Step 7: another weekend

A long weekend awaited us after the whirlwind week. Sam had met me over the madness of the weekend. We didn't get a chance to have a proper chat. She decided to avail her optional holiday on Friday and come over. There was a ton of food that we had ordered that morning, from close to 8 different places :)  Sam could sample all the food when she came in around lunch time. Then it was time for us to get chatting! We spoke about myriad things and time flew till Sam had to call it a day and go back home. 

The Saturday was planned for my friend B's house. Since her place was quite far, we were habouring the idea of going over on Friday night itself. We would save ourselves from the mental traffic which seems to materialise out of nowhere in Bangalore. Her house was an eternity away. But it was an oasis once we entered. It was brilliant being in the huge bungalow. Kids went along to play, adults got chatting as we got a tour of her massive house :) Post dinner, around 2230, her hubby suggested a drive to get some tea from a nearby vendor. I have never done such a thing in my life. To be honest, I am extremely boring. I plan to outings to start at a certain time and I expect myself and all I know to be back by 2000. Impromptu trips, middle of the night plans are something I have never done. But it was super exciting to be part of such a plan. 7 of us fitted ourselves into the car and off we went for tea and ice cream. We made it around 2300 when the tea shop was closed. The ice cream place was wrapping up as well and we somehow managed to get one ice cream to go from the very reluctant staff who just wanted to go home. 

Back home, the kids had ice cream around mid night and finally hit the bed. B and I then sat down in the living room for a good old chat. We spoke about a gazillion things under the sun, till around 2 in the morning, when she felt hungry and we decided that we should goto bed :D 

In the middle of the night, I had a nightmare. Not the dreams kind, but a real one. I woke to use the toilet and in the middle of my business, I saw a lizard on the door. I shrieked! The lizard shrieked ( I hope) and plopped onto the floor. I screamed again and the lizard ran out from under the gap in the door. I somehow summoned my courage and ran out chanting the names of all the Gods I know. Took some time for my heart beat to return to normal, but then all was well :) 

B was somehow up at 7 in the morning preparing a delicious egg sandwiches and dosas. (My family is still in love with the sandwiches and asks for it every now and then) And she did mention hearing a scream at night and asked if everything was ok ;) She had planned get together with R's family and another college mate. Once everyone was assembled, there was gorgeous food and again wholesome conversations. Kids got along like wildfire and adults were having a lovely time till it was the call to wrap up. It was awful telling the goodbyes, but I couldnt be thankful enough to dearest B for being the wonderful hostess that she was. 

We came back home around 1800 in the evening and were still reeling from the wonderful time we had had. 

Step 6: get the work week on

 Monday there were absolutely no plans. The idea was to rest and relax at home. I was still feeling unwell with the fever and decided to sleep it out. My friends started texting that they were feeling unwell with fever as well. 

After lunch I decided to take a nap. After some time I had K waking me up for a trip to the mall. Since my niece did not have any extra curricular that day, the plan was to go and do some shopping for each other in the mall. The cousins and the adults started in full enthusiasm with shoes, proceeded to toys and makeup. Finally it was some scrumptious food at a place called Punjab Grill. 

That was a wrap on Monday. On Tuesday I visisted my school friend P. It was so amazing to meet her one on one after the somewhat loud get together over the weekend. Her two rescue beagles kept the children super entertained. Her hubby is a gem of a person. Down to earth, calm and composed, he was amazing with the kids. Even after they ended up smashing two glass artefacts in her house. 😩

Wednesday was a day which was again reserved for shopping! And the best kind of shopping. Books! My sis in law had planned to take us to Blossoms at M G Road. It was an interesting journey in the Bangalore metro. The trains ran on schedule and were a welcome change from the maddening traffic. We reached Blossoms and spent close to 90 minutes shopping. We had a huge load of books for everyone. It was simple amazing to spend time in the old shop and look at the various books. We came out with close to 30 books for all of us. Shopping is tiring and what came next was - of course! - food. This time some delectable pizza from The Pizza Bakery. 

