Wanderlusting...!!

Hassene Fkiri and me!

Pork Chilli with Fruit Beer

Hopped on a metro at 11 am sharp, with little butterflies in my stomach going crazy with the thought of watching the Commonwealth finally, I picked 3 sports , swimming (coz S.P Mukherjee stadium is breathtaking), Wrestling, cos I wanted to shout filth along with the akharawalas around Haryana & Delhi ( the Talkatora stadium is full of Haryanvis & Gujjars coming in tractor full from as far as Dhangal), & if luck had it I would have loved to see boxing (courtesy Raging Bull & the whole idea of screaming with your favorite while the other is getting smacked) as well. I was alone in my voyage (I love love love going around the city exploring the places) as hubby is still too weak to move, so I took the Sarita Vihar metro (it started 4 days back only), I've been an avid metro user for quite long now, but the view this one presented was simply breathtaking, you can see Lotus Temple, ISKON, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and lot more just sitting on metro. Neways I got down at Central Secretariat, and changed metro to INA & went to Dilli Haat. I use to love Dilli Haat, but now it has become so monotonous that it has lost its charm on me. Right in front there was this Commonwealth Kiosk, selling mementos. I bought a Vuvuzela, as I've been dying to have it since Football World Cup. Blowing it was really difficult, the guy selling it was very helpful (with sarcasm), he asked me to blow it like a trumpet ( as if I am some Jazz musician with a trumpet in my hand). I told him thanx for showing me my inability. I have to practice blowing it coz its making weird noises now. I stood in a queue for next 1 hour to get the tickets , made few friends in the process from Norfolk Island & finally didn't got the tickets as it was all sold up. So the whole plan came crashing down, no tickets available for Sundays game as well cos the Central Delhi have been cordoned off for the Cycling match. So I started wandering around Dilli haat watching many players who have came to visit the place ( saw many Sri-lankan players, Australian Gymnast, South African Net ball players & many many known faces). For lunch I went to Arunachal Pradesh stall as I wanted to try something very different I opted for Pork & Bamboo Shoot Chilly Fry & Fruit beer, ever since I started working in this food & nightlife websites, I have started to look at it as a reviewer, "the pork was good though too much of onions spoiled the taste, the garnishing was pathetic ". While having lunch I met this amazing South Indian lady who was also alone like me, we sat chatting & talking about experiences, in the process I came to know she was single & have been living alone from past 25 years, she never married or never could stay with her parents as they were very pushy for everything. So she went off alone in order to pursue her career & lived a life in her own terms, she is 45 now & she don't have a partner, many of her friends are busy with their Kids, marriage & career that's why she is out today to have a good time. I left her sitting their having Momos & talking with the waiter, amazed with her for having the courage which I find lacking in me so many times. From their I walked straight into Australian wrestler Hassene Fkiri, for those who don't know him, he is the guy who was stripped of his silver medal for making rude gestures to the umpires after losing to Indian wrestler Anil Kumar for the Gold Medal match in the Commonwealth games. I had a small conversation with him:

Me: Hey

Fkiri: Hey, how you doing?

Me: Good
Fkiri: Do you know me?
Me: I saw that fateful match.
Fkiri: Urghhhh

Me: Can I take a picture with you.
Fkiri: Of course

Me: What made you so angry that day.
Fkiri: Was speechless, than gave me an uncertain smile.

Fkiri: Is that your Kid? ( to a wandering small kid)

Me: No
Fkiri: R u single, you are roaming around alone. Ain't their any nice guys in India.

Me: Their are but they busy making all the nicer guys angry now a days.

Fkiri: (Roaring with laughter, he went off waving his hand)
He made my day in an instant. To think I have been discussing about him with hubby few days back when his medal has been stripped and than simply having conversation like that was so exhilarating. It turned around my disappointment in not getting the tickets in a jiffy. After that I left for Sarojini for some girly shopping, came back to Dilli haat to watch some cultural programmes, later went to Connaught place sat on the Central Park, by shedding my shoes on the grass overlooking the amphitheater (a youth festival is going on , Indian ocean was suppose to play their). Had such a fulfilling day today. I went home blowing my Vuvuzela in the wind (still making those weird noise). I am a happy women now.

P.S. In the first pic I am along with Hassene Fakiri & that is my lunch, I realized now I didn't asked that South Indian lady's name (my lunch partner), how daft of me.