Alag Alag Amreeka - Restaurants

It's been a week and here we are again...

So we started our journey (Alag Alag Amreeka) and we observed differences in traffic and roads. Lets head towards some restaurants. Though there are points about restaurants in general but I'll mostly talk about Indian restaurants here in North Western part of USA. What differences can we find in Indian restaurants in India and in US you ask... You might be thinking one can't get good Indian food in US because, of course, US is US, not India. How can you get comparable Indian food there? Well, you are in for a surprise. But there are other kind of differences that I am about to mention here. As before, I'll count 10 of them

1. Spice Level

In USA spice level of food is measured from 1 to 5 (also called Scoville scale). 1 being least spicy and 5 being the most. If you like spicy food like me, 4 is the level for you. Order 5. Open English dictionary and look for the definition of spice and vegetables. Order 1 and go for meditation. Start  to appreciate simple things in life!

 In India, the scale ranges from + infinity to - infinity. + infinity being the authentic Andhra food where the spices and vegetables exchange their roles in a recipe. - infinity being the Gujrati food!

"Food" for thought - I've never tired it, but now when I think of it, I'll definitely do it in future. Go to a Gujrati restaurant and order Chili Chicken or Chili Paneer. If you get a chance to do so, please do and share your experience.

2. Mango Lassi

In US, I think they write mango lassi in the menu before writing word "Indian" anywhere in their restaurant. You get it in any season.

In India, I don't remember if I have ever ordered or ever saw mango lassi in any menu. Maybe I have, but I really don't remember!

3. Paan
I had to go to a doctor here once. While mentioning the restrictions in diet:

Doctor: "Reduce that thing from your diet, what do you call it.... ??"

Me : (Waiting)

Doctor: "What do you call it? Yeah.. Paan!!"

Me: (confused) "Paan??!! Ok"

Wasn't a problem at all as it must have been a long long time since I last had paan.

Doctor: "Yeah, your bread"

Me: "What?!"

Nurse: "Oh, he means Naan." :)

Went back. That evening I specially ordered paan (not naan).

One thing that you crave for in Indian food is the one thing that you don't find in Indian restaurants here. Chapati. You find only Naan. All sorts of naans. But no sort of Chapati.

In India, you go to a restaurant, you order Naan but only when you want some change.

4. Healthy and Hygienic

In USA, beside price, you can find calorific value of the dishes mentioned in the menu of some restaurants. Fiber x gms, Fat 0.y gms, Proteins z0 gms. There are measures.

In India, there are two measures. "Ghar ka khana" and "Bahar ka khana". Former being the healthiest, no matter what it is. Latter being unhealthy and unhygienic by default.

5. Quantity

In India, you order Chili Paneer. You ask, "How many pieces will be there? Will it be sufficient for X number of people?". Waiter answers, "There will be Y pieces. It will / will not be sufficient."
In US, you order Chili Paneer. You ask, "How many pieces will be there? Will it be sufficient for X number of people?". Waiter answers, "It will be 12 ounces. (You are engineers, right? Do the math yourself!)"

6. Did you really order that??
Question - Which country is known as rice bowl of the world? In other words, which country is the largest producer of rice?
Answer - China? I thought so! But looking at the Indian restaurants in US, one might think otherwise.
In India, you get rice when you order rice.
In US, you get rice even if you don't order rice. Looks like you'll get rice even with soup! The rice thus served is complementary. So, if you order Paan... oops, sorry Naan, and forgot to say no to rice, it will be served and most of the time it'll go waste. Sure you can take it home but does it help?

7. Rice and forks
In India, you have spoons on the table.
In US, you face the irony. You almost always get rice, but almost never find a spoon on the table. You never get noodles but you always find forks on the table.
But when you are hungry, really hungry, it doesn't really matter. As a consequence, I don't know when I started eating rice with fork.

8. Kaccha papad - Pukka papad
What do you call a papad in India? - Papad!
What do you call a papad in US? - Papadum! (mostly)

9. Tips (Cause)
In India, you pay tip in a restaurant, one of the following things happen. The person accompanying you will think, "Show - off" OR will say, "Paglaa gaya hai!! (Gone mad??)" OR the waiter will come back to you and return the money OR the waiter will bend by 120 degrees next time you go to the restaurant.
In US, you pay tip in a restaurant, because you should.

