Blog 9, N&N – New year eve 30thDec21-1stJan22

Nitin had a scheduled Chennai official trip post-Christmas and he was unsure of being back home by New Year’s Eve. Chennai “Westin” being Namrata’s favourite hotel, she eagerly agreed to join him when asked. 31stDec21 was a Friday, which means Nitin could finish his work by early evening and be back at the hotel.

He was fixed on having the New Year’s Eve gala dinner at the same hotel. Due to the covid wave rising again, all hotels were instructed not to have any live music or show. Hence it was going to be just another extravagant dinner arrangement with hefty prices. Namrata on the other hand suggested that they must explore different options available nearby, which will give them a chance to get dressed well and walk out of the same place of stay. She had promptly checked the internet on the day of arrival and with Nitin’s consent, confirmed on “Holiday Inn” in the same vicinity.

“Holiday Inn” belonged to the same 5-star category of hotels, yet had a rather reasonable pricing with Nitin’s membership adding some advantage too. Namrata had packed decently, for this evening well in advance. The pair had long planned that Nitin will wear the Tuxedo (shopped during their wedding), for a special occasion and Namrata will wear a Red black fancy Bollywood-style net saree paired with his looks. This occasion seemed to be ideal to bring their wish come true.

Nitin ensured to complete his work well on time and return to the hotel room by 6 pm on New Year’s Eve. The weather was quite pleasant, with thundershowers and cool breezes. The man for the first time got dressed head-to-toe in a Black Tuxedo set, a white shirt, maroon tie, cufflinks, a belt, and tan formal shoes.

The lady was meanwhile dressing in her favorite saree purchased long back from Delhi. She applied light evening makeup and wore simple jewellery to compliment the whole look. Nitin was mesmerized watching Namrata in this ensemble, for the first-ever time.

They both took time and got perfectly ready for the evening ahead and drove to the venue to attend the dinner starting at 7 PM. They took some quick pictures at the current hotel as well, as there were nice decorations around since Christmas time. Roads had some traffic, though events were banned and it was raining as well.

“Holiday Inn” had lavishly decorated their dinner venue restaurant. There was a scrumptious large spread of food and desserts arranged immaculately. Each category was separately arranged like cheese, cold cuts, salad, chat, soup, main course, starters, desserts as well as roasted Turkey. There were varieties of mocktails complimenting the food. Namrata was keen to try about 4-5 varieties of cakes displayed including Red velvet, coffee, Black forest, and Blueberry. Nitin wasted no time bringing the mezze platter, Mediterranean cuisine being his preferred. Namrata started off with the cocktail prawns and some more Hors d'oeuvre, and canapes. They sipped on a refreshing orange ginger mocktail while further digging into starters and chats. The evening was well set, with instrumental music played in the background and there was a decent crowd around.

The couple revisited the year’s memory lane on how great it has been for both of them, surviving COVID, and being thankful for everything they received from the universe. After a long date night dinner, they returned to “Westin”. The next day being a Saturday, they were in no rush to end the day. They danced for a while in the beautiful suite room, glaring outside the glass window. It was a veritable ending to a long year.

The first day of the new year 2022 was cloudy and subtle from the rain last night. The duo woke up early, as usual, did meditation, and headed towards an early morning walk on the nearby beach. There were barricades closer to the beach and the roads were comparatively deserted. They enjoyed the scenic view and returned to the hotel for a late breakfast before checking out, to drive back to Bangalore.