Kachori Croissant

In our 11th standard chemistry book we encountered a revelation. When the teacher told us that, "Plaster of Paris was the other name for Calcium Sulphate Hemihydrate," some of us looked at each other and telepathically nodded in reverse-agreement: "Calcium Sulphate Hem-whatever is the other name for Plaster of Paris."  So the omnipresent 'P-O-P' was something with a 'professional' chemical name! I always thought that in India, Plaster of Paris was affectionately called 'P-O-P' rather than being a simple abbreviation 'P.O.P'. It took me over twelve years of schooling to realize that P-O-P meant serious business. And serious business it is apparently. After staring at the corners of the ceilings of thousands of Indian homes and analyzing the beauty of the cornices made of P-O-P while the fan rotated at the centre of this affordable middle class architectural marvel, I found myself in Paris. To gauge the versatility of this chemical, you...

In the words of Joe Dassin: 'Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Élysées.' Basically, 'there's everything you want at the Champs-Élysées.' I can't reckon any specific song addressed to 'Rajpath' saying it has everything you want (unless the list includes power, history, pride or ice creams, helium balloons and glittering toys). The former boasts of high end stores that mock your purses at times, while the latter gives you an occasion to assume that while you take a bite of your orange candy, the head of the state is perhaps also relishing his dessert just at the other end of the same road. The Champs-Élysées and the Rajpath are two pathways that are held dear by the capital cities of France and India and their people for being extravagant promenades of history, architecture, culture and democracy. But more importantly, these are New Delhi's and Paris' most 'happening' spaces. These are public spaces that resemble each other like no ...