Monday, December 31, 2018

Goodbye 2018--You've Been a Right Buddy.

Monday, December31, 2018
Bombay

Goodbye 2018--You've Been a Right Buddy.

     Namaste from Bombay!
     So the last day of 2018 dawned for me at 5.30 am when I awoke with another gratitude prayer on my lips for the year that was! Such a mixed bag! Joys and sorrows waltzing hand-in-hand through the months evoking every sort of human emotion imaginable. The Fulbright Fellowship (deep joy!) and Russel's fall (such a shame!). Incredible travels--Llew and I visited five new countries (Iceland, Peru, Ecuador, China and South Korea)--and the heartbreak of a child's divorce. The publication of a new book and the death of a beloved pastor...I could go on and on. Still...the French have a brilliant phrase for it: C'est La Vie! By the time you get to my age, you learn to roll with the punches because in life, as we all realize sooner or later, you win some, you lose some...
     Up for breakfast (three slices of multi-grain bread with Nutella, Peanut butter and salmon cream cheese) and coffee (taking a break from my muesli!) as I try to finish up an old loaf. And then I showered and got down to work.
     And I worked and I worked and I worked till I felt as if my sore butt would be unable to carry me around for the rest of the day. I had begun sending out query letter directly to the publishers yesterday--today, I scoured lists of literary agents here in India who manage manuscripts for authors. I began with a list I found online on the Hachette India website and I just took off from there.  Each agent had different submission requirements: some wanted two sample chapters, some wanted three.  Some wanted a bio note, others wanted a prospectus; still others wanted a chapter synopsis, and some wanted a cover letter. So, first I made sure I had all the different elements in place for each submission. And then I started to create correspondence with each agent while attaching those elements for which they asked. As they left my laptop, I whispered a prayer for their safe delivery and the return of good news. I have to cool my heels now as most of them say they will take 3-4 months to reply! Yes, there are no short cuts to getting published! It went on all day until I had to stop for lunch before Russel gets anxious if he is forced to break the rigid regimen of his days.
    At Dad's, we had lunch together: black-eyed peas with ground meat, white ridged gourd, more ground meat with potatoes. Dessert was fresh papaya.  I did not stay long. I was determined to get through the entire list of agents.
     Back home, I returned to my laptop and just got on with it. About a half hour later, I stopped for a nap and then I went right back to work again. At about 2.00 pm, Dad surprised me with a visit to my studio. He brought me some baked goodies (that I had meant to carry with me to my place but had forgotten). When he left, since it was Me Monday, I did some personal grooming chores--main-pedi, eyebrows...
     I stopped at 5.00 pm for a pot of tea and the neat baked goodies from Theo Broma--they were okay--actually looked better than they tasted. And then, lo and behold, I checked my email and...and...get this! I had already received a response from one of the agents thanking me for my initial submission and requesting me to send her the entire manuscript! In less than four hours! You could have knocked me down with a feather. Now, I know this means nothing...I know that there is no indication at all that this will translate into a publishing contract. But...it is a start and I am not sneezing at my success!
    Of course, this meant that I had to look at my manuscript again. On the recommendation of my very successful author friend Susan Hood, who had read the manuscript just before I left Southport for Bombay, I made the fifth chapter the first chapter of the book. She had said that it was hilarious and suggested I start off the book with it. Okay. Who am I to argue with the experts? So...that was it. I had to do some rearrangement of chapters and then make sure that the links from one chapter to the next still worked. I also had to tidy up the Table of Contents page...it went on and on.
     But finish it all I did at 8.00 pm.  And before I knew it, the last day of the year had slipped by.  Indeed the year had slipped by!
     Wasting no more time, I packed up an overnight bag that included the clothes I would wear for the Holy Hour Vigil followed by Midnight Mass in our parish church that I would be attending with Dad and clothes and toiletries I needed for the night as I was spending it at Dad's. I had no intention of walking along the streets of Bandra at close to 1.00 am on New Year's Night when every drunk and lumpen element in the city is strutting his stuff!
     And so we had dinner at Dad's--pretty much a repeat of the afternoon's fare. I was feeling terribly drowsy (possibly from having toiled so hard on work all day and because I am still dozing myself with Crocin as I continue to do battle with a cold) and so I excused myself for a lie-down before we left for church. I actually did sleep for a good half hour before Dad roused me up and we got dressed to leave.
     The Holy Hour was conducted by the nuns of Priti-Kunj who did a nice job. It wasn't very well attended. But by the time the hands of the clock crept to midnight, the church was full. Mass was said by a visiting Jesuit priest, Dean of the Theological Center at Poona, Fr. Francis Miranda, who did such a nice job with it too--his homily was sensible and inspirational and completely commanded my interest. After Mass, there were a number of people to wish as we munched on a slice of cake that the church provides during the Meet and Greet session that follows every Mass with coffee (which both Dad and I passed as it would keep us awake).
     Back home at about half past 1.00 am, we took one picture together and then went straight to bed.
     The year had ended with a good response to my query letters and I fell asleep knowing that 2019 will start for me on an optimistic high.
     Happy New Year All! May you all be blessed with health in body and peace of mind throughout 2019 and beyond! And thanks so much for following me and being such faithful readers of the goings-on in my life.
     Until tomorrow...    


