House Cooling/Warming Part 1 – Mumbai masquerades
Given a choice between socializing at public establishments or private homes – my vote is ‘house party’! And while average flat sizes in Mumbai are modest, there are some that are designed with ‘entertaining’ in mind!
We recently attended a ‘house cooling’ party in Mumbai. It wasn’t at all like the one I had in Winnipeg before moving back to India. Mine was a simple affair where the focus was valiant efforts by one and all to empty the house of assorted bric-à-brac and demolish the booze cabinet! No one was permitted to stay with empty glass or leave empty-handed.
In the recent Bandra variant, there was certainly food and booze aplenty however it also featured a burlesque masque theme! Tonight is the same friend’s ‘house warming’ party and am looking forward to kicking off the “B-b-b-b-birthday celebrations – quintuple style” courtesy of his hosting skills! (more…)
B-B-B-B-Birthday Celebrations – Quintuple style!
My mother went into labour as ‘trick or treaters’ knocked on their door the Hallowe’en of 1969. She would say how, as her contractions came, she wished I might hold off just a wee bit til after midnight… By 5am the next day she was cursing but got her way as I welcomed the world on 1st November.
Over the years, I’ve met others born on 1st November and occasionally we even celebrate our birthdays together.
For my 40th birthday, enjoyed a ‘triple treat’ birthday with:
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Triple hit – 1st November babies (2009)
A “young” friend (left in pic) who has such a zest for life, we bonded instantly when we met a couple of years ago. We share a love of good music, laughter and more!
- Yup – that’s me in the middle!
- An “old” friend (right in pic) – we met in France in 1988. I’ll never forget one party in Mumbai where a guy I just met ever so kindly took it upon himself to ‘introduce’ me to others (thinking I’m a newbie firangi to India)… to discover practically everyone else there and I knew each other from weeks… to months… to years… By the time he came to my “old” friend: “We’ve known each other for over twenty years – I think maybe 23?” He went “I give up! Who the hell are you???” (more…)
2nd Quarter Summary
Can you believe it? “Every Day Adventures in Asia (Mostly)” is half a year old!?!
“Eve Teasing”
It would have been impossible without all the comments and encouragement from fellow WordPress bloggers, folks following through various social media and real life friends who keep surprising me by actually reading and chatting about topics in posts of interest to them.
This quarter, I’ve been thinking about living and working in more than one country. (more…)
Braving malls, masks and gifts… Jakarta’s Block M Square and Pasaraya Malls
I’ve already confessed to paultry posts about experiences in Jakarta. I’ve also admitted I’m not a big fan of shopping or malls… This post braves both!
Before I left Bombay for Jakarta earlier this month, my partner requested I buy us a mask or two and replenish our empty ‘gift cupboard.’
Why masks? Well… it has become one of our ‘things’… we’ve separately collected masks here and there. So when we came together, our masks did too.
Glimpse of our masks…
Cooooofffeeee! Part 2
Clearly my 1st Starbucks experience in India was utterly sub-par… So why bother with a Part 2?
Well… as is often the case in life… there is more to the story!
1. Bandra Reclamation Starbucks – Part 2
Embroiled in local tussles regarding bribes… ahem licensing issues, apparently the power cut issue is only one symptom. One hopes that whatever lafra (a brilliant Hindi slang word that roughly translates as ‘trouble’) is going on is resolved soon. (more…)
Cooooofffeeee! Part 1
I’m a coffee addict! I’ve also had a wretched time for a week with BOTH of my internet services doing a “Now you see me! Now you don’t!” game, making getting anything accomplished doubly difficult! (Also explains my blog absence too!)
So, I thought, why not check out the new Starbucks that opened down the street?
Bandra Reclamation Starbucks
In Asia, typically there are three things you can count on from Starbucks (or its equivalents):
- Reasonably reliable Wi-Fi
- Blissful cool from powerful air-conditioning
- Drinkable coffee
All desirable things… right? So out I strolled in the sunny 36’c warmth (that 96’F for my American friends).
What did I find? (more…)
Rathod the roach killer
Rathod the roach killer!
I’m cool with chipkalis (geckos/lizards) and can even live with a spider or two but I absolutely detest cockroaches. I’ve been known to squeal like a little girl and leap up on chairs, beds, anything!
Which is why I’m a huge fan of pest control and get it done regularly in our home. Which generally works… except… for some strange reason when my partner rehearses his role as “Rathod the roach killer.” Magically they appear to torment me. Then when the performance is done, they scurry back to whatever dank dark hole they emerged (I don’t want to know!) (more…)
Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home 2
Daily Prompt: When you’re away from home, what person, thing, or place do you miss the most?
I travel – at least once a month – typically for a couple of weeks. So ‘being away from home’ is a fact of life.
My concept of ‘home’ has two dimensions:
- Home of my birth – Winnipeg, Canada
- Adopted home – Mumbai, India
Yet my answer for both is simple – family and friends. And warning – this post is unabashedly sentimental! (more…)
Music Musings – Chic Gamine
This week’s feature is from my hometown of Winnipeg (and Montreal).
Years ago in Manitoba there was a remarkable all female acapella group Madrigaia. So when, on a visit to Winnipeg, I heard there was a new incarnation, pulled my parents, brother-in-law and friend out to see Chic Gamine at the West End Cultural Centre. I was utterly captivated, bought their self-titled CD and proceeded to play it (more than once!) for friends in India.
Chic Gamine (Photo: Rebecca Sandulak)
They are quixotic, winsome, wryly witty, multilingual (English, French, Portuguese, German…)… when I listen to their music, can’t help but break out into a giant smile! (more…)
Bangalore house envy
I experienced a serious case of ‘house envy’ in Bangalore. I had the pleasure of being invited in my one night to two homes plus the guest house and… I gotta admit… the spaciousness compared to our cramped – I mean cosy – flat in Mumbai is extreme. The bathroom alone in the cheerful guest house is bigger than our guest bedroom!
Guest house living room
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not suddenly going to up and move to Bangalore and I love our place, however it did prompt thoughts in choices we make in life and the circumstances we adjust to in living arrangements. (more…)
Everyday Asia 