Monday, October 16, 2006

Her 'high'-ness

After getting almost arrested at Heathrow airport for carrying twice the maximum allowable limit of cigarette boxes for my teenager cousin, I expected him to bow before me and kiss my feet. (Now don't give me a lecture on what a maha-papi act that was; I was at the Singpaore duty-free when he called, and the sheer length of the word 'Pleeeeeeeeeeeease apa pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?' was enough to make me go buy whatever he wanted.) Besides, he said he wouldn't smoke the whole thing himself, but would sell it to his friends, and I thought I should help my poor student bro get some gainful employment. Okay, enough of justifying. Even I am not convinced with my moronic arguments. Especially because I am totally anti-smoking. It was a stupid stupid act on my part, and I'd never do it again.

So he takes one puff and says, "Your Singapore... hmmm... Everything is very mild in your Singapore."

"Excuse me??" I retorted in anger and then suddenly realised I actually had no defence. And then I realised that I had.

"Dude, ever heard of Singapore laws?" I did my coyly-looks-at-her-nails act.

Yup, not mild. Not mild at all, my friend.

So yes, maybe the cigarettes in Singapore are mild and the alcohol is mild too. Just last weekend, I had a chance to reaffirm this.

After the first phase of the editorial training session for the new editors in the company, we seniors looked at the feedback forms and realised that it had been a success. So the four of us decided to celebrate. It was a Friday evening and we were close to Clarke Quay, so we decided to go to Cafe Iguana. Happy hour was on, and we ordered a pitcher of lime margarita, which promptly got over. So we ordered another pitcher of mango margarita and some nachos and chicken quesadillas. The food was served with habanero chilli, which I realised to my delight-first-horror-later, was the hottest chilli I'd ever had in my life. My mouth was on fire and water didn't seem to help. Even cubes of ice did not. The only thing that seemed to help was the sweet mango margarita. So I realised that it had been less than an hour and I had downed four and a half glasses of margarita. My colleagues were looking at me funny, expecting me to start behaving all drunk, but I felt fine.

"Are you fine?" One of them asked.

"I'm fine."

"Hmmm... so how often do you drink, Sayesha?" One of them asked me.

"Err... twice a year?"

Okay confession time. I'm not much of an alcohol person. Could be because my Dad is a teetotaller who drinks only milk, not even coffee or tea. And Mom too always looked at alcohol as "chih!" stuff. Could also be because the first alcoholic drink I was offered had been beer. YIKES. I took one whiff of it, and ran for the hills. The smell was so terrible it put me off alcohol for my entire university life. In fact, I had my first alcoholic drink at the age of 24. My friends in India refused to believe it. "Come on! You went to Singapore when you were 18! Surely you must have started drinking then?" Truth is - I didn't.

It was only in 2004, when I was sitting in a bar in Cambodia with a bunch of friends having the greatest holiday of my life, when one of them ordered me my first alcoholic drink - pina colada. Not bad, I thought. The realisation that all alcoholic drinks do not smell like beer was a happy one. But even then, I could tell that alcohol was not really my thing. After we got back to Singapore, I tried a few other kinds, but I was never really crazy about it. Even today, I feel much happier and 'higher' on pure orange juice. My friends think it's rather weird.

Earlier this year, when I was in the US, my sister was relieved to know that I had finally tasted my first sip of alcohol.

"Finally!" She said. "It took you 24 years to try it."

"Yeah!" I grinned proudly.

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Errr..."

"Okay listen, you HAVE to try the margarita at Chilis." She said when we made plans to have dinner there.


"Errr... Naah, I don't think Mom will like it if I drink in front of her." I said.

"Let's ask for permission then?" She said.

"Yup okay!"

So the obedient duo of the 29-year-old and the 26-year-old went to ask Mommy for permission to drink.

"Alcohol?" She said.

"Yeah."

"Strong wala? Are you gonna get drunk on that?"

"No, Mom, it's pretty mild. Besides, she won't have too much. I just want her to try it." My sis intervened.

"Okay." Mom agreed.

So I had a glass of the Chambord 1800 at Chilis, which I must say was phenomenal. After dinner, I did feel a bit 'strange', but I just sat in the car and slept through the drive home, so noone really knew what was up with me, except for "Poor girl must be really tired."

The next morning, I wondered if it was really true. If the same drink in the US was stronger than that in Singapore. Perhaps it was true - instead of wild things, Singapore has mild things.

