Cafe Bay Leaf: Great spread but average taste

We tried the lunch buffet at Cafe Bay Leaf at Holiday Inn, Pune last weekend. The spread was very impressive at first glance. However, when you read deeper into it, there were disappointments. There was no beverage offered in the price of the buffet, even non-alcoholic - rather strange and uncompetitive, I thought! Both the soups on offer were 'spicy' and I could not try either.

But what was totally unexpected and therefore a complete spoiler was the poor taste of the food - especially compared to the visual appeal. The crunchy fried vegetables were literally sticking to each other and simply awful. The thai chicken yellow curry and the paneer korma were totally tasteless. The saag chicken was the only thing I loved. Desserts were ok, nothing extraordinary there, apart from may be the fruit pie. The savior was the number of dishes - you were full just by trying a bit of each.

Overall, the service and ambiance were more than satisfactory, but I am unlikely to give the fare another chance!

The Casual Vacancy - Can't Understand the Hype :(

Are you a Potter fan? Can't wait to grab the next Rowling novel (if you haven't already that is!)? Take my advice and shine happier without ever touching this book. If you still don't get it, read on.

First, expect extremely bad language. Move over the wonderfully drafted, almost literature-style Potter output - this is third grade writing. Poor use of words, lengthy, rambling sentences, repetitive text - unimaginable stuff this is, especially from Rowling herself!

Second, what has been covered in more than 500 pages could well have been summarised in a couple of hundred. At least that would've spared the reader a story that just goes on and on, throwing across needless detail and bringing together forced climaxes as the characters and story progress into sheer perversion. If this is a true depiction of society in a quaint British town I cannot be more shocked! If not, I cannot imagine how a mature author can stoop to such depths just to 'entertain' readers.

My verdict - As a reader I simply cannot get over not being enthralled by Rowling. I wish I'd never read it, for somewhere deep down I want to puke. I want to wash off all the muck that this book brought into my life. Never another Rowling for me, that's for sure!

Valley of Flowers at Kaas - Revisited

We revisited the Valley of Flowers at Kaas Lake after two years, not knowing what changes to expect this time. The area has been declared as a heritage site a few months ago and we'd heard that there were a few new rules in place. The experience left us pleasantly surprised for once.

The key was reaching there really early in the morning (as early as you could manage to start from Pune with two toddlers... though I think we did a good job!) As you drive into the beautiful view, there is a makeshift ticketing office where you buy tickets for the group, your vehicle and your camera.

The parking area is far away from the flowers, so that does take a bit of hiking. Better if kids and older people are dropped off near the flower area while someone parks the car. 

There were clearly marked trails around the flowers to avoid trampling, and a few guards were working hard to ensure order. This time we were able to take our time and explore a larger area. All of us who had been there earlier felt that there were more varieties of flowers this time and the beautiful belts of colour made it amazingly vibrant.

Food and water is allowed so we even had a nice picnic type snack amidst all the natural beauty. We were blessed with a mild cloud cover that made it really pleasant all the way. Later we drove down towards Kaas lake and picnicked again under a shady tree. We spent around 3 hours in the area in all, and when you go in a group that can't be accomplished without an adequate supply of foods, right? 

Food joints along the road are scarce (which is a good thing actually) but mind that toilets are totally missing from the scene as well. A policeman told us that mobile toilets are likely to be installed soon but no idea if that has really happened. A lone restaurant before the flowers start was the only source of relief!

The Lotus Beach Eco Resort, Murud-Harnai - Wish We'd Stayed Longer

We chose to stay at this resort for only one night, and felt very bad leaving the next morning.

The deluxe AC room where we stayed had a fabulous sea view. The room was spacious but cozy and very well maintained. The important part (very important for me) was that it was absolutely free from lizards and other insects which is inevitable in Konkan. The clean, beautiful beach is hardly 2 min walking distance from the resort.

The staff was courteous and worked hard to make us comfortable. The restaurant is reasonably good. There was no buffet due to low occupancy on the weekday, but we got whatever we ordered. The fried fish and chicken was especially worth a mention.

