Time Spent With My Daughter

The six days spent with my daughter was indeed good. It was time well spent with her. It is over, for 

today she left for Mumbai by the evening flight. And in another 4 days she would be leaving for London. I don't know when we might get together again. As they say, all good things must come to an end. However, I am happy for her, and wish her a wonderful life in London with her husband Ram.

They are both very good people, and I know that good people always do well in their lives.

The day she landed here in  Bangalore , she wanted me to make Vatha Kouzumbu for lunch as that is her favorite dish to have with rice, and my husband promptly went and bought Okra for her , which again is her favorite vegetable dish, which he himself made for her.
She dragged us to Phoenix Market City Mall in Whitefield, the same evening, both of us had a nice time there, only poor husband was bored to death, so we just had a look at what was on sale (which itself took us nearly more than 2 hours), and decided to come back again to do the real shopping/ buying.

The next day we had an appointment with the Tattoo studio, and we knew once we had gone there, we would not be able to return before 8.3 p m.
Tattoo artists are late risers, for they come late in the afternoon and work till late evening / night, depending  on the work they end up with. It needs lots of back bending concentration and precision in their work. They are really patient, and devoted in their work, one must really love tattooing to have all these characteristics. You would be surprised that some of them are studying engineering, some of them are doctors and architects and so on.
Once you see them working you come to appreciate them and genuinely feel that they deserve every penny they charge.
I had already decided what I wanted to get tattooed, but unfortunately the person who is supposed to be an expert in the field of portrait tattoo fell ill and so I could not get the portrait tattoo done.
However, I had other tattoos to be done, which would have been difficult to combine with the portrait tattoo, which I wanted to be done, so I decided to get the small tattoos  since we had an appointment with them. My daughter too wanted an Ankh Tattoo put on her ankle,( it symbolises life/ forever/ growth /evolution). So Sunday went off at the tattoo studio.

On the nape of my neck

You all already know my relationship with Time

BTW, (12.48 a m) that was the time I was born in the cold month of December

Mary Poppins just popped out of nowhere, and just got magically placed behind my ear: a real cute tattoo, just  the right size. Seeing my tattoos my dear friend  Padmaja wrote a poem on that, which I must share it here:

"Well after looking at the pics you sent, you energized me so much, I felt like writing these lines for you!

ZEST

The rainbow and the colorful butterflies
The dew drops on the rose garden
The sound of the splashing rain
The sweet smile on the new born's face
All remind me of her, her zest for life
Zest is the secret of her beauty
And that zest has a second name called Rama!"
Love Padmaja


Thank you Padmaja for this lovely poem. I will always treasure it.

Our Mall mania was not yet over, we decided to leave Ananth at home and go and shop peacefully. We went back to all the shops we had checked out during our earlier visit, and had a gala time trying out various outfits, and finally selecting the ones we liked. we had such fun shopping. Although I enjoy shopping alone, I also enjoy shopping with like minded people, and my daughter happens to be one of them.

Next we had to check out the just opened Starbucks Coffee in the same Mall. We got to taste lots of free coffee too, as we ordered our Espresso and Cappuccino.

My daughter had some wonderful time playing with her dog Loki, and also with our dog Bumbilli.
Though we don't allow dogs on bed, however, this once, I let her dog snuggle with her on her bed. I felt bad for both of them, for they were used to it, and  I did not have the heart to be strict now.
Anyway it was just for a few days: let them enjoy their bonding, for God knows when they would get to meet  once she left for London.
 I must say, her dog Loki is not fussy, he is very adaptable, he full of life and is always happy,  he loves to sleep  outside in his basket along with Bumbilli and the night watchman.
Here  is a picture of them together: bed-

sheets can be washed, but their love for each other cannot be washed away, it is there to stay forever, although they may not be together for long, so let them enjoy the  togetherness just for a little while. 

 There  is no doubt that we are all going to miss her, but she has a life of her own, and we must let her go. We can see each other, talk  with each other through G talk/ Skype, : modern technology is there by our side. Her stay with us has come to an end today, however, she leaves behind pleasant memories to revisit again and again.

Bombay: A pleasant Visit....

Whenever, I visited Bombay along with my husband, it would always be very brief, spent mostly visiting relatives, and coming back to Bangalore. Though I started my life with my husband in Bombay  years ago, and have visited almost all the important places along with him, yet, wanting to see Bombay through different eyes was always my goal.

