A true Bangalore evening...
Met up with Ali [short for Aliya!] for a bit this evening, stopped by to see Kash, but didn't get to see her unfortunately. But, met Ruksana aunty and Duja for a bit, was so nice to see them! Wish the setting was a little different - but Alhamdullilah, all is good. Got lots of good news from Ali, she and Karthik are moving to Dubai in September, Farah's expecting in December, Sarah's in BLR until December - and is then heading to her cushy UN job (she's COOL!)
Headed over to the Razack residence to surprise Zayd Basha for a bit while I waited for Jay to get out of work, chatted w/Zainab Aunty and him for a bit ... he's GROWN SO TALL!!!! Anyhoo, was s'posed to meet w/Jay, Bajaj and Mallya, but Bajaj and Mallya couldn't make it so it was bonding time w/Jay - which was awesome, coz we had a lot to catch up with ... especially considering the fact that she GOT ENGAGED LAST WEEK!!! OMG! I've never met the guy, but apparently that was a purposeful tactic - Blr peoples know what I'm talking about. It has something to do with my protectiveness.
Anyhoo, we decided to go to the Bangalore Club - for old times sake, and as we drive through the city, Jay's like - how come you're not ooh-ing and aah-ing... and I realized later that I probably wasn't commenting because I've been silently absorbing everything, taking in the visuals so I can amend the visual map in my head. But I also think that I'm a little shell shocked ... maybe. Not neccessarily at the actual changes, or the crazy traffic (which I personally don't think is that bad) but maybe at the fact that I'm finally back - after talking about it and whining about it for so long, I'm finally home.
Jay and I have a really interesting friendship - its great, we're really close, but its interesting how we got to be friends, and such good friends too! We never went to school together, had completely different sets of friends - absolutely no crossover until a couple of years ago, and our only extended interaction [on a daily basis!] was during Hindi classes for about 6 months, back in 1997.
So, we decided on Bangalore Club primarily because Jay wanted their chicken rolls, which BY THE WAY - WERE PRETTY DARN GOOD!. Overall, the club was a great choice because it was an ABSOLUTELY gorgeous Bangalore evening, comfortable - about 65-70 degrees, gentle breeze across the lawn, scattered clouds darting in front of the moon. They've done up the lawn a bit, there's music playing in the background [cool 80's music of course!], good kababs, and of course it was great hangin' with Jay - caught up on each others lives to some extent, we need to do a little more of the chillin!!!
If anyone's ever wondered why I love Blr so much, its times like this evening - sitting at the club, kicking back and chatting while gazing at the moon, with the breeze gently tapping you to a comfortable place... its the best feeling in the world, and I wouldn't trade it in for anything. I never thought that I'd equate "Bangalore-ness" to the club, but its a fact -- the Bangalore Club will never change. Its old Bangalore to the core, and thats probably why everyone loves it so much -- its the place you go to take a trip back in time, to the days when sitting on the lawn and chilling in the breeze was the norm. Of course you can hear the hustle and bustle of the traffic right outside the gate, but after a while its easy to block it out and enjoy the easy pace.
Culinary Note: Dinner was seekh kababs (eh, ok), malai chicken kababs (mm, yummy), naan, chicken curry ("half plate"), masala peanuts, Jay's chicken roll, and some kind of chocolate pie for desert. Any guesses at the total bill? Anyone? Try Rs. 200. The equivalent of app. $4, give or take a little. Plus, I got to see Jay in full form -- we had order some shrimp, and went to the counter to pick it up ... the dude had said he'd reheat it for us, when we get there - all the shrimp is gone, after a little back and forth with the dude, Jay goes, "Boss, this just isn't done." LOL I almost fell over laughing!!