Perhaps that was the reason why I was sitting there at Cafe Iguana, feeling perfectly fine in spite of the four and a half glasses of margarita. Unless the reason was the other one. The
copious amounts of orange juice I drink which keep me on a perpetual high. The kind that no kind or amount of alcohol can compete with.

Arz kiya hai... dohri (doha+shayari)

Jo bewdi har pal talli, jaage ho ya soye
Saadhe chaar margarita se uska kya hoye?



46 comments:

Bivas said...

Finally a post...two days without one was a long wait ;-)
Dohri!!!! LOL
And yeah...'Peene Waalon Ko peene kaa Bahana Chahiye'
Howz the Daant-pehalwaan doin btw?

R said...

hahahahaha
waah! waah!!!!!

p.s bahin!!!!mausi ne bola peene koh!!!!!!!!:O:O:O:O
yeh mausi bhi umreeca wumreeca jaa karr...tch tch...tell her I dispprove
*maxx hotity toity type luk*

Iday said...

BRONZE :D

Iday said...

Waah Waah Waah!!!
Kya dohri hai bhai...

Lagta hai tooth-ache thik ho gaye :)

Anonymous said...

TOP 10. YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Here's another reason why I wont go to Singapore - I will be bankrupt trying to get high.

Anonymous said...

wah!! maan gaye ustad!

Prayank said...

i started reading this post with no comments on it .. 6 comments already ...

bhai ki popularity dekho ...

quite a cool post ... waiting for the day whn i can ask my mom 'ki ek drink peelun plzzz'

Anonymous said...

hey, is the Chilis you went to close to New Brunswick? I think the one I went to at Jersey was also called Chilis. And yeah, the margheritas there were good :D

Try the Singapore Sling and write about it, yaar! 8 saal ka waste mat karo! I went to the Raffles Hotel but had no cash to order one! :((

dharmu said...

Wah Wah!!!

bhai, try white zinfadale. exotic fruits, sangaria, stawberry, any flavour, mera personal fav hai.

and will try the chilli -drink too, this weekend plan is pakka.

bhai, even i want to go to singapore duty free shop. kab jaarehe hain???

Unknown said...

Wah wah wah Sash! Kya dohri thi :D

I don't have any craziness for alchohol whatsoever but I wanna try every kind of hard drink at least once, including Tequila :)

Have tasted a few, got lots more to do :P

Take care,
Aarti

Young Master said...

i should've been at the margarita drinking thing - we would've made you do shots of imuy picante... darn, missed the opportunity

ps: i owe you satc dvds

The Ghost said...

margarita at Chilis -- my fav too .. :). And ho sakta hai ki actually drinks mild hon.. but it depends on a lot other factors too that how talli u get.. :)

Mohan Kodali said...

You Drink :O

:P

Unknown said...

u should ask for your money back at the margheritas place

shub said...

You bought cigarettes for a teenage cousin?:O

shub said...

chal meri tanhka aate hi Bar none jaake Orange juice peete hain, 12 bucks mein :D

Sayesha said...

#Bivas,
Hiii! Yeah, I'm back... ovecame the daant pehelwaan, dhobi-patka without dentist! :D

#Raam Pyari,
Ab ka batayen bahinnn... kabhi kabhi toh laagat hain hum tohar mausi se jyaga traditional hain! :|

#Iday,
Thank you thank you :P
Toothache is almost gone... and I can eat most foods now! :)

#Sakshi,
Hahahaha! Tu ghar aa, I'll get you talli on OJ first... phir jayenge Cafe Iguana! :D

#Satish,
:D

#Prayank,
May you see that day soon! :)

#Jane-talli challenged,
Pata nahin New Brunswick tha ya kya... Jeeju drove us around so much, I have lost track :P

//Try the Singapore Sling and write about it, yaar!

Singapore Sling? Theek theek hai yaar, utna khaas bhi nahin hai... depends on where you have it... I had in Villa Bali, found it chalega-types. Tum yahan aao, we will explore :)

#Dharmu,
Cool, will hunt for it when it's time to go talli-ing next :D

//bhai, even i want to go to singapore duty free shop. kab jaarehe hain???

