In order to finish my massive report on time, I wanted to work on Saturday. On Friday, when I asked Geetha if the office would be open, she told me an employee would need to be present. Rather than Amrtha or someone else having to babysit me so that I had internet access all day long, Amrtha suggested I come to her house to work.
In the morning I said goodbye to Nani, who is off to Chennai for the temple opening. She planned to spend Saturday night at her sister Vasantha's house so they could travel together on Sunday. I hailed an auto outside the flat, and the driver, named Rafio, turned out to be another one in a long line of totally wonderful auto drivers.
He offered to bring me to work every day if I needed, telling me he lived in the complex right behind mine (the same one Azathmullah lives in). I told him I traveled with a friend, and he assured me if I ever needed a ride, he would oblige. As we got nearer to Amrtha's, we stepped off of main roads and I was less sure of where we were going but Rafio took the time to help orient us.
There is a row of similarly painted (green) apartment buildings, and I walked into three wrong complexes before finally finding Amrtha's building. It is set up as long hallways of apartments, as opposed to the square-with-a-hole-in-the-middle set up of our Jayanagar flat. The hallways are broken up by small courtyards where light filters down through a high-up screen. Floors are patterned tile, and the whole atmosphere is cool and quiet. In fact, on the street, you can barely hear traffic noises. It is a lovely, residential feel that I miss, as the Jayanagar apartment boasts a troop of rickshaws out front and a busy street.
Amrtha came out to meet me, and then we settled in her front room, me happily set up on internet and her plugging away at her law books, studying for exams. Her husband left for work, and we worked quietly for a while but eventually productivity devolved into conversation. Amrtha made chai and offered me these amazing little chocolate cake pieces...I can't remember the name but they were perfect for dipping. She also made pongal ( a rice dish ) for lunch, and I was totally amazed. It's always astounding to me that all of a sudden when Indian women set up their own home they miraculously know how to cook just as well as their mothers. Where does it come from? Is that going to happen to me? So I asked her, and she explained that her aunt is very good at giving directions with actual measurements (one cup rice, one cup dahl) as opposed to 'take your smallest child's handful, twice'.
After lunch, work was pretty much hopeless. We were both in that sort of sleepy food coma, and decided another cup of chai would help. Amrtha made herself filter coffee- I've never seen anyone make coffee the Indian way, with a four part percolator!
So first, you remove the lid and umbrella (the umbrella is the funny looking thing in front), put in the coffee powder (about 2 tbsp per person) and press it down with a spoon. The two containers are set on top of each other, and the top one contains the powder. You put the umbrella back and pour the water (brought to a boil) over the umbrella, and it percolates down into the bottom container, carrying the flavour of the grounds with it. It's basically like a much more manual french press.
Amrtha told me you're not supposed to reheat the actual coffee, but just heat the milk you pour into it. It's actually fantastic coffee. I want one of these filters.
We sat at the table and talked endlessly about families and internships, India, cats and so much more. After an amazing day, I took my leave and Amrtha walked me up to the main street to hail an auto. It is very weird to me that so many auto drivers with empty autos will refuse passengers...but it's their right!
Without Nani home, Joanna and I have to get creative around dinner time. We decided to head to Jayanagar 4th block to see if we spotted an interesting restaurant. Our auto dropped us off on a random street, and the scene was totally alive! So many people and families were out, it was wonderful to see this side of Bangalore in the evening. We walked for a bit and decided to try Pizza Corner, a restaurant on the second floor of some building.
We caught up on each other's lives over (in my case, Garden Veggie) pizza that was delicious! When he brought the bill, one of the waiters handed me a business card offering his 'Jedy Butti Oil Body Massage Service'. He assured me that home and room service was available. Decidedly sketchy, but I kept the card for laughs.
As we were leaving, he explained to me once more that he was willing to come deliver his massage service in my home. Too much!
Joanna had the wonderful idea of getting ice cream, and although I thought I was full, you're never really too full for ice cream...we went to a little ice cream and juice shop and ordered Swedish Chocolate (parcel), which was three scoops of chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce poured over the top. We ordered it to go because Jo wanted to put bananas on hers!
