Mumbai Calling - Day 2

As I stood there, recollecting the exclamation - "its morning already!!??' it occurred to me that yesterday had passed.

Sajal went about his work, while I toyed with the Milk Bikis and sipped the hot masala Chai. We regrouped after a lill' while to watch the games begin, some of which were coordinated by Salonee, who had turned almost a zombie by now. After a bit of chit chatting about the previous night's 'items', Sajal and I walked to the indoor games room; Table Tennis (or Ping Pong [American lingo]) ruled the house. It is hard to think that you could match the calibre of those who were smashing their way to victory. but, yeah we did get an oppurtunity to showcase our skills as well... lol.. I was playig after more than 2 years and Sajal was a beginner. But we did well, and even before we realized, we were sloshed in our sweat. I fared pretty good despite the 2 years gap, but I was more than happy to see Sajal's instant passion for the game. I say that because, everytime we finished a game and walked out, we chatted for a bit, and we would ourselves walking back to the club. This guy was addicted !

That was how most of the day passed. By the end of it we were so damn tired that it wasn't possible to deceive sleep anymore (why ?? see Mumbai Calling ). After lunch we decided to take a nap.

Theres one part, the exact timing of which I can't remember quite - before or after lunch? We met this person from the Pune divison (who was playing TT with us earlier), near the lunch spot. While he shared the same pain as most s/w enggs., his humour and sarcasm amazed me; a real cool guy. I hate to have forgotten his name, but I do recall that he sang us all a very melodious song and the spot had, for an instant, transformed into a 'mehfil'. Was fun meeting that group of his.

We might have played a game or two more of TT, before the group started to pack their bags. The picnic was over and it was time to leave for Mumbai ! Sajal decided to be seated next to 'Nainsukh'. It was kinda boring to be seated alone but I managed to pull through the journey, watching the fleeting glimpses of the Sun in its orange and pink shades.

It was already night when we reached FAM Society, Vashi. I was staying @ Sajal's place. Time was short - just this one night and about half a day of the next, before I left Mumbai. We freshened up and decided to go out for dinner. It was interesting to see the impeccable manner of coordination between Sajal and Supriya as they planned for the night out.

We hired an auto to some Mall. First thing we tried to see if we could get tickets to 'Taare Zameen Par' but 'nah' - the house was full. Next thing, we walked into Cafe Coffee Day; got settled in some cosy sofa; pondered over the menu card to choose some flavour of cofee of the so many they had, to gauge the difference between which seemed next to impossible to me. We sipped the coffee over some chit chat and we took some shots, one of which was particularly an intelligent one. Here's me and Supriya, courtesy Sajal (photographer).



We then went to 'Shikara', a Saloneee's recommendation ! It was indeed a 'one of a kind' restaurant. Basically, a Shikara is a large Kashmiri house-boat. And this Shikara was no different. The guys had modelled the restaurant to give you almost the same feeling as walking down a boat house. The eating area was raised above the ground and multiple such areas were separated by narrow pathways decorated with lush green grass. The highlight of the restaurant was a mini pond decorated with colored lights and rocks on which stood real Swans !!! Mann !! I was flattered. Another thought that hit me as we sat there was that this restaurant had a group playing 'Ghazal'. It was over a decade since I had been to a restaurant playing 'Ghazals'. I was happy to be here. The recommendation was 'Perfect' !



After we had settled and placed our order, I chose to have a ghazal dedicated.
Just when the drinks arrived - Smrinoff for me and Chivas Regal for Sajal, the song began - "Yeh Nayan Dare Dare... Yeh Jaam Bhare Bhare" and we did the 'cheers'. Over the dinner Sajal showed us snaps of what 'his' meaning of 'having 'a' drink' was - pictures with tens of bottles of alcohol from a previous party !!! Phew, quite a capacity he has ! Everythin was perfect - the drinks, the food, the song, the ambience and the night !!! That was our team dinner :o)





It was around 1 o' Clock in the night when we returned home. Sajal and I chatted for a bit before crashing on the bed while a song from 'Taare Zameen Par' played in the background. Lights out !