Namaste India

Kash and her dog Boo

Krushna at Dance Rehearsal with two child contestants

Practising in front of the mirror

Sweet Crispy Spinach with Garlic

Crab in the Shell

Gobi Manchurian! (my favorite)

Krushna with delightful sister:  Aarti Singh

Rice, Noodles

Dessert, Crispy Noodles with Honey

Manouj, our Butler Packing our Clothes 

Lots of folding!

God, I will be afraid to eat, for fear of spilling something on me

It was our final day in Mumbai and it is Maximum City. Where ever we go it is teaming with people, hustling to make a movie, hustling to make a buck, hustling to get ahead. The Taj for us, is the symbolic center of Mumbai, and I am sure that is why the terrorists attacked it. The Staff is unbending to the pressure to make everything perfect. They all know our name and greet us, they have a commitment and service level that goes beyond anything we have ever experienced anywhere. Our wonderful butler, Manouj, said no need to check out he would do it all for us in our room, (just as we had checked in the room).

We spent the morning making a few more purchases for the wedding (date not set yet) and simply had to await the arrival of my bespoke suits I had ordered from Burlington, located on the ground level of the Taj. They will make you any suit or sari overnight, you then return for a fitting, where adjustments are noted, and the next day the perfectly tailored items are ready to be shipped home. They promised the clothes at 2:20pm, so we had a few hours to kill.

We had purchased lots of clothes, books, etc. over our stay in Mumbai. Manouj our Butler, offered to pack everything for us. We did nothing but watch and observe his technique. He refolded many garments that we had sloppily folded and when he was finished all of the items were perfectly placed in the locked suitcases ready for their return to the America. I only wish we could have put Manouj in a suitcase and brought him back. Butler service has a lot going for it!

We left the Taj about 3:15pm and proceeded up north to Kashmera’s and Krushna’s Apartment. Our driver started out in a bit of a huff, because he wanted to take us to the airport directly, late at Midnight. I am sure it was all about the tip he would receive. More hours, more tip. It finally got straightened out and he did as we wished. Normally to drive to North Mumbai, people take a Marine Drive along the Arabian Sea and then take the Worli Sealink which is like a long bridge  over part of the Arabian Sea shortening the drive time substantially. Our drivers language skills were poor, but he communicated to us the costal route was too crowded. He took a parallel interior route. It took longer (more time – bigger tip perhaps), and avoided the coast to save him the fees for the taking Worli Sealink. Maybe he thought this was the better way. We will never know. However, it was an interesting route thru many neighborhoods, we have never seen before. There are lots of flyovers on this road. Flyovers are common in Mumbai, I can’t think of any in Los Angeles. Basically, as you drive down a road, you approach what to us looks like a freeway ramp directly in front of you. You drive up the ramp and are then driving on elevated roadway, no cross traffic, fewer cows, no one attempting to park. The flyover goes for a few hundred yards then descends and exits back onto the original crowded road. You are back to crazy traffic, then maybe a few hundreds yards further, another flyover appears. It is like a disconnected freeway. Why they just don’t connect all the flyovers is beside me. It would speed up traffic immensely.

We arrived at Kashmera’s complex and offloaded our luggage from our driver, I adequately tipped him and all was forgiven. Ganesh is Kashmera’s Driver. He is excellent, he helped us schlep the luggage up to her Kash’s apartment. Her housekeeper, Suresh, a young man, was busing making tea, cleaning things up and generally making the house work. He is very quiet and never said a word as he silently brought out dresses to show Cathy and then placed them away. 2 carpenters were working in another room creating beautiful locked closets for Kash’s outfits and jewelry. A dress designer who has designed outfits for Kash for 10 years was also there. She has great spirit and was quite funny. She took Cathy and my measurements. We don’t know why, but I assume more wedding clothes will appear. Hopefully the wedding will happen while I am still this size. If worse comes to worse Cathy and I could open the first Indian Wedding Shop in Silverlake with all of the clothing we have purchased for this unscheduled extravaganza.

Cathy, Kash and I piled into Ksh’s Audio Q7, it is a very posh SUV-like vehicle, they also have a new Mercedes among 5 cars. Ganesh, Kash’s driver, took us over to a rehearsal hall where Krushna was working on a dance routine with two young children. This is a dance completion for youth. Krushna is a HUGE TV star and the show will be hit. I had never observed a dance rehearsal before, the choreographer, dances to the left and rear, of the dancers. If they forget the steps the need only look in the mirror and mimic the choreographer. I was amazed to find out they had only an hour before been shown the steps by the chorographer. They practiced a little more, tomorrow rehearsal and filming we hope they win. It is a very fast process. We will see how it works for Cathy and I when we need to learn to dance for the wedding.

