Dud Sea Scrawls The Writing, clearly, is not on the wall!

Kculon calls me wednesday evening to confirm the DSS meeting on thursday at 7:00PM in front of Mainland China on Church Street. We plan to meet up and go together.
Thursday: I’m busy most of the day nursing a heavy head, blocked nose and upset tummy, but unable to get any rest as there’s too much work. Kcu calls me at about 5:00PM and asks me to meet him near Jayanagar by 6:30PM where he’d be meeting a friend. We decide to leave kcu’s car parked where it is and take an auto. 7:00PM and we are stuck in massive traffic as the auto driver tries every trick in the book to weave in and out of harm’s way. 7:05PM Chay calls to know where I am. I tell her that I and kcu are stuck in traffic and she says “My god, everyone is late!!!” I apologise blaming the traffic [ though I know we are to blame for starting late without considering the chaotic Bangalore traffic and the superb runways mundanely called roads, which, in the best of times can be hell on appointments ]
We finally manage to reach Mainland China at 7:30PM, exactly half an hour late. We look around to see where everyone were. No one in sight. I curse mobile phone, thinking we’ve been led into a elaborately planned hoax, but call chay just in case… She says they are close by and as I look around again I see a vague shape silhouetted some distance away waving an arm in the general direction of Mainland China. We walk to ‘Kaycees’ a small eatery in the basement which serves excellent coffee and food catered by the famous ‘Prakash Café’ of Chamarajpet. Chay is standing there and we exchange greetings and ask about the others even as we spot Ananthp and IBLU sitting inside. Chay says others will be coming around soon. Ananth has already started on an ‘akki roTTi’, kcu is hungry too so he orders a snack and I get myself a coffee. We wait for Ano and chetiyaar to join us. Snacks finished we get out of the place as Ano and her daughter arrive, chet! arrives at about the same time. We stand and discuss for a while, deciding which place to go and settle down comfortably to chat. As Mainland China, Museum Inn, Bheema’s, New Empire get eliminated along with a chettinad place, we shortlist two places… Queen’s; a quaint little place serving delicious authentic north Indian food and Three Quarters Chinese, the other quarter of which is Avadhi. Ano is not well and would not be staying back for long and after a few minutes of general chit chat, she leaves, hoping to meet chay again soon. We walk the couple of hundred feet distance to Queen’s and book a table for six. The steward tells us it’ll be about ten minutes wait. We wait for twenty minutes before deciding that it’s pointless to just stand around waiting, so we go to Three Quarters Chinese. As I remark that the usher at TQC is pretty, Chay sends IBLU with me as a minder, just in case I get into trouble flirting with the usher We find a nice comfortable place and settle down for a long anticipated dinner meeting. Ananth asks Chay if she’s got enough cash or a valid card, as she’d be paying the bill… As Chay looks at each one of us in disbelief we nod agreement that it’s indeed her chance to foot the bill. Then she says she’s got only about a thousand bucks as she’d not planned about it and the place looks awfully expensive.
We look at the menu and are spoilt for choice… cannot decide what to order. Chay wants a piece of lemon to go with her water. Someone comments that Chay maybe served the water kept for the finger bowl next. The waiter is hardselling a litchi flavoured mocktail, only Ananth is upto the dare. Kcu wants to know what a mocktail called ‘Mickey Mouse’ is made of, the waiter says ‘red syrup with 7Up’, kcu is curious to know what that red syrup is… waiter doesn’t know. So kcu passes it and opts for a soup. We order a peppery lemon soup which is delicious and very light… Discussion is very general and animated with wise cracks coming from all sides… Books, movies, music, food and politics… chay wants recos for good food places… We take our time and decide on the food, a mix of chinese and north Indian dishes, in between discussions. Chet! gets an emergency call from office and has to leave midway. He’s just finished the soup and has not even started on the starters. He leaves promising to catch up next time. Food is good, though the service is a tad slow… The steward brings the bill and as if he’d heard us discuss, places the bill in front of Chay… There’s a feedback form along with the bill: Big mistake that. Chay promptly fills in honest criticism as kcu pays by card and we go Dutch dividing up the cost amongst us four. Chay has been spared for another big bill. The steward is livid and asks explanations for the accusations; he is answerable to the management he points out. Kcu takes time to explain the feedback which doesn’t soothe but convinces the steward. It’s 10:45PM and Ananth is in a hurry to get back to the office, as he has to fix something that he’s left unfinished. He’ll be dropping IBLU someplace where IBLU’s vehicle is parked. Chay’s car is parked some distance away and we think of taking an auto till there, but eventually decide to walk. The weather is pretty good for walking and the distance of a kilometer is covered without being noticed. Chay offers me and kcu a lift to someplace where we’d get transport. But we assure her it’s not required and we’d find an auto soon. As soon as Chay leaves we get an auto. The driver is a friendly sort and obliges to stop in between for us to have a lemon tea. I drop kcu near his car and reach home at about 11:45PM. An evening well spent.