Sigree!!!

So, a very good friend recently got engaged, and off course, as usual we had to celebrate it by going out and spending her money on food and drink!! The destination this time was Sigree! 
I'd been wanting to go there for a long time, ever since I mistakenly stepped into it. I was looking for the hotel area, and got off on the wrong floor, and there was this lovely place! It had a really long bar area, with no bar stools though, and the area inside was lit by these tiny yellow fairy lights!

The Bar Area

The Lights

As soon as we entered, my first thoughts were, "Wow! This is not gonna be cheap!". It was a Wednesday, around 8PM, and there were very few people at the restaurant. All that changes soon though, the place was loud and full by about 9.30 PM! Anyway, we decided to opt for the buffet, thinking it would be quicker and cheaper, along with a few drinks.

As soon as we decided and ordered, the waiters started coming in one by one with all the different starters. The fish and prawns were very good. The chicken dishes were ok, not that great, same with the vegetarian dishes. By the time we were done with the starters, we were stuffed!

The chutneys were ok, but the starters tasted better with when dipped in them. There was this one item with the chutneys, it was sweet, and looked like amala or something. A log debate followed wherein everybody disagreed as to what it was. Some said mango pieces, others (me) stuck to amala. This was finally resolved when the waiter told us that it was actually papaya in some sugar syrup type liquid!

Anyway, since we were so full after having the starters, there was hardly any space left for the main course, at least in my stomach! But just went along with the others to see if anything could tempt me. Well, nothing did, except for the butter-garlic crabs and the various colorful salads,most of which were disappointments. The crab on the other hand was very very tasty! I ended up eating all the crabs, even those taken by the others, that they couldn't finish!!

The drinks were very cheap here compared to other places in Pune, with mocktails being more expensive than hard drinks, also, there was an offer going; Buy two drinks and get the third one free! So Win-Win-Win!!

I had to take a bit of all the different deserts, including the ice-cream, although I only took the vanilla flavor (there was strawberry & chocolate also). The elongated gulab jamuns (cant remember what they're called) were yummy, and so was the gajar ka halwa. The Jalebis were a little too crispy, and there was nothing special about the mousse/mousse cake.

At the end, we were so full, and drowsy! It was a good meal. I would definitely go there again, but not for the buffet, maybe a few starters and drinks!!

*First two images taken from http://tunnn.com/restaurant/689

Good Bye & Good Luck!

After nearly four years together, I'm left with all  kinds of memories, and this...

I wont say that you were always there for me, cause its not true, and vice versa, but you were there at some of those crucial times when I really needed someone to talk to. You might not have realized it, but I was and will always be grateful that you were there. 

From watching The Mentalist religiously every weekday at 10pm and bitching about the others during the commercial breaks, to going to church every Sunday! Eating sausages that you got from home, arguing with the numerous bais & gossiping about all the moronic FB statuses & pictures! I will miss all that. Believe it or not, I will miss you. We had a sort of disconnected or disjointed relationship (I don't know what else to call it, talking like long-lost friends one night, and just a nod to acknowledge the other the next night) but somehow we made it work for nearly four years. Somehow, through all the good times and the not-so-good times, we stuck together. We survived all the lovelies & the crazies!

You've been gone for quite some time, but it just struck me now when I saw the empty room, that you're never coming back again, not on weekends just to stop by and use the machine, nor on holidays when you're alone. This is it. The End.

Nose Piercing

Nose Piercing.
"khabriaye mat!! yeh sirf ek naatak hai"

Dram-E-Baaz present the hilariously bitter play-
"Nose Piercing "
a Hindi Play in Nautanki(folk).
The play in a satirical form takes a dig at the women's plight in our society.

There are some stories that are common, so common that we forget about them.
But some stories are so painfully true that they pierce through you.

We invite you all to be a part of the play.
In case the need arises hit our actors only with onions.
No Tomatoes Please!!

dekhiye humein PYAR se ,
maariye toh sirf PYAAZ se.

***

Ok, so we've got a new flatmate, who among many things, also happens to be an aspiring actress! And Nose Piercing was her second stage play. We got to see a whole new side of her. Usually she's quiet and soft spoken, but on stage, she turned into the Goddess Kali (I think) and single-handedly fought & defeated the five men who had assaulted her!! So, never judge anyone at face value!!! Now that I've imparted some wisdom, moving on to the play.

Hilariously bitter are the right words to describe this play. There's no real story as such, its more of a mix-bag of many small women-centric stories, and touches on many of the current issues in society like rape, female infanticide, dowry & eve-teasing. I wouldn't say it showed anything new, but a good effort nevertheless. The jokes were really funny and I hadn't heard most of them before. There is this one scene where one guy becomes the bike, and others ride on him. Hilarious!!
Superb acting by all and good light & sound effects too. This was the first play I'd seen in a really long time, and I was not disappointed!! 

