1. Monday was more frustration at work. Contractual details needed to be discussed and dealt with. Something I had thought was frozen and sealed on paper, apparently wasnt. The paperwork is getting the better or shall I say the worst of me ?
2. Tuesday was a pleasant rain break. Another round of overnight rain showers that refused to stop all through the day ensured, that we once again, had to leave work at 3 pm. Mumbai now prefers to be safe rather than sorry. So if it rains continously for a whole day, people decide they need to be back home. 26/11 hasnt left many pleasant memories around here. I decided to make the most of the early day off from work and headed straight to Mom's, who tempted me with her "garam bhajiya and chai" plan for the evening.
2. Tuesday was a pleasant rain break. Another round of overnight rain showers that refused to stop all through the day ensured, that we once again, had to leave work at 3 pm. Mumbai now prefers to be safe rather than sorry. So if it rains continously for a whole day, people decide they need to be back home. 26/11 hasnt left many pleasant memories around here. I decided to make the most of the early day off from work and headed straight to Mom's, who tempted me with her "garam bhajiya and chai" plan for the evening.
3. "What is Massakalli madam?" asks my car partner Mr. Tamilakaran, en route to work one morning. I explain to him. Surprisingly, the conversation ends with "Have you ever tasted pigeon meat?"
Tamil Uncle's never cease to surprise!
Tamil Uncle's never cease to surprise!
4. Never Ever, NEVER EVER, trust a website of an Indian company/ bank/ organisation/ ...anything!!! They always say one thing on the website and do completely the opposite in reality. Even calling them wont really help, in some cases. Information always metapmorphoses from one source to another.
5. Mom was walking on the street, when someone standing at the side of the road, turned around to spit out his 'paan's' red juice. Turns out, a part of it lands on Mom's foot. Mom walks up to him and stares him straight in the eye.
"Sorry Madam. Aapko dekha nahin", says the spitter. (Translation: Sorry Madam, I didnt see you). Of course, had he seen her, he would have turned his mouth around to spit on the other side of the road instead. Like that would have been any better.
"Agley baar isko yahaan thukna, aur apne saath apne ghar le jaana" retaliated Mom, the angry spittoon, pointing to his shirt's breast pocket. (Translation: The next time you spit, do it here and then take it home with you).
Ladies and Gentlemen, My Mother!
6. The Schengen was a cake walk. And it got done, without me having to be there in person, in three days flat. Cant wait to meet the husband in Paris soon :)
7. Meeting in progress at the office. Suddenly I hear "Ipdi pode pode pode..." with 'dhinchak' (Mumbai term meaning loud, blingy etc) music. It's my Chief Architect's phone's, newest ring tone. While he takes the call, in the same conference room, the meeting progresses amidst his personal conversation. Suddenly the next interruption " Neenga kadalll...." screams a soulful voice. Now its the Office manager's turn to receive his call.
I feel out of place suddenly; turn to my poor phone, that's sitting in my pocket on silent/ vibrate mode and turn it back to 'sound on' for the rest of the meeting.
8. Random Impromptu plan to skip the office lunch on Wednesday and order a Chicken Tandoori pizza :) An idea suggested by the Americans and welcomed by me, since all of us were kinda tired of the desi-fare everyday.
My first pizza in Mumbai, in a very long time and definitely not the last.
9. The gym trainer is the best trainer I have ever had. He actually calls me when I dont reach the gym at my regular time, every evening. He has nothing to gain, I have all the weight and fat to lose. Yet, he's prompt and even insistent, that I show up for training every single day! I need to bring him back to NY!
