The Water Front

The water refers to the water in Tank Bund in Hyderabad. The 'front', because through the restaurant you have a view of the lake.

At night, when I went, you can see the Gautama Buddha statue in the distance and the lake waters are almost black and shiny. You can also see the road on the other side of the lake or maybe it was my imagination.

The restaurant has a waiting area where two people can sit comfortably. Three, if you like cozy threesomes. I don't, unless the other two are models.

We went on a Thursday night and the place was crowded, so we had to wait for a table. It would be a good idea to reserve a table. There are waiting areas inside, where you can order starters and drinks, and there are stools at the bar as well. No single women sitting at the bar. Sigh.

The lighting is subdued in the restaurant, so only certain areas are "highlighted", the aquarium's one of them. The bartenders work against the aquarium backdrop. The aquarium's big and looks like it's wall mounted. Also, the fish seemed to be swimming to only one side. Maybe there was a fish model there.

The other highlighted area is directly above the aquarium, where a keyboard player and a violinist (plugged in) were playing a mixture of tunes, both Hindi and English. They're pleasant to listen to and unobtrusive, so it enhances the eating experience. Also, they nailed the song we requested.

The chairs are comfortable, but the tables could be a bit bigger. The restaurant has a special Thai menu, Indian food, and Chinese food as well. The service is good, if maybe a bit overenthusiastic.

The soup (spicy sweet corn chicken) was excellent, not the standard taste that you get at all Chinese restaurants. The chicken satay was good too, but it was cold when I ate it, probably from the AC blowing on my plate.

The highlight was a Thai chicken dish, fiery hot something (can't remember the Thai name), which was as advertised. When they say hot, they mean hot. We also had a mutton dish and a prawn dish, both were good. Overall, a good eating experience.

They do have a cover charge of Rs. 350, which you can "renew" against food and drinks. The prices are on the higher side, especially for a restaurant in Hyderabad, but the portions are ample and it's a nice experience.

Did I mention that the view is breathtaking?

The Water Front is on Necklace Road in Hyderabad. Sorry, I don't do directions.

Firing at IISc Bangalore

CNN-IBN and NDTV reported that someone fired shots outside the Tata Auditorium in IISc in Bangalore. The details are not clear and we'll probably know more by tomorrow morning.

There are also reports that one person, a professor, was killed and five or six others injured. People were apparently coming out after attending a conference on Operations Research. It's still unclear who was behind the attack.

This is a sad day for Bangalore.

Indian students and pressure

An interesting article from The Telegraph, against the backdrop of the recent arrest of an Indian student for allegedly stabbing his teacher.

Nikhil Dhar may or may not have stalked and stabbed his University of Massachusetts teacher, associate professor Mary Elizabeth Hooker, over his falling grades. But if the charges against the 22-year-old Calcutta boy are true, he wouldn’t be the first Indian student in America to have had a breakdown.

Read Grade heat can singe . While this article talks about Indian students in the US, students in India too face a lot of pressure.

The bizarre incident

An interesting column from a lawyer in Mumbai about a recent case that made the news in India. Here's a snippet:

In a sworn affidavit, she had alleged that it was a false case, and that her mother, who was estranged from her father, had instigated her to file this false complaint.

The media was quick in indicting the mother. Overnight, she had been transformed from a helpless victim of domestic abuse to a manipulator, the culprit of the entire piece. The concern that was highlighted was that the law does not prescribe a stringent punishment for such a woman. One paper carried a headline, "Wife may get away lightly."

Rather curiously, while the indictment of the mother was quick and scathing, there was hardly any introspection as to where and how this affidavit was made, and what were the circumstances that led to the filing of it at such a late stage, and why such an affidavit could not be procured at the stage of the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court. Why did the girl have a sudden change of heart?

Read Rape and retraction .

Stinging the operation?

An interesting article on sting operations by Barkha Dutt (of NDTV fame):

At the heart of the matter is the entrapment debate. Should journalists be laying out the honey trap? Should we be practitioners of cheque-book journalism, where we set out into the world armed with bundles of cash and know our destination before the journey has even begun; where reporting is no longer a process of discovery, but a wedge of cheese dangling in a rat-trap?

Read the full article: Sting a song of six-pence

On safety and women

Kalpana Sharma writes a column in The Hindu (on Sundays) called The Other Half. This week's column starts like this:

I WAS hoping that my last column for this year would not have to deal with the dreaded R word — rape. But the horrific rape and murder of a call centre employee, Prathiba Murthy, by a taxi driver in Bangalore on December 16 has forced me to address this eternal issue yet again. More so because of a heartfelt e-mail by a young reader. I am quoting sections of the mail from this young woman as I suspect this is what several others would have felt when they read about Prathiba's rape and murder:

"Today, when I read about Prathiba, I couldn't believe it. Dear Ms. Sharma, I don't suppose you can answer me but will it all ever end — will there be a day when we do not have rapes? For the first time, after reading about a rape and murder, I simply broke down. I feel absolutely hypocritical and shallow about how normal my day is — I couldn't eat much today — but can we do anything about it?

Read the complete column: Can women ever be safe?

Maid in India

Two interesting posts about child labour from Neha:

1. Maid in Kindergarten

2. More about the under-age Maid

Wish more people would talk about issues like these instead of debating whether a certain cricketer should've been dropped or not.

Call Centre Tragedy

Shocking news from Bangalore: Taxi driver admits call center employee murder.

I checked on Google and it looks like most media organisations carried this news only today. Here's what the Nasscom president says (emphasis mine) in a Sify article:

Describing as "very unfortunate and sad" and a "matter of concern" the suspected rape and murder of a 24-year old woman here three days ago which came to light only today, Nasscom President Kiran Karnik told reporters that the industry would create further best practices in terms of safety.

