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.

It has been 7 years to the date that I lost a very dear friend. As the cliché saying goes , time has indeed dulled the pain.

The memories of the years we were friends stays alive and they never fail to bring a smile to my face as I remember all the delinquency and happy times we had though our years in school.

Slept in late but was rudely awakened by my sister and Rixon who woke me up to tell me some shocking news. Since it had been ages since Rixon has even come home, Mum insisted that he stay for breakfast. Ruth cooked up a lovely breakfast of omlette, friend tomatoes and steaming coffee. I had plans to meet Ajay in the evening but had to scrap them.

Headed instead to the Worli sea face to clear my head. Ruth , Shristi, Rixon and Maria tagged along.

Inspite of the sea face being so close to home, I rarely go as it is invariably crowded and to add to the chaos the work on the Worli – Bandra link is in full swing. We plopped ourselves on the parapet and treated ourselves to roasted corn.

Headed home by around 8 as Ruth, Shristhi and Nani were off to Goa on the night train. Had dinner, did a bit of reading and went off to sleep. It seemed like a looooooooooooooong tiring day.

I had to go to SRM as I has a few interviews scheduled for the automation team. Got my work done and headed home quickly . I had to go for evening mass as it was the youth’s turn to do the liturgy. Ajay and I had planned to go for mass and then have dinner with my Nani.

As is usually the case with these events, Vaibhav called to say he would be held up so that left Ajay to help with the readings. We reached church to discover that everyone had gone for the wedding mass and so there wud be no one to even sing! It has been ages since I have sung with a choir let alone sung alone over the microphone.

Ajay very bravely agreed to join the 2 person “choir”, I was pretty impressed with his oration and I secretly think so was the priest. We managed to do a pretty good job of the mass What say?

Headed home and discovered that Ajay developed a horrible headache. I don’t think even I realized how bad it was. Anyway we kept our date with Gran who as usual had a lovely spread for us. Thank You Nani

We completed our first year at RRL. To celebrate Michelle, Chetna and myself  headed to gondolas for dinner. We spent a nice evening reminiscing about the year that had gone by and the journey from university. Later we went to 5Spice for a sinful chocolate dessert. Since it was already late and we had work the next day we called it a night and headed home. I’m grateful for all the experience and the people I’ve met during the year.

Since it is official, I have the permission to proclaim it!

Li’l Joel has been accepted to join the Jesuits. So in another 12 years or so, I’ll have another friend who is a priest.

All the best Joel. May God bless you always!

I’m currently doing a distance education management course from SCDL to keep in touch with the studying.  I had been having exams every Sunday and today was the last of the semester one series. I’m sure glad they are over