On the way back from the rehearsal hall we stopped to buy some wine and Gin. They debated if Krushna should actually get out of the car for he would be mobbed. I went with him, people spoke to him and he gave away his mobile number to someone. I guess I was the designated bodyguard. I performed my task admirably, or at least successfully enough we weren’t mobbed. Krushna driver, Shiva, drove Krushna’s car back to the apartment, while Ganesha drove us all back to the apartment for a bottle of wine and a Gin and tonic and then we all left about 9pm for dinner. Surprisingly to me, Krushna who was exhausted by this time had chosen to go to a nearby Chinese Restaurant: China 1. On the way we picked up Krushna’s sister Aarti Singh, who is a also an actress. She is very charming with no attitude, just like Krushna and Kash. She has a very warm relationship with her big brother; it was heartwarming to see the two of them together.

We have never been to a Chinese Restaurant in India, I also expected the worse, but Krushna insists that Chinese food India is better than in China, because the add Indian Spices. It was amazingly good. However, the spicy dishes can by seriously spicy. They knew we were spice wooses and ordered some milder dishes. This is a place we will go back to when we return for wedding. They served great food; we had a dish I have never before experienced, Crispy Spinach which was excellent. Chopped up Spinach fried to a crisp with garlic and slightly sweetened: it was great!  We had many more dishes including my favorite Gobi Manchurian,  a Crab Dish in the shell, Dim Sum and a Honey Noodle dessert, noodles, rice, shrimp, fish, etc. Plus they serve wine. Krushna, a man after my own heart, ordered way too much. It was a bountiful dinner. Tim, this place is for you.

We returned to the apartment and said our sad goodbyes. In only 2 weeks Kash and Krushna will be coming to the States to stay with us for 10 days. We are really looking forward to returning the hospitality they have shown us. The adventure will then continue.

Ganesh drove us to the airport. We weren’t looking forward to the chaos of the Mumbai Airport, the International Terminal that we hoped to use won’t open till next month. The new Mumbai International Terminal hovers over the airport, like a giant space ship. It will be amazing when opened. We had some trepidation about going to the Airport, we had lots of luggage and it can be quite chaotic. When Ganesh pulled up to the departure gate, someone asked if we flying on Virgin Atlantic and then asked if we were Upper Class. As soon as they found out, the waters parted for us. We were whisked through emigration and security in special lines avoiding the masses. We went to the lounge and awaited the call for our 3am flight. As soon as I got on board I asked for glass of Champagne, and drank it with a sleeping pill. They made up my bed, I changed into the pajamas they offered me and 8 hours later I awoke 1-½ hours from London. Once we arrived at Heathrow, and were cleared to the Virgin Atlantic Club Upper Class Club House, we planned maximum use of our layover. Long Massages, Showers, Cathy getting her hair blow-dried, facials. Serious Pampering. Plus they have great food and wine. Needless to stay they have wifi, so I can publish the blog. This is another place we could move into!

The Indian Vacation was fantastic. We have much to reflect on, many books to read that we purchased because of Jaipur Literary Festival, a Fabulous wedding demanding our return to India and dance steps to learn. India is having a national election and we feel connected to it. It will be fun to watch the politics unfold. The next few months will be fantastic!

Wedding - When is the Big Day?

Drinks at Taj with Kash 

Camembert Dariole Soufflé 

Pomfret 

Tiger Shrimp

Chocolate Mousse

Spun Sugar

Note written on leaf, on our bed

Again we had breakfast on outside on our patio, as we watched the sun rise. Do we ever have to checkout? Every once you read about some one who lives an extended stay in a luxury hotel. Warren Beatty lived for years at The Beverly Wilshire. I can understand why! Unfortunately this is our penultimate day at the Taj before starting our long journey home. The Taj is the place for us. They clearly know us from our many stays and always strive to make each visit more memorable than the last.

We were picked up by Kash’s driver and driven towards North Mumbai to Juhu, a very upscale beach community where we met Kashmera for a buffet lunch at the Marriot. The drive thru Bandra is charming. Bandra was an old Portuguese fishing village: it has narrow winding tree-line streets. There are lots of old mansions and houses. Many movie actors live in Bandra from Shah Rukh Khan to Salman Khan, to Aamir Khan, in fact, if your name is Khan you must live in Bandra.

