One Day in Old Bangalore  

Sat 13 Mar 10

A warm sunny day. Temperature is in the low thirties. I leave home at
about 10:30 AM, on my way to meet Sandman. We've planned a trip to SP
Road to purchase some electronics. We're also hoping to audition some
speakers at hifi showrooms Wharfedale and ProFx before ending the day at
the Windsor Pub in Vasanth Nagar.

I ended up reaching Barton Center, our agreed rendezvous point only
around 12 PM. I'd had to walk from Lifestyle all the way to Barton
Center. Since it almost lunch time already, we dropped our original plan
of lunch at Miller's and headed towards Empire on Church St instead.
Ordered a full grill chicken with some Kerala parota. I had forgotten
why Empire is one of the favorite haunts of young and old Bangaloreans
alike - the chicken was delicious and tender while the parota was fresh
and crisp! It was a delicious meal!

Well-fed, we caught an auto and headed to SP Road. Finished up with our
shopping, we decided to dump the stuff at Sandman's before going to the
hifi showrooms. However, Sandman's car had developed a technical snag
earlier in the day so we ended up at the Ford dealership to pick up his
car before going home.

We freshened up and moved out. Ate some ice-cream at Naturals near
Commercial St. Fresh and home-made ice-cream in unusual flavors - yum!
After, Vector Systems on Brigade was our first destination. The showroom
is manned by a 60-something aunty who was at least 30 years too
out-of-date for the job. She had absolutely NO idea what we were talking
about and called a dude who was equally clueless. The audition selection
was about 5 CDs full of Kenny G and club music mp3s burnt onto CDs. When
asked whether they expected people to spend lakhs of rupees on expensive
equipment based on mp3 output, they just shrugged out of sheer
ignorance. The prices quoted for the speakers were also inflated. Quite
a bit.

Since we were just wasting time, we decided to leave and head to ProFx
instead. That experience was no better since the particular speakers
that Sandman wanted me to audition sounded like crap on their setup.
Upset that I was not blown away the he had been when he heard the
speakers at his friend's place, he took me to meet his friend and decide
for myself. Smart move. His friend's stereo setup is truly awesome and
we spent way too much time listening to some beautiful Mark Knopfler and
Norah Jones music.

We were very delayed by the time we said our goodbyes and left from
Sandman's friend's place. Draculaboy was getting upset since he was
holding a table for four at the Windsor by himself. The pub is great!
It's small, cozy and brightly lit, very different from the dark and
brooding stereotypes that pepper Bangalore. The service is good and the
beer is fresh but the very best thing about it is the lip-smacking food!

Everything, from starters to main course is great and the food
complements the cold, fresh draught really well! The music selection,
which is played a little loud, is very good.

The crowd at the pub is fair balance of all people. I saw families with
kids, old couples as well as young boys and girls. The atmosphere is
really wonderful and if you're a cricket freak, they even have a TV for
you to catch the IPL action.

Overall, it was a wonderful albeit a little tiring day. I had a relaxed
taxi ride back from the Windsor to Whitefield, casually conversing with
the driver and was in bed before midnight. If only Bangalore could go back 10 years!