Twenty- five Seven

It’s the end of May

May 30, 2025

The last week of May

A very wet and gloomy Monday

Monday was the wettest day ever in 107 years! It rained so much that a newly opened Metro station got flooded, a road near our house collapsed, trees came crashing down and I had to put away the carpets and dry my clothes in the living room.

This was almost the first time ever that the IMD got the forecast right. And as always the populace disregarded bad weather alerts.

Surprisingly, though things returned to normal quite soon and by afternoon, the collapsed road was fixed and fallen trees removed. I don’t know about the Metro station but I suppose it may have taken a bit longer because it is a new kind of emergency. We’ve never had an underground service before and are just about getting used to the idea of underground transport .

A respite

As I get older, I’m finding it harder to adjust to change. I had just about got used to finding my way around my kitchen and getting comfortable with the pots and pans when my home help

After last week’s juggling with two maids, I have just four days of bliss before we are short staffed again. Tonight ( thankfully the skies have opened up again and it is bright and sunny) Prima Donna and her daughter are leaving for their annual break and along with them will go my star performer – the trusty househelp who works like a horse. Of course they aren’t holidaying in the same place but nonetheless, I will be short on home help. It shouldn’t be a bother really because there are less people at home.

books in May

I have made a conscious effort to read more books this year and in May, I can count

THE STATIONERY SHOP OF TEHERAN.

This book was highly recommended by Anna Shetty who found it most romantic and unput-downable. Sadly I didn’t find it so riveting

Despite the twists and turns in the book that starts off with the love storyline of Roya and Bahman caught in the turmoil of Iran in the early 50’s the book lacked any punch.

As always Ann Patchett never disappoints and thought the novel was a bit predictable, the story was interestingly woven with two stories for the price of one.

While Lara and her three daughters are cherry picking in their orchard, many things come to light.

I normally like Irish authors and expected much more from this book.

From the very beginning I guessed what the story line would be and was not at all shocked the way the Sheehan family were on receiving Jenny’s news at her 40th wedding anniversary party. Not a book I would recommend.

Having lived in Lagos as a child, I’ve always had a weakness for Nigerian authors.

I’m afraid I abandoned this one within the first four pages largely because I had to return it to the library. Perhaps I should give it another go because the style is quite engaging.

JOBS to be done

As usual, I begin each month with a mental list of jobs that need to be done.

I must say that most of them have been accomplished or are on their way to being done by the end of June.

Chief among them being getting my wardrobe in order, getting back all the clothes that were lying with my tailor for over six months, fixing an appointment for a new number plate for my car so that I don’t have to pay a hefty fine of Rs10,000/ ! I also managed to tidy up my kitchen which I am slowly getting used to.

Sadly, my weight-loss journey remains in limbo. I have managed to control some of my food and exercise, but the scales seem to be stuck.

June should be more relaxed with the Little People on Holiday. It is fun having kids around and taking them to various activities to keep them busy and away from the screen.

Happy holidays to all those going on holiday.

Ciao
New age cures for old age woes

May 26, 2025
It’s that time of year when people are bringing their suitcases down from lofts or attics and taking out clothing only kept for travelling. At least that’s what Prima Donna and Anna Shetty are doing. This is the last week of school, where everything becomes one big whirlwind of activity.

This makes me happy to be staying back. No worries about what to pack and what to leave out. Even less to worry about plane schedules, hotel reservations, sites to see and museums to visit.

More importantly. I won’t have any steps to climb! ( (why do ancient monuments have have so many steps to climb?)! Unfortunately, I’ve reached that age when every step matters.

I know that the old Chinese saying “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” is what I should adopt as my tagline for my formidable journey to lose weight and gain health but, honestly, the way my body aches and pains, I’m grateful if I can turn over in my bed without moaning and groaning.

Why my weight keeps going up

I’ve tried each and every liniment, pain relief balm, swallowed NSAID’s, contemplated several ayurvedic treatments and attempted homeopathic pills but all to nought. I’ve now resorted to asking Ms. Papaya to work her magic spells on me so that my weight starts going down.

Now all those who know my eternal lament of my increasing weight and failing diets will be surprised to know that I have taken yet another step in yet another attempt to lose weight. This time I hope it works because I will be tackling this in a new way.

