Monsoon Come Lately

Like Johnny-come-lately, Mr. Monsoon (like some ladies we know) is late. Well, better late than never, some might say. What with having to deal with El Nino and other distractions, we should be thankful he came at all. Otherwise, we would have had a party with no guest- metaphorically.

When he comes too soon (no innuendo intended), we complain. And when he does not come (likewise), we predict a future worse than the Great Extinction during some pre-historic Stone Age -pardon my pale knowledge of the paleo-age nomenclature.

Now that he is here, we are hoping he'll stay for dinner. We can actually make some, since the veggies will become affordable, and the crops will bloom. Acchhe din aagaye?

Party Week

No, I have not joined the BJP, Congress, JD (A, B, C,..U) or any other political party. Nor am I planning to. I am just another aam aadmi and will continue to be. What I am referring to is the mundane act of having a party.

For various reasons (like having important guests) we had through the week, and a colleague throwing one, I had a hectic week of lunches and dinners being thrown (by or at me) and attended. All in all, a satisfying bunch of them, exploring different cuisines from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Also got a chance to educate the waiters of various establishments in town about some wines that they had in stock-wines are tough to keep track of, and I don't blame them. There are literally thousands of wines, made in dozens of countries. Since one guest was a wine aficionado, the waiter ended up learning a lot. Grape names like Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc. will now flow off his tongue like the Ganga flowing all over Uttarakhand this past sunmmer.

Anyway, now there is some respite, and that is also welcome, after all the hecticness (this may not be a word at all). It continues to rain in Nagpur, much more than it usually does.