Friends, Food, & Nagarjuna

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The ii pals I met for lunch on Wed 2 July @ the love-of-my-life-restaurant 'Nagarjuna'. Shee and I met downstairs and our usual enthusiasm, kick-ass-chick-fun, and bonhomie started:

Shee:"Aye, what ya Singapore you've settled off in aa? Chumma why you went off only I don't know."
Me:"Shut up ok Shee, what you're going off to UK no?"
Shee:"Aye no ya, I don't want to go only ya.."
Me:"Aye your mad aa? Why you don't want to go mein?"
Shee:"Go ya... who'll go so far. You also come back yaa…"

We reach upstairs and keep talking while the waiter is standing with a pained expression on his face; quickly I tell him a table for four.

Shee:"Aye listen ya..."
Me:"Shee you saw the look he gave us aa? Heheheh"
Shee:"Heheheh. Poor fellow ya, why you trouble him like this mein"
Me:"Me aa? You're the one who is going on and on, ok"
Shee:"Shut up ok, I've not said a word."
Me:"Yappa! What a lie! You were always a liar only Shee."
Shee:"Shut up okkkay". Aye, where we going ya?"

Meanwhile the ಚತ್ತ್ರಿ (clever? chalu? wily?) waiter has led us to the last table at the end of the world. Shee and I see the table and collapse into another fit of "hehehes" and the waiter makes his escape. While were are happily "you shut up ya, you shut up ya-ing" the waiter throws the menus at us and runs away to hide again.

Menu in hand and we have instant focus:

"Biryani or meals?... Which (which) chicken?... Chilly chicken is too spicy ya! No ya, I will die if I don't eat it, okay.... Aye you have Sholay Kebab ma, lovely it is. Is it?...... If it's not nice no... Aye it's nice ya, very nice, I am telling no? No fish aa?........ Aye I won't eat without fish ok?! Yappa!!! Who is saying no to fish ya......? Get fish no... Nobody wants prawns aa...?

Just then सबसे नज़रें चुरा के [hiding from all eyes] the boys arrive and ask us to spare them, the rest of the fellow eaters, and humanity is general, and stop our non-stop high-pitched jabbering। So we "shut up okkayyy" the boys in chorus and and hush up.

The order is placed and while the food arrives we catch up with each others news - about Venk's wedding, about Shee's job hunt, about VJ's study plans, about my time in Singapore. In our enthu to hear all and tell all, naturally the tempo of the jabber rises again. This time the boys join in too and as much as they would like to deny it, we are all going full throttle. The food arrives to save the day and us from the tempers of fellow eaters). Appearance of food on the scene has a magical effect on us, its like someone suddenly used the mute button on us.

The food, as usual, is lovely and we consume and consume and order more and consume. All in all, this is ordered and consumed:

- 1 Chicken Chilly
- 1 Chicken Sholay Kebab
- 1 Prawn Sholay Kebab
- 2 Fish Fry
- 4 Buttermilk
- 2 Meals
- 2 Chicken Biryanis
- 2 after Biryani Meals

Thus we spent over 2 hrs chatting, eating, and laughing. What's really sweet is that it's a week day and everyone except me is working and has very sweetly made time for this long ".com" type lunch break. Ah! Love my friends. Long live my friends! (If any of my friends' managers' is reading this, errr... free meal courtesy me @ Nagarjuna for you).

After polishing off Nagarjuna's day's supply for provisions we rolled down. Of course no meal in Nagarjuna is complete without a desert from Corner House aptly situated below. So we do 2 by 4 desert and sit around for another hour and finally I make my replete way back home with sole intention of sleeping off the food.

10 mints later:
~Beep-beep beep-beep~ [SMS tone]
Shee: Aye, how much we've eaten ya, I can't stay awake only, how am going to work?
Me: Roll-eye, ignore, and sleep.

1 min later:
~Beep-beep beep-beep~
Shee: You sleeping aa loafer? Am sitting in office and you are sleeping. Aye wake up ya, I can't stay awake only.
I succumb and reply: Go home and sleep no Shee. Why you troubling me?

20 secs later:
~Beep-beep beep-beep~
Shee: No ya I got work to do, can't go home. You sleep ya, what for you. Its holiday no for you.
Me: Small evil smile for full happiness (no strength for bigger smile) and sleep.

10 sec later:
~Beep-beep beep-beep~

Shee:You've gone to sleep aa loafer? Heheh

I have a feeling that this is going to take an ugly turn so I pre-empt my clever friend, turn off the offending phone and अपनी आँखें मूँद लीं [died in peace].

God bless Nagarjuna, their chef, their food, and most of all, my friends.