Weekend in Bangalore

Soemhow I associate holidays with food- lots of them- even food that I may otherwise not eat due to weight issues- I somehow feel that during a holiday you must eat all you can.
Infact the eating began much before the holiday started- met AD at GRT Azulia over a huge lunch of some great stuff which translated in English means- Mutton shanks and Keema and kababs.
Bangalore was all fun - we drove down the scenic highway admiring the hills and the greenery and the clear roads- and the drive was very easy simply because I was not doing the driving- the superman (husband) was.
The kids were as good as gold- reading, snacking and sleeping throughout the drive. Ojas particuarly doesn't need any excuse to go to sleep.
And I was focusing on my book, snacks and offcourse weaving all that I saw into long posts. Which I promptly forgot after the drive was over.
We stayed in a hotel which the kids loved simply because they discovered the bubble bath there. They want to come back to Bangalore and in particular to the hotel again for the sake of the bubble bath. Who says being shallow is not hereditary?
And what exactly did we do in Bangalore?
The husband had a late night meeting there and that's why we went. But the rest of us tagged along so that we could get a break and meet friends.
We had a huge lunch of chicken tandoori, mutton shanks at Samarkand in Infantry Road.
We met ArtNavy family and D over dinner at Art's place and it was just like old times. The decor was familiar, the people were well known, only the setting had changed. The kids also had no trouble from starting off from where they had left. We ate and chatted late into the night and as the husband went off for his meeting, the kids and me went off to dreamland and geared up for the next day.
The result was that while we were totally refreshed, the husband was not and therefore we had no time but to visit the aerospace museum, which the kids assured me they liked- proof was that they wanted to play with the pair of squirrels, loved touching the aircrafts and loved the airplane models we bought for them.
Lunch was with D again at a lovely restaurant- lots of fish and chicken and coffee with K's friend at Coffee Day -where else.
Dinner was at my dear friend's house and here again, the kids bonded exteremely well with my friend's kid and that was very heartening because we expect our kids to be great friends with our friends.
The kid was a total charmer- he totally drew my kids to him and I sincerely believe this much needed trait is a rarity.
We ate yummy mutton adn chicken curry with biriyani and as expected chatted till late into teh night.
Seriously for the first time, I was sad to leave Bangalore- an emotion I feel only when I leave from Delhi to Chennai.

Notes from Yesterday

A Long Girls' Day Out
It is so much more fun because a working day was duly bunked and one of us came down specifically from Bangalore- we don't let work or distance get in the way of fun.
The agenda was eat, gossip and have fun
Which called for
1. XL buffet at Residency Towers Main Street- 5 trips each to the buffet atleast! We ate enough to last till today's breakfast but even then we feel we did not do enough justice. We didn't even touch the vegetarian, ate only half the desserts and half the salads and 2 varieties of juice. I strongly feel God should have given the option of external stomach. It's the stomach that is the culprit-the mouth and brain is always ready to take it on.

2. 2012 at Sathyam- can you believe it without popcorns?
The movie seriously freaked me out. But WTF? Africa becomes the safest place to rehabilitate? Someone was predicting India is going to become the most powerful nation? Get your basics right man! Anyway Phoenix I want to join you in the quest for someone to lend that few crores you were talking about. And oh, I do not have a billion dollars, I am a poor swimmer and a poor driver. I do not know how to fly a plane and I run really slowly. What are my chances?

3. Coffee Day at Ispahani- a huge brownie sizzler with ice cream and coffees. The servers did not disturb us- wonder how they guessed we are not the drink eat and rush types?

The only minus point was that I broke my yet another sandal (I am seriously worried- why do I break so many sandals- but AD directed me to a small shop and I got a really stylish jeans material slipper for 100 bucks. Made me seriously rethink this buying of expensive sandals in Metros & Kobblers that break at a single twist of the foot or stumble at the uneven roads.

Courtyard Marriot

Is wonderful.....
AD & I went for yet another delightful lunch there a few weeks ago. We opted for the buffet (what else) and hogged the cold salads with multiple dips (they managed to make even an egg salad taste interesting).
The main course was again an unbelievably delightful range of animals- the mutton was especially yummy.
I could not manage to taste the biriyanis and the vegetarian stuff as I had eaten 2 complete rounds of non-veggie salads (I did not touch the veg salads at all)
The cheese selection was so so but the best was saved till the last.

