Lounge Loves: ‘Grole’, dog names and more

All Together 

A grole or grolle is a round earthenware dish with a lid and multiple spouts. In some regions of Italy and France, it is used to serve a hot, coffee-laced alcoholic drink shared between friends by being passed from person to person. Last week, I tried drinking from a grole for the first time at an Italian restaurant in Bengaluru, La Gioia—it’s not on the menu but they will bring it out if you ask nicely. The drink we were served in it was thankfully not hot but refreshingly cool, given the muggy Bengaluru weather right now, and we all dipped straws in it and sipped simultaneously (feeling thankful that the covid-19 pandemic was over) as we huddled together over the grole. The servers said our raucous group of five inspired them to offer the drinks to us—and it occurred to me that this drink is the perfect toast to friendship.

— Shrabonti Bagchi

Lunch Scenes 

There is a certain joy in discovering small joints serving unpretentious everyday food. Over the last few months, I have found myself grabbing a quick meal at a roadside lunch spot outside a busy hospital in the western suburbs of Mumbai. Sunita tai is chirpy, speaks in English, and is a fantastic cook. I usually go for the fried bombil, and kolambi, or prawns cooked in a spicy masala, and best enjoyed with rice. Everything is cooked in her home kitchen, including pickles, and she carries them in huge steel dabbas daily in an autorickshaw. There is a small table and stools for people to sit and eat. The food is homely, comes in clean steel plates, and is priced between ₹150-200. I plan to go back for the mutton biryani. 

—Rituparna Roy

Also read: In the company of Indian masters

Dj in the House 

Growing up, I had a pet dog called Tiger, and then Tommy. Later, there was Pepsi. It’s evident, nobody put any thought into these names. There was a “Moti” in Sachaa Jhutha and Mera Naam Joker (both 1970), Teri Meherbaniyan (1985) and Bol Radha Bol (1992). Now the world has gone to the dogs but pet names have become Insta-catchy. I have met a Scooter and DJ on my morning walks. These are names which must have taken some brainstorming. Last month, I met Gabbar but I couldn’t gauge if the three-month-old puppy’s bark was as evil as the dacoit’s laugh in Sholay. What’s in a name, a dog by any other name would still have a piece of your heart. But can we retire “Moti”? —Nipa Charagi

 —Nipa Charagi

Pretty on the Outside 

Whether it’s a gift, or more likely, an Amazon package you self-ordered, there’s child-like joy in opening—no, tearing open—the box and seeing what it holds even if it’s just a bottle of your regular moisturiser. Recently, though, the pretty packaging for the perfume I’d ordered from House of Kanzan (an Indian indie perfume brand) made me feel almost guilty for opening it. The brown wrapping paper was folded in the Japanese gift wrapping style. There had been effort from someone there to make sure the “unboxing” experience is joyous. The other sweet touch was adding a free perfume sample. Considering they are not a luxury brand, both gestures seemed like thoughtfulness wrapped in warm notes of tonka beans and sandalwood. Yeah, I opened the wrapper carefully with scissors. 

—Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran

Also read: Source: Your style guide to all things polka