Basically, in US the people working in the restaurants get only minimum wage from the owner / employer. So, the major and practically the only source of income for them are the tips. So, if you get good service in a restaurant in US, you should tip well.

10. "U" Wave - Particle Duality (Effect)
Enter a US restaurant. Not anyone will come to serve you. There will be a specific person assigned. Why? Because of point 9. In the end, when you pay the tip, it goes to the person who served you. If anyone starts serving, it will be difficult to decide who will get the tip. So, for that particular person, you act like a particle. "U" particle. The person / waiter can see you, recognize you as a physical entity, fully respect your existence, behavior and properties.
For others however, you behave like a wave. "U" wave. The waiters are specialized in detecting and function with particles but not waves! At most they can detect some disturbance because of "U" wave in their interactions with their particles. So, they can call the person specialized with "U" particles. If your waiter is stuck for some reason, you are stuck.

In India, just a little "excuse me" works with everyone!

Alag Alag Amreeka - Traffic

Long pending post!! I recently moved to US. Ok, not exactly recently. Its been around 6 months now. During this time I couldn't help but notice many differences. I am sure any person moving to this part of US would experience the same differences. Still, I thought I will write them down anyway. By differences, I mean just differences. India is better in some cases. US in some others.

I haven't been to many places in US. So, my observations are based on what I saw in the state of Washington. (Yes, Washington is a state. Washington D.C. is the capital. And yes, New York is not the capital of USA).

Because the differences are so many at so many levels in so many areas that I will post them one by one. This is the first post in the series "Alag Alag Amreeka". Today's post is about traffic and roads.

If the only difference you know is that India has left hand traffic while USA has right hand traffic, then let me add 10 to your list. More later... So, without further ado, here they are:

1. In India, traffic lights are simple. Green, Yellow, Red. Standing for Go, Go faster (damn... it's going to be red soon!), and stop respectively. In USA, there is solid red, blinking red and red arrow. Then there is Yellow - solid yellow, blinking yellow arrow and and a freaking non-blinking yellow arrow. Wait... also solid green and green arrow. Solid red has different rules for left turn and right turns. So is the case with solid green!

2. In India you make a move, you honk. Taking a turn - honk. Overtaking - honk. Passing by a lane - honk. Traffic light (color doesn't matter) - honk. Sneezing - honk. In USA, you honk means the other person has done something horrendous. Honk means abusing.

I remember one of my friends was trying out my bike - Bajaj Pulsar 220, for the first time. It was heavy and powerful. He got so nervous that he started honking looking at a pothole on his way!

3. In India, on a normal road you can find: Cycle, Rickshaw, Cars, Tractor, Truck, Bus, Jugaads, Scooters, Bikes, Thelas, Bullock Carts, Cows, Dogs, Donkeys etc. Unity in diversity. Scariest of them all - trucks. In USA, you find cars, buses, cycles, trucks and occasionally bikes. Scariest of them all - cycles.

4. In India you can drive at any speed but still you can't. Cars are not that powerful. In USA cars are mighty powerful, but you can't drive at any speed. Every damn road has speed limit.

5. In India, everyone thinks they own the road. In USA only some people think so because they actually, literally, own some roads!!

6. India has zebra crossing. USA has zebra crossing, horse crossing, ducks crossing, deer crossing, alien crossing...

7. USA has left only lanes and right only lanes. India has only lanes. Left or right is democracy.

8. In India, roads maintain lanes. If its a two or four or six lane road, it will remain two or four or six lanes. USA has, Lakhan roads (1, 2, ka 4. 4, 2 ka 1). Almost anywhere, inconsistently, number, usage, speed limits, almost anything can change.

9. In India, you always pay attention to road. You have to. In USA you always pay attention to both ends of the road as there are more road signs than people on the road.

10. On Indian highways, different people and vehicles can start their journey together, move together, can catch up and sync their positions, and reach the destination together. On American freeways, if you are separated, forget it. See you at the destination. God forbids if your vehicle breaks down or something bad happens, only 911 or roadside assistance or God can help you. But the people whom you got separated with, they just cannot come back and help you.