Anyhoo, tomorrow its lunch at the Only Place w/Zayd, the first screening of the pics at the Razack residence, hangin out at the Forum [maybe checkin out Mickey D's Indian style, hehe] and end the evening w/Batman :)
PS Apologies, no pics from the Club -- it was a little dark, and also I'll borrow from John Mayer and pray that my writing was enough to help you picture the moment.
didn't have a camera by my side this time hoping I would see the world through both my eyes maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words
Headed over to the Razack residence to surprise Zayd Basha for a bit while I waited for Jay to get out of work, chatted w/Zainab Aunty and him for a bit ... he's GROWN SO TALL!!!! Anyhoo, was s'posed to meet w/Jay, Bajaj and Mallya, but Bajaj and Mallya couldn't make it so it was bonding time w/Jay - which was awesome, coz we had a lot to catch up with ... especially considering the fact that she GOT ENGAGED LAST WEEK!!! OMG! I've never met the guy, but apparently that was a purposeful tactic - Blr peoples know what I'm talking about. It has something to do with my protectiveness.
Anyhoo, we decided to go to the Bangalore Club - for old times sake, and as we drive through the city, Jay's like - how come you're not ooh-ing and aah-ing... and I realized later that I probably wasn't commenting because I've been silently absorbing everything, taking in the visuals so I can amend the visual map in my head. But I also think that I'm a little shell shocked ... maybe. Not neccessarily at the actual changes, or the crazy traffic (which I personally don't think is that bad) but maybe at the fact that I'm finally back - after talking about it and whining about it for so long, I'm finally home.
Jay and I have a really interesting friendship - its great, we're really close, but its interesting how we got to be friends, and such good friends too! We never went to school together, had completely different sets of friends - absolutely no crossover until a couple of years ago, and our only extended interaction [on a daily basis!] was during Hindi classes for about 6 months, back in 1997.
So, we decided on Bangalore Club primarily because Jay wanted their chicken rolls, which BY THE WAY - WERE PRETTY DARN GOOD!. Overall, the club was a great choice because it was an ABSOLUTELY gorgeous Bangalore evening, comfortable - about 65-70 degrees, gentle breeze across the lawn, scattered clouds darting in front of the moon. They've done up the lawn a bit, there's music playing in the background [cool 80's music of course!], good kababs, and of course it was great hangin' with Jay - caught up on each others lives to some extent, we need to do a little more of the chillin!!!
If anyone's ever wondered why I love Blr so much, its times like this evening - sitting at the club, kicking back and chatting while gazing at the moon, with the breeze gently tapping you to a comfortable place... its the best feeling in the world, and I wouldn't trade it in for anything. I never thought that I'd equate "Bangalore-ness" to the club, but its a fact -- the Bangalore Club will never change. Its old Bangalore to the core, and thats probably why everyone loves it so much -- its the place you go to take a trip back in time, to the days when sitting on the lawn and chilling in the breeze was the norm. Of course you can hear the hustle and bustle of the traffic right outside the gate, but after a while its easy to block it out and enjoy the easy pace.
Culinary Note: Dinner was seekh kababs (eh, ok), malai chicken kababs (mm, yummy), naan, chicken curry ("half plate"), masala peanuts, Jay's chicken roll, and some kind of chocolate pie for desert. Any guesses at the total bill? Anyone? Try Rs. 200. The equivalent of app. $4, give or take a little. Plus, I got to see Jay in full form -- we had order some shrimp, and went to the counter to pick it up ... the dude had said he'd reheat it for us, when we get there - all the shrimp is gone, after a little back and forth with the dude, Jay goes, "Boss, this just isn't done." LOL I almost fell over laughing!!
Anyhoo, tomorrow its lunch at the Only Place w/Zayd, the first screening of the pics at the Razack residence, hangin out at the Forum [maybe checkin out Mickey D's Indian style, hehe] and end the evening w/Batman :)
PS Apologies, no pics from the Club -- it was a little dark, and also I'll borrow from John Mayer and pray that my writing was enough to help you picture the moment.
didn't have a camera by my side this time hoping I would see the world through both my eyes maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words
posted by zai5h at Friday, June 17, 2005
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