Rediscovering Pune - restaurants, old and new!

This August will be 18 years since I left home, since I left Pune. Almost 2 decades later, after having traveled half the world - truth is that no place seems like home the way Pune does!! Although, over the years my city has changed so much, that sometimes I feel like a stranger here - looking for landmarks that no longer exist, marveling at new bridges and buildings that seem to have sprung up overnight, straining to hear words of Marathi in the now more frequent Hindi and English - when did my laid-back hometown evolve into this busy, fast paced metropolis? Where's the Pune I grew up in?!!

Adding to the disconnect, my parents moved from Deccan to Baner - it's been a while now, about 7-8 years - but after spending all of my childhood quite literally in the heart of the city, getting used to calling this new place home took a while. A change of home base doesn't necessarily mean change in hangout spots - and many of my favorite restaurants have stood the test of time - totally worth braving the traffic and crowds! Heading the list, of course, is Vaishali on Fergusson College road - our old house was a hop, skip and jump away from this landmark eatery - now, driving almost 25 minutes and then waiting forever for a table - has drastically reduced the frequency of my visits here!! Still, no place like Vaishali for the crispiest dosas and fragrant, finger-lickingly yummy sambhar!!

Another iconic spot - again near my old house - is Santosh bakery. No fancy pastries or cream cakes in gleaming window displays here - just fresh-baked bread, cream-rolls, and of course, the world famous puffs or in the local lingo, pattice!! Way back when, Sunday mornings were incomplete without these pattice - fresh-baked and hot, hot, hot from the wood-burning oven!! At that time, this family run business only made a limited number of pattice - and I highly suspect that the limited availability and uncertainty made these even more coveted - today, Santosh bakery ships its pattice to Dubai and Singapore, and other than the daily afternoon shutdown (another very typical Pune quirk - everything shuts down for siesta!), Santosh bakery pattice are available at all hours!!

From the old to the new - right across the street from Santosh Bakery - in place of an ages old residential building, stands the gleaming new Coronet Hotel and it's restaurant Shahji's Paratha House. As the name suggests, the star on the menu here is the parathas - and the hardest part is probably selecting a paratha from their vast menu!! Manasi and I finally agreed upon the Cheese Paratha and the Paneer Burji Paratha - all parathas come with a side of chole, dal makhani, potato curry, boondi raita, salad and a pat of butter - all this and the absolutely humongous paratha will be enough to satisfy the hungriest appetite!! The parathas rank way up there for taste - but it was the dal makhani that was easily the best I've had in a while!!

Speaking of parathas, Mast Kalandar on Baner Road is another favorite. This cafeteria style joint does not have an extensive menu, but the parathas, especially the alu and paneer, and the chole are consistently tasty - and so is the rajma-rice and the kadhi-rice!! Less than 100m away from Mast Kalandar is Kalyan Bhel - the place for chaat in Baner, possibly even in all of Pune!! The signature Bhel and the Pani-puri - will leave you wanting more, more and then some more - but their cut dosa certainly holds its own, and the melt-in-your-mouth Malai Kulfi is the perfect cool ending to the taste-bud tingling spicy chaats!!

In recent years, almost all restaurants will bring your order home to you for a very nominal delivery fee - an absolute god-send for non-drivers like me!! Pizza always is the first choice to order in - and in Pune, Dominoes or Smokin' Joes is preferred - I do enjoy the 'desi' pizzas - panner tikka is a particular favorite!! Actually, a lot of these other 'restaurants' are little more than food counters - while the food is good, the eat-in experience leaves a lot to be desired - making carry-out or delivery the far sensibler option. And with the Just-Dial service providing phone numbers for any and every place, ordering from home is almost too easy!!

Firmly in this category is the Dum-a-Dum Biryani House on the Pashan-Baner Link road - actually, they have branches all over Pune - and their home-delivery service is fast and efficient!! Their 'dum' biryanis come in clay pots - remember to ask for the 'matka' version - and the fragrant mixture of rice, spices and vegetables is as close to a perfect biryani as anyone can get! The kebabs here are worth a try too - claimed to be the softest kebabs in the world - and the delectable Chicken Reshmi kebab certainly lives up to this claim!! Keep in mind, carry-out or even better, have the food delivered piping hot to your doorstep!!

