Liberated...

Sorting through my stuff as packing for the final big move started, I made the very difficult decision of letting go off my precious Literature notes that I’ve been guarding like treasure worth its weight in gold, since my First year of B.A! My heart swelled with pride as I saw once again (and for the last time) my notes made painstakingly after many visits to libraries, poring over books, scanning material available online and compiling it all together in a neat, organized manner, so as to aid easy comprehension and retention of matter. Then there were all those assignments and examination papers where professors I still hold in esteem had awarded me as high as 13 out of 15! Yes, yes I was quite the ideal student ;-) I must say it’s quite a painful process to big adieu to all of them – it’s almost like cutting off the umbilical cord and finally stepping over the threshold into a new stage of life that no longer has any links with the past. Over-the-top, melodramatic reactions but believe me it felt much like that…

An Evening in Italy...

Toscana...Barely does the world roll off my tongue that my mind conjures images of an idyllic Italian vacation - the sun-kissed country-side, the wind teasing my hair and playfully blowing away my linen shirt to expose my mid-riff; languid afternoons spent sipping a cool drink by the pool, the water glittering under the sun’s rays; a lizard darting across the terracotta floor towards the kitchen from where wafts the heavenly aroma of freshly baked pizza; sultry evenings spent pirouetting in the arms of a sexy Italian…

What I got was a sultry summer evening transformed into an idyllic evening with the cool breeze gently kissing my naked arms and whispering through my hair, as I sat back in a lawn lit by lanterns strung across the space and a few candles scattered across the tables, retro music drifting in from next-door, and dreamy plans of a European vacation over beer, succulent chicken and pasta, with the best dinner companion I’ve had till date…

Where, you ask, did I find my piece of Italian paradise in Pune? Why, at Toscana, the delightful Italian restaurant next to Soho’s, Kalyani Nagar…it was a perfect evening, with just the right ambience, good food (though not pizza, since we opted for pasta for the main course), good service (surprise surprise!!) and, as I said, great company and great conversation. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed an evening out as much as I did at Toscana – and with it, I think I’ve finally broken the jinx of mediocre gastronomic experiences in Pune!

Geetanjali, the Restaurant Critic!

I’ve been thinking I should take up an alternate profession – that of a restaurant critic. Why? Well, I’ve always enjoyed filling out the suggestion/comments form given in restaurants, but off late, I’ve noticed that those forms are becoming increasingly crucial. Why you ask? Well simply because of the falling standards of services, not to mention cuisine, in most restaurants. Restaurants are popping up at every nook and corner like wild mushrooms. Unfortunately the increase in their number hasn’t led to an improvement in services. I’d have thought that the increasing competition would make them treat their clients better, but it seems that the scarce importance given to the client has also disappeared!

To me, the complete gastronomic experience includes not just quality meals but also a good ambience and service. If even one of these criteria isn’t fulfilled, then the experience simply isn’t satisfactory. And I’m sorry, but if I’m paying for the meal, then I think I deserve to enjoy my meal…and if I’m not content then I think I have the right to express my discontent and have it noted and taken into account.

This weekend, to celebrate my cousin’s birthday we’d gone for dinner to Bombay Brasserie. I’d been given the impression that it is a rather posh restaurant, BCBG as the French would say – Bon Chic, Bon Genre - only to discover the restaurant was far from it!

The entire experience was so unsatisfactory, that it bordered on disgusting. It’s a fact well-established that one can’t find good personnel in a restaurant in Pune (except perhaps for the waiters at the Blue D restaurants and at La Dolce Vita) but the waiters here had exceptionally dour faces, and were remarkably inept and ignorant. It didn’t help that they had a certain tendency to lean too much into the client’s space while serving (or was it just one client whose space they insisted on trespassing?) Their food and service had me disappointed before the first-course arrived on our table....

Needless to say, by the time I finished my meal, I was utterly disgusted with the complete waste of a good evening. To eat over-salty, over-spicy food in an over-lit restaurant with tacky string lights on the steps of a wooden floor that had been scratched and abused, with waiters who don’t change the cutlery after the first-course (unless specifically asked) and table-cloths that were dusty – well that is far from my description of a good gastronomic experience. I didn’t hesitate to inform them that their cuisine and services were befitting of a lower grade restaurant and that it pained me to be paying them the prices they demanded. I ensured that my uncle who was paying didn’t leave them a tip – I have to be really annoyed to refuse to leave a tip, so you can well imagine the quality of food and services.

Word of Advice – Stay away from Bombay Brasserie, Dhole Patil Road, Pune.

Simultaneous critique in French on Francesay

From the Unwritten Diary

Swirling whorls of dust descended on us, sweeping up in their fury clothes not pinned down, saplings already struggling to survive the heat and awnings that tried to obstruct their course and slow them down…seated at my computer staring out the window I marveled at how I couldn’t even make out the form of the building in front of ours. And then, as suddenly as it had descended the dust storm disappeared, leaving behind an eerie silence that echoed in my ears uneasily. There is a restless energy inside me that’s been scrabbling for attention, begging for release. I tried to drown it out with music, turning the volume up till the floor beneath my feet throbbed with each beat, but the restlessness inside me just grew, making me yearn for the forbidden. I tried writing, hoping it would bring forth the much needed calm, but what came forth helped naught…my senses are jarringly, electrically alive and my mind jammed with an entangled mess of images. I’m aching to cut loose and head for the unknown, the unexplored…

The skies outsides are a heavy overcast grey, the sunlight streaming through the clouds bathing the landscape in a strange luminosity…and I must rein in this edginess and focus my concentration on a new project. A long, incredibly boring evening lies ahead – oh how will I survive it? I think I shall shock some people tonight…dare I?

Back From Hibernation

I’ve pinched myself several times the last few weeks, trying to believe that it’s really happening – it’s difficult to believe that this dream is actually coming true, that I’ve actually cleared all the obstacles from my path and that very soon I’ll embark on a long awaited voyage. Somewhere deep inside of me, I’m still incredulous about the whole affair! A friend recently commented on my (changed) notions of romance/love, others have drawn my attention to my (apparent) practical attitude towards all matters related to relationships/ambitions/dreams – I think it all boils down to the fear of losing what’s dear to me…

A much delayed (and embarrassingly mediocre) response to a Limerick tag by the charming Wandering Dervish

There once was a girl quite bright,
Her intelligence was much tried,
As were her generosity and patience,
Till at last she lost all her sense.

Tagged: Extempore, Idle Mind, Jo

Current Book: Che Guevera’s Motorcycle Diaries (don’t recommend the film – I know I’m a fool for having missed it since it’s an astoundingly brilliant film! I don’t need salt rubbed into my wounds! Grrrr!)
Current Music: Say it right by Nelly Furtado
Current Mood: Frazzled by the heat, work, studies and myriad chores.
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