What I didn't really get was the name of the play. Why nose piercing, I wonder...

The times, they are a-flying!!

Ok, so another weekend passes by very quickly, and we're already in the third quarter of 2013! More and more people are moving on: getting engaged, married, having kids, new jobs!

And here I am, working at the same place & same project for more than three years, and at the same seat for just as long!!! Same flat, and same roomie since I moved here.Not much has changed for quite some time now. And I'm happy with that. I'm not a big fan of change. So, all's well that stays well!

***

Watched the movie Despicable Me 2 yesterday.

A very entertaining and fun movie. I cant remember the first movie that well, so can't say which one was better. Enjoyed the minions, and can't wait for the next minion movie, coming out sometime in the future.
Loved the minion songs (I swear & YMCA) and the way they sing in their minion language!
Also, while the credits were rolling, there were some scenes of minions auditioning for the next minion movie, one which had the minions blowing soap bubbles. The 3-D effect for these was so good, the kid in the next seat actually jumped up and put his hands out to burst the bubbles!!!

***

This was followed by lunch at the best Italian place I've been to. Ate till our stomachs ached! 

Mumbai: Day 5 - Wedding Day!

Ok, so it was finally the day of the much anticipated wedding. All in all a fun, but tiring day.

I got up early, and had my complimentary breakfast at the hotel, and got back to the run to get dressed. Ma, although she wasn't really feeling well (feverish and stomach upset), got up early and dressed me in the sari, and put on some makeup and stuff. And when she asked for a smile while she took a photo, all I gave was a frown, and told her to hurry up! I don't even know why I was that irritated! Sometimes I think I'm the most ungrateful child ever born. My parents do everything they can to keep me happy, and I repay them with a frown and angry words. Every time I do this, I resolve never to do it again, but I just cant seem to help it!

While dressing, I got multiple calls from my friends, questioning the delay, since I was supposed to be in their hotel by max 8 am, but it was 8.30 am and I still hadn't reached. There was actually (!) a stunned silence on the phone when I told them I would come already dressed, as initially I was supposed to get dressed in the hotel with them, and a lady was supposed to come to drape the sari. Apparently, the lady had closed her parlor since she had to come to dress us, and so she would take the decided upon amount, whether the work was required or not!

Anyway, Pa walked me to the hotel where my friends were getting dressed. When I entered the room, at first I thought I'd got the wrong room, due to all the unknown faces staring at me in the doorway.But on going further in saw my friends. The unknown faces were the parlor ladies. Anyway, there was a lot of chaos in the room, stuff thrown about and girls in saris running around looking for things. Everyone was almost ready, and were just applying the finishing touches (of makeup). I spoke to the lady about the sari, and she agreed to do my hair for the amount she would have charged to drape the sari, so that wasn't a complete waste.

Anyway, when everybody was ready, we had a quick photo session, and left for the wedding hall, which was just across the road.

This was a typical Marathi style wedding, so not a lot of noise, but no dancing at all. The groom arrived soon after us. When he first reached the hall, the bride's mother welcomed him with aarti and stuff. For that, he needed to remove his shoes, and step on a small platform stool kind of thing. When he removes his shoes, the girl's side people (cousins, siblings, friends) snatch his shoes, and then ask for money in return for the shoes. Its tradition! I missed most of this since I was on a call, but one of our friends got the groom's shoes, getting scratches and cuts while doing it! She actually fought the groom's cousins and screamed "My Sari! My Sari!" when they tried to gt near her!! She was my hero!

 Colored rice to be thrown on the couple (like confetti?)

Anyway after that the wedding ceremony started. All the pooja, pheras and everything. We didn't get to see much of it since it was taking place at the front and people were crowding there. We just sat back and tried to take photos. After that a fabulous lunch, and it was time to leave.

Some of us:

The Couple

We went back to the hotel where I was to share a room with Mag. So, the two of us went to our room, and had yet another quick photo session, after which we washed and changed and went off to sleep. After we got up and had some yummy chicken sandwiches, it was time to get dressed for the wedding reception. There wasn't much chaos this time around since most of us weren't wearing saris, so we all got dressed in our respective rooms, and left for the Reception, which was at the same place across the road. 

We wished them again, another photo session and went to dinner, which was pretty uneventful. Caught up with some other friends who came late. With our stomachs overfull, we left the hall to say buy to the bride.
It was a very emotional farewell for her and her parents, lots and lots of crying and hugging, I don't really know why. I mean its not like ancient times, she'll keep meeting her parents and even staying with them and all. Anyway, to each his/her own.

We reached the hotel and with not much time to sleep, since we would be leaving for the bus stop in like 4-5 hours, we all gathered in one room and got to talking shit and stuff. That was fun, but I fell asleep halfway through! I guess everybody was getting sleepy after a point, so we just moved to our rooms and slept for like an hour. Got up and half asleep we left for the station. Back to Pune and back to work!

