Rate these food items out of 10 1. Panipuri- 6 2. Momo- 8(only meat) 3. Biryani- 10(all forms incl. pulao) 4. Vada Pav- 6 5. Pav bhaji- 5 6. Chole bhature- 8 7. Jalebi- 6 8. Idli sambar- 6(10 if BLR sambar) 9. Samosa- 7 10. Bhelpuri- 4 11.Kachori- 8 12.Dosa- 10(Karnataka FTW)

My last visit to select was over 10 years ago, but undoubtedly a special place, second only to Premier among the Church St. bookstores. Om Shanti.

Of Mice & Men The Sense of an Ending Chronicle of a Death Foretold

1/ What does the (in)famous Bengali sweet shop KC Das have to do with Bangalore? The KC Das family is known for its experimentation. Nobin Das is said to have invented the rosogulla. His son, the eponymous KC Das is said to have invented the rasmalai. And his grandson Sarada?

Can attest to how good this book (Why Loiter?) is. Draws attention to how gendered our spaces are, and even otherwise forces you to ask questions, starting with the title: why (not) loiter?

First & most memorable encounter with this word: [Watson] “What ineffable twaddle!” I cried, slapping the magazine down on the table, “I never read such rubbish in my life.” “What is it?” asked Sherlock Holmes. “Why, this article…” [only to find out Holmes himself wrote it]

The tone of this article is all kinds of wrong, and unbecoming of Wisden. Sad to see them being this provocative to share a viewpoint (presumably for the engagement)

Not much of a hater, but stray into dislike territory once in a while: On the Road - Kerouac Catcher in the Rye - Salinger Reluctant Fundamentalist - Hamid Norwegian Wood - Murakami Spl mention: Train to Pakistan - can never get beyond few pages of non- jokebook Khushwant Singh

Recommendations for mango juice/milkshake in BLR? Besides Hotel Sagar, which is nice enough, but been tried enough times.

This. Loved watching Daryll Cullinan bat. For most people, his name is name is basically a byword for his tormentor Shane Warne. Testament to how Warne often had a mental hold over opponents, but also the power of narrative: a class batsman isn’t remembered for his best deeds.

Probably the first ad that ever made me ‘feel’ things, in this case proud to be Indian. I’ve often thought of Ram Guha’s ‘Wickets in the East’ as the book equivalent of this ad. But will definitely read সোহিনী 🌻 | ஸோஹினி | Sohini ‘s book now. youtu.be/P68WBjaqSbI?si…

Not necessarily the best, but absolute favourite: youtu.be/5AlZ-ZYbbPU?fe…

Rest in Peace, Valmik Thapar, the international voice of Indian tigers for many many years. As a tribute to him, do read the many books he penned on tigers: ‘Tiger Fire’, ‘Living with Tigers’ and others.

No single publication had so much influence on youngsters in these parts in the 80s & 90s as this one. It is seeped in many of our consciousness.

Not just because the decision was wrong - Flintoff and Harmison bowled such rubbish at nos 10 and 11, they did not deserve to win it in the end. The game may be remembered as a great finish, but that was made possible by utterly braindead bowling. youtu.be/Hr-4F_SFWxA?si…

A few Ahmedabad old-timers from my wife’s family have strong if bittersweet recollections of the inaugural Motera test in Oct ‘83 - Kapil taking 9-83 but India crushed by pace-heavy Windies. As far as then vs now cricketing contrasts go, thought this was pretty striking,

Here’s one from when STAR just started telecasting games from the West Indies to India, back in ‘93: PAK touring Windies: Lara, Ambrose, Walsh, Miandad, Akram, Waqar et al. 5 match series went 2-2 into the decider at Bourda, match tied on the final ball! espncricinfo.com/series/pakista…

Randomly came across a post from author Indrapramit Das talking about his book and urging us to buy it preferably from a bookstore, so thought why not. Surprisingly couldn’t find it at any of the usually reliable BLR spots, so went ahead and ordered online. Looking forward to it!