eating out

Yesterday we took our kids out for dinner, rather, we took them with us for dinner! I went for a swim and rushed back to change and pack their diapers and bottle. Husband was already ready in his office clothes, babies were fed and happy, so all was fine. We rushed to the basement, me carrying Kaustubh and Kashyap safely tucked in his dad's arm, with their carry cots dangling from his arm and their bag precariously placed in mine.

He started the car to exclaim loudly 'Oh...the headlights are not working'!! Great. But I really wanted to eat out and I said 'Thats fine. We'll rush to the nearest hotel'. Now, we have a real steep incline at the exit of the parking lot. He took our 96' model maruti 800 up the steep with the AC on and it came straight back. Picture this...I am sitting in the passenger seat with Kashyap on my right leg and Kaustubh on my left. I try holding them tight, but they wriggle and stretch and try to take the steering away from their dad, and in the meanwhile, their dad is fighting a lost battle keeping the car in the incline. So, the four of us head backwards towards a pillar and he breaks in time. Does a tricky reverse and accelerates in full force towards the exit, throwing all of us a few centimeters in the air. The kids have hit themselves in the head a few times both against each other and the window. I gulp and look to see if they are alright...a lot of claps and a cry of sheer delight from Kashyap and Kaustubh looking as though at me saying with his eyes ' any problem?'!

And we go on....in a street enveloped in darkness, yes, it goes to say a lot for our luck that the power cut began just then. We move slowly to realise that the intersection ahead had been mowed in the afternoon to make way for a subway and we have to take a big detour. And we trudge along, trying to contain the two brats on my seat when all Kashyap wants to do is stand on his dad and get hold of the steering wheel and Kausubh is hell bent on pricing the Ganesha statue from the dashboard. Still, we manage to make it to the restaurant close by, though it became rather far now. Ah..but the dust due to the mowing enveloped the air as even a thick fog would not. No way I was taking my kids out in this and so, we turn around to go to the next 'nearest' hotel.

Lots of greenery, supposedly famous restaurant and we felt that our trip could still be salvaged. Entered the family quarters to find we are the only other family there. Found rat shit on the seat and torn papers all around. Still we decided to go ahead. We had not suffered all this for nothing. So, with Kachi clinging on to me and Kautu to his dad, we ordered our starter and soup. By now, they started their raucous, dancing on the sofa, Kachi climbing onto the table, kautu climbing down and crawling on the floor and hubby decided its high time to give milk and settle one guy down to sleep. We drew lots and kautu was decided to be packed off. So, milk was prepared and fed and he settled down peacefully in his carry cot. Aha...still the rest of the evening left to enjoy...Kachi was handed over to a waiter and it broke my heart to see him clinging onto to him and staring around as though we had abandoned him forever. Still we were both hungry by this time and attacked all that was placed in front.

The attack lasted exactly one minute. The food, other than being unpalatable, was also utterly oily and cold. We looked around, wondering how in the world is this restaurant called famous and do people actually come here, to find it filling up fast. We looked down to find a rat scurrying across. We looked on our table and found real foul food. And then, we looked at each other, ate to just fill our stomach and gathered up everything and hurried away. En route, we saw that the place was packed by now and anger swelled up in me. Are the expectations so low? Don't people expect good food, healthy food when they come out to dine? Can't they see how the pricing is against the standard of the food served? Are their wallets so big and their stomachs to used to rotten food that they can digest both the food and the cost? We were so disappointed that we didn't even complain to the manager. I mean, if it has to get this worse, they must surely know and if they haven't taken any action, then its their neck they are stretching out.

By now, even Kashyap was asleep and I held both the sleeping guys in my lap as we crawled back home. 'Well', he hold me, 'that was a terrible dinner. I am feeling sorry for the bad time you had. Kids are asleep and we can get back to a quiet house and spend some time together'. I smiled and started to relax. It started raining..so hard that it looked like a hail storm. I looked questioningly at him...why hasn't he switched on the wipers? He grins sheepishly and says 'Wipers aren't working either'!!!!!!!!