Boss tu idhar kab aa reli hai? Duty free mein tu jayegi re, apun kaise? :D

#Rebellion,
Ah! Tequila! Never tried it, but I will some day! :D

#Ro,
I knew I would have a comment from you on this one... kya yaar, kitne predictable ho gaye ho! ;)

//ps: i owe you satc dvds

Damn right you are! X-(

#Pirate,
Hahaha! What other factors eh? :D

#Chandu,
Yes! Water! Orange juice! All the time! You don't?????? :O :O :O

#Ipanema Gal,
//u should ask for your money back at the margheritas place

Hahahaha! Yeh Amreeka nahin, Singa-pur hai Singa-pur! Yahan toh aisaich daru milta hai! :D

#Shub,
Argh! Shub ki bachi! I SAID no preaching on my maha-papi act! X-(
I was young and foolish and I wanted to the 'cool' elder sis! :/

//chal meri tanhka aate hi Bar none jaake Orange juice peete hain, 12 bucks mein :D

Arrreee salary aa jaaye, we'll go to Cafe Iguana, you HAVE to try that habanero chilli wala nachos! WHOA! :O

Tarun said...

The dohri was amazing ...
it had a "burp" effect .. coomonly experienced after getting higher.

Sudipta Chatterjee said...

Hmmm... I have tasted it all but can say that I am not a big-time fan of all that. Although, I'd say, a little wine once in a while tastes good :)

Bhai, talli hoke aapko koi dikhta-wikhta hai kya? :D

Mohan Kodali said...

ahhhh...

So you started drinking only after 24? i mean the orange juice and the water? :D

Lalit Singh said...

Wah Wah!!! Kya Dohri hain....
Daad dete hain aapko...saath mein Khaaj aur Khujli bhi :)

Now u may want to try daad khaaj khujli ka dushman..... Ringcutter

Ardra said...

Sayesha, caught up with your blogs and reading 'akela akela' brought back some pleasnat memories for me too.
I used to be a hostelite while in college, and me and the other hostelites used to ransack the tiffin boxes of our day scholar classmates. Their mothers used to feel so sorry for us that we were far from our homes and parental care that they used to pack extra food for us too. One aunty would make payasam/ kheer and send it with her daughter on my birthday...

Anonymous said...

hey..long time! I don't drink at all either, because I've seen how it can damage the dangerous-thoughts-to-polite-conversation-converter...and mine is already pretty weak! :D

Cheers
Kais

Di said...

ur mom actually said yes??!! :O not bad...

educatedunemployed said...

You are anti-smoking and you still go ahead and bye your cousin cigarettes, that too for him to sell..*quizzical look*

Inder said...

ha... the smokers... they are busy polluting the already polluted world. the world needs a new law that the smokers should swallow the cigarette smoke and should not exhale it.

sharabis are fun to watch :D

Strider said...

@dohri
wah wah ki baath che..
pub me baithke orange juice peena ka maza hi kuch aur hai ..


@cousin ka kissa
hmmm bachhe ko achha gift do bhai....

Iday said...

//Toothache is almost gone...
Aah - that explains the reason behind the celebration :D

//and I can eat most foods now! :)
... and drink too :P

R said...

I don't believe there are people who don't like beer. Sheesh. :O

*eyes wide open*

Young Master said...

// kya yaar, kitne predictable ho gaye ho! ;)

comes with old age

Sayesha said...

#The Light-House,
Thanks :)

#Sudipta,
Hehehe... welcome to the club! :)

//Bhai, talli hoke aapko koi dikhta-wikhta hai kya? :D

Bole toh? Bapu? :D

#Chandu,
Sheesh, I knew that was coming! :P
Tujhe lolz bolkar chup ho jana tha na! :D

#Lalit,
I'll take the daad, you keep the khaaj and khujli :D

#Ardra,
Hahaha! I can identify with that. Even now when I go home, my mom sends kaju ki barfi for my Singaporean colleagues :)

#Kais,
Hey! Welcome back! I thought you ditched the bar yaar! :/

//I've seen how it can damage the dangerous-thoughts-to-polite-conversation-converter...and mine is already pretty weak! :D

Haha! Next time no Bombay Cafe, I'm taking you to Cafe Iguana! ;)

#Di,
Yeah, she did. Rocks, eh? :)

#Educatedunemployed,
//You are anti-smoking and you still go ahead and bye your cousin cigarettes, that too for him to sell..*quizzical look*

Did you read the part of my post where I said "It was a stupid stupid act on my part, and I'd never do it again."? *quizzical look*

#Inder,
Echo your thoughts! On both! ;)

#Strider,
Haan yaar... last time I wanted to give him an achha gift so I gave him 50 pounds. He went and gambled it away. :|

#Iday,
You bet! ;)

#Rohit,
Hahahaha! Piyakkad, duniya mein bahut saare type ke log hain! :D

#Ro,
Waaaaaaaaaa! :'(

Shekhar said...

Wah wah!! wah wah ! Kya baat hai...ab yeh lo Sayesha ji ka naya avatar...

