Wound up

I'm too exhausted to do anything but drink lemon soda. My recipe to keep you cool in the 45-degree-Celsius heat:

1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
3 lemons, quartered and squeezed

Create a decoction of these three ingredients in a tall glass; when the syrup is well mixed, fill the glass with club soda and enjoy!

(I'm still in denial about leaving the subconty. We have the greencard/immigration interview tomorrow morning, and we're slated to leave in less than three weeks. I'm afraid; Delhi feels more like home than anywhere else ever has. What to do?)

Don't mix drink with drive

According to this Web site, the Mumbai Traffic Police have started disseminating these coasters (at left), which are printed with a type of red ink that only appears when wet.

Thus: Order a frosty beer; enjoy the mug, glistening sweat; finish draught; admire mugshots of people with what appear to be head wounds.

It's gruesome, shocking, tasteless, and a little bit fantastic. I love it when art and technology collide, particularly in such a public forum.

That said, I have absolutely no idea of the back story for this; when S and I were in Mumbai, we certainly didn't notice any of these while we were quaffing innumerable pints. There's also little buzz about drunk driving in recent media, so the catalyzing event for this macabre exhibition will remain a mystery for me.

Red, red (err...poultry colored?) wine

I've always wanted to be an oenophile, but this might be going too far: chicken wine from Darjeeling.

HT reports: "The non-veg wine that comes for Rs 250 [about $5] a bottle sure gives a kick but people of this hamlet also swear by its medicinal values -- they believe it cures cough and cold."

Well, if I wasn't a veggie, I'd say, sign me up! No more flu vaccine for me!

Do they stomp on the breast, roast it whole and puree it? The article continues, "Thapa said they take a dressed chicken, remove the legs and head, make a slit in the middle and empty out the liver, intestine and the stomach. Ghee and garam masala are stuffed into it before wrapping it in a fine cloth. It is then brewed in a special container called Fonshi, which is otherwise used to brew Rakshi, the local beverage. Half the container is filled with Janr (millet bear) and tightly closed. The contraption is then heated by placing it on a wooden fire. 'The Janr evaporates and condenses once it hits the upper part of the Fonshi. The condensed liqued collects inside another vessel called Odhan. This distilled fermented liquid soaks in the chicken and more Janr is adden. The chicken wine or Kukhra-ko-Rakshi is ready."

I still can't quite picture it, but I do think they should offer innovative packaging -- perhaps a bottle featuring a beak?

(Image from here.)

Good thing I don't plan on vacationing in Bihar!

Because, as Ramashankar warns us in "Drink at your own risk here" in today's HT, "a person caught drinking at a public place will have to pay Rs 251 as penalty and receive five punches (ghusas) in full public view."

But at least I'm not a bootlegger: a person caught selling liquor pays Rs 551 and gets 10 punches. This is all transpiring in villages falling under Bali panchayat of Fatuha block in rural Patna.

I really don't even have snark for this. Public punching as punishment? And it's 2007? And India is the Next Big Thing?