The Kids go to Gurgaon

16-sep-2015

We had been speaking about it for a while, and since the past year both the kids have expressed their eagerness to travel alone to their aunts house. So we decided to do some growing up ourselves, and after a series of detailed q&a with the airlines, and the long weekend for the Ganesh break coming up, we booked them for a flight to Delhi with Armaan being the UAM and Alisha being the accompanying elder sister.

It was a refreshing break for the kids as well as us, with 4 days of unsupervised mayhem! ( for them and us )


Day 0
Waiting at the *bx at the airport until they board and leave, Deepa and I had a long chat over coffee and cheese cake.

Day 1
Woke up late ( 1030 hrs ), and made our way to Shivaji Park for a seafood meal at Gomantak, which I had last visited in 1998. Fortunately not much had changed, same dingy atmosphere, same delicious food. Kingfish fried with a curry, chapati, rice and kokum water. A side order of clams, and fried prawns. Oh boy did we have fun.

That night we went to The Sassy Spoon for a late dinner and nice conversation over a Redberry something and a shot of Stoli and Pernod on Ice.


Day 2
R&R at home watching half-watched movies which we had abandoned earlier and planning our next day.

Day 3
A Jazz workshop at the little theatre in NCPA, which turned out to be a free flowing Jazz improv take on some pop tunes. Some interesting participation from a fine Sitar player and another dude on the tabla. We left the place feeling very pleased with an evening we at first had misjudged to be a pure workshop for musicians only.

Cafe Infinito for Dinner and after 10 pm Tequila shots and that mint lemonade drink. Music too loud and techno for our taste, but we still had a good time.

Day 4
Kids back home. We were beginning to miss them. They were so excited from the trip with so many stories to tell. . . .

The Fuji Sportif 2.1

After months of studying all the options between Road bikes and Hybrids, I decided to skip the Hybrid stage, and upgrade straight from my MTB to a new Sportif [ endurance geometry ] road bike.

And this is what I got myself; I love it ! 
I took it for an early morning ride on my usual 25 km loop, and though it will take a little time adapting to the new stance, I'm .

My Cup Cake

Date Night 2015-07-25

Deepa and I have been looking for ways to reclaim portions of our lives and mind space. The kids are more independent now, and seem to want their own space. This suits us just fine, though initially we had some resistance.

Saturday 25th July, a nice rainy day, we went for a long drive downtown.
We began our evening at the Gallery of Modern Art, exhibiting a range of Sketches and Watercolours, as well as a large range of Tempera on cloth by artist Jamini Roy.

We began our tour of the exhibition in all seriousness, and making good effort to try to appeciate the work and avoid any plebeian remarks, This went on for about 10 minutes and then we read the artist's bio. Turns out Jamini is a man ! I had to go back and relook at many of the exhibits with fresh eyes....

Frankly I dont know what the fuss was about, and why he is celebrated so. I found most of the work rather dull and uninspiring save a few.

This Christ with Cross on some sort of Wicker Mat was interesting.

This one titled "Shringar" I think, generated a lot of interest from Deepa, 

which I cannot go into here. 

And this is a sample of a typical piece of work.

Go figure.

After the Museum we went off to have some Pizza at Pizza By The Bay. A Pizzeria with a lovely view of the sea at Marine Drive.

We sat inside [ warm and humid outside ], and enjoyed the view and 

our overpriced food and coffee.

Sat by the sea side watching the waves, and feeling the spray as they smash against the breakers.

Some nice conversation and a sense of connection with the earth, sea, and humanity around us. 

Back to Rustom's for some Parsi made Fruit flavoured ice-cream, 

which Deepa enjoyed with some surprise.

It was a nice date. We must do this again sometime.

Deepa's Birthday at Chiplun

Since Deepa was beginning her 7th cycle of a 7 year cycle, we decided to do something different, and planned a family retreat to Chiplun for a time of reflection, togetherness and celebration. We left early morning at 0530 hrs on Saturday 11th July 2015. 

Kolad was on the way, so we stopped for a while 

and went Kayaking on the Kundalika river. 

The rest of the drive was beautiful, esp the last 100Km through the ghats. 

The hotel used to be run by the TAJ, so we were ceratin that they couldnt have gone too far wrong.

And this is what was waiting for us.

A quick look around, and Armaan was really keen on a swim, so we went off to the pool.

A nice swim followed by some hot snacks and coffee at the outdoor restaurant.

Then the cake cutting which we were all waiting for !

Yummy Belgian Chocolate cake, which we carried with us from Bombay.

A nice sit-out on the balcony for Deepa and I, with a glass of Rose and Barbecue Nachos. 

And some good conversation. 

The next morning we woke up early, Armaan wanted to have another swim in the pool.

After which we were off to the beach.

Yes, GUHAGAR beach is about 45 km from where were, and about a 75 minute drive.

One of the lesser known beaches along the Konkan coast. 

And something which we were all grateful we took the effort for.

Being Monsoon season though, we didnt get into the water, and left shortly after, 

with a nice 9 hour drive back to Bombay. 

Reached home tired, sleepy and happy by 1030 pm on Sunday 12th July 2015.