A new addition to the order-in go-to places is Rolls Mania, located in Aundh, opposite the Croma showroom - actually, I have never even been to this place - all my orders have been over the phone!! Again, quite an extensive menu - every imaginable type of roll is available here - my favorites are the Veg Kheema roll and the Paneer Mughlai roll!! At Rs. 70 - Rs.100 per roll, this is a really good deal - one is usually enough for lunch, get two just for the variety!! And if you order 4 or more, they throw in a complimentary brownie - very gooey and chocolately - yumm!!

For a change from these almost fast-food type places, is the Minus Eighteen Degrees restaurant, also on Baner Road. Quite spacious and airy, this is a good place for brunch, or even a leisurely coffee with friends. A good selection of pastas and sandwiches, and a gorgeous dessert spread - try not to drool all over the display!! The Pesto spaghetti was perfectly al-dente, and the Pesto, although a trifle too oily for my taste, was appropriately authentic - the Grilled Veg Panini was also quite decent!! Was really hard to pick up a dessert - finally picked the Tiramisu (no surprise there!) - but will definitely go back to try the Green Apple Pie and the Opera cake. Compared to the other places I talked about earlier, this is a bit pricey - lunch with drinks for 3 ran up to Rs.1500!!

This Baner-Aundh area is fast growing into a gourmand's delight - all types of cuisines, to fit all budget ranges can be found here! Just the tip of the iceberg really, this post!! Eating out with friends and family is such a big part of our vacations in India - and while I have my favorites, I'm always ready to try new places - never know what you'll discover!! So, bon appetit - until next time!!

International Day 2014 - one year ago!

Last 3 years, International Day in Dulwich has been a really big deal for me personally - so I'm still trying to figure out how I managed to completely skip writing about this event last year. All the more since last year was special in a whole different way!! Anyway, to repeat what is fast becoming the motto of this blog - better late than never - here it is, International Day, a year ago!!

Second year in a row, I was the India country rep - first year quite by accident, and then the second year, by default!! To be honest, I was quite looking forward to it - I had some ideas that I was hoping to try out!! This year, India was on its own - no Bangladesh to share the booth - our neighbors would be missed for sure!! Initial meeting for the team setup - these are usually a waste of time, in my opinion - the people who would end up working, I meet all the time -  and those who are not interested, don't show up to any meetings - but protocol must be followed, and all Indian parents are invited to the kick-off meeting, with suggestions and opinions!!

First thing on the agenda - what do we serve at the booth?? With Indian cuisine, the possibilities are endless - from biryani to pav-bhaji to chicken curry and samosas - as long as someone volunteers to cook, anything is possible!! Unfortunately, not many people are - understandably - willing to cook something tedious. So what are we looking for - easy to make, easy to serve and most important, appealing to the expat crowd!!  So it came down to paneer frankies, chicken tikka, samosas, idli-chutney, gulab-jamun and mint lemonade - quite an extensive spread, isn't it??

Next on the list - the country basket. Indian baskets are usually packed with a bunch of spices, lentils and curry mixes - and although all this fills up the basket admirably, I always wonder if any of these items are really used by the eventual basket winner. Not to mention, we have to buy all these basket items - which considerably increases the contribution money - which in turn, leads to a lot of grumbling. So this year, I decided that the only thing we would buy was Kingfisher beer - beer is always a crowd-pleaser, right? - and everything else in the basket would be donations - if that meant we had a smaller basket, so be it!!

I had in mind a very basic basket - the beer, of course; a box of Taj Mahal tea, couple of Haldiram snack mixtures, couple of ready-to-eat curries - and a last minute idea - I had a spare Indian spice box, a stainless steel version found in homes all across India - filled the 7 little boxes with whole spices, and added that to the basket. And then, so many handicraft donations came in - that we ended up making 2 baskets - one food basket, and one handicraft basket. Funny thing is, when SK, VH and I got together to assemble the baskets - we were quite lost - finally called in an expert - thanks, MW, for helping us put together these gorgeous baskets!!

