Meeting the step-mother

Above:  Turbans at the changing room while their owners are golfing or showering.

I woke up late this morning, felling tired, wheezy and hay-feverish.  We took breakfast downstairs around 0930 and relaxed until picked up by Mushtaq at 1100.  Today is Eid ul-Adha (or Hari Raya Puasa in Malaysia).

We arrived at Princess Wendy’s house but she was nowhere to be found.  Camel (her driver) had gone to pickup Gina (or George as she likes to be called), who is Pat’s new-found step-mother.  We learnt that she had married Pat’s father the year Pat and the rest of the family left India for various Commonwealth countries. George is about Pat’s age.

Once Princess Wendy and George showed up, we had nice chats in the living room.  Princess Wendy hadn’t met George since their youth but they were still like two children that had never been separated.  There was so much for them to catch up on, between Princess Wendy, George and Pat.

We had lots of questions for George.  For example, Pat had wondered what had happened to her sister Pam.  We learnt that Pam and her grandmother moved to Sialkot which is now in Pakistan.

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Princess Wendy took us (in two cars) to the Chandigarh Golf Club where we continued our conversations over nibbles and drinks.  The nibbles were delicious and consisted of chiken tikka, fried fish and tandoori paneer.

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Back at the house, the conversations continued.  Kim, Jo and I took a break from that by going to Chandigarh’s Fantasy Rock Garden.

It was a garden of sculptures and walls made from broken porcelain, largely tiles, toilet and bathroom ware.  There were parts that were made up of electrical sockets, bangles and other household items.

We didn’t finish the entire park, skipping Phase 3, as Jo needed the toilet.  We did see a nice waterfall in that zone but nature beckoned us back to the hotel where we also took a rest.

Mushtaq picked up at 1945 for dinner with Princess Wendy’s again. It was a repeat of last night in that we didn’t dine until 2200.  The princess wore and apron and made a lightly spiced garlic fish plus a vegetable and potato bake.

The staff were alcoholic and were drinking her alcohol.  Wendy asked the cook, who had really “shocked” eyes to make animal impersonations for our amusement.  Donkey, camel, dog etc.  She also rang the servants to summon them from the kitchen so that her cutlery on the table could be passed closer to her.

State of Faridkot crest in Wendy’s home.

Reunion photo of Pat’s family with her step-mother and Princess Wendy.