Chou Chou bath and mall-nutrition
Anyone who has been in Bangalore (or any south indian city) for a year or more must have heard of Chou Chou Bath. For people who don’t know what this is, (and its not a massage parlour run by Chinese twins) , its lightly spiced rice cooked with a vegetable which is called chou chou. Its also used to refer to a mish-mash situation ..like khichri in hindi. (see footnote)
For many years I have wondered about how this name chou chou came about, for it is clearly not a name of Indian origin. And recently the clouds lifted and the sun shone through. Chou it appears is the French name for this vegetable.. and its appropriately pronounced in French as “shoe” … see the picture .. so that’s Chou Chou bath decoded. !!
We always hear of the affluent Americans and Europeans going skiing or sailing or scuba diving or trekking, riding ..etc. What is generically referred to as “living life to the full” . Now I think its absolutely stupid to do that.. more like “ living the life of a fool” . Why spend time and money, risk life and limb, insect bites, cut and bruises, when in India we have found such a wonderful solution for it. We go to malls.. they are safe places generally. No insects, no fear of drowning, centrally located, and centrally air-conditioned, coffee, snacks available. and most of the time you get parking space too. You can surround yourself with things and people of beauty, breathe in the fragrance at the perfume counters.., window shop. I call this mall-nutrition
Foot-note: I stand corrected. Chou Chou bath (the Bath means rice) as served now is Upma and Kesari Bath (sooji halwa )served in the same plate.
Anyone who has been in Bangalore (or any south indian city) for a year or more must have heard of Chou Chou Bath. For people who don’t know what this is, (and its not a massage parlour run by Chinese twins) , its lightly spiced rice cooked with a vegetable which is called chou chou. Its also used to refer to a mish-mash situation ..like khichri in hindi. (see footnote)
For many years I have wondered about how this name chou chou came about, for it is clearly not a name of Indian origin. And recently the clouds lifted and the sun shone through. Chou it appears is the French name for this vegetable.. and its appropriately pronounced in French as “shoe” … see the picture .. so that’s Chou Chou bath decoded. !!
We always hear of the affluent Americans and Europeans going skiing or sailing or scuba diving or trekking, riding ..etc. What is generically referred to as “living life to the full” . Now I think its absolutely stupid to do that.. more like “ living the life of a fool” . Why spend time and money, risk life and limb, insect bites, cut and bruises, when in India we have found such a wonderful solution for it. We go to malls.. they are safe places generally. No insects, no fear of drowning, centrally located, and centrally air-conditioned, coffee, snacks available. and most of the time you get parking space too. You can surround yourself with things and people of beauty, breathe in the fragrance at the perfume counters.., window shop. I call this mall-nutrition
Foot-note: I stand corrected. Chou Chou bath (the Bath means rice) as served now is Upma and Kesari Bath (sooji halwa )served in the same plate.
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