Dilli musings...

Dussehra is always a big deal in my family - so I HAD to be there...decided to club it with 2 holidays and a weekend and it was a perfect trip home to Delhi. Dad had come to pick me up, after a friend ignored all my pleas for a pick up (if you're reading this, cheapie...you know its you!!!!). Well as usual, my dad is the worst driver around - I mean he's the F1 kinds...not really your staid, laid-back, on-road driving types. And as usual, he forgot the way back home (oh, ok, they've just shifted to a new place), so we went on a little palam-janakpuri discovery trip...and coupled with an accident, a somewhat painful knee, it made for a perfect trip back home...! The pooja had already been done since I managed to reach delhi late - blame Subroto Roy for hiring nincompoops so I had to just sign the family register.

A brief note about this register - every family in the khandaan, when it starts, makes a register of their own...and in it, the Dad writes all good things that happened over the year since previous Dussehra, prices of commodities and gets everyone present to sign/thumbprint/handprint it. So it has my handprints from when I was 10 months old, followed by squiggly signatures as I grew and my now extremely dignified signature now - though my friends and family happen to think its still extremely squiggly and would much rather have a thumb impression...:-P

Was really looking forward to some home food and for meeting a friend I'd really wanted to get together with, for long...! So I guess I did exactly that. Again marveled at the open spaces, greens and the really awesome roads that Delhi has to offer. The metro has turned out beautifully and now I really dont think I'd mind settling there at all! Made one rather long trip to Noida - it is one hell of a planned place and the approach is truly awesome.

Went to a Barista outlet in a mall there while waiting to pick up a friend and was really surprised at the kind of clientele they were attracting. The Bombay Baristas are mostly full of yapping teenagers and the noisy middle-aged families kinds....while this one was full of ummmm...much more older people having their coffee/cookie/salads in peace without making too much noise..and I thought that was really cool. Wonder where the older population in Bombay hangs out at? The Nana-Nani parks?? Just outside this mall was a cute store for plants...and wanted to get some Bonsais for a friend and home...but desisted...the typical feeling of 'I'll find it cheaper elsewhere' arose..:-)...damn!

Parents had a problem most of the nights I was going out...I guess i should have just started out early and come back whenever as opposed to starting out late...damn...!! Met a friend and it was awesome catching up, driving around at late nights and almost getting hijacked to Jaipur at one point in time...:-)

Mum-Dad play a lot of chess all the time and boy...do they FIGHT!!!! At one point in time, Mum even refused to look at the camera unless my dad looked at it, saying he'd shift some pawns around, otherwise...!!! It was super fun to see them squabble like kids over a game..I think they had a marathon session of about 19 games in a row on Saturday...

I guess this has become too much of a gharelupost...but am kind of missing delhi now...:-(...parents, friends I can hang out with 24 hrs of the day and yeah....home cooked food...can someone please adopt me here??

Its a friend's b'day tonight and the others want to give her a surprise party..which is kind of silly considering that they have a surprise party for every birthday..so its not a surprise anymore. I think she's even told us what she wants for a gift (black bag...duhhh). On a related note...I thought I hated recieving gifts...but I'm rethinking, after having been gifted a lovely vase (green glass and covered with metal), a small shehnai-vaala in wood and a huuuuge scented candle:-)...I loved them!!!! I think one should never make a sullen face on being gifted something - because it means a negation of the thought and effort someone has put in, trying to choose something for you - so I stand corrected..and chastened..:-)

There was this pigeon couple below my window that was making out very noisily..so I thought I'll do a paparazzi act..: