India at 63. Still an immature kid!

Sad but true. A lacklustre speech by an uninspiring Prime Minister did nothing to lift the nation's spirits. Gloom rules. The old euphoria has all but disappeared. Perhaps I am wrong, but this was the first year in recent memory when urchins selling the tricolour at street lights may have lost money. Nobody was buying. At a small lunch, mighty media men and women discussed the state of the nation in despairing tones. I'd packed off Arundhati to watch Peepli {Live}. Not the best plan. Now even she is depressed. In a way, the massive scale of the CWG corruption has served a purpose - people are asking how and why Kalmadi and gang are getting away with this . Simple my dear Watson - too many big shots are equally culpable. And somebody somewhere will squeal if the heat is turned up at this stage. The same story repeating itself - remember how effortlessly Lalit Modi and gang got away with the IPL scam, despite the uproar. Who is going to bell the cat? There are too many of them around! But at least, these days, the aam aadmi is aware of the massive cover up. For that alone, the badnaam media deserves a 'shabaash'. The day the middle class manoos decides 'enough is enough', those fat cats in Delhi will know the 63- year- old party is finally over. So far, public expressions of anger have been restricted to just the obviously oppressed - as one has seen in Kashmir ( by the way, isn't it shameful how ineptly Omar Abdullah is handling the volatile situation?). The Maoists have also sent out a strong and lethal message to Delhi. That leaves the long suffering and mainly silent middle class. Once that class takes to the streets, there will be no stopping the uprising. In its own rather naive way, 'Peepli' has galvanised this very segment - the blase multiplexwallas. Whether or not anything actually changes, remains to be seen. My guess is, we'll forget all our Independence Day angst by this time tomorrow, and maybe look at those unsold paper flags lying in a neglected heap, and wonder why India with all its formidable potential is still where it is despite extraordinary individuals showing us the way....the answer , my friend, is blowing in the wind.
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On a less depressing note, fine dining wise, this has been a pretty exciting week. Mind you, that is tougher than it sounds, given my strict Shraavan food restrictions. Chef Kittichai at the newly opened KOH, produced Thai vegetarian fare that tantalised my taste buds in a way that took me off guard ( in other words, I over ate). Clad in his trademark white jeans, his feet shod in bright red Crocs, this modest New York-based Chef , who belongs to an elite category of superchefs (he has been invited twice to the Belgian Hangar 7 , which is the mecca for chefs), has set up his first restaurant in India and seems delighted by the enthusiastic response of gourmets here. All I can say is I have yet to eat as delicious a meal outside Thailand. Even the standard green curry was elevated to a new level - subtle, creamy and fragrant. But it was Kittichai's Jasmine flavoured Pannacota that has me hooked! Wobbly and inviting, just one spoonful made me believe my senses had been trapped in a garden full of mogra blossoms. Combined with crisp puffed rice, this is an inspired culinary creation of the most evolved kind. No wonder Kittichai's restaurants across the world ( Barcelona, in particular ) are attracting so much attention. I can't wait to go back and sample some of his other signature dishes - the fish , in particular. Ah well.... for the next three weeks or so, I should keep my thoughts and food habits as 'satvik' as possible! Wish me luck, self restraint and immense will power!