TRIBUTE TO USHA MENDIRATTA

Obituary

Life and death are so unpredictable – do we ever know when we will leave this world?

Usha Mendiratta

The day was warm and bright with clear blue skies above and all seemed fine. She took a stroll with her little grandson to a nearby stationery shop and bought him packets of potato chips. In the evening she came downstairs and purchased some vegetables from the push-cart vendor.

Then, in the evening of 17 September, retired Superintendent of Nurses, Usha Mendiratta suffered a massive cardiac arrest and passed away, bringing a pall of gloom into the neighbourhood.

Eighteen months ago, on a spring morning, I was transferred from Bangalore to New Delhi. The initial months were challenging: settling into a new residence, familiarising with the surroundings as well as dealing with the emotional trauma of my dear mother’s recent demise.

In the midst of this, on one hot summer day on May 2011, I returned from work to find that except my apartment, all other floors in the building had electricity. It was a hard day’s night, coping with the hot and sweltering weather as my rooms had virtually turned into a furnace.

Next morning, as I was descending the staircase and heading to office, I noticed the door to the first floor was ajar. An elderly lady was seated in the balcony reading a newspaper. Hesitantly, I introduced myself and then asked her if there was electricity in her house. In a warm and friendly voice she replied in English, “Yes,” and continued, “Son, last morning you left the water pump on until the tank started overflowing. I was unable to reach you and therefore, switched off the MCB. Where were you last night and how did you manage to sleep in this scorching heat? Do you have an AC or an air cooler? I have a spare air cooler, please take it. Please come and join me for a cup of tea.”

I felt overwhelmed by her warmth and this was the first spark of our friendship. Although she was staying with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson, I was close to her. I used to often spend time with her on my return from office.

Just few months ago on a Saturday evening I went to her with my laptop to show photographs of Scalene Cybernetics Ltd, a research and development institute based out of Bangalore which specialises curing arthritis patients by beaming magnetic rays. She appeared completely focused on the subject as I took her through the website. Later, the discussion shifted to food and said she would one day treat me with aloo parantha, curd, etc.

Next morning around 8:45 am in the morning my cell phone pinged and when I picked up the call, it was the same familiar warm and friendly voice asking me, “Can you please come down soon? I am waiting for you to have breakfast.” After a quick shower I rushed to her place and had really great Punjabi cuisine that forced me to skip lunch!

Her traits – compassionate, soft spoken and always ready to help people in distress are so rare to find in people these days that I will always remember her. Every time I cross her floor an image of her flashes up in my mind. Aunty Usha, may your soul rest in eternal bliss!

Below is a video clip.

                                        

                                                

INDEPENDENCE DAY NOODLES!

Quick and tasty bite

If necessity is the mother of invention, so is sometimes appetite the driving force to compel one to innovate a quick and tasty bite!

15^th August was a national holiday on account of India’s 65^th year of independence for which all restaurants and food vendors remained closed in the neighbourhood. This had put many of us in a tight spot!

With most vehicles off the roads the surroundings seemed to be so calm that one could even hear people whispering. In general, the atmosphere here at Delhi wore a festive look coupled with a remote feeling of an approaching autumn.

Roof tops and terrace buildings was the epicentre of activities where people irrespective of age group took part in this great festival of kites. It was amazing to see the blue skies dotted with designer kites of all hues accompanied by symbolic messages to mark the day.

I had been witnessing this all through for a while until sheer hunger drove me straight into the kitchen. After scrutinizing thoroughly the cupboard and then decided to prepare the good-old 2-minute noodles but, with a difference.

If you would ever like to try it, here goes the recipe of my great brunch which was based on the availability of ingredients at home and spontaneity of mind.

Chop one small onion, tomato, broccoli, capsicum,baby corn and two green chilly into small pieces. Put two cups of water in the frying pan to boil and add some pealed fresh corns and noodles including the spice that comes along in a sachet.

Next, add all the chopped tomatoes, broccoli, baby corn, onion and chilly. Put a dash of garlic-ginger paste into the pan and allow it to boil for 20 seconds if it is cooked in an induction cooker.

Add a table spoon each of chilly soy sauce, butter and few drops of pepper and green pepper sauce. Stir it thoroughly and sprinkle thin sliced omelet.

Serve hot and for a change try having by using chopsticks. If you fancy oriental cuisines it’s a bet that your taste buds would simply love it!   

If anybody has an idea to make this dish even better please do suggest by using the comment space below.

Cheers!

OVAL: CALCUTTA’S ULTIMATE PLACE TO CHILL!

Moloy Dutta makes it big

Oval Lounge Bar & Restaurant

Visual Merchandising and Retail Design – popularly known as VM&RD magazine which covers the retail and lifestyle space has featured Moloy Dutta, partner Oval in its July 2012 edition. Oval, as the name suggests is the shape of the building and Calcutta’s latest up-market corporate Lounge Bar and Restaurant located at DLF IT Park, New Town.