India country baskets

And now the reason this International Day was so special - the India entry for the entertainment program. We had an ace up our sleeve this year - SK, our very talented, accomplished friend - who was a classically trained dancer in Kathak and Bharatnatyam!! So no doubt that we were going to put up a spectacular performance!! Except that SK was quite keen that we put up a group dance with kids and moms - and then another mom PR was quite enthusiastic about the idea - pulling VH and a very reluctant me into the group. Yes, I was going to dance - I still can't believe I agreed to this - it's no secret that I have 2 huge left feet - so clumsy, I'm incapable of walking from one room to another without bumping into something, leave alone dance!!!

To her credit, SK accepted all the responsibility - and she was quite confident that she could teach anyone to dance - yes, even a total klutz like me! So began the rehearsals - we were to do a garba on the song 'Nagada' - the original Deepika Padukone song is breath-taking, and watching her dance on Youtube did absolutely nothing for our collective morale!! SK, however, is really, really good - and she managed to choreograph moves that were relatively easy for us, which also looked quite pretty!! Have to admit - rehearsals were a lot of fun, and it seemed like we wouldn't make total fools of ourselves!

There was a bit of a crisis the day before the event - it started to rain - and FoD had to scramble to move the entire event indoors. Country booths were changed to tables - all moved into the SS cafeteria - and there wouldn't be enough space for decoration. So when I showed up at school in the morning, wasn't really sure what to expect! India had been assigned a pretty good spot, and we also had a pillar behind us - so we were able to put up a couple of posters as well. As soon as all the team members arrived, our food and decoration was setup - just in time for the hungry people coming in!! The rainy day, chilly weather - our warm frankies were a big hit, and the rest of the food quickly sold out too!!

Incredible India!!

And soon, too soon, it was time to go backstage to get ready for our dance!! Butterflies - no, practically the entire animal kingdom - doing their own version of the dance in my stomach!! Our performance started off with only the 4 girls on stage - and then when they exit after about a minute and half, the audience started to applaud thinking the performance was over - and then our entry just about brought the house down!! We alternated one more time, and then all kids and moms on stage for the grand finale!! I can barely remember being on stage - just remember being very, very tense - and total complete relief with the final applause!! Watch the video - it's true, I did dance on stage!!

So much excitement - had a really wonderful day!! First the performance, and then our baskets fetched a record amount - which made me really happy, especially because we had spent so little cash on them!! Surprisingly, the spice-box was a bit hit - so many people asked me later if I could get one for them from India - don't know about that, but I do know what's going in the basket next year - and I did make sure that the spice rack was in the basket this year too!! With this post, I'm a little closer to getting caught up - couple more 'blast from the past' blogs, and I'll be all synced up!! Fingers crossed!!

Here come the Tigers!!

No sooner had the Alice in Wonderland furore died down, than the Fobisia hoopla started up - never a dull moment here in Suzhou!! Trials were in January, and after a week of anxiety - for once, I was sure Manasi would make the team, but she was surprisingly uncertain - until we got The Letter!! The Tigers would be off again - Beijing, here we come!! Have to be honest - the location was a bit off a letdown - I was hoping to go to Seoul, or even somewhere in Thailand - but Beijing - really?? Oh, well!! 

Training started full swing - three days after school, and Saturday mornings!! The girls were being worked hard - but they were clearly determined to do their best - after last year, they had a better idea of the competition they were about to face. Like last year, the girls would be competing in athletics, swimming, football and T-ball. Since 4 girls from the team, including Manasi, live in GL - we saw a lot of impromptu football training sessions here! Having so many Fobisians here also made the Saturday morning sessions really easy - car-pooling meant that I had to drive only once in a while!!