Warm - gooey- crumbly yumilicious brownie crumble in chocolate sauce. It was heavenly.
I have forgotten what other desserts were there - the brownie oversahdowed everything else but I vaguely remember that the cakes were nice too. I like their way of serving more than anything else- individual planks parallel parked on the table and cakes arranged on the planks.

At Rs 700 per plate- it is totally worth it. And I love the ambience too!! Bright & spacious!

Tantalising Taj

Andy & I had an enormous buffet lunch yesterday at the Taj Coromandal. Note the orchids on coal. But I do not have to lust after orchids anymore. I have some of my own now courtsey Andy! (Thank You)- detailed pics of the "potted plant gifts" will be shared later!

The Shubharambh was with the assortment of cheese (I love this part) and animal salads-

cheddar, gouda, salmon (fishy cheese- the one with the maroon layer on top) and the bright red one below (very alcoholic and ugh). Lamb, chicken and salmon cold cuts. The goblet has a single prawn with lotsa cheese dip & cabage- called prawn cocktail. The spoon has fish wrapped in spinach leaf and the bowl has fish again. Together with iced tea/ fruit cocktail- fantabulous!

Next we attacked the main course- more animal- dimsums, fish, chicken, (no lamb :((), potatoes- tandoori, kashmiri, you name them, we took them, and even paneer (not so great).

I even took 2 rounds of dahivada which provided tangy relief in between animals. If you are looking for rotis on my plate- they are not there. But Andy did try the chicken biriyai & tendeloin!

The grand finale the desserts-a s usual there was a sugarfree dessert too! I am repenting- there was a yummy sinful looking payasam that I did not take. I should have gone and loosened the churidaar strings while I was at it.

The tiny cup is chocolate-caramel tequila!! The large goblet is a chocolate/ vanilla souffle kind of thing- droolicious why didn't I take another one! damn this stupid stomach.

And all this was laced with gossip that began from 1.30 pm and went on till 6 pm!

Feeling 10 years younger and 20 kgs lighter

....in more ways than one when I met a certain someone who has followed the calorie counting diet and become the kind of person who does not belong to our group and another someone who aptly says why we feel the said kgs & years lesser....
Ok, so cryptic and difficult to follow type of line of the day is over and dealt with so let me get down to the dirt ...
In simple terms we met in Coffee Day and gossiped about old times over lots of food and drinks and at the same time conspiring in many ways to make the thin-girl-who-does-not-belong to gain weight while we lose weight so as to reach a mid point of agreement atleast.
We also had the "good" fortune to eye witness a small drama which involved a school-girl-who-came-with-a-gang-of-5-guys-to-have-coffee types dashing off to the toilet, her parents and little brother banging on the toilet door, the girl eventually opening the door and walking off with the Dad!
It just made me wish that may my kids never feel the reason to lie or hide facts from me.
As if we have not eaten enough already, the next evening we met for dinner in Mainland China- I really kind of cannot figure out Mainland China- the same dish seems to taste different everytime we order- the lamb pepper roast to be precise. Anyway, the chicken lllypops were droolicious and we ordered a non spicy plate for the kids and they are just deep fried. I ordered the sinful brownie sizzler and to lessen the sin, shared half of it and the entire icecream with the kids. And oh, the wood that housed the sizzler smells delicious too.
But the hotel that houses the restaurant is badly in need of a facelift. So much so that the exit is mistaken for the entrance (which when we reached there was incidentally very dark, foreboding and without any security)

