To be in Chennai now ..
Do the Fisherman's Cove catamaran thing again ..
Visit Dakshin Chitra and make misshaped clay pots again ..
To sit by Besant Nagar beach and quietly watch the waves crash onto shore again ..
Eat oily parathas by the sea side with yoghurt and pickle again ..
Speed on a bike down ECR again (get my leg burnt by the engine again?)..
Eat veggie club sandwiches at Galloping Gooseberries again
Drink the Lime Mint cooler from FruitShop on Greem's road again ..
Walk through Spencer Plaza and shop at Fab India ...
Brunch at Eco Cafe and dine at Cedars ...
All of it ... all over again ...
To see Bombay as I rarely did,
Walk down Marine Drive watching the sunset,
Eat Bhelpuri in all its unhygienic glory at Chowpatty,
Shop for Indian clothes at the quaint Shivaji Park shop Sha tells me about,
Eat at Oven Fresh once again (Burittos, Nachos and Enchlaidas, no less),
Stand at the gateway and feel like an insider among the tourists clicking away ..
Run along Juhu beach at sunrise,
Drink cutting chai at the shop across the Bombay office,
Drink elaichi chai IN the Bombay office,
Sit by my window ledge and drink chai as Lagaan plays in the background,
Watch clouds gather over the hills seen through our window ..
Pick up saris at Nalli, awesome rich colored saris that will make my collection reach the aspirational 25 in the next few years ...
Walk around on the phone, irritating mom as I bump into random furniture along the way, but not sitting down coz I just 'Can't do conversation sitting down!"
Sit in the 2*2 area near the microwave and talk as mum hurries through her chores coz I want to make as much conversation as possible in the 6 days that I'm visiting ...
Talk to my bro about life and such profound matters that don't matter, my bro who adores his big sister and shows her off to his friends (he does! :) i love it that someone does :D)
To be in New York all over again ...
To be picked up from the airport like royalty, garlands and shawls included!
To feel SO at home vs. feeling like a 'visiting guest' ...
To eat mexican food near Times Square with A,
To have A and PM call me "Failure" for saying Queens is "pretty as hell!"
To run around the east village trying to beat the only other team playing the NY treasure hunt with us :)
To party at Cafe Wha again .. to get drunk and sing Christmas Carols on the NY subway and have PM join in as A and G give up and look on and other passengers herald the early arrival of Xmas :)
To walk down the Newport riverside, coffee in hand, earphones plugged in :)
To stand atop the Empire State building and feel like the wind would carry me away with its sheer force
To click 30 pictures and more of the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island coz it was just so beautiful
To pick up cheap trinkets at Soho again :)
To curl up in Mogambo's couch after a long day and talk to her, have her be persistent and painful and argumentative about how I need to "get out of it" despite my unwillingness to so much as listen ...
To make Dal and have PM agree that THIS is how it's supposed to be made!!! WITH ginger and garlic and a lump of jaggery! :D
To have G's mom ask him "who that nice sounding young girl is" and if she's married and burst into laughter at the many possibilities here! :D
To gape open mouthed at the color burst of autumn as the bus drove across Baltimore to DC ...
To relish the fall colors, the lake and cheese pretzels at Central Park and then yelp in delight on discovering the fountain where George Clooney spontaneously picks up Michelle Pfieffer in "One Fine Day' :D
To eat Ethiopian food and delight with every single bite how "absolutely delicious" it was ..
To have A drop me at the airport and stay until I was PAST the security check and I could no longer see her, cause she could still see me ..
To stay curled up in bed for a whole week after, and suffer from withdrawal symptoms of my most brilliant vacation ever!
I want .....
14 comments:
My sources tell me A stood there for a long time after you went in. (A little ocular humidity was noticed.) She also thought home felt very empty that evening. A quite fancied you on that couch and her on *this* one and arguing endlessly. She didn't mind you yelling at all. She understood, she says.
The leaves all fell soon after you left. They didn't like going unnoticed.
