Now that we are over and done with the brouhaha over Britain’s wedding royale, it will be oft remembered via the souvenirs that were splurged on, for the same.
No matter what your allowance for a holiday is and whether or not you blow it up, souvenirs are those pleasant little somethings that fit into even the most clinched shoestring budget ,which you carry back home as mementos and gifts .
They are extremely popular because like squirrels, who collect nuts and bury them for winter treats, most of us humans too tend to collect some paraphernalia or the other; hoarding it in secret places to savour precious memories or exhibiting the same with pleasure and pride.
From Swiss bells to NYC t -shirts, wooden Amsterdam shoes, European lace, busts of South Asian Buddha and Egyptian Nefertiti, Indian idols of versatile Ganesha, beaded African animals and Australian fridge magnets; they can be cheap and cheerful or chic and classy. When it comes to collecting souvenirs, its different strokes for different folks.
On visits to Surat during summer holidays as a child, I would be fascinated by the antique lamps and bottle collection that my maternal uncle had. Blown glass in all kinds of colours and shapes with designs and grooves that provided kaleidoscopic visions when held against the light, from antique markets of Burma, England, Belgium, Persia and other countries whose names I couldn’t then pronounce, would find way and weight in his secret loft .Preserved in soft muslin, he would bring them down fortnightly to polish, at times gifting them away generously to people who valued their artistic quality.
My dear friends Ritu and Rajan Talwar, whose various warm homes have been a great refuge to me in all times of life’s emergencies be it marriage, plague or flood ,have a tasteful crystal curios collection; pieces of which they have aptly put up within nooks and corners to spell subtle style.
Surti socialites Bina and Rajaram Parikh, one of the most gracious hosts I know in suburban Surat, love to collect bone china mugs depicting cities they traveled through, worldwide and have set them up in a glass cabinet within their ever busy kitchen, from where unending treats are conjured up for lucky local guests and celebrities who visit town.
Tapi town’s eminent and philanthropist businessman, Kanhaiya Lalbhai Contractor is a Gujarati gourmand and little known to others is the fact he is a great cook himself. While one can find memorabilia miniatures of every wonder of the world at his dwelling amongst other precious sculptors and art, his dearest collection is that of menu cards; collected from restaurants the world over, where he has relished fine dining.
Nafisa Tyebjee, whose home is as elegant as the jewellery she designs for Surat’s elite and her ever smiling husband Juzer, have a grand display of the most exquisite and intricate coffee spoon collections in ceramic, steel, silver and gold, hung in a glass and wooden case on a wall facing their dining table.
Science center’s ‘Souvenir shop’ has little to offer in terms of Surti stuff. Other than picture postcards, mugs and a few odd books by SMC, the other stuff is just general gifts that lack local flavour, speaking of which ,Surat’s food is a hands down winner with visitors who make sure to carry back edible souvenirs in form of bhusu,ghari,khaja,ponk or padvali
As for me, Mickey and I have a growing collection of tequila shot glasses. Although they are not put to much use in our dry state city, they never fail to remind us of happy hours spent pubbing, clubbing and moonlighting with fellow Surtis, the world over.
Showing posts with label lalbhai contractor stadium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lalbhai contractor stadium. Show all posts
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Monday, March 8, 2010
T-20’s TAPI TOWN TATTLE.
Indian cricket team’s, friendly, benefit T20 match in Surat, before IPL season 3, was the topic of constant tattle in Tapi town.
Besides an event of this scale being organized for the first time here, Sachin, THE God of cricket, was going to perform for the first time, post the Gwalior glory.
The organizers pleaded Surtis to participate in a peaceful manner during the match and turn this golden opportunity of the town into a proud moment, with dignity.
Surtis buzzed phones over hot topics like, ‘who knows whom how well” and” what is the colour of your ticket?”.
With a seating capacity of 16, 700, at the freshly spruced up Lalbhai Contractor stadium, 14,000 tickets were sold out.
Nomophobics smuggled in phones, hiding them along with unmentionable body parts.
The crowds filled in the stands from 7 in the morning and once inside, it did not matter what colour their entry card was. The upper stalls were filled up with groups of fun loving locals and as usual had the maximum fun.
Most of the ones seated in the pavilion and royal boxes, had come in a couple. There were Sunday papas with enthusiastic poiras (fathers & sons), some senior officials with bored aunties, rich businessmen with pretty girls etc.
Both, Tendulkar and Sehwag’s teams were received with a standing ovation, as were all players who arrived and departed from the playing ground during the match.
Both teams shared the same pairs of cheerleaders.Sehwag and Kaif also shared a cricket bat, while Sachin used two.