Thursday was literally doing nothing at all at home. We slept, read the books we had bought the previous day, watched TV and the IPL matches, took walks around the lovely apartment complex and got ready for the long weekend 😎

Step 5: foot off the accelerator

 After the adrenaline subsided, on Sunday morning the body was hit by reality. I had a high fever. I would have loved to lie in, but then there is nothing a hot beverage can't fix 😀 So armed with a cup of coffee I got on with getting ready for the day. Sam had planned a lunch with a bunch of friends who were congregating from different parts of Bangalore. Evening a quick trip to her mom's and then the night was still up in the air. Since my girls had been bored out of their brains with majority of adult interactions the previous day, they voted to stay at my sis-in-laws house. My niece was also around so there would be some good cousin time. 

I whipped something up for the kids, since the measurement of spices they were used to was quite hard to fathom by others. And off we went. I had given K the option to stay back as well. Since I was 'phoneless' and Bangalore was new and different, he opted to come in. We met up at a Thai restaurant and had a blast chatting. We were getting stares from other patrons who were probably getting disturbed by us. But do little girls care 😛After lunch we rested at Sam's house and got on with some more chatting. K was a gem just minding himself. I love that guy 😀

We visisted Sam's mom in the evening. It was surreal meeting them after 26 years. It is easy to be triggered by people from the past. Aunty was emotional to see us all. She had made some amazing food. It took me back to the years in Rourkela where having aunty's food was a norm. Sam used to bring the tastiest lunch boxes. And along with it, I had many sleep overs at hers. Her birthday parties were a hoot too. Having the food at Bangalore took me back to the school days and and especially her out of the world katori chaat. 

A trip down memory lane  done, it was time to navigate the absolutely horrendous traffic of the city to get home. I would have loved to stay over at Sam 's a true homage to school days, but I was feeling a bit under the weather and was also a bit worried for the kids. So good byes done, it was a wrap over the weekend. 

On, Off, On, Off and then Full ON!

We had planned the trip to Bangalore just two weeks prior to the date of journey. And in mere two weeks, things can precipitate pretty rapidly.

As we were counting days and entering the week of the journey, piggy flu hogged the headlines of all national dailies. I having a penchant for catching the cold easily ended up being on every well meaning relatives' radar. "Are you sure you want to travel?" Now when someone asks such a question, one is bound to have doubts. K suggested that we should cancel the trip. My sissy had plans of coming over from Mysore and visiting us. I was too agog to be with her and loiter around for 2 good days. Now that our plan was on the verge of being canceled, I asked her to loose the enthu and get back to her training. :(

But K was not one to let go of a trip to his favorite place so easily. He said, we would buy masks, wash hands, not eat outside and carry lots of amrutanjan to get rid of the cold as soon as I get a whiff of it. My mom was worried sick. I convinced her that I would be fine. The trip was on.

Finally, the trip seemed to be a possibility and I mentally started making a note of the stuff I would need to pack. My sissy called and said she was not having any company to accompany her to Bangy. This would have been my sister's maiden journey out of her city and my mom was damn scared of her making it all alone. So Momma asked her to stay put at Mysore itself. Now that little sissy was not gonna come to Bangy, it completely dampened my spirits. Seeing her was the high point of my travel. I hoped, even if I was not able to buy any thing, at least I would get to spend some time with her which would be more than fulfilling. I thought it would be a better idea to make the trip when she would also be in a position to come to Bangy and more over with the swine flu scare et al, it was best to not undertake any travel.

Par dil hai ki manta nehi :) And on Friday morning I decided, we should go ahead with the trip. No matter what. On hearing my conviction sissy said, she would come to Bangy. No matter what. While returning from work, I shopped for some goodies for sissy and then mom called and said, sissy would not make it to Bangy cos she was caught up with some work. I guess she had some test or something coming up. On the spur I said, I would make a trip and visit her at Mysore. Going all the way to Bangy but not being able to see her who was just 3 hours away seemed very un fair.

This time K and I had booked our tickets in the sleeper bus services that run from Chennai to Bangy. It was an entirely different experience. It is extremely comfortable if one chooses to ignore the rude behavior of the bus conductors. Banglore as usual filled us both with nostalgia as it never ever fails to do. The atmosphere itself is vibrant with a feel which is so very different from the tradition soaked Chennai. The malls, the youth thronging the streets, the westernised attires - the city has spunk. Saturday 4 and half straight hours I spent shopping for clothes and got some real good buys at Brand Factory - 3 pairs of trousers and 4 shirts. K had to stand the entire agonizing duration and had to go through my "should I take this?", "do I look fat in this?", "does this color go well with my skin tone?" and a zillion and one "gal questions". He lost his patience, shouted at me, complained why was I even bothering to ask his opinion when ultimately I was doing contrary to what he was saying, and also gave me some real good suggestions to mix and match. That done, he purchased some shoes and I got a pair of jeans from a factory outlet. It was a very tiring exercise. But all the purchases were worth it :)

That done, we travelled one half of the city to meet my friend Sam. I helped her around with some of her shopping. No sooner than we had settled our selves in KFC with a lemon and a mango banana Krusher, that I got a call from sister in law saying it was time to head home for dinner. It was already 7 in the evening and she was hosting dinner with some other relatives. I was with Sam for hardly an hour, and it was sad to leave her so soon, but then some things got to be done.

