We had a great party season that ended with our traditional “Undhiyu” party on the 25th January. A common questions that friends, keep asking -

Q How do you manage to host so many parties successfully?
Q Is it difficult? Time consuming?

Besides the fact that I have a supportive wife & now daughter - both who are of great help, over the years have learnt & now follow those points that ensures the success of the evening.

So, all of you who have been asking, here goes, for whatever it is worth:)

A) Make sure enough starters, some are always more hungry than others - We normally have 2 dry/cold - peanuts, chips kind & 2 hot/prepared starters.

B) As the Host, ensure they are well taken care of. Top up the drinks, starters coming enough, juices & soft drinks, everything from ice, lime, lemon, juice, soda, olives & right enough glasses. Whilst, mostly parties do end with dessert, we always ensure that there is coffee or liqueurs to end the night

C) Music - soft - This is one point where there have always been ambivalent feelings, since mostly at our place, we end up switching it off as there is enough to catch up, meet, discuss that at times, it starts intruding.

D) Invite people from different professions, that’s one way to make sure party not office - This has been the mainstay of our parties. Whilst there may the usual close group, however a couple of new people get rotated which acts as a lubricant to great conversation.

E) Make space in your house - When you invite people, you have to accept that kids would need to sit separately, watch TV etc. so space would need to be made.

F) Rules - Avoid passionate debates about Politics & Religion. If it feels getting out of hand, ease somebody out. Yeah yeah, bad taste and all that but, has to be done.

So, Go on Party!

A long time since we had a Single Malt evening with friends over, so the date was decided & friends came over in the evening…..

Macallan 30 YO was opened…the bouquet just spreading across. Each to his own Choice I say, but it was mostly 45 ml of water & 45 ml of whiskey, though I tried it with a chill water chaser too myself.

Surprisingly, we tried out some vegetarian starters such as specially made pattice - aloo covering with peas stuffing; some dry bhel etc. which went surprisingly well with the whiskey.

Whilst the non vegetarian starters also brought by Tushar were good, the meat did not go well with the whiskey….maybe try it with a little less masala the next time (oops there is no next time since the whiskey is over)

The Menu went something like this:

Drinks:

Macallan 30 YO brought by Mehul Some lovely Argentinian Red Wine provided by Dharti.

The rest was from the well stocked bar of yours truly.

Starters:

Dry starters & salads were at home, Whilst Tushar & Sonal brought in some lovely Pattice as also some non veg kababs & chicken.

Main Course:

Kadhi & Rice were obviously home made; 2 vegetables; Dal; Chappati were outsourced this time around since Maid has done a disappearing act.

Dessert:

Kulfi from Taj Kulfi brought by Tushar & Sonal; whilst Wajid got some lovely Halwa puri which is normally available only during Ramzaan.

So the final tally of people went something like this

Wajid & Family;  Mehul & Family; Dharti.& Family; Sumir; Netra; Tushar & Family: Naren & Family; Husseni & Family; Neil & family.

VF (Veri Fast) Vijay Fernandes & Neil decided to meet up impromptu some weeks ago, to open a nice bottle of Havana Club that Judith, Neil’s wife had got for us.

Location was Neil’s house for obvious reasons. An extremely smooth rum, would not mind having it again:)

I have been a advocate of being critical of the variety of Day’s launched, copied, created by Marketeers (moi included).

Some questions that occur:

Does this day mean that the other 364 days you are not a friend? And of course the Archies, Telecom companies coffers are filled up thanks to all of this.

However, playing the devil’s advocate another thought occurs to one & that is - A lot of us are not emotional, lack the necessary courage to communicate face to face etc. this in whatever form is the right opportunity - 25 years ago - there were friendship bands, followed by cards, then email forwards, text, facebook, twitter et all now are the medium to announce.

YES, a lot of people have cribbed about waste of time, money & why should I respond - It is indeed a personal choice & I do not respond to those idiotic forwards complete with the spelling mistakes….But once in a way some original stuff makes its way, that I like & definitely want to share. Some gems that I received today from people who have not communicated for quite some time or have lost touch…

The first today at 8am

A friend in any language means Trust forever -

Afrikaans - vriend

Albanian - mik

Chinese - pengyou

Danish - ven

Dutch - vriend, vriendje

Estonian - sober

French - ami

Georgian - megobari

German - freund

Hungarian - barat

Indian - dost

Irish - cara

Italian - amico

Japanese - tomodachi

Korean - jingu

Latin - amicus

Manx - carrey

Old English - freond, wine

Persian - dust

Russian - prijatel

Sanskrit - mitra

Spanish - amigo

Swahili - rafiki

Turkish - dost, arkadas

Cheers on Friendship day !!!

