High Above the Maddening Crowd

            THOUGH it may not come under any ‘Heritage’ or ‘wonder of the world’ title, Dindigul’s  Balaji  Bhavan,Tamilnadu is surely a haven above the ground  for any local resident or visitor.

     We escaped from the crowded Bus Stand to Balaji Bhavan  one evening,  went past the crowd already eating/waiting for their parcels to be packed and took the lift to the roof top.

       It was my son’s birthday. And my daughter wanted to celebrate it in style.  We stepped out into the cool fresh air and took a few steps ahead. We were greeted by the sound of light romantic music. The dim lighting helped relieve the tension off my eyes(I became aware of it only after entering there).I was looking  at the young bamboo shoots and flowering plants and shrubs when we had to cross a small bridge. As I watched my step I saw fish pass just below my feet as water flowed under the bridge.

       Four or five young couples with small children were already seated around small tables.  A smiling waiter took us to an empty table towards the inside. Water jugs and small sauce pots were already placed on the table. Table mats of chart paper with quiz and puzzles for children were laid on the empty table. As we were relishing all these, the waiter served us the menu card. We asked for both mushroom soup as well as the usual tomato soup. Strangely though, the mushroom soup was not as good as the tomato soup. As we were ordering these, another waiter served the neighbouring table with something that was burning and smoking but  in a raw cabbage leaf. I held my daughter’s arm and pointed to the dish but my daughter whispered that it was a sizzler and that was the way it should be served. By the time we finished our soup, curiosity overtook my fear and I wanted a sizzler too.

  The children ordered spring rolls(tortillas), naan,( something like a big bun) and rumalli roti as the main dishes.These were mostly made of maida(white flour), which  had no nutritional value. But on seeing the children’s faces and comforting myself that it was only once a year, I kept quiet. The mushroom gravy topped with cottage cheese and cauliflower curry with mayonnaise were sumptous and  appetizing.

    We felt full but what is a celebration without a dessert? Each of us
had a milk shake of a different flavour with a generous topping of icecream. All these came within a surprising low bill. And to re-live the sweet memories we sure took a lot of photos in the funniest of poses you could think of!