Destined to do, and eat.

One thing I aspired to do in my free time was to read the auto-biographies of both Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi. Both men stand on either ends of the spectrum when it comes to their contribution to humanity; and I was curious about how both functioned as leaders in their time.

When looking up the introductions, there’s a startling find- both came into this world in unusual circumstances. Adolf Hitler was the fourth of six babies born to his parents. All older siblings died as toddlers, succumbing to measles or diphtheria. The one that survived becomes the Hitler we know. In Gandhi’s case, his father married 4 times, and Gandhi was the youngest of four children from the fourth wife. Despite the challenges, they both went ahead to do what both had to do.

So here’s the point- if you have a reasonably good life and upbringing, notwithstanding challenges, you should be able to do whatever you aspire to do- but be nice. We know the legacy both have left behind.

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For the weekend eat-out my wife and I decided to try out something new. We were at the Select City Walk mall in Saket and happened to walk past a place called Mamagoto. This place is positioned as 'fun Asian eating'. The restaurant is colorful and the food looked good on the menu. The attendants outside tried explain to us what we found interesting on the menu. Since we understood very little, I turned to my wife and said, ‘Whatever, let's try it out.'

Certificates from various eat-out guides decorating their entrance. Inside, the decor is set with Japanese Manga-style graphics. Attendants here wore headgear to prevent hair falling into the food. Now this is something we have been noticing in most restaurants these days. If it’s a new thing on the checklist from various health inspectors, it’s a good one. The attendants were patient with us despite the place being full up. We browsed through their colorful menu which looked like a scrapbook and photo album put together. After much deliberation, we decided to try out two things- first up was Hunan grilled fish which came with sticky rice. This I thoroughly relished and could have easily ploughed through another serving. Next came the Soggy Thai basil fried rice. Since it came in a large bowl, I had to help my wife finish it.

This place is totally recommended on various counts - great food, well-mannered staff and friendly décor; more so if you happened to be non-vegetarian, particularly fish-loving, maybe Manga-comics-adoring graphic designer. Ok, just kidding go on and try it!