BP

This was then followed by

Things may change From Classroom to Office, Books to Files, Jeans to Formals, Pocket money to Salary, commission to profit sharing. CEO to partnership.

What will not change is “YAARAN DI YAARI OYE” happy Friendship day Samit.

Yaad nahi karoge toh karwayenge;

Roothe honge to manayenge;

Udaas honge to hasayenge;

Mano na mano hum dost hai apke,

Yaad karne ka haq nahi gavayenge, HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY - GOD BLESS Madhurie

So, hate or love these days, they are here to stay….so Accept them!

You must have read about my travel on the expressway to Pune here. However the action over the two days is recorded in this post.

Immediately on entering Pune, we had to drop off some stuff at Neil’s aka Colonel sister’s place; but we decided to stop by Marz-O-rin on the way for some nice cold coffee (not cold but still tastes just as good) & chicken sandwiches (why O why can bombay not learn). Upon completing reached her place, woke her up from her snooze, delivered the stuff, chatted for a while before reaching our final destination Sunil Rogers (Neil’s Nephew) at Mudwa Road; Next to Magarpatta City. It was nearly 6.30 pm by then, so opted for a snooze before getting up at 8.00pm ready for some action. Since a couple of more friends were already there, opted for some kolhapuri food from Kaveri (unfortunately closed that day) so had to settle for some butter chicken & naans from another place preceeded by some Haig & budhani wafers & samosas. All in all good stuff. During this time, had got in touch with CNB aka Freegeek who introduced me to the Visa system in Bombay. And so cajoled him also into coming over.

The next day, Colonel had wanted to go on Satara road for some misal & vada, but was over ruled. We slept a little late & then on his insistence finally left for Post 91 where the Pune Jazz Club was meeting. Reached there much before time & except the projector plus the speaker were there. However, soon it started picking up with the who is who of Pune joining in (photography was frowned upon) but managed to get a couple of them.

At nearly 3, with Colonel buzzing thanks to Koch insisting on one more beer, we made our way to ABC farms. The idea was Sheesha - where jazz lovers meet up. Lovely place, though pathetic service - we had to get everything replaced with fresh stuff - they were keen on the firangs rather than serve us. And back home, via a dekho at Magarpatta city interiors. A power nap & we were ready to rock & roll again. Freegeek had called up to plan out something, but visitors had landed up, so had to communicate regrets.

However I had not counted on Colonel & Sunil his nephew, who managed to clear up the house by 8pm. Then pushing me to drive rushed to Kaveri to pick up Kolhapuri Mutton Rassa & Chicken Fry. On the way Freegeek was also asked to report quickly. And the evening commenced. Keeping an eye on Freegeek & Sunil’s age we called it a night early by 1 (the previous day was 3 am & Freegeek had gone to office straight:))

Monday dawned bright & early. With a list of things to pick up from Praveen (some achaar, masala); Budhani; Marz-O-rin; Kayani & bruns from some other place & we were ready to hit the Expressway!!!

One of the goals of visiting Baroda this time around was to take my daughter to old places show her how they had changed, visit old food haunts since she was coming with us after nearly half a decade.

And so it started, took her to my old college, station road, Home Science where she used to clamour for Dosa, where a new Soda center hold position; her favorite sandwich wallah AND now that she eats omlette to one of the most famous ones, who have now split and started at another place. Whilst every effort was made to take photographs, I was expressly forbidden most of the times by Dr. Nene & Sumir of their hogging:) But rest assured, Dilip, Manisha, Milind, Sumir, Ajay, Prashant have all been introduced to galli & laari concept, the exception being that they would bring it home and eat. BUT rest assured with the support of the Kids & their better halfs Yeh Din bhi door nahi hai….

I wish I had been able to take more pictures of our gastronomical extravaganzas like room zoom, picassa, etc. etc. However enjoy these!

The long weekend of 27/28/29 March loomed over & reminded one of the taxes to be paid, financial year ending & what not.

Friends who had not met up for a couple of months decided to drive down to Daman/Silvassa for the long weekend from Bombay, Ahmedabad, Baroda.

