Sukkad Bombil

Last night we went to this little place called "Quench" in Bandra for a drink. Aside from the fact that I was over-dressed and chose the wrong wine, I enjoyed myself. We were meeting this couple friends of ours who had moved to Singapore about a year ago. We were surprised to see how much weight they had lost. They blamed it on the fact that they didn't own a car anymore and walked or used public transport all the time. The guy had always been slim, but the girl was suitably curvy earlier, but now she was thin. She claimed that she was depressed the first few months of being in Singapore because she felt really big compared to all the women there. Apparently girls there dress skimpily even to work. They wear dresses or skirts that are so short that the slightest of movements could reveal their panties. But somehow it doesn't look so bad coz they are all really petite.
I wonder if our friends lost weight by association. They claim that they never exercised or dieted but still steadily lost weight. It's possible that sub-consciously they aspired to be thin because everyone around them was.
My friend says that she has stopped wearing shirts and trousers because at work women look at her strangely as if she is a lesbian or a woman wanting to be a man. The women are so obsessed with their skin that they are always applying sunscreen and fairness creams and eating foods that taste disgusting but are good for the skin (chicken feet come highly recommended). Dresses mostly come in size "Small" and you would be hard pressed to find a nice looking one in "Medium". For a country that has a higher female population, I find it rather regressive. A person is judged purely on looks. Now, this is my opinion purely based on what my friend tells me and I will find out the truth only if I live there long enough to experience it myself.
Speaking about appearances, my friend Jenny speaks about the same thing in her post "Girls night out" on her blog. Don't we all long to be young and thin again. I know I do. I wonder if my mom's generation or my grandmom's generation thinks that way too. When did we change?

On our way back from dinner last night, Chrys and I were discussing where to go today. I suggest the Comedy Store. Chrys says, 'Anyone can do stand-up comedy. Only Kulbhushan Kharbanda can do...' at this point I mimic KK and say, 'Sit down!'. The taxi driver turns around and laughs at this joke and for reasons beyond my comprehension, Chrys is offended.
Later at home, he says, almost in an accusing tone, that taxi drivers try to strike up a conversation only when I am with him. Else they just leave him alone. I wonder why being the source of some amusement to a taxi-driver should offend one so much. I think Chrys cannot reconcile himself to the fact that a set of people who listen to Agam Nigam's songs and watch bhojpuri movies could find the same jokes funny as him.

Well, I find the whole thing quite amusing.

Sound and light show- *groan*

Last evening I met my ex-boss Appy. She recently shifted to Mumbai from Bangalore and loves the city for the freedom it offers single women. We roamed around Phoenix Mills for a while but really got bored of the weekend chaos there. So we headed to Valhalla in Churchgate. We picked up Chrys on the way.

As we were approaching Churchgate we witnessed some amazing fireworks as part of the Maharashtra Day celebrations. At Valhalla we realised that it was a dry day. That really spoilt Chrys's mood although Appy and I were Ok to just sit and chat. However after two starters (really delicious), Chrys wanted to head home and see if we had some booze there for the rest of the evening. Just as we headed to the door our waiter suggested that we should check out if the Dome in Intercontinental would serve alcohol. We called up, they said they served alcohol AND had a table free. We quickly hailed a cab and on the way saw some more of the laser show action on Marine Drive.

Dome is an open air restaurant so I was a bit sceptical about sitting there in the summer heat. However we were pleasantly surprised to note that there was a pleasant breeze and they also had tower air coolers all over the place. It was lovely sitting there watching the laser show outside, however the loud music emanating from the loud speakers on Marine Drive (again-part of the Maharashtra Day celebrations) put us off a bit. Meanwhile our friend A called up and asked if we wanted to pop in to her house for a surprise party thrown by her friends for her birthday. We thought we'll decide that later depending on our inclination after dinner. We hardly ordered any snacks coz surprisingly no one was feeling hungry. Appy and I sat bitching about a rather mismatched couple sitting a distance away. They were continuously making out on the sofa oblivious to the world around. It was actually gross because it looked like a boss-secretary relationship..... Anyway, who cares!

The only thing that dampened my night out was that I threw up on reaching home. Something didn't go too well with the glass of wine I guess.

