Mumbai Diaries - Week 14 - Of Architectural 'Bliss', 'circular' lives and unusually free weekends!

1. Week 14 started with a bang -

On Monday, Preetam and Ilya, (whom you may know from the previous week's diary), came over to the office, for a scheduled site-visit. The three of us, along with Sushanta, the L&T Structural engineer on the project, got a personalised, special tour of the construction site. We walked all along the periphery of the SW Pier, which is the first phase of the airport, noticing intricate construction details and stepping on and off reinforcement bars and cement sacks.

To be on site, to see constructed, what one has been working on, from the inception, is how most Architects define "Bliss".

This was one such afternoon for us.

We tanned ourselves dark, through our safety helmets and site jackets, as we walked around, relating in actuality, what we had been conceiving so long, in 2 and 3-D. To Preetam, the Structural Engineer, the visit also entailed work, as he kept pointing out things to Sushanta, that he was not in agreement with, but to Ilya and I, this was an exciting couple of hours, touring what I ve called my 'baby' since over two years now.

2. September is here and so is the first of the family birthdays - Sept 2nd was Pa-in-laws birthday. In his honour, I hosted a birthday dinner at one of his favourite sea-food speciality restaurants - Gajalee in Vile Parle. The event was attended by both the Moms', Dads' and sis-in-law and to-be bro-in-law. The night started off with some yummy pink-looking Sol Kadhi, went on to Hariyali Paneer Tikkas, Tandoori Pomfrets, Bombay-Duck fry and Seekh kababs. The main course included Shark gravy (Mori Masala), Shrimp Masala and three types of Biryanis - Fish, Chicken and Vegetarian. Dessert was birthday cake - Dutch trufle brought by the sis-in-law, cut by Pa-in-law, amidst a loud birthday song and clapping spectators :)

The conversation ranged from weddings, careers, travel plans to future plans. An evening that did not want to end or so it seemed, when even after having left the restaurant, people didnt really leave each other. Finally, at midnight or so, we called it a night and went home. Most definitely looking forward to many such mega family events, in the near future.

3. While there is much festive mirth and revelry everywhere, when all the 'dhols' are done beating and the 'aartis' stop chanting, it may be time to reflect within ourselves and wonder what happens to the environment, when our celebration ends? Most Ganesh idols are immersed in the sea, in most parts of Mumbai or in the lake, as in Powai. As kids, while growing up in Mumbai, we were not taken to the beach a few weeks after 'Ganpati Bappa went home' since the waters would have washed ashore an arm or a leg of an idol.

In a similar discussion with a friend the other day, we talked about how plaster-of-paris Ganpati's should be banned and eco-friendly ones should be promoted. However, obivously it is easier said than done, considering a huge industry is supported by this festival and the idols. But somehow a happy medium needs to be struck. We can no longer sacrifice our beaches and waters, exposing them to poisonous non-degradable idols. Obviously, no political party will pick up the onus of declaring this ban. So maybe it's time the common man thought about it and generated a PIL for the same.

4. Its funny how, at certain sights, that suddenly appear in front of me, I get all "awwww", inspite of being back in Mumbai for over 3 months now.

Inanimate objects that have held relevance in the past, especially in the growing years. One such "awww" moment happened the other day, when I was walking home from gym and I saw a beaten-up shuttlecock, lying on the road, next to me :) That makes me add 'playing baddy' as we called it, to my to-do list, while I am still here.

When I got home, the neighbours 'double door' had a 'phool-pudi' (green leaf wrapped around flowers, usually delivered in the evenings, for pooja, in apartment buildings in Mumbai), stuck in it's grill, as several doors did in our building, while growing up.

At Mom's place in Four bungalows, this retrospection enhances itself, when I see the bhel-puri walla bhaiyya, still standing where he did, for the last 30 years, selling exactly what he did, and still looking the same. It's like living in parallel Mumbai's simultaneously.

5. The last day of Ganpati was Thursday, this week. Office was 'supposed' to shut early, since immersion traffic takes over the city, beyond 3 pm. However, inspite of no formal intimation from work to leave early, people decided to take off as they pleased anyway.

Narayan, my latest driver and I, took off. He was going home to Ghatkopar, for his local Ganpati visarjan, so he dropped me off en route, at a rickshaw stop, since I was going to Four Bungalows, to see Ganpati's. Turns out, no rickshaw-wallahs were interested in going anywhere, so after 45 unsuccessful minutes, finally a generous gentleman stopped and decided to give a few of us a ride, upto Juhu galli. From there, a stranger and I (this girl who had hooked up with me at the bus-stop in Mumbai's popular "When in trouble unite with another woman" scenario) found a rickshaw, that took us home.

At home, after evening-chai with the folks, Mom and I, walked towards an appropriate street corner, to view the caravan of huge Ganesha's trailing their way into the beach. A few pictures later, we started following the caravan and found ourselves walking onto the beach and almost into the water. We walked from one Ganesha to another, on the sand, some where the last 'aarti's' were being said and some were just entering the ocean.

People willingly posed for my camera, (Mom thought they assumed I was part of the 'press'). Circulation was smooth, no pushing, no shoving, no groping. For the first time in my life, I was not worried about being in a crowded place, in this city, having to be wary of 'intrusions'.