The Marriot will be the focal point of the wedding when it happens in late April, May or early June. The great drama of the moment is trying to fix the date. No such simple task as in America – happy couple picks a date and gets married. In India there are major considerations in fixing a day. It must be an auspicious day, it can’t be a fast day (Monday), it can’t be a vegetable day (Tuesday), it can’t be an day with an unlucky number, it can’t be in the month you were born, it can’t be in the month when another family member, no matter how distant is getting married, it best not be in a very hot month, even worse it shouldn’t be during Monsoon season. It is great if it is on your aunt’s birthday. It is desirable to be when airline tickets are off-peak. The Pandit-ji must decide from horoscope ranges of days that are potential for the marriage. It must be close enough to the engagement that the groom doesn’t have a chance to change his mind. The multiple wedding venues desired must not be booked. It can’t be on a national holiday when you can’t drink. Forget Gandhi’s birthday can’t get married then. Eventually a day will be set for Kash and Krushna’s wedding and we will be in attendance and participating.

In anticipation of that fine day - actually 5 days of events plus some built in hangover days this will be a Punjabi flavored Bollywood wedding after all– party till you drop; we continued our shopping for wedding outfits. We will be featured guests and that creates a major problem. Cathy and I will be required to perform a Bollywood dance number in front of 500 guests. Cliff is not noted for his dancing skills. We will have to come to India about 5 days before the wedding to start dance rehearsals! Kashmera’s choreographer will work with us daily to learn our Bollywood dance. Actually as much as the thought of learning the dance frightens me, the idea of actually being able to perform a Bollywood Dance no matter how clunky it will be brings smiles to my face. If we can pull it off, it will be great, if we fail, they can say they booked us as the comedy act. The saving grace is that all 500 people will hopefully be drunk before we perform our dance.

We went from store to store looking at clothes for the wedding, Kashmera usually has a body guard in public but she slipped him and I was the stand in, as people recognized her. Cathy chose a 2^nd Sari and I a white dhoti, shirt and vest with Blue accents. Not my usual jeans for this series of events.

We returned to the Taj in early evening so that Cathy and I could have our fittings for the clothes we had made to order. They took adjusts to one of my suits and assured me the other will get the exact same modifications. Both will be delivered tomorrow. Cathy’s sari looked great and she needed only modest adjustments to her top.

By then we were ready for drinks by the pool. It was a beautiful night, and being outside in the tropical air, warm with just a touch of humidity was a delight. The multiple gin and tonics definitely added to the enjoyment.

We had an exceptional dinner at the Zodiac Grill at the Taj. Cathy and I had never before eaten at the Zodiac, for Kash it brought back memories of previous dinners she had experienced there. This was white glove service of the highest order. Piano playing softly in the corner, waiters in tuxes, free flowing Champaign, witty conversation with the maître d, great breads and all the while we were casually dressed in jeans and sandals. In the movie version I would have been in a Tux looking like Cary Grant. Instead I am in the real life version looking like Woody Allen. Tuesday is a veg day for Kash. The most famous dish on the menu is an appetizer: Camembert Dariole. It is a small extremely rich and light Camembert soufflé in a delicious sauce. This is one of those last meal request kind of dishes. Or perhaps it is so rich it will be our last meal. I had Shrimp, Cathy Pomfret. The meal was topped off with a chocolate mousse and candies. Then they once again the Taj blew our minds. They brought out a giant magical puff of spun sugar. Maybe 65 years ago, when I was a child we use to go to Euclid Beach in Cleveland, Ohio and I would always have spun sugar, I haven’t had it since. The taste brought back to me all the memories from so long ago. Why in Mumbai it was served to us I don’t know, but I am glad it was. We staggered up to our hotel room for a nights sleep. On our pillow was a note from the housekeeping staff, written on a leaf. Nice touch!

Kash has planned some memorable events for tomorrow. The basic plan is that we will spend the morning at the hotel, pack then pick up our finished clothing about 2pm and be driven to meet Kash.  Krushna will have returned from a film shoot and is anxious to join us for a rollicking final day. We will have dinner with Kash and Krushna then eventually arrive at the airport about midnight. Our flight leaves for London at 3am. After a layover in London the return flight to the States.

Shopping in Bombay

Sunrise view from our private balcony 

All I want to do is take a shower!

Sorry, you have to wear a Sari

Lunch at the Taj

Nice location for glass of Wine

Calamari at Trishna

Butter Garlic Crab, Pomfret Hyderabadi, Jeera Rice

Kulfi not Coffee

Cognac and Chocolate

Bed, Prepared

We spent the day shopping in Bombay. We are very familiar with the Colaba area around the Taj and felt comfortable just walking around. My vow is to give away to goodwill two items for each one I buy. That way I am will be at least able to justify my shopping by thinning my closet. Actually I won’t be give to Goodwill, although that’s a good option, but instead we have been giving our good, yet unused clothing (doesn’t fit etc.) to a college drama department where they can use the clothes for their theater productions.

