Pick your god, pick your prescription… In India alone the choice is mind boggling- thousands, perhaps millions to choose from.
It’s Krishna’s birthday today and we’re having a celebratory drink, it’s a royal challenge* with thumbs up*, I royal challenge anyone to suggest a better way to shake the cabin fever blues… So how would you spend Krishna’s birthday? Me, I chose to stay in bed all morning watching some Hollywood dribble that’s not even worth naming(if I named it, out of some perverse urge you may just be tempted to watch it, and really, it is a complete waste of time), followed by ‘Snatch’- now that’s a film which makes me smile. For dinner we ventured into the old city to eat at ‘Luckies’- yes, we were feeling lucky. It’s on the Muslim side of town- a restaurant built over a Muslim graveyard- the tombstones feature throughout the restaurant, anonymous and bright(bright-BRIGHT) green, even they’re festive, and why wouldn’t they be, come one come all, lets all celebrate Krishna’s birthday(I think Krishna is smiling on me, even though I suggested some optical improvement, I’m sure he loves the thought of a multi-denominational birthday celebration, one that transcends all forms of religion!). Even the mosquitoes are celebrating, feasting on yours truly- Fiona ‘A la blood smorgasbord’, generally it’s kath they prefer, But today being a holy day (I like to think there’s something special about me) it’s me they want. I’m playing Russian roulette with our annoying little friends, I’m not taking malaria tablets because the medication upsets this delicate little flower’s system….
Getting back to ‘Luckies’, it would be the perfect place to be buried, daily there is life around you, the bustle of people, the enjoyment of food(I love food) and ooolala fresh flowers every morning! I had this romanticised vision of what ‘Luckies’ would be, crumbling gravestones, I pictured rust somewhere, a small, dimly lit, dinky room and even some grass poking through the cracks around the graves, but it was more like a truckers stop- Fluro lighting, booths, bench seating- nothing romantic, still a fantastic dining experience and disgustingly cheap- about $3AUS for both me and Kath. I’ve been neglecting my Indian friends for the greater good, trying to drag Kath out of the ‘exchange heavies’, she’s one unhappy cookie. Not so sure it’s working- she’s in bed, not half finished one drink and I’ve downed half the bottle, ha, once I’ve been royal challenged there’s no stopping me. Having said that I would like to dedicate this blog entry to Racquel Bactan the whisky drinking master who took me under her wing and made me what I am today.
Uni life has been uneventful, so I don’t really have much to report- steady progress with ceramics assignment.
*Royal Challenge- a blend of rare scotch and matured Indian malt Whiskies
*Thumbs Up- a sweetened carbonated beverage, think Coke-a-cola only less sugar(I think) and without the secret ingredient. After Independence from the British in 1947, India stopped most imports- thus no coke-a-cola, but they became masters at imitation, imitation everything. Thumbs Up was the answer to that multi-national drink(which I like to call the devil’s drink!). Since the nineties the international market has opened up, but Thumbs Up is still more readily available than Coke-a-cola.