My clicking-frenzy got the better of me. I got emotional and a little foggy-eyed on seeing my favourite little 'God-Buddy' leave, as I yelled out in sync with the rest of the city "Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya varshi lavkar ya". I even added my own little prayer to it, in my head and said "Aani aamhala parat Mumbai-it houu dya" (Ganpati Bappa Morya, Come early next year and please let us be in Mumbai, again, at the time.)

As I stood with Mom, at the pedestrian side of the rope, which forbid us from entering into the 'visarjan' zone beyond, we stared far out, at the horizon. Post-visarjan, people were emerging from the sea, with empty 'paat's' (pedestals on which Ganpati is kept) in their hand.

Neither Mom nor I, said a word. Neither of us had ever been to the sea, for a Ganesh visarjan before; I, in my 30 years of existence and Mom in her 33 years of having lived in Mumbai. When I was growing up, she would hold my hand and take me to the Bonbon junction at 7 Bungalows, every year, to show me the passing big Ganpati's, going for immersion. That was the making of my first Mumbai moments.

That Thursday evening, while gazing at the Ganpatis' being immersed into the ocean, as I inched closer to hold Mom's hand, I realised, I had given her, her most incredible Mumbai moment.

Momentarily albeit, Life came a full circle !

Post-visarjan, we met up with Snehi and little Ira and walked through the celebrations, to go to Snehi's place. My evening was spent playing with li'll Ira ( For some silly reason we both call each other 'Cuckoo' now), taking pictures and working on jigsaw puzzles that gave shape to two Dora's.

Dinner was at Mom's place, while watching our common T.V soap together, after which I left for home. The rickshaw ride back, was smooth, winding its way through more processions and celebrations. Saying one last good-bye to Ganpati Bappa, I found myself back home, as soon as the clouds gave way to incessant rainfall, that did not stop all night long. A lot of prayers seemed to have been answered that night.

6. While walking in Ratan Nagar (the street I grew up on), I came across a "chamcha poster" that celebrated the organisers of the local Ganpati. I had expected to find some familiar faces on the poster, but the face of this one 'Uncle' made me roar with laughter, as it will to my friends who know him too :) So although this is not a joke that everyone can understand, it is extremely hilarious and hence putting down as a highlight of the week. Mom, Pops and I shared a soulful laugh, as we passed by the poster.

7. Mr. Mad Oldie from Senior Management at work here, went around putting himself to shame once again. He asked a girl in the office, "If you dont mind, can you please tie your hair?". The girl did give it back to him, in her own way, but the man does not fail to apall me with his ridiculousness.

8. AA (My team member, also named Amit) who keeps "Boss" ing me all the time, was the centre of all jokes, when even the buttons on his pant buttons, read the same as his office mantra - "Yes Boss", as seen in the first picture of the weekly album.

9. The work week ended just as it started; with another site visit, this time to the existing International Terminal, to study certain joinery details. It was nice to enter the airport and go all the way upto the Continental gate, without a ticket in hand. "From here, all I need is a Boarding Pass, to go make a quick trip to go see the Hubby and come back :)" I said to myself.

10. The common cold took over me starting Friday; and gave the boys another reason to joke about. The Swine Flu poster stuck on the notice board outside, was now relocated to my desk, as they decided to check my symptoms against those on the poster.

11. Saturday evening, after work, was spent running domestic errands in Powai, after which I called it an early night, in anticipation of the long run the next day.

12. Sunday morning, the rains and exhaustion woke me up, to the morning alarm. The target run being only a 10 miler, I decided to give it a skip and went back to bed again, only to rise at 11:30 am. This must have been my latest Sunday morning, in Mumbai, so far.

Lunch was at Mom and Pop's, where Pav Bhaji awaited me. The afternoon was spent pampering myself with massages before I came home for evening-chai with the folks. Dinner was Bhuna Chicken and Veg. Biryani ordered from 'Urban Tadka', while watching a T.V Award show with the parents. I was finally back home in Powai, at 11 pm to call it a night, on a weekend spent, doing absolutely nothing. My first such weekend here; and one that I do not intend on repeating :)

Week 14 in pictures is here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/shweyta/MumbaiDiariesWeek14?feat=directlink

Take care and do write back. Would love to hear from you.

Be happy and stay well, while I go to the cafetaria and grab some 'tayeer-chaadam' and pickle for lunch.

Hope you all had a great long weekend.

Love,
Shweyta

Mumbai Diaries - Week 13 - Of The Boys', new gym friends and 'pink' gulaal....

1. The boys in the cabin, are on a different trip these days. Apparently, when 'Boss' was away, there were a few inquiries from certain 'guys' in the office, regarding her return. Since then, the 'cabin-boys', as I call them now, (to differentiate between those who can take certain liberties vs those who try to take them) have new reasons to take the Boss's case all day long. A 'list' has been pinned up in the cabin, which keeps getting new and totally random additions to it, every day. It's called 'Boss Fan Club' and makes me ridiculously red in the face, everytime someone asks what it is. Feels very FYJC (First year Junior College)!

2. At the end of more than half my stint here at work, we finally get lockers/ our

own cabinets and some more office furniture. Much excitement followed, as desks were re-arranged and individual work-areas re-defined.