We had breakfast outdoors on our patio, watching the sunrise over the bay. Although you see water, it is the bay not the Arabian Sea, Bombay is a peninsula that is surrounded by water (sort of an upside down version of San Francisco). From our room we see the sunrise, not the sunset.

I decided to have a bespoke suit made for me at the Taj. They must have taken 20 different measurements. Now I can't gain or loose any weight. Cathy and I differed on the color of the linen (it is to be a summer suit) and I, of course, bowed to her superior tasteful judgment. A custom made suit, is a joy to wear and I look forward to it. 1^st fitting is tomorrow. The tailors work all night.

The cost for the custom suit? $ 250.00. When I started to think about the price, and thought about the color I originally wanted, I immediately requested a 2^nd suit in my choice of  color. Cathy is getting a sari! Who would have thought? We are ready for our big Bollywood wedding in May!

We returned to the Taj after shopping at some of our favorite stores and had lunch by the pool. There were some Bollywood DVD’s we wanted to buy and we walked to a DVD store, where they had most of what we wanted. Along the way we passed the Modern Art Museum (closed today) but will return to it in a couple of days, there is a show we want to see.

As were returning towards the Taj we passed the Regal Cinema, one of the oldest theatres in Bombay. Jai Ho, its a new movie with Salman Khan was about to start, so we decided to buy tickets. We were in the the dress circle (first rows of the balcony). Signs warned "beware of pickpockets". The theatre wasn't filled so there was no worry. They play the National Anthem and everyone stands before each performance. The movie was entirely in Hindi with no subtitles, but it was such a formula movie we could follow. Good guy (Salman Khan) beats up bad guys (everyone else). 

After the movie we had a leasurily walk back to the Taj and had drinks by the pool. There is something about a Gin and Tonic in India at the Taj, that brings back a feeling from a bygone era. The Raj was fool’s errand but it left its mark for good and bad on both India and Britain. I can’t quite understand the Indian’s fascination with all things British (cricket highest among them), but they do love to emulate their former masters.

After drinks on the patio, we retired to our room for drinks on our deck (do I detect a pattern?). We finally took a taxi to Trishna, our favorite restaurant in Bombay. It specializes in fish. They recognized us from previous visits and I hardly needed to order they knew well what we wanted: Butter Garlic Crab (out of the shell), Pomfret Hyderabadi (in a black pepper fried preparation), Crispy Calamari, Jeera Rice (made with cumin, coriander, butter and cilantro) and Naan. Add a bottle of white wine and it is a perfect meal. We ended with Kulfi (the traditional ice-cream like dessert).

We returned to the Taj for cognac and chocolates in their Palace Club Room.

Before finally going to sleep I finally finished Donna Tartt’s 770 page epic novel The Goldfinch. Tomorrow we will spend with Kashmera.

We Could Live at the Taj Forever

Pizza for Lunch 

Office Room in our Suite at the Taj

Living Room

Glassed in Toilet 

Appetizer Chips

Chicken Tikka Marinated in Pickles 

Vegetable Biryani and Naan

Kulfi not Coffee

We decided to spend our last day in Udaipur at the hotel. It was such a nice environment and the weather was the best yet. I had an exceptionally fine massage, Cathy read by poolside.

For lunch we ate Pizza of all things (the chef had spent time in Italy). It was quite good and the outdoor setting overlooking the lake and palace were magnificent. We finally finished packing and set out for the airport. It was sad to leave our driver Vijay. He has been with us the entire trip and we think of him as family. We hope to see him again.

The flight was delayed 45 minutes, which by Indian Airlines counts as an on-time departure. The short flight of an hour and 15 minutes or so was made enjoyable for they were playing Shah Rukh Khan’s latest movie: Chennai Express. A comic adventure that he excels in making. It was fun. We then arrived in Mumbai: known as Maximum City. It is hot, vibrant and striving. It goes 24 hours a day non-stop.