10. Wednesday night was Bollywood experience night. The American colleagues wanted to see a desi-movie, so we took them to the best one that we could find at the moment; 'Kambakth Ishq'. I tried watching the movie, as an outsider, to see if I understood. The profuse use of English in the dialogue, made sure the Americans got the story completely. All in all, not a bad evening and the movie even seemed funny at parts, or maybe it was just the company :)
11. Thursday night was spent catching up with a marathon-friend from NYC. In one of those random situations that often occur with me, I discovered that a good friend from NYC, who ran the last two marathons with me, is in Mumbai, for her summer internship. And in the strangest of all coincidences, it turns out that she lives literally down the road, from my 'flat' in Powai. Dinner was cooked by friend's sister and the night was spent chatting with their family. I left with a promise, to catch up more often, with my new found neighbours :)
12. Friday was interesting at work, as most of the paperwork was in place and seemed like I'd finally get paid soon :) Another random rendez-vous with an elderly Tamilian gentleman lay in store, who insisted on wasting 45 minutes of my time, discussing why the air conditioning in my office did not seem appropriate. Power play is huge in Indian offices. Everyone wants to have their two minutes of power when they can. If I seem any more aggressive/ confrontational after my stint in Mumbai, you know what and who to blame :)
13. Saturday was Payday! After 8 weeks! Rewarding but late! And in INR, so seems like a lot more :) Hopefully things will be smooth here on.
14. Saturday night was fun; a girls night out with Snehi and the li'll gorgeous Ira. We headed to Oh! Calcutta for some Bong non-vegetarian fare, which I was reluctant about earlier, since I am not a big fan of Bengali cuisine. It turned out to be one of the most incredible meals I' ve had in this city. It was my first time ever, eating Bongla fish. Fried Vetki, Hilsa in mustard sauce steamed in a banana leaf, Prawn curry, Chicken in a tangy mango gravy, Luchi's....the works. With Ira talking to the waiters and all of us catching up over the spread, this made for one fun night.
Note to self: In Cuisine Club's season deux, 'C' could totally be for Calcuttan cuisine adn we could head to Oh Calcutta in Manhattan :)
15. Sunday, the most awaited day of the week, started off with a 10 miler, as always. A quick trip to Hubby's other grandmom's place with the in-laws', just before lunch. The afternoon was spent traversing the Bandra-Worli sea link, my second trip on it, this time, with a personal tour by Pa-in-law, who's spent a career working on bridge and roadway designs. My insistence on Moghlai cuisine had inspired the adorable in-laws to draw up a list of 10 places, all over town, that they thought I would like to eat at.
Lunch at Copper Chimney in Worli, had to be moved to Masalakraft in Bandra instead, which turned out to be 'spectacular-restaurant no. 2' of the weekend. We joked over outstanding nizami kababs, tandoori chicken, and my all time favourite Butter Chicken. And the pampering was'nt over yet; without the pa-in-law's customary 'meetha paan' that he gets me each time we go out :)
A quick bout of window shopping later, I found myself at the dentist's in the late afternoon. The evening was spent chatting with Mum and Pops, which ended with the third awesome meal of the weekend, Chinese at 'Stomach'.
Three restaurants in one weekend, all of which had splendid food to offer, made this a very foodie weekend.
As I tucked into bed Sunday night, I crossed off, in my head another fun week gone by in Mumbai!
Despite the frustrations and the anguish, stress seems minimal here.
Not only is it going to be hard to leave all this behind, but it will be harder to try to adapt back into a life, that from here, seems lesser colourful, more distanced and far far out and away from this mega-magical-maximum Mumbai city, that I first fell in love with!
When I left NYC, I thought I would miss my husband, my apartment and my Manhattan, in that order. The truth is, I only miss the husband.
It could be because I know that the other two I will go back to in a few months. But its the golden times here that would have been amazing to share with hubby :)
Never before have I wished for the two cities to be closer to each other!
'To start a Sunday, with a run in Central Park that ended at The Sea Link; a brunch in Soho that ends with afternoon chai at Moms' in 4 Bungalows; a window shopping bout that starts in Manhattan and ends at Colaba Causeway, and an evening that starts with a Broadway show, and ends with Dinner at the in-laws, followed by a late night Bollywood flick, in Red Box seats!' ......
On that dilemma and somewhat introspective note, I leave you with the Week No. 7 in pictures:
Take care, until next week,
Shweyta
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