Linking Up With Dreams

So I dreamt about my college friends one night, got nostalgic and the next day, on an impulsed googled for one.
Can you imagine my surprise that I discovered her whereabouts in 2 clicks - reached her on Linkedin and found that she is in Chennai!
A flurry of phone calls to her workplace led me to the answer that she quit 3 months ago and if I would leave my name and number they would reach her out and let her know of my contact.
I spent the entire morning kicking myself for not dreaming earlier and being my persuasive self with the (ex)workplace. Finally got through the HR who reluctantly but immediately gave me her mobile number.
I called her and the conversation went on like this-
Me- Is this RR?
She- Yes
Me- from xYZ college? B city?
She- yes
Me - now guess who you bad mad woman
She- keep talking I will try
Me- Guess who lives in Chennai
She- I only know ITW lived in Chennai years ago
Me- She still lives in Chennai
She- How stupid...
Me- Do you know why I searched you out? because I dreamt about you
She- Oh, you still have these wierd and funny dreams!
(Oh God- she remembers what I had forgotten- rather I had forgotten that my vague, lucid dreaming was so famous back in those days!)
And so we blah blah blahed .....and went on to discover that we live within shouting distance to each other!
Now mind you, we were talking after 12 years and getting in touch after atleast 10 years and what do we say to each other- mad? bad? stupid?
We met for a long chat and catching up at Checker's and left with promises of "more to come"!

Meeting the Kolkata Ladies

This Kolkata trip was extremely fruitful- and no, I am not talking about the mangoes & lichis that I bought but that I got to meet Sue & Dipali & SRE (missed meeting Eve's Lungs as she was naughty enough to catch a fever from Aila)
It was not the first time I meet Sue but it was definitely the first time I was meeting Dipali I am certain, but somehow it did not seem like that wonder why!! ;)
Sue came armed with a box of yummy chocolate cake from Cakes & Dipali brought me a lovely green tangail and books & puzzles for the kids which was incidentally read cover to cover instantly. Many thanks Dipali aunty- they say!
The gossips and talks just flowed as we moved from one venue to another- from BigBoss Palace where I was staying to Kewpies Bengali restaurant to Dipali's lovely home...and swear- we were not ready to leave even then! And was I meeting Dipali's SRE for the first time? no? yes? dunno... I can't quite place!
Kewpies is an authentic bengali cuisine restaurant with terracotta plates/ tumblers and bowls- think Amethyst in Chennai- a similar home converted to a restaurant, ancient style, art on the walls, alcogol bottles and other ceramic pottery on display, slightly musty, subdued lighting...

As I studied the menu, to my dismay Sue & dipali suggested that i take the thali- now I am not the kind who can brave a thali - and moreover it usually has a host of vegetarian stuff which to me is not needed at all. So I dithered and protested as politely as I could that I would rather pick and choose than let them serve me a thali. And the lovely ladies insisted that the thali is well balanced - bitter/ sweet/ spicy and all! On hindsight (realised exactly 15 minutes after ordering) I am glad they forced me to take the thali
My favourites were-
banana flower curry
fried brinjal- see below
prawn with lots of mustard oil
Bhetki steamed in banana leaf- I devoured the entire thing and did not share with Sue as originally intended
fluffy pooris- see below
mutton curry with the bone -I slurped the entire bone marrow!
mishti doi...yummm
green mango sweet chutney- to be eaten with papad


And while I am on food- I had lunch the next day at Jimmy's Kitchen- oldest Chinese restaurant in Kolkatta!
Deep fried chilly chicken- I took the entire plate - the colleague was kind enough to notice my greed and pick only a couple of pieces from that! Immensely satisfying - fried, flavourful !
If you come across it get in and try it! Small but popular place!

And this post gets a mentione here moments after I posted it! Thanks Sue for pointing it out to me!

Just Like Old Times

A very dear friend and ex-colleague surprised me with a call that she is in town and would love to meet up.
Considering the fact that we have not spoken for quite some time and not seen each other for more than 2 years, I was worried about the awkward pauses and that perhaps now that we do not work for the same organisation, we may have nothing to talk about.
My fears were proved to be false because-
a) I underestimated my nonstop nonsense talking capacity
b) I forgot that she is a very nice and tolerant girl who has immense patience and has always indulged me and my useless chatter
c) With old friends there cannot be awkward pauses. As I like to stay, one can always begin from where they left and there is enough ground to cover and at the end of it all you still feel as if there was a lot unsaid.
d) Kids, husband, common friends, work, aspirations in life, weight, weddings... it's never ending...
As we chatted into the night over coffee/ sandwiches, I was loathe to look at the watch - the moral police for moms!
At the end of it all I left home with a happy, contended feeling and an overall feel-good spirit!

