Doon Bakeris

Not a complete list or anything, but here are just some of the munchies I enjoyed growing up ->

Grand Bakers: Round cookies with a swirl. These were just amazing: one of my most favorites. These were round, crispy cookies full of life. Put one in your mouth and forget about the worries of life for a while.

Sardarji's bakery on Tilak Road: I don't remember the name of the bakery. It didn't even have one, I think. They were popular for eggless bisuits. During our stay near Tilak road, almost every couple of months, we would carry our canister of flour to him, and he would bake them fresh with you dropping your saliva all over you while watching the whole operation. By the time the canister reached home, I would have finished 1/4th of it.

Standard bakery, Chakrata road: The one at the intersectin of Chakrata road and tilak road remained a favorite past time for a long time. Pineapple pastries were the best. They were so soft and creamy, that you could swallow without chewing on them. I live in the land of cakes and pastries now, but till date, I have not been able to find a replacement, here.

Ellora's: My exposure to this one remained limited, but this one is prob the oldest and the most popular for the Rajpur road crowd. The cakes are the best here. During Manisha's birthday a few
years ago, this is where I picked the cake from, and it was a real treat.

Sunrise bakers, Ghosi gali: Any doon kid would not gulp his morning glass of milk down without dipping a rusk in from this shop. If you want to pick Doon's famous rusk, this is the shop. We have tried several imitations in the US, but none is close.

Prabhat cinema canteen: This is where I picked up a love for patties. Almost, every day during our evening strolls, we stopped by to eat a couple, only to later have a hard time eating dinner at home on full stomach.

Beatles in Dehradun

http://sg.video.yahoo.com/watch/138006/1336738

Above is the link for ' Dehradun....Dehradun'

The Beatles,India was their most creative period. When they were in Rishikesh/Dehradun for several weeks in February, March and April of 1968 (They stayed at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's spiritual centre, Rishikesh), they wrote between 23 and 48 songs, 17 of which were included in their White Album, one of their best known.

In that period the Beatles made one song on Dehradun , which never got released. This song is treated as a rare collection on the Beatles. Its video has been released on the occasion of 1st Asian Mayors’ Conference, held at Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India, from Nov 26 – 28 2006, which shows clips of Dehradun our home town and essence of this blog.

Black alphabet equals a buffalo.....

(Courtesy my Colleague Anirudh who too must be courtesing some genius crackpot on net who has the time to draw such innovation)

Yamuna bridge near Kempty…

This place in ‘Jaunsar Bhabhar’(U’ll see multiple entiries for same if you are into googling, it’s a place inhabited by beautiful truly Aryan pedigree who are carrying forward the sword of Pandavs and Kaurvas and with scheduled privalage bestowed upon by GOI are doing wonders in public life..adjacent to this is Jaunpur(Nainbagh) area infamous more due to ignorance with experts calling it place of reverse ‘Polygamy’…its all history and do not try to look too deep into it….by the way Jasu Rana or Jaspal Rana the famous shooter comes from this place)

If u drive down from Kempty falls which does not at all hold any charm of yesteryear anymore and is becoming the only solace for redundant technologies like ‘Air troliies’ which has been put up , I rode on it alongwith Bijal, Joshita and Seema on this weekend trip and made a quick exit soonest from a place which is pale shadow of its former self.

Driving from Kempty towards Vikasnagar taking the yamnotri highway, Yamuna at its best with swirling waters is view to behold, Nomadic muslim Gujar making their annual treks towards Shivalik ranges are a companion throughout.
I have this trip many a times
· With Pintoo , Rajesh Gupta and Sharad Gupta way back in mid ninties.
· With Pintoo couple of times later.
· With Kapil Manwal in 2003.
All the times its been bikes and scooters and drive always a thrill, I decided to ride my ‘Zen Estillo’ but making sure many a times that route was allright hoping still that modern and rising India has not taken anything away from adventures of yore.
I was rewarded by a nature made waterfall hundered times better than any ‘Kempty falls’.

I wanted my kids to savour this ride and certainly think it was so, l look forward to further journies this path with many a friends in years to come.

Amen!!!

“Rama market in Doon….pushing economy to boom”