The training session I really enjoyed was the T-ball clinic. Last year, our kids were completely clueless on the T-ball field - no, not exaggerating even a tiny bit - they simply had no idea!! This year, they had T-ball training once a week, and when the idea of a T-ball clinic was brought up, it was enthusiastically supported by all parents. A good friend and neighbor, JW - her daughter is Manasi's team-mate - well, JW played softball in college, and she graciously agreed to coach our clinic. And what a fun morning it was!! Not only did the kids pick up basics - the correct stance, the right way to hold the ball, 'flyball' (no clue what that is!), running between the bases - beating the mom's team in the end-of-morning game was a huge, huge morale booster!!

Finally, ready or not, it was time to leave!! This year, along with the different kits, the school also provided a cool kit bag - in their travel uniforms, the kids looked really professional!! The whole team - 48 kids, 8 teachers - were to travel to Beijing by the fast train, and they set off in pouring rain! Last year, I was on the same flight as the team - this year, we were going to travel to Beijing a couple of days later - so it was bit hard to let go - never is easy, right?!! The school policy is to always travel one day before the tournament, so that the kids can settle in before the games begin - and everyone was looking forward to the visit to the Great Wall that had been planned! 

Go Tigers!

Fobisia this year was at Harrow International School - and most parents were booked at a Crowne Plaza about half hour from the school. The kids were to be at Hotel Jen, a little further away from our hotel. Of course, we only got to see the kids at the events! The first day was the swimming in the morning, followed by athletics in the afternoon. Our overnight train got into Beijing at 7am, and by the time we checked into the hotel, and took a taxi to Harrow, the swimming was well under way! Luckily for us, Manasi had yet to swim - so we didn't miss seeing her in the pool!! The Dulwich parent contingent was one of the largest, and with our matching T-shirts and banners, we made quite the splash!! Was a successful morning for Dulwich - Manasi walked swam away with a bronze in the 50m breaststroke! Yay, Manasi!!

After a quick lunch, it was time for Athletics - and a change of venue to the Paralympic Center. Ajey and I hadn't signed up for the parent bus, so we had to figure out our own way to the stadium - with another couple, we finally made it - quite in the middle of nowhere, would have been really hard to find if we hadn't been with Cat's mom!! We were there way ahead of the bus, and as the light drizzle turned into a steady downpour, we were starting to wonder if we were in the right place - when finally some of the organizers from Harrow started to show up. There were no covered tents for the audience, and it looked like we would have to shiver through the races - fair enough, the kids would be drenched, after all - when the rain let up a little. 

Delays and the soggy ground meant that while the athletics events would proceed as planned - all the field events would be postponed - hopefully, to be fit in during the football and the T-ball. What can I say about the athletics - quite literally a clean sweep for Dulwich!! Our stellar athletes won race after race, much to the delight of all the parents and the coaches! Manasi didn't run any of the sprints this year - but had an unexpected event, the 800m. After trailing for the first half of the race, she fought her way to a well-deserved bronze, missing out the silver by a breath!! An unexpected, but welcome medal!! The 4x100m relay brought another gold - with Manasi running the first leg, and starting the team off with a good lead!! Well done, Dulwich!!

Trailing the field...

...and the hard-fought bronze!

Celebrating the relay gold!

The Paralympic Center was in such a remote place - it would have been quite impossible to get a taxi - so we gladly accepted a ride back to the hotel on the parent bus. Most of the parents were at the same hotel - and it was a great occasion for us to have a fun-filled evening with our friends, without having to worry about kids!! There was an Indian restaurant 5 minutes away from the hotel - and Ajey and I ended up ordering for everyone - everyone was in high spirits after the high medal tally of the day!! After dinner, some of us then drifted to an Irish bar across the street for a nightcap - and the party went on quite late!!

Not many parents were up early to go watch the T-ball the next day - for one, it had been a really late night, and some of us need our beauty sleep - second, T-ball is not really that exciting to watch - what, it's true!! Anyway, by the time we made it back to Harrow - our kids had already played a couple of games - and the results were a bit mixed. To be honest, all the teams are pretty evenly matched - all of them are equally bad, ahem, good!! So win or lose, doesn't really depend a whole lot on skill level, but a great deal of luck!! To be sure, our kids still need a lot of training and practice - but today, luck wasn't with our team either - so no medals in T-ball!!

