2 of 3900 weekends

a few weeks ago, the husband and i wanted to drive out to chapora fort. having lived here for over a year, we still hadnt seen it. the fort of dil chahta hai fame. tired of waiting for company to join us to make the trip we decided to go on our own, and this is what came out of it:

more WTF moments from goa

bliss

the monsoons have been playing a tantalizing game for a few weeks now. intermittent downpours and showers, leave us thinking its FINALLY here. and then it goes back to being bright and sunshiney. but the days when it rains, it really rains. and everything around me becomes a gorgeous verdent green. i cant get my eyes off it.

yesterday was one such day. i was lucky to have a meeting atop the hill at dona paula. as i drove up the winding road, i realized how everything was so fresh and pretty. nothing can give me an insnant high like good weather + lovely drive + great music can. and that can be such an instant mood upper!

on the way back, i could see the sea beneath me, off the edge of the hill, with rolling greens along the hillside. a sight i havent seen in an indian city before. lush. green. pretty.

i drove to the market. theres something about the rains that cleans out the air and gives everything a pristine sparkly look. the market was a delectable mish mash of bright colors and liveliness. everything looks fresh and yummy.

just when i thought the evening couldnt get any better, we ended it with a swim in the drizzle.

pure bliss.

weather update

the weather has been consistently hot. with a few bearable days in between. a few days ago i read a piece in the papers about how this is the hottest summer goa has witnessed in the last 4 decades.

gasp.

why now?!

while we had a few surprise showers last week, the past couple of days have seen temperatures rise steadily, and taking humidity levels to an all new high.

its becoming unbearable. its so hot that my brains are beginning to melt.

amazing sights you see only in goa

...all the better to erm, recharge yourself with, perhaps?

gratitude

for having witnessed a gorgeous sunset. the most amazing one i have seen in a while. at miramar, a 7 minute walk away from home.

a sunday well spent

yes, we saw dolphins. and they're cute.

back home again

...and this time around it really feels like home.

we had a whirlwind of a weekend with romi, simran, harsh and ram with us. went to 3 beaches in a day, got terribly sun burnt, had lots of good food, some laughs and a lot of fun. amongst other things we went out into the sea on a speed boat, saw dolphins (yes!), jumped out into the sea surrounded by nothing but water for miles on all sides, did this crazy banana boat ride, got chucked into the sea a few times, bought 2 lowely summer dresses and felt really kicked :D

hallelujah! we're connected.

im posting this from my home in goa. yes, our BSNL broadband saga has ended. we're now connected.

the BSNL fixit man showed up out of the blue, fixed our modem, keyed in our settings and voila! we were connected. as simple as that.

it only makes me wonder why all the fuss and delays and procrastination and lack of accountability for the last 2 months!

…why the South beats the North

There is a severely commercial side of Goa geared to the tourists in every way. Mostly in the North. where the beaches are dotted with shacks, with neatly lines up sun beds for as far as your eye can see. Where the shack owners speak perfectly accented English that makes you look twice to see if the words are really coming out from the mouth that is speaking them! Where there are almost as many nude foreign tourists as there are newly wed, chooda-wearing Indian tourists. Where it’s more likely that the Italian and Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food on the menu is authentic, but the tempered down Goan delicacies that you are served are anything but authentic. Where you often see the piles of litter and wonder what can be done to correct the vicious cycle. Where it seems like the beach is a commodity. A carrot, dangled in front of the eyes of the millions of tourists who are lured here year after year.

And then there is the South. More importantly, there are beaches like Palolem. Where the sand is whiter, cleaner and soft on the feet. Where the sea is sea-blue, like it is meant to be. Where the waves lap gently, and don’t bring back garbage on to the shores. Where the beach is dotted with palm trees that lean and reach far towards the water. Where the shacks exist, but are far less crowded than up north. Where the beach is beautiful and inviting. Where you’re more likely to meet the true beach loving tourist, and not the trashy in-a-trance tourist. Where Cafreal, Sorpotel and Vindaloo is the real deal. Where the beach experience is mellow, serene and perfect. Where you can soak up the sun, the sand and sea, or just lie back with a book. Unperturbed by loud music, chattering crowds, the sounds of high speed sea sport, hawkers and sales talk. Where you’d love to go every chance you get.

Palolem is roughly a 2 hour drive from Panjim. And if you bike it down like we did, the drive can be beautiful for the senses but a pain in the ass. But the view of the sea on reaching Palolem, quite makes up for it all.

