Rhapsody Rocks Tolly Club

After spending most of the day out, we weren’t quite sure if we really wanted to go to the club, but then we thought we might as well go and grab a bite there and if this Tribute to Queen concert which was scheduled there was any good, it would come as a bonus.

As we got to the club around 6.30pm, it started to pour and we wondered if the show would happen as it was all set up to start at 7.00pm on the main lawn. Anyway we got about our business and as we downed a couple of beers along with some fried Jumbo Prawns and Steak Kebab, the rain seemed to stop. Knowing Tolly Club and their spirit, the show must go on and so it did.

We headed to the main lawns, and though a bit slushy after the downpour, it was already filling up. As we got a place nearer to the stage, it was lights, action and music. For a second there it seemed like Freddy Mercury himself had come on stage. Rhapsody kicked off their gig with a bang and soon people were in high spirits; music and alcohol induced.

These guys, I did some reading up, are a QUEEN Tribute band all the way from the UK. Once they got started it was awesome to see how into the act they are, with the shiny spandex pants, long overcoats, wigs et al. You’d really thing Queen was up there if you were just passing through. The first half of the show ended and after a 15 minute break the act came back on stage to the theme music of Flash Gordon and then incase no one noticed, the lead singer came back on stage wearing a “FLASH” Tee, which I thought was quite cool. They really put this act together with some thought.

By the middle of their second round, people had hit the dance floor and were rocking and dancing. I mean so what if some people got a bit critical about their singing or music abilities not being that great, I thought they were awesome. They did have a huge number of people swaying to their music and that’s all that counted. I just loved the antics of the lead singer swinging the mic around and stuff. I guess he really got into the act of being Freddy Mercury.

Finally the show came to an end or so we thought till there was an encore and Rhapsody hit the stage again for three classic Queen Numbers to wrap things up to a standing ovation.

If you’re looking to book these guys you can log on to: Rhapsody - Is This The Real Queen

This is How I Do It!

Ok this might seem a bit nutty to some people, but this is how I draw inspiration to keep doing what I do. My wife was in splits when she saw me updating my blog with three of my new acquisitions sitting there on our laptop while I was updating this blog.

Well call me nutty, but its truly fun being nutty like this.

A Cute Rom-Com Flick

Watched a cute Rom-rom at Fame South City called “The Back Up Plan”. Jennifer Lopez did a splendid job at going through the dilemma of finding the right man, single motherhood as a last resort and finding true love. A cute movie worth it for those who want to watch a light-hearted uplifting flick.

World Cuisine at its Best

When we first saw the advertisement in the newspaper a week or so ago, we thought it was too good to be true. Could such a slick place exist as the ad portrayed? Anyway we decided to head there for lunch and as we got to the building, we got our first reassurance that this was going to be a decent restaurant. Once inside, though building work was still in progress, we were impressed by the full glass lift and the white finish of the interior. Up two floors and as we stepped out of the lift, things just got better. The lobby was impeccable and the glass façade to the restaurant gave us a view inside and to say the least, we were floored. We could see the buffet table with a lovely plant décor as a backdrop at the end and the wooden floor and wood furniture against a white backdrop was something a little out of a fairytale.

We were greeted, shown to a table and handed out a menu each. I loved the way they had each table laid out, with a lovely long stemmed white flower on each table and the napkin folded out like a peacock on each place. The menu was exhaustive and as we pored over the pages, we were informed that we could check out the buffet too and so we did. After going through what was on offer, we were mesmerized by the dishes on display for the Buffet. Each more inviting than the other; Presentation! Presentation! Presentation! We inquired how much the buffet was priced at and when we were told it was Rs. 395/- per head, we decided to go for it.

Gosh I didn’t know where to start, but we did have to start somewhere. So we ordered a cold drink (Thums Up) each and headed for the Salad Bar. There was a wide selection at least 6 different salads to choose from, ranging from exotic greens to seafood. We each scooped out a spoonful from a few of them and headed back to our table only to be informed that we could order some soup as part of the buffet. So my wife did; a chicken soup, which arrived as we were getting done with the salads. The salads were superb, each of them bringing out the flavours of their description, if it was a veggie, then it took me straight to a garden and if it was seafood, it took me to the depths of the oceans. I mean, they had got the flavours spot on. The soup was well made, lacking in salt, but then to get to use those wonderful salt shakers itself was a delight. I mean everything seemed to be chosen with a keen eye.

As I was getting up to go for the main course, we were informed that they had starters too. We enquired what they offered as part of the non-vegetarian starters and when we heard the selection, I thought “Man, are they joking?” We asked for a few of the starters and as I got back to the table with my plate full of my first round of the main course, what we got as starters was a meal by itself. I had got my plate full with some beautiful coloured rice which wasn’t fried, but steamed with some veggies, Some Green Thai Curry and a roast chicken with rosemary. As I sat down, the steward brought us the starters and it was shocking to see such a spread. There was chicken malai tikka, mutton sheek kebab, chicken haryali, fish tikka and a huge jumbo prawn. All I have to say is “Wow!”

I got through all of that and wondered if I could go for another round of the main course. I had left a couple of wonderfully presented dishes for later which I wanted to eat. One surely was the Lasagna. That was the most beautiful bake I had ever seen and as I cut into it and put a nice big piece in my plate, the mince inside just called out to me. This just had to be the highpoint. I also took some of the chicken in black bean sauce and some fish. Once at the table, I went through that lasagna and it was to die for. That’s when the steward came back up to us and informed us that there was pasta too if we wanted to order. These guys were pulling no stops in this fabulous buffet. Well I had to decline, wanting to leave some place for the dessert.