Sunday, December 30, 2018

In the Time Between Xmas and New Year's Day--Playing Catch Up

Sunday, December 30, 2018
Bombay

In the Time Between Xmas and New Year's Day--Playing Catch Up

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I do love the days between Xmas and New Year's Day! The festive spirit continues, the world is still ablaze with light and color, in Bombay at least 'Xmas visits' continue and in Bombay at least, the weather is perfect. Also, today is a Sunday...which gives more pause to just relax and take it easy.
     Not that I did so...its one thing to think of relaxation in the abstract and a completely different thing altogether to actually give oneself the permission to vegetate. So I was up at 5.30 am and I did get down to blogging before the first glimmer of dawn light stained the eastern sky. In my building here on St. Monica's Road, the dawning of a new day is indicated not so much by light as by sound. I hear the woman who lives below me bellowing to the cats she feeds. Their mewling and her snarls herald the start of another noisy day.  In fact, if there is one peeve I have to deal with daily, it is noise-pollution. Although I live on a very quiet lane, tucked away from the incessant blaring of rickshaw and car horns and the glare of headlights, human beings (read my neighbors) are the causes of the irritating sounds with which I am compelled to live. My shrill next-door neighbor has (thankfully) moved out following her wedding (although her guest appearances to her 'Maike' do not go unnoticed!) but now it is her mother who has defeaning fights with her domestic maid. I actually had to go across yesterday and knock at their door while they were in the midst of one of their ghastly spats to request them to close their front door while sparring--because, get this, these folks live with their front door wide open the entire day--if you can believe it!!! Clearly, privacy is not one of their priorities.
     After blogging, I got started right way with the weekly cleaning of my flat.  I wanted to do this before having breakfast and going to Mass. I decided to start with sweeping and swabbing the floor and then turning to cleaning and dusting countertops and other surfaces--usually I do it the other way around and then feel too tired to do the floors. Chriselle had brought me Fantastic and Bounty--so I was completely equipped to deal with the grime and after a good cleaning of bedroom and bathroom, I was ready for a hot cup of coffee and two slices of toast with Nutella, peanut butter and salmon cream cheese (also brought courtesy of Chriselle) which formed my breakfast. It took me less than ten minutes to get ready for Mass and to leave.
     I was in church for the 9.15 am Mass when Morris, the sacristan, came up to ask if I would do the First Reading as the Lector was a no show. I raced into the sacristy and reviewed the Reading with just minutes to spare as Mass began. And so I ended up being the Lector today. I missed Fr. Lancy D'Souza whose Mass (and sermons) I have grown to enjoy.
     After Mass, a lady came up to me to ask if I was Russel's sister. When I replied in the affirmative, she told me that she had read my article in The Examiner and completely identified with it.  She said that she felt the same way each year about Christmas--she is all wrung out with fatigue by the time the day arrives and always wishes she could just withdraw from it all and pretend it wasn't happening! We chatted for a few minutes and then I went outside to pick up a vada pau for Russel while visiting with Queenie.
     Back home at Dad's, I gave Russel his snack, chatted for just a few minutes, discussed what they would like for lunch (I would be ordering from Bandra Gym) and then left for The Bagel Shop where I was supposed to meet Jonathan, a Master's student of Music Education at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Glasgow, Scotland, who is down in Bombay for just ten days during his winter break. I thought it would make good sense to talk to him and find out what sort of factors had encouraged him during his childhood to take up Music (he plays piano and sings) and to go forward with it as a professional. Jonathan was already at the venue when I arrived. We spent the next 90 minutes chatting. He is extremely articulate and I had to interject only very occasionally as he spoke about his upbringing, exposure to music (classical came very late, he said), encouragement he received from his mother, recognition of his talent through church and zonal competitions, etc. It was indeed a pleasure speaking with him and I was glad he was able to spare the time for me.
     While there, I sipped a chocolate milk shake while he had a macchiato. While there,  I also called Samir at Bandra Gymkhana to phone in my order. He called me back in about 15 minutes to let me know that it was ready. That was when I said Bye to Jonathan and proceeded towards the Gym. I was lucky enough to spot a rickshaw and I hailed it, hoping he would take me there, wait while I picked up and paid for my order and then bring me back to Dad's.
     He did! I was lucky. Samir had my Chicken Lasagna and my Corn and Pasta Salad ready for pick-up and with Dad and Russel, I sat down and ate a very delicious lunch. It was a good time to sit and chill--Russel has started spending a lot of time in the living room at the dining table and much less time on the bed. However, he has now started to get anxious about what lies ahead with regards to his next hospital visit for a review of his situation.
     Back home after lunch, I had a short nap and then got down to work. I needed to transcribe the interview I had done at least two weeks ago with Bharat Dabholkar and that was exactly what I did. When my laptop ran out of juice (I had almost finished), I left it to recharge while I had a pot of tea with cake and cheese biscuits and chatted on the phone with my cousin Blossom who is still in Bangalore with her daughter Menaka.
     I left again for Dad's at about 8.00 pm and had just a touch of dinner with him--after my late tea, I wasn't in the slightest bit hungry. Back home, I had ice-cream for dessert and watched a new show called Republic of Doyle because it starred Irish actors and I thought it would be set in Ireland. It isn't. From the accents that the characters are using, it seems American; but the landscape looks decidedly Irish--so I am well and truly confused.  The plot was also moving at snail's place. I shall give one more episode a shot and then I'm done with it.  There is a lot of garbage on the box, let me tell you...
     Until tomorrow...        