Only to promptly go back the next day to meet IBH over coffee and sandwiches! A much awaited unwind session which was getting postponed for an inordinate duration of time!
PS- At the rate I meet the girl friends in Indira Nagar Coffee Day they ought to provide me with priviledged customer benefits

Confessions of A Shopholic

No its not about me. It's about the movie we both saw. A totally feel good escape of 2 hours at Satyam theatres. Bright colours, funny punches and a storyline that says- totally me. Based on the book Confessions of a shopoholic and no it is not exactly like the book. It's different. You know what's going to happen but well, it's not exactly the same and it's not all from the same book. Bits and parts have been picked out from the other books in the series too. Go for it if you have read the book and even if you haven't.
I must mention that I had gone to Satyam after ages... the place itself has a feel good factor. Ease of parking, the snack joints and the fun time sprinkling the seasonings on the popcorn...mmmmm.
The movie followed by a sumptious lunch of kebabs and mutton curry at Copper Chimmney at Citi Centre (yes it's open even at 3 pm while the one on Cathedral road closes at 3 pm) and rounding off with window shopping and our just desserts- icecream/ chocolate truffle-perfect recipe for a hot afternoon!

Never Trust a Skinny Chef

What a surprise.... I never knew this place existed in Chennai...
A very short visit to Sparky's with AD between client calls...
A place where one has to spend a lot of time, drinking in the flavour of the place, enjoying just the feel of it, examining all the pieces up on the wall, reading thoroughy through the menu so that one can plan what to eat during the next visit.
Quantities that leave you full enough, so much so you feel sorry that you cannot try more dishes.
Go to these links to read more- they do such a good job that I don't want to write anything here. And an hour spent inside doesn't to justice.
priyam
Hindu review
That said, the gossip, food and the truancy contributed to a lot of recharge!

Good Food, Good Gossip and a Makeover...

...What more does a girl need!
And that too when it's done on a working day.
Went to City Centre on one afternoon and met up AD for a lunch and some fun in Lifestyle Stores.
We looked at the various groups of people at City centre and wondered how many of them were like us bunking office and chilling out in the mall.
We wanted to try out something at the foodcourt but what to do? Our favourite Copper Chimmney followed us there also. We had a good meal of Panchranga kabab platter which has a good selection of 8 kababs, a mutton rogan josh and rotis with lots of papads. We had a hearty gossip session and wistfully noticed a mother of 2 sitting at a table and just wished, for once it pays to be an SAHM. Take the kids out any afternoon of your choice and chill out in a near empty restaurant.
We straight went down to Lifestyle's cosmetic section and zeroed onto the Maybelline counter to attempt to cross out one of the points on my things-to-do-before-I-am-40 list. Yes, there was a makeover session on. So for the first time in my life, I allowed myself to be silly- sit perched on that stool behind the counter- with a large silver mirror and get made-up - allow them to pamper me, praise me (which they are trained to do I suppose), and ignore the wierd looks that other shoppers gave me- well, I have done that before so what is given, comes back to you right!
We sat across each other so that we could observe the various steps in doing make-up and find out if the concealers and loose powders really made a difference.
We got concealers, loose powders eye shadow- dual - grey & brown, eye liner above and eye pencil below, mascara, lip liner, lip color, lip gloss, blusher... We tried various combos of eye shadows and I was given secret tips on which actress preferred which eye shadow! As if that made a difference to my purchase choice!
Ok, for once I felt I wouldn't look out of place in a City Centre kind of place! All made- up and browsing at the uppity stores!
I did a few purchases- lipsticks as usual and got nailpolishes free.. Now anyone would have thought I am going to buy the entire range of make-up products but no- the predictable me bought only lipsticks. Why did I bother with the makeover then?
Anyway, I am glad I know which eye shadows will suit me so that I can take that kit out and mix colours.
Ok don't make me tell the various steps in make-up- go here for makeup and here for some tips on eye shadow shades.
PS- the jute bag in black and silver - my birthday-let's say- perk, is lovely- thanks!

