a mockery of KKR. I don't know why Indians are so besotted with Australian ex-cricketers. They aren't the final word in cricket...like cricketers of other countries don't know the game!

Kalyan Karmakar said...

Yusuf pathan in an interview on cricinfo says that warne apparently has a meeting ten minutes before the match and the rest is on field.

I think the word 'Bombay' would be easier to relate to than 'Mumbai'. Anyway not that we have any say in this apparently.

Moonshine said...

Really????????? You met the whole lot? I really like Dhoni.. he doesnt do any showbaazi and is a very chilled out cricketer!!!

Scarlett- i didnt like KKR last year too... they focus more on other things than the game itself!!!!

Kalyan Karmakar said...

yes they were all in the lounge and Ntini was checking out shades in the lobby shop.

re KR, its no longer KKR, that's SRK. When were his films about good cinema. Taking of good romantic films, drop everything and watch two films called 'Before Sunrise' and 'Before Sunset' in that order.

Yes Dhoni is quite admirable and has a great temparament... he too is independent thinking so I am apprehensive about when he is going to get cut short

Its ironical that SRK was dropped by Pepsi for not being young enough