Twenty- five Seven

SUNDAY FUNDAY

December 8, 2024

Let’s be honest. We all have an Inner Barbie. Even the most tomboyish women and girls like to look and feel good. And who doesn’t want to feel pampered and spoilt? Especially on one’s birthday.

A birthday with a difference

There are many ways to celebrate a birthday. The commonest is having a cake, chips, streamers, balloons and of course, friends (and perhaps family) to celebrate with. Some people prefer going to the temple or church to seek God’s blessings for the rest of the year and possibly to thank Him for another year happily spent on this earth.

I remember celebrating my 60th with various celebrations all through the year. One was a gorgeous terrace party hosted by Anna Shetty and her family where she had invited my friends. That was truly a wonderful surprise and truly cherished. Another was a celebration in Princeton where Prima Donna took me to a fancy restaurant.

But today was a birthday party with a difference with Prima Donna hosting a Manicure party for her friends at a luxe spa at Malabar Hill. How wonderful it was to see these young women beautifully turned out, with immaculate hair coming in to have their nails done!

Indeed this is a great way to spend a Sunday even if it isn’t your birthday.

At a SPA WITH A DIFFERENCE

Florian Hurel Hair Couture and Spa is a spacious, well-designed hair and nail spa where you get pampered in utmost luxury. Apart from your hair and nails, you can also indulge in a full body massage and get your Bridal make-up done.

And yes, men can use it too!

Ciao,
Dark glasses

December 4, 2024

I have always had a passion for dark glasses. somehow they lend an air of sophistication and complete the look of a lady of the world. They also add a bit of mystery. The eyes are the windows to the soul and when you can’t see behind the darkened lenses, your thoughts remain unknown.

So whenever I travelled abroad, my first steps would be towards the Duty-Free section selling dark glasses. Over the years, I’ve bought many, from branded ones to tacky ones. And I’ve received many as a gift too. This gift like perfumes is a much valued gift and treasured possession.

Around four decades ago, my father made a trip to the Netherlands and returned with a pair of Polaroid dark glasses. They were funky with their green lenses and bright red frames. And they were cute too, drawing comments from young and old every time I wore them. I wore them a lot, especially when I was wearing my everyday casuals. Over the weekend, we had made a trip to Talegaon to keep away our extra furniture and knick-knacks that we couldn’t bear to be parted from. We were in the process of making a ‘Memory House’.

On the way home, I reached out to wear the dark glasses which I had inadvertently left on the back seat of the car only to find them broken.

I couldn’t help feeling sad seeing them snapped so neatly in two.

I wonder if it was a sign from the universe that the links to my recently deceased father were slowly being broken.

Ciao
A Memory house

December 2, 2024

Over the past five and a half months we’ve been giving our house a new look. This obviously involved a lot of work. What began as a small job, dragged on for months and turned out to be more than just a job. It actually was a life-changing experience.

For the first time, we realised what living in a multigenerational family really meant. Not only were we four different generations living together, but we also had multi-generational artefacts, often going beyond the four generations present. We had books, walking sticks, rackets, photo albums, pots and pans belonging to Uncles and Aunts of earlier generations!

So in the house clean-up, we discovered many things that had to be put away, nay, buried in a graveyard or donated to a museum of late 19th Century life in India.

However, Hubby Dear being extremely sentimental refused to part with any object. So we decided to pack things up and keep them in an empty flat that we had purchased in Talegaon. That would be our ‘Memory House’. It was also a cheaper option than keeping it in storage.

Thank God for men who pee on the road!

We set off last Saturday in our tiny Hyundai i10 which is also old and retired from active Sales. However, it has hardly any mileage on its dashboard and is still a trusty car.

Or so we thought.

No sooner had we passed the last available petrol pump at the end of the Atal Setu, we developed a flat.

Pulling to the side of the road, the driver somehow managed to jack-up the car and began the process of removing the wheel to fix the stepney. We didn’t realise the 7 years of scanty use would cause rubber degeneration and a jammed wheel. No amount of kicking and pulling released the stubborn wheel.

So we packed up the stepney and continued ahead till we found the next petrol pump. Highway assistance is hard to come by. Slowly, with our hearts in our mouths, we crawled along for a few kilometres or so before we saw a tow van packed on the side. Alleluia! Help was at hand.

But the van was driverless and looking ahead, we spotted him a few metres away having a pee. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t disgusted at this filthy practice. Hubby Dear jumped out of the car and grabbed the man’s attention before he could zip up.

Luckily he agreed to help. This time round, he went to his van, picked up a huge sledgehammer and thwacked the stubborn wheel out of its comfort zone.

Thanking him profusely in cash and kind, we continued our journey to the ‘Memory House’.

I also thanked God for men who pee on the road!

Ciao