The program began more than a month ago (more so because it had been tried 6 months ago & were let down by the ahmedabad team).

There were 2-3 from Ahmedabad; 4 from Baroda; 3 from Bombay.

• First there were bachelors
• Then with wives
• Then for 2 days
• Then Ahmedabad fell out again.
• Naren had a family emergency, having to rush to Indore for a couple of days.
• Mehul had to rush to Valsad with his family.

And so ended the plans for Daman. Whilst it did not really affect me too much, with Navratri already begun, a time when I do not imbibe neither do I eat non veg.

Relaxing, I get a call from Sumir that he is flying off to Africa & was to come with me from Daman back to Mumbai. Now with the change in plans, he & ajay another school friend planned to reach Mumbai directly & wondered if we could meet up with the others.

Barely had I kept the phone down, Husseni called saying another friend who was down to India after nearly a decade or more wanted to meet up.

So as was usual, the organizing had to be done….which was done by my super efficiency so I say to myself:)

An email laid the tone:

Morning - Arrival Sumir & Ajay by Rajdhani

Shower & Chill for a couple of hours.

1) Quarter Deck (Mahesh Lunch Home branch) @ Four Bungalows OR

2) Trishna on New Link Road

Husseni & Bharat would join us there, since they would not be coming in the evening, having committed themselves elsewhere.

Come back home by 3, take a power nap unless want to catch a movie in multiplex & take a power nap there:)

Wake up refreshed by 6, get dressed, complete last minute shopping (usual for Sumir) & reach Renaissance Federation Club for cocktails & some nice moghlai food.

Ajay to leave for Baroda Express, & would drop Sumir to the airport.

Mehul & Naren would join us for a while.

Mail end…..

Morning went as per schedule with everyone reaching QuarterDeck at precisely 12noon:) when they open at 12.30pm

Using Sooraj (owner’s name) went in & occupied the place…..beginning with beer, followed by some gin/tonic the evening progressed till 4.30 pm interspersed with Surmai tava fry; Pomfret; Sukka Chicken & finally Fish Gassi - moi abstaining from everything except the peanuts, cold drink….

The afternoon was full of - What Happened to him/her? with Sumir & Bharat catching up about all the Bwanas & London Gyan.

The fallout of this was - Husseni cancelled his appoinment, Bharat decided to forgot about calling up someone he was supposed to & reach Renaissance Club:)

So off we went - Husseni & Bharat to his hotel to take a snooze; Sumir & Ajay to take a power nap. Ajay reeling from a mild headache & queasy stomach (having overstuffed himself more than usual). By the time, I went across with an asprin, both of them were in nodding land.

Getting up at 6 pm; asked my daughter & wife if one of them had surfaced - absolutely not - finally after a couple of peeping into the room - both of them got up at around 7.15 pm

Then the followup to call Husseni started….side by side Sumir helped himself to some gujju Dhokla made by my mum, before I managed to drag him away, trying to complete his shopping.

Finished it & waiting for him in the car, received a surprising call from Mehul - who had given up drinking from Jan 1, 2009 in favor of the gym - saying he had already reached the club & hurry up guys, time is wasting.

Reaching there - no sign & call from husseni, both their numbers coming as not reachable; the glasses & ice were put to use…with the first pour, I realized that the 1 litre would be over, luckily Naren was yet to come, so he carried another one…and the evening began in earnest.

Amongst the regular sesame toast, chana chaat, the specialty of the day King Fish & Raan were ordered to accompany the beer & whiskey.

Finally Ajay left to catch his train from Borivali instead of Bombay Central; Naren & Mehul were dropped off at 12.30 am before Sumir & Bharat being packed off at the International Airport, with promises of meeting up again & planning of other visits, which Sumir has planned with Mehul & Naren when he returns back on the 15th April.

A couple of weeks, received an email from Sarita, announcing her impending visit for the reunion at Baroda and that she would be travelling via Mumbai! YES….we decided to meet up during her visit, though briefly, since she would not have much time.

A couple of days later, another email that said…..Anjali on her way back was also going to be in town, Khyati & Sejal en route to Baroda would also be there; to keep 31st December afternoon free; it would be good to meet up, with others too???

Sure thing! My dream come true….4 lovely ladies:); then Crash went all my dreams……since all others were mentioned…..BUT as they say, God looks after its innocent brethren….Sunita did not know anybody; Sonal probably knew Sejal since she came in 11th, Huseni was too far off; Sarabjit never returns any calls or attends reunions unless you force yourself into his office, so there I was……..

