The Firefly

My mother and I stood in the balcony of our third floor apartment and I watched as this bright eyed girl with sunlight bouncing off her hair hopped across the quadrangle between our buildings. She looked up and beamed as my mother waved out to her. The eight year old me clearly remembers thinking, "that's one of the sunniest smiles I've ever seen!". "She's my student and the star of my latest play," said my mom smiling down at her. Called 'The Firefly', the title of the play and the role fit her personality like a glove! This tiny little ball of sunshine with bouncy hair and the brightest smile was my Kitikat...(some people knew her as Isha Mantry)

She personified positivity and always knew what she wanted. How such a tiny person could pack in so much punch always baffled me. She fought her way through school with a flick of her hair, defied the bullies and made her way into NIFT. "Do you want to be a tailor?" asked the poor ignorant souls but she just smiled at them. She stood out amid the pack of conformists with her bold use of colour and walked away with an award at the end of the grueling four years in college. Through it all, she remained the chirpy, optimistic and sunny little firefly she was! 

The film industry wasn't any easier on her. They thought she was a gullible little thing, but she laughed as her work left them astounded. She achieved so much on her own terms that I often felt like a proud parent. 

It's been 21 years since I saw you hopping across the courtyard and you have been such a big part of my life Kittu...

I'm so sorry for all the cancelled plans, the regrets, the hurt, the accusations, the  fights and all the times I should've been there for you and wasn't...

If only...

If only I'd called you every time I thought of you. If only I'd been a part of all your achievements and your successes; your moments of joy & triumph and the occasional times of sorrow and struggle. If only...

You shouldn't have gone so early. You're my sunshine. I learnt from you that waking up every day with a smile is so important! I can't watch House without thinking of how hard we laughed into the night at Hugh Laurie's speeches. I can't look at Meredith Grey without thinking of how much your smile is needed in this world full of grim faces. I can't think of my childhood without wanting to pull your cheeks...

Sleep peacefully you tiny little ball of sunshine with bouncy hair and the brightest smile. 

Sleep peacefully you little firefly...

Lots of love,
TD

The boy who made us smile...

"My name is Chinmay Aniruddha Barve," said an enthusiastic young voice in a pure Maharashtrian  accent. 

The place: London

The year: 2010

His eyes twinkled with mischief as he displayed a set of perfect white teeth with that winning smile of his! These are my first and everlasting memories of the boy who had a voracious appetite for life. The boy who truly wanted to experience every waking moment...

He wanted to sample every dish of every cuisine in the world and invent a few along the way! He loved the chemistry of alcohol and could be found mixing magic potions trying to come up with his own brand of booze! He wanted to be the most famous name in the wine industry and worked tirelessly to educate himself on the intricacies of wine making. 

Always ready for an adventure, he was our go-to guy for spontaneous trips to Bournemouth and midnight escapades on the streets of London! Our little Chinu, the boy who never let us touch our wallets because, well, that's just how largehearted he was! He worked at one of the finest restaurants on Baker Street and taught himself the etiquette of running a premium eatery. After hours, he would be as much at ease in the local rundown pub trying to convince the DJ to play Armin Van Buuren. He made us listen to Paul Van Dyk and insisted we love him as much as he did! 

He could wolf down a whole pizza and then get right down to marinating chicken to be eaten a couple of hours later. 

Chinu, you taught me that life was about laughter, it was about being proud of who you were and powering through the biggest obstacles. Your smile, your generosity, your values on friendship and relationships and your optimism are what I'll always remember you by.

CC & Chinya ...unforgettable times...

I guess I know why God made you such an  unforgettable human being. It's because he knew your purpose in your unfairly short life was to spread joy! I hope He up there realises He's in for unbelievable adventures with you around...

I'll always have fond memories of you, my fellow Taurean...You, with the voracious appetite for life. The boy who truly wanted to experience every waking moment...

I salute you Mr.Chief Sommelier! You will forever be thought of with a smile, I promise you that. Rest In Peace, Chinu.

Much Love and Respect,

TD for CC...

Next up - Let’s fly to Italy for Pizza!

Seldom do I see the silver lining living in Vashi. But come Satruday the 1^st of September, I said to myself “hmm…let’s drive to Khandala for lunch!” Made a call, got Gary & Prashant on board and off we were to the lovely hill station!

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Click-Happy!

You see, a long bumpy commute to Bandra or Colaba didn’t seem too appealing, what with traffic, signals and constant pot holes. Compare that to lush green valleys, clean smooth roads, romantic rain showers and the sun slyly peeking out from behind the clouds. Doesn't the choice seem easy? I was click-happy and Gary was doing a wonderful version of Speedracer! She promised us an hour’s drive to Khandala, got us there in an hour!

