THE STRANGER BESIDE ME - BOOK REVIEW

Killers fascinate me. Not the kind who kill impulsively in a fit of rage or in an inebriated state or for revenge. I am talking about the kinds who kill just because.

Killers who look so ordinary and non descript – the kind you might be sitting next to on a bus or train, the kind who could be your next door neighbor or a colleague, who look harmless and conduct themselves as warm, decent,friendly individuals. They could have everything going for them. Yet they make killing a hobby because for them, killing is fun.

Theodore Robert Bundy or Ted Bundy is one of them.

Ted Bundy – described as the perfect son, the perfect student, the boy scout grown into adulthood, a genius, as handsome as a movie idol, a sensitive psychiatric social worker, a budding lawyer, a trusted friend, a young man for whom the future could surely only hold success.

Ted Bundy – Serial killer rapist who killed at least 30 women brutally and believed to have killed close to 100 or more - only he knew the real number, a master manipulator, sadistic monster, pathological liar, sometimes killing and gravely injuring up to five women in a matter of minutes, luring a woman by playing the role of an injured man needing help.. killing her and then returning to the same spot and luring yet another to do the same and succeeding!! Easily described as one of the most terrifying humans to walk on this earth.


Written by the queen of true crime stories, author Ann Rule’s book “The stranger beside me” traces the life of Ted Bundy right from his birth, family background, career as a student, as a co worker working right beside Ann Rule, saving lives of those in danger in a crisis hotline center to all the killings he has committed and leading right up to his trial and his death on the electric chair (Thank you god!).

The Judge's final words to Ted Bundy after sentencing....

"It is ordered that you be put to death by a current of electricity that current be passed through your body until you are dead. Take care of yourself, young man. I say that to you sincerely; take care of yourself, please. It is an utter tragedy for this court to see such a total waste of humanity as I've experienced in this courtroom. You're a bright young man. You'd have made a good lawyer, and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner.


So who is the real Ted Bundy who evoked such words from the judge himself? What made him go on a killing spree when he had it all? What were author Ann rule’s feelings and experience working with Ted Bundy in late night shifts at the crisis center and all her interactions with him after that? How could he save lives, his voice warm and reassuring at the crisis center and yet commit such horrific crimes himself?

The book starts with some information on how it all started for Ann Rule to be writing about Ted Bundy. Moving on to frequently asked questions about Ted Bundy, to Ann’s own experience at the Seattle crisis hot line center with Ted as her close friend and confidant, and then starts the life (and death) story of Theodore Robert Bundy with updates twenty years later.

WHAAATTT?? OH MY GOD!! NOOOOO!!CREEP ALERT! REALLY??!! SHOCKING! I AM CHILLED TO THE BONE! SHIVERRRRRR!! ARE MY DOORS DOUBLE LOCKED? AND FINALLY, I CANT GO TO SLEEP!! are some of the very few feelings I experienced in turns as stayed up reading late until the wee hours of the morning unable to put down the book. If I had to put it all in one word for me, the book (updated 20th Anniversary Version) is flawless. No detail has been left out.

It is like a beautiful embroidery work. The various sequence of events are threaded without a stitch out of place and the final picture is worthy of admiration with thumbs up for the extensive research, minute detailing and straight from the heart perspectives. What’s more, unlike other of Ann Rule books which are more about the killer, this one is all the more fascinating being autobiographical in content because she was Ted Bundy’s close friend and yet had absolutely no clue about the savage killer behind the oh – so- charming mask and boy! when she finally found out…… read the book to find out more;) Sleepless night guaranteed.

Warning: Not for the faint hearted.

Rating: 5/5.

Why?: I’ve read almost all her books and loved them. Unlike her other books however, I dint just read it and leave it at that. “The Stranger beside me” not only had me hooked, but post reading the book, I wanted to know more. I went on the internet, read up a lot about Ted Bundy, about Ann Rule, watched his videos, parts of the trial, his last interview before his execution and was inspired enough to write in my blog about it. That, to me, is a benchmark of a good book:)

Ratings: Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

COMFORT FOOD – CHAAT @13TH MAIN INDIRANAGAR.

Most of us have one special dish or drink that we turn to for comfort, food that makes our mouth water, food that we can have any time when offered to us, comfort food that offers just that…comfort. For some it is a mug of hot chocolate or piping hot noodles. It could be chocolates, or a special curry that only mom makes. For me it is usually chaat. And chaat, especially from a street vendor in Indiranagar 13th Main.