It’s true, the south and the north are poles apart. Palolem is more like a quaint village, with a shanty market area leading into the beach. Somehow this is more appealing than the drive up to some of the beaches in the north. Firstly, Palolem is a smaller beach, and slightly cut off from the open sea, as it is a little curved. Perhaps this is why the waves are gentler, smaller and make the sea far more suitable for swimming. I found myself quite peacefully swimming far out into the ocean, without really feeling at sea! On a good day, if the sunshine is just right, the rocky edges make for a good snorkeling experience. Otherwise Palolem is the perfect beach to spend a day, alternating between swimming, relaxing in the shade with a chilled drink, and kicking your legs back. Take in the blue view, read a book, listen to music, spend some quality time alone – Palolem is apt for it all!

We stumbled into a shack called The Big Fish, quite by accident, because we happened to enter the beach through their access way. And once we had hit the sea, we were too lazy to move around and find a better shack. Big Fish wasn’t all bad though. Despite lazy, slow service, the food was good. Thankfully the beach and the sea more than made up for the service that really made us feel like the shack owners were doing us a favor by entertaining us!

So it was a day well spent for me. A nice early morning drive, when the sun isn’t fully out as yet. A gorgeous beach. Some great swimming. Decent food. Some much needed peace and quiet. A lovely bowl of fresh fruit and ice cream to end it all. And a peaceful drive back to Panjim. None of which I could have done in the beaches of the North.

To Palolem and back. All in a day. The best way to spend a Sunday.

the first supper

this was written on 11 March, way before any of the more recent developments around the home occurred.
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It’s been a mad few weeks. When I was here the last time around, we spent all our time house-hunting, finding the house and then carrying our gazillion bags and suitcases up to the house. This time around, all my time has been spent in cleaning, waiting for various Goan executives to answer my calls and show up at my doorstep with their respective services, and eating out. In fact the husband has been eating out for a month now. And we’re both quite sick of it.

Our gas connection isn’t here yet, because we need an affidavit in the husbands name in order to apply – something that the husband has had absolutely no time to do. Between the pressures of a new job, making a difference by spending extra hours at the office, drinking umpteen beers and eating out, he hasn’t been left with much time for anything else.

To cut a long story short, we haven’t started cooking at home as yet. Even though the kitchen has been cleaned up, rearranged, and the boxes with all my kitchen essentials almost fully unpacked!

But last night we decided to make do at home, and have our very first “home cooked meal” at the nest. On the menu was: beer, roasted cashew nuts, grilled cheese toasts, and chips if you felt like it.

I went to the supermarket earlier in the evening and we picked up some cheese slices, tomato-olive sandwich spread (which I instantly knew only I would enjoy more than the husband), Goan bread (which is an interesting variety of the Bombay pav – same texture and feel, in a different shape – and I loved it!), hot and sweet tomato ketchup, and a whole 24-pack carton of Tuborgs (FOR 19 RUPEES A BOTTLE. Beat that!)

The evening was spent in quiet solitude, being with each other, sharing news about the day and of possible things to come, plotting the weekends surprise (muhuhahaha!), some essentials for the house that are still pending (after the carpenter we bargained with rejected our call, we’re back to square one!), and talking about how this is the life I’ve always wanted. I’m forever grateful to VC for being the person that he is, and for bringing me closer to another dream.

The toasts turned out fine. Thankfully someone gifted me a toaster (the electric grilling sort) at the wedding, and I had stashed it away for a better day. It was totally handy last night! So while the night was quiet, the toasts anything but fancy and the ambience still a little run down (from all the unpacking that’s still left to be done), I’d have to say it was the best dinner I’ve had in a while.

yet another WTF moment

...en route to anjuna...

cooking finally!

last night marked the beginning of another chapter in my life, titled "cooking ones own meals". after much confusion, being surrounded by cartons, crying out for help, sorting packets of groceries, tidying up and getting a lot of help from pooja, the kitchen is set.

pooja was realllly nice to come by and help out, give me a few recipes and also go veggie shopping. later she ended up staying and rescuing me from my burnt garlic paste catastrophe!

but it was a fun evening, and the kitchen being set has made the house a home. the aloo sabji wasnt too bad either. and the icing on the cake was that vc claimed he actually like it :)

happy brings more happy home

almost like a happy consequence to the little happiness we brought into our living room, we entertained last night :D

first guests at the new home.

and it was a riot.

the company: lekha, anand and krishna from vc's office
beverages: much beer was consumed. and a whole bottle of madera wine between lekha and me
food: chips, cashewnuts, prawns, biryani, butter chicken, rotis
conversation: somehow this always goes all over but never fails to return to the hallowed world of advertising!
the aftereffects: a giggly me and and a giggly lekha, an entertained anand, an entertaining vc and a stressed out krishna who was on the phone for the most part

hello, some more happiness :D

to bombay and back..to melancholy and back..

vc and i went away to bombay for the weekend. a very impromptu decision to go, it was. vc went on work, and since it amounted to two days and three nights alone, i thought to myself why not go with him? so go i did.. and it turned out to be the best decision, because i got to surprise a very homesick niyoo, spend time with the cousins and my aunt who are all alone at the bombay house at the moment.

