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The expression of disdain and boredom that you see on the faces of the waiters at Koshy's and KC Das are a sight to behold - for what attitude not to have in a professional food & beverage environment.

It's really amazing....how they look like they don't give two hoots about who comes into the place and who goes - what has to sell, will sell and they will make money. That's the attitude - and where it comes from is probably true. The demand for whole Koshy's and KC Das brand (respectively) is so high - they know there will always be more demand than supply.....and that's exactly what shows on the faces of the people working in these places.

If you really like what's on offer at either of these two places, you invariably walk into Koshy's or KC Das, knowing that you will walk out with a more than satisfactory experience of the ambience and food....most people who go to these places - go for only one of these two reasons. If it had to be for the service - both places would have shut shop a long time ago.

It's so easy to take customers/clients for granted when you know you have a great product that thy want to buy into - but as was pointed out to me today - clients might come to you for the promise of buying into and being supplied the great product...but if they find the quality dwindling...and someone else comes along who can supply a similar product - cheaper, faster and is more available to the client when they need him/her...your client will move on. Afterall, it's business - not charity.

I bet this is what happened to the established restaurants around town when KFC and the others first came in. They were providing a great product at a competitive price - and the service was efficient and professional.

I'm not saying that Koshy's or KC Das loyalists will ever stop going to these places - but it's only a matter of time before a new player comes along who can challenge the Koshy's or KC Das experience - and will take away the next generation of would be Koshy's fans. The BJN group has done a FANTASTIC job of providing us with such amazingly diverse culinary experiences....each of the restaurants is full 90% of the time - any day of the week - and you will get great food, reasonable service and above all - a great dining experience - everytime. And that's truly brilliant - cuz that's how it should be.

Everybody knows that going to TGIF isn't cheap - and yet people throng to the place - why? It's a great experience all around.

This 'gornament' attitude to demand and supply will end. Either that, or the people and establishments who propagate this attitude.

"ya rabba de de koi jaan bhi agar
dilbar pe ho na, dilbar pe ho na koi asar"

I remember this song from Salaam-E-Ishq...it's about the pain of being in love...the pain of being away from someone you love...the pain you'd go through if ever something were to happen to someone you were
in love with...haunting tune...

Reminds me of the moments i 'stole' from time and made completely my own...moments that'll be hers and mine...'ours' always...which is why as i write this, i have a smile on my face...on sunday i was lucky enough to witness someone else 'stealing' his moment - to share with 'her'...a 'moment' that would be theirs no matter what tomorrow held for them...i hope they have many more 'moments' to make their own...

What i loved about this particular performer was the fact that although he might've been singing the song to one lady in particular - he didn't forget that there was an auditorium full of people watching him - he was still performing - he was giving enough of himself to that song for everyone to take something away..

In all truth, there was maybe just one more singer who gave as much of himself to the song and the performance. Most of the singers didn't 'connect' enough. They were either rooted to one spot and 'belting' out the song - or jumping / walking from one end of the stage to the other - facing and looking at either the auditorium walls, the band or just family members and friends. Lets be realistic here - it's fair to say that although you have your friends and family there, they probably make up a maximum of 30% of the audience? So in effect, you're ignoring 70% of the audience - which for me, when i've paid 200 bucks for my seat - is just not good enough.

Don't get me wrong, overall i felt it was a marked improvement from the last concert 3 - 4 months ago. One thing that definately stood out this time was the camaraderie within the group - they seemed to be enjoying and basking in each other's shared glory - which was fantastic to see. Most times, because the 'artistically inclined' are invariably the slightly jealous and insecure sort, very often you'll hear about how 'this one is
bitching about that one' and 'lets see how far he/she goes' or 'he/she has so much attitude' blah blah blah. Being a designer i can vouch for having heard some've this about myself as well as it being said about others
- i'm sure i've said some too - which is why i hope this bunch do the basics right and not grow individual or a collective set of 'horns' - till they truly 'make it'.

Bono once said, "We (U2) don't have individual ego's, that just tears bands apart. We have one collective ego - and it's HUGE."

Overall, i enjoyed the evening - and i've said what i have simply because it's so blatantly obvious that these individuals are capable of so much more...truly.

