My fabulous weekend of the month

My niece and my favourite God, Sandy’s, pasta and Mud pie, good chicklit, shopping and friendship… these are a few of my favourite things! (Well, that does sound kiddish, but those created a perfect weekend for me :) ).

It began right on Friday – I was reading a book called In Her Shoes – a touching tale of two sisters, one of whom is frivolous and irresponsible, but is burdened with dyslexia and the insecurities it creates. Tears welled up in my eyes a couple of times. Highly recommended reading.

On Saturday, I came to my Mom’s place, after giving her instructions to make dal with tomatoes and raita for me. After enjoying the meal in the morning, I met my friend in the afternoon at Sandy’s Chocolab. We had sundaes (served in laboratory beakers!) – I ate one with warm moist flash baked cake (that’s how the menu described it) at the bottom, chocolate ice cream on it, topped by whipped cream and a delicious & endearingly stubborn chocolate fudge ball. It was accompanied by a fresh baked cookie (outta this world – I wish Coffee Day would serve them that way) and a test tube (yeah!) of dark chocolate milkshake. Mmmmmmmm….

Having done my sin for the day, I visited my favourite Hanuman temple (but after checking out the Lifestyle sale). The priest recognized me and seemed to say a few words of blessing (but his voice was low and I didn’t hear the words properly). The visit filled me with peace.

This was followed by another fantastic day. I had lunch with a friend at Pasta Bar Veneto in T.Nagar – my first visit (long overdue outing) after reading great reviews about the food. The place is charming – with huge glass windows overlooking a courtyard, sloped roof, walls decorated with framed pictures and cheery porcelain souvenir plates, wooden tables and nice music playing in the background.

We had Penne Arabiatta, that was flavourful and authentic – the Penne and tomato sauce were made for each other. In places like Dominos and Eatalica they seem a very reluctant pair. At just over 150 bucks, it put Pizza Hut cheese pasta to shame. We also had a wood fired pizza – which was good I suppose – I don’t enjoy pizza much, except if it comes with completely desi toppings.

Dessert was mud pie (fantastic blend of textures and flavours – chocolate powder with the texture of sand - but yummy yum – with gooey chocolate stuff around it, with a thick, milky paste inside.) Wowwww… this is one unique dessert. And yet it isn’t too heavy, like chocolate cakes. It is not to be missed. And at under 100 bucks, it is the perfect end to somewhat pocket-friendly fine dining. I finished it off with a Raspberry Mocha Latte that was creamy and didn’t really bring out the flavours but was soothing anyway (friend agreed to share both, but after a few spoonfuls, decided that her tummy was full.) Pasta Bar Veneto seemed to have more coffees on the menu than desserts. It enhanced the experience, almost transporting me back to Italy, where I and my Dad headed to cafes for coffee every time the bus stopped somewhere. Yes, this place gets two thumbs up!

After the memorable experience, I shopped a bit with my friend – and got the lovely purple top that I’d seen two months back (but a sale was going on there yesterday). It’s supposed to me my birthday dress. My birthday is in March but I usually buy them during sale season in January.

Following that, I went to my aunt’s place, which was nearby. My cousin had dropped off my niece there and we had a fun time. I showered her with overdue hugs and kisses. Then I showed some pics of a 1990 family trip to my perima on Facebook. Later I sat my niece on my lap and fed her dosas – the first time I was feeding a child – I really enjoyed it. Later at night my perima called and said that she was amazed because my niece ate without complaint. This doting aunt feels proud :).

Finally it was time to return to Chrompet. So I took my stuff and said bye. I hope to fill more weekends with such wonderful outings and moments :).

Couz Kahaniyaan

Me and 3P (a.k.a. Preethy), my cousin share an eternal bond built over more than a decade’s summer holidays (and countless other breaks) spent together.

Preethy wasn’t my style icon. But she was definitely fashionable, right from her childhood - always dressed up in well-put-together outfits. She earned the name ‘Style Miss’ from another of our cousins. Her 100-watt smile and model’s stance is a part of nearly every childhood picture.

Coming back to our childhood activities, here are some of the unforgettable ones…

When we were in Class 4, we pretended to be the wives of two famous movie actors at that time and played ‘house’. (She was the ‘wife’ of Rajnikant.)

One day, we were digging right near the stone steps in front of our house. After digging through several layers of mud, we thought we’d found the top of a treasure chest. Further digging revealed that it was the third step that was buried for long.

Our ‘greatest enemy’ was Eshwar, our neighbourhood kid who had quite an adventurous streak. We had plenty of fights, but we also played together sometimes. On one of those occasions (when he was all of 8 or 9), he reversed my Dad’s car out of the garage – I don’t know how I let him, and my Dad will, without doubt, get wild if he knows this!

(Are you rolling on the floor yet?)

We also came up with a ‘one-of-a-kind’ venture – The Sriram Parliament – named after
Sriram Colony, where I used to live.

‘The Sriram Parliament’ had three members – Me, 3P and her bro, Shyam, sitting on cane chairs in the garage. The chief and only political activity was snacking on biscuits.

We’d invited Eshwar to visit. He had a look and declared that he would hold an exhibition at his house the following week, where toy houses and buildings made of biscuits would be on display. (Obviously, he was inspired by our biscuits… lolz.) Of course, the exhibition never happened.

We also concocted a ‘magic potion’ in my backyard once – a complex formula created with leaves, twigs, mud and water. We then uttered some ‘mantras’ and made a wish. 3P and I wished that we should pass in our Annual exams. Shyam wished that he would get a bicycle. We passed (of course… we studied well), and he got a bicycle years later.

When we were about 14, we collaboratively wrote (I think, I wrote many of ‘em neways) about 72 short sonnets on various subjects – the chief one being infatuation. We threw that book away later.

We were also budding event managers. We planned and held 2 parties that were quite a hit among neighbourhood kids – a birthday party for Shyam, and a Christmas party. Too bad, we didn’t undertake more events.

Those were some of the most memorable things we did. Wait for more…