Chai Time in Palm Villa
The best thing about being married so far has been the husband's desktop. It has a 19' monitor, just right for the aging and semi blind me. A very typical morning in the Rohra and Advani house has us; the loony couple, sitting on our very sweet built for two breakfast table hogging on our hearty breakfasts. Perfect you would think? Wait till you hear this. *singing tadna tadna tadna tadddddna * The loony husband *pauses for effect * doesn't drink tea or coffee.
Which means on the lovely breakfast table, eating our hearty breakfast there is this awful disconnect! I drink my pudina chai and he drinks his * cringes her nose * Bournvita. So you see we haven't really bonded yet. What do we bond over? Over BOURNVITA, really? I am loony but not that much, yet. Anyways, in the evenings too when I do come home at a decent hour, I sit with my lonely cup in front of the desktop pinging ex roomies about how much I miss our chai sessions together.
That brings me to the 'Chai time in Palm Villa'. Palm Villa was the apartment I stayed for the last 2-3 years of my single life * sigh * how much I miss it. Enjoying chai in the morning or after a hard day of work, was a ritual in our house, all the roomies, Vineeta desai, Swapnagangha Joshi (the one who got me addicted to pudina chai), Raji, Rubina Chowdhury (the Bengal tigress cum singaporean babe who used to have black tea/coffee right before sleeping), Pranati Mohapatra (who lives geographically the closest now and hence MUST drop in for tea sometime after all Bangalore is not that far from Chennai) and last but not in the bit least Vidhi Malhotra were into it like it was a cult.
We all respected the chai time so much that we could give up anything to be at home at the chai time. Poor Malhotra worked the farthest from home and so would miss the chai session in the evenings. So one Friday I get a call from this very chirrpy, happy sounding punjaban saying "Ms. Rohra, I have finally managed to reach home before you, let me know when you are about to reach, main chai chadda dungi" I could almost hear her grin away happily, to which I very very sadly replied "Ms. Malhotra, I am stuck at work and doesn't look like I will make it anytime soon." The very optimistic Malhotra reminded me it was weekend so no matter how late I got home we would have chai. She kept smsing me in between expecting an Main-aa-rahi-hun reply however I only got home in time for dinner and the chai time that evening was Qurban corporate slavery ke naam.
Next day morning I had to go to work whereas a very peaceful Malhotra lay sleeping (one of her favourite things to do in the whole world), before leaving I just nudged her a bit asking "I am making some tea would you want some." She just nodded a no sleepily. As I was about to make tea suddenly she come running and says, "I have been waiting to have tea with you since yesterday! Akele toh chai achi nahi lagegi, I can always sleep again after you go, bring it on ji." and thats exactly what she did, she had chai and went back to sleep. Such is the importance of having tea with some people around you. Having chai just doesn't feel right.
Which means on the lovely breakfast table, eating our hearty breakfast there is this awful disconnect! I drink my pudina chai and he drinks his * cringes her nose * Bournvita. So you see we haven't really bonded yet. What do we bond over? Over BOURNVITA, really? I am loony but not that much, yet. Anyways, in the evenings too when I do come home at a decent hour, I sit with my lonely cup in front of the desktop pinging ex roomies about how much I miss our chai sessions together.
That brings me to the 'Chai time in Palm Villa'. Palm Villa was the apartment I stayed for the last 2-3 years of my single life * sigh * how much I miss it. Enjoying chai in the morning or after a hard day of work, was a ritual in our house, all the roomies, Vineeta desai, Swapnagangha Joshi (the one who got me addicted to pudina chai), Raji, Rubina Chowdhury (the Bengal tigress cum singaporean babe who used to have black tea/coffee right before sleeping), Pranati Mohapatra (who lives geographically the closest now and hence MUST drop in for tea sometime after all Bangalore is not that far from Chennai) and last but not in the bit least Vidhi Malhotra were into it like it was a cult.
We all respected the chai time so much that we could give up anything to be at home at the chai time. Poor Malhotra worked the farthest from home and so would miss the chai session in the evenings. So one Friday I get a call from this very chirrpy, happy sounding punjaban saying "Ms. Rohra, I have finally managed to reach home before you, let me know when you are about to reach, main chai chadda dungi" I could almost hear her grin away happily, to which I very very sadly replied "Ms. Malhotra, I am stuck at work and doesn't look like I will make it anytime soon." The very optimistic Malhotra reminded me it was weekend so no matter how late I got home we would have chai. She kept smsing me in between expecting an Main-aa-rahi-hun reply however I only got home in time for dinner and the chai time that evening was Qurban corporate slavery ke naam.
Next day morning I had to go to work whereas a very peaceful Malhotra lay sleeping (one of her favourite things to do in the whole world), before leaving I just nudged her a bit asking "I am making some tea would you want some." She just nodded a no sleepily. As I was about to make tea suddenly she come running and says, "I have been waiting to have tea with you since yesterday! Akele toh chai achi nahi lagegi, I can always sleep again after you go, bring it on ji." and thats exactly what she did, she had chai and went back to sleep. Such is the importance of having tea with some people around you. Having chai just doesn't feel right.
11 comments:
:D :D :D :D Loved it! And welcome back... ok ill go now... its Complan time :D
hahah Vikram, what's wrong with you guys? How will you ever bond with me? Not bonding with husband is one thing, not bonding with hot cartoonists is totally not done ;)
ha ha ha! an with due respect, it is funnier (for a geek) to read about a 19' desktop versus the typical 19" one... Looks like you need some "man ki shakti" ;)
You were part of a cult?!
And what's wrong with Bournvita?
And I have a feeling that "hot chocolate" would have been fine; but, Bournvita is not :-)
@patil: hahah man, the husband is very upset that he did not notice that typo :) and yeah hot chocolate would have been fine but nothing can beat good old chai.
@Rajesh *ignores comment * (after all he is ghar ki murgi his comment is daal barabar ;))
ha ha ha! tell him, it happens... he will stop noticing such things more and more... after all, now that you are around - sangat ka parinaam ;-)
@patil: Shuuuuuush pls not to be making him aware of the effect I am having :P
Hey I used to stay with my frnds...Chai time use to b bonding time for us roomies....entire days gossip...venting out frsutration at work....discussing fashion..big boss....roadies etc...haa missing time those gala time gals !!!!!
Ur post suddenly mks me so nostalgic...
u reminded my tea tym wit my frnds... cheers.....
hey kusum, drinking chai with frens and having frens who would wait for you for chai is really a miss now in my life too. You totally brought back the memories of my life with my friends in bangalore. And now in Hyderabad with my hubby and his family, I always make and drink my chai alone. Its sad man. But thanks for reminding the warmth of chai I used to feel with my closest pal.
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