Malaka Spice

Yesterday we started reminiscing about what food we miss from Pune. The regular wada pav, chaat, pani puri started the list. But then, to my surprise, Malaka Spice came up; and just stayed!

 

Now, let me explain something. Malaka Spice is not a picture of "Pune food" or "home food". Its not "Prabha" or "Bipin" or "Vaishali". So why would it be my strongest memory? You see, we get all that food here; and it isn't like Yana's where Mayur and me would go every fortnight. In total, I would have been to Malaka Spice about 6 times. There is no specific dish that I remember or always order when I get there. Sometimes I have had outstanding food there. A couple of times, I didn't really like what I ordered. But there was never a time when I did not leave Malaka Spice satisfied and at peace, as if I had the bestest time in the world.

 

Is it the ambiance? I am not sure. ABC farms has a similar ambiance in a few cafes. Or is it the service? When I think of Malaka Spice, what do I think of?

 

Oh,the menu card! The interesting, interesting menu card. I never tire of reading it. The creative illustrations, the descriptions, the 'Chef Cheeru" special icons - I just love it! Its like reading a really catchy trivia magazine. I take ages to order and even after we're done, I still keep reading the menu. I hate the concept of taking away the menus once you finish ordering. It should be abolished.

 

Then there are the waiters, dressed in casual Hawaiian shirts, not in waistcoats and ties. And yes, almost all of them are knowledgeable about what they serve. Isn't it fantastic? They just fit right in. Plus there's Prashant Sinha doing the caricatures. In the candlelight of Malaka Spice, caricatures have their own special magic or at least I do remember it as magic.

 

When they moved, we thought Malaka Spice would lose its charm because it came out of being a small cosy place into this huge expanse. To my delight, it managed to retain its charm. It achieved just what was required. The utter cosy ambiance was now just available to more. The personality stayed.

 

The crowd at Malaka Spice is a cross-section of the Pune society. College students, typical camp crowd, KPites, Oshoites, young professionals and so on. But its still comfortable for any one to fit into.

 

Pretentious? No

Elitist? Nope

Charming ? Yes

Interesting? Always, yes

Special evening? Guaranteed

Rahmania .. .. .. Soaked!

Mayur and me been following Rahman concert updates on various facebook profiles since early March. We thought we'd missed it for the year. Well, I thought..'tant pis'. It'll be back and we'll catch it elsewhere. And then when we heard his tour had been postponed..tant mieux..! Thank god, we hadn't booked.

But I guess, we were in luck. A few days later, we saw a post for AR Rahman in NJ. Quick ride home, login to the net, a few clicks and we were set! I've been to a couple of live performances in Pune and though they were fun, it wasn't "must-see". I didn't know what to expect.

 

The concert was beyond everything I imagined. After we got back from the concert, for the first time in years, words rushed out. I just needed to talk to someone, to explain what I felt. I knew it would not be enough. But I wrote the blog below and kept it for reformatting and reorganizing later.

 

Guess what, its almost 3 months and I am still" working" on it. Now, when I look at it, I think, is this really how I was feeling? Is this gushing blog me? This is stupid, I cannot feel this way. My usual skeptic attitude and sarcasm threaten to take over. But I am going to try and fight it. I don't know which of this is the real feeling or maybe both are. So, I am sticking with the original post. No edits, no re-formats.

Rahmania...Soaked

I am so overwhelmed that for the first time in 2 years, I just wanted to write.

But what?

Where do I start without this turning out like a gushing teenager's blog describing a first crush?

What do I say to even convey a bit of the tumultous feelings that assaulted my senses in these 3 hours?

Was it that great? Have I never really been out?

Dunno..

Do I start with the songs or was it just Rahman?

Was it the foreign dancers in their wonderfully exotic ethnic costumes putting up a splendourous display

OR the sheer energy of the performers

OR the lasers and lights and their fantastic use

OR was it the small cute packaging of each song into appropriate stories?

Whatever it was, it sure was once in a lifetime experience

The Vande mataram, the Jay ho, the Bharat humko, Swades - the cliched patriotic songs; How do they make goosebumps appear?

The obviously planned and staged gimmick of Il Omkar followed by O Palanhare followed by Khwaja mere Khwaja; How does that leave you speechless and the message of "India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters" suddenly start feeling so real, so important and not "oh come on" any more (especially when we contrast it with the newspaper reports) ?

Why does a presentation of Ganesh Chaturthi ((Fantastic) or holi or mehendi, the same cheesy filmy song make you all mushy? I guess its being Indian after all. Hum to aise hain bhaiyya and Phir bhi dil Hain Hindustani

But what pride; what a sense of pride. Our Rahman holds an international audience spellbound and has international dancers draped in Indian clothes do bollywood steps. Oh! its such a pleasure. I cant explain why, but hell, we can do it.! And its great to witness that. Show me another one of this kind. Well firstly it will be a privilege. If not, well, .Rahman hamara hain and .......Rahmania continues