Thursday, December 05, 2013

rainbows and dumplings

last night had a lot of dreams. they all seem to have no proper end, which is quite rare. i have a feeling they're interconnected, but i've forgotten those parts. strangely, i also have no recollection of the order in which they happened.

rainbows:

i was walking down a street, which ran along the edge of a hillock, in a city i don't recognize, but which was too clean to be India :D the hillock was a pretty small one, as the highrises on the plain below actually rose past it in places. going by the sun, it was about 4pm.

i was walking downhill with two unnamed and unrecognisable male friends, and we reached a spot where we could see the plain beyond, framed by two particularly tall highrises on the side. we stopped walking and they stood together, back to the plain, presumably for me to click a photo. as i was fishing for my phone in my pockets, i saw a faint rainbow appear behind them. the rainbow rapidly got more distinct, and as it faded in, it turned into a double rainbow. and then a triple rainbow. in barely a second, the lower half of the sky was filled repeating rainbows, and they had gotten bright and pastel enough to look like they were literally painted across the sky.

i was transfixed.

my friends realized something was up behind them, and turned around to see the rainbows.

once the rainbows were completely bright and pastel, they started merging and fading into just two colours: a slightly brownish red, and a slightly brownish yellow. i vaguely recall the similarity with some music video, but i have no idea which.

by then I actually got my phone out of my pocket and launched the camera app. when i looked back up, the sky was clear again. disappointed, i put my phone back in. a crowd had gathered on the street by then. everyone was pointing in the direction the rainbows were, and chattering excitedly.

and then it happened again. but this time, the final two colour rainbow started pulsating, the red and yellow expanding and contracting, while the overall size of the rainbow remained the same. a hush fell over the street, while everyone stared at the rainbow, silently transfixed. i didn't even bother going for my phone this time. eventually though (it was probably a second, but felt like a minute), people fished out cameras, and as I could hear the shutters click, but the rainbow was rapidly fading, and i'm not sure if they got anything more than a trace of the rainbow, if anything at all.

the third time, I was ready with my phone camera. This time, it started off as the two colour pulsating rainbow itself, but as my phone's crappy camera focused and clicked, the red and yellow rainbow turned into a pink heart on a white background. the heart wasn't a complete one, but was made of three distinct pieces. it was just the bottom corner and the top double bump (both bumps separate). they were twitching and shimmering, as if it was some sort of mirage.

i managed to get a couple of passable photos, but they were nowhere as distinct and well defined as what i saw with my own eyes.

and that's all I remember of the dream.

dumplings:

my friend satej and i were at some sort of pub/club, which had a dance floor, a mezzanine with tables, a bar on one side, and a separate section which had a counter for food. the place had a wood finish, not a fancy, polished one, but a rough and homely feel that reminded me of my grandmom's place, down to the slightly uneven wooden floorboards. it was completely closed to outside light, so even though it was bright outside, it was dark inside, with dim light coming from bulbs.

satej and i were standing by the side and drinking beer out of mugs, looking on at the dance floor and generally catching up on each other's lives (i haven't met him since his wedding in January, btw). he was feeling hungry so we made our way to the food counter. the arrangement there was a very curious one: there were ziploc packets of uncooked portions, you picked one and paid, handed the packet over, and got it back in a styrofoam plate a couple of minutes later. we both picked a packet of dumplings each, and paid. it was 400 bucks a plate, and satej and i remarked to each other how expensive this place had become. i wasn't feeling hungry though, so i kept my packet with me, and told the guy at the counter i'd get it cooked later.

as we made our way to the table we were standing at earlier, I saw my dad waving out to me from another similar table from across the dance floor. he was with a guy who looked about his age, presumably a friend. I excused myself and went over. he told me he had finished his drink and was heading home. he asked me if I could drop him on my bike. i agreed, and after telling satej that i'll be back quickly, we left the place.

strangely enough, this place was actually built on a two storey raised concrete platform, so we had to go down a couple of flights of stairs, and past a vacant swimming pool to get to the large parking lot. it was about sunset by then, and the place was barely 5 minutes from home on bike. i reached dad to our apartment block and rode back. by then, the sun had set, and satej had stepped out where there were tables and benches set on the periphery of an artificial huge lawn on the concrete platform. it was a big lawn, and people were milling about with their drinks.

my brother was there with satej now, and he was ordering a plate of soya chips, from a waiter who was apparently his friend. he observed that the quantity of chips had been ridiculously reduced since the last time, and the waiter friend reassured him that something will be done about it. and that's when i remembered i still had a ziploc bag of uncooked dumplings. i opened it, and sniffed it. it smelled fine. I also picked a tiny one and popped it into my mouth. it tasted fine too. i walked back to the food counter, and told the guy there to cook them for me. he asked me if I wanted them steamed or fried. i decided i wanted them steamed, as satej had his plate fried. as i collected my plate and started walking back, the waiter-friend caught up with me. when we reached the table, he opened a bag of chips. i observed he was now without his waiter's uniform. as he emptied the bag into the plate, he sat down and said he's done with his shift, so he'd join us for a bit.

and that's all I remember of the dream.

popular posts