There was a simple yet mouth watering selection of dessert, a warm mihidana bake and some pieces of cake. Both were well made and a fitting end to this feast.

At the end of the meal when we got our check, it was Rs. 790/-. Man this was getting better with each passing minute. It was Rs. 395/- per head inclusive of taxes. We have just got to come back here.

As we left we inquired if the rate was the same for weekends and we were told that this was a LUNCH Buffet available everyday of the week @ RS. 395/- on weekdays and Rs. 495/- on weekends. Whichever way you look at it, at this price or any, its got to be the best Buffet Lunch I’ve had.

HARVEY'S
229, Rajdanga Main Road,
Kolkata - 700107
Tel: +91 33 40164999

The Biggest Bolly Blockbuster till date

After hearing so much about this movie, it was just a matter of time before we were going to watch Dabangg. We got tickets for Hall No.4 at Fame South City which has the biggest Screen. After some lukkhagiri and KFC for dinner, we finally were seated in the Auditorium.

Well once the movie started I expected it to be Salman doing "dishum dishum" from scene one, but it took a little time before he set the screen on flame with his histrionics. But once he did, the movie went by in a breeze; Entertainment Unlimited. Well what else would you expect from a movie that has the hero named "Inspector Julbul Pandey"?

Worth a mention is Sonu Sood who plays the villian. He definitely gave Salman something to think about in the "Six Pack" department. Debutant Sonakshi Sinha got a great platform as a launch film playing Salman's love interest in the film.

All in all, this film is worth every rupee spent.

We Are Family

Last evening I sat through yet another two and a half hour tear jerker from the K-JO stable. We Are Family has a brilliant cast of the very talented Kajol, the reigning Bollywood Queen Kareena and Greek God Hunk & Stud, Arjun Rampal. The performances by all three and the three kids, leaves no doubt in our mind about their acting prowess, but if you have a 45 odd minute end which is sadder than sad, even Spielberg with all his brilliant special effects wouldn’t be able to save the film.

Based on the best selling novel and highly successful Bollywood flick “STEP MOM” this Bollywood flick is well made with shooting in exotic locale of New South Wales in Australia, except for the last 45 minutes. Till a certain point one gets totally in with the characters and can feel their pain and anxiety and frustrations and love and I guess all the emotions that K-Jo was trying to make us feel, till he probably felt he hadn’t made us feel enough and just dragged the tragic end till we just couldn’t take it anymore and that’s where he lost the plot. Had he not dragged the tragedy for so long, maybe I might have shed a tear or two.

So if you want to watch a sad poignant tale of love and loss, be forewarned that you’ll have to sit through some 45+ minutes of unnecessary sorrow and impending tragedy.

We watched teh Movie at Fame South City Mall on Screen 4. Gosh this Audi was huge and there were probably 6-8 of us in the entire hall. The screen seemed a mile away and reminded us of the good old days at New Empire and Globe which were huge.

They Still Exist

I saw this old man with his Knife Sharpening Machine as I got out of the car in China Town this morning. I just had to photograph him as he went about his business because the last time I had probably seen one of these guys was maybe soem 20 years ago. I didn't realise that they still existed.

Another Celebrity supports the Great Wall

Man I gotta say, this Great Wall of Education is really going off the charts. I got there this evening and the count on the wall was 82,000+ books with nearly another 22,000+ books received through donations that hadn't gone on the wall. Last eveings closing count was 58,100. I wonder what today's count will end at.

As I was getting ready to leave, Roopa Ganguly arrived with a couple of books in her hand. She flew all the way from Mumbai when she heard of the cause. I am really glad that celebrities are lending their support for this cause. This is really inspiring common people of Kolkata to come forward and contribute to this noble cause.

Roopa Ganguly with RJ Radhica from 91.9 Friends FM

Roopa Ganguly also signed each of those books she donated.

Those will fetch a hefty sum.

Kolkata’s got Talent

This morning as I pulled out of my colony gate on my way to office, I was stuck behind these cyclists. Well I finally did overtake them and waited for them to come around the bend at the market where I clicked a picture. I just had to document this. Two guys on cycles, Electricians I figured because one of them was carrying a whole lot of tube lights which were tied to his cycle and the other had some tools which looked like those used by electricians.

I just figured that had this been in the US, they’d probably qualify for “America’s Got Talent”. Two guys cycling through crowded streets balancing a 10-15 foot ladder on their shoulders. Amazing!

This can only happen in Kolkata. I guess “Kolkata’s got Talent”!

The Great Wall of Education

Last evening I got to be part of an initiative undertaken by Aviva, The Telegraph, 91.9 Friends FM, City Center and Emami Starmark among others for a noble cause: Education for All, the lack of which plagues our Great Country.

The concept is to get citizens to donate their old/new books and create The Great Wall of Education and these books will be given to underprivileged children.

I got there in time to witness Raima Sen at the event to propagate her support for the cause.

It was heartwarming to even see young kids come out and do their bit. In a country as immensely populated as ours, education is a burning issue, especially for those that can’t even afford two wholesome meals a day. And only education can bridge the gap.

I am cheering for the people who’ve started this initiative and hope to see The Great Wall of Education grow to towering lengths, widths and heights and hope all Kolkatans to support this cause.

All you need to do is go to City Center, Salt Lake by Sunday 05 September 2010 and donate your books for this cause.