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Entering Into A New Family Project...And A New Publishing One

Saturday, December 29, 2018
Bombay

Entering Into A New Family Project...And A New Publishing One.

     Namaste from Bombay!
     The year is swiftly drawing to a close and, inevitably, one's thoughts and prayers (of Thanksgiving) turn to its blessings (and challenges). I find myself waking up with a gratitude prayer on my lips and much foreboding for what's in store.
     Awake at 6.30 am (as I only really fell asleep at 2.00 am), I blogged quickly and ran through email. I love the many Xmas letters we get...plus Llew has been scanning and sending me the many photo Xmas cards we receive each year from American friends. That's the one thing that makes me feel homesick.  That and pictures of Southport Harbor regularly posted by two Twitter accounts that I follow (The Southport Globe is one and I forget the name of the other). At this time of year, they have been sending misty pictures of Harbor Road at dawn and of Southport Marina shrouded in fog--virtually invisible but still beautiful.
      I fixed myself some breakfast--back to muesli and coffee--and watched Doc Martin.  Then, I had a shower and got ready to face my day. It is a matter of 'getting ready' and of 'facing' for I am now undertaking a big (and very difficult) family project about which I cannot reveal too much at this stage.  Suffice it to say that it involved making a couple of calls that took up most of my morning...but those two calls launched it. I need to make notes as I go along so I can keep it all under control. I honestly wish I wasn't doing this alone--it would have been so much better to have had Llew work on this with me...but from the other side of the world, he simply cannot. I am praying for the courage and the skill to be able to handle this. Please lift me up in prayer...that's all I can say right now.
     I then began work on sending out the proposal for my next book to a bunch of Indian publishers with the idea of trying to get it published. I am also going to contact a bunch of literary agents here--if that will help me position my next book, I would be happy. The manuscript is ready--it is the memoir I wrote about my life in the UK ten years ago. Let us hope someone will bite.  Reading the websites of the publishing houses here and getting a sense of their submission requirements (different for each publisher) means that one has to work on the project with focus. Each query takes a lot of time as I draft a different cover letter for each Acquisitions Editor.  I am very much hoping that something will come out of this.  If not, I do have my American publisher, Hamilton Books, who has already offered me a contract for it.  However, there are some terms in that contract with which I am not entirely happy.  Let us wait and watch...
     I left my studio for lunch at Dad's. It was chicken curry with red pumpkin--I actually ate it with a chapati as the replacement meal delivery service lady sent him almost a dozen! Right after lunch, while Dad still continued eating, I worked on sorting through the many boxes of Christmas sweets and cakes that Dad had received from a number of neighbors and friends.  It always overwhelms him--these little things--in terms of sorting through them and putting them away.  A couple, of years ago, when I was visiting Bombay at this time, I had given him a hand with this task.  So it was child's play and a very simple undertaking for me to go through each box and separate the goodies into: cake, fried items (kulkuls, neurees, rose cookies), cookies and tarts (shortbread, nankatais), 'sweets' (milk cream, marzipan, jujubes, milk toffee, chocolate fudge, coconut toffee, guava cheese). Good God! What a sugar high for Dad and Russel lies in store! I shudder when I think about it: diabetes just waiting to take hold...Dad's housekeeper then helped me tear up each box and throw it away with its accompanying paper napkin inside--such a waste and such an environmental nightmare! I prefer the good old days when we went from house to house with the same one glass tray covered with a pretty embroidered cloth. In each house, we were invited in...we visited for a few minutes with the residents while someone (usually the lady of the house) disappeared inside with the tray, took away the goodies offered and returned the same tray, then and there, usually with her own sweet offering (a bar of chocolate, a few sweeties or, if nothing else was available, a small mound of sugar)! I loved those Indian customs of old!
     Dad and I left for Hill Road so that we could exchange the sari we had gifted Dad's housekeeper for Christmas.  It tuns out that he had picked out the exact same color for her last year and she requested us to exchange it and get her something quite different--which we did.  The shopkeeper who knows Dad and myself fairly well by now was more than nice about making the switch.  On our way back, as we traipsed through the market, both Dad and I bought a ton of fruit (apples, figs and guavas for me) and for Dad it was oranges, guavas and a papaya.
     Armed with our produce, we got into a rick. I jumped off at my place while Dad carried on. Back home, I took a short 20-minute power nap, then returned to my task of sending out publishing queries. I am still working on it and, no doubt, in the next couple of days, I will have finished sending out a bunch of them.   Fingers crossed!
     I stopped for a pot of tea, Flury's almond, honey and fig cake (nice!) and cheese sandwich biscuits (which remind me very much of Tuc's biscuits which I used to buy and eat in London). As it was Saturday evening, I called Dad and told him I would not be joining him for Mass as I will be going tomorrow morning. Instead I went off to keep Russel company while Dad went to Mass.  I found a pack of cards and for the first time, Russel and I began to play cards. I shall do that with him from now on.  Mum had taught him to play Pairs and Seven Hands. It will be a nice way to help him pass time when I am with him.
     My friend Shahnaz called to invite me over to her's. She suggested we watch a movie on Netflix, sip some wine (I would have carried my own gin and tonic), have dinner, shoot the breeze. I told her I would love to, but I had told Dad I would have dinner with them. Sadly, she is out tomorrow...so we might have to wait till next week to do this. It all began when I suggested we keep up my annual tradition--of watching Love, Actually together. Of course, I then find out that the movie is not licensed to be screened on Netflix in India--so I cannot continue my tradition this year! Nor could I find it th whole movie on You Tube (just extracts and the trailer)! Bummer! We might have to watch something else.
     We had visitors during the evening. My brother Roger's friend Jumbo came along with his daughter Roxanne. They chatted with us and asked me for an update on Russel and on Dad--everyone is so concerned about how Dad is doing with all this extra strain of Russel's long prognosis. I have to say that I feel concerned when I see how stressed he has become and how he is reacting to this stress. It is very worrying for me too.
     When Jumbo left, Russel wanted a nap. I sat and browsed through their newspaper as I waited for Dad's return.  He came back very shortly and we started to get dinner organized. I ate quickly and then picked up my laundry. We tried to call my nephew Arav to wish him for his birthday--I had hoped to Whatsapp video call with him while Dad and Russel could also see him and chat with him...but it seems he was still asleep in Connecticut.  We will try again tomorrow.
    I got back home, ate some ice-cream for dessert while watching Still Game (which was hilarious!) and feel asleep rather early.
     Until tomorrow...