Biker Blaze

After a really long time Chrys and I undertook a bike trip... this one not so long, just to Khandala. But, we soon realised that we are really and truly out of shape... either that or the bike isn't serviced well enough. Our collective bums started hurting even before we hit the mid-way mark.

We started off around 7:45 am on Friday. The roads were empty and the skies were cloudy. Pretty soon though the clouds cleared, however it wasn't too hot. We encountered a little bit of traffic in Chembur, but from the time we reached the Vashi creek bridge, it was smooth flowing. We took a little drive-in break at the McDonald's in Panvel and shot off over the old Mumbai-Pune highway.

From our trip we have learnt that the expressway is actually more crowded than the old highway and it's a boon that bikes are banned on it (read: grapes are sour!)

We stayed at the Dukes Retreat which is neatly perched atop a mountain overlooking a gorgeous valley and several other towering mountains. The view from our room was slightly obscured by mango trees but I wasn't complaining. Lovely exotic birds perched on it's branches and provided for wondrous entertainment.

The first day we relaxed most of the time and jumped into the surprisingly warm pool late in the evening. Pretty soon we sheepishly climbed out coz some little kids really embarrassed us with their amazing swimming skills. I can't swim, neither can Chrys (although he will stiffly contest that)

The evening was nicely rounded off with drinks and dinner at the open air cafe overlooking the valley. Chrys however was disappointed with his long island iced tea which strangely tasted like pan and was served in a glass with Budweiser written on it. Later we lounged on the swinging chairs watching the stars gradually shift across the sky.

One more day was spent lazily and pretty soon it was time for us to leave. On Sunday we had a nice heavy breakfast in their restaurant (which too has an amazing view) and set out (after a little bit of haggling over the charges applied for items in the mini-bar which we never touched) around 11 AM.

We liberally applied sunscreen on our faces and exposed parts of our arms. But we truly under-estimated the power of the Sun God. Within a few kilometres, the blazing sun started sapping our energy. To top that Chrys felt the bike swaying and suspected a puncture. Thankfully there was none. We took a wrong turn at Panvel and went several kilometres the wrong way... along really desolate and depressing landscape with a lot of quarrying activity throwing up clouds of dust everywhere. Finally we stopped to ask someone and we were told to take a U-turn.

By now we were really parched. Thankfully I had carried a bottle of water (which had turned really warm in the sun). Cribbing and cursing we reached home only to find ourselves badly sunburnt. Since Chrys is so fair-skinned he took the major hit. His arms and face are an angry red and burning hot. We applied tomato juice which provided only temporary relief.

So here we are, nursing our sunburns, but glad for the amazing weekend we had.

In all my lethargy I didn't realise that I have crossed the half century mark on this blog.

May there be more mundane and stupid things to write about.

Yesterday we visited this place called TIGs in Andheri. There was some private party going on... some really sad office crowd. The fat bummed women just stood on the side pretending to dance to the really loud bollywood tracks while the loser type guys danced with each other. Believe it or not there was something that looked like a mix of jive and general ganapati procession wala dance. The men were almost climbing onto each other in their excitement. Gross!

We got fed up and left for this Mexican food place called Sammy Sosa. Although our friend informs us that the food is not really authentically Mexican, I liked the food and ambiance. For beer lovers, there is some amazing international beer. Wine lovers too will not be disappointed. I liked that the owner took interest in suggesting drinks or food to the patrons. They also customise dishes if you want. The vodka-jalapeno chicken was amazing... a little spicy but good. Everything else was really good too. Chrys loved the crepes filled with strawberries and vanilla ice-cream dessert.

Wish we could travel to the suburbs more often. There are only so many places to eat out in South Mumbai.

