#2 (PART 2!)

Have you all seen that Dairy Milk advertisement – ‘Kiss me, close your eyes?’ They truly have the best advertising team. The bright color, the text that pops perfectly, that doesn’t take attention away from the ad, the actors. But most importantly, the smooth, rich chocolate, the goosebumps on seeing creamy, delicious delight flowing down silk, and the happiness you get from all that – it’s basically unmatchable.

You see, I have always wanted to experience that feeling. I thought that it couldn’t be achieved, that I had to watch Dairy Milk advertisements and satisfy my cravings for the rest of my life. I was mistaken then. At Leela Palace, where we stayed on our trip to Bangalore, I experienced that heart-stopping exhilaration from an actual melt-in-the-mouth, the actual happiness derived from food unimaginably blissful, that it actually makes your heart stop during the moments you consume them.

Choosing pictures from the gallery seemed rather a difficult task this time, because most of the pictures I captured on this trip of ours, was, well, food. Starters, main course, dessert, drinks, everything. And of course, our trip was made extra special because of the wonderful staff of Leela. My father, a regular visitor and a favorite, we learned, was warmly welcomed each time, and so were we. We were guided through the stalls of perfectly lined cuisine and were waited upon with exceeding care.

My routine was quite simple, actually. In the morning, I’d wake, brush, bathe, and go down, with or without someone, order breakfast or choose something from the buffet tables, gobble it up, and practically sprint back to the room (because I’d be enjoying the food, I’d lose track of time), for, and don’t be disappointed with me, attending my online classes. Yes, I did attend school from the hotel room, and yes, I did keep my video on and answer and take notes. But the classes were awfully enjoyable with the change in location, I have to say.

I occasionally started playing ‘Heat Waves’ on Spotify after class one day. That day, my mood was completely set on the song; I think I played it around 20-30 times on repeat, and I’m not even kidding. The next day, I was so engrossed in listening to M.S.Subbulakshmi amma’s Music Academy concert, and the bliss was amplified tons of times by the headphones I’d managed to evade from my brother’s possession somehow. The weather was greatly pleasing and awarded you the extra glorious appreciation of listening to good music, stretching, and of course, inevitably ending up with a book on the lounge chair.

On the last evening of our stay in Bangalore, we visited M.G.Road. It is a road bordered with upscale shops, and of course, occasional stalls. My father pointed out to me a bookstall replete with all the trending books, and I was surprised to see that their prices were so very low. As we walked on further down the road, my father whispered to me that they weren’t the legitimate copies, the actual prints of the books. “Duplicates?” I asked. He nodded with a smile. That small encounter was quite entertaining. But nothing was as entertaining and lively as compared to our visit to Higginbothams. Oh, how I love that bookstore. I would live there if I could.

I browsed columns of classics, old hard-backed Shakespeare plays, and the latest popular novels. Hastily, I even snuck in a sniff of the books (I have a weakness with new clothes, new books, and the like. The smell takes me to heaven) when nobody was watching. I made a mental note of all the books that I would later borrow from the library and followed my family, my brother clutching the bag with the purchase made. We visited ‘House of Candy’ and went to Starbucks for a quick caffeine shot as well.

I enjoyed the cold breeze every time I walked out onto Banglore’s climate from inside the warm stores. It would caress my face lightly, and sting the ends of my fingers and toes, and the feeling was remarkable. I watched the streetlights flicker, and the crickets chirp on the way back to Leela. I’ll always remember my first trip to Bangalore. It is funny to admit that in sixteen years, this was the first time I was visiting one of the most prominent and well-known cities of India, but I was glad. I was glad that I was old enough to remember the details of the travel, and I was glad that I had set my heart on another visit someday.