The weekend was crazy for me, starting from Friday night (26th Feb 2010). I (and Murali) had a planned trip to chennai. But unfortunate events triggered the beginning of a memorable weekend:
1. Train tckts to chennai did not get confirmed. Luck was so bad that the waiting list slid down from 168 (three days back) to 8 (on day of travel) swiftly and then froze there.
2. We realised the above state at the 11th hour ... I mean literally at 11 o clock... so we never had a chance to catch any other alternative bus or train.
3. Thanks to gym, I was already getting late and had to rush to Yeshwantpur without dinner. But soon my hunger pangs interrupted my brain from using my gray matter.
Then came to rescue.... my girlfriend... my A-Star. (My definition of gal friend: The one who always accompanies on all trips n treks with no-questions-asked or with no-fear. Who is always there to support n does not ditch come what the situation may be). This time around I planned to ditch my gal friend n catch a train, in spite of all the earnest efforts by Murali to convince we should take her along. At the end Murali prevailed. I was overrun by destiny.
So we ignited the engine n planned to zip thru Golden quadrilateral road to chennai. Our first hurdle was finding fuel at that hour to travel a distance of 360 kms. Luckily the pertol pump next to cauvery talkies was open. Here is the warning about that fuel station, he cheats a lot. It happened before and again on friday (for arnd 200 bucks of petrol). Now with my car all fill n all ready... I have found work-around for first two out of three event changing incidents. The next challenge was to fill me. We had a tough time in listing all the places that open at that hour (good ones... we need to travel the night... n we arent carrying any toilet papers along). Suddenly I remembered the drive thru from mac donalds on kasturba road. we went there.. i imagined it to be just like the ones in California. But this was really bad. It took half an hour waiting in the car queue to get the parcel. Had i known i wud have preferred a dine-in option. Anyways we step on the gas at the stroke of 12 in night.
The next three hours was swift n smooth... we played my new collection "illaya raja hits" ...(illayaraja is considered a stalwart of music in south indian movie world. it was his exit which created a vacuum which the other directors like rehman n manu came to fill). We discussed life in general, issues of national and international importance to keep us awake. By 3am we reached somewhere close to vellore (we did 200 kms) n our eyes were quite heavy.... i cud see murali already sleeping... in fact he was actually falling off from the seat but thanks for the seat belt. So we pulled down the road in some God forsaken country land n switched off the engine. Next two and half hours we slept in the car like a baby.. didnt bother about where or how safe we are. Finally at 5:30, we woke up thanks to all the honking by lorries.
We resumed the second leg of journey. This time we played suprahbatam (devotional song) n discussed hinduism (my last blog article). By 7:30 we reached chennai. Next one hour we waded through the chennai traffic (Why do those guys wake up very early!!) and had to figure out the way to T-Nagar, CIT colony. We finally arrived at raki's place at 8. The next ten mins we spent knocking the doors n calling the inmates of the house.
We started thinking of all possibilities. None of my friends Raki, Saroja, Kushal or Manju had a clue that we were coming. In fact when the train tickets were cancelled, we conveyed them that we were dropping out on the plan. Though we decided on the road trip we did not inform them thinking to give a surprise. Now this effort to give them, a surprise seems to turn out to be a shock for both of us. Did they head for a weekend at Pondicherry, or plan a sun-rise view at the beach. How long do we wait? Then suddenly our knocks (and prayers) were answered. Kushal was our savior. He was lazing around the bed and did not want to see a maid knocking early in morning. But the consistent knocking made us communicate that we were not maid.
After getting in the house, he told us how sloshed they were from previous night. Then it was time to wake up Raki. Kushal knocks on his room and tells him there is some problem in living room. I can imagine his sleep vanishing n he imagine all different permutation of what a problem can be. Finally he comes out to find old buddies and birthday wishes.
The rest of day went relaxing n catching up some lost sleep. In the evening we go for the Besant Nagar beach. It was my sixth visit to that beach. (Gosh!! I hate Chennai). It was a full moon day and the waves were high. We dumped in all sorts of junk food to garner some energy to get into the waters. We gave up the initial plans of going to a pub or a beach side resort and thought of partying at home.
By 8 we reached home. And in next one hour we were all set to go beyond imaginations. I got a bottle of Finlandia Vodka from Bangalore. My plan was to take a few shots of it and then take it back and use it for next couple of months. Neither did I expect the cocktails to be so mesmerizing nor did i expect how thirsty Chennai ppl are when devoid of good drinks.
I did two things through next five hours: Mix the ingredients of cocktails and help people shake it.
So it started off with an Apple juice and vodka. That’s not only the ingredients but also the name of the cocktail too. Three parts of Vodka (around 90ml), chunk of ice (improvised version of ice cubes) and around 300 ml of apple juice are poured in the cocktail shaker and shaken. It was awesome starter to savour the taste buds and let them gear up for the hard tastes that will follow.
Next was Grey Hound. Here mix three parts of vodka, ice cubes and grape juice. The sour grape juice tiltillates senses while the bitter vodka neutralises the taste buds.
The next one was one of a marvellous extemporized mix. I always have a soft corner for coffee. I sometimes add the chocolate sauce with that. But at that point, we did not have the chocolate sauce handy. So Manju came up with this ingenious suggestion of melting a dark chocolate (I think it was Bournville) and adding it. At the start I was sceptical, but finally relented. (I realised one cannot argue with ladies when it comes to kitchen stuff). So here was the improvised Freezing Russians (coffee, cold milk shaken with vodka and topped with vodka). I hear that this has a bad hangover so folks ... be careful... not more than two. I got a feedback next morning that it had its casualties the previous night with people throwing up.
This was followed by a mix fruit cocktail. We got a mix fruit juice (pineapple, peach and mango) and shaken with vodka and ice.
Next one was again an improvised version of exotic cocktail. We wanted to make a screwdriver with pepper rim. But a bachelor’s paradise is anything but a good kitchen. So we could not get hold of even table pepper. Then Kushal came up with this suggestion of trying out with Oregano seasoning. (yes, the one we get from Domino’s). I had a whiff of the seasoning and its till had the strong aroma. Immediately I knew that it would be the best substitute for pepper. So after shaking the orange, ice and vodka and serving in the glasses, I made an oregano rim. I brushed the rim of the glass with a lemon wedge and sprinkled oregano. A sip of it tells that it is not a substitute of pepper but an all together a different cocktail for itself. The orange has a sour taste, oregano adds a salty and spicy flavour to it. The vodka bitterness again pulls down all the extreme tastes. So it is quite soothing on the tongue. So now you know the secret spice behind a wonderful Screwdriver.
A couple of cocktails we missed that day was the lemonade and vodka. Kushal might have been cursed me on this, the next morning when he would have spotted the lemonade in the refrigerator. One of my favourite cocktail is Mango and vodka. (plain no mangoritas or mango martinis).
Now you know why I got the name Sekhar over a Saturday night session of cocktail drinks. By the way the finlandia was done by the first round and thanks for the farsightedness of Kushal and Manju we almost had run through the Smirnoff Red. I was on a such a high that I danced for the first time in two years. :P. The last time I danced was in farewell party while at IISc. One thing I could never improve even after two years are my dance steps. Tough to teach new tricks to old dawgs!! I am not a dog... I am a dawg!!
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