I now have a corner-office; albeit of a new kind, it's an L-desk in a corner of the office :(

3. Wednesday night was dinner with the Jha-Mehta's. I was meeting little Ira after ages, who wanted to eat pizza, so we went to Mangiferra in Juhu. Neither the food, or the place, were anything much to write about, but of course an evening spent with the Jha-Mehta's is always very entertaining. Ira and I had our own little kiddie conversation when both her parents, Snehi and Atit, got out of the car, to talk to random friends they had bumped into, ironically at the same time.

Ira and I being in the car all by ourselves, played a make-believe 'chor-police' game, which ended with Ira handing me over to the police :( My only relief came when she promised to bring me 'dabba' to my jail :)

Another highlight of the evening, was the three of us trying to teach Ira to 'beat back' any one who punches/ pushes/ hits her in school. Not sure how great that piece of advice is, especially as she did'nt seem too convinced about it :)

4. The view from the bedroom balcony of the new apartment, is breath-taking. Finally managed to take some pictures. Makes a night-bird like me, look forward to mornings.

5. A lot of flight purser's live in my apartment complex. The Kingfisher one's, look the funniest. I think Kingfisher needs to revamp their air-hostess's uniforms or have them wear it just before they board the flight. A woman wearing red, head to toe, looks outrageous, when not in the context of an airplane. Red pumps have never looked so ridiculous before.

6. Made a new friend at the gym on Friday night. Madhavi, is an American-Indian, married to Jim, an American. Both have been living in my apartment complex, for over a year now. Jim works with Deutsche Bank and has been moved here through his company, to work in their Sakinaka branch. Madhavi and I got along instantly, while group training with our instructor. Jim and her, feel the constant lack of sporting activities to indulge in, in Mumbai and are tired of clubbing/ eating out as the only recreational activities in the city. Seems like I may have new company to hang out with in Mumbai.

7. The very stingy Amit Anand (team member) was finally forced to "treat" everyone, since he never really offers to do so. So once again, the trademark Dominos pizza was ordered and the cubicle was converted into a mid-week party-spot.

8. A coincidental brush with another senior from my undergrad days, Marzban, at the office. Turns out his company is designing the signage system for the airport. My world continues to grow smaller.

9. Saturday was Ganpati Visarjan Day No. 7. It also happened to be the evening, Preetam, Ilya and I decided to do dinner at Aurus at Juhu. Preetam and Ilya are ex-co workers from NYC and are in town, on work. Somehow, I didnt have the presence of mind to avoid 'Juhu' that evening, so while both the guys landed there on time, I was a good hour and half late. Mumbai traffic cops routed us efficiently from Mithibai to S.V Road, to Amitabh's bungalow to Juhu Garden, more than twice, on the same route, until we finally made it to Aurus. Inspite of the delay, I must admit I kind of enjoyed the various processions, leading Ganesha towards immersion and even managed to get some pink 'gulaal' on my jeans and scarf.

On reaching, I found the poor jet-lagged guys, almost dozing off on the plush couch, at our table. A few drinks, appetizers, oysters and pasta later, we called it a night. I missed out on being there earlier to take pictures of the 'ocean view' from the restaurant, as it's outdoor space completely opens up to the sea. Sort of the modern day 'Sea View Hotel' that we used to hang out at, in our architectural undergrad days.

It took us another hour's worth of walking post-dinner, all the way back to S.V Road, among more Ganpati processions, to find rickshaws that would take us to our respective destinations. I came home to some drunk Koreans' rushing into my rickshaw, pleading to me, to talk to the driver in Hindi and help them out with some directions.

What a fun night! And more so, since it rained on and off, almost as if Ganpati Bappa blessed Mumbai, as they bid him a devotional and ultra-rocking good-bye, what with their strobe-lit caravans and mad music blasting publicly throughout the city. Another definite Mumbai Moment; one that I hope to repeat on the 11th day of the festival too, next week.

10. Sunday found me trotting all over the city, from Powai to Colaba to Mahalakshmi to Four Bungalows and back to Powai.

Sunday morning started off with an 18 miler. Obviously the runs get tougher, as they get longer, especially when they are done on a treadmill, indoors. But somehow I ve come to terms with the fact that this may be my first marathon, trained indoors completely. I may as well run the 26.2 on the treadmill too and get a medal at the end of it :)

Sunday afternoon was spent design-consulting with Tush at his gallery space, that opens to all, on Sept 25th, Friday. "The" reason for which I pushed my flight ticket out to NY, by one day, so I dont miss out on, what he insists will be 'Mumbai's most historic art-space opening party'.

The lovely afternoon was spent brainstorming, over art/ business/ venues/ party invites/ tag lines/ signage and future business initiatives. There's a lot going on; opening-related, that I am not allowed to talk about yet, so I ll keep mum, until the opening day, when I can reveal it all. For now, it's just exciting and strangely fulfilling, to see a spark of an idea, take shape this beautifully :)

Sunday evening was spent with Kalpesh (another really old friend, from undergrad days) and his parents, at his swanky 31st floor, Race Course apartment. Every time I go to their places, (Tush's and Kalpesh's), I cant help but think of 'home' back in the States, overlooking the Hudson, with it's spectacular view. What was literally supposed to be a 'touch-and-go' stop, turned out to be a 2-hour fun catching-up session with him and his parents, who were meeting me after 7 years. This was a meet-up long overdue, since we had been planning to meet, since the day I had first landed here, in June.

