Conversations....
How do conversations even begin? It’s one of life’s delightful mysteries. This festive season, we found ourselves bouncing between parties, pujas, and get-togethers, catching up with friends while basking in the warmth of familiar faces. Sometimes, I’m a silent observer, just soaking it all in, but when I’m in the mood, I contribute my two cents—typically involving Bollywood gossip, a random news bit, or, on rare occasions, something completely offbeat!
On this particular evening, a group of us gathered, and the conversation kicked off with travel tales. Our friend, steeping a fragrant masala chai, recalled a unique “special tea” experience at the Khardung La Pass in Leh, brewed by none other than Indian soldiers! Here at 17,600 feet, tourists and soldiers alike share the warm brew before being politely asked to move along, as this is a high-security border area, part of an ancient trade route. The tales of trade caravans and exotic goods—silk, musk, jade cups—sounded like something from an old adventure novel.
Of course, the conversation soon turned to all things tea: pink chai, green tea, elaichi chai, and, to everyone’s intrigue, a trendy twist with soy milk! Could we call it “Soya Chai” or, even better, “Sochai”? Now that’s some tea worth contemplating! Hmmmm… sochna padega.
From tea, we got talking about travel in India itself, marvelling at how the country’s roads and amenities have improved over the last 20 years. The Yamuna Expressway came up, that smooth ribbon of road between Delhi and Agra.
In a first for military aviation in India, the Indian Air Force on 21 May 2015 successfully landed a French Dassault Mirage 2000 on the Yamuna Expressway near Raya village, Mathura.
The mock drill was a practice run to evaluate the utility of using highways for emergency landings by military aircraft...Jai ho!!
Hmmm,I couldn’t help but daydream about Tom Cruise swooping down in his P-51 Mustang to rescue the “Queen of Faridabad”! Hehehehe.
After a few rounds of tea and delicious faraal, our thoughts drifted to autumn’s classic visitors—spiders! My better half shared his traditional broom-wielding approach to getting rid of these little intruders. But our knowledgeable orthopaedic friend had an even gentler technique. His trick? Gently nudge the spider to fall on its back, then use special tweezers to delicately lift it by a leg and release it back into the garden, unharmed. A gentle eviction, and a reminder that this world belongs to them too.
In the end, it’s these conversations—some hilarious, some thoughtful—that enrich our friendships. They’re little windows into each other's worlds, each story adding a splash of colour. Long live these chats and long live our friends!
Mwaaah!
Maneesha Purandare
3.11.2024
On the way to Cambridge...
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