BENGALURU: Life has a strange way of immersing you in the smaller problems so one doesn’t concentrate on the bigger ones. I was so wrapped up in my (not) ‘maid in heaven’ blues that I completely forgot about my twisted back and perennial pain in my muscles. I have been having regular physiotherapy sessions at home and lo and behold! I too have fallen prey to the ‘pranic’ and reiki’ healing techniques! ‘Let there be no stone unturned’, has been my healing motto. But, all mirth aside, it has been a slightly depressing and worrying journey as I haven’t bounced back to ‘my-normal’, and I have been forced to contend with my body saying ‘slow down’ or ‘this is not possible’. Yes, folks! I have slowly but surely crossed the spring-chicken phase and have firmly crossed into the medieval-stage of my life.
I used to be able to use all my four gas burners to cook up a storm simultaneously making the beds and cleaning the house with no problem at all. Now, my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak. Other than cooking occasionally (which I still love doing), I don’t want to do all the housework and other such mundane tasks. I get tired and cranky and I feel all my intellectual stimulation stops. More so, I feel I have done it all...now I just don’t want to! The only thing is that I have to rein in my ‘obsessive-cleanliness-freakish-nature’.
As I said before, life has a way of slapping you in the face when one starts wallowing in the smaller problems. I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing away of my dear friend Priya Mascarenhas’ husband Mohan. Priya and Mohan knew my parents and they were the epitome of what old and genteel Bangalore stood for.
A much-loved and respected couple Mohan was Priya’s friend philosopher and partner for over 57 years. Yet Priya stood stoic and still, dignified even in her grief, and we who are close to her could see how shattered she was in her loss. People think I’m being non-inclusive when I close ranks around what ‘old Bangalore’ represented. It represented this…grace, loyalty and finesse.
Again there is life’s lesson. Whereas in one corner the curtains drop on a chapter in your life, in the next, it’s curtains up for a young couple, beaming with the joy of starting out on a new adventure. We happily trudged across to Leela Bharitya-City to celebrate with the Razdans and their ‘friends-like-family,’ a raucous brunch at their signature Indian restaurant Falak. Virender and Sheeba Razdan’s daughter Pallak and her spanking ‘newly-minted-from-the-US’ husband Sam, were there having a great time with all of us. We know the Razdan girls’ since they were knee-high. What a great afternoon it was with great food and ambrosia and even better company! ‘Pallak’ was celebrated at ‘Falak’… (In the sky)!
I did manage a quick Chef’s Table visit to the newly opened Hyatt-Centric Hotel in Hebbal and was pleasantly surprised with both the ambiance and the expertise of the chef. It’s heartening to see namma ooru emerging as the food capital and even more heartening to see newer hotels and restaurants putting in that effort.
Viva to life’s roller-coaster ride. The past is a place of reference, not a residence.
(The writer’s views are personal)