Sunday night was spent at Mom and Pops, where we had more catching up to do, since they had just landed into town, from visiting Grandma. Mom made 'vada-paav' and obviously I over-ate, convincing myself, I ll run it all off soon :)

Week 13 in pictures is here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/shweyta/MumbaiDiariesWeek13?feat=directlink

The upcoming weeks/ months look terribly exciting from here. Not only is it back-to-back festival time in Mumbai - Raakhi, Janmashtami, Independence Day just passed, Ganpati and Ramzan are going on and will end soon, soon to be followed by Navratris, Dusshera, Diwali, Christmas and New Years. And the marathon (in NY) in November. And four weddings, not including Sis-in-law's wedding, that already await attendance confirmation, all in the end of Nov - beginning December. Amidst all of the above, are our family birthdays/ anniversaries that roll off in September and go all the way until February.

My kind of country this, that celebrates everything, big or small :) The only missing element, to complete this experience - Hubby - who's missing a lot here and being missed a lot here too!

So while I go chart out my busy weeks ahead, and book tickets, you take care and have fun. Do keep in touch, write back and call me if you're in this magical madness of a megalopolis. I promise, I' ll still have time to meet up :)

Love,

Shweyta

Mumbai Diaries - Week 12 - Of showdowns, Ganesha's and salon-boys!

Week 11 was spent out of Mumbai, travelling within Paris, Versailles, Brussels, Ghent, Brugge and finally a quick weekend trip to New York, to run errands, catch up with friends and run the Half-Marathon. In short, the week was a gist of my life at the moment, shuttling between both my homes/ work places, with some travel in between :)

The Diary notes below, are from Week 12; the first half of which was spent in NY and the remainder in Mumbai.

1. The week started with my fifth Half-Marathon (4th NYC Half Marathon). Having trained on treadmills all season long, this was my first outdoor race of the year. I crossed the finish line at 2:39:42, not my best time so far; in fact, it's 40 whole minutes slower, than my fastest half ever, that I ran in 2007. Need to pick up on the training.

2. I landed in Mumbai, on Tuesday night. Parents, as always, came to pick me up at the airport and we came back to my place for the night. Adorable Mum had brought along 'ghar ka khana' for me, so after some catching up and a satiating dinner, I called it a semi jet-lagged night.

3. Mum and co-workers think I am more tanned after the one week vacation, than I ve been after moving to Mumbai for the past two months.

4. Wednesday, the team rejoiced as 'Boss' was back in town. Before they asked 'How are you?' they wanted to know, 'Where are the chocolates?' Strangers, who I've barely spoken to before, came to my desk, inviting themselves to the 'foreign made chocolates'. Gradually the bag of Ghirardelli Squares, depleted itself. The updates were given, more fun-related than work-related. A fun second-first day at work!

5. The gym instructor is elated. Turns out over the brief vacation, I actually lost a kg. All the more motivation to keep going at it :)

6. The sis-in-law is tying the knot. There is much excitement all around and a lot of planning to be done. Soon tickets, shopping, designing, etc will take over our lives. Thursday night dinner was with sis-in-law and the new bro-in-law to be. A fun-filled dinner, that included lot of catching up and getting to know the new bro-in-law, at Parabola, in the Rodas Ecotel at Powai. Looking forward to many more such evenings, before the wedding frenzy sets in.

7. Word has come from the client's side (Mumbai International Airport Ltd) that "The joinery detail package is one of the most sophisticatedly drawn and comprehensively detailed one, that we have received from L&T by far". Boss and her team, are now taking a bow!

8. Office administration is hilarious. New hires abound, coming in, by the dozens, each day and no place to sit or work station to work on. Its funny how every day they scout around the whole office, asking around if someone is out today, so they can grab their desk for the day. Makes for our daily dose of 'musical chairs'.

9. Two more friends are visiting next week from NYC. Mumbai continues to be my new 'social convergence' point.

10. Black Forest cake to celebrate Martin's Birthday. The usual cake-smearing on the face and the magic candles that never blow out. This time we even had wafers, so it was right out of a kiddie birthday party, all with paper plates, wafers and cake :)

11. Big big big showdown with two senior management officials from L&T, who needed to be shown their place. Political games abound here, as they do in most other work places, but this time, as they say, the water had gone well over. A lot of arguing, finally gave way to some reason. Not one to give up so easily to injustice, I stomped straight, into the Project Director's office for clarification on issues that the fight had revolved around, only to be told, I was absolutely correct in my endeavour.

The Project Director also added, that the old school-ers at L&T needed to get their act straight and that I had nothing to fear, in standing up for what I thought should be the 'process'. Big high, winning this, I must arrogantly claim. After all, its not every day that I get to brag, having successfully argued out two gentlemen, much older than my dad, with tremendous experience, that I seriously doubt now :)
Overnight, there seems to be a 'hero' status in the office, post-issue.
Dubey - the office chai-boy summarised it when he said "Madumm, fataa-fat angrezi mein baat karre jaa rahee theen; bilkul Jhansi ki rani lageen. Bahut accha sabak sikhaaya Madumm-ji ne un khusat buddhon ko aur unhe chhup karr diya." When a colleague asked Dubey, how he knew all this; he innocently replied "Hum kitchen kee deewar se kaan jo lagaaye sun rahey they na"
:)

12. The air is pregnant with Ganpati mantras. It's beautiful, as if the whole city is in a state of solemn divinity and utmost devotion. I wake up to an 'aarti' that comes from a 'pandal' behind the hills somewhere and sleep to one; that is possibly being said in the house next door. A thrill that will last only for a few more days, I know.

