Holi Eve

 Holi has been a big thing for six year old Tweety. She readily agreed to come along with me to Little India, for two reasons: To get her favourite snack Kurkure and to buy colours for Holi, which we celebrated in our Condo this Saturday.
      
       Those who want to buy typical Indian stuff like garlands, prayer paraphernalia, typical Indian vegetables, spices,  food joints and festival specialities like coloured powder for Holi (Gulaal) visit Little India. And there are others, who want to buy Handicraft from the Little India Arcade.

        While hunting for colours in the line of shops along Buffalo Road, I picked up some Chaat Masala, Tamarind Rice masala and Kurkure (crispy spicy sticks). The fresh green vegetables looked alluring but since I had no trolley-bag in which to carry them, I stuck to the essentials. We met A and proceeded to Bikanerwallah for some chaat.



Bikanerwallah: A big name in India for chaats and sweets

     The name Bikanerwallah brings to my mind a contest I won in Delhi, several years ago, where Bikanerwallah asked their customers to pen a slogan for them. And whaddayaknow, a basketful of their sweets, cookies and savouries arrived!!! I was away on an assignment in Paris, but my family got to enjoy the spoils.
The slogan went thus: "Rajasthan ki shaan. Bharat ki jaan. Bikanerwalla....ah". We never thought that a few lines quickly penned and put into a drop-box could bring surprises like that.

Bangles & Bindis for that Desi look

     You get garments for cheap in Little India. We bought a pair of shorts at S$5 to play Holi in! I would not say that the bangle-shops can compare to what Karol-Baag in Delhi boasts of, but you have some variety here too.

    My appa can have a great time shopping for flowers here for his daily prayers, though he may not stop comparing the prices in his country...

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Flowers remind me of home in Mysore

      We then walk past glittering small shops selling knick-knacks, Electronics, jewels and many "3 for 10" shops and head to the ...

 

City Square Mall:
Slides and swings at the entrance make the kids happy. This Mall has been an old favourite but apart from the Hindi movies we have watched here, I have seldom shopped. But what I came to know about this Mall was really touching - its an environment-friendly Mall as the posters indicate.

 

 

 

Toysaurus beckons with its vast choice of gifts and games for kids.
      Other favourite brands like Osh-Kosh Bigosh and Iora to name a few are tempting me to shop but we go to Toysaurus since Tweety has a birthday party this weekend. We end up buying more than we need. They even gift-wrap your purchases, for free. Shopping done, we zip past the shops in our ZooMoov ride for fifteen minutes of unadulterated fun!

 

Zip Zap ZooMoov

 

It was nine and we went for dinner to Tandoor, adjoining Mustafa Serangoon Plaza. An Indian meal of Gobhi Manchurian, Peas rice, simple fried Dal and Roti, with complimentary Papad and mint Chutney. Simple ambience and not too crowded, we finished the meal with piping hot jalebis, freshly fried at their outdoor stall. Resolving not  to head to the movies as a usual practice on Friday nights, we headed home and retired early, for the Holi revelry the next day.

Tandoor has some Awards to its credit too