allVishal.com - Photographs - Comments

Book Collections

Vishal — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:41:48 -0700

So, what happened to all those books? Sold? Given Away? Stored in a bunker for after that spiffy apocalypse thing?

I think anyone with a love of the medium of books will end up with an eclectic collection. I have yet to come across a bibliomaniac with only paperback techno-thrillers, for instance, and even totally casual readers will have some kind of strange tome either inherited, received as a gift or even purchased on a strange whim.

One day I'd like to expand this little project to other people, sort of like this Time photo essay.

I know this week's book post is a little late. Sorry about that. It should be up by Monday.

Flashbacks

dan l-k — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:23:35 -0700

That pile of books looks like something I might have dug out of the attic at home ten or twenty years ago (DIY back-to-the-land construction book and all). But I suppose large stacks of yellowing paperbacks are likely to have certain universal qualities.

Aishwarya, I dunno what's up with my comments, save that HaloScan seems more reliable than my previous, now long-vanished, commenting system. (I was going through third-party commenting services before Blogger had a comment option and never adopted the house system.) If you're having trouble, feel free to send me an email and I can either look into the problem or post your comment myself.

Delhi Books

Vishal — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:49:21 -0700

Yes, but you can alway use the excuse that you have no books where you currently are to get more books. Look, this post only had seven -- surely have five to seven books you can photograph and talk about.

No, I would never dare to delve into the big bad world of Delhi books without an intrepid guide.

...Er, also on an unrelated note I just remembered someone (my mother?) telling me about cheap pre-internet porn booklets which were called 'Delhi Books'. True? False? And in Delhi, are they just called 'books'?

Re: Dan's Blog
I have had no problems commenting. Sometimes Haloscan does act up and doesn't even bring up the comment link at the end of posts (and its comment count on the blog page is always unreliable), but that usually sorts itself in a few hours.

Whine

Aishwarya — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:15:21 -0700

I want to take pictures of my books (and shelves) now, but they're mostly in another city. :(

You will not, I hope, DARE to bookshop in Delhi without me.

Also, am I the only person having trouble commenting on Dan's blog?

Thanks. It was a lot of fun

Vishal — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:30:30 -0700

Thanks. It was a lot of fun to put together. I have heard of the one in Delhi and I think I'll have to keep a day aside (not to mention an extra suitcase) just for that whenever I eventually end up there.

..awesome post....we have

rahul — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:14:36 -0700

..awesome post....we have this kind of market in delhi too near red fort..every sunday...I guess I will check it out :P

Narrowboats in India

Vishal — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:15:25 -0800

Thank you, gordman; I hope you do visit India soon!

Not quite narrowboats, but I do know that in Kerala in the south of India you can hire a (crewed) houseboat for a trip through the backwaters and lagoons. My cousin did it on her honeymoon and enjoyed it quite a bit.

More info here.

You have wonderful pictures

gordman — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:21:37 -0800

You have wonderful pictures here, India is a gorgeous country, I read a lot about it and I would love to pay it a visit. I am curious if I can find a place for narrow boat hire there.

Your imperialist-fu is most

Vishal — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:03:10 -0700

Your imperialist-fu is most welcome compared to the hundreds of trackbacks I get per day trying to appropriate my blog as ad-space for viagra, xanax and phentermine.

Other than the first, I have no idea what the other ones even are! Don't they realise I'm Indian? We still call aspirin 'aspro'!

Sadly it seems your comments continue to be caught by the bot, and I can't find a place to change that. So if you comment and it doesn't show up please be patient until I find it on my daily run though the backend and publish it.

IM IN UR SPAM FILTER, F*XX0RIN UR COMMENT THREAD

dan l-k — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:51:49 -0700

Obviously, it's trying to prevent my rampant cultural appropriation. Ha! My imperialist-fu is mighty!

You're right, that would be

Vishal — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 05:39:12 -0700

You're right, that would be the way to make a masala omelet (but don't add in any water, of course). Generally speaking, Indian omelets are prepared without the tomatoes. If you ask for a regular omelet in most places you get a salty (by Western standards), fully cooked -- some would say overcooked -- disc with with fresh green chillies and finely chopped onion in it. The onions are mild, and are therefore put in raw into the egg mix itself before pouring. It adds a nice sweet and crunchy dimension to it.

I too am more of an omelet man, having tried every variation I can think of (and then some). The burji is something I've never fully experimented with. I'm sure you could add a whole bunch of things to it from bell peppers to bacon and come out with something edible.

(and on a side note, sorry your comment took so long to show up. It seems that whatever CMS I use, the spam filter just wuvs you.)

Omne vivum ex ovo.

dan l-k — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 09:08:37 -0700

I imagine a pre-beaten egg mixture added to the bhaji in a big skillet or wok would make a fine omelet. (I am an omelet guy. Scrambled eggs, not so much, although the dry consistency of this might make me a convert.)

I know I've seen turmeric in the spice aisle of almost every grocery store I've been in; it shouldn't be hard to acquire in one o' them Effnic neighborhoods in NYC.

Bhurji Pav Today!

Nandita — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:49:30 -0700

You have now made me sufficiently drool. now, i have to go have bhurji pav this afternoon in the mess. They make it really well, and its totally filling. Good ol' bhurji-pav

Fairly easy to find these

Vishal — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:54:58 -0700

Fairly easy to find these days in a supermarket, but I'm not sure about the US; grocery availability is not a sure thing (since finding Basil over here is a pain).

If you want to be really hardcore you can try and track down a small Indian store that grinds its own spices. This is how it's been done in India -- branded packets produced by a large company are still fairly new -- and they do everything from spices to flours of all kinds.

The resulting quality tends to be much, much better; the pot of turmeric I got from my grandmother in India (she bought the dry, whole turmeric root herself and got it ground at the mill down the road) is miles better than the store-bought one I have. The latter is yellower, but the former's flavour is more delicately developed.

Store bought is still fine, though. It's just like the difference between regular brushes and sable brushes: at the end of the day it's all down to how you use them.

Must. Find. Turmeric.

Spyder — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 08:33:25 -0700

Must. Find. Turmeric.