The good old Irani cafes in the city

Mumbai has a fast life; the rush hour, the 8.40am local, peak time, fast train, all a part of the fast life; so much so that people are mechanically tuned to be fast and furious (I guess its fitting to say so). In this fast pace, city people rarely have the time to stop and smell the flowers. As much as I love the city and its fast pace sometimes I like to take it slow and steady. A long walk, a short hike, visiting a gallery, some retail therapy are some breather activities for me. Irani cafes are one such other places where life can be experienced in slow motion even now. Some dingy and some well-maintained, almost all of them have marble-top tables with black wooden chairs. They serve steaming glasses of chai and melting maska (butter) with a sprinkling of sugar on the brun (bun). At the counter is the keen gaze of the cotton-shirted Irani owner. Nearby are glass-fronted shelves of khara biscuits, cakes and brun that you are supposed to dunk in your tea for that authentic flavor. The yummylicious kheema pav with a thick layer of oil floating over it sure beats the sophisticated five star buffets where I literally spend a small fortune of my monthly income. These cafes not only get me a bit nostalgic about the good old days when I was new to the city but also are very cost effective and go easy on the pocket. There are times when I literally have a craving for that tea with the distinctive taste/flavor which can only be found in Iranian chais, and I make no efforts to fight it. Unfortunately these Iranian Cafes are going through a silent death and soon they will be extinct. With the new generations’ craze for coffee shops and fine dining, today there are just a handful of them left in the city. Sadly Iranian cafes are on their way to become something of the past which will only be mentioned in articles about the good old days of the city.
Some of the still exsisting Iranian Cafes in the city are:

• Cafe Mondegar
• Cafe Leopold
• Paradise Restaurant
• Cafe Oval
• Britannia Restaurant
• Cafe Ideal
• Free India Rest. And Bakery
• Kyani & Company
• Bastani & Company
• Cafe Garden
• Byculla Pharmacy
• Everest Rest. & Stores
• Daryush RestaurantAsian Stores
• Messrs Cecil Restaurant
• Mocambo Cafe & Bar
• Cafe Dilbar Bar & Restaurant
• Congress Bar & Restaurant

Cross posted here.

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Weekend in genral

Although it was a very wet weekend, I must admit it was not at all bad for me. I stayed at home, with the exception to go out and buy the groceries. I was in the mood for cooking and hence made three different types of seafood. Richard Clayderman makes cooking and cleaning (the house) so much fun. I recently got these CDs copied from a friend of mine: Best of Kenny G, Yanni & Richard Clayderman. Although Yanni manages to some how throw me into a very weird mood, I must say that Richard and Kenny G are music to my ears literally. I also managed to get wet in the rains on my way back from the grocery store. I hadn't really got a chance until yesterday to do so at least during this monsoon. The best part was that I was not feeling bad to say goodbye the weekend and to face Monday.

Moving further, do you feel the need to please everyone, if not the the fullest but at least so that ppl don't talk bad about you. I realise that its difficult to please all, and that ppl do back bite abt one another. I am not a saint either. But one thing that really concerns me is about these 3 colleagues of mine (one of them used to be my 'so called friend') who have started talking rubbish about me and my mgr. Out of the 3, one did try hard to be as close to the manager as possible but to her bad luck I moved into this department and my mgr was also a good friend of mine. True we share a lot of common interests and I like to once in while sit and chat with him. But I don't feel that he lets me slack on my work, and whenever required he has pulled me up and we have had our share of fights/arguments. I am not really sure how should I take this incident forward. I did give a lot of thought about this during the weekend. Not really sure about it though, I have a couple of ideas. The best being that I totally forget what they talk and cut interaction with them to the minimal, and simply just concentrate on my work. Am sure that in time things will be alright and their opinion will change.

Today morning on my way to work I noticed that my vehicle took an unusual route. A route I had completely avoided for the past couple of months. Its were he stays. Never before have I had to take this route (at least in the past couple of months). Coincidentally today early he was expected to come back to India ( I am not sure if he has already reached). I couldn't help myself from leaning out the window and take a peek of his house far inside the compund. Althought I really couldn't figure out much it was just an act for mental staisfaction. The rest of the journey to work, my mind was full of moments of the past and conversations we had, particularly one. There is a good chance I might bump into him. I do want to see him, atleast just to see how he is doing.

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Health, Friendship and Song of togetherness

I am a food freak. I am not out and out adventurous at trying weird food but then some flavours and dishes gives me a high and I like to indulge in it as much as I can. This is quiet evident by my looks. And surprisingly unlike other gals I never cared about a perfect figure or the extra pounds I gain when am on a eating spree. Never was I bother that guys done drool over my figure etc ... Recently I had this person whom I know telling me that he has diabetics, and high cholesterol and a damaged liver ( that bad liver is because of his drinking) at the age of 33. It hit me hard. 33 is too young to have such ailments. And its really freaks me out to think that I wont be able to touch any thing sweet once I become diabetic. Of course you can take those once in a while risk and put your neck under the guillotine. This incident has made me realise that I am probably on a marathon towards an early heart heart attack, or being a diabetic at a early age. I can live without getting into single digit sized clothes rather anything ready made
All these thoughts have freaked me out of my wits. I don't want to cut short my life with my own hands and have taken a conscious decision to eat healthy and go for brisk walks. I hope and am sure that the fear of dying will make me stick to a healthy lifestyle. Will keep updating how I do.

Further ..
There are some friendships which have a shelf life. After that they die off totally. No matter how much you to try to revive it, perform CPR, mouth to mouth what ever you do it dies off anyways. Its sometimes useless to even to try to bring to a level you are not friends anymore but mere acquaintance. Its just doesn't work out, especially when you a blood sucking bitch to brain wash your friend. I am not even sure what exactly has been told about me that the relationship is irreparable. What is one supposed to do at such an instance? Am sure the answer would to just leave it and move forward..? Right ? But what if doesn't work that way? ... What if that person is unavoidable? And you have to face him time and again, interact with him out of compulsion and helplessness. Each time you come across each other,you always make a conscious effort to just keep the interaction to the required limit but the so called friend is out to slash you with comments and taunts, simply judging you by what he was told about.

Much further...
Have you listened to the song "Mere Haath Mein, tere haath hai" from the movie Fanaa? I do enjoy Hindi songs a lot but when it comes to understanding their meanings esp hidden meanings ( in those high fundoo Hindi words) I suck BIG time. Someone once has told to me that this is one of the few songs which explain the beauty of togetherness and relationship very well... The way smell is associated with breath, the way rhythm is associated with heartbeat.....Is there a better way to discribe it ?

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