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Yearly Archives: 2013
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…)
Confession time…
I admit, I’m out of practice and outta shape with the whole work-life balance thing. Not only has getting to the gym suffered completely in the last few months but, I must confess, I’m a recovering workaholic who has completely fallen “off the wagon” and slipped back into bad patterns with the Jakarta project.
As Lady of the Cakes succinctly diagnosed my condition “Bad case of projectitis!” and very aptly prescribed “3 hours of blogging faffery!”
And I couldn’t agree more!
Which is what made my trip to Bangalore such a delightful break from intense non-stop work. I’ll confess, I still did a couple of hours both days, but in a relaxed detached manner. This morning my emails were made from the guest house terrace while leisurely sipping my 2nd morning espresso, listening to the birds chirping, enjoying blue skies and a balmy breeze with feet propped on a stool.
One night in Bangkok… I mean Bangalore!
Having literally just breezed through Bangkok airport on my trip back from Jakarta to Mumbai, I find myself throwing jeans and a t-shirt into a small bag for a quick trip tomorrow morning to Bangalore.
I admit it… I have a special fondness for Bangalore… and I can’t wait to be back after years! (more…)
Triple fe(a)st – Thanksgiving, Dushera + Eid Al-Adha
I surfaced from a manic work session to realize I nearly missed today is a triple fest / feast :
- Thanksgiving in my home & native land Canada
- Dushera and Durga Puja in my adopted home India when the goddess Durga was victorious over the demons
- Eid al-Adha in my temporary work home Indonesia in addition to India and so many other parts of the world
I hope you have a joyous and peaceful festival – Eid Mubarak! That good triumphs over evil your life! And that you are sharing time with family and friends over a delicious feast.
So happy festing and feasting to all my friends at home and away!
Durga – destroyer of evil! (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Related posts:
- O Canada!
- Two Causes for Celebration (reneeduke.wordpress.com)
Bollywood baby birthday bashes
Have you ever been to a 1st birthday party? In Bombay, particularly when there is a link to the film industry, these seem to be very much ADULT parties!
My 1st introduction to what I’ll call the “1st birthday phenomenon” was years ago at the Spastic Society (now known as ADAPT – Able Disabled All People Together) in Bandra Reclamation.
The father was the director of the film Leela and it was his pride and joy’s birthday! Was the little guy to be seen? Well… he did make a sleepy appearance for a short while but then retired. Which was perfectly fine because this was very much an adult bash – brilliant fun full of all sorts of interesting characters.
Fast forward more than a decade later and I popped into another 1st birthday celebration in Bandra during my ‘bonus time.‘ Bereft of my partner who was busy with a film shoot in Goa, I landed up by my lonesome wondering what to expect.
Cake cut, signal for “adult” time!
The princess of the evening did an admirable job of smiling, chortling, being oohed and aahed at, tossed giggling into the air. In the earlier part of the evening there were puppets, games and other activities for the little ones. However after the cake, the mood clearly shifted from being a “general” admission party to time “parental guidance” at a minimum… it was clearly time for the adults to pick up the pace and strut their stuff.
Shots made the rounds along with the snacks, casting agents rubbed shoulders with actors, much merry industry networking took place. Now… lest I sound cynical, the parents of the enchanting birthday belle are truly lovely people and fully appreciated the irony that their gal wouldn’t remember her 1st birthday at all.
The adults clearly enjoyed the babes bash! And I’ll admit, I was no exception…
With Irrfan Khan, one of the many adult celebrants!
No these weren’t wild nights of debauchery however both were parties as much (or more) for the full-grown celebrants rather than the tiny tots.
Have you been to any “adult” baby birthday’s lately – Bollywood linked or otherwise? Or is this phenomenon unique to Bombay?
Related posts:
Everyday Asia 