To write well, one has to live well. The tingles of excitement in anticipating ironies, in discovering subtleties and in measuring rhetorics, there lies the rub. Having decided to write every day, I often had to pinch myself into attention and observe things at least a a tad more deeply than I usually do. I went to have lunch with a friend today at his house. It was a hazy afternoon in Delhi. I got into the cab with a kilo of apples and looked out into the smog. It was, by Delhi standards, an easy ride of 18 kms through NH8 and Dwarka road. The sites along the route were the standard sites you would see all along Delhi. A profusion of people, cars and buildings, customary trees along the road and in apartment complexes and public institutions coated with thick layers of dust, elevated metro corridors and inescapably, a couple of flyovers en route.
After greetings, we had a fragrant ghee rice with just the right flavour, boneless pepper chicken with mild flavours and onion raita. Then there was steamed rice and rasam. The good food and conversation made for a relaxing atmosphere. Three hours slipped unnoticed. Time to leave. Again a cab, again the dusty highway and back to my room. The day had been just a little sultry and my room was cool and welcoming. From the balcony, there was a constant chatter of birds. The mynas and parrots were chirping and tweeting away. The two pigeons which had made their nests on top of my room's air conditioner were oorh-ing and clucking. A busy weekend for the birds. Unfortunately there was no cuckoo but now and then there was an odd crow cawing distractedly.
Watched Spielberg's 'Bridge of Spies'. Exquisite sets. Marl Rylance was fantastic as Rudolf Abel. Has got a nomination in this Oscars for best supporting actor. Would have to wait till 28th to know. Then a lovely dinner in Dana Choga's Kitchen with another friend. The touch of ginger in the mixed vegetable gravy, the smooth makhni and the layered and crisp toasted lachha parathas were fabulous.
Photos of the parakeet and pigeon
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