Tu shayar to nahi...magar jab se pee hai...tune saade-chaar margherita...tujhe shayari aa gayiii !!

Aashun said...

Don't insult the taste of beer. Some people (okey okey - Like Me, dont push now) find it the awesomest. :-)

educatedunemployed said...

You knew and you still did it..is why the quizzical look..:P

Kroopa Shah (Kr00pz) said...

Tumhari dohri ne to Kabir ko takkar de di!!!

Anonymous said...

>> I thought you ditched the bar >> yaar! :/

Noooo! Is that even allowed??! :O

>> Haha! Next time no Bombay Cafe, >> I'm taking you to Cafe
>> Iguana! ;)

You are so evil! Spoiling innocent boys like that??! :O I don't think I feel very safe around you anymore...next time I'm carrying pepper spray!

Cheers
Kais

Anonymous said...

talli talli re talli talli
bhai apni tho talli talli ! :)

rt said...

surprised ur mom said yes!!
anyways the try on shayri is nice :)

Anonymous said...

u oriya?
lol @ the dohri!! hehehh.. but yes, when i had been to singapore, i was SO freaking intimidated by the 'warning' boards everywhere. DRUG TRAFFICKING IS PROHIBITED. BY LAW. we as tourists felt as though there were some laws which had to be followed while operating the taps in the washrooms also!

Anonymous said...

u oriya?
lol @ the dohri!! hehehh.. but yes, when i had been to singapore, i was SO freaking intimidated by the 'warning' boards everywhere. DRUG TRAFFICKING IS PROHIBITED. BY LAW. we as tourists felt as though there were some laws which had to be followed while operating the taps in the washrooms also!

Sneha said...

u oriya?
lol @ the dohri!! hehehh.. but yes, when i had been to singapore, i was SO freaking intimidated by the 'warning' boards everywhere. DRUG TRAFFICKING IS PROHIBITED. BY LAW. we as tourists felt as though there were some laws which had to be followed while operating the taps in the washrooms also!

Sayesha said...

#Shekhar,
Hahahaha! Your shayari was mast yaar! Better than my dohri! :D

#Aashun,
Offo! Sorry baba, beer is the beshtesht. Happy now? :D

#Educatedunemployed,
Ya allah! Ab is bar mein grammar lessons bhi dene honge? Sash Bhai ke kya bure din aa gaye hain :P

I know NOW that it was a stupid act. I did not think so THEN. Samjhi baby? :D

#Anonymous,
Oye chup kar! Jab dekh apna chillar lekar chala aata hai make extra money make extra money! :/

#Kroopa,
Hahahaha! Thanks thanks! :P

#Kais,
//Noooo! Is that even allowed??! :O

Oh right! It isn't! I almost forgot! :P

//I don't think I feel very safe around you anymore...next time I'm carrying pepper spray!

Hahahahaha! Dude I'm not the one driving those dangerous bikes on Singapore's smooth roads! ;)

#Asterix,
Hahahaha! I actually sang that in the Challi challi re tune in my head! :P

#RT,
Hehehe... yeah Mom's chilled out :)

//anyways the try on shayri is nice :)

Oye! Two points for you:
1. "Try" on shayari?? I'm offended! Hmmph! :/
2. This is dohri, not shayari! :D

#Sneha,
Hahaha! Yeah, S'pore laws are pretty scary, huh? :)

Basanti said...

Clarke Quay, so we decided to go to Cafe Iguana.

When myself was walking around aimlessly in Singapore, myself and myself's sisterself noticed Cafe Iguana. But we did not go there! :P You see, in the Singapore Zoo, a baby Iguana stared at me real hard and made me cry too! :P

Anyhoo, but the next time I am there, we both will go there and become talli! :D to-talli! :D

Sayesha said...

#Basanti,
Abbe tu Dhanno ko lekar aa toh sahi, I will ghumao you all over - Iguana, Chhipkali, Cockroach, you name it, you'll have it! :D

Sudeep said...

lol @ dohri.. both, word n the matter

i havent tasted alcohol yet.. not proud of it but no iota of feeling of ghum ki nahi liya

anoop said...

having done engineering at my hometown, never had the chance of getting drunk even once. and the first time i was offered an alchol drink - beer, the same thing happened with me too, one whiff and a sip, made me wonder how the hell anyone could drink that. It was only a year or so later I got introduced to Vodka - almost tasteless, odourless liquid with considerable percentage of alcohol too. And the plus point being - it mixes well with almost everything. eventhough i dont drink more often than once 2 months or so, its vodka always.

oh and, came to ur blog thru basanti's blog.