Bound with Love
It's uncanny, but whenever I decide to do something or go someplace, I end up facing some type of impediment. My plans either don't materialise, or if they do, it happens with great difficulty! To counter that bad 'juju', I had decided to spend my year dotted with mini getaways, be it Nandi Hills or the mighty Himalayas. A couple of girl friends were thick in the midst of planning a sojourn to Kashmir. The valley was peaceful and the flowers were blooming as the 'shikaras' glided across the shimmering Dal Lake once again. Being an army brat, my parents and I went to Kashmir a couple of times, mostly on dad's official work. I remember the presence of a large contingent of army personnel even then. But, waking up to the shadows of those mighty fold-mountains, their snow-capped peaks catching the rays of the sun turning the ice-caps almost molten red, the serenity of the place and the kind and ever smiling Kashmiris offering you 'kava' in the morning made my soul ache with nostalgia. Even Switzerland disappointed me. Enough has been written and said about the dastardly attacks in Pahalgham. The sorrow bit at my heart. But then again, coming from a family of mixed-stock, and from a family that served the country, my heart swells with pride at the way all of us Indians came together to question the powers that be and stood united in our grief and demanded answers. Our leaders too, broke into unmitigated English to relay a powerful message to the world. We will not tolerate terrorism. We will retaliate. Jai Hind!
I tend to drown my sorrows in food. So when the family suggested, I jumped at the idea of having a 'dim-sum' dinner by the world renowned Chef Ng Meng Loong at Far and East, a speciality Asian brassiere at the gorgeous Four Seasons Hotel. We started off our culinary journey at the bar where we bumped into a bevy of friends who were there to sample Chef Loong's culinary expertise. I was expecting to be really pleased but in layman's language we were all blown-away at chef's expertise and flavour profile. Plate after plate of beautifully crafted dim-sums arrived, that it actually made one reluctant to break into them! All of us were agog with excitement and fascinated with the delicate folds, intricate flavours, and steam curling into the air once we sliced open the dim-sums.
His 22 years of experience and being associated with Michelin selected restaurant was very evident. We 'loong' for Chef Loong to return!
There is a certain comfort in meeting friends that one has spent one's adolescence with. It is a funny situation that whatever time has passed, when we meet up, we start up where we left off! It is like that with my friend Geramin La Brie. We have fought, laughed, cried and been there for each other for over 40 years! Now we are both 'glamourous-glammas' and we still pass surreptitious glances at one another at some secret only we share, and burst into peals of laughter. We celebrated Geramin and David's wedding anniversary and her mom's birthday at Cajsa, a global-cuisine speciality restaurant at ITC Gardenia. The cuisine, the ambiance and the company was impeccable. Of course we disturbed the peace by laughing like hyenas!
Jai Hind to India and friendship!
(The writer's views are personal)
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