Friendship Day! quiet legally!

2nd August 2009. Friendship Day!

Subha hogayi Maamu!!!!!!! and there I was thinking what to do! the previous day being my birthday hadn't had too much to drink in the afternoon (just 2 pints of beer ;-) and nothing to drink in the night so there was no nursing a hangover morning happening.

Around 11.00am received a call from my friend Mahesh (no not the one with Ramesh and me on the Supa Saturday) this one is another guy staying closer to home, he said that he and Satyan (Yeah! the Mallu from my Hara Bhara Wednesday Post) were waiting at the Main Gate of my residential colony along with the ever there Maruti :-) you see they were to go to Juhu for some work and be back by 11.am and after that we were to, that is, if Satyan agreed ( the car you see its the car) to go to Kalyan (yup you heard it right!) to meet our friend Shobha (who incidentally shares her Birthday with me! cool nah!). Presuming that the plan was on I rushed only to be told that they were now proceeding to Juhu and from there on we would go to Kalyan. @#$%#&*%(%)% and I also thought what the @#$%#&*% :-D (there! felt a little better) and then as a last thought also told myself 'Everything Happens for a Reason'!!! and as the day progressed it proved to be exactly that!!

As we moved towards Juhu I remembered another friend of mine Mr. Sunil Mane he had told me that he was at the Chandan Chowky! He is a PSI and working with the ATS (Anti Terrorist Squad) and that is where I encountered him (he has his own list of Encounters and officially at that). Chandan Chowky! is anything but a Chowky. Firstly you wont find it, even if it is right in front of you, You just cannot know coz not a single person (of a handful that are there) is in uniform. You will see a bunch of handsome IPS officers moving around a cute and comfy cottage and garden environment. Pleasantries exchanged, chaddi buddy conversation happened over cups of tea and off I went to join Mahesh and Satyan to proceed to Kalyan!

The moment my phone call had gone to Shobha she with all her weight of 88 Kgs (she had just lost 2 kgs you see otherwise it would have been 90 Kgs) was running around in circles trying to get food ready for us ;-D (sweet of her ain't it?) We reached there at around 2.00pm she was more than happy to see us (you see after promising her for just about 2 years I had finally made it to her house in KALYAN!!!) Hot piping food and a small little gift for me to wish me on my birthday (Remember the small fibre figurine I mentioned in my Merawalla Birthday post, that was from Shobha ) and me quiet shamelessly had gone as they would say in Goan Konkani 'Haalat Dholot' or 'Lokot Mokot' ( pick the one you like) but then that was not all. Incidentally Shobha's husband is a Constable with the Mumbai Police (now you get the drift on the title of this post) He not only kept on calling her to check if she was taking good care of us but also reminded Shobha

to give me a piece of the Mogra Gajara

which he had bought for his beloved wife the previous day for her Birthday!

Yeah! Aamchi Police not just being Hospitable but also sharing of what more or little they have.

Jai Hind Saheb!

Merawalla Birthday!

Another of my Happywala Birthday's is already there and so are the wishes, blessings, love & affection of people who care and dare to show it! ;-) no Fear Factor here eh! :-P

The first one to wish me was my Niece (Second Cousin to the English & Yankees) Sheba who gave me her electronic wishes on gtalk on 30th July'09 itself.

Reaching home from work on the same day (30th July'09) in the evening there was one envelope waiting for me. Opened it to find A coupon from 'Pop Tates' for Rs.151/- and before I was through being happy about it lo and behold there was another envelope from Pop Tates yet again for Rs.151/- (So you see I can treat myself and some deserving soul to Pop Tates, Urban Tadka, Timbuctoo, Masala Mantar and/or Happy Singh! now isn't that reason to be happy!!!

Saturday 1st August 2009 was my Happy walla Birthday!

Made happy and more by the steady stream of phone calls, SMS's & Emails (which I only got to see on Monday in Office :-D)

What a wonderful day -

Breakfast - (Idea by my Mom - Made & served by my Sister-In-Law) - Appams - white fluffy centre and crisp golden borders. ummmmmmm just the way I like em!

Lunch - I cooked :-D - Pulao, Dal, 3 Seed Salad (Chana, Rajma & Kaccha Sheng Boiled together with added salt and a dressing of freshly squeezed Lemon Juice and finely chopped onions), Oil Free Pan Fried Assorted Chicken Salami -ummmmmmmm, shallow fried Prawns & Baby Potatoes in Soy & Chillies Sauce , Pomegranate seeds with a dash of lime and salt, Tawa Fried Picador Chillies De-seeded with Salt, Lime & Turmeric - and to down it all the youngsters had Thums Up and the Oldies had Pints of Tuborg Beer.



All 10 of us! in high spirits hic!!



Come evening it was time to go to the Lord's house to pay the almighty a visit and tell his son to continue to intercede for me as has been always done. Amen to that!



After Mass went visiting my dear Aunty Rita who incidentally shares the same birth date as mine. But then she had turned just 72 years that day ;-) there at her house, not just had the privilege of sharing in the cutting of the Birthday cake but also having a piece of the most delicious and yummy chocolate cake from Hang Out. Well! that kind of chocolate and the tongue is surely going to hang out wanting to have some more of the sinful sweet.



And then Aunty Rita insisted that I join her and her daughter for dinner at Nandos in the In-Orbit mall Malad (ahem! its actually in Goregaon, its just that they like to think they are in Malad)



Dinner - at Nandos - some chicken and rice downed with the most pathetic Iced Tea!



So that was the long and short of merawalla Birthday!



Oh and did I tell you the gifts I got - 1 flower bouquet, 1 Saree, 1 SKD suit, 1 Figurine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus & 2 Munch Bars, 1 Hershey's Chocolate Bar, 1 Purse & 1 small fibre figurine.



Birthday ho toh aisa ho! Well Balanced like a Well Balanced Diet!