Dubri in Udvada

Udvada is described as a coastal "town" 200 kms from Mumbai which is an important place of worship for Parsees. I disagree with the "town" bit. This is a village that is caught in a time warp. Everything and everyone seems to be moving at a remarkably slow pace keeping in step with the chirping birds and the barking dogs. Even the dogs don't bark the usual way, they give short low pitch sounds that sound like they are clearing their throats. We stayed at a place called the Globe hotel which is right behind the Iranshah. The name has nothing to do with the structure. It must have just caught the owner's fancy several years ago. There are a couple of two-storey cottages here called 'Homi Cottage' and the 'Annexe'. We stayed on the first floor of the Annexe courtesy of a couple of lizards in the room on the ground floor that was alloted for us earlier. There was a quaint little balcony attached to the room where all the meals were served. (At the end of our stay a little lizard appeared in this room too... THAT is another post)

Speaking about meals, I haven't had such rich and delicious albeit fattening food in any other hotel in my life. Breakfast on the first day consisted of eggs to order, kaleji-bukka (chicken liver and kidney) with bread, butter, jam and milky sweet tea. Even before all this could be digested, lunch arrived. There was a type of fish which is a specialty of this place called boey (B-O-E-Y nahi, B-O-I says Chrys) fried to perfection, mutton gravy(melt-in-mouth tender meat), fish curry, rice and rotis.

After an afternoon siesta, we spent the evening walking around the largely empty village. There are several abandoned or unused houses here - ancient structures that may be over a 100 years old. The population of dogs is more than the local human population. We paid a visit to the beach which was sadly disappointing because of sand erosion and illegal quarrying and all that was left was a rocky bottom exposed by the low tide. With hardly anything left to do, we returned to the room when it grew slightly dark to avoid being followed by the over-friendly dogs. Dinner was a lavish affair again with tandoori chicken, mutton curry, fried boey fish and rotis.

The next morning started with a generous dose of dudh na puff which is considered a delicacy by all Parsis and it's a tradition to have it every time they are in Udvada. It's basically just sweetened milk bubbles which is prepared overnight. I personally didn't like it too much.

Speaking about tradition, these Parsis attach the word 'tradition' to every little thing. It's a tradition to brush your teeth (according to my MIL, we non-parsis i.e dubros are very untidy people). It's a tradition to perform the birdy dance at weddings. It's a tradition to eat eggs when you are ill or have a stomach upset because it's 'light food'. It's a tradition to eat dhansak every Sunday and sleep away the rest of the day. It's a tradition to buy only Kolah's brand pickles. It's a tradition to eat/drink dudh na puff in Udvada. It's a tradition to over-eat when in Udvada. Actually it's a tradition to overeat, period. Almost all traditions are to do with eating. I have gained 8 kilos in the three years that I have been married to Chrys. At this rate I would have gained 58 kgs more by our silver wedding anniversary.

One more pampered day was spent in this quiet little place and we got bored of the sedentary lifestyle. We left the next morning to Ahmadabad by the Shatabdi. Getting bored and being pampered continues for a few more days here before we leave for Mumbai.

Susegad

It means 'relaxed but not lazy'. Some say that it means to kill effort at all cost.

When you land in Goa you don't take too much time to reach the Susegad mode. All it takes is ordering one meal at any of the shack type eateries around. They say five minutes and mean twenty-five. So you wait and wait for your food to arrive, fret and fume while guzzling beer till you reach a stage where you have that glazed look that everyone seems to have around here. The waiters around you can't understand your hurry. 'Where you want to go men?' is the question in their minds. Not that they would ponder on that question too long. The moment that question completes itself in their minds, they have forgotten it.

So, back to your glazed state. When you have given off a few burps courtesy the beer, the food arrives... most of the times it's some prawn starter (what Chrys orders in Goa is very predictable... prawns, prawns and some more prawns). One bite of the food and you are in Susegad mood. Now you keep ordering some really delicious stuff with names like Rechad, Xacuti and Vindaloo (spelt differently in every menu so I don't know which one is right). At some shacks every stuff tastes the same irrespective of the name, but some rare eateries have amazingly differentiated tastes. But being susegad means not caring about such piddly things. You just eat what you get... as long it's the fresh catch of the day- which it almost always is- you don't need to worry about an upset tummy.

In between meals you can float in the sea, frolic in the pool or generally take a nap at the nearest available bed/chair/lounger under an umbrella. Some over-enthusiastic honeymooners may do what all honeymooners do... NOT what you think... I meant shopping. You could also hire a scooter and drive around aimlessly, waving at the local children, smiling at the local adults, barking at the local dogs and meowing at the local cats. Or you could get duped into going in search of dolphins (which almost certainly will not show themselves to you) or parasailing (for TWO whole disappointing minutes) or water-scootering (mind-the-rocks-or-I-will-take-the- damage-money from-you-men). But all that is too much trouble.