Being a foodie and a chaat-o-holic, I’ve had my fair share of chaat from various places. From fancy restaurants that charge exorbitant prices to the roadside vendors who are a dime a dozen on the streets of Bengaluru. I am yet to find any chaat place that offers better chaat than the one I visit at 13th main Indiranagar and the chaat is sold in a cart. Yep. No address. Just landmarks (next to Ginger Tiger and Lakeview milk bar).

The chaat offered here are the usual fare, masala puri, pani puri, bhel, sev puri, dahi puri, papdi chaat, samosa chaat and my all time favorites – Aloo puri and tomato chaat. All are reasonably priced and served in a way that the presentation is as good as the taste. There are disposable plates and spoons for those who prefer them. There are days I have waited rather impatiently for 4 p.m. the time when the chaat cart is open, dreaming of puri’s stuffed with boiled potatoes, spicy gravy (unlike anywhere else I have tasted ) , decorated with chopped onions, coriander and mixture or a bed of thin tomato slices with chutneys and gravy drowning in puffed rice.

This place has been around for ages. I have eaten here with my brother during his extremely rare visits to India (our only bonding factor is the chaat we eat here whenever he is in the city), with many friends, with a theatre group I was once a part of…..like I said for ages!

I have eaten chaat here when I have craved for it (which is often), when I need to sort things out in my mind, when I feel down, when I feel happy, and against doctor’s orders, even when I had typhoid and could barely walk up to the cart!!

Yet years later I have not got tired of it.

Most people in Bengaluru would have tried chaat sometime or the other and swear by their favorite place (there is no dearth of chaat joints here in the city). As for me, I know exactly where to head to when I need my dose of comfort food because what I get here is not just chaat but a plateful of happiness.

MUSIC CLASSES AT RHYTHMS INSTITUTE – A COURSE REVIEW

I was always drawn towards percussion instruments. There is something about drums or drum like beats that just gets to me in a way I can’t put it in words.

Music, for me, up until now was only for listening pleasure, other than using it as a background to conduct activities for teaching/training.

Learning a musical instrument was on my bucket list… but I have always had a packed schedule and though I have done dozens of courses and workshops ranging from useful to downright crazy in my life , I never got around actually signing up for music classes until this year (2015).

I zeroed in on an institute close to my place….Rhythms Institute of Fine arts.
Naturally, my choice of instruments was the drums ….not the Djembe which I play at the monthly drum jam but the drum set.

Then, as an afterthought and because I have time on hand while waiting for some personal issues to settle, I also signed up for keyboard classes.

I almost dint.

What I was looking for from the course and what Rhythms offered:

It has to be somewhere close by (5 minutes from my place)

Flexible timings / not eat into my personal time (weekdays.. weekends the timings and the number of hours worked for me)

Safe and Comfortable atmosphere (Really at ease here)

Reasonably priced (Verrry reasonable)

A “good” teacher. (It is one thing to be skilled at something. Totally different thing to impart it well to someone who wants to learn).

That sums it up for the course and the institute.

The intention behind learning music was not to become a professional musician or to perform on stage.

All I wanted was something to calm me down, to bridge the gap between listening and playing, to make music a part of my daily routine beyond crooning in the bathroom, and to just simply enjoy the process of playing a musical instrument.

I found it all.

And surprise! Surprise! It wasn’t with drums. It was with the keyboard. Not to say drums aren’t fun. I do enjoy playing ‘em too. But it was keyboard that offered me all of the above when I wasn’t even expecting it.

The thrill of getting the notes right and to be able to play a song flawlessly is joyous.

I am glad to have a “good” teacher who makes sure I learn and learn it well. Playing the keyboard relaxes me. I am calmer and sleep better ever since I started the course. I take pride in playing some of my favorite songs week after week, me who only listened to music, who never thought could actually play any musical instrument… the gap is closing.

I thoroughly enjoy the process of playing the keyboard and eagerly wait for classes every week.

As for music being a part of my daily routine, today, not a single day goes by where I don’t play the keyboard. It is now my most treasured item in my room.

I feel truly blessed to be learning it and to experience peace on the keys whenever I like;)

To think all my needs are met from an instrument that I almost dint sign up for.

Better Homes and Gardens - A Magazine Review

Right from my teens, I have read a variety of magazines, ranging from magazines specially designed for heavy metal fans (no longer in publication) to the women centric ones. I usually enjoy doing book reviews but for a change felt the need to write a magazine review.