Meanwhile, I had my own little drama going on. Since the train ride over, I had a little itch in my right eye - I initially thought it was an insect bite - but a couple of days later, my upper eyelid was completely swollen, and the lower lid wasn't looking too good either. Time to go see the doctor!! Of course, we didn't know any local doctors or clinics in Beijing - so the best bet was to head to the huge United Family hospital. 1000RMB later - yes, the consultation fee for the doctor was a whopping 1000RMB - I walked out with a diagnosis of an infection, and a prescription for a 10RMB ointment!! I did get relief instantly, but couldn't join the others for dinner that night - the infection probably caught up with me!!

Last day of Fobisia - a day of football!! For a change, we were at Harrow on time - only to be met by a tearful Manasi - she had forgotten her football cleats back at the hotel!!! And although she could have played just as well in her sneakers, sometimes these little things are so important to the overall morale - that there was nothing else to do but Mom to the rescue!! So my friend TW and I set off to retrieve the cleats!! There were few paranoid moments when our taxi driver turned the wrong way and drove us to an abandoned parking lot and asked us to get out of the car - both of us were convinced that we were being kidnapped by organ traffickers!! We were yelling our heads off, refusing to get out - much to the consternation of the driver. Poor man - all he wanted to do was switch cars!! Sooo - not really an abandoned lot, no kidnappers - and even though it seems like it, TW and I are not crazy - well, maybe just a little bit - actually, both of us the sanest people I know!! What, really!!

Anyway, the rest of the taxi ride was without incident - of course, the taxi driver now knew better than to try anything - and we were at the kid's hotel. In Manasi's room, I resisted the urge to tidy up a bit - was happy to see that she had her dress for the gala dinner hanging neatly in the closet and she had a book on her bedside table - what more can I ask for?? Grabbed the cleats, and headed back - we had had the good idea to ask the same taxi to wait - see, sanest people ever!! Manasi had already played one game in her sneakers - and she was really happy to have her cleats!! Our train back to Suzhou has at 5pm, so we couldn't watch all the games - so we were on our return journey when we got the message that the girls had won a bronze!!

Bringing back the cleats!

 The team got back the next day - was so good to see all the smiling faces - it had been a fantastic tournament!! And I had a really good time too - unlike last year, I had decided to take a step back, and just enjoy - and that's what I did. Didn't get caught up in any crazy competitiveness, no yelling from the sidelines, no negativity at all!! The kids, of course, are all real stars - getting through all 4 days with a grace and dignity far beyond their years!! And kudos once again to all the coaches - our kids wouldn't be achieving what they did without all your hard work and dedication!! Well done, everyone!! Go Tigers!!

International Day - the FoD perspective!

International Day once again - this year, with a twist - this year, I was part of the FoD committee, the organizers of the event. And however did I miss writing about last year's International Day - completely fell through the cracks, that one! - I guess I'll just have to do back-to-back ID posts now!! Not that this one is very timely - keeping up with the tradition of this blog - it's already been 2 months since the event - oh well!!

Anyway, where was I - ah yes, FoD. The new FoD committee is elected during the AGM in February. I had enjoyed being the Secretary since August, and I did plan to stay on the committee - but I had no wish to take any other position - I was quite comfortable as Secretary. Our Treasurer was unable to continue, and by the time of the AGM, a new Treasurer had yet to be identified. I was asked to take over as Treasurer - I didn't really want to take on the responsibility - but as a stop-gap, I agreed to fill both roles until we found a new Treasurer. Yeah, that was real sensible - taking over as both Secretary and Treasurer!!