Stud Yuvraj wore shoes with yellow soles that matched with his specially designed sunny tee shirt .He scored 12 runs amongst great applause, most hit using a single hand.
The commentator took T 20’s fun theme a tad too seriously and entertained crowds with lines like,’Watt ae sott!”,”Yuvi ke dono hath khule”,’aai hai!” etc.
There was no official score board on the cricket ground to display the score, but then, who was counting.
Entertainment during the lunch break had songs like,’Patiala peg lagakey, mein talli ho gayi”which were sung out to Surtis of the dry state who braved heat, thirst and hunger.
The players relished Corn cheese palak, Mutton seekh kebabs, Paneer lababdar, Chicken mamnas, Tangdi kebabs, Dhara fish tikkas, Chicken Biryani, dal makhani, patra fish, butter chicken boneless and Jeera rice with Mung dal halwa and Gulab Jamun for dessert as Surat nu jaman.
The lunch apparently must have been too heavy for Sehwag, Yuvraj and Gambhir who did not come out to field, post it.
Sachin not only fielded for his team, but also batted to the bowling of Surti boys, Mehul Patel-nickname Mehul Bano and Deepak Bhandari, before getting caught at the boundary by Mehul Bano.
Sehwag’s team won the match but for the Surti’s, they were winner all.
Spectators understandably cheered Sachin the most and remarked,’enaj toh paisa chey.’(He is worth it)
Everyone celebrated by popping soda bottles in the dry state, since champagne is taboo.
Surat’s first friendly T20 match turned out to be a good sign of the times to come.
The security staff, police officials and organizers all breathed a huge sigh of relief and hoped to catch a good night’s sleep at long last.
Indian cricket team’s, friendly, benefit T20 match in Surat, before IPL season 3, was the topic of constant tattle in Tapi town.
Besides an event of this scale being organized for the first time here, Sachin, THE God of cricket, was going to perform for the first time, post the Gwalior glory.
The organizers pleaded Surtis to participate in a peaceful manner during the match and turn this golden opportunity of the town into a proud moment, with dignity.
Surtis buzzed phones over hot topics like, ‘who knows whom how well” and” what is the colour of your ticket?”.
With a seating capacity of 16, 700, at the freshly spruced up Lalbhai Contractor stadium, 14,000 tickets were sold out.
Nomophobics smuggled in phones, hiding them along with unmentionable body parts.
The crowds filled in the stands from 7 in the morning and once inside, it did not matter what colour their entry card was. The upper stalls were filled up with groups of fun loving locals and as usual had the maximum fun.
Most of the ones seated in the pavilion and royal boxes, had come in a couple. There were Sunday papas with enthusiastic poiras (fathers & sons), some senior officials with bored aunties, rich businessmen with pretty girls etc.
Both, Tendulkar and Sehwag’s teams were received with a standing ovation, as were all players who arrived and departed from the playing ground during the match.
Both teams shared the same pairs of cheerleaders.Sehwag and Kaif also shared a cricket bat, while Sachin used two.
Stud Yuvraj wore shoes with yellow soles that matched with his specially designed sunny tee shirt .He scored 12 runs amongst great applause, most hit using a single hand.
The commentator took T 20’s fun theme a tad too seriously and entertained crowds with lines like,’Watt ae sott!”,”Yuvi ke dono hath khule”,’aai hai!” etc.
There was no official score board on the cricket ground to display the score, but then, who was counting.
Entertainment during the lunch break had songs like,’Patiala peg lagakey, mein talli ho gayi”which were sung out to Surtis of the dry state who braved heat, thirst and hunger.
The players relished Corn cheese palak, Mutton seekh kebabs, Paneer lababdar, Chicken mamnas, Tangdi kebabs, Dhara fish tikkas, Chicken Biryani, dal makhani, patra fish, butter chicken boneless and Jeera rice with Mung dal halwa and Gulab Jamun for dessert as Surat nu jaman.
The lunch apparently must have been too heavy for Sehwag, Yuvraj and Gambhir who did not come out to field, post it.
Sachin not only fielded for his team, but also batted to the bowling of Surti boys, Mehul Patel-nickname Mehul Bano and Deepak Bhandari, before getting caught at the boundary by Mehul Bano.
Sehwag’s team won the match but for the Surti’s, they were winner all.
Spectators understandably cheered Sachin the most and remarked,’enaj toh paisa chey.’(He is worth it)
Everyone celebrated by popping soda bottles in the dry state, since champagne is taboo.
Surat’s first friendly T20 match turned out to be a good sign of the times to come.
The security staff, police officials and organizers all breathed a huge sigh of relief and hoped to catch a good night’s sleep at long last.
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