The Vista Dome train!
"You have to come and see me before I die!" How can anyone be more dramatic?
This was the phone call I received from Chandrahas Kutty a really old friend from my days in Sophia College , Mumbai. I was sent to study in Mums Alma Mater from New Delhi and one of those idiotic Jam Sessions the colleges did -- inviting other colleges to attend was where we met. A long haired hippe looking character in a jubba and Kholapuri chappals. I was just intrigued cause he was top of the class in Sydenham Collage of Commerce but beyond that -- his heathen status put me off.
His father was like mine -- a service man -- in the Army in Delhi. Col Kutty was a Malayali posing as a Mangalorean with his Mangalorean, Lobo wife. Throughout my life I stayed in touch all through the loss of his first wife to asthma in Costa Rica where they lived, to his remarriage a few years later to a Sri Lankan woman.
So Steve booked tickets for us on the Vista Dome - a fancy train which allowed one to enjoy the greenery we passed. It was nothing to crow about -- imagine wasting a whole day in the train from 7am looking at stuff we saw, much better while going to Goa. Anyway the coffee bushes we passed were something different and once in a while a blazing Palash tree in the jungles lifted my spirits.
Gadbad icecream!
We went to the Summer Sands resort for lunch one day and ofcourse the St Aloysius College chapel and met my old St Joe's college principal Fr Praveen Martis who's the big man there. The chapel needs a whole story of its own it was so outstanding!
Sunbun left a car and driver at our disposal and we roamed wherever we wanted. I hate shopping so that was fine and our beaches in Goa are much nicer, so we avoided the beach. But he took us everywhere for sea food.
Ofcourse we lived in his brand new 15th floor apartment where he escapes to all the time from Delhi's pollution. I wont go back ever cause its still a small one hick town from the days we went with the boys for their Nationals.
Coming back to Bangalore, we took an over night sleeper which brought us straight to the Cantt Station. So much easier than Yeshwanthpur! We jumped into a three wheeler auto and we were home and dry.