In the most recent studies regarding weight issues and weight management, the reason for stubborn fat is
- YoYo Dieting: Irregular eating patterns, where alternating stuffing and starving your body of food, lead to fat being stored for the times the body is deprived of food.
- Lack of Sleep : Now this is a new one. I thought that once you reached your adult size, sleep was required only to refresh and restore the body. A normal adult can do with 6 hours of good sleep.
- Improper diet. This seems quite plausible because some foods leave you hungry and craving for more while others leave you too stuffed to sleep. The snacking in between meals is more the downfall than one imagined.
New cures for old woes

The latest these days are supplements like Magnesium that promote sleep and consequently help in weight loss and subsequently less aches and pains.

Chia seeds soaked in water are supposed to help you with acidity and gas and body bloat.

Coriander seeds soaked in water are also meant to be a natural immunity booster, an antioxidant, a blood sugar regulator and a digestive health enhancer.

But the most revelatory cause of stubborn weight is metabolic disorders that include hormonal and thyroidal imbalances.

So now instead of halving your food and doubling your exercise, one is advised to have blood test for Gut microbiomes, thyroid tests.

So, it looks like I have the same battle with old age with its aches and pains adding a new dimension.

Ciao
and yet another birthday

May 19, 2025

once upon a time, when Ms Papaya was all of 4, she was asked what she did all day. She very innocently replied “weddin’s and parties”. Undoubtedly we were all shocked! But if any one asked me what I’ve been doing these days it would be parties and parties. Indeed, these last few days seem to have gone by in a series of birthday parties.

It all started with Hubby Dear’s milestone birthday, which he didn’t want to celebrate. But Prima Donna and Anna Shetty took the lead in organising a family party. For those of you who know my family, you would be familiar with the numbers involved. So the girls organised a home caterer who came completely equipped with wait staff. They also organised a bartender much against Hubby Dear’s wishes. But seeing the happy smiles all around, he agreed that it was worth getting Nilesh Dighe of Culinary Foods to take care of the food.

By the end of April, we celebrated another birthday – that of my Ma-in-law who was even more reluctant to blow the candles on her cake.

So it was a relief of sorts to celebrate Ms. Papaya’s birthday this Saturday past.

CELEBRATING A GEN A BIRTHDAY

I haven’t celebrated a kid’s birthday in years so I went down to Abdul Rehman Street in what I call the biggest open air mall in the world.

It was hot and sticky even at noon and the shop keepers were just about pulling up the shutters. It was fascinating to see how boxes were emptied out and wares were displayed on rickety shelves and makeshift stands. This wholesale market has always been a buzz with people buying retail in bulk.

Each shop specialises in a product while some shops specialise in ‘Gift Items”. These shopkeepers are a party planner’s dream and for people like me a great resource bank. These guys have a pulse of what people want and show you what is trending and what is not. They show you what you wish to buy without judging you on your budget

Ms. Papaya had a vision of what she wanted for her birthday and all we had to do was fulfil it. I found some blingy bracelets that the shopkeeper assured me would warm the cockles of a 10 year old’s heart.

A phone call to a wholesale Chocolate Trader in Crawford Market had him share his price and product list with us on WhatsApp. After a quick discussion at home, the chocolates came home within an hour of making the call!

A Gen A party was quite easy to organise thanks to technology but for us oldies it was hard to come up with the entertainment. So used are they to organised parties by Party Planners etc that only a brave-heart would undertake such a mission.

Prima Donna reached a compromise with a bit of the old and a bit of the new. She asked The PaintSocial.com to organise the modern organised party part while we organised he disorganised, play it our way old fashioned part.

The old fashioned part is pretty easy to organise too thanks to cloud kitchens, WhatsApp and some enthusiastic home grown party organisers. Pizzas were organised through TwentySevenPizzas, momos were sourced from Meatigo and the cake was ordered from Celejor. A WhatsApp message to the nearest Celejor was enough to get the cake we wanted to eat. Select the cake, print the photo and light the candles and blow them out.

After some games organised by Anna Shetty and two enthusiastic Dads, the kids began to trickle home with their hand made wooden boxes and a stash of Candy.

So I can relax now till July when the next lot of birthdays come my way.

Ciao