Thirukkural in a Russian restaurant run by Georgians!

When "S" suggested dinner at a Russian restaurant, my immediate response was, "Russian? Bland food?"  But, I was assured that it is not really Russian, but the food is Georgian, and that I would love the two dishes that are "S"'s favorites.

A woman in a summery dress was straightening the outdoor tables as we walked in.  True to the old stereotypes of smoking and drinking Russians, she had with her a pack of cigarettes as well.  The eatery had to be authentic then!

We sat at a table, adjacent to a couple.  Two tables away was a lone young man who looked like he could be from one of the Central Asian "Stan" countries.  At a far table was a group of three older men.  I imagined that they were immigrants who had gotten together for their weekly conversations about the old country, and perhaps tell the same stories all over again, in their deep and gruff tones.

The walls were filled with handwritten notes in various languages.  I scanned them, and I spotted a Thirukkural couplet.  A wonderful couplet that will be meaningful in any culture:

The couplet roughly translates to:

When one harms you, shame them by doing them good.

To the right of the couplet was a vase/cup and spoon that was so much like the ones that Srikumar, my high school friend, had gifted me back in the days when he was a student in the USSR. I still have that at home:

The food was awesome.  Borscht and a chicken dish that is described in the menu as:

Shashlik: This hunter's joy on a skewer is grilled Thursdays through Sundays; please allow 25 minutes. It is said that this dish saved the Yalta Accords between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt in 1944.

As we exited the restaurant, I noticed the summery-dress woman sitting outside. 

"Are all you folks from Russia and Georgia?" I asked her.

"We are from all over the old Soviet Union" she replied.  "I am from Belarus."

"No kidding!"

"We have had people here from Latvia, Lithuania, and many of the old Soviet republics.  We all talk Russian."

I so wanted to joke with her that I thought the Latvians and Lithuanians hated the Russians, but I didn't.  Leave them Russians alone; they have caused enough troubles already!