Salads at the lunch buffet.
I relished the opportunity to have a relatively “normal” lunch out today. That is, a lunch like I used to have with my friends back home — Western food, drinks, and interesting conversation. I go to these lunches every month or so in Mumbai, with some of the other crazy foreign women who are married to Indian guys and living in the city. It’s a great opportunity to share a laugh, experiences, and advice.
The venue is usually Out of the Blue restaurant, at the hotel Pali Hill in Bandra. A special Women’s Day lunch is held there every Wednesday. On offer is an all you can eat salad, pasta and desert buffet, along with a sizzler or barbecue main course. The cost: only 295 rupees (plus tax). For a bit of fun, there are also various fortune tellers, and a lucky prize draw as well.
I’m not too sure about the accuracy of the tarot reader though. At the start of the year, she told me without my asking, that I’d be pregnant with a boy in May or June. That is clearly not the case!
What really surprised me were the new additions to the group attending the lunch this time. It seems that women are coming from far and wide to settle in Mumbai with their Indian husbands! There are women from countries including Japan, Sweden, Germany, Eastern Europe, America, and Australia.
One woman had just returned to Mumbai to be with her Indian boyfriend after eight months apart. She’s here for four months, to decide whether she can live in India and move here permanently. It reminds me of myself and my husband three years ago!
My dose of “normality” didn’t last long though. Soon, it was time for me to get back to my new reality — starting with a train trip home on the crowded Mumbai local. Surrounded by screeching, sweaty women who were trying their best to shove me out of the way, I did feel just a bit envious of my friends heading home with their cars and drivers. Ah, but I’m so much more resilient and well adapted to this city than they are, I consoled myself!
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
What a trooper you are, I agree – hopping onto public transportation as you did. Just today discovered your blog, thanks to ExPat blog site. It’s delightful! I plan to stop back often.
(Oops – reposting: Please delete the earlier. I see that there I misspelled my website name. Thanks!)
ohh i love Out of the blue… i live in boston now… but Mumbai is where the heart is…what are ur other hang out places in Boston…
tell us more about it
also this group of foreign women married to Indian guys seems interesting
Oh I’ve been to that very same fortune teller! I happened to be wearing a baggy dress, she assumed I was pregnant. She also went through about five different professions till she hit upon one that was vaguely close to mine, then beamed widely and said , “I knew it!”
Sounds like a fun little group – and faaaar more interesting than the foreign women gatherings I’ve been to
dose of “normality”…..hehe … well a train ride in India will keep people grounded and grateful with what they have…. Did you just take one photo??
….. I was hoping to see a pic of the dessert. 
Hahaha you made me laugh with “crazy foreign women”, but yeah, it does feel this way sometimes….
Not sure if it is still on, but Out of the Blue used to have a foot massage along with lunch on Fridays. Too bad I am stuck with my daba lunch on office days… 
Eileen — Welcome!
I hope you’ll keep enjoying the blog.
Neha — I also like hanging out at Vie Deck and Lounge on Juhu beach for Sunday brunch. And the Ivy Wine Cafe (except they closed the Malad branch so have to go all the way to Versova now) for reasonably priced wine.
As for the group of foreign women married to Indian guys, I believe it was initially started as a support group (lots of women were having children etc. and needed to find out about good facilities) but it’s also a fun social group. I’m not sure how many people are members but there must be at least around 40 women. They range in age from 20s to 60s! So many interesting people.
desiderata – yep, it has a completely different focus to the expat groups. No expat “grumbling and groaning” to contend with, or the “I’m more superior than you” kind of expats.
That’s so funny about the tarot reader. She damn well threw my life into turmoil with that comment. I went back again with a friend a couple of months ago (after her prediction didn’t eventuate) and she told me I’d have a girl after a while! My mum went to her and was impressed about some of her comments. But again she made outlandish statements. She seems accurate about some things, but clearly not about others. Or maybe the accurate things are just generalisations we can relate to!
PGB — unfortunately the dessert is the most disappointing part! There are only a few varieties of cakes.
Jurate — yes! Friday Spa Days are still happening there.
It’s nice that you have this social group – familiar faces and what not. Do you have a group like this with young Indian women?
Unfortunately, no.
I haven’t had the opportunity to meet too many like-minded young Indian women in Mumbai. I’m at home most of the time working and looking after the house. It was different when I was living in Kolkata. I had a much better social life then!
“”I relished the opportunity to have a relatively “normal” lunch out today”"
“”On offer is an all you can eat salad, pasta and desert buffet, along with a sizzler or barbecue main course. “”
That sounds BORING to me food-wise…..
lol
Yep, it’s very bland. But sometimes, I do crave something, anything, without masala!
Perhaps today’s lunch of maha prasad would be more to your liking?
I just read this blog post that dose sound interesting I can imeange how sometimes you get lonley and want to have ” normaliy” that use to have it’s also nice that exphat woman have suppor t group like that