Morning School Assembly

After my 10th grade, I always tried my best to avoid the school assembly in the morning. But every time it wasn’t possible though, and sometimes I was present there physically. It was so boring. I could never understand the Morning Prayer, neither I could memorize it. Our Morning Prayer was so damn complicated, but I always managed to sustain the illusion that I was praying. Then, somebody had to read the news as well. On top of all these, I remember one time our Principal Sir introduced something new in the morning assembly. He randomly called a student on stage, particularly from the senior grades and asked to reveal publicly what he/she had prayed to God. Being a true atheist, I was always tensed that by mistake our Principal Sir shouldn’t call me on stage. Fortunately I was never a victim of that. Every day, someone or the other, more or less used to say the same thing like, 'I prayed to God that I come first in class', 'I prayed to God, I asked him to give me admission in an IIT', 'I prayed that God makes me the best doctor’ Bla Bla Bla. It was so boring. 

One morning, Sir called someone on stage. I was waiting to hear the same old craps. But then, she said, 'I prayed to God to give me strength, so that I can work hard and fulfill my dreams' I was kind of stunned and wondered, 'what the hell was that?' I repeated those words several times in my mind. Well, sometimes some words get stored in our memory forever!!

Ginger Tea

After passing out of college I was staying with a few of my hostel mates in Delhi. Most of us learned to cook during that time. Well, we didn’t have any other option, but to cook our own food. In the morning we usually used to have black tea with lemon. Within a few days things had turned a little messy as people were only interested in eating, rather than preparing food or washing the utensils. So we tried to distribute the work among us. But dividing the work was also very tricky, as everybody had their own preferences. Ultimately we decided to follow a different rule. Instead of distributing the work we divided the week among us. Let’s say, Monday-Tuesday it was my and one of my friends turn to take care of everything, from breakfast to dinner and from cleaning the utensils to taking care of the garbage. 

One morning, I was preparing tea. Not finding any lemon in the kitchen, I mashed a small piece of ginger and had put it in the boiling tea. It tasted really good and even my friends liked it. My good friend Tutul was very impressed and asked me how I prepared the tea. A couple of days later, it was Tutul's turn to prepare food that day. As usual, we woke up late and everyone craved for a cup of tea. As I sipped the hot tea, it tasted bizarre and terribly unpleasant. Another friend yelled at Tutul, 'what the hell had you mixed in the tea?' Poor guy Tutul, actually he wanted to make the tea a little more tastier and he had put ginger-garlic paste in it.

Mr Beans

Last weekend we visited Mr Beans - The Coffee Lounge for the first time. Initially I thought the place would be similar to a CCD, but found it different both in terms of ambiance, as well as food and beverages. As we reached the place we saw a few people having their coffee while enjoying their cigarette drags. I was delighted that Mr Beans got a smoking zone outside. People, who are interested in a little bit of nicotine along with the caffeine, can take a table there. The atmosphere outside was pleasant with the cool breeze, blowing. But we thought to sit inside and entered through the main door. 

As soon as we entered in, we felt the rich aroma of various coffee flavors. The ambiance inside was pretty relaxing. Light music was being played and people were talking in groups, sitting on black leather couches. There’s enough space inside and there are different sections. We saw a group of colleagues enjoying their team outing in a separate room. It seemed Mr Beans had made some special arrangements for them. We noticed a few young couples, enjoying their date, talking and frequently embracing each other’s arms. We saw a group of friends having a wonderful time together. The place is Wi-Fi enabled; a pretty lady was sitting alone, busy with her lappy grabbed my attention. The design and ambiance of the cafe are such that it would make everybody feel comfortable and rejuvenated. Mr Beans is a perfect place for a business meet, a date, a hang-out with family and friends.

Established in 2001 in Indore, Mr. Beans now operates also in Jaipur and Bangalore. Mr. Beans has won the Times Food Award for THE BEST COFFEE BAR for two years consecutively (2013- 2012, 2012-2011). In Bangalore it is located at Kormangla 3rd block, next to Karnataka Bank ATM. Well, after a satisfying ambiance, now my tongue got hyperactive. I thought it’s a coffee lounge and didn’t expect much in their food menu. But it took me by surprise when I noticed a wide variety of yummy stuff, not only in their beverages, but also in their food menu. Mr. Beans has an extensive coffee menu ranging from signature hot and cold beverages. Apart from coffee there are many tea drinks as well, and non-tea, non-coffee people need not worry as they also have milkshakes, fizz drinks, smoothies and lemonades. 

I was having a thirst for something cooling and refreshing, so immediately I asked for an ice tea. My wife was smarter enough and she asked the guy about the most special drink of Mr Beans. A little later, he brought her a Brownie Millionaire. Their menu says it’s the king of all shakes served with brownie. I wasn’t very impressed with its fancy name and I was happy with my ice tea. My wife asked me to have a sip of Brownie Millionaire. As I had the first sip, it was impossible for me to stop there and I kept sipping till I realized the glass was already half empty. It was icy-chilled and the flavor of brownie was so refreshing. That was one of the most refreshing drinks I ever had. 

In the nearby room some people were enjoying Foosball. Our little Jia was getting restless, so I took her there. She was so interested and never wanted to return from that room. 

After quenching my thirst, now I felt about my stomach. Mr Beans got a diverse range of goodies to serve, right from tit-bits to whole-some-meal, from sandwiches to pizzas, from pastas to salads and yes, also some mouth-watering desserts. To view their full menu click here. We enjoyed some thin crust Italian pizzas. Well, those were much yummier that the pizzas we order sometimes from the well-known brands. 

We had a wonderful evening at the coffee lounge and stayed there for a couple of hours. Mr Beans is a cool hang-out place and definitely worth a visit.