I couldn’t shake the damn cold that seems to follow me inspite of my self medication (it usually works ). Finally decided to go to the doctor who has successully turned me into a pill popper for the next 48 hours! Lets see how well I survive this attack of the pills ……

We said goodbye to Natasha today. I have attended quite a few farewells during my time here but I’ve never seen so many people turn up. It just shows how many people’s lives she was a part of and impacted in some way or the other. She was a great sense of support to me and the batch and we will surely miss her.  Here’s wishing you all the very best girl.

I was looking forward to meeting the US troops last weekend. Picked Ruth up from Dadar and headed to Malad where we were scheduled to have dinner and catch a movie with Deliah, Sanket and Chandini. Reached Aunty Lena’s house to find that there was no sign of the cuzzies Had a refreshing shower (what do u expect when u’ve managed to bring grime all the way from Ghansoli!) and sat down to a lovely yummy meal of ripe mango curry, fish curry, fried fish and rice.

The troops were back by then and we went off to Inorbit to catch a late night show of Get Smart …. plans of dinner long having been scrapped! As luck would have it there were only 5 tickets available - each at a different place in the theater. So we headed to the food court and treated ourselves to Natural Ice cream. The party animals I have for cousins decided that we needed to head someplace else before heading home. So after a few inquiries and a couple places later we settled for ‘Slice of Lime’. The noise and smoke levels reinforced my hatred for these pubs/discs. I need not say more!

We headed home and decided to indulge the children within us as we had a go at the swings and see saws.

Caught up with EURO 2008 and headed to bed. I was totally exhausted and slept like a baby till the next morning with no interuptions. Went for mass to Our Lady of Lourdes. I really enjoyed the sermon the priest gave as he explained the difference between the implications of ‘The Priesthood’ of the Old Testament as against the New Testament and how times and roles of our clergy and lay people have changed. I could not agree more. It was a fitting sermon on the occassion of Laity Sunday.

We decided to go to Inorbit (yet again) to kill some time before the party began. We managed to stuff our faces with brownies, Thai food, kababs and Mojitos knowing fully well that we had to have lunch over that. Lunch was good and I’m starting to get used to (read love) these family get togethers.  I can’t say enough how much I love family and extended family.

You could have a look at the family album here.

It rained all Saturday threatening to wash away our plans for the evening, however there was a break in the downpour and we braved the buses and trains to reach Bandra.  We had plans to go for the Indiana Jones movie. Ajay and I bought tickets and grabbed some milkshake and juice while we waited for the rest of the gang to come. Delilah ditched us for the movie, but Bhakti came so the ticket did not go to waste.

It was my first Indiana Jones movie, so had no expectations. I enjoyed the film which had its share of good guys and bad guys (the hottest villain there was a woman) and incredulous stunts involving jumping through vehicals on to bikes, saber and machine gun fights, and also a Tarzan like sequence. It provided  tonnes of laughs and some senti scenes too. All in all a fun movie.  

Went to Hilda’s place to pick up Deliah. After much ado aboutt where to have dinner, we landed at 5Spice at 11:00pm. Had a rib tickling night over yummy starters, drinks, main course and sinful dessert. It was too late to go home, so crashed at Hildas place where we played cards, got a tour guide through Sanket’s pile  of pictures and heard some stories about Sean’s love life!

Ruth and I woke up in time to grab breakfast and quick showers before heading  to Sacred Heart church for mass and this time there was a baptism!

Came home and took a walk in the pouring rain (I try to do this ritually for sheer enjoyment once during the season) to the library and bazaar. Had plans to meet Ajay in the evening, but the rain played spoilsport and ruined his last Sunday in the city.

Had a good lunch, curled up with a book and promptly fell asleep.  Ummmmm the joys of an afternoon siesta! Spent a quite evening at home.

I took a train to Vikroli after work as I had plans to meet Ajay and then ride down to Bandra for dinner. I bumped into Leah and Jason at the station. Of all the places to meet someone you haven’t seen in more than a year! Anyway we chatted for a while and then the man and I headed to Sheesha.

I choose Sheesha for the quiet ambience and the good food I remembered. However we got very little of the ambience, with the rain thundering down on the roof of the restaurant and the wind howling in our ears. But I enjoyed the food and the peach margarita very much. So inspite of it all I had a lovely evening.

Thank You for making me so happy ……. I love you …….

I don’t really sleep too well in unfamiliar beds, which led to my waking up really early in the morning. This proved to be a good thing considering that there were more than a dozen people to have baths, breakfast and get ready before going for high mass. Had a scumptious breakfast of upma, bananas, buns and coffee.

I hadn’t bargained for the high mass at Sacred Heart Parish, Santacruz! I usually avoid these kind of masses as it invariably goes on for hours. Anyway since we had no other choice this mass it had to be. While the church was beautifully done up in red and gold, the choir was really bad and the homily had no depth.

Ruth and I headed home after mass with promises to meet the gang the following weekend.

Has yummy mutton stew for lunch, grabbed a quick nap and headed to Vile Parle where I was scheduled to meet Ajay and pick up some stuff from someone. I must have still been in dreamland and ended up walking right past him (ya ya I’m sorry yaar!) Anyway as luck would have it the gentle man was away and we would have to return in another 40 minutes. We decided to spend the time at MacDonald’s, where I indulged in a strawberry shake and french fries.

Caught up on some movie watching at home and then went of to Dynasty for dinner. We’ve been there a few times before and unfortunately this was the first time we had to wait for a good 30 minutes. Anyway the food (Crab meat soup, followed by Tsing Hai Chicken and Pepper Garlic Chicken) was good as usual so no grumbles

The cuzzies (yet another set of us) decided to hit the city and have some fun on Saturday. My cousins, down from the States wanted to see Mumbai so Ruth got super enthu (she takes her role as tour guide very seriously) and decided that the musuem was the place to begin. While I knew what could be expected,  Sanket, Chandini and Deliah experienced the full effect of ‘blast from the past’.