With a bit of muddling; mis communication about Anjali’s flight, Sejal & Khyati reached quite early at Sun N Sand where anjali was staying too. By the time Sarita (from Colaba) & me (from Lokhandwala) made our way, the ladies had run a riot in the coffee shop…..food, conversation et all was already in the cruise mode. Quickly loading Sarita’s bag into the car, so that we do not forget at the last minute:) we went in & there was chaos…..my personal observation is that only the baggikhana can create so much noise….Prakash (anjali’s husband) smiled from the sidelines; whilst Priyanka her daughter looked stunned for a while, wondering how her prim & propah mamma turned into someone, whom she could not really identify, but guess it was the company.

Whilst, ordering pizzas to continue the food saga, we quickly did away with the photographs (me for proof…..eat your heart out milind, sumir, natu, ajay, PP…..and Sundar…..hum toh aise hi hai, ab tum preach mat karna). With the number of cameras, looked like a photographers convention. Before the Repast

Then the questions & answers started……whilst in no particular order……some people with their wit, charisma took pole position…..

Nitin, Neelam, Sundar, Milind, Jayesh, Natu, PP’s far east travails, everyone’s technological challenges; flitting from 77 to 2008 without worrying about the in between years & YES we concentrated in sharing information (gossiping for the uninitiated) about everyone not present there & our lips are zippered…..

There was curiosity about two reunions, but we swept it under the carpet like those fights 30 years ago & decided to have a blast, reliving the present & future…..However a couple of Q raised by the ladies stumped me & my respectable memory did a Ghajini on me…..Can some one help me pick up the pieces….Sundar, Nitin Wadi, Ajay…..whoever

When did I join BHS?
Which Division was I in till the 10th?
Which Division was I in the 11th & 12th?
Did I opt for Science or Commerce?

During this time, a couple of comments like……you were never seen in BHS; not talkative; quiet….made my day!!!….BHS Boys eat your heart out.

With Time closing past, it veered to when & where do we have our next Reunion…..whilst it may not be feasible for everyone to attend……we decided LONDON…….one of my favorite places, now with Prakash & Hitesh (Sarita’s husband, not met but sounds our kind).

Pushing each other away from the table, making an effort to leave, with the girls having to catch the Baroda flight and my Girls (wife & daughter waiting for the evening party plan) started walking towards the entrance. And here Priyanka made an observations….

You are in control, like to control, are you a Leo…..everyone burst out laughing….Anjali clarified that I was a Saggi….but she was correct, after 20 years of living with a LEO (Nippa my wife for those who have not met); a lot of characteristics have been transferred.  Leave Taking

A couple of snaps outside the hotel & off everyone went……Sarita, Khyati, Sejal to catch the Baroda flight; Me to attend 2 birthday parties & 2 New Year Eve; Anjali & family to relax a while, explore the beach & take the sight seeing the next day of Taj; Trident & all…..similar to what Doc Nene insisted on during his brief visit a couple of weeks back…….

Sumir Patel the man from Greece after having been caught quietly slinking in & out of Mumbai a couple of times in the last 10 months, finally decided to spend a long weekend in Mumbai. Milind was supposed to join him, but his patients & suchitra got the better of him. Though Suchitra & Milind both have promised to spend the weekend of 31st oct - 2 nov in Mumbai, God & Patients willing.

Sumir needed to attend a nice vegetarian kid’s party at Prabhadevi on Sunday 19, 2008 so planned to come in on 18th & leave on 20th. However Ajay Padhye’s presence & a promise of MNDFCK party on 17th made him change his plans. Read the rest of this entry »

On the way to Ahmedabad, took an impromptu decision to stop by Baroda. Called Dilip & Sumir from Surat. Reached Baroda late on Saturday 11, 2008.

Dilip & Sumir were meeting up with Ajay for dinner, so we called up Milind, who insisted that we meet closer to home as he was likely to get delayed; so the venue was decided as Prashant’s residence.

Whilst waiting for milind to join, we started calling up others (hoping that by Baroda standards they were not fast asleep) Tushar, Amar, Dramil, Dharmendra, Anil, so on asking them if they were free to meet up the next day at Sumir’s farm with Dramil being specifically warned not to bring his car. Read the rest of this entry »