We took a boat ride to see dolphins early the next morning (again this was arranged by the resort), which was an unforgettable experience.

All in all, it was a hassle-free, peaceful stay - with no arguments, no reminders to the staff and no complaints.

I would definitely recommend this resort for at least a 2-3 night stay. The standard rooms do not have much of a view though, and the deluxe rooms come with a higher price tag. However, the view makes the incremental spend worthwhile.

The Bindi effect

Bobo is just fascinated with Bindis. Ajji's bright red bindi makes her unique and a lot more interesting than other members of the house who don't care to wear one! Every day when Ajji wears a fresh bindi after her bath, Bobo will make Ajji carry her, then she will point at her bindi, touch and feel it, try (in vain) to remove it, make all sorts of noises and sounds to indicate how interesting it all is, and this goes on for quite some time.

Ask Bobo where a bindi is worn and she will painstakingly point to somewhere between her right eye and nose. Perhaps it is still beyond her capability to point to a precise position on her own face! She even tries to convince me and Ajoba how it would be great if we wore bindis too, by pointing to the "bindi spot" on our noses!

Imagine Bobo's excitement when Ajji made her wear a bindi of her own last morning. She stood in the mirror admiring it for the longest of times. It all seemed very cute at that time. But somehow, co-incidentally (or not), she indulged in so much masti and mischief for the rest of the day that I am convinced the bindi triggered off some accupressure point on her forehead and brought out some hidden energy within her. I've literally begged my mother not to do it again :)

The Grandma Effect!

My daughter has undergone a transformation in the last fortnight that I have been here, at her grandparent's house. Baba is travelling, but we have no time to miss him (Sorry Baba!). There is so much waiting in store at Aaaa-jeeee's place that there is no time to even sleep (yes, that remains a challenge unfortunately).

Aaajjeeee has been teaching us a variety of new lessons and we are such an obedient student. We can now 'dance-dance' i.e. tap our feet. We can bring our thumb and middle finger together and show how 'chhaan-chhaan' something is. We can show you what sunlight does to the eyes. We can say 'diu-diu' and point at the light. We can put things into a bucket and pull them out again. And all of this with such remarkable sincerity and passion that trust me, I have never known my daughter like my Mom knows her grand-daughter. It does not end here... Aaajeee manages to make Bobo chan lie down in her lap for minutes together (feat!) and actually sleep in her lap (magic!).

In all of this, Aai has been reduced to a mere by-stander observing with both joy and fear. Joy because there is so much pleasure in watching my Mom and my baby together, laughing, playing and having fun. And fear, because there is just a day to go and I return to my own house. Will I be able to take this forward by myself? Only time will tell...

Latest developments!

I haven't blogged since my last post on Bobo's newly acquired walking skills. The reason is simple, the baby is walking and I'm running after her, literally. Suddenly there is an increase in the motherly workload like never before. Anyone who has been there, done that, will identify with me immediately! That's not all. There has been a spate of illnesses in the house. First, P got a cold, then Bobo had it. Even as it was going away, P caught a viral cough and Bobo got that too. As a result, the last week has been spent in endless pacifying, night waking and constant feeding. And just when I thought I was lucky enough to escape both the round of infections, I have come down with the cough :(. Thankfully, I'm at Mom's since P is travelling, which makes things SOO much easier.

An unfortunate side-effect of the illness bout is that Bobo has become extremely clingy. She wants to be carried all the time and making her sleep has become (even more!!) difficult. I'm really worried that this might become a habit which she will carry well after she has recovered. I so hope not!

It's not all bad though. Since I last blogged, we have mastered walking and are starting to use it skillfully. The terrace, artificial grass covered children's play area in the society, lobby outside Mom's house, are all favorite places. We still don't like our (not so) new shoes, but booties are great. Several words are being attempted - Aai (about 100 times a day), Ajji, Mummm, Tdou tdou (some mix of kau-kau and chiv-chiv), Baba (on rare occasions). Waving, clapping, pointing, wrist movements are becoming second nature. There is a lot of new association-building and concepts such as open-able lids, different textures, colors, animals, birds are being understood nicely. It's a great phase, and there is an imminent transition from 'baby' to 'toddler' on the way!