*claps in slow-mo*

The literal.. "Light at the end of the Tunnel.." :p

We pulled into Fariyas Resort ten minutes into buffet closing time, charmed the restaurant manager into keeping the buffet open a little longer for us and what’s more, he even served us freshly baked rotis at our table!. Us and our feminine viles (just Gary n me, poor Prashant was an innocent bystander)

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Boy you should have been there to see our plates! I’m not even embarrassed to admit to my gluttony! I made a mini mountain of food on my plate, got another plate full of the other dishes I didn’t want to miss out on and had the gall to order a beer to go with it all! Gary was no less; her desserts were piled into the main course plate and just stood there waiting to be devoured! Ah bliss! *and burp*

Go on; enjoy the sights of the drive. There are no pictures of the food because, err…I forgot all about the outside world as I savoured the delicacies of the Fariyas Sunday lunch buffet!

P.S: Eating isn’t all we did! The resort had a world of activities to explore – you could get your portrait made with the artist sitting by the pool or get your fortune read by the extremely intuitive & perceptive poolside astrologer (needless to say, Gary and I made a beeline for it :D No details on that front of course!) There was a wonderful water park with some pretty exciting rides and of course a kiddies’ paddling pool where the little brats were splashing about while their parents enjoyed a Mojito by the waters. *sigh* wish it didn’t end!

Cheers

Much Love TD

xo

Through his lenses!

Photography can be ADDICTIVE if only the photographer is passionate enough! And this Passion was something I lacked inspite of having a fancy DSLR *shame*

Guess what I still get a chance to flaunt some photography skills... thanks to my proud cousin who is following his passion being a architecture student!

Introducting Siddhant Hariname *drum roll* and a sneak peek of 'Beauty' through his lenses!

I know there are few pictures flowing out of our template layout but these pictures deserve that mileage, Don't they!

Cheers

DG for CC

xo

Terra Italia!

Just when I’d been yearning for a vacation to ITALY… Swat aka Swati (my sister-in-law, but that’s not what we call each other) booked us all for a Sunday brunch at Café Mangii. 

Introducing: Swat aka Swati (my sister-in-law, but that’s not what we call each other)

Ahem..not to mention, the oh so posh ‘Sunday brunches’ that have been a significant part of my lifestyle ever since I got married! *the luxuries of marriage*

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Café Mangii used to be one of those places you pass by every other day and think, ‘oh I HAVE to visit this café’. While my husband and in-laws had been there before, it was my first time. And I was as excited as someone boarding an aircraft for the first time! In spite of it being a bad rainy day, I was dressed for the ‘occasion’… I wonder if I sound like I’ve never explored life beyond gharki chaar deewaarein.

Mr. & Mrs. Santosh *eyelashes*

Anyhoo.. So I was finally at Café Mangii, surprisingly before time, that too on a Sunday! Maybe because this was as close to Italy as I was going to get, at least for then! We got a lovely table by the lake with drizzle and sunshine on the outside. I was handed the bar menu and unfortunately I had to respond with a ‘sarcastic’ BBM emoticon because it was a “DRY DAY” for some god forsaken elections *sob* 

wonder if these lights are 'Italian' in any way... can comment only after  I travel !! :D

However, this turned into an opportunity to explore the mocktails and soup menu. The food menu was extensive and the use of Italian words all around took me deeper into my ‘Italian Reverie’. Although I only wished the guy serving us was a ‘Marco’ or a ‘Francesco’ and not a ‘Rajendra’…. Creating ambience you see!

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So we did finally start ordering from the delizioso (delicious in Italian *eyelashes*) Italian menu (you might notice an exaggerated mention of ‘Italy’ or ‘Italian’ only because I’m dying to travel to ITALY!!!!).

To begin with, we had;

Peach e Mentamocktail (Peach Mint mocktail), Crema di Funghi (Mushroom soup), Granchi Dita (Crab Fingers) and Fondue.

Peach e Menta mocktail

Pepper Fondue

Granchi Dita

Crema di Funghi

Of course the food was unbelievably delizioso and with the service so quick, I was busy clicking the food, relishing it, talking about it, thinking about how I’m gonna miss this food while writing about it…*drooling*

Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar bottle... I Love! 

Following the fondue were bruschetta, gnocchi ,grilled rawas (ooppss…we need that Indian touch to any cuisine!), wood fired pizza, chicken lasagna….and really don’t remember if I’ve missed out anything!

Wood fired Pizza!!

Bruschetta

All bella, what was missing was our very own TD!

Hmm..…..And I escape into yet another wonderland of fettuccine and ravioli and err…Armani and Prada (a serving of Moda Italia was necessary *grins*)

Much Love


DG for CC
xo

Randomness - Part 1

So DG and TD were browsing through dusty archives and managed to dig up quite a treasure! These are lil snippets from the past that are totally worth sharing.

