Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Saturday soiree

I was bubbling with excitement Saturday morning as it was Minu's birthday and Harish's day off. I had been hoping it would be, because Minu and I wanted to go clothes shopping in Crawford market and this had been on the cards since forever. At least, the going clothes shopping part, the venue changes from Bandra to Colaba to Kala Ghoda to the then showing exhibition and so on.

Minu is my best friend (and would-have-been soulmate, but she's too elegant and proper for me) since almost five years ago. But, I have known her since the tenth standard. There was definitely a connect then, but she had her circle and I had come to the school too late to have any circle, but fit-in-and-stood-out as always, everywhere.

Now, she lives just three stations away and by Mumbai standards we are technically neighbours. But, then today was Minu's birthday. That was never on the cards. Anyways, our plan was to start at 10.30 am, and as is the case with all mommys snucking out, it didn't happen untill one-and-a-half hours later. Now, at 12.30 pm, with rain looing darkly, thunderingly close, both were sceptical of the hour long train ride to Crawford Market.

So, we went to the nearest mall, just two station away and first, she treated me to kababs and afghani biriyani at Kareem's and we sat and talked and laughed and talked and sat for three hours. After noticing the waiters giving us the 'hate' look we hurried off to the numerous stores and tried on a lot of things that mommas shouldn't be seen in, giving each other the thumbs-up.

Sauntering through the busy mall, we came upon this store that sold jaipuri cotton clothes and nick nacks and well, yeah, this we had to buy. And, it being in a mall and all, it was quite pricey. But, then since we are best friends, we think alike and like alike and we zeroed in on a soft cotton material in blue and green not unlike the colours on a peacock feather and decided to split it half and half and get kurtis stitched. We are so house-wifely thrifty, blah!

After the leg-aching walk in and out and through stores like westside, fabindia, guess, esprit (came to know that the 't' in esprit is silent just a few months ago), we revived our flagging selves with iced mochas. Gee, it was painful getting upto leave costa's, I could have slept in those cushions that sunk in deliciously under my weight.

Luckily, her husband picked us up so we didn't have to do the rick-train-rick stint again and he was kind enough to drop me home before he took his beautiful wife out to dinner. It was a beautiful day, like perfect.

Cut to today, three days after.

This afternoon at lunch, I was thinking, why can't the kids just shut up and eat and I knew that I had had the taste of freedom, of laughter and conversation and that unhibited feeling of being, well, young (for want of a better word)... after a long time. Suppressing the desire to rush out and ring Minu's doorbell so that we could both run away from the domestic humdrum forever, et tu sensible brain, I sat through the messy lunch and the baby talk, resolving to do this again.

dettol
one of the things I bought. yes, we use dettol, what with a dog and a parrot and a three year old menace.

4 comments:

arundati said...

i wish you many more soiree's with minu. Amen!

Shilpa said...

Amen! Amen!!

Anonymous said...

Oh… thank you for joining the party on my blog…. Shilpa… This is awesome!!

How nice.. I want a friend to go to Crawford market as well… Awww.. Happy Birthday to Minu!! Hope you guys had a fabulous day!!

Oh my!! Kababs and biryani.. yummm yumm…

You sure had a fab weekend… I’m hoping you will join again next week!!

Shilpa said...

oh yes! its wednesday and I'm still basking in the weekend :)