Finding an auto back was no trouble, and we were very satisfied with our 4th block outing!
In the morning I said goodbye to Nani, who is off to Chennai for the temple opening. She planned to spend Saturday night at her sister Vasantha's house so they could travel together on Sunday. I hailed an auto outside the flat, and the driver, named Rafio, turned out to be another one in a long line of totally wonderful auto drivers.
He offered to bring me to work every day if I needed, telling me he lived in the complex right behind mine (the same one Azathmullah lives in). I told him I traveled with a friend, and he assured me if I ever needed a ride, he would oblige. As we got nearer to Amrtha's, we stepped off of main roads and I was less sure of where we were going but Rafio took the time to help orient us.
There is a row of similarly painted (green) apartment buildings, and I walked into three wrong complexes before finally finding Amrtha's building. It is set up as long hallways of apartments, as opposed to the square-with-a-hole-in-the-middle set up of our Jayanagar flat. The hallways are broken up by small courtyards where light filters down through a high-up screen. Floors are patterned tile, and the whole atmosphere is cool and quiet. In fact, on the street, you can barely hear traffic noises. It is a lovely, residential feel that I miss, as the Jayanagar apartment boasts a troop of rickshaws out front and a busy street.
Amrtha came out to meet me, and then we settled in her front room, me happily set up on internet and her plugging away at her law books, studying for exams. Her husband left for work, and we worked quietly for a while but eventually productivity devolved into conversation. Amrtha made chai and offered me these amazing little chocolate cake pieces...I can't remember the name but they were perfect for dipping. She also made pongal ( a rice dish ) for lunch, and I was totally amazed. It's always astounding to me that all of a sudden when Indian women set up their own home they miraculously know how to cook just as well as their mothers. Where does it come from? Is that going to happen to me? So I asked her, and she explained that her aunt is very good at giving directions with actual measurements (one cup rice, one cup dahl) as opposed to 'take your smallest child's handful, twice'.
After lunch, work was pretty much hopeless. We were both in that sort of sleepy food coma, and decided another cup of chai would help. Amrtha made herself filter coffee- I've never seen anyone make coffee the Indian way, with a four part percolator!
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| https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52V6Byn9-sBu558c5M0vU5YQYzM5yQIsk4vf0YoVt0QPHdZtfS1pVcou4x-Pg25jOQokKoxHIjCnZbsI9HCq-831O3l3iPKxIVv4xfxp0d2uwhRhizyOPVYsES5tV3yQQ8ncHppaa460/s320/Disassembled_South_Indian_coffee_filter2.jpg |
Amrtha told me you're not supposed to reheat the actual coffee, but just heat the milk you pour into it. It's actually fantastic coffee. I want one of these filters.
We sat at the table and talked endlessly about families and internships, India, cats and so much more. After an amazing day, I took my leave and Amrtha walked me up to the main street to hail an auto. It is very weird to me that so many auto drivers with empty autos will refuse passengers...but it's their right!
Without Nani home, Joanna and I have to get creative around dinner time. We decided to head to Jayanagar 4th block to see if we spotted an interesting restaurant. Our auto dropped us off on a random street, and the scene was totally alive! So many people and families were out, it was wonderful to see this side of Bangalore in the evening. We walked for a bit and decided to try Pizza Corner, a restaurant on the second floor of some building.
We caught up on each other's lives over (in my case, Garden Veggie) pizza that was delicious! When he brought the bill, one of the waiters handed me a business card offering his 'Jedy Butti Oil Body Massage Service'. He assured me that home and room service was available. Decidedly sketchy, but I kept the card for laughs.
As we were leaving, he explained to me once more that he was willing to come deliver his massage service in my home. Too much!
Joanna had the wonderful idea of getting ice cream, and although I thought I was full, you're never really too full for ice cream...we went to a little ice cream and juice shop and ordered Swedish Chocolate (parcel), which was three scoops of chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce poured over the top. We ordered it to go because Jo wanted to put bananas on hers!
Finding an auto back was no trouble, and we were very satisfied with our 4th block outing!
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