Hope you guys remember ‘RAMA MARKET’..that old hub for ‘cut pieces’.. a den for cheap goods with lots of interesting bargain thrown in.I still remember ladies of Indira Gandhi’s socialist era in 80s going in in this circular market with every inch of space utilized productively, haggling for the last penny and giving a look only witches of Yorkshire are capable of to the vendor for a negotiation gone awry..vendor not to be left behind coolly packs back the goods in non chalantly way only to take a conciliatory step calling behind “ Bahenji chalo aao..aapki rahi”.
As you used to walk the chicken neck entry space..all Ajay mendies villagers from Bannu and Bahawalpur in West Punjab now in Pakistan in their third generation from the coops of space owned by them ..showcasing their wares and calling out to visitors in sweetest voice“ Aoji Bahi saab’…if you still happen to walk through without showing any interest his neighbor would certainly call “ dekhne ke paise nahin lagte didi” others would call “ Chiffon hai..georgette hai..Cotton hai”..i can bet best shirt with anyone you would not have sailed past the third vendor, such was the direct selling tactics these guys had.
Market still stands testimony to grit and determination of an enterprising community….hell bent on overcharging you for the sub standard goods, fourth generation now work on same space.Quality of wares is top notch again a testimony to rising tastes of Indian consumer looking for a bargain on side, there were Darjis or ladies tailor working besides or attached to a clothes shop working better and maniacally than militarily run garment factories and churning out suits after suit within hours, ,it tells about changing scenario I remember a time in late 80s paltan bazaar seemed almost dead..the charm had gone out ..and now everything is changing infact if you happen to visit same place after a gap you may have difficultly identifing same and this holds true for whole of India.

“Jauhar Dairy”…….Milked dry in late 80s !!

Like all small town middle class parents of that era one of the ‘ handing them over few responsibilities atleast ’ included telling us children was to bring milk in pitchers simply called Dabba from local dairy which Gobind Garh abounded in(It was an Era still free of Polypack Milk still in Doon), we the simpletons fell for,but it certainly offered opportunity to get free gossip time a respite from grueling 10th-12th standard exam preparations .
Jauhar clan was into ‘milking biz’ for a long -2 time but a refurbished with brand new blackbeauties the reluanch happened with with Kokila Ambani type Dadi of the family going gate to gate advertising her sons new venture, she was really lady with Iron panties(Peace be upon her soul), I still remember she distributing milk and passing off the milkfroth as an extra favour she was doing to choosen few, than there was the senior Jauhar who was supposed to be big bank officer but that did not deter his Punjabi Spirit to don blue striped cotton underwear and shoot choicest of profanities on workers who dared to bring only purest non adulterated milk without debasing at Origin, continuing the family tradition was ‘Kesho’ the bumpkin of family but than distributing milk from waterfilled pitchers and copying style of Iron lady is actually not a rocket science so he became a full time manager of this dairy with dirtribution his forte,last was young handsome Akshay kumar type young Jauhar who by virtue of his ‘Cambrain Hall’ education was entertaining biggest pastime of Doon teenagers…PREPARATION!!!(see blog entry “Krishna coaching) ..his airs I have heard have gone with time and clerical job in Bank..you know Indian bureaucracy puts you into mundane very fast.
We certainly have had many a intellectual discussions regarding various hotties of neighbourhood during these sessions alongwith meeting various queer characters from near and afar..Afar here means Yamuna Colony.The carrer talk too paramountcy ultimately we were the first ones to move out of Doon leaving Jauhar and his Dairy behind.
(Watch the space for “Eka Tha Kesho!!!” coming soon)

Happe birthday !!

It's that time of the year again. Last year was very special, because this time around, then, our blog itself was born. So, this year, Licence Era turned 1 besides Kabir who turned 4 and little Krishi who stepped into his 3rd year. This time, we hosted a party at the Indian Trail beach (Click Here for an aerial view). While driving aimlessly on the hilly roads of the nearby 'Lake in the hills,' mostly reminiscing Doon, we had stumbled upon this beauty. For several of our neighbor guests, it was a startling discovery. First of its kind in our group, the party became a major hit. Weather fully co-operated, and except for a few wandering clouds, it remained sunny with mild temps. Little kids refused to get out of nice, cool water, and big kids indulged in sand castle competetion. It was surprising to see how much creativity these guys had. It reminded me of our Janmashtmi days when we would model Krishna Bhagwaan's birth.

One of the creative creations by the Sharma sisters

While mango lussy turned out to an ideal starter for the warm afternoon, samosa-chole chaat was an ideal companion. That was followed by ladies serving pani puri in a road-side stall style that guests devoured. Beach party without a volleyball game would be incomplete; so gents descended on the court and enjoyed several good games.

Kicking off Volleyball, that's me.

Kabir and Krishi's wait came to an end with the cake cutting, with relite candles giving them hard time and their lungs good excercise trying to blow them. Krishi really enjoyed cutting the cake while Kabir grabbed the toy cars off the cake, and dug in with both hands.

Happy Birthday, kids!!

The cake cutting was immediately followed by royal lunch, prepared with lots of heart by Manisha, along with a small delivery from Pizza Hut, my favorite for more than 10 years, even though the new Dominos' multi cheese thin crust is getting very hard to resist.

Pav-Bhaji and Tamarind rice, two of the lunch entrees

Some of the lot then went paddle boating following their own shadows in the lake water shining like gold in the late afternoon sun. We had the beach booked until 6 pm, and even though we never expected the party to go beyond 4, when we pulled away from the beach, it was almost 6, with the lifeguards wrapping up and calling it a day. The party ended with nice, cold siwayeian as dessert, what some called Ganesh Chaturthi while others called Eid celebration.