Madras, Margazhi, Music & More.

Hope 2018 is going good for everyone. We were in India for two weeks for the christmas holidays. The day we landed, we attended the Ranjani-Gayatri concert at Narada Gana Sabha and nothing we did in the rest of the trip matched that high point. Antu and I had the privilege to sit in the very first row and completely drowned in the duos music. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks during "charnam charanam Raghu Rama". Something totally magical happened the entire 2 hours 45 minutes and I can't put it in words even if I tried. Just a heartfelt thanks to the Universe.

The kids had a blast though Ashu never wanted to leave the house even there! Was hooked to the star movies and HBO channel and she watched like 4 movies a day! I kept my mouth shut. We went to Kumbakonam for two days and the kids were so upset that we were nt staying longer. It was good to see my grandmother who is 101 years old now. Good and heart breaking at the same time. Antu sang a few songs to her and it was such a sweet moment. It was so strange to go home when my mom was nt there. (She's in Canada.) I felt grown up finally! Adulting is hard.

Otherwise, the entire trip was one Food Marathon. Hd came with us on an India trip after like 5 years so we made the most of it and ate our weights worth! We also went for morning walks in the beach to balance it out a bit. New years eve dinner at Rain Tree was fantastic. Nothing like Indian hospitality. We were waited on hand and foot and the staff were so thoughtful and nice and surprised the kids with a gift, it was a memorable dinner! Hd and I left the kids and managed a dinner at Hamsa, which was out of the world! The decor, the plating, the staff,.. everything was extraordinary. The food was heavenly! But I don't understand the appetizer portion sizes in India. They are huge! Hd and I got greedy and ordered three starters and we could nt even finish them between ourselves and went straight to dessert after that. I think I have to go again next time to try their main course. But the Raw banana and pomegranate tikki and the apple jalebi (again 4 huge pieces which we could nt finish!) were sublime! Its best if we are at least a group of 4 people to go to any restaurant in Chennai. However do lone diners manage?

Wishing everyone a belated Pongal and hope 2018 brings all things wonderful!