Life in the third dimension

Bobo chan was so far living a two-dimensional life, wasn't she. She could stand up holding on to furniture alright, but there was no mobility in that third dimension. With the onslaught of unsupported walking, it is as if a whole new world has suddenly opened up. The discovery that there is so much to learn in this life, and to begin with, the house itself, has her totally going.

And going she is. From dawn to night, whether while eating, being cleaned, crying, laughing, sleepy or wide awake, the show must go on. There are drawers to be opened, items to be removed, other items replaced in their place. Strollers must be pushed and treated like walkers. Wires must be pulled down even if an inch of them is visible. Push and pull toys are meant to be pushed and pulled all over the house. The kitchen is forbidden territory, but there will come a time and place. The terrace, well, we've never even been there yet. You see, life is revealing an entirely new meaning to this ten month old!

As a fallout of this new and interesting phase in the daughter's life, poor Mom and Dad have become a harrowed lot. They thought they had covered the house, but now they ACTUALLY know what baby proofing means and what it entails. They have to think like the devil you know, be a few steps ahead, if furniture, stationary, crockery, etc have to be salvaged. They have to be continuously tuned in to the toddler who has obviously no connotation of danger or hurt. Whoever said a burnt child dreads fire were not parents themselves!

A See change!

We had taken Bobo out dining only twice in the past. Once on the husband's birthday when she slept through the entire lunch (plain lucky!) and the second time with hubby' parents, where she could not sit still even for a minute forcing us all to just gobble the food and leave.

Given this background, the proposal to eat out back-to-back this weekend made me gulp. Our mothers have birthdays on consecutive days and other family members were to join too. So we decided to leave things to fate and agreed. I spent the week mentally preparing myself for disaster, to say the least. Bobo chan is so much more aware of her surroundings now and hates to sit in one place. Naturally, she was going to create trouble. We had elaborate discussions on where to sit, how to manage her, who eats before whom, call and ask in advance for a high chair, etc. etc, you get the picture.

I thought I would be blogging about how we eventually survived the two meals. Quite the contrary! We actually ended up pleasantly surprised at our daughter's resilience to the events in her life all of this weekend. She not only behaved impeccably both days, but even charmed everyone around with smiles and her histrionics. It didn't end there. After her superb perfomance, we actually decided to go to a function on Sunday that we'd pre-decided to skip assuming we would've had enough by then. And she was such a sweetheart there too!

I'm so happy with this sudden change in my daughter's outlook to life. It's not completely inexplicable though. I have a new nanny for the last three weeks and the idea of having someone else, other than just Mom all day, to play with, seems to be appealing to her quite a lot. She seems much less crankier, clingier and often ends the day with a smile, something I've rarely seen happening before. Consequently, we've decided to jump on to every opportunity to expose her to new people and places and to make her learn more and more about the world around her!

Stepping forward

Bobo chan is in the high-energy mode these days. The pretty little feet are carrying all the weight and trying out baby steps forward. We spent a week watching her take one step, then sit down. Then, the last week we held our breath as she took one step, then stood, then took another and then sat down. Yesterday was finally the day when there were three steps, twice in the afternoon, followed by five steps in the evening!! I think now I can safely declare that the little one is walking.

Ironically, I did not experience that 'tears in the eye' feeling that is oh so glorified. Perhaps because there was so much run up that it did not really come as a 'surprise' per se. Yet this mother's heart leaps every time she stands up and takes a step forward. For, a step forward it is! My little one is walking. Walking. Can you imagine. I kept picturing how she would look when she walks when she was a baby in my arms. And now, here she is. I have to admit though, that there is this unexplained sadness somewhere really deep down inside me. Walking is like the final and ultimate evidence that the infant is growing up. Faster than I had ever imagined.

For the record, we were unable to capture those first few steps. Taking the camera in hand (even hiding with it) is the best way to put her off from doing what you are after. I know we eventually succeed once the activity becomes second nature, but I guess these 'first-time' memories will have to be tightly locked up inside our heads after all!