This tiny lil gem sparkled brighter than the rest and therefore, deserves first place in the Randomness journal!

CC's first coverage by an external publication! B-) FHM magazine decided to write a lil something about the CC women in their September 2011 issue and we if course, were more than happy to let them!

Read on and drool! ;-)

FHM's September 2011 Issue

Yet another COME BACK...!

Yeah….so….DG missed her flight and we all saw her anguish against Jet Airways (I’m not a huge fan either – personally think the Indian aviation industry is going to the dogs).

But wait a minute, she hopped on the next flight to Kochi and hello Kerala!

16^th Jan 2012: Emmanuval Sarees and ShahRukh “I’ll-endorse-anything” Khan staring down from its hoardings welcomed one and all to the fresh green landscape of Kochi! The air smelled pure, the quaint airport was the size of Churchgate Station and the hard-to-miss accent gave us a sneak preview of our little two day getaway to the “land of the forgotten” (as described by a peer).

Kerala Backwaters

To sum up the brilliant two day offsite – Taboo and Antakshari, Meen Manga curry and fresh filter coffee, Coconut Lagoon’s enthusiastic cheerful staff, hammocks & pool volleyball, the open air washrooms and the quintessential banana crisps, G-U-J-J-U and the introduction of Wilbur Sargunaraj, exchanging anecdotes over dinner, late night talks, crazy laughter, banana plantain meals……Kerala, we heart you!

Feb 2012: Introducing MVT. He’s tough, he’s fierce, he’s got the brawn and he’s got the brain. And he’s seeing our very own TD. (Yeah, only initials…no full names. What’s the fun right? Plus it’s SO CC!). So MVT + TD = lots of cupcakes, lots of “Happy 4th!”s, some 21s and many a Valentine’s rose *eyelashes*. DG would agree that romance is what keeps CC busy and going ;-)

Mr. MVT.... Keep Guessing ;)

Personalized cup cakes... across borders

March 2012: The DG wedding countdown is getting more nerve-racking by the day! But wait a minute!! What’s a wedding without a naughty bachelorette ;-) Yeahhh…no pictures here! Alright okay…one picture’s allowed…but just one. And what happens at the bachelorette, stays at the bachelorette!(Including a certain movie boy poster *winks*)

OK FINE....we'll let you see a couple of pictures

7^th April 2012: THE Sangeet! THE song! And the couple shakin it with THE steps! Oh yeah!! DG and San recreated 141 Coldershaw with ‘jaane kya hua hai…’ …and watta performance!

Jaane Kya Hua haii....
Spontaneous and absolutely applause worthy!  

13^th April 2012: It’s time for Haldi, Mehendi, glass bangles and some very rustic dancing ;-) The Gajare residence is alive with the cackle of laughter, women and children chit-chatting and singing, certain *ahem* friends of the Bride busy with self photography and updating bbm pictures *embarrassed emoticon* and the Bride being smeared shamelessly with kilos of turmeric! *I love our Indian weddings*

"Friends of the Bride busy with self photography and updating bbm pictures"

15^th April 2012: And D Day arrives. Our South Indian DG and her temple jewellery *God Bless* The rustle of kanjivaram silks, the long plaited hair and fresh flowers, the aroma of a wholesome South Indian breakfast and of course, the bride in her traditional nine yard silk. Something about our traditions…never ceases to amaze me how much of our culture is in our blood! We breathe India and exude Indianness. It’s charming….it’s beautiful…

And a CC wedding is just not complete without a grand reception and a classic Madhuri jig in the middle of it all! DG did us proud! (BTW, that lehenga weighs 10 kilos and has yards and yards of cancan underneath!! *whew*)

ek do teen....Oh so Madhuri!

8^th May 2012: *blush* it’s TD’s day again! How many of you remember the oh-so-long and I’m-an-old-hag-now birthday post from 2010? *smiles from the memories* Well yes, I’m older and not so panic-stricken now J Purple was the theme and was it followed to the T or what! The ‘Little Purple Box’ is the new the ‘Lil Blue Box’! One gift after another arrived every single day until D Day…and then came MVT with his signature swagger in a purple shirt! Did I mention DG’s purple sheer top as a birthday gift… where the Purple was just a co-incidence:-D

The Purple Factory

*Phew* So that quick-as-lightning recapitulation of CC’s activities since Jan was to bring everyone up to speed with what’s been happening…and does it seem like a lot has happened? Well, that’s always been the case with CC, hasn’t it? It’s a wham-bam-what’s-next life and from now Clandestine Cigarettes gets updates in a flash! That’s a promise CC intends to keep…

Much Love,

TD for CC

P.S: DG is now DS, but what’s CC without its DG right? <3