And then the kicker - as Secretary, I was the lead for the International and Founder's Day event. Wait, what??!!! Is it too late to accept the Treasurer position?? What have I got myself into??!!! I had been lead for the India booth for 2 years, but to be in charge of the whole shebang - yikes!! Absolute panic at first - much to the amusement of my friends (yes, TW and MW, looking at you!) - but then as I slowly got used to the idea, I found myself quite excited, actually looking forward to it!! Nothing ventured, nothing gained - right?!!

First on the list was a meeting with the country reps - well, a kickoff meeting to request volunteers to be country reps. And although there are quite a few who volunteer year after year, there are always a few new faces - so the initial meeting involves quite a detailed run-through of all the activities scheduled on the day. Public speaking has never been my forte - so running the meeting was probably one of the most difficult tasks for me - but managed to get through! Deep breaths now, in and out, in and out!!

Once the country reps were identified - most of them, anyways! - I had to send them a list of parents from their countries, so that they could start forming their teams and planning their individual booths.  Not quite as easy as it sounds. What I got from the school was the entire list of parents - sorted according to country, thankfully! I had to break this list down into country specific ones and send them off to the correct rep, along with country booth information from last year. In hindsight, would have been probably easier to email the list of country reps to the whole school, and then ask interested parents to contact their reps directly - something to remember for next year!!

And then the booth requests started to pour in - I was quite literally inundated with all kinds of concerns - issues from last year, requests for larger booths, more tables, better locations. Why IFD always works better when it is outdoors, how the gym is going to be too small - and the alcohol related questions!!! Yes, wine and beer is allowed, no hard liquor - that means no shots - and does Irish coffee qualify as liquor or not!! I was quite happy to pass all this onto our esteemed FoD chairperson, RG - must say, she had quite a bit on her plate, as she was in charge of the entertainment for the day too!! The lists and Excel files were endless, though - keeping track of everything, and making sure all communication was completed on time!

Slowly, things started to fall in place. The booth layout plan was completed, approved and finalized. Subsidies were handed out. Entertainment programs were being sent in by different teams. Posters went up in school, and on the buses. Ads were put in the Suzhou monthly magazines - this was a Suzhou wide event, not just restricted to the Dulwich community. One of the bigger challenges was to identify a charity as beneficiary for the event - after much discussion, the Suzhou Autism school was accepted by the committee. Coupons went on sale - 50,000 were printed - at a value of 5RMB per coupon, and lunchtime sales started in the school - we were selling coupons at a brisk pace, very encouraging!

Ready for the sales to begin!

Meanwhile, there was still the India booth to think about - while many of the Indian ladies were willing to participate for the booth, no one wanted the responsibility of being the country rep - writing emails, co-ordinating all activities - basically, all the grunt work. That finally fell to me - kind of a default option - 3rd time in a row. Decorations, country basket, food - all patterned on last year's. Paneer and chicken rolls, mint lemonade and gulabjamuns - fewer items, but larger quantities. Country basket, of course, works mainly on donations - and along with few other items that we bought from the contributed money, our India basket was quite impressive!! Take a look!!

India basket

For the entertainment, we were able to put on quite a show - Bollywood dances are hugely popular, and Team India was happy to oblige with a spectacular number performed by 10 of our girls - a mix of Dulwich and SSIS students. Our choreographer, RS, put in a lot of work with the girls - especially as it was difficult to get everyone together to rehearse - I have to admit, I was probably the worst about taking Manasi!! Looked into having costumes made - but SL found this incredible costume rental place, and all of us fell in love with these gorgeous, swirling skirts - the costume decision, for once, was unanimous!!

Dress rehearsal - the troupe with RS

The day before the event was frantic - as expected. The whole committee was in the school to finish sorting and numbering the gifts donated for Tombola. I was handling last minute queries from country reps - anything from requests for extra tables, to parking and unloading details!! At the last minute, the school had requested all the booths to display a 'Country fact' - to help the kids with a project on Internationalism later that term - all facts had to collected and submitted to the school - more emails, more lists!! And then there was the prep for the food for the India booth - the chicken filling had to be made, as well as the mint sauce - not that I was much help with any of that - I was still writing emails while SH, VH and Ajey did all the work!!

