I was worried yesterday my body will be sore with the badminton playing. Thankfully it isn't. We have planned to leave by 9.00 am. But by the time we checkout it is already 10.00 am. The sun seems to be right above our heads and the heat is scorching. I get just one glass of Watermelon juice laced with peppermint today to hydrate myself. The resort is full and spilling with people. I don't want to bother the cooking staff so I have the juice and I am ready to leave. We have to take two stops enroute; one at Pune and the other at Lonavala to pick up J's Dad.
In Pune we first drive down to Koregaon park as I want to pick up some Shrewsberry biscuits from Kayani bakery for my nephew who is coming down from Australia soon. But unfortunately the shop is closed on Sunday. But I see some mulberries and Vilayti Chincha (or Manila Tamarind though it is neither closely related to the tamarind family nor a native of Manila) which I immediately buy. The vilayati chincha takes me back to my native place Dharwad where we had a thorny shrub in our backyard. Come summers and it used to be laden with bulging tamarind like pods of sweet white pulp which used to go a rosy pink when ripe.
The ones I buy are not very sweet but the mulberries are and my palate which is getting a bit tired of the same fruits I am treating it to, is happy. We head to Chitale Bandhu a sweetshop which is in Deccan and pick up the world famous Bakarwadi. Funnily I still don't feel like digging into it and am able to control my urges easily. After we finish with the shopping, we head to Kothrud where I have some chilled watermelon and we leave for Lonavala. We pick up some Chikki here. I love the crushed groundnut Chikki that Navratan makes. I pick up a couple of packs as I am allowed chikki and we start for Mumbai.
I keep gorging on the mulberries, vilayati chincha and a guava I have picked up on the way. I am dropped home at around 5. I unpack, wash, eat a bit of chikki do the laundry and go get a bit of groceries. I also drop in at my mother's Mama Mami's place to give the goodies I have got for them. Here I am treated to some bhel which becomes my dinner. By the time I am done, it is time to go to bed and drop the curtains on Day 27.