3 September 2016

From the bartender’s corner – Vieux Carre

One of those classical cocktails, Vieux Carre gets its name from its place of origin – the French Quarters in New Orleans (which is also called Vieux Carre). It was invented by Walter Bergeron in the 1930s. The bar he worked in when he invented this was called (and still is) Carousel bar. If any one is visiting New Orleans, this bar is inside Hotel Monteleone on Royal St (between Bienville St and Iberville St).

On the lighter side, any Bengali having a vague idea about French pronunciation is probably going to stay away from this drink – “kenona ei drink-e oder bhoy korey” 🙂

This cocktail has Rye Whiskey, Cognac, Benedictine and bitters.

image

3 September 2016

Friday decompression

The couplet was written by Agha Bismil but was used by Nusrat in his qawwali “Ankh Uthi Mohabbat Ne Angrai Lee” written by Purnam Allahabadi

“Mehfil mein baar baar unhi par nazar gayee
Humne bachayee lakh magar phir udhar gayee
Unki nigahon mein koi jadoo zaroor tha
Jis par pari usi ke jigar tak utar gayee”

In the gathering, my eyes kept drifting towards her
I controlled myself a thousand times; still they went back to her
There was some eternal magic in her gaze
Whoever it fell upon, he lost his heart and everything else

image