The next day started early with us leaving home at 7. The journey to Mysore ended at 12 noon and I met my dear sis. She was just the same, but with some dark circles under her eyes. We had lunch at a place called Parklane. We had random conversation flowing and she narrating tales of her office and training in her childlike fashion. Post lunch, for the lack of time or space for anything else, we 3 just sat on a wall near a park and chit chatted. The clock struck 2 and we had to start the return trip to Bangy since we were heading back to Chennai that very night. It took a 4 hours to get back home. I travelled for nearly 7 hours to be with darling sissy for 2. But it was worth it. I would have felt very empty if I would not have seen her. And K was a real sweetheart to accompany me. I know he would have, but he understood my wish to meet my sister and accompanied me rather than doing so as a chore was what made it beautiful. God bless him :)

A trip, which might never have happened, was so close to never happening, but when it did - it was something. A vacation plan we had made for October got cancelled cos of K's office work yet again. Maybe a Bangy visit again would be enough to cheer us up :)

Weekend Musings

The life of a software professional is from one weekend to the next. And the weekend which went by, 1st and 2nd of August to be precise was a pretty tumultuous for me.

Now let me build the background a bit before I leave my readers completely bamboozled. I think there is one unsolved mystery which could make it to atleast one of the many freak shows on tv. And that is of married women putting on weight out of no reason at all. My friend A and I spend a good amount of time mulling over this life and confidence altering fact. :( We are just not able to figure out, why inspite of everything remaining same, just having a life partner makes the body's equation with calories go berserk. I am more on the utterly critical side, cos I hit the gym regularly, do cardio, pump weights and all I get in return is reflection which shows tyres. Come on now, how pathetic is that!!?? :( As a consequence, except for one pair of jeans, I was weaned of all my western wear and am surviving on the same, boring, repetitive wardrobe of kurtas :(

But last weekend, I pumped up by my mom whose words, confident is what confident does went the bold way and decided, I am ready to accept this new me which looks more like the Michelin Man. K was highly supportive and we ventured on the highly ardous journey of getting me a new wardrobe of western wear. 4.5 hours spent in Spencer's Plaza ( allegedly a mall which sports 'most' of the brands) and I resulted in a naught in the western wear section and got 2 more kurtas... bwaaaaa (who wanted more kurtaaaasss boooo hoooo ) I was devastated. The size which would fit me, did nt have the colors I wanted. The colors I wanted teased me for being the size I was in. It was a diabolical smirk of fate.

In spite of all the pep talk from K about me getting back to my previous size thanks to my 'regular' and 'rigorous' and 'religious' gym routine - I felt dejected. I was switching between unsurmountable wrath to unfathomable grief. After a point, K lost his patience, and washed his hands off the entire affair. I tried many things to revive my spirits, but even ginger tea did not work that day.

Thats when my mom called up. First I thought, I could spare her the grotesque details of the day, but then me being me, had to off load everything to my darling mom. And she being she, gave the most bizzare idea - "Go to Bangalore for shopping, that place has better choices" Ahem! well, not infeasible, but is nt it carrying the whole thing a bit too far? Just for a new wardrobe am I supposed to travel to another state? None the less, the girl talk and the irrelevant planning of where all I could shop there, give bring the smile back :D. I casually mentioned it to K, and he said "Why not??" Ahem ahem.... are pigs flying??? He stated, we could meet a lot of relatives and generally roam around too - Bangalore being a place which sparked our 'romance' holds a special place for both of us. So we are all set to travel to Bangalore the Independence Day weekend. I would also get to meet my kiddo sis and a whole lot of friends and relatives.

If fate turns out my way, I will be back with some chic clothes too. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Bangalore Express

I like Bangalore a lot. That's the place I got some real sweet and sad and warm and tingly memories associated with. And with my best friend A being there, it makes the city all the more welcoming.