Friends

So I went to Bangalore and met my old friend- the one with whom I lived in the hostel in the beginning of my career. We have literally lived with each other's struggles (with weight and otherwise), disappointments, relationship, hopes, done random shopping & eating trips... she was the one who would ask me how my day was when I came back from work. It was her I would turn to when I wanted someone to pray for me, rather do some positive thinking exercise for me be it an important project or a bonus or whatever.
We got married within a space of a week and therefore never attended each other's wedding.
I called her 5 days after my c-sec to find out if I was the only one facing difficulties walking after a c-sec as everyone else told me they were zooming around right from the day after the c-sec.
I called her to rant my heart out during the PPD phase.
We lost touch for a while and reconnected recently and just started from where we had left- laughing, ranting, discussing husbands, siblings, common friends, and the now all important kids.
And we finally met after a gap of 5 years. I just walked in to her house- (gasp) empty handed-hugged each other, commented on each other's weight, plonked ourselves on her sofa, chatting away to our hearts' content.
Some things never change!

Circle of Bonding

I have often argued that it is mandatory to have a sibling. Because after your parents, the sibling is your only close family - someone who has shared your childhood, your room, your parents and your clothes. Someone who knows you almost as well as you know yourself. When I see Ojas & Tejas rolling on the bed laughing together, play acting, quarreling, protecting each other, I can see the wisdom of having siblings. And more than just siblings, I am probably coming to terms with having two male children. My theory about men and women bonding with their own gender better.
Lot of people say that I have enough cousins to share my childhood with. I argue again. For your child your cousins' children are further removed from the family. Even your sibling's children are first cousins. And no longer in today's context they will share their childhood. The bonding is stronger with own sibling anyday! So are you ensuring that you are securing your child's future interms of having a companion in the form of a sibling after you?
What would I have done if I did not have siblings whom I can call up anytime and ask to baby sit so that I could go to the gym or the parlour or the movie? Who is my fall-back in times of great emotional need? Whom do I pick up the phone and call when I want to gossip or share the latest?
We siblings lived together in chennai- both sisters working and brother studying. There were times when we fought, argued, did not speak for a few days and then were back to normal. Just like how I do that with my husband now.
I feel heartened everytime I see my or K's sibling(s) spend time with the kids, treat them as their own and indulge them royally. I sometimes wonder what is it that they enjoy about spending time with someone else's kids? What prompts them to take them for a quick drive or enjoy playing with them? I don't know whether I would live up to the standards they have set in enjoying my children. Or maybe I would know when I see them! The call of blood will perhaps come into play.
My another deepest wish is to have a close circle of friends with whom I can bond emotionally and socially. It is a little inexplicible but i mean the kind who fall in the category of "best friend in school"- one can have many friends but only a few will make a gang or a circle- who will eat lunch together, play togther during recess, may be live in and out of each other's house and freak out together. And among the lot, maybe one can have one or two- best friends.
These category of friends would be someone whom I will not hesitate to call in times of greatest need. Families with whom we could spend the weekend/ go for a trip/ or have a simple weekend or anytime dinner.
Someone who will not mind babysitting my kids or would not think twice before letting their kids have a pajama party in my house. Where formality would not be allowed or expected.
Someone who will not mind holding my kid's hand while I shop in peace. Someone with whom I will not quarrel to pay the bill or my share of dinner in a hotel, or would be equally comfortable doing frequent dutch meals. We could together rant away to glory and not be judged but supported and also neither would the subject(s) of the rant be judged. They are the sort of friends whom you will call up and inform the important, unimportant, exciting and random events of your life- because each of you would understand exactly why the event is interesting to you. My friend AD called me up to tell me that she got her copies of Jeffery Archer books signed by the author himself, after standing in a long queue. She called me exactly for this reason because she simply had to share that elation she felt after shaking hands with the author incarnate.
I have seen friends who routinely take my kids out for a drive or indulge them with their favourite snack - when one does it once or twice it could be ajudged as just a formality- but doing it regularly does mean something.
All of us need family friends like these where both spouses can connect else it becomes difficult to continue the friendship.
On this note I count my blessings that there are a lot of kind souls out there who genuinely take interest in my kids.