Lighting Strikes...Maybe Once, Maybe Twice.

Last night Ellen and I had dinner with my supervisor, Anish, and his wife. They told us a great story of their courtship (lots of parental disapproval and religion clashes) and their marriage is clearly one of love. His wife, Apoovra, is lovely - we immediately hit it off and they've invited me over to their home next weekend for a home cooked meal that is supposed to be spicier than anything I've ever had before. (To which I responded, "bring it on," though completely and joyously terrified.)

We had dinner at a placed called Khyber, which is an upscale take on North Indian cuisine. The decor was very sleek with long reddish-orange drapes hanging from vaulted ceilings and a shiny, silver strip with beautifully etched, back-lit designs that ran down the entire center of the restaurant.

Ellen and I decided that this night was the perfect one to break away from the classic (Chicken Tikka Masala) and let Anish and Apoovra do the ordering for us...and learned a valuable lesson: When in India, let the Indians do the ordering. Mughlai Chicken, an Indian take on calamari, and some new breads are now added to my list of favorites. Oh, and I've never been one for Indian desserts, but Kulfi, Indian ice cream, which is topped with a vermicelli rose water...is mind-blowingly delicious.

Today was Ellen's last day at the office. I'm sort of sad about it, but really happy that I got to spend so many weeks with her. It was great to have her here for the bulk of my entrance into India. We're meeting some friends out tonight for one last drink in Mumbai before she takes off at 3 in the morning.

I'm writing this entry with all of the lights off in my room because outside is the most amazing, almost un-realistic lighting storm I've ever seen in my life. The type of lightning bolts that literally make you stop what you're doing and reflect on how powerful nature is.