Friendship is forever: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum

While today, the second to last day, may have appeared to only consist of going to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, (I want to hear you say that out loud three times), seeing a very large head, witnessing a never-ending male friendship photoshoot, eating at lunch at Leopold’s, (of Shantaram fame), getting stranded at the hyped-up Hanging garden that had very little ROI, and almost getting jumped by a gang of 12 year old boys, in reality it was SO much more.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya had beautiful gardens, ripe for the photo taking

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. Yes. Again. Will spare you my photoshoot.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. Pottery ghost influencer vibes.

This poor woman, (“Mother”), thought she was having photos taken of her. In reality she was a mere prop in the observation of a glorious act of performative male friendship. A group of friends took turns taking photos of each other with their intense DSLR, praising each other, boosting each others egos, and showering each other with compliments on their outfits and glow-ups. Were they deserving of such praise? Who knows. Was it beautiful and tear-jerking. Yes. Did they pay a full admission price to a museum to take the photos and leave without entering the building? Also yes.

We ate at Leopold’s, (also hella old, circa 1871), sadly was attacked during the 2008 attacks, and was a huge draw for media, journalists, and expats. They’ve done a brill job of keeping up the rep and the place was packed. I did not take any photos as was busy people watching and just staring super hard at my surroundings/trying to be in the moment. I bet what you’re really dying to know is who these 12 year olds were and why they almost jumped us. WELL. We went to the Hanging Gardens. Apparently it was the shit. In the 80s. Now they are filled with kids on dates who shouldn’t be on dates, (you can hear the loud echoing of illicit giggles everywhere you go), and homeless dogs that made me want to bawl. While taking FFS (…Forced Family Selfies, keep up!), we were trailed by a small group of 12 year old laddies and things took a turn for the darker. They were only egged on when I attempted to take a selfie with them. Probably not my brightest moment.

The next morning, we woke up at the crack of down, (literally 8 am but do not dare @ me.) Breakfast was a drawn out affair, (the Oberoi does not joke when it comes to breakfast), with 89 halva varieties, 53 pooris, pav bhajis for all, dosas, sambars, masala omelettes, the mind boggles. After that, it was a four hour drive to the city of Pune, another city located in the state of Maharashtra. The drive was hella long, and hella bumpy, and I was more than enthused to try Indian McDonalds. (Tight.)

Arriving at our hosts, (the foodie legend herself: https://karenanand.net/), home in Pune, where instead of sitting in these chairs, we immediately decided to order reading and sun glasses (no this is not a joke) within the first ten minutes of being there. Night was spent eating deep friend coconut shrimp, drinking (you guessed it), Kingfishers and playing an abominated version of Uno and Kings Cup.