Lounge Loves: ‘Fake Podcast', Brave Man Single Origin coffee and more
I have only now discovered the social media personality and actor Satish Ray. As happens with mindless scrolling, it sometimes throws up gems. In my case, it was a reel of Ray as a Pakistani general, Janab Maqsaad, in Fake Podcast with Abhishek Singh (he plays Prashna Kumar, the host asking the questions). Hooked, I quickly moved to watching the whole episode on YouTube. Halfway through, the penny dropped. Ray is the techie friend Siddharth in Panchayat, season 2. I did say I am late to the party. I have since watched a few more episodes of Fake Podcast. Particularly hilarious is the one where Ray plays a one-sided lover Guddu Premi, clad in a T-shirt which reads 'I love you Pooja'. His eyes have an impish glint. The actor has great taste too—his apartment is featured in a design magazine. Yes, that's called drowning in a rabbit hole.
I have a strong memory of madhabilata, the fragrant Rangoon creeper from the house I grew up in. In summer, the heady scent of the flowers would invade the neighbourhood, especially in the evenings. Over the years I've tried growing it in my small balcony in Mumbai without much luck. But I never gave up. Last year, I brought home a new plant from a trusted local nursery. After many months of waiting, which involved making several calls to my parents on tips to grow flowers, and consulting the family WhatsApp group, my madhabilata finally rewarded me with its first buds last week. The flowers may not be as many as from my memory, but are enough to remind me of those carefree summer evenings.
Your therapist gives you guidance, mine gives me that, and granola too. It started during one session when I was famished and asked if she had something to munch on. She had just baked a fresh batch at home. Delicious. Next time, it had raisins and I detest them, but I still gobbled it. At the third session, I brought it up, and she said she had made some, but she hadn't offered it since it got burned. I still insisted I wanted it. Last session, she said, 'I couldn't make granola this time. Next time I will.' I melted. I wasn't even a granola person earlier. But if she offers again, I'll lap it up. The session doesn't feel any less fulfilling without the granola, but it does add a crunchy element I've grown to like.
A perfect weekend getaway to a coffee estate in Chikmagalur—unseasonably sunny days, cool nights, and the warmest of friends—was made even better by the discovery of one of the best coffees I've ever had (with the disclaimer that I am more of a chai person but will have anything with caffeine in it). I found portable pourover sachets of the Brave Man Single Origin coffee from the Urvinkhan Estate, where we were staying, in my room and proceeded to brew a cup immediately. It turned out to be the richest, most fragrant cup of coffee ever, the aroma filling the entire room for hours. The estate manager even gave me a box of sachets that I'm running through rapidly. You don't have to visit the estate to buy the coffee (though this is highly recommended too!), and can order it by DMing them on Instagram.
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