While waiting at the luggage carousel we experienced a typical Indian drama. Everyone is packed around the carousel awaiting their luggage. It is quite jammed. All of a sudden a women starts screaming at the man next to her. Her husband joins in at the top of his lungs. Then the man she is screaming at screams back at her. A couple of his buddies add to the screaming. We think at anytime guns are going to break out. I am looking for things to hide behind. I notice none of the other people around us are re-acting at all. The screaming continues, reverberating thru the hall. I look around and see some cops, expecting them to break things up. They watch bemusedly. The screaming continues, the luggage arrives, and they two hostile camps depart. Hindi has probably the richest collection of swear words in the world. Apparently there is an added dimension of loudness that emphasizes you antagonism. The duration of the yelling adds yet another layer of complexity. I guess they blow off steam that way and don’t come to blows. Since it is non-violent I wonder if Gandhi would approve. I have no idea what the issue was, perhaps the man touched the woman by mistake or not, no matter. It was all over.

The drive to the Colaba area of Mumbai wher the Taj is located was incredibly slow. The weather in Mumbai is hot, it is a national holiday: Republic Day (which meant depressingly no alcohol can be served) and there is giant Festival going on in Worli along the beach, an area of Mumbai we have to drive thru. All of Mumbai appears to be at the festival. We finally arrive at the Taj about 9:30. We are expecting to be slightly disappointed in our room, because last January we had such a spectacular suite.

They took us to our suite and it was fabulous. There was a welcoming bottle of wine for us – apparently the Taj does serve alcohol – yea!), giant living room, separate office room, huge bedroom and amazing bathroom, with something we have never seen before: a completely glassed inclosed toilet and bidet. Is it a statement on Indian food? The wondrous part of the suite is that it is on the corner of the top floor of the historic palace wing with views in all directions of the harbor. Plus and this blew our minds it has two outdoor private balconies. I didn’t even know that Taj had outdoor balconies. We have been here many times and I had never noticed them.

Our butler for the suite brought us wine to relax before we ate. We finally went down at 10:30 for dinner at Masala Kraft, the hotels Indian Restaurant. After starters we had Chicken Tikka where the the chicken was marinated in Indian Pickles before being placed in the Tandoori. We shared a vegetable biryani and a bottle of wine.

Udaipur Palace and Shopping

View of the Lake Palace from Palace 

The Palace Complex 

Shopping

Breakfast on our private patio

Something simple for the wedding!

Udaipur is the most romantic and beautiful city we have been to in India. It is clean, much cleaner than many of the cities we visit. It is built around lakes and many of the hotels and restaurants have lakeside views and access.

The ruling family the Mewars have ruled since 566. They say it is the oldest ruling dynasty in the world. They were never defeated, apparently they didn’t bow down to the Mughals or the British. At any rate they obviously choose a fabulous place to build their Palace. It was the current Maharana’s son the Prince that was married the night before last. They have given up all political power, but have kept economic power. We spent over 3 hours on a tour of part of the Palace. It is quite grand. After the Palace tour we went on a private boat ride around the lake. I thought it would be hokey, but we actually enjoyed it. The lake is dominated by the Palace that overlooks it, but just a few hundred yards out from the Palace in the middle of the lake sits the famous Lake Palace which is owned by the Mewar but run as a hotel by the Taj group. I think next visit we will stay there, just to see what it is like. The Lake Palace was built as a summer retreat from the palace. It is probably the only summer residence in the world that is only 300 yards or so from the main house.

We then went jewelry shopping. How do you say “Sharpen your pencil in Hindi?”. I had fun negotiating with the jewelers. The whole family gets involved; the price is not only based upon negotiation, but lucky numbers. I quickly figured out no matter what the lucky number is, it makes a big difference where in the sequence of the price it is placed. I had them laughing as I moved it to what was most advantageous for me, then switched currency on them using their lucky number. We were both happy at the outcome.

We went back to the tailor where they were making some custom jackets for us, for a 2^nd fitting. From there we went to Jagdish Hindu Temple the oldest in Udaipur and were blessed by the priest. I gave special thanks for the return of my bargaining skills. I guess I would have been praying to Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth). From their we returned to our hotel, for wine and outdoor dinning. The weather here has been magnificent, the best we have had on this trip. Most people that come to India for the first time visit the Golden Triangle (Agra – Taj Mahal, Jaipur the pink city with lots of jewelers, Delhi the magnificent capital) they should add in Udaipur the romantic city on the lakes.

Thru the magic of Apple’s FaceTime we were able to comfort John who was in Hanoi, Viet Nam. He was suffering with a bad bout of Delhi Belly which the Indians call “Loose Motions”. He was alone in his hotel room, but had wifi. Soon we were video chatting as he sat on the toilet. I think we cheered him up to know he wasn’t alone, we recommended some medicine that hopefully the hotel went out and purchased for him. Ah the joys of technology.

Tomorrow we will spend the day at the hotel getting a massage (the Spa is the highest rated one in India) and then depart in the late afternoon for Mumbai.