At first I thought I’d choose one I am very familiar with and which I read regularly like cosmopolitan for example. Then on second thoughts decided to review a magazine I was reading for the very first time. Less bias, more challenging.

Magazine of choice: Better Homes and Gardens and what’s more, it was their 100th issue this month (July 2015).

To be honest I don’t really care for home improvement mags. The one or two that I have read previously have been the kind that made me feel unless I am a celebrity with a huge mansion and hired a top interior designer it is quite unlikely that I can connect to anything written there and it’s not for ordinary folks like me with very ordinary homes- too glossy, too posh, too generally too!

Better Homes and Gardens was quite a pleasant surprise featuring the regulars’ editor’s note, letters to the editors (called in your words) amongst other articles.

Extras on this issue were 100 life tips to sort out your world for everything from the bedroom to the bathroom to different areas of your life. ….from cutting old PVC pipes in varying lengths to hold kitchen cutlery to improving relationships to style to gardens. Top marks for this feature. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the ideas that were simple and doable accompanied by some great pics.

I’d give this specific feature a 5/5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest on the rating scale.

The rest of the magazine had other features broadly listed below and my ratings and comments for the same which includes:

1. Celebrity interview – Suchitra Pillai – 4

2. Better Living - more products and tips and articles– 5

3. Better Fitness – On exercise and people who fall into various exercise categories– very interesting – 5

4. Better self care – on allergies – 4

5. Better health – the latest buzz on health news – 4

6. Garden plantings, structures and know hows – 4

7. Food and recipes – 2.

And ends with new products in the market.

Almost all the contents got top marks or nearly there except for the recipes. The recipes featured in this issue were for a potluck special. Unique though they seem, I do wish it used more “easy at hand” kitchen ingredients. For example: The barley and fruit salad.. not all have blueberries handy and I don’t even know what a fennel bulb is let alone slicing and coring it.

To be fair, I dint want to just judge the recipes based on this one issue so I did refer to some of the other issues. Being a complete foodie, I prefer recipes that are more “earthy.”

There didn’t seem to be anything appealing enough for me to eagerly try it out which is usually the case when I read recipes from some of the other magazines.

That said, the overall ratings for the magazine:

Readability – 5 it did keep me interested.

Contents – 5 – a good mix of various topics and well written too.

Color/layout/photos – 5 (wowsa!)

The true worth of a magazine read for the first time lies in one question

Would I buy this magazine again?

And for Better Homes and Gardens, it’s a YESSS!! I am definitely adding this to my monthly list of magazines.

Overall – 5/5.

THE ALL NEW WESTSIDE STORE – A SHOPPING EXPERIENCE REVIEW

If you look into my rather large clothes cupboard, you’ll find that most of my clothes are from Westside. I specially buy my tees and tops only from Westside.

Westside has stores located all across Bangalore and I have been to most of them. There is one in Commercial Street too which I visit often. So when I heard of ANOTHER Westside store newly opened off Commercial Street, I was thrilled to bits. When it comes to women and shopping, one is never enough:)

The store: The first thing that hit me was it is vast. Vast space, Vast collection of clothes, so much more to choose from for both Indian and western wear and lingerie. It’s pristine and their clothes collection is well displayed.

The plus side to Westside:

1. Larger store, so more space to move around. The other store in the same area is less spacious.

2. Wider range of clothes to select from, especially western wear.

3. Clothes are well displayed.

4. Prices are reasonable as it has always been.

The minus side to Westside:

1. While I intensely dislike staff breathing down my neck and asking me multiple times if I need help while shopping, the other extreme isn’t an option either. There is no one around for asking about sizes or color or anything for that matter. This store really needs to up its customer service.

2. The mirrors: Every decent clothing store has full length mirrors set close to the clothes racks. Here there are none. So if you choose a T-shirt or any item of clothing and want to hold it up against you to see how it looks on you (not even try it on), one has to walk the entire length of the store to the trial room situated in at the other end to check it out in the mirrors there. Try doing it a couple of times and ask any woman how frustrating it can be.

On the other hand, you’ll probably burn a few calories:)

3. The fitting rooms: Well lit and clean. Here’s how it used to work before. One chooses any number of clothes to try it out in the fitting room. You are however allowed to take in only three at a time with you inside. Once you try it out, usually the doors are built in a way that you and the staff can pass clothes over the door back and forth till you find one that you like. Sometimes it is just to find the right size.
This store has really high doors – another point of frustration. Just how many times do you keep dressing up to come out and take a new batch in? The times I have been there (twice), there was no staff around the fitting room to even help out with anything which meant… yeah walking across the entire length of the store just for a different size.