My daughter who now lives in Bombay with her husband, kept on asking me to come when she had some long weekend so that she could show me the places I really wanted to see and be seen at.

This time, opportunity came by, when she had a long break,  starting with  the festival of Holi, Good Friday, etc. 

So off I flew off to spend some fun filled time with my daughter,  her husband Ram and their lovely dog Loki. The weather too was fine,  in fact slightly cooler than Bangalore.
Powai : this is where our daughter stays so that she could be closer to her office in Goragaon, and here is where the most happening place in Bombay is located : Hiranandani Gardens.
It is a place that immediately transports you to some European country, just for a few moments you can think you are somewhere else, not in India. The architecture, the surrounding layouts, the lush gardens with European style fountains, the cafes, the glittering shops everything fools you into thinking that you have stepped into dream world, see for yourself these buildings:

Powai Lake

Can't believe it is our own Bombay or Mumbai  PS : Image Kind courtesy Google
Though my daughter doesn't live in one of those ultra posh apartment, for they are all very expensive. However, she lives in a beautifully landscaped apartment complex in Powai, which has big wide balconies opening out of each of the rooms including the kitchen. It has a swimming pool, a high tech Gym and the landscaping is so beautiful.One has to just take a walk around the vast building complex to see how drastically the style of all the new buildings have changed in the last few years in Bombay. Gone are the days when we had match box type buildings, things  are changing. Though such small ugly looking apartments are still very much there, but the sight of some new buildings are really a feast to the eyes.
Next stop is Lower Parel: Oh, one has to see the lighted high rise buildings in the night, it almost makes you wonder whether you are in Bombay or in Manhattan, it is unbelievable. However, the same buildings in the morning look very shabby.
Next visit: Colaba:
 While driving to Colaba you get see the famous Marine drive and some of the very old and  beautiful buildings facing the ocean. I always wanted to stay in a house or an apartment facing the sea, and whenever I see such buildings my heart aches.
We got a glimpse of Mukesh Ambani's home called 'Antila', the world's first billion dollar house, an architectural disaster, pure eye sore, standing as a sour thumb. I don't know why he had to get the best architects from Chicago to build this monster.You can see for yourself:

                                                       Image Kind courtesy Google

There is no harm in having money, but at least he could have used it wisely to build something beautiful, classy. We have all seen pictures of various very rich people's houses, but have you ever seen such a horrible looking building. It also claims to be the tallest building in Bombay.
These are some of the most beautiful old buildings in Bombay, all near the Taj Hotel facing the sea:

                                                 All pictures taken by my daughter

                                                         Another beauty: so different
We reached Colaba dropped off Ram at Leopold Cafe`, where he was to meet somebody.
It is one of the most favorite and most visited cafes of the city. Leopold café is the typical hangout place for youngsters and also the old regulars. For some reason it always attracts foreigners. The food is good and usually with large servings and is fresh. Has amazing range of different wines and Champagne.
However, we ( daughter and myself) decided to go to Café Mondegar, for this was one place, that I always wanted to see, having read about it in many travelogues, and seen it in various food channels.
Next to Regal Cinemas, the cafe opens early in the morning and is open till midnight. This place is for all the college goers, office goers, tourists, and of course, the regulars : a favorite hangout place for almost everybody. Drinks and food at reasonable rates with amazing music wafting from the Juke box.

Mario Miranda's paintings also adorn the walls of  Pub Cafe Mondegar. 

                                                             Pub Cafe Mondegar

                                                The paintings of  Mario Miranda

   Another interesting  Place called Picadilly, a Irani Cafe, very old, with Coke posters, famous for Lebanese and Persian food for Irani Chai/ Tea and Irani Samosas
After lunch shopping:

                                                                Antique shops

                                      Bought two glass lamps one in Pink and one in Violet

                Had to admire this smart lady selling Henna blocks, and speaking such good English

Then hopping to Starbucks for coffee, at The Taj Hotel.
 Since it was a Saturday, it was crowded, but we did manage to find a good place to sit. Took a picture of The Gateway of India:

                                 The famous Haji Ali Dargah, how can I come without seeing it

The shops at Haji Ali

Amazing views from this bridge: Bandra Worli Sea link

During the night it would look more beautiful with the lights on.

There are many more places to see and things to do in Bombay, but from this visit only this much was possible.

And finally a picture of Loki, the cutest, and the most lovable dog.

Back to a hot furnace called Bangalore.

Again it is a photo blog.