back.... but not for long

Good to know I was missed. I was, right?? Kolkata lived upto its promise, though the chingri malai didn't. Our cook at home, the eversmiling Anil ,does a far superior job of this delicately flavoured prawn dish. But at least I got to eat it with friends and make tch tch noises about falling standards and rising prices.
I was there as a jury member for a beauty pageant that has thrown up the likes of Bipasha, Koena and Celina over the years. All seriously oomphy ladies. Naturally every contestant on the ramp had Bollywood ambitions and stated them clearly, just in case there were a couple of B-Town producers\directors in the audience. At least two of the finalists were from Assam and mercifully did not talk about saving elephants\turtles\tigers\children if they won the title - they wanted to save themselves from a life of obscurity and hit the big time in Bollywood. Thank God that nauseating era of beauty queens wanting to save the world and work for Mother T are finally over. After much singing, dancing, prancing and preening, the lovely winner was crowned. She shed a few tears on cue, kissed her rivals and posed for the cameras while her beaming parents looked on proudly. Gawd! I'd never want my daughters there. This was my post-pageant thought as we jury members sampled fragrant biryani ( Bong-style, with a sprinkling of kewra water), and discussed Bollywood prospects for those beauties we'd just seen crowned. My face gave away nothing. Good luck, ladies...