13. Ganesha came this year with Ramzan, hand in hand, both on the same day. As I went home from Mom's place, I saw on either side of the road, two contrasting yet connected experiences. On one side of the road, devotees marched, bringing in their ganpati idols, all veiled up, since it was the day before Ganesh Chaturthi. On the other side of the road, multiple men bowed, wearing white caps, in tune to the 'azaan', as they started their first 'roza' for the Ramzan. The dichotomy took over me so overwhelmingly, that I missed a great photo-op. No regrets, however. I dont think the camera could have done justice to the moment, anyway.
Definitely another 'Mumbai moment'!
A few times in the past, such concurrences have occured, that have made me think, if calendar's can synchronise so well, why do people then, refuse to? And then come along, some people, who astonishingly defy all borders. I have new found respect for Salman Khan's tolerant religious practice, suddenly, who (as the news channels flashed), broke his 'roza' before taking his ganpati for 'visarjan'.

14. Moved into my third, and what I desperately hope, is my last apartment here at this stint in Mumbai. This one is slightly smaller, but has the best view, from the bedroom balcony. The Powai hills sprawl right outside and it being Monsoon, they are sprinkled with light green all over. The place is on the 13th floor (yes in India, they still have 13 floor) and awaits visits from friends and family :)

15. How many of you girls, have had your eyebrows done by a man? And a 'mast' hot oil 'champi' complete with some sort of hand massager that vibrates the devils out of one's head? I was funnily exposed to both of the above, over the weekend. Being a day before Ganpati, most salons in the city were closing earlier and my desperate hunt led me to a random place, where I decided to entrust my eyebrows into a strangers hands. The stranger turned out to be a 20-something young boy, who seemed to resemble the others of his clan-types, hanging out at the ice-cream parlour next door. And what a splendid job he did!

Similar story with the oil-massage place. The young boy giving me the 'champi' promised that I would dump my regular massage place to come to him all the time.

I guess, you never really know what lies out there, until you get out of your comfort zone.

16. Sunday morning, after a somewhat difficult 14 miler on the treadmill, I was ready for Ganesha. Mom and Pops came over and the three of us, left for a cousin's place for the first 'aarti' of the day and some tasty vegetarian, Ganpati festival food. The next stop for 'darshan' was at Snehi's Mom's place. To my disappointment, little Ira was fast asleep, still wearing her tiny 'ghagra choli', but that didnt stop us from sitting literally on top of her head and laughing out loud, as we caught up with each other.

Week 12 in pictures is here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/shweyta/MumbaiDiariesWeek12?feat=directlink

Thank you for reading the diaries and also for the numerous 'encore' emails and replies that make me pen these episodes down and share them with all of you.

As a dear friend Shagun, said in her email to me, earlier this week; it's nice to know that through my emails, you can journey into a more irregular and shall I say 'differently disciplined' world, that seems to function of it's own accord :)

The updates will be more regular now that Week 12 has passed and I am finally re-settled in, back in my Mumbai life.

So while I hope all of you are having a good day and being good, I shall sign off now, since the 'kaanda bhajjis' (or pyaaz ke pakode, as some of us know them) and 'chai' await me :)

Take care,
Shweyta

Mumbai diaries Week 10 - Of rakhi's, packing up and good-bye's...

Note: This diary is for the week before I left here for the vacation.

1. One week to go for Paris and the L'Affaire du Coeur with the stranger meeting me there. Cant wait! Before this week ends, I ll be with him :)

2. Lots of work to finish before I take off. The team cant wait till I leave nor can they wait till I am back to shield them from the line of fire. Strange feeling this, but a nice one somehow!

3. The weekend will be spent partly in Mumbai, partly in the air and partly in Europe :) A well deserved break this one - after ten, long, 6-day work-weeks.

4. The trainer is not very happy about my break, considering it will interrupt my training. This is going to be one regimented vacation!

5. Wednesday was 'Raksha Bandhan' and although I didnt really celebrate, it did feel like a different day. Traffic was crazy till late at night, men walked around wearing red 'tilaks' that their sisters put on their foreheads and multi-coloured 'rakhis' on their wrists. The guys in the office wore full-shirts in honour of the long-standing joke of wearing a full sleeved shirt to work, so no one could tie them a 'rakhi' :)
The non-gym evening on Wednesday was spent with Mom and Pops, doing small everyday things, like grocery shopping, drinking naariyal-paani, watching T.V etc. My first trip to a Mumbai grocery store after a very long time revealed there is nothing you dont get there, that you get in a US grocery store. Another role reversal of sorts, since just a few months ago Mom, Pops, Amit and I were grocery shopping in New Jersey buying stuff for our apartment and here I was, with Mom and Pop, buying stuff for their home here in Mumbai.

