Few days back, I got a parcel in my name, and when I opened…yeah!! French mustards send by my friends Parul and Niranjan. When you give me such fine local food, I am like a child in candy land or in Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory, probably I would be the first child to be thrown out, cause I cannot resist yummy food.

These mustards were for my husband Sid. Two years back when we where in Paris we were flying back to Cardiff in a low fare Airline with one hand baggage rule. Our two small bags where already full with my Camera bag, my extra pair of shoes ( hey a girl needs shoes to party in style.. 😉 ) Day before our return, we visited Rolangaros with Niranjan, on our way back we were outside Maille mustard shop. Sid just mentioned how he loved to eat mustard with his food. Niranjan started educating us iabout french mustards and told us, “they are the finest, once you taste these you will never like regular mustards.” it was late in the evening, the shop was closed, we just drooled at them from the window and imagined how they would taste. We had our flight next day, so Niranjan insisted we buy at least one bottle of our choice to take home. In the morning with all rush plus bags absolutely full, we decided to leave the mustard shopping. We told him next time, another reason to visit Paris again….Bought a jar of English mustard from Cardiff plus we had another store-bought mustard  so-called French mustard at our home which Siddharth and my father eat with their Italian pizza, weird.. I tell u. That was it, the mustard story…we had forgotten all about it…

Few days back my friend Parul was in the country, she told me she had parcelled me something, I thought it was some of the things I had ordered online. When the parcel reached, to my surprise…oh la la!! I find these yumm…mustards..in flavours I cannot imagine…wow..!! I still can’t get over those mustards…they are like gold in our fridge, we use it with so much stinginess, In fact I even clean the spoon with my fingers so nothing is wasted…

My friends Parul,  though I know her just from 7 years, is such an amazing friend of ours, she is a rock in my life. We might not talk for months with me being busy with the baby and she being the amazing fashion designer…being busy dressing up all the Bollywood celebrities, but if I have a problem or have something on my mind, like when I was thinking of starting this blog, she is the first person I will tell. I really values her advice as she is a very straight forward person, a strong critic and plus I will aways get a mature feedback with the pro and cons.. I love her for her humour, he straight forward, gutsy blunt attitude and many more things….

I am so blessed to have her in my life as a very wise person told me once, you need to have friends in your life who are emotionally secure, mentally strong as well as in a good place in their life, not messed up cause it is these people who will give value to your life and uplift you.

Both these friends of ours are also responsible for me having such a gourmet taste…she is responsible for spoiling me rotten with such fine food…. When I was pregnant, she was one of the few people we told as we did not know If I  would get through the pregnancy. During my bed rest I wasn’t allowed much… I got an overnight courier from her. When I open it, I find macaroons from Laudure Paris. She kept on asking my husband what should she get for me to help me in my pregnancy and Sid told her, “oh she is having cravings for the macaroons which we had with Niranjan”, she send all different favours for me and the baby…I was so overwhelmed with joy… Now if my son grows up asking for macaroons, I am going to send him to Parul Masi ( mum’s sister)…”you have spoiled him when he was in my stomach now  you deal with him and feed him..” 😉

I don’t know what to do with my regular mustard as it is hanging in my fridge giving me the look, “cheater, till you did not know what the real thing was you where so much into me, now you just walk past me.” I tried to get rid of it by my asking our house help Narsing if he did not mind eating it up, he was like that yellow  ketchup, no way!!… Ha ha ha…

p.s. On my wedding night before returning to my husbands city, I spend the night in Paruls room cause a stupid, brainless and irritating elder of Sid’s house declared that I will not be allowed to spending the first night with my husband till we go back to their temple, we needed their idols blessing to commence our marriage …ha ha..yeah right.. I was more stupider to listen to him and let it go, wish I could tell him, “Idiot in Cardiff there was no temple of yours when i spend en number of nights at your nephews dorm room.”..Any ways that night I spend in Parul’s room, irritated, tired, and lost among all the 150 in-laws whom  95% of them I was meeting for the first time.  We talked for a long time, I told her my concerns about going to a new conservative city, the only thing she told me ” don’t worry I am there u will like the city.” Yes thanks to her and all the awesome friends I made through her I love Indore…the city where I got married , where I just knew 2 people before marriage my husband and his childhood friend Paro… 🙂