Among Other Things, Good Men!

“He leaned forward and opened his door, politely standing aside to let me by before following me in. There are some advantages to dating a guy from another era, I thought. Though I am a big believer in gender equality, chivalry scores high in my book.” 

-Amy Plum

I remember watching Meg Ryan-Hugh Jackman starrer Kate & Leopold, long time ago. That’s when the whole idea of a ‘chivalrous gentleman’ caught my attention. Last week, during one of those heavy showers of Mumbai monsoon, I encountered an incident which, putting it in the most clichéd way possible, restored my faith in humanity and thought of sharing it.

My day began as usual—snoozing the alarm clock till a point that guarantees me a pay cut, get ready and rush to work. In all this drama, that day, I had forgotten about the last night’s heavy downpour and conveniently left home without an umbrella. I reach my destination and it’s, literally, pouring. Giving a damn, I marched out because the clock was ticking. Huffing and puffing, I reached the station bridge and set out to get a taxi, when a young guy was gracious enough to share with me his umbrella.

At first, I gave him such a suspicious stare because let’s face it, over the last few months, we, women have considered men as our biggest enemies; not without reason though. But here, there was this young chap who willingly was helping a girl, without any sign of nasty business. Besides a small talk, there was no way he tried to be unnecessary ‘familiar’. He dropped me till where it was convenient for me and scooted. That Thursday morning was different.

P.S: Special mention of my friend, Shabdita, who, upon my request, patiently waited for me for nearly 15-20 minutes and took me under her umbrella. As I said earlier, the morning was different! 

Knock, Knock

So today was the longest train journey of life. As each station passed by, all I was waiting for was for my stop to come and set me free from this arduous journey. Looking out of the window at the long, winding railway tracks; each second felt even longer than the previous one. Though a regular work route, this journey of 20 minutes from Vile Parle to Dadar was by far the longest.

As I boarded the train, I realised I had forgotten to carry some 'time-pass' for the journey. So, there I was sitting at the window seat without my MP3 player, handsfree, book to read, , note pad to write random stuff, phone on the last battery bar. All I could possibly do is soak in the early morning visuals, i.e. men and children defecating along the railway track, uninteresting railway quarters, overbridges and of course, women bickering over the space given for their not-so-modest rears. And if not that, there was just one option, to look listlessly at the more fortunate mortals with their earphones plugged in, listening to music and occasionally giving a smile or two (assuming the RJ or lyrics of a song was particularly amusing). They somewhat looked like clones, almost alien-like, lost in their world without a care for the world around them. Perhaps they were frequent travellers, so they didn’t even have to watch out for their station; it was like they have been programmed to get off at the right stop.

This got me thinking about how we miss personal and, most importantly, interactive experiences. Yes, yes, this may sound like something parents or extended relatives keep blabbering about in their patent ‘good old days’ saga. But today, it felt so true. No doubt, sometimes you do find bunch of women singing and sharing food on local trains; but that is quite rare. Sometimes, I have even noticed that after the exchange of initial pleasantries, they are sucked into themselves again.

I'm saying this at the cost of sounding hypocritical. I’m one of those lost in myself without even noticing the woman sitting next to me (unless she sweats profusely or is annoyingly loud while talking on the phone). Truth be told, life has become so mechanical. This could mean we are too selfish and self-centered to even acknowledge what’s happening around or is it plain apathy. I go with the latter. Who cares? I don’t know her? I need my space and comfort! Not that I’m going to see them again... are some of the common justification our mind reasons out. But if we did take a second to give an affectionate smile to the women who shifted an inch more to fit us in or a simple thank you, could really make someone’s day. Today I saw faces and also tried interpreting the things that they must have gone through to get them here, on this seat. The least we could do to make the day seem any better is be a little more responsive, before getting lost in ourselves. 

Trifecta: New wine in an old bottle

If you have been to the recently-shut Opa restaurant at Juhu’s Royal Garden Hotel, then there’s nothing new for you at Trifecta, especially ambience-wise. In fact, the menu too has been marginally revamped.

This quaint den with all-wood decor can accommodate around 20-25 people and is frankly, a place to just have dinner, drinks and then push off. It is one of those neighbourhood restaurants, with the only difference that it is well-spaced and gives enough room for private conversations to remain private.

Well, I started with my Opa favourite–pomegranate and cinnamon martini. The first note of pungent vodka with finishing touches of cinnamon is rather refreshing on a hot afternoon and even for a late-night dinner. Even the Guava Mary, a guava version of Blood Mary, was a good concoction. And with this, I tingled my taste buds with Jhinga Lasooni. Well, the attendant told us that this garlic-flavoured tandoori prawns would be quite spicy. But it was short on overpowering spices and great on taste, just the way we like it.

Among the Indian, Oriental and Continental cuisines we did try one from each. So as the Indian prawns went well with our drinks and palette, the Oriental Gado Gado Salad was the next pick. This Indonesian dish of stir-fried veggies, bean sprouts with a dollop of fried onions and lamb topped with hot peanut sauce is delightful. I swear by this dish, actually the peanut sauce! Thick and creamy, this could make any boring vegetable delectable. On second thoughts, I should have asked the chef for the recipe!

And finally, it was time for the Continental. This was a dampener or at least the Sunblush tomato risotto topped with herbed mascarpone and ciabatta wafer. It was bland and too creamy which can make you feel uneasy after a point. The cheese overpowered the tomato sauce.

Thankfully, soon after came the heavenly Tiramisu. Warning: I have a sweet tooth and extremely bias towards them.

Address: Trifecta, Royal Garden Hotel,
              Lobby Level, Juhu Tara Road,
              Juhu, Mumbai
Contact: 022-66919800/67699999Cuisine: Indian, Continental, Oriental