Friday, December 28, 2018

My First Literary Festival as a Participant

Friday, December 28, 2018
Bombay

My First Literary Festival as a Participant

    Namaste from Bombay!
    Today was another first for me! While I have attended two Literary Festivals in Bombay so far (The Times LitFest at the NCPA and the Times LitFest at Mehboob Studios), this was the first time I have been invited to participate in one.  Naturally, I was quite excited.
     My day began at Crazy 'o Clock (4.00 am)--which meant that I needed a nap mid-morning--but this has become the rather strange pattern of my days (or nights!). Still, I awoke, blogged, tweeted, read The Times of London online and then got my brekkie organized. I shall return to my workouts at the gym this coming Monday. Brekkie was muesli (minus an apple although I threw in two figs) with coffee while watching Doc Martin--to which I have returned with a vengeance as I find that there are now new episodes on Netflix.
     However, I could not linger too long as I had to leave my studio to commute to the city for the Think Literature Festival By The Bay which is organized by a company called Think Literature. So, I googled the location of The Radio Club (where it was being held). I had been there before with my friend Nafisa who happens to be a member. But I had forgotten exactly where it was located. I also texted her to get directions.  She, sweet supportive friend that she is, told me that she would be there too. My session was scheduled to begin at 12. 30--she said she would come by 12. 15 pm.
     Accordingly, I showered, dressed, took the train and then a cab from Churchgate Station as the place happened to be at the very end of Apollo Bunder, past the Taj Hotel and close to the Strand Cinema.  It is a part of the city that I would love to explore on foot--it seems really interesting.
     I was there by 10.45 and my panel would only go on at 12.30 pm; but I wanted to get there to witness a few of the panel discussions before mine just so that I could get a sense of the format and the standard of the discussions. A talk on wild life in India was on when I arrived. I met the main organizer Saurabh Kumar (who had invited me to be a speaker at a panel on 'The Art of Reading') and the emcee, one Alaric (I did not get his last name) who introduced himself.  I also met the Moderator on my panel--one Vikrant Utekar who told me that he was an editor with a publishing house and a published writer himself. I will need to look him up to find out what he had published.
     I then sat through a panel discussion 'The Books That Shape Our World'. My main interest in it was that my former student whom I  knew as Priti Thawani when she was an English major at Jai Hind College where I had taught from 1982-89 was one of the panelists.  She is the author of Out With Lanterns, a novel about marital infidelity and so much more. Having changed her name after marriage, she is now known as Alisha Kripalani. We had caught up a couple of months ago, at a lunch organized by some other former students--so I would not be meeting her for the first time in decades, but I would be seeing her in her new avatar--as a published author discussing literary works--for the first time.  This made me enormously proud and profoundly excited.  What are the odds that a professor and her student would be speaking about Literature at the same literary festival!? She was just as struck by the coincidence of these facts as was I.
      Her panel also presented the author Rajat Pillai and it was moderated by one Preeti Pathak. It was lovely to see how confidently Alisha carried herself through the discussion. I really do wish panel presenters would refrain from phrases such as "and stuff like that" (it was not Alisha). It is extremely immature and brings you down to the level of a nine-year old (they probably have more sophisticated ways to express themselves). Anyway...it gave me a sense of the kind of standard expected in the course of discussion.
     A word about the 'festival': I was amazed at how small it was. In a large-ish hall, there were about fifty people (if that!). I've had more attendees at a conference! Anyway...I guess that since I am still learning the ropes when it comes to such gatherings, everything is a revelation to me. In the future, I will know how to handle invitations to such events. I will ask more questions about the audience.