Last weekend we made a short trip to the place. And it was a trip full of sweet nothings.

Friday evening was remarkable enough, when all of a sudden, dark clouds gathered and it started raining. And some rain it was, with blinding lightening and ferocious winds. I was all prepared and agog to scoot home soon so that we could be off to catch the train with lots of time to spare and I had promised A some snacks and savories, but seeing the downpour I felt dejected - it was gonna be a close call yet again :( with no time for purchases.

Then all of a sudden, I spotted a girl. Seemed to be a faintly familiar face, someone I had met while traveling in share autos to office. I gave her a buck tooth smile, but she never returned it. Ahem! Wrong number mebbe. Then after sometime she came up and said, did we meet before in a share auto or something? I was like Ya Lady! She was pretty petrified by the way the downpour was shaping up and tentatively asked me - shall we try to get home in this rain? I told, if you have an umbrella to get us till the main gates without soaking like rats, I think I am brave enough to face this rain. So off we went with a flimsy umbrella... and that poor thing was twisted beyond redemption thanks to the winds :(

We managed to get autos and reach till the penultimate stop for me. It was a pretty interesting ride too where I got to hear her love story, wedding plans and future programs. Once I reached the stop, my cell phone was ringing and guess who was it?! Hubby Gubby! He was close to the terminus.

So we met with the music of La la la la la la la la la la ( music of Sagar movie fame) :D We had tea and bread pakodas at a tea stall..... Hmmmmmm mild drizzle, K for company, warm tea in one hand and bread pakoda in the other ........ hmmmm heaven was close :)

Grub done, we ventured ahead. Caught the bus which would take us home in the nick of time, so much so that, we stepped into the bus at the same time and were stuck for a few seconds at the door :D Making a fool of oneself and still smiling at it - I am excelling in this talent I feel.

Journey itself was a little bit painful since all of a sudden I was having a headache - maybe a sinus prone person like me could blame the rains for it.

Sat morn as soon as we reached Bangy, the ever food loving K escorted me to a restaurant near the railway station. We shared a plate of uttapam while the most lilting songs wafted. The song that made it all the more special was Dhaage tod laao from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. A personal fav.

Reached the destination and woke up dear darling A. And got on with the usual chatter chatter yak yak. A apart from sharing many of my opinions and tastes, also shares a penchant for getting the cold virus. Achoo Achoo Achoo she went hitting sixers and boundaries till noon. Thats when we decided to have a low key day. 3 of us generally lazed around in front of the TV, chatted and dozed intermittently, ordered and had some delectable sandwiches and noodles. Finally at 2000 we stepped out of the house to have death by chocolate - a lovely sundae at a nearby shop, which is a major hit with K since it was the very first dish I had shared with him. Once back, we guzzled generous portions of awesome ginger tea and emptied quite a few containers of snacks and savories :)

Time passed just like that, chatting,surfing the net, seeing pics of each others friends on Orkut, that A and I scarcely realised it was close to 0300 by the time we hit the bed.

Sunday started late, cos obviously we woke up late, were super lazy and there was some or the other thing on TV which was making us sit in front of it. Finally at 1400 we set forth. Again rains played spoilt sport. But inspite of it, we managed to make quite a few purchases. With her wedding coming up, A had quite a bit to do. But alas:( Still, what we accomplished within the 5 hours, was no mean feat.

Back home packing done, we had some pastries and puffs at a nearby bakery. It was really nostalgic to say goodbye, hmm, goodbye to miss A for the last time.

At the station, both K and I were reminiscing the 2 jovial days, we did not do anything, but still the time spent was so special. In the reverie we noticed that there was no sign of the train, though it was expected to depart in 15 more minutes. Thats when I spotted that we were facing platform number 6 rather than 5 (The setup is a bit weird, you cant see the platform number 5 though technically its just behind you. ) So we sccccccccccccccccccrammed to the other platform and got into the train Jab We Met style ( Ahem no no the train had nt started yet :) )

The rains and cold climes had forced me to take a couple of medicines to ward off the headache et al. But thanks to them, I slept like a dead decayed log!

When embarking on the journey, I had armed myself with the fully charged digicam for a lot of clicks. Ironically, dont have a single picture - but enormously precious memories.

Friends are the family you choose - you are an integral part of mine dearie.