Three days ago and we're hearing about this now? Then, according to this article from Information Week:

In response to the crime, police on Friday asked companies to start providing escorts for female employees from their homes to their workplaces, said Bhupendra Singh Sial, the police chief of Karnataka state, of which Bangalore is the capital.

Cab companies contracted to take the workers to and from their jobs were also asked to give photos and work histories for their drivers, he said.

"Companies will be instructed that there can be no first pickup and last drop-off of a lady.

Bangalore accounts for a third of India's outsourcing export revenues of US$17.2 billion (euro14.33 billion). The city's offshore outsourcing industry works round the clock and depends on hundreds of cab companies to transport employees to work.

That's led to a high demand for drivers and background checks are often cursory, at best."

I'm sure that there'll be changes in policies and all that, but you have to ask why this didn't happen before a life was lost?

A loss that could've been prevented--that's the tragedy.

TAAQ and David Pascal at Opus (Dec 18)

From the TAAQ mailing list (edited version):

This Sunday, we play at Opus, Palace Cross Road. Join us for lunch, or brunch if you will, as we unveil a tiny secret. For the first time in a really long while, we will be 'outsourcing' our vocals to the very gifted Chennai vocalist David Pascal.

David is a professional singer who has fronted several bands, including The Banned, Spyne, Juravi, Glass, Another Page, Jus' Friends, Alter Egoz (Hyderabad), Bacchus and Roxygen.

In a nutshell: TAAQ with David Pascal
Sunday, December 18, 12 Noon onwards

Getting there:
Opus
#4, 1st Main, Chakravarthy Layout
Palace Cross Road
Bangalore 560020
Reservations: 98440 30198/ 98452 44610
Usual charges apply

No, I don't know what usual charges means, I've never been to Opus yet.

Ethics of MBA admission

An interesting post about the ethics of MBA admissions. The crux is this:

Some announce their admissions as early as February, others in April. Students who pay up at B schools which close their admissions early end up losing anything from Rs 50,000-100,000 even though they withdraw their applications a full two months before the start of the academic session.

I think this happens in other education institutions as well because there is no standard date for admissions. It's a free for all--do whatever you want. Why do you think education is such a lucrative business? (Not for most teachers though.)

I can understand losing your deposit if the seat that you vacate is not filled by anyone else. But, in most cases, the demand for a "seat" far exceeds the supply. That's why we have the waiting lists for seats.

Maybe schools don't want to return the full deposit. So, do something similar to what the Indian Railways does when you cancel a ticket--set a sliding scale return policy. Two months before admissions--75% refund, one month before--50%, etc.

It's amazing though that this scam has been going on for so many years and we've not paid too much attention. Familiarity breeds acceptance I guess.

Bean town?

Bangalore = Bengaluru = Bengalooru depending on who you talk to; it's happening folks. Part of the intention (from a TOI article):

"The intention is that even a foreigner who visits the city will use a Kannada-sounding word by calling the city Bengalooru. The 'u' vowel distinguishes our language, just like the 'o' in Kolkata is distinct to Bengali. By adding the 'u,' even words like chair-u and table-u become Kannada," Ananthamurthy said. Singh maintained that he was convinced about the genuineness of the demand.

Is the following sentence in Kannada? And-u, I-u am-u confused-u about-u English-u and-u Kannada-u.

Also, is it okay for locals to stick to Bangalore? Cool. The news agency Reuters has an interesting take on the name change:

Bangalore, long known as India's Garden City and now a global technology hub, is set to change its name to Bengalooru, reverting to a centuries-old title that means "the town of boiled beans".

The original name of Bangalore is said to be derived from "benda kalooru", or boiled beans, because a king exhausted during a forest hunt in the 14th century was fed boiled beans by a villager where the city now stands.

(Full article here)

Coupling

Three men, three women, sitcom about relationships. You're thinking Friends? Nope. I'm talking about Coupling, which is a British production and it's more adultish in its content.

The writing is funny, the characters are quirky, and this is a show worth watching. The show won the Best TV Comedy award at the British Comedy Awards 2003.

Coupling, which for some inexplicable reason Star World doesn't want to promote, airs at 10.30 pm on Monday nights. Maybe we can have less Desperate Housewives promos and some Coupling promos. Here's the show's website.

Stand Book Festival

Books, loads of books. You'll end up with a pain in your neck, from the craning, and your legs will hurt, from the standing. You'll probably find yourself at the checkout counter with books that you didn't expect to find, at prices that will blow your mind. Well, some at least. You'll also have to exercise restraint because those titles, they'll try to seduce their way into your book basket. There, I've warned you.

I've been to the Strand Book Festival/Fair/Sale for the last three or four years. One year I didn't buy anything. Last year I got Emotional Design at a good price. Every time however, I've never enjoyed the experience. Till yesterday.

This time the book fair is in the cricket stadium. You'll have to climb some stairs but it's worth it. There is a huge selection and if you're a book lover, you'll be drooling, so take a bib along. I spent quite a while and barely glanced through some sections. If you're a Dave Barry fan, you'll find paperbacks at good prices. I think there's something for everyone.

Here's a note from Strand's website about the book festival:

The Book Event of the Year !
The STRAND BOOK FESTIVAL
Upto 80% off
This time at the
CHINNASWAMY CRICKET STADIUM
(on MG Road, P2 Hall)
Upto Sun 11th DEC
Incl.3 Sundays
10am - 9pm
Main entrance Gate 1, Queen's Road.
Unlimited Free Parking: entrance from MG Road, opp St. Mark's Cathedral

If you're not in Bangalore, well tough luck. Actually, I didn't know this but it looks like you can buy books from Strand's website as well. (Strand Book Stall)

I got some good deals and good books. Heck, maybe I'll even go back. The force is strong with this one.