     All that said, the next panel piqued my interest; but one of the participants, a writer named Arjun Raj Gaind, who writes Indian detective novels, had the temerity to make a disparaging statement about no less a literary giant than Salman Rushdie.  He airily dismissed Rushdie as follows: "...Salman Rushdie who has basically written the same novel nine times..." I was aghast. You are talking here about the author who won the Booker Prize and then, 25 years later, the Booker of Bookers Prize, who has repeatedly been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and whose work has resulted in an endless number of Masters and Doctoral dissertations and countless volumes of literary criticism.  It takes a particular kind of courage (foolhardiness?) to make a statement like that at a public forum and while I respect his opinion (every reader is entitled to feel differently about what he/she reads), I did want to know how he could justify such an opinion. Oh and he also mispronounced his name calling him Rushdie instead of Roosh-die!
      Needless to say, I asked him that question as soon as his panel had finished speaking. I must state that he was quick to admit that he suffers from Foot in Mouth disease! He then went on to say that after The Moor's Last Sigh, he does not believe that Rushdie has written anything of quality or significance. Fair enough! As I said, he is entitled to his opinion, but I still think that as a fledgling writer (in comparison to Rushdie), he ought not to diz a writer of such stature publicly.  Win a couple of international awards, bro, and top The New York Times Best-seller List and then you can manifest that disease as much as you please. I would have loved to have carried on my conversation with him on this subject, but my panel was scheduled right after and I needed to get to the stage.
     In the panel before mine, one of the participants (Anil Darker) did not show. A word of apology from the sponsors and the emcee would have been in order. But no, nothing. On my panel, two of the participants were no shows. Our panel was scheduled to begin at 12.30. By the time we were called on stage, it was already 1.00 pm. That was when one of the participants made her appearance--at 1.30 pm!  Bad form, sister! To her credit, she did apologize...but then she went and ruined the impact by blaming (not herself for starting out late) but the traffic and the city! How long she has lived in the city is not clear to me. But I have lived here only three months and I know that traffic is a bane of this urban existence and I make sure that I give myself at least double the time I need to get some place--especially when it is an invited appearance at an event. What happened when Smriti Irani showed up late at the Times LitFest at Mehboob Studio will stick with me forever. Basically, you cut a sorry figure and no amount of sugarcoating your late appearance will help. Next time, be punctual.  It is the first rule on the road to success!
     I was quite at ease from the get-go when it came time to participate on our panel. I thought the issues brought up for discussion were pretty standard. What came home to me at the end of a few hours was that Indian writers go on and on like stuck records about how few readers there are. There are not! Readership world-wide has grown and were there no readers, there would not have been the proliferation of publishing houses in India. Readers now read differently--through e-books, on their Kindle, as I do through my public library on my iPad--but read they do.
     These writers also lament disinterest on the part of publishers in new writers. Welcome to the club, darlings! This is a universal phenomenon and not exclusive to India.  Show that you have writing chops and the world will fall at your feet. As in any profession, you have to prove your mettle before you can be lauded. It seems to me that young Indian writers dream of the success of an Arundhati Roy without realizing that long before The God Of Small Things made her a phenomenon, she had spent a couple of decades as a writer (a screen writer, an essayist, a freelance journalist, even writing grant applications for her creative projects). Plus, she, like Rushdie, is incredibly talented--let us not discount the role of talent in the achievement of success. Although it often seems as if success comes overnight to some people, that is never the case. Little is known about the blood, sweat and tears that go into arriving at that moment when public adulation becomes apparent--whether one is an actor, a writer, a musician or a poet. How many Nobel laureates have we even heard of before they achieve global fame by having this award bestowed on them?