6. Manjari (the marathoner friend from NY) was leaving to go back to the US, from her internship here, in the city.
We met up for a good-bye dinner, locally, at Aura near Rodas in Powai on Wednesday night.
Aura, is a fashion/ music/ food kind of place, with strange mannequins that peep out of its glass windows, while in one end of the space, china-town kind of lanterns hang in dozens. The music is too loud, as is the case in most places in Mumbai and the air-conditioning is set on too cold. We had pasta, which appeared to be more like 'little pasta in lots of cream sauce' instead of being the other way around. Seems like most restaurants in the city prefer to serve their pastas like this, considering most Indians do not like dry pasta. An impromptu fun mid-week dinner that worked out very well on the time-front as well, especially since both of us, live next door to each other.

7. Turns out that I ll be missing out on a lot of events on my social calendar when I am away from Mumbai. A very good friend Kunal, from architecture school in LA, is getting engaged here in Mumbai, on the Sunday. Another good friend and ex-colleague from NYC, Bharati, is also getting married in Pune next Wednesday. And there's Janmashtami - Govinda day for Mumbaikars, with all the high hung "haandi's" and the human pyramids trying to reach and break them.

8. Ganpati idols have started appearing all over the bazaars and Ganesh 'mandaps' are sprouting up all over the city. This will be my second Ganesh Chaturthi in the city, in the last 7 years, so looking forward to it. It happens the weekend, right after I get back.

9. Still have so many people to meet in Mumbai. Turns out I still have so many friends here in Mumbai, so seems like, I'd be lucky, if I got to meet any of them more than once.

10. Saturday was a short work day, since I decided to take off work earlier, to pack etc and actually feel like my vacation is really about to start. The boys in the team decided to order a pizza, in honour of the 'Boss' who was departing ;)

I sure do hope there will be a 'welcome pizza' when the Boss returns too. Time will tell.

11. The flight out to Brussels was at 2:20 am, so the night's dinner out was planned with the parents, at Saffron Spice, near IIT Powai. I had heard a lot about this place from my American colleagues and thought we'd give it a shot. Powai has quite a few restaurants but seems like I am soon going to run out of places, since I try very hard not to repeat any of them. Dinner was basic Indian fare and my must-order Indian dish, Butter Chicken/ Chicken Tikka Masala or some sort of spicy gravy Indian chicken dish with Roti for Pops and me and corn subzi for Mom, which was too sweet. Of course the regular accompaniments included papad, achaar and salad. All in all, this was by far my most average food experience in the city.

12. At the airport, post-security, I went click-happy on some new developments I noticed, mainly in the concessions areas. The IIFA lounge was the most commendable addition, I have noticed in the recent past and must say, a very innovative one at that.

This diary is being sent out before the week really ends, since the week ends in Paris with the husband, on our second honeymoon :)

Week 10 in pictures is here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/shweyta/MumbaiDiariesWeek1002?feat=directlink

Hopefully I can manage to catch up with some of you, when I am back in NYC, for the weekend of Aug 14th - 17th.
Until then, take care, stay hale and hearty and please come cheer Amit and me, on Aug 16th, if you can, as we run the NYC Half-Marathon, yet again!

Love,

Shweyta

Mumbai Diaries Week 9 - Of Mongini's cakes, meetha paan and paani puri!

1. One of our office 'macchas' had his birthday. The first Birthday celebration at work, here since I ve joined. Pretty much similar to an office birthday celebration in NYC, except of course there's just one small cake and 50 mouths to feed :) But then again, unlike in the US, there's one cake per person, per birthday. Something I never encountered in an NYC office.

And No, we didnt sing Happy Birthday in Tamil!

2. The L&T yearly appraisals and promotions were announced this week. Turns out most people I know in the company, received anywhere from Rs.5000 to Rs.1,50,000 as their yearly bonus. Quite a few even got promoted to the next rung in what seems like a rather long corporate ladder. All in all, this year, L&T has spent more than what they did last year, in bonuses/ appraisals and pay raises. Way to go Recession!

3. I lead a team comprising of three people at work; one of whom is also called 'Amit'. In a hilarious event in the past, when asked "How is Amit?" in my first week here, I had gone on to almost respond "He is fine. He is in NYC and missing me a lot." when I realised the Amit in question, was the team member.
In a similar situation last week, yet again I was asked "How is Amit?", to which my confident answer was "He's doing good. Learning well and even understands the project better than most people here." The co-worker/ friend who had posed the question, looked around somewhat confused, when I realised he was inquiring about the husband 'Amit' :)

4. Amit the team member, refers to me as "Sweetest Boss"; a title I am much flattered by. Apparently he has'nt had "bosses" that have been fun in the past, or so it seems. Amit, the husband as always has the last line in the situation; "Oh, so even in Mumbai you're Amit's boss, are you?"
:)

5. Wednesday night, being the gym-free night, calls for fun mid-week plans. This week, Wednesday was spent shopping around Bandra before meeting up with Deepti (architecture undergrad friend) for dinner at '5 Spice'.

'5 Spice' is a typical three-storeyed huge Chinese restaurant straight out of Chinatown. Each portion serves the entire table, so between the two of us, we had a tough time downing the spread of 5-Spice soup, chicken wrapped in fried noodles and spicy shrimp in garlic sauce with the regular kim-chi that adorns the tables of most Chinese restaurants in the city nowadays. Drinks were Sula Chantilly and Kingfisher pints! A lot to eat, over lots to chat and talk about, since the two of us were meeting after 3 years.

