Tag Archives: india

Things go better with Coke

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It was the day after the much-loved fimstar Ambareesh died. He was a hero all over the Indian state of Karnataka. To respect him, alcohol sales were forbidden in Bangalore. It was what is called a ‘dry day’. One could not order any alcoholic drink at a bar, restaurant, etc.

So, being unable to order an alcoholic drink, I ordered Coca Cola.

“Coca Cola” the waiter queried, “it’s not available. Today is dry day, sir”

“But Coca Cola is not alcoholic” I protested, adding “Coke, you know”

“Ah, Coke, sir. I can bring you that,”the waiter said, at last understanding what I was trying to order.

Filter coffee

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South Indian filter coffee is wonderful. Here is how it is prepared. First coffee powder is placed in the upper chamber of a cylindrical metal vessel with a finely perforated base. Hot water is poured on it. Then, the water slowly filters through the powder to produce an intensely strong, undrinkable filtrate, known as ‘decoction’. This filtration takes many hours.

The coffee-maker ladles some decoction into a vessel, often a stainless steel beaker. Then, he or she fills the rest of the beaker with freshly boiled milk (With or without sugar).

If you want your coffee without sugar, ask for “sugarless”.

The coffee cup comes with a deep saucer. To cool the coffee, you pour the coffee from the beaker to the saucer and vice versa.

Then, ENJOY!

The writing on the wall

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India is a country with many religions. This sign advertises a store that gets in new stock for Ramzan ( Muslim ), Christmas ( Christian ), Diwali ( Hindu ) and New Year ( which one is not specified ).

Sadly, inter-religious tolerance is being challenged in today’s India.

Spelling curios

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All over India you can see variations in the spelling of English words. Here are some examples I saw today in Bangalore.

Here the word ‘naughty’ has been spelled semi-phonetically.

Here, b and P have been mixed up. The consonants B and P are formed similarly when spoken.

This shop sign demonstrates a variety of different kinds of spelling errors. (By the way, ‘chats’ are slightly cooked vegetables or raw fruits dressed with spicy powders.)

Remember that although English is one of India’s national languages, for many shop owners it is a foreign language. Hence, the diversity of spellings of common English words.