Go there ONLY if, like me, you love shopping are willing to overlook the minuses mentioned above.

It is early days yet and fingers crossed, the management cares to improve the store’s shopping experience for their customers.

Overall rating for my shopping experience: 2.5

Ratings: Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

COMMUNITY DRUM JAM BANGALORE - EVENT REVIEW

One Sunday in a month, I don’t cook. I don’t clean. I don’t go out or schedule any tasks that require a lot of my time and energy. I save my energy for a special event that takes place at the Rangoli Metro Arts Center, near the MG road metro station, Bangalore. Yes, the community drum Jam headed by Roberto Narian and Vasundhara das and the drum jam team.


How it works as a process: A date for a Sunday is fixed. It is usually known through their Facebook page. Those who attend the drum jam regularly, the date for the next month will be put up at the metro station. Timings are usually between 4 pm to 6 p.m. The event is free for all.


There is a free Djembe workshop an hour before the event from 3 pm to 4 pm for those who’d like to learn some basics of drumming. The area is strewn with chairs, Djembe’s and tambourines. Anyone can pick up a drum and start drumming. A group of professional drummers maintain the basic grooves and the rest of the crowd (and there are hundreds joining in), keep the rhythm going.


How it works in spirit: One can be 4 years old or 40 years, one can be an auto driver or a CEO, one can be an Indian or a foreigner, a girl or guy, a regular to the jam or a passer by, a professional musician or someone who knows nothing about music, educated or not, regardless of what kind of person you are or where you are from, every single barrier that man has created disappears the moment the hands make contact with the drum. No one judges you. No one passes any comments. No one tells you how exactly to play a drum. Hands hurt. Sometimes the weather plays games– too hot, or just pours with rain, yet the beats go on for two hours nonstop and the energy as a group never dips.


I am yet to find an activity that embraces oneness as this. There is just one word that comes to mind when I witness this month after month – Magical!


How it works for me: Many months have passed since my first drum jam session. I ensure that I don’t miss the monthly session for just one reason – it’s free therapy!!. – if I am happy I just get happier and if I am low on energy and mood, I perk up like never before.

Regardless of what mood I am in or how I feel, post a drum jam session I always go home on a high. ALWAYS!

RASA – A RESTAURANT REVIEW

Situated on CMH road which already has its fair share of coffee lounges, rich food restaurants and darshinis, Rasa is unique for its organic menu. Rasa is set in an ambience of mithai pink furniture, very airy and overlooking the busy CMH road. Once there, I was handed a newspaper for a menu card citing all the happenings at Rasa – the once a month farmer’s market and other events.

Tucked away in the corner of a newsletter is a simple menu offering three different combos of lunch – A diabetic lunch box, a quick lunch which comes with limited options and a super set lunch box which I choose.

Priced at Rs.300, you are served starters of murukkus and chips with a variety of pickles to dip into. The pickles were finger licking tongue tingling good and besides chips n pickles are an awesome combination. This was followed by the main course and then came the dessert.

There is definitely are a healthy mix of vegetables though those of you looking to spice things up are better off at any of the Andhra joints for the food tends to be a tad bland.

Service is quick and courteous. I have experienced great service many times that I have been there, though at the time of going there with the intention of writing this review, I ended up asking about six times for a refill of the lime pickle. I would say those keen on healthy wholesome vegetarian fare should definitely check out this place.

What I had: Started with Murukkus, papads and banana chips. Pickles were lime, ginger, beetroot and seasonal mango pickles.

Main: Chappathi’s (these are unlimited, thin and oil free and taste great with the curries), vegetable kurma, beans curry(dry) , Rice, curd, sambar, tomato rasam, avial, Knol Khol curd based curry, bhendhi pachadi.

Dessert: Jackfruit payasam.

What I liked best: The fresh pickles, chapathis, the airy space, the time taken to deliver and the décor.

What could do with improvements: Let’s look at it this way, it is value for money, wide range of dishes, healthy, home like so why aint I going there more often??? The human mind craves variety. The menu never varies though the vegetables do. So I suppose soups, variation in desserts (not payasam again!!), butter milk, salads to keep it healthy but different, can be introduced each time.

Ratings: Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

SERVICE: 4 DÉCOR: 4 FOOD: 3.5 - and yeah, I will tell all to check out this place:)