     There is also the oft-heard refrain here about publishers having a formula--you need to write to it if you want them to pick up your work. Again, same story all over the world. Publishing (whether academic or for the lay person) is a business and no publisher would dream of putting money on your work unless they thought they would be making money from it. So, if you do not wish to compromise your principles by playing to their gallery, you might want to self-publish or pay publishers to sell you an ISBN number. It's as simple as that.
     When I could not hold in my impatience with their whingeing any further, I suggested that instead of airing their lamentations about readers, publishers, the state of the market and marketing personnel, etc., aspiring writers ought to just write the best book they can. I have no doubt that success would follow. I also suggested they look into taking Creative Writing courses and joining a Workshop group through which their drafts might be critiqued and improved before they become finished manuscripts and are hawked to publishers.  From what I could gather, anyone who can wield a pen in India thinks it is okay to produce a manuscript and expect it to be snatched up by a publisher and adored by the audience. I did not hear very much about writing, revising, workshopping chapters or drafts. It seems to me that the speakers (if they were authors) did not seem to realize what a long and arduous journey it is from putting something down on paper to seeing it between covers.
    I also heard one of the author-moderators lament the fact that Indian publishers do not organize book tours for their authors. Has she any idea, I wonder, how much Western authors loathe this tendency which publishers have now started to write into their contracts? Does she know how much writers like Amy Tan and Jhumpa Lahiri resent the amount of time it takes away from their writing to go and hawk their wares at book tours? Indian writers ought to feel privileged that such conditions are not (yet) attached to their contracts and that they do not have to undertake the burdens of promoting their own work through book tours and signing appearances.  I found the quality of the discussions overall to be rather juvenile--although I did learn a great deal about the workings of the publishing world in India from the views aired on stage.
     Lunch was probably the best part of the event, if I am to be honest. I tried not to eat too much, but I ended up with salad, papad, naan, rice, dal, chicken bunna, mixed vegetable curry, mutton rogan josh and kulfi for dessert. I sat with Alisha and Nafisa (who had arrived as scheduled) and we had a chance to do some more discussion during lunch with another couple who were visiting from Dehra Dun. I was about to leave when the chief organizer (a name named Dilip) from the Think Foundation (Saurabh's father) asked if he could have a few minutes of my time. Nafisa was giving me a ride to Churchgate station and so I did not want to linger. But I obliged and listened to what he had to say--he wanted to know if, based on the views aired, there was a need for writing workshops that could hone the skills of young writers in India. He stated that he has a place in Khandala where such Writing Retreats might be held and he wondered if published authors like Alisha and myself might consider taking and giving such workshops respectively. I listened to him for about fifteen minuets and then excused myself and left as Nafisa was clearly getting antsy.
     Back in her car, Nafisa and I enjoyed cruising down Colaba Causeway as she dropped me near Churchgate station. I nodded in the train on the way home and got back to bed for a long nap. My cold is making me feel drowsy most of the time as I am also dozing myself with Crocin to stop the runny nose.
     At 5.00 pm, I had a pot of tea with cake and cheese sandwich biscuits and then went to my Dad's place. I reached rather late--so with just fifteen minutes with Russel, Dad and I left for Mass on the Feast of the Holy Innocents.  As I am now having my meals at Dad's, I returned to his home and Russel joined us at the dining table for dinner. We had another smorgasbord of all sorts of items including momos and I had a piece of guava for dessert.  Guavas have now gone off the market--I realize that the season for them is Fall and I really did enjoy them thoroughly for the past few months. I am now seeing pineapples all over the place.
     Back home, I changed and went straight to sleep as I honestly felt quite groggy. But sleep eluded me and I stayed awake all the way until 1.30am. To pass time, I ate ice-cream after midnight and watched Doc Martin--still wracked by insomnia, I finally fell asleep close to 2.00 am.
     Until tomorrow...              