Finally, 9th May - ready or not, IFD was here!! I was at the school early - the staff had been setting up the tents and tables for the booths from the previous evening, so the gym was a quite a pretty sight!! I didn't really have any specific tasks that day - well, just had to make sure everything was running reasonably smoothly, make sure all teams had the booths they had requested, and take care of additional requests, if any - oh yes, keep an eye on the ticket sales, check if the Finance office had everything under control. Ended up walking around all day - my feet were absolutely killing me - really, whose idea was the high heels?? There was no way I could have taken any pictures, so many thanks to CE for sharing her photos with me!

A sea of festive red!

Country baskets

Tombola setup

The India booth looked gorgeous - thanks, MW, for that awesome elephant - made our booth stand out beautifully! Even with the larger quantities, our food was sold out in a couple of hours - I guess, next year we make even more!! Again, my contribution at the booth this year was negligible, so thanks to all - especially, MN, SH, VH, SL and Ajey - as always, the India booth was a huge, huge success!! And our sarees are always a big attraction - I had my picture taken with so many people - I was seriously considering charging a coupon per picture!! The dance, too, was a hit - all the girls performed beautifully - and the costume change bit brought the house done!!

What an absolutely incredible day!! By the time we wrapped up and headed home, I was ready to crawl into bed and sleep for a week - maybe get a foot massage - and then go right back to sleep!! I did get a day off, but a huge task still loomed - no doubt, the most important - counting the money!! By the time all the money came in - from the Finance office and all the committee members - I had almost quarter million RMB in cash with me. Was counting money in the SS Parent Lounge - literally, the entire coffee table was covered with bundles of cash. Too bad, my nerves were completely shot - would have made a really great picture!! My hands were shaking so badly as I checked and rechecked, and then again - all this money, and I was responsible for it??!!! Almost had a heart attack when I thought I misplaced an envelope with 1600 RMB - thanks BH for keeping me sane that day!!

240,000 RMB raised in a day for charity - definitely worth all the hard work, all the blood, sweat and tears - well, no blood, of course - but you get the point!! I don't think I have ever been so stressed in my life - definitely one of the bigger challenges I have handled so far - and I hope that I proved myself equal to the task. Lot of things I could have done better, lot of issues that could have been side-stepped, lots of lessons learnt!! Proud to be a part of FoD, to be a member of this incredible team!! Ready for next year? - absolutely, bring it on!!!

"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" and "All's well that ends well!" - IFD in a nutshell!! Signing off - will be back soon with last year's IFD!!

Visitors in China!

For the last 3 years, ever since we moved to Suzhou, I have been trying to convince the world and its brother to come visit us here. My very convincing arguments have ranged from how the Great Wall should be on everyone's bucket list, to how beautiful Suzhou is, not to mention the convenience of having someone's house to use as a base - come on, next destination, China!! Alas, not many people are inclined to believe the rosy picture I painted, and the standard response to my sales-pitch is usually a very skeptical "Really, China? Who goes to China?"!!

We have, of course, had our standard quota of visitors - Ajey's parents, Anand Kaka & Kamala Kaku and my parents. A couple of friends traveling for business who dropped in to visit. But no full-fledged China tourists - until this year!! Well, to be very precise, our visitor bonanza started in November - when our D Kaka arrived in China with a tourist group. He was with a group, and these tour groups have such tight schedules - we didn't really have too much time to spend together. After a lot of back and forth, we had to drop the idea of him coming to Suzhou - instead we decided to meet him in Shanghai for lunch and then - what else! - shopping in AP Plaza!!