And as for Mogambo... Mogambo was not khush. Not at all, indeed.
But HEY! Think about what's in store for next summer?!!!! :)
Also,
lalakku dol dappi ma yen gangamma yen iduppa suthi tirumbi paaramma.
much love.
PS: I felt like singing lusty(?) song to you ya. ktxbai.
kindly escyoos.
Hiyar I am to be clarifying that I want you to be tirumbi suthi pathufying from YUVAR iduppu, not mine. Small correction, otherwise all same.
ktxbai.
you had Ethiopian food? very curious.
Mogambo: :) firstly YAAAYY to next summer!!! Im booking tickets this Friday only! :D secondly didn't understand the song first time only .. but now that uve explained, slisha understanding is dawning :) Same same ya :D (God: Don't let Superman see this!)
QQ: Yeah .. oh man .. we need to find a place here in sg and go with the FHC folks!
...chennai...
- avoiding the multitude of madisara mamis while watching the floats in the kabali temple tank
- walking through one of the cleanest and breeziest promenades in the country as the sun sets over the marina
- eating idlies at murugan idly shop or rayars cafe
- sitting by krishna's butterball on a precarious slope at mahabs
- ripping through ecr for lunch at rendezvous in pondicherry
and in mumbai...
- argue with the mad bawa of yazdani bakery over apple pie
- watch mr shanbag nod his approval as you pick out the choicest book at strand
- slurp succulent strawberries without cream at bachelors, shaken to the roots as the 2130 andheri slow chugs past a rotten fence away
- wade through the throng to listen to the sufis sing at haji ali
- watch the horses and the watchers as a 364 day wait comes to an end in 36 seconds at the derby
- have expensive tea at gallops after that
- have the best pizzas in the world at trattorias for breakfast coz there's no better place open at 5 am
- look for the black lady at gaiety, knowing that she'll be able to deliver tickets for even a YRF flick for friday evening
...and new york...ummm.... ooooer....gulp.....
the rest is silence.
Sorry I'm not a Bombay person, so cannot comment on what can/cannot be done there. But in Chennai....
- Eat chilli cheese fries in Eatalica and drink thick mango juice in summer at Nungambakkam petrol station
- Walk along Thiruvanmiyur beach at midnight, where you hear nothing but the waves, and if you're lucky, you'll get to feel a turtle's back
- Wake up early just to go to Moore Market, and stare at all the books even though you might not buy any because most of them are pulp fiction (Gah, I sound so pseud!)
- Agree with albatross on Murugan Idli Kadai... whattay breakfast man! (Albatross, who ARE you?)
- Catch bus to go back home to good old Bangalore. Sigh. I love.
Albatross: Ummm .. .wow! That tops my list! We're placing our bets on u being one of 1. Chennaite who worked in Mumbai 2. Mumbaite who worked in Chennai ... clarify so we can work out the money bit amongst ourselves :)
Penguin: :) You woman .. should put up about HK also no? 2nd home and all .. and what happ to Blore?
excyoos, hiyar one great city is being missed and I would like to include if not too late, please let me know.
City is very hip and happening and known as Vellore.
Please. I thought this was about vonly Chennai and Mumbai and NY. If I start about Bangalore, it'll be one whole blog post by itself, man!
ROTFL: Vellore indeed. Sorry, time for contributing is past dear M'bo. As much as id have loved to put it on the list (really!) :D
Penguin: Emm .. u did finally didn't you? On ur own blog :)
y dont u pick up sarees from nalli in madras ?? y in bombay ??
eh Vellore has dhaba n all ya. Plus they let girls and boys walk togetherly on campus (though not too close, and *no* touchings). Girls and I, Mogambo, could even wear jeans. *And* we had icecream/grocery shop, ATM(!!) and post aafees ALL on campus. Beat that.
Vellore rools. Bombay pwned. Madras, however, is like the bully black hole, ie. clear winner.
Online va dee!
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