Bowled Out. Review on Strike 10

There is this preposterously pompous bowling centre called “Strike 10” at Laxmi Industrial Estate, Lokhandwala Link Road, Andheri (W), which ruined what could potentially have been a great evening of enjoyment and then this restaurant called “Kalinga” nearby where we trooped for dinner. The starters killed my all-engulfing appetite and the main course was “compounded” enough to cause tummy trouble for the next 2 days (will cover it in another review).

To call it an evening of disaster would not be entirely false. The cab ride from Lower Parel to Andheri took 2 hours by itself and I was not even sure if S10 was in existence any more. There were no signboards to herald its subsistence and the watchman too was not too helpful, he scratched his cranium (totally bereft of any growth) and pointed ubiquitously to the skies that could easily have meant any of the nine cardinal directions.

Another 10 minutes of pestering innocent passers-by, we finally found ourselves in front of Strike 10 tucked away in a discreet corner of the Estate. There is a “Cover Charge” of Rs. 50 per head which can be redeemed against food/drinks/games. Quite thankfully, there was a small restaurant for snacks and we went straight there to satiate out 12-hour starved tummies.

After placing orders for sandwiches and other eats, we went on to buy coupons for the bowling game. The charges are Rs. 125 per head on weekdays and Rs. 150 per head on weekends. If that can’t be called daylight chicanery, nothing else can be. Comparatively, we had visited “Amoeba” at Bangalore 3 weeks ago and with much better facilities, they charge Rs. 80 and Rs. 100 respectively.

Luckily for us, being a weekday, there was barely any rush. We then went on to ask for the special shoes that are required to be donned for this sport and I almost puked on nearing the bunch of shoes. The “highly discretionary” reek emanating from them would have been enough to scare away an entire horde of skunks to the safer realms of middle earth.

Notwithstanding that, we proceeded to pick up some pairs that seemed to be less punishing on our nasal senses. The very next moment a small rat pounded out from a shoe that one of my colleagues had picked up and after a moment of shock, we all burst out laughing. I entreatingly looked at the guy at the counter and anyone looking at me then would have been confounded as to whether I wanted to cry out copiously or laugh outrageously like Manoj Bajpai did in “Aks”.

Seeing our discomfiture and appearing to be surprised at the presence of a member of the rodent family amidst the collection of “Padukas”, the guy at the counter condescended to the level of permitting us to play without wearing the mandatory shoes.

Now comes the best part. There are a total of 6 bowling lanes of which 4 (!) were dysfunctional. The one allotted to us had a rather queer system. For one thing, there were rubber boards on both sides of the lane which ensured that even a bad hurl completely adrift of the 10 pins would bring the ball right back into the middle of the lane.

If that wasn’t amusing, there was this very unusual pin on the extreme left which was totally out of sync with the other nine. There were instances when one of us would make a seemingly perfect strike but this one would remain standing obstinately. The overhead machine would swoop down to clear the fallen pins after a strike and before we got ready to bowl again, it would fall off by itself!

That apart, the machine got struck quite often and we were forced to press the “Reset” button many a time. The balls (no double meaning) were awfully bad. The ones available were ill fitting and would have been more suited to the little fingers of lilliputs from “Gulliver’s Travels”. I can confidently assert that MS would have added a new topic to its database in quicker time than that taken for the balls bowled to get back to the starting point.

The lanes. Gosh, how can I forget them? The wood used (as compared to synthetic material used in all other places) for making the lanes was peeling off at a few places and would respond with a loud “Thud” whenever the ball landed on it. There also seemed to be a strange dystopia between the balls and the lane. On closer inspection, I observed that the lanes were not evenly surfaced throughout. At one particular point, there was a clear distortion in the boards which would take the ball in the NNE direction. 3 rounds into the game and I was beginning to regret why I recommended my colleagues this place. The remaining 7 were completed in a series of experiments. Considering that the lane was uneven, we resorted to “spinning” and “swinging” the ball, often leading to hilarious consequences.

The food was average and the bill added to Rs. 280 for 3 sandwiches and a plate of “Chole Bathure”. One sandwich, I remember, was innovatively called “Lover’s Delight” or some such thing and the guy who ate it was not exactly delighted by the time he was through with it.

The songs played in the background were pathetic. I heard a young lady ask the masquerading DJ to play her choice of the latest numbers from “Chalte Chalte” and “Koi Mil Gaya”, for which his reply was a terse “Not Available”. The only recognizable number among the ones he played was the now-notorious “Kaanta Lagaa” which was unerringly played alternatively after every other unknown song.

The amplifiers were huge and stacked atop each other to resemble a miniature skyscraper. Sadly, the output was more like the one that emanates from the “Bhopu” of an Auto rickshaw – only Bass. You might know what its like. If you don’t, take a sound system that has the 5 mixers and put the Bass on Max and the other 4 on Min. multiply the sound output by a factor of 100 and you’ll get the rough idea.

For trivia lovers, S10 has games for kiddies too. There are 2 bike simulation games and a few snooker/pool tables on the mezzanine floor. I would have loved to try out a round of snooker but the bowling XP was enough to deter me from undertaking another “Adventure Sport”.

Thus Spake TiC

I recently discovered or rather, realized that I have a negative effect on a lot of things around me. The first company I worked for had to close down 3 months after I left. My last company is in a terrible mess and doesn’t look likely to last beyond this financial year. I don’t remember which one it was but a lavish Hindi movie that I watched on the first day of its release and reviewed the next day on MS sank without a trace at the BO.

More recently, I had reviewed a FM radio channel – Win 94.6. Exactly 2 days later, this station suddenly shut shop. Much as I’m tempted to, I can’t call them all coincidences because I now know that there is a very strong correlation between these weird happenings and me. Positive or negative, am yet to figure out. I can’t wait to see what fate befalls S10.

Anyway, S10 was a major letdown. The gaming facilities were pathetic and the service levels were inadequate with the guys manning the counters seemingly more intent on ogling at the PYT’s around. Most of all, the charges for playing the games were obnoxiously atmospheric. Much as I scratch the 2 lice-infested strands of hair on my head, I can’t find a single reason to recommend this place to others.