Stomach this

In countries where order and sanity prevails, young people get their dose of thrills by bungee jumping and mountain biking. In India, the most popular - and easily accessible - adventure a young person can seek out is street food.

Yes, even as Macs, Dominos and Subways sprout up everywhere, the Kailash Parbats and Brijwasis expand their reach and completely new outlets like 'Wraps n Rolls' enter our food courts, street food continues to flourish.

If anything, there's more of it now than there used to be and it's also cooler to eat off the streets than to be a sissy and say, "Sorry I don't have that stuff".

I still am that kind of person - it was the way we were brought up. Carry tiffin with you, eat at a place with a table, if you really must.

Even on the annual trips and outings, when hicktown cousins came a-visiting, we'd drag along a picnic basket full of aloo-puri. The max you were allowed to buy was a bhutta.

Though I am now 'a bit converted', the fear still lingers... However I see no such inhibitions with the majority of the college junta of today!

Khaate raho
Why is street food so popular? Well I guess because of two factors:
a) It's cheap and it's everywhere: If you can whip up a decent bhelpuri, rest assured you will make a living in any city. Even after paying off the Corporation tax and cops for standing under a tree somewhere.

And you can sell your bhel for 7 bucks vs the 15 rupees it will cost in an Udipi, or 20 bucks in a mall.

Besides, the 'wallahs' are at every street corner and outside every college. Just seeing the little crowd of people standing there waiting for their food fix makes you hungry!

b) It's unique: Unlike the mass produced mastication material churned out by chains and even Udipi restaurants, street food vendors often have the X factor.

And those that do become 'famous' for particular concoctions. Like the dosawallahs, the sandwichwallahs and so on and so forth.

The famous guys actually command pretty good prices. I'd like to visit their homes and check out what cars they drive!

Dirty secrets
Coming back to the adventure bit. Well, 99% of this street food is made and served in the most unhygienic and filthy conditions. Guess it gets that raw and edgy 'flavour' partly from the kholis and jhuggis.

The trick to eating street food is to never stare too closely at the vendor's grimy nails or the water in which the plates are washed.

One news daily once did a story on the 'dirtiest secrets' in street food and guess what. There are some big time bhelwallahs who mash potatos with their knees...

And yet, people who eat this food are not dropping like flies. Of course, at any given time there are hepatitis and amoebiosis cases going around but on the whole, the regulars seem to have developed an acceptable level of immunity.

From time to time - like during the jaundice epidemic some years back - the Corporations came out with 'rules'. For example, all vendors were asked to wear plastic gloves. And no cooking per se was to be allowed - only assembly of food such as sandwiches, bhel etc.

But neither rule is being followed. Chinese carts are still around. And the gloves were quickly discarded because
a) No one came to fine those who didn't wear 'em
b) Customers didn't seem to care either!

It's the second bit that's actually more disconcerting...

The future of street food
I think street food is definitely something which is desirable. All of south east Asia and even a country as advanced as Japan is fond of its street food.

The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) is working with local governments to upgrade street food standards. Visit Bangkok - a country not all that ahead of India - and the hygiene levels are amazing. Didn't just happen by magic though - it took effort . The problems were very similar, but they've been successfully tackled.

But it seems to me that changing attitudes will be difficult as long as the majority of vendors live in pretty miserable housing and sanitation conditions. When hygiene isn't a part of their lives anyways - how can it be reflected in their food?

And so, the adventure continues...

Sabse tez ya sabse dumb?

A prime time news item on one of the news channels last night: Yuvraj Singh goes in for a 'new look'.

Forget the debate about what constitutes news... I couldn't even figure out what new look. It just seemed like a stylist had ruffled her fingers through his hair.

And yet, 3 whole minutes - or maybe more - was spent discussing it. And what Yuvraj likes to wear. And which cricketers he thinks dress well. And so on and so forth.

It's great that our news channels have moved beyond covering politicians. So every time Mayawati sneezes she does not make headlines. But the channels have not figured out what to air as a replacement, and this problem is especially acute with the 'mass' or Hindi news networks.

This is actually phase 3 in the television news shift.

In the DD era, news used to be autocratic. Salma Sultan, with a red rose in her hair, read out details of the PM's daily schedule - cutting ribbons, launching books, being received at the airport.

In the Aaj Tak era, the coverage became more democratic - politicians of every hue got their mugs on air.

In the Too-Many-Channels-To-Count era - dumbocracy rules. Channel heads realised no one really cares about netalog's antics. So given that there is no earthquake, plane crash or terrorist bombing, you gotta load up on 'human interest' stories.

Now what constitutes interest, and to which humans is the question. For example, a couple of years ago, Zee News ran a detailed segment on how the planetary alignment of Rahu, Ketu and Shani is expected to impact inflation (I am not kidding!).

This was followed by a segment on how petrol pumps in Delhi are giving out saplings to car owners in Delhi in a bid to encourage planting of trees. One sapling for every litre of petrol filled. A noble but ludicrous scheme - but one which got covered as 'news'.

And there lies the crux of the matter. These are really what newspapers publish under 'features' - except there is no such classification in broadcast. So everything - from the earth-shattering to the inane is lumped into one big basket.

Why am I watching these channels, anyways, you might ask? Well, I'm not. But given that surfing constitutes 90% of TV viewing for many of us, you absorb bits of their coverage by default. The answer is to flick the button and move on...

So, dumb down all you will, for all I care. But please, Yuvraj, the next time you want a 'new look' get a real hairstylist. Borrow Aamir Khan's.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Print

Pirated copies of  Harry Potter are all over the city. Funny thing is, I haven't seen anyone carrying one around. Except for the boys selling them at signals.

Now surely at 300 bucks (less than half the price at bookstores - even after 'discount') there must be enough takers. Only, they're quietly reading the cheapie copies at home, while those with the original hardbound version are busy flaunting it.

Yes, despite the fact that the 600 + page book is hardly 'portable' I've seen folks hanging onto it in the bus. A fan in my office lugs it to and fro everyday. And last night at the local book stall I spotted one with the salesgirl manning the juice counter... Jai Harry Potter!

Potty thoughts
As for me, well, I did devour it but sorry to say, not the original one!! But I didn't feel like writing about it. I mean, whether it's a 'good' book or not is really a technical point. If you've read the first five books you ARE going to read the sixth one - no matter what.

In a nutshell, book no 6 is much more interesting than no 5 - which was way too long, dark and in parts dull.

Plot-shot chhodo, what I have always liked about Harry Potter are the small touches - the names of the potions and spells, the creatures and teachers. And all the parallels between the magical world and the real one.

In book no 6, for example, I thought the "Apparition" test was cool. A neat spin on the driving test we muggles take as we 'come of age'.

And J K R has got the whole teenager-in-love bit just right. Ron and Lavender's mouth-to-mouth marathons are unlikely to be seen in India. But we've all known our share of 'chipko' andolan couples :)

The thing I really admire is that Rowling does not talk down to her audience. Using terms like 'Pensieve' for example - you might think it will go over the aam young readers head. But what it does is build a multi-layered experience.

Maybe the readers aged 9 and 10 don't 'get it' but that doesn't stop them from enjoying the story. Whereas for the older kids and adults it raises the level far beyond a 'children's book'.

It's a strategy which Walt Disney uses in its animation films. The genie in Aladdin is a perfect example. His wisecracks were for the parents, antics for the kids.

May magic continue to enter our lives - in the form of books - long after Harry Potter.