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Another Vacation Day at Home in Bandra

Thursday, December 27, 2018
Bombay

Another Vacation Day at Home in Bandra

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I awoke at 4.30 am today and simply could not fall back to sleep again. I decided I might as well get on with blogging and reading my Twitter feed. The temperature had fallen during the night and I was actually cold. It was time to bring out my PJs for Bombay is finally beginning to feel like winter. I checked the temperature on my phone and it was 68 degrees! I had a pair of leggings--so I climbed into those, but I realized that I need a couple of sweatshirts. I shall borrow Russel's when I get to Dad's.
        I then had one long call with Llew as we had so much to talk about. He told me that he has pulled his back and is having a very hard time with the pain. Time flew as we chatted for more than an hour. It was not long before I got out of bed to wash, dress and have my breakfast (muesli and coffee as I replenished my yogurt and almond milk supplies and took one apple from Dad's!). I am back to watching House Hunters International again--this time in Amsterdam! There are a few new episodes that I have not yet seen.
     Meanwhile, Chriselle whatsapped me to let me know that she had arrived in Zurich. As she had a 7 hour layover there, she and I chatted on the phone for a long time in an attempt to help her pass time. I made my To-Do List for the day and realized that I had to call the man from St. Peter's Church (Russel D'Souza) who was going to direct me to the place from which I could pick up a potty chair for Russel who now has enough mobility to graduate to one. I was given a number and told to contact a lady who lived around the corner from my place, right opposite the Bandra Gymkhana.
     By this time (about 10.30 am), I began to feel really sleepy--blame the crazy hour at which I awoke--and decided to take a nap. I slept for 20 minutes and then because I felt I needed to sleep some more, I closed my eyes again and woke up another twenty minutes later--I find it quite amusing that my naps take place in strict installments of 20 minutes each!
     Awake again, I also spent time chatting over important issues with my cousin Blossom who is supporting me in some difficult family decisions that have to be made. She and her daughter Menaka were leaving for Chennai later in the day. I will see them again in two weeks' time when I fly down to Chennai for the Anglo-Indian Reunion Conference. With those calls, most of my morning disappeared attending to personal and family affairs. It was time to get back to work.