In May last, Oval had organized a unique food and bike pairing where scores of Calcutta’s Harley Owners Group participated in a 150km ride to CCD on the Durgapur Expressway and back. Oval was the sip-and-dine destination for all the participants. The Telegraph newspaper had a special write-up on this event.

The pub with its cool design, cozy sitting arrangement is the ultimate place for employees of various software companies located in and around Salt Lake City to hang out. From pop, rock, jazz or fusion, Oval boasts of having the best audio and video music played round the clock. And yes, this bit of trait can be attributed to Moloy who grew up in Shillong and Bangalore with such genre of music!

With psychedelic lights, high-end sound system coupled with the images of super rock star legends like Jim Morrison, Riche Blackmore, Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Hendrix to name a few, it’s no doubt a great place to chill out.

The Oval Bar stocks a range of finest whisky, flavoured vodka and wines. For snacks, chef at Oval recommends the Oval non-veg platter, with a mix of tandoori chicken, fish and lamb.

Special dish served here that deserves a mention is the stuffed chicken which has been masterminded with an array of grilled chicken and black pepper sauce. 3idiots a mouth watering non-vegetarian main course is a combination of crump fried jumbo prawn, Calcutta bhetki and chicken served with fries and tartre sauce.

The Bar Counter with Jim Morrison's image

The prices are pocket friendly too. A meal for two along with drinks will come for around Rs 700.

Hats off to this gentleman who had a meteorite rise in his career. After working for several years at a professional hotel management institute as a vice president, Moloy Dutta, alias Rahul chose to quit his job and come up with Oval. 

Internet image grab of Visual Merchandising and Retail Design (VM&RD) July 2012 edition

CORBETT SAFARI: My Diary

Avian Media Offsite

The alarm shrilled at 5:00 a.m. I groaned as the destroyer of sleep pinged me at the preset time.  The chill of the dark pre-dawn tempted me to struggle deeper into the quilt. With a sigh, I remembered that I was at Corbett Park and colleagues from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai branches would be waiting to start our company off-site experience.

Five open back Maruti Gypsies arrived at Infinity Resort where we had been camping the previous night, ready to take us to experience the adrenaline rush of thrilling wild safari!

Armed with cameras, telephoto lens and binoculars, Avianites boarded the off-roaders and headed into the wilderness of Corbett National Park.

The scenery was undeniably picturesque, especially the sun rays penetrating through the majestic Oak, Sal and Eucalyptus trees into the deep woods. Exotic wild flowers and shrubs with 
floating dew drops created a
heavenly rainbow-effect with the misty ambiance as a backdrop. It was quite magical to watch the jungle come alive.

Corbett National Park, located close to Ramnagar, is the first official national park of India. Hordes of adventure aficionados and wildlife lovers plan tours for witnessing the natural wealth of the park.

Home to over 488 different species of plants, 585 species of resident migratory birds, 33 species of reptiles, 37 species of dragonflies and 7 species of amphibians and fishes, Corbett National Park is undoubtedly a heaven for tourists.

I was seated in the back and at times standing up to get best possible view of the woods. It was tough to secure the camera and other equipment since the moving vehicle on a rough terrain causes violent jerks.

Many ventured into the riverside playing in the crystal clear water while others took turns posing for photographs.

When all other jeeps passed we stopped for few minutes at a nondescript hamlet to sip steaming cups of tea. Here we could listen to the sound of silence that filled our hearts with peace and bliss. We were the last of the fleet of jeeps, trying our best to spot some wildlife.

Our young guide and driver, Sher Bahadur suddenly slowed down and gradually brought the vehicle to a halt. He pointed out a herd of spotted deer crossing a rivulet far away. Within seconds they disappeared into the thick green bushes.

We were all optimistic to spot the king of jungle, but, the closest we got to see a tiger were some claw marks on a tree and a tiger poop!

Tiger paw marks

Our guide, led us few steps ahead towards a muddy surface which had paw marks. With his experience he carefully examined the trail of impressions and then revealed that the tiger had just passed this way less than an hour ago to quench its thirst!

At Sitavani, an ancient temple protected by the Archeological Survey of India we spotted two type of simians. The temple holds mythological importance to the Hindus. It is believed to be the place where Sita spent her years in exile and raised her children.

On our way back while coasting down in neutral, we noticed sudden violent movements of the bushes. Here we stopped once again for a while keeping our fingers crossed hopping to see what it was. After moving few steps towards edge of the road we spotted a couple of small deer racing to catch up with the herd.

The adventure at Corbett offsite has surely created a deeper bond with colleagues across branches, colleagues who have moved on to other organizations, yet in touch – thus leaving an everlasting impression in our minds.

Check on to the stills and video clips below which will take you all down through-the-memory lane. Do put on your headphones or connect to external speakers for sound effects!

Sun rays penetrating into the woods

The temple preist of Sitavani temple

Giant ant hill

The majestic Ramganga river