Mumbai - Day 2 (December 17, 2006)
Before I left the US for India, I had tried to schedule time in advance to meet my friends. But that didn't work out. Having grown-up in India I should have known better, but I didn't. The only person with whom I was able to schedule time in advance was with my Dad and my uncle.
Ever since his divorce, my dad has been gorging himself with food and has started to collect (fairly hideous) Chinese vases. Oh well, our family is completely dysfunctional and eccentric so no worries! In any case, he kept on looking at me askance every time I took a picture of what we were eating! I love eating at my Dad's house because he has a fantastic cook. The cook is from Goa and she cooks fantastic food. Really thin prawn curries, masalla pomfrets, and fried prawns. The food is absolutely divine. I was really looking forward to soaking my rice with curry, putting some kachumbar (sliced onions, tomatoes, and coriander) on top and squeezing lime juice on the top top.
White prawn curry and rice
Vases
And more vases...
After lunch, we chatted for a bit and I shared my MBA plans and career goals with my dad in greater detail. He was very supportive of them, but my uncle was skeptical of my return. He pointed to the complacency, corruption, and the dysfunction of India and said that I wouldn't be able to adapt back to life in India. He's got a point to a certain extent. I'm considered impatient by US standards, which signals a very high level of impatience and that would be a fairly accurate assessment. But I really want to go back and try to work over there, and maybe, just maybe try to change things.
For far too long, we (as a country) have taken things as they are handed to us. We criticise a lot, but we don't try to change things. That is changing slowly, people are protesting miscarriages of justice, and patently unfair happenings, but we have a long distance to travel. I know it will be frustrating, but it's something I have to try to do. I'm getting bored out of my mind in my current location.
Later in the afternoon I went for a walk by the Cusruw Baug agiary (Fire Temple). Fire Temples are the places where Zoroastrians worship. My family is Parsi i.e. a very small (about 100,000) strong community of Persian Zoroastrians who fled to India a long time ago.
Parsi's are very eccentric. In fact, that's our defining characteristic together with our love for food and drink (eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die out as someone said).
At night I went with my mom to a Parsi wedding. I was a little irritated to answer all those questions as to why I'm still single, but *sigh* it's one of those things that family/friends are pretty nosy about. And one Aunt tried her best to "introduce" me to all the "available" girls out there. I avoided her (the aunt) like the plague for the entire evening.
People attend Parsi weddings primarily for the food. The food is served on banana leaves and it's one of the few places where you can have a "Raspberry" drink.
Patra ni Macchi (Fish in leaves)
After the wedding, I went out to Geoffrey's (a pub) and chatted some more with friends.
Before I left the US for India, I had tried to schedule time in advance to meet my friends. But that didn't work out. Having grown-up in India I should have known better, but I didn't. The only person with whom I was able to schedule time in advance was with my Dad and my uncle.
Ever since his divorce, my dad has been gorging himself with food and has started to collect (fairly hideous) Chinese vases. Oh well, our family is completely dysfunctional and eccentric so no worries! In any case, he kept on looking at me askance every time I took a picture of what we were eating! I love eating at my Dad's house because he has a fantastic cook. The cook is from Goa and she cooks fantastic food. Really thin prawn curries, masalla pomfrets, and fried prawns. The food is absolutely divine. I was really looking forward to soaking my rice with curry, putting some kachumbar (sliced onions, tomatoes, and coriander) on top and squeezing lime juice on the top top.
Fried prawns and kachumbar
White prawn curry and rice
Vases
And more vases...
For far too long, we (as a country) have taken things as they are handed to us. We criticise a lot, but we don't try to change things. That is changing slowly, people are protesting miscarriages of justice, and patently unfair happenings, but we have a long distance to travel. I know it will be frustrating, but it's something I have to try to do. I'm getting bored out of my mind in my current location.
Later in the afternoon I went for a walk by the Cusruw Baug agiary (Fire Temple). Fire Temples are the places where Zoroastrians worship. My family is Parsi i.e. a very small (about 100,000) strong community of Persian Zoroastrians who fled to India a long time ago.
Parsi's are very eccentric. In fact, that's our defining characteristic together with our love for food and drink (eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die out as someone said).
Picture of Cusrow Baug Aigiary
At night I went with my mom to a Parsi wedding. I was a little irritated to answer all those questions as to why I'm still single, but *sigh* it's one of those things that family/friends are pretty nosy about. And one Aunt tried her best to "introduce" me to all the "available" girls out there. I avoided her (the aunt) like the plague for the entire evening.
People attend Parsi weddings primarily for the food. The food is served on banana leaves and it's one of the few places where you can have a "Raspberry" drink.
Patra ni Macchi (Fish in leaves)
After the wedding, I went out to Geoffrey's (a pub) and chatted some more with friends.
posted by Continental Drift at
10:51 AM
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