Susegad men!

Weekend trip

Chrys has always been a last minute planner. So mid-week he decided that he wanted to go on a weekend trip somewhere starting Friday. I called up all decent hotels and resorts in Khandala, Lonavla, etc, but couldn't get any bookings. Finally late in the evening I stumbled upon the cell number of the sales person for a resort near Amby Valley called Cloud 9. Since it was late this person did not answer my calls. Next morning (Thursday) I was still trying frantically to get something, when my phone rang. It was the salesgirl from Cloud 9. They had one cottage available! I booked it immediately. Till late Thursday night we weren't decided on whether to take a train to Lonavla or to book a taxi. We even watched a movie on DVD ("Guess who's coming to dinner?"... wonderful movie).

Friday dawned and we were still undecided. After a little tantrum throwing (me) and dilly-dallying (Chrys), we zipped off to CST in a cab... as fast as a cab can zip... which is not much! There we were standing outside the Reservation counter wondering whether to take unreserved tickets instead, when a stranger came up and offered to help get confirmed tickets. This guy was a mallu (inferred from the accent and the chandana quri on his forehead). He gave us some form which we filled and demanded Rs.400 per head for the tickets. We bargained and brought down the rate only to realise later that we could easily have got tickets even without his help... there was no queue and lots of tickets were available.

The train started from CST at 9 AM... Koyna express and we had AC chair car tickets. We decided to exchange the seats half-way thru the journey so the both of us get a chance to sit at the window... we fight like kids over it. After Badlapur, the scenery was beautiful, but when we neared Khandala, we were sure that we were in heaven. The clouds were below eye level and suspended as if posing for a picture. From Lonavla it's a short drive (15 kms) to Cloud9. The resort is beautifully located. All cottages have a view. The drive up to this place is also very beautiful, winding roads and views of the valley interspersed with mist covered mountains... the visibility was low hence we moved almost at snail's pace. We spent two glorious days in the midst of clouds and rain. Chrys' colleague and his wife visited briefly and we drove around the place. This trip was refreshing but then it was back to the grind from Monday morning.

Paani outside and inside

Since Chrys' cousin was here from Ahmedabad, we both decided to drop in at Dil's(another cousin) house to catch up with him. Dil has a pet now called Cookie. She used to be a quiet one till the last time we went there. But this time she decided to greet us with a boisterous bark. I stay frozen at the doorway till I was assured that she was tied up. After a nice lunch of prawns, dal and rice and a little rest, we decided to go to Firangi Pani. Now, getting everyone ready was the most difficult part. It was raining cats and dogs outside and everyone was feeling lethargic. Chrys and I were ready first since we wanted to reach there before all tables are taken. However Dil and Rus were of the opinion that a night out cannot begin before 10:30 pm. While Rus took his time to take a shower, Dil changed three different outfits to match her shoes, before deciding on something totally different.

Thankfully when we reached Firangi Pani it wasn't crowded. The rain seemed to have kept everyone away. A couple of friends joined us later. The music had started getting louder by then, so conversations were limited to a "Hello". I decided not to drink, but Chrys kept ordering pitcher after pitcher of beer. It was only the third time that Rus was drinking, but he assured us that his stomach was strong enough to take it. Dil wanted to order a long island iced tea and asked the waiter to make some modifications in it (don't add tequila, add only a drop of vodka, etc). The waiter looked totally lost, so I advised her to order a martini or something. She ordered an apple martini and then promptly went ahead finding faults in it (too much vodka, too sweet, too much lime). Several iterations and combinations followed before the waiter decided to ignore her totally.

Meanwhile Chrys and I were speculating how the fat middle aged man and his skimpily clad companion sitting on another table were related. We concluded that she was a struggling starlet and he was the casting couch.

After a few drinks everyone except me decided to hit the dance floor. At first Chrys was reluctant, but after guzzling down several mugs of beer, he joined it. It was fun watching every one's drunken moves. It was closing time and the waiter gave us the bill. But nobody wanted to stop dancing. Eventually when the music was stopped and all drunken rowdies were being bundled out, we paid and left after 1 am. Evidence that both Chrys and Rus were sloshed was given when Chrys uttered some nonsense and Rus couldn't stop giggling. The next day's hangover is worthy of another post altogether.