To the performers - my 'salaam'. I wish each and every one of you guys the best and eagerly await your next show - believe me, the next time it'll be sold out - so make sure you put in that little extra to deliver the
'knock out' blow in the next round! :)

Cheers

pics at http://karnmalhotra.blogspot.com

It's 10:35pm...just got back to the office; had to pick up a mattress from home for the futon at the office. We've just moved into a new "space". It's so nice when you have a little space to play with...to have the option to do something with. Our previous 'space' was the antithesis of the word - translated more into 'matchbox' :) No regrets; you move on.

While driving through Koramangala, i encountered a big mosquito. Apparently Bangalore has 70,000 of these. For the biologists - believe me 70,000 of these mosquitos is waaayyyy too much...every time one of them passes by - i want to go

**SWAT**

...and hear a resounding

**SPLATTTTT**

and

**SQUISHHHH**

and

**PPPTTTHHHLLUNNSSSSHHH** (what fun it is to make up sounds :)

...to my utter dismay this is not possible. I would need a 2 ton Iron 'fly swatter' to ssqqqqqqqqqquiiiiiiisssssssshhhhhhhh one of these mosquitos. They're also called 'Auto's. And the poor souls who have to suffer the most are the auto drivers - until ofcourse roles are reversed and they prefer to rid their frustration on an often unsuspecting public.

There was an auto driver in front of me with a clear road ahead; so i honked asking his gracious permission to let me pass - he ignored me. Once. Twice. Thrice. By this time there's traffic building up behind me - and when he finally lets me pass, i'm a little ticked off. So i role down my window and say, "Arrey, side mein chalane ko nahi hota kya??" and carry on...i heard a distant "Oyye!!" as i drove past.

A red light up ahead, so i - very gingerly - brought the car to a halt. I was half expecting it - and right enough, our man walks up to the car and says, "Kya bol ke jata hai re? Humko piche dekhke gadi chalaneka hai kya?"

I'm like - "What the fuck..."

Me - "Tumhara rear view mirror nahi hai kya? Voh kya decoration ke liye dala hai kya?"

He'd been drinking.

Him - "Aye - humko piche dekhke chalaneka hai kya? Haat dikharaha hai aage janeko to aage jane ko nahi hota kya?"

It turns green and i can hear honking... this guy is really pissing me off. I step out of the car (or i think i already had by this time) and get in his face and say, "Aye, sala ma#$^&%ooth, apne auto mein baithke chalte bano, smjha kya? Daroo pikar chalata hai..sala, traffic cop ke paas chalega kya...baat karta hai"

"Oye...muchkund hogapa...aye..baaro, nodo..hero bandidare..."

The dialogue is simultaneous- better sense prevails...we heed the honking and drive on.

It doesn't stop there.

As i'm getting towards the end of viveknagar - the 'Auto Rajah' arrives!! I can hear the 70's kannada film chase sequence music in the background....he swerves from side to side...screeeeechhh.....screeeeecching while he's at it... tries to get me aggravated (not the wisest thing to stop in the middle of a local village area arguing with a drunk autodriver)...i'm quite amused by this - psychologically he has just given me the upper hand...i smile to him and myself and keep driving at the same pace.

We exit viveknagar, get onto the road approaching ashoknagar/victoria layout...it's a main road, so he has a little more room to zoom past the car and swerve a few times in front of us - still looking for a fight - i keep my distance. He swerves a few times more and stops to the left of the road in the hope that we'll do the same - and engage in a deep intellectual conversation about the sociological impact of falling onion prices..."Maybe some other time" - we had to turn right anyway, so we did.

Looking in my rearview mirror i could see him gesticulating wildly while throwing something in our direction; fortunately it didn't hit the car. We carried on till he was no bigger than a mosquito in the rear view mirror...much like the giant mosquito he drives around town.

I don't know what might have happened had we stopped and indulged him; guess we'll never know. My Ninjitsu teacher believes - "As far as possible, avoid getting into a fight. But once you're in a fight - make sure you win."

In hindsight, i think the stepping out of the car was avoidable..maybe i should've smiled at him as soon as he came up to the car - i doubt he would've known what to do. In any sort of fight or disagreement, the element of 'surprise' is always your 'ace of spades'. What i did was predictable.

Anyway, i have to get to keeping a few promises i've made. At the end of it all - your word is the only thing that's yours. I've given mine away too often...without backing it up....that needs to change.