Laugh Till You Cry??

Ok, so I had the best day yesterday! I didn't have any work at all, and so as usual was checking out the blogs after mine. (The NEXT BLOG option is one of the best features of Blogger!)
I came across this blog. It was so damn hilarious, like literally LOL-hilarious!

So that's how most of my Friday morning passed, sitting in my seat, and actually shaking with laughter. Like that wasn't enough, we had an after lunch joke session in office. Read more here.

***

Back at home, I caught up with one of my closest friends, who I'd so foolishly not kept in touch with(Thank You FB!). 
Talking to someone who knows you in and out, who's seen you at your very worst and still doesn't judge, is the best! Also as Ralph Waldo Emerson said,
"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."
I am lucky enough to have two such people in my life, who I can be stupid with!

And they seem to like each other very much too!!!

***

Anyway, I cant believe how much I laughed yesterday! Now I'm terrified. I know it may sound irrational, but I'm pretty sure all this laughing has for lack of a better word, consequences. In simple terms, I figure if you laugh too much, the day when you're gonna cry too much is just around the corner!

Maybe I'm being too dramatic, and I hope I am, but I've got this feeling...

Mumbai: Day 1 - Bachelorette Party!!!

Ok, so I've had a  busy busy few days last week. Was in Mumbai for a college friends wedding and also then met my parents and went for the quarterly Doc's appointment. Details follow...

Friend "P" was getting married, and she was the first of the college bunch to be married. So, there was much excitement and all! Planning for the Bachelorette party had started months ago!!
We left Pune early in the morning (6.45 AM) by Neeta Volvo, which BTW, are most unreliable (Our earlier bus -  6.15 AM  - got cancelled and we were informed just the night before the journey about this!), and reached Mumbai Airport by around 11 AM. We'd booked a hotel for the night of the party, and what a hotel!! A few pics:

Entrance of the hotel:

Close-up of the Waterfall thingy:

 Jumping on the couch as soon as we entered the hotel:

Opposite side of the couch:

View of the cafe from the corridor on our floor:

So, this was one of the poshest hotels I'd ever stayed in, and we took our time exploring the place. Went out for a quick lunch, and had a near-death experience with a crazy-fast auto driver!! Got back and we were off to bed, except for one who had to work from home! Poor thing.

After the restful nap, we were woken by the working lady's loud conversation on the phone to some aunt!!I know her whole life-story now! Everything! We then left the hotel to buy some juice/sprite, chips, etc. But owing to the Bandh in Mumbai, had to search and search until we finally found some shops that had these things! Phew!

Got back to the hotel and started prep for the party, on the to-do list:
- Make a poster saying Welcome
- Mix the drinks
- Blow the balloons (which were not really balloons!)
- Clean up the mess in the room
- Put up the posters/balloons

Only once everything was done did we allow the bride to enter the room. The poor thing was waiting in the corridor, and talking to us through the door for a long time till we were ready! Must've looked funny to people passing by!

As she entered, she was welcomed with a garland of balloons, a drink, soap bubbles and loud shouts. We had her change into the t-shirt made for her, and then put on the sash and garland. And after a round of shots, the games started! Planned were:

- The Questions Game (Questions on how well they know each other, every wrong answer had her taking a vodka-cranberry shot).
- Pin Ups (A naughty variation of the traditional pin-the-donkey's-tail).
- An educational game on how not to get pregnant (involving a banana and the balloons)!

The games were a lot of fun, but she got too many answers wrong in the first game, and so being pretty much sloshed by the end of all the games, went to sleep. And it was only 11 PM!
Anyway, the rest of us were doing ok, not too high, so the party continued, with a bit of dhak-dhak, and lots and lots of pics! As it got later, it got more personal, talking and catching up. All that talking made us hungry, and with no other option we ordered Dominoes.

The hand-made cardboard invitation to the party:

The glitter drawing on the T-shirt:

Creating/Decorating the main poster:

Finally it was hung-up:

The disappointing cup-cakes:

I finally went off to sleep at around 3 AM, though some of the others were still awake, since one had a flight early in the morning and so had to leave by 3.30 AM, another left at 5 AM, and the others by 9 AM, till there were only the three of us left when I got up! We had to scan every square inch and clean up the entire room on waking; there were a lot of of balloons (which weren't really balloons) around, and tiny cardboard heart and stuff like that.

Later the three of us went for the complimentary breakfast for two (I know!). Everything looked really good, but apart from the scrambled eggs, there wasn't anything special. Still, seeing that we didn't pay for the third person, it was very generous of them!

Entrance to the hotel cafe for breakfast:

 

Continued at  http://pitchdarkroom.blogspot.com/2013/05/mumbai-days-2-4.html