Friday, March 14, 2014

Out of the Blue: Powai and a green Mumbai


Would you believe if I tell you this view is in Mumbai? No? Well, believe me, it is... I owe it to my friend, Maitreyee, for the view which she rightly called the most spectacular view of Mumbai. I don't think we see much of green-cover and lakes around Mumbai... but more on this later... Let's first tell you of this place that has an unlimited liquid-brunch buffet...yea, unlimited alcohol... you read it right. Even I thought I heard it wrong when Maitreyee mentioned it the previous night.

It was just another (hangover) Sunday... We had planned to go to a Sunday brunch, so we made the reservations at this restaurant called "Out of the Blue" and headed to Powai. I was about to go to Powai-side for the first time. My friend, Anirban, kept referring to Powai as "Austria" the night before (because of the architecture) and I was quite willing to see "Austria" for a cheap auto-ride of Rs. 150... heeheehee...

Well, Powai is as far as one can go to see a likeness to European-style architecture, I guess... the wide pavements, the lamp-posts, all the buildings in beige-colour, dome-liked structures, big colonial pillars, well-manicured lawns and fountains in the middle of the road junctions definitely rendered a very European buzz.



Cosmopolitan, my dahlings
Just a bit of loitering (cos we were really hungry) and then, we headed to this place called "Out of the Blue". My friend took me there because of the bottomless liquid buffet at the unbelievable price of Rs. 750. Hmm... looks like they haven't seen the likes of us...

The Greek feel














Anyway, the restaurant was quite nicely done up in Mediterranean-inspired hues of white and blue with solid wood furnishings and potted plants. I ordered our first round of Sangria and settled down to enjoy the live performance. Soon the drinks arrived with the hummus and pita bread; the singer started singing and we were all in a pretty good high. I loved the singer's choice of songs. Whether it was 'Sunday Morning' by Maroon 5, or 'I'm Yours' by Jason Mraz or the all-time favorites 'Yellow' by Coldplay or 'Lemon Tree' by Fool's Garden... (you get the flow, don't you?!)... it was just lovely to hear her sing as we munched and drank our way through the lovely spread! Whoa... what a fantastic brunch it had been!


But my Sunday happiness didn't end there! After exiting the restaurant quite tipsy and absolutely happy-high, we headed towards NITIE, the campus where my friend stays. She promised that she would show us the most spectacular view of Mumbai and led us to this building which was (if I remember correctly) a seven-storey building with a lift that didn't function. With alcohol in our head and carbs in our tummy, up we climbed the floors! By the time we reached the sixth floor, I was gasping as if my lungs would burst at any given second. At that moment, my friend realised that the key to the terrace was at the front desk and she suggested that we wait on the stairs while she goes all the way down to collect it AND climb up again. Dude... dunno how she managed! One climb up was enough for me.

As she unlocked the door and we walked out on the terrace, I realised why she wanted us to see this view so dearly. I am new to Mumbai but I know for sure that I shall not see such a view in another part of the city. On one side was the Vihar Lake and on the other side was Powai lake. The mini-"Austria" skyline could be seen at a distant. The green-cover was amazing and there were bright flowers on some of the trees. I had forgotten that it's spring-time! The soothing breeze, the 360-degree view of Mumbai... it was simply beautiful... a snapshot for the soul (and some for my camera!). I'm glad she brought us here.The seven-story-palpitating-climb was worth it.

Afterwards, we walked through the campus and visited her room. The NiTIE campus is sprawling, the hostel rooms are small. (Why are all hostel rooms so purposefully depressing?) Anyway, since my friend is like a book-wala-soulmate of mine, she gave me a few books on loan and we said our good-byes.

Well... that was a well-spent Sunday two Sundays ago... hopefully I shall come back to enjoy the view once again. Thank you guys for the lovely Sunday!

until whenever! Ta-da!