6. Cho, the comic Korean co-worker from NYC, landed for his last month-long trip, this week. He brings with him, hilarious day to day incidents that involve the cafetaria's Indian food and his grumpy face each time he eats there. He also brings with him loads of Korean food; canned kim-chi and udon, in the hope that it lasts him through his stay here.

7. At work, an 'employee notice' that seems to pop up every 10 days describes, to my utter shock, what women and men should wear to work. I know most companies like to regulate the office attire but didnt know this one said "Women - Salwar kameez's or chudidaar kurtas' with tightly pinned duppattas" That, thankfully, no one actually pays attention to these notices, is of course another story!

8. Saturday was to be the first submission of my assignment here. So the team and I, spent the entire day pulling together last minute details to put together our package, for the Joinery Details of the first phase of the Airport. And Saturday evening, we all slumped down in our chairs, breathing sighs of relief, at 7:30 pm when the package had been waved good-bye and sent out for QA/QC.

My first ever team-led package sent out. Truly, a great feeling.

An integral aspect of the Airport, can now say it was designed/ planned by your's truly :)

9. Sarika (good friend and ex-colleague from NY) was in town, for some of her meetings with prospective developers and clients. I invited her over at the office, for a "L&T lunch". It was fun to catch up over pav-bhaji (Saturday lunch special) while reminiscing about how we pined for food like this everyday in NY, at work.

Kashyap, (another Architect-friend from NY) was also in town and although we couldnt meet, we did catch up over the phone. Two more friends from NY are expected to be here, in Mumbai, in the next few weeks.

I always looked at NY as this great centre point, where everyone converged atleast once and so just by living there, I got to meet them all. Mumbai, now, seems to have become the new centre-point, somehow.

10. We work at L&T's Project Site-office; closer to the site (in our case the International Airport), nice and green, has a more earthy feel to it. A snail in the ladies room, a rat on a colleague's desk (who thankfully sits far far away) are then just part of the deal, I guess. Reminds me of my Auroville days, when we would pee on frogs (by mistake, obviously) and shower with squirrels.

11. Two more cakes and lots of magic candles at work, for a birthday boy and a new groom-to-be. I think I really like L&T's staple employee benefits; housing, transportation, food and birthday cake for each employee.

In the list above, I have yet to add the various allowances offered; children's school fee allowances, leave travel allowances and of course multiple vacation/ sick and personal days off. Makes it very hard to rationalise the US working system somehow.

12. Saturday night was to be another carbo-loading exercise. So after a lot of back-and-forth between Indian/ Chinese/ Italian cuisines, Snehi and Atit gave in to my pasta-dinner demand. Snehi, at her restaurant-picking best, went on to pick Shatranj Napoli, which serves Pasta and Indian as well, so everyone could eat what they wanted.

Signature, in Four Bungalows is now Shatranj-Napoli; nicely done up, with the quintessential semi-outdoor space and a bare light-coloured wooden, farm kind of feel. The waiter tried to stop me from taking pictures, thinking I was press, armed with my D-80. Took some yelling to convince him that I was just a regular customer, here to eat with my friends and taking pictures while I waited for them to arrive. Ignorance is not always bliss!

Dinner started with a foccacia bread recommendation made by the waiter, instead of the garlic bread that Snehi wanted to have. The Foccacia arrived looking more like a pizza base with herbs sprinkled on it. Two types of pastas with heavy sauces and a thin crust pizza was our dinner for the night. And of course, no matter what the meal, it always has to end with a 'meetha paan'.

Atit's generous self, offered 'Rakhi ka swayamwar' tickets to me and Snehi. While I was a little skeptical about scarring my public profile, by being seen at such a hideous event, Snehi was pretty sure, it was very beneath her, to attend. So the plan was shelved.

Post Dinner, we gave Atit the boot, so we could take a leisurely walk back home, where he would meet us with the car.

A different sort of an evening, this one, with Ira missing. A family I am definitely going to miss, when I am back in NY.

13. Sunday started with the last 11 miler before the Half Marathon. The race is now only a few days away and I cant imagine, how it will be to run it outdoors, with all my training for it having been done indoors. I can only hope the weather is blissful and cool, which will be a big help.

Sunday lunch was with Mum and Pops, eating Mommy-made food after ages. Post lunch chattering away and catching up with the folks continued for hours, after which I was off for a massage and a haircut :) More a re-style than a cut, this one. Say my team mates at work "Makes you look even more like a 'Madam'" I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

"The only Indian food I am craving now is paani puri, frankie and butta" I told Mom.

Mom, who's never been a big promoter of 'outside' food suggested we do all of the above for dinner. So after 'shaam ki chai' (evening tea) we were off to Chandru's for paani puri and then Tibb's frankie. Soon it was time to go home, since everyone had been talking about 'Rakhi ka Swayamwar' and I didnt want to miss it, since it would ensure complete entertainment and lots of laughter. So the rest of Sunday was spent packing a little for next weekend while watching Rakhi's prospectives and their families making fools of themselves on National TV.

14. A friend called Sunday night saying "Happy Friendship Day" to which I retorted with a "What?" which probably offended her. To add to the damage I even said "You actually believe in all this?".

I think she probably gave up on me that night when she said "Ok, chal bye" right away!

Week 9 was spent having fun and not shooting it as much, hence the lesser number of pictures :

http://picasaweb.google.com/shweyta/MumbaiDiariesWeek9?feat=directlink

Take care, be well and have fun while I go back to another deadline and some more printing to be done. A week away from the Euro-trip and not feeling like I am going on vacation at all, atleast as yet!