Next stop was MacDonalds to fill the growling stomachs. Colaba Causeway, which was the next destination, was oohed and ahhed at, and with Sanket’s antics it was a whole lot more fun. I personally think the ‘Tantra’ store was a real hit with them.

Next on the tour guide’s list were the temples at Mahalaxmi. This is one of the most famous temples of Mumbai and attracts hundreds of people everyday. The temple is dedicated to Mahalaxmi who is consort to Lord Vishnu. The temple is atop a loooooonnnnnngggggg flight of steps, either side of which is flanked by temples to various other Gods of the Hindu Pantheon. Mahalaxmi Mandir still remains one of my favourite temples among those I have visited.

Anyway back to the events of the day. While on the was to the temple, everyone got dhagas - the sacred thread, tied around their wrists, this came at a small price of course

After the splendor of the temple by the sea, the next stop was the mosque in the sea - Haji Ali Daragh which is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the city of Mumbai. While the place is really crowded especially on Tuesdays and Fridays, it is a place you must see if you ever visit Mumbai or even live in the city.

Saturday night took us to a restaurant recommended by Chetna called Caravan Serai. It is located in Bandra on Waterfield road. While I met Ajay earlier, Sean joined us from work. The food was excellent however the ambience was a bit cheezy, and the service lousy.

We stopped at Natural’s for dessert where had a watermelon ice cream.

Ajay headed home and the rest of us piled into a tiny car and headed to Carter Road for some fresh air. We stopped at the only place at pali that was opened at 1:20 in the morning for juice and cold drinks. Headed to Sean’s place, caught up with some reading and hit the sack. I for one had an exhausting day!

Ruth, Ajay and myself caught The Chronicals of Narnia: Prince Caspian, at Suburbia last evening. The movie made for an interesting viewing, but the company was even more entertaining We had a huge tub of popcorn (more economical for 3 people with large appetites), coke and samosas.

I’m going to be really lazy and point you to the review Ajay did of the movie.

It was Iona and Errol’s Silver Wedding celebrations today. Woke up late and realised that I had a long list of things to do before we left for mass in the evening.

First on my list was try my hand at making “Mango Fool”. This is a cooler made from raw mangoes and milk. Here’s the recipe if anyone would like to attempt it.

Ingredients:

2 raw mangoes boiled and pulped

4 cups milk

sugar to taste (1 table spoon should be enough)

1 pinch of salt

Serves 4

Blend the ingredients together till it attains a milkshake texture. Pour into a jug     and chill. Serve in tall glasses garnished with crushed ice.

Next on my list was a card to add to my attempt of a bow. (I try to make cards instead of buying them … love to personalize gifts/ cards) Here’s what I came up with.

Made it in good time for mass which was held at Our Lady of Egypt Church, Kalina. It was my first visit to this church and i loved it all, right from the life size depictions of the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt from Bethelem to the raised altar covered in flowers to the strings of beads that adorned the ceiling to the beautifully crafted tabenacle.

The reception was held at Bandra Gymkhana. It was a reunion of 4 out of the 5 “Chaddi Baddi’s” . These are a gang of girls (no offense ladies) who have been friends from the time they were in school, through college, married life and now their kids are friends too. Presenting the ladies - Mum, A. Maria, A. Kay, A. Iona & A. Eileen (who lives half way across the globe). The food and music were both good for a change. Danced a few dances with Amita and A. Kay.

To top it all, we had an East India surprise at the reception - a traditional band that plays for weddings and funerals alike! I’m sure the Gym has never had this kind of spectacle before.

Arrived in office to find out that it was Bijay Sahoo’s (who is our CPO) birthday.

As it is with most people and big shots, we trooped up to wish him. It was the first time in my year at Reliance that I have been formally introduced to the man, inspite of seeing him on a number of occasions.

We later went up for some yummy cake.

After a relatively relaxed time at work, I had quite a day. Anuradha, Shemina & myself headed to Crawford Market to pick up stationary for a group of under privileged children who are taken care of by the residents of Raheja Park, Vikhroli.

Went to my regular shop and he gave us a good deal on the stationary. Shem picked by a lovely handbag from the place next door and I indulged in a lovely clutch. Headed for the paper lane to pick up odds and ends. We were hungry by this time and so Anu treated us to falooda at Badshah’s. I topped that with a big glass of fresh lime juice.

We went to Mangaldas Market to have a look at the material. I picked up a lovely piece in white embroidered chiffon to make an Anarkali styled suit.

We cudn’t resist the temptation of walking through the fruit bazaar where the girls picked up some mangoes.

It was a short walk back to the station and a train that wud take me to Bandra and them to Andheri. I sure enjoyed the time spent with my IT colleagues , this was the first of its kind.

I had previously agreed to meet Priyanka for dinner. She picked me up and we headed to hill road to do a bit of shopping and finally to Lucky for dinner. It was her first time there and she wanted to sample the food.

We tucked into the assortment of food we ordered – sweet corn chicken soup and masala papad for me, plain chicken soup for her and a main course of reshmi kabab and tandoori pomfret. We had a nice time catching up.

Took a 56 and reached home by about 10:30. I was really tired as the Crawford trip was unexpected and I did not have the right footwear for a tramp through Crawford. – stilettos even if they are only and inch high can leave your feet hurting like crazy.

Had a lousy end of the day. But that is a story that my heart refuses to share here.