Jhola is Back: Udipi at Devon Ave will never be the same again

Jhola signifies rebellion. Not rebellion without a cause though. So even though I continue my random ruminations at my blog
I believe for certain cause related activism Jhola will remain the place.

So Devon Avenue is a highly recommended street for people in and around Chicago. Especially if you are a Desi grad student it becomes second home. From Parle G biscuts to Shahnaz hussain' beauty products, from Dosa to Pan think of anything remotely Indian you have it at Devon

However one of the more undesirable fixtures is the Udipi Restaurant. This place is a confused mix of which culinary identity to establish - the naan and dal makhani - or the sambhar bhaath. The result is a coconut-ish karahi panner, a chapati that is ridiculously leathery and an Utthapham that has green peas!

Add to that the waiter who slams the cheque on your table when you are midway eating and could consider a desert ( not after the ridiculous food). And then as soon as you pay the check tells you that they are closing so ....! And its only 10 ish and there are other guests at the table

Devon has Sabri Nihari for delectable north Indian fare, mysore woodlands for those who seek idli and its cousins!
Despite whatever yelp may say - Avoid Udipi at all costs

A nasty take on the (lack of) success of MySpace

For the tremendous inertia that has been preventing me from posting anyting original in a long long time - I thought let me not continue to disappoint any accidental visitors I still may be having

Enjoy this little video I picked up from college humor labs

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

A trek to Churdar -9th 10th and11th May Ex Delhi - Inviting Participation

Hoping that you would include everyone who is interested via a mass email from gmail is a tall order- therefore I thought of broadcasting this message using social media with the hope of inviting comments and some discussions :)

My Mami ( yes Kaka Nagar Aunty - for some of you :) ) has planned a trekking tour to the Churdhar peak - at 12,000 ft the highest peak in lower himalyas ( well, Shivaliks) - offers some panoramic views of upper himalyan ranges and the indo gangetic plains at the same time

You could read/see more at the following links
http://picasaweb.google.com/karnail.kkr/ChurdharTrek#
http://karnail.blogspot.com/2006/06/majestic-churdhar.html

And of course some photography enthusiasts have also given Churdhar a place on flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/churdhar/

The Plan is as follows

9th May Saturday
-depart from Delhi - 6 am or even earlier ( Somewhere in central delhi)
Breakfast on the way - Lunch - Reach Nauradhar before 3 pm
Begin Trekking - 2-3 hours reach Teesri - Camp overnight


10th May Sunday
Trek to the peak - return to the shiva temple - camp overnight

11th May Monday
Descend to Naura reach by 4 pm

From here there are two options:
1. Those who intend to resume work on 12th - Drive to Kalka ( 4 hrs from Naura ) take Kalka Mail at 11:30 pm from Kalka reach delhi by 6 am on 12th May - Go to office :)

2. Those who can take 12th Tuesday off - they chill out after reaching Naura - in the Rajgarh valley - bathe in the stream , wander in the orchards (Rajgarh is a fruit bowl and this season trees will be loaded with plums and peaches) - we drive back leisurely to reach delhi by evening 7 pm or so

Next Steps
Please go to the link and fill this in if interested ( less than 2 mins)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rSQ5yas0tpxqxLJVOX_OwRA

Please feel free to let friends romans and countrymen know!
Contact me (harsh.taneja@gmail.com) in case of further queries -

A discovery

This may be stale info for most of you!
For some this may reflect how slow I am to get on the web 2.0 bandwagon
but i just figured out a way to contribute to my blog directly through my gmail account!

Well this is a significant discovery for me as i can see that jhola hopefully should be a more active blog!
the inertia of going to a new website and writing in a text box which makes the whole process formal will go! Posts will be like writing yet another email - perhaps to a wall , perhaps to the fans of jhola !

Or maybe  if the posts become regular - a big if - jhola may just acquire a few loyalists -

yours ambitiously
harsh
--
Harsh Taneja
Bombay

Contact : 09820116899
Mail works just as fine