Love,

Shweyta

Mumbai Diaries Week 8 - Of 100 year phenomenons, multiple restaurants and artsy Sundays

1. Another week closer to the European vacation! Nice!

Another week closer to the next pay cheque as well! Nicer! :)

2. This is the once-in-a-100 year-week. First the Solar eclipse and now the high tide. Thursday was to be Day 1 of high tide, upto 5 m high. Friday was Day 2, upto 5.05 m high tides. The BMC says its prepared and has warned Mumbaikars to not leave their houses. Obviously no one paid heed to the warning and all were at work or at the beach/ rocks trying to witness this rare phenomenon. Good thing, there was no rain either of the days; which saved this city from huge calamities.

4. Wednesday night dinner was at Sanjeev Kapoor's 'Yellow Chilli' at Powai with the sis-in-law and grandmum-in-law. Paneer Masala Roomali Khakra and Paneer Tikka in red chillies were the highlights of the meal. The pictures, actually do justice to the exotic-ness of the presentation of the food. A reasonable restaurant with a full-house on Wednesday night and decent ambience. On my recommendation list for this neighbourhood.

Post Dinner, a quick tour of the apartment, to show grandmum-in-law the place who loved the house, but thought it was too empty without atleast 6 people living in it :)

5. The trainer decides to re-measure me, after a month's worth of training. To his surprise, there are some big reductions. Sadly, it probably doesnt really show, since every time I meet Pops, he goes "Lagta to nahi hai, tumhara weight loss ho raha hai" (Translation: Doesnt look like you're losing weight) Sigh!

6. Saturday night dinner was at "5-The Restaurant" run by a friend of Bindu's (my journalist friend). While Roy (the owner) personally attended to us, we ordered some delicious spinach soup with bacon (The first time I ve ever had bacon in Mumbai ) which came along with a bread basket, and some flavourful dips. My main course was a spaghetti with jalapeno sauce and chicken (carbo-loading for the 11 miler the next morning), while Bindu ordered her favourite BBQ Chicken. Wine, of course was Sula; we picked the Satori. The night ended with a yummy Chocolate Flan and a discounted bill :)

7. Sunday morning began with the regular long run; a 11 miler on the treadmill with a glass of fresh OJ after, in memory of the running buddy who is physically training in NYC, but with me, here, in spirit, urging me to run along, when I am on the verge of hitting a wall (Not literally! It's a runner-term for super mental exhaustion on a long run)
The rest of the Sunday unfolded marvelously. Brunch was to be at the Chemould Art Gallery, hosted in honour of the late Tyeb Mehta, one of India's greatest painters, who would have been 91 on Sunday. Tush and I were to meet there, before I went design-consulting to his gallery-space again, in Colaba. Turns out, accepting the brunch invite, was one of the best things I did. Not only did I bump into, my ex-KRVIA faculties (undergrad school in Mumbai), but also had a great time making new acquaintances and contacts with some very prominent names in the Indian Art/ Architecture Circle. The brunch menu was simple; 'Biryani and Beer' because "That's how Tyeb would have liked it" said Shireen Gandhy, owner of Chemould.
The highlight of the afternoon was meeting with Sen Kapadia, founder director of my undergrad school KRVIA and prominent Indian architect, who was also best friend's and chai-buddys' with Tyeb Mehta. I was love-struck all over again, as I had been, on the first day of school, at the orientation in KRVIA, 12 years ago, hearing him speak. Sen and I promised to stay in touch and exchanged emails/ nos. He'll be visiting me in NYC soon, says his "It was a pleasure to meet with you Shweta" email, that followed the next morning :)
A quick visit to Tush's gallery space, for my weekly design advice and to make sure the work is coming along as intended. Arshiya Lokhandwala (owner of what was once 'Lakeerein' the art gallery in Vile Parle) came along and the three of us, an entrepreneur/ art-collector, an art-historian/ gallery owner and an architect/ designer brainstormed into the afternoon about windows, ceilings, artwork and art-cafes. A quick trip to 'Bungalow 8' which reminded me of 'Anthropologie' back in the US; both highly unaffordable :) but superbly original!
Next stop was at the NGMA (National Gallery of Modern Art) at Kala Ghoda to see the 'Soak' exhibit, which explores Mumbai's Mithi river and the potential possibilities that emerge within its estuaries. Fantastic work by Upenn M.Arch students and faculty Anuradha Mathur and Dilip D'Cunha!
The stroll continued through Jehangir Art Gallery and ended at the Fab India nearby, where a good chunk of the early evening was spent.
Evening tea and scones were at the 'Tea Centre' at Churchgate to catch up with Sonal (another Architecture school friend) , who was in town from Ahmedabad for just this weekend. A super fast journey across town followed on the Virar Fast, which was relatively emptier, being a Sunday evening. Dinner was with Mum and Pops at RK's in Andheri and of course the customary 'paan' which ended the dynamic Sunday!
Easily the best Sunday in my stay here, so far!

Here's Week 8 in pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/shweyta/MumbaiWeek8?feat=directlink

Have fun, enjoy and be good, while I go watch the 'Ab Tak Bachchan' movie series on TV :)

Love,

Shweyta