A Sunday To Remember!

“Sundays come Sundays go,
Signalling the end of the weekend
Pessimists sulks in the agony of Monday blue
An optimist rejoices, sinks deep and enjoys the Sunday”

Sunday the 07 December 2009 was indeed a day I had not foreseen to have fun, but boy what a Sunday it turned out to be. My Sundays are usually the same, no different from the previous ones. But the last few weeks I had sensed within me certain welcome changes from within. Yet I had not planned anything different for this Sunday of mine. 

I was casually sitting on my bed, post breakfast reading the Sunday Times. A phone call from a close friend changed it all. He gave me an hour to get ready and reach his place, for what awaited me after reaching there, the events I became part of subsequently changed the way my Sundays usually are.

Well before I proceed further let me tell you all, I don’t propose that my Sunday was better than anyone else’s in the world. But to me it was special because I found myself being genuinely happy and enjoying it all. It’s not the perfection of the day; there wasn’t anything perfect as such. Rather the sheer imperfect, unexpected events unfurling made the day special.

It all started with meeting my close friends girl friend. Two is company three is crowd people say so. Well I felt I might just become the third guy who is going to make it a crowd. When my pal said his girl friend is going to come along with us , I felt like Ted stuck between Marshal and Lilly. Now Ted, Marshal and Lilly are the characters from one of my favourite sitcoms called “ How I met your mother”. Although these days I feel more like Barney my favourite character in the sitcom, the wacky guy with his own school of thoughts and theories. Barney always has something to say about literary everything around him in his own off the wall way.

It turned out to be really nice meeting getting to my pals girlfriends place, now apart from the three of us there where two more new additions the girls sister and her friend. Well so now I had met three new people and as they say more the merrier. We then zipped across the New Worli sea link bridge, Mumbai’s very own Manhattan bridge. Destination World Trade centre , Cuffe Parade. We were headed to “ Upper Crust”, Expo exhibition for Food & Wine. 

Well this expo exhibition was fun event, the best part was it was about two most important things which make any man happy, Food and Wine! Another friend of ours joined us at the event, so now it was one more to the gang.

Hmmm.... well serve a man delicious food and give him a bottle of his favourite drink and he sure will be happy as no one else. Ah! The chocolates on display were amazing. Although I didn’t taste any of the wines on display out there, but I did taste the chocolates and it was amazing. Did someone say chocolates are only for women! Man O Man you got it wrong we men Love chocolates too.... And Of course no words minced in expressing the delight heart felt, to be in the company of excited bunch of new found friends.

Once we were done with “Upper Crust”, We headed to our next stop. A Dance Workshop in Worli! Well the exclamation mark (!) cause Dance workshop is something I have never attended ever. I am known for the two left foots I have! He He He He.... Except for an occasional jig when I am drunk or hip shake coupled with foot tapping with my sister at home, I have never danced. But I have always appreciated the talent in others for dancing. 

So there I was standing amidst plenty of others for an hour long dance workshop. Initially I was quiet unsure If I wanted to do this. I probably would be making a fool of myself with my miserable inability to dance. But then I saw this Old man must be round about 70 years, Jiving with fun and enjoying himself. And then I was like, “What the heck if he can So can I!” So the next one hour was my best of the day. I was pathetic in catching up with the master and the rest, but seldom did I think twice for a moment. I truly enjoyed it, laughed at my own goof ups, everyone around seemed to be enjoying. There were many out there who probably had never danced much before. So all In all it was quiet liberating and invigorating. Dancing with strangers I have never met and whom I may not meet ever again.

We hanged around the dance class for a while after the workshop and then we headed to what was supposed to be our last pit stop of the day. It was late evening now; sky was getting darker with every passing moment. We reached our last spot for the day on the never planned itinerary, what my gang of friends said was the best chat stall in Ville Parel, Mumbai. And truly it was worth every penny. The Pani Puri was a deadly deal! I simply couldn’t stop relishing on it, the flour cups filled with spicy chaat water and stuffed with potatoes and dal. The crunching sound you here when the cup breaks in your mouth and the spicy juice flows down your throat, the feeling is amazing.

And that was supposed to be the last event for the day and I thanked my new found friends for the amazing time I had. Me and Kunal (the close friend who planned all this for me) then headed to the railway station and catch a train back home. So I thought this is it, the end of an amazing Sunday........ “Well the end! Not yet my boy... the icing on the cake still awaits you...” guess that’s what I didn’t hear in my mind but sure It was true. There was something more waiting to be unwrapped for the evening.

There was this guy in the train playing SARANGI (An Indian musical instrument which I believe belongs to the same family as that of Violin). He belted out some awesome melodious songs of yesteryears. He was no renowned player just a common man playing the instrument for his living. But his talent caught everyone’s attention and people sat spellbound. We guys couldn’t stop ourselves from tipping him handsomely. The whole half an hour journey back home was made memorable and I was transported into a different zone in the company of music he played. As I was about get down from the train I walked up to him to ask more about the instrument he was playing. And when I got off the train I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the kind of miserable life the man might be leading despite being bestowed with the talent. But then as people say.... “Life has its own plans for everyone regardless of what plans we make for ourselves.”

All in all it was a memorable day with plenty of action, things learned with fodder to think about and it bestowed me with a smile as I went off to sleep. The thing I desire the most the SMILE!