Mumbai Masala: Cunning trick of oil companies

One of the good things done by the oil companies is to allow chemist shops and snack outlets at petrol pumps. Recently I found one such outlet at Churchgate. It is situated in the lane behind the Ministry and very close to the Bank House. The fuel outlet providing excellent service has given Sankalp Restaurant a unique place. Sankalp is an Ahmedabad headquartered South Indian chain with over 60 branches across the country, one of which is in Siliguri. The menu includes Rasam Vada, Butter Idli, Golden Crisp Masala Dosa, Military Ghee Roast Dosa, Cheese Chilli Uttappa, Cholesterol Kulcha, Pav Bhaji and Brownie with Hot Chocolate Sauce. Most of the items are priced at Rs 100 and above and are value for money. However, I don't understand how cooking on a gas stove is allowed at a petrol pump.

Benefits of online shopping

Online shopping has become a craze, where almost everything is available at the tap of a few keys on your phone's touchscreen. The concept of going to a store and choosing your items is fast disappearing. Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy, Zomato et al deliver whatever you want in 10 minutes at the most. Sorry for the thousands of retailers who have spent crores buying, furnishing and stocking shops. Footfall has reduced considerably. The concept of local tradesman is coming to an end. However, it is not that everything about online portals is bad. Even though they charge heavy delivery charges, many people consider it justified as online shopping saves the hassle of driving, finding parking slots and what is more, saves valuable time. Thousands of home entrepreneurs have been able to market their products on a large scale at low overhead costs. Incidentally, Prasad can also be ordered from temples these days.

Many thanks to the polling personnel and police

I wish our politicians could accept their election defeat easily. All of them are blaming EVMs for their defeat but none of them is able to provide evidence. It must be credited to the election office headed by senior IAS officer S Chockalingam that it handled the criticism with cool maturity. The data proved that there was nothing unusual in the surge in voting at the last minute. The irony is that even the opposition candidates who won the recent assembly elections are blaming EVMs. There is hardly anyone to listen to his satire. At the end of the day all one can say is salute to the thousands of faceless personnel and police for ensuring the smooth conduct of the elections.

back part

What do Devendra Fadnavis and Pushpa 2 have in common? Well, both have proved to be superhits.

(Compiled by S Balakrishnan)