April brought us the D family - Ajey's classmates from COEP and their 2 kids. Over a flurry of emails, their itinerary took shape - Beijing and Xian, of course, and local Suzhou and Shanghai sightseeing with us. It so happened that the week before they flew to China, Ajey was in the US - and he was to fly back to Shanghai the same day as they did. So it was just me to receive our friends at Pudong - except I wasn't entirely sure if it was Pudong or Hongqiao!! So there I was, in the Arrivals lounge - I only knew they were in a Cathay flight from Hongkong that was to land in Shanghai at 10am. By noon, I was convinced I was at the wrong airport - especially after I found out that there was a Cathay flight arriving at Hongqiao at about the same time as Pudong. Should I go....but what if it was Pudong after all?? An agonizing 30 minutes later, the D's finally walked out! Whew!!

Next couple of days were a whirlwind of activity. An evening walk to Ligongdi to see the beautiful lights of Suzhou. A morning at the Chao Yuan temple - another giant Buddha, a bit smaller than the Lingshan Buddha, but a lot closer to home, and also a lot cheaper!! Kite-flying and a picnic by the lake. Then the touristy Suzhou - Old Town, Shantang Jie, Guanqian Jie - a lot of photo-ops, a bit of shopping, exhausted kids!! The best part, of course, was the late night chats - years to catch up on, sharing experiences, reliving memories, and lots of laughter!

Shanghai, we wanted to stay until the lights came on in the evening - so we left a little later after a heavy brunch. First stop, 580 Nanjing - bring on the shopping!! It's always fun to take someone to one of the Shanghai markets for the first time! From Elsa dresses to Messi shirts, electronics to handicrafts and of course, all the fake brands - A&F, Coach, Nike, Rolex - you name it, and it's here - and it's incredibly hard to wrap up and leave - there's always that last bargain, that must-have wallet, those one-of-a-kind sunglasses!! It was off to the Bund then, and the Bund sight-seeing Tunnel to the Pearl Tower. Too bad the weather wasn't ideal - the gorgeous skyline was barely visible. Next morning, the Ds flew to Beijing, and then on to Xian. And then we left for Boracay, so didn't see them back in Shanghai!! Just 2 days - but such a lot of fun!! Until next time, Ds!!

Soon after, it was the Bs turn to visit us - SB, of course, is quite literally Ajey's oldest friend. The last time we saw them was in Dubai, a lot of fond memories from that time!! This time around, we had the paperwork for the visa all ready, and our itinerary had been tried and tested (thanks Ds!)! So the initial planning went off quite smoothly - only to hit a snag when SB fell sick. They came close to canceling their plans, and we weren't sure when their visit could be rescheduled - luckily, in the end they were delayed only by a couple of weeks!! Once again, I headed to the Pudong - this time I made sure I had all the flight details before I left home. So, at the right airport, at the right time - inevitable that the incoming flight was delayed!! So, once they landed, we dropped our initial plan of going to the Bund, and headed straight home!

That weekend, Manasi was headed to Beijing for Fobisia - which meant that Ajey and I were headed to Beijing too!! So, in the end, the delay in our friend's vacation turned out to be for the best. We could all go to Beijing together, stay at the same hotel - during the day, Ajey and I went to watch Manasi, and the Bs went off sight-seeing - worked out perfectly!! We didn't get tickets for the train from Suzhou, so we had booked the overnight sleeper from Shanghai - which meant a day of shopping before we left for Beijing. We didn't plan any sightseeing that day - so that they could shop to their heart's content - which they did!! The train was fun, as always!! We had a little cabin all to ourselves - and little AB thought it was a great adventure, jumping between the berths!!

From Beijing, we headed back home - and the Bs took the bullet train to Xian to enjoy the Terracotta Warriors. They were back in Suzhou a couple of days later - but our Suzhou sightseeing was limited by torrential rains. We just made it to Shantang Jie to get the perfect Suzhou canals photo - but that was it! Another day for Shanghai, of course - can't skip the Bund!! Gave us tons of time at home - and the Bs were only too happy to relax - good food, great conversation - what more can you wish for?? Their visit was over far too soon - but we meet again, hopefully this summer in Pune?? And yes, it's becoming a tradition now - the matching 'lao peng you' T-shirts!!

Yes, really - China, Suzhou in particular, is a wonderful place to visit - still not too late to start making plans!! Don't wait too long, though - we won't be living there forever!!