the weekend was spent consuming happy home cooked favorites, roaming the nooks and allies of fashion street and colaba for goa-friendly clothes. we also went to woodside inn, which was fun, and watched alice in wonderland in 3d.

the point im trying to make, however, is that returning on monday morning was no easy task. the house begged to be dusted and cleaned but i didnt feel like it. the laundry ached to be done, and i somehow managed to drag myself out of my homesick funk and do it, and all of a sudden the house felt cold and lonely.

for the first time since iv come to goa, i felt the weight of being terrible lonely. for so many days now theres been so much to do, places to go, errands to be run, the newness of the house etc..and no time to be sad and lonely. but yesterday, i felt it especially after vc left for work.

to battle the melancholy, i had a quick shower, discovered our phone is finally working (hallelujah!!) and left the house. the idea was to fill my otherwise empty day with random things to do, so i wouldnt feel so aimless.

later in the evening, i decided enough is enough, and if i keep waiting for the carpenter and the handyman and the phone man and the various other people to come set my house up before i step in and do my thing, il never feel settled and at home.

since i cant unpack my boxes yet, i decided to cozy up the house in what little way i could. and it worked wonders. we cozied up the living room a bit. bright yellow fabindia sheets on the floor gaddas, bright cushions and covers, 2 happy yellow light lamps and we're set.

welcome home, happiness
:)

day one

• Day one began with a sudden loneliness as soon as VC left for work. But thankfully it didn't last very long at all, as I surveyed the gargantuan task of cleaning that lay ahead of me. What better way to fight the sense of newness and unfamiliarity than to start getting things in order, the way you like them to be. The way it makes everything feel familiar. I'm amazed how anal I can get about keeping things tidy and putting things in their respective places. The soap now has a place, the washing machine detergent now has a place, and the sink scrubber now has a place. Yes, I notice how I'm only rambling on about cleaning equipment, but that's probably because the rest of our life's belongings are still tucked away in cardboard boxes and suitcases randomly strewn around the house
• That reminds me, day one is also the day the packers and movers safely delivered my consignment. Almost no damages noticed so far, except for a lovely Fabindia lamp that got a little bent. I hope it's fixable. It's almost scary to see how your whole life can get packed away into boxes. No order, no heed, just packed away. Everything that we hang on to so dearly, the clutter that we bring into our lives, only to make it substantial and filled with "stuff". So the house is strewn with boxes and other random household items, which will soon find a place of their own. Much like the soap, detergent and sink scrubber
• Day one also began with my first real up close encounter with a host of insects. I have successfully exterminated 3 generations of cockroaches (I'm pretty sure), an entire civilization of ants, some lonely geckos and a few wise spiders hanging around he place. The experience, I have to say, was not pretty, and certainly not something I would like to endure once again
• Day one was when I went to the good old Coffee Day I have discovered close to home, where I envisage I will be spending a lot of my time. I went there for a decent cup of coffee, my first since I left Bangalore. I was satisfied. The weather was lovely, the setting sun light, just right. And I was so happy to see the number of healthy campers trudging along in their sneakers, shorts, ipods etc. It reminded me of how Goa is going to be about getting back in good health, having the time to exercise, cooking healthy food, and staying fit (amongst other things..hehe)
• But of all the things I have just gone through, the one memory of day one that lingers in my mind is the feeling of immense satisfaction and contentment. At having my own place/space. Cleaning it up the way I know best. Being alone and feeling the tension. Brushing those thoughts away and coaxing myself into being brave. Day one was about the beginning of taking charge – which comes with so many other things attached. Day one was about the realization that living alone is overwhelming, yet it brings a sense of calm over me
• Day one will be most remembered for the feeling of finally coming home

moving lock, stock and barrel...

...except, in my case its clothes, shoes and a ton of JUNK.

when the husband packed up and moved 3 weeks ago, he has 2 suitcases with clothes, one big duffel bag with some more clothes, and another big duffel bag with shoes.

i laughed at the AMOUNT of luggage he had.

today i began packing. and thought id be way better than he was.

i was mistaken. because im going to have what seems like 278346278364 clothes, 14 pairs of footwear, and TONS of junk. and that includes random pieces of paper, memories, pictures, cds, books, bills, diaries, journals, postcards...basically things i have never gotten down to organizing and stashing away neatly.

its confirmed. im a hoarder. i need help.

hohumsign.. i wonder what the husband is going to have to say about this..

special services

when in goa, if you want a 'welcome massage' just go to the bsnl customer services center.

Sent from my Nokia phone

ironic

the ironic thing about telling people you're moving to goa is that people who didnt visit you in bangalore, or when they visit bangalore, or when you visit their cities, now suddenly want to meet you. in GOA.

Hot

The start of summer.

In an office chair. A broken AC. Pant pant... beer needed..