Finally, Getting Work Done:
      I had three important items on my agenda for today:
1. Get Prepared for my appearance on a panel on 'The Art of Reading' at the Think Literature By The Bay Festival at the Radio Club tomorrow.
2. Draft an abstract for a conference in Goa on 'Cultures, Language, Literatures' at the end of January.
3. Write to my publisher in Goa about a Book Launch of our Goa Book at the same conference.

     One after the other I tackled the second two items.  Then it was about 12. 30, and I had to cut short a call with Chriselle from Zurich airport and leave for lunch at Dad's. I was at his place in ten minutes. The cricket test match between India and Australia is going on and India had declared for 475 runs with Pujara having scored a century--so everyone at home was jubilant.
     Lunch was more Christmas leftovers (almost gone now!) and lots of relaxed chatter with Dad and Russel. Russel was missing Chriselle but I told him to focus on the fact that she was happy in LA and that he should be happy for her. He seemed less distraught than I thought he would be.
     Right after lunch, when he went off for a nap, I got back home and worked on the first item on my agenda.  I am not exactly sure what the nature of my assignment tomorrow will be; but I put down a few points that dealt with The Pleasures and Significance of Reading, What Makes a Bibliophile, Examining Literary Tastes and Types of Readers. I also got prepared to talk about my favorite authors (Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, Anthony Horowitz, Anita Desai) and my favorite books (Atonement, Brideshead Revisited, Life in Squares, Nectar in a Sieve, Clear Light of Day, etc.) as I anticipate questions of that nature.
     When I was done, it was about 5.00 pm and I was ready for a pot of tea which I enjoyed with a slice of cake and Doc Martin on the telly. I also made a call to the lady from whom I had to pick up the potty. Upon dressing, I went directly to her house, picked it up (she was so sweet--one Philomena Athaide and insisted I have a slice of Christmas cake which I gently declined), put it in a rickshaw and took it to my Dad's place. He was very happy to have it (as it was brand new), but suggested we start using it only after Russel's cast is removed as that will make it easier for him to move around. I thought that made a lot of good sense.
     I then visited with Russel and Dad for a bit. We were surprised with a visit from our friends Jon Ken and his wife Sonam who brought them a box of stuffed dates from the Middle East and freshly made chicken momos which are really tasty. This would supplement our dinner! They left when it was time for us to go to Mass together. Joe Cordo gave us a ride home but I hopped off at the pharmacist to buy some Crocin as I have developed a cold due to the sudden drop in temperature. It is now in the upper 60s in Bombay--quite suddenly.
     Then Dad and I walked to his place and I stayed for dinner (lovely momos with a hot chilli sauce and the last of the lemon-garlic-pepper chicken and the ground beef that my friend Shahnaz had delivered!). Not long after dinner, I said goodbye to Dad and Russel and returned to my studio where I caught up with email before going to bed at 10.30 pm.
     Until tomorrow...
   

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

A Leisurely Boxing Day in the Bosom of Family in Bandra

Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Bombay

A Leisurely Boxing Day in the Bosom of Family in Bandra

     Namaste from Bombay!
     Boxing Day is all about lolopping around and savoring time off from regular routine after all the excesses of Christmas Day! When I was a little girl, it was a day spent playing with the new toys Santa had brought me or figuring out how to use a new gift--one that sticks in my mind was a sewing set that got me started on embroidering a set of napkins--which I have yet to finish!
     That said, this time round, for me it was about waking up again in my own studio and foraging around in the fridge for a suitable breakfast as my trip to Orissa and Calcutta had meant that I had cleaned it out.  I had no almond milk, no yogurt and no apples--so I could not have my muesli.  Luckily, I did have a loaf of bread and toasting it and spreading it with peanut butter and Nutella and brewing myself some lovely coffee, I was able to conjure up a very good breakfast indeed during which I returned to watching The Two Fat Ladies on one of the Channel Islands of Jersey. I got a call from Chriselle telling me that she had fixed cheese omelettes for Dad and Russel and had adjourned to The Bagel Shop to catch up with some work. The two of us had allocated the day to speaking to Dad to find out about his life story. There were many gaps in our knowledge that we wanted to fill and we hoped that Dad would be able to answer our questions.  Dad had a couple of errands to run and so he told us that he would be ready to begin by 11.00 am.
      I called my cousin Blossom and her daughter Menaka and they made plans to come across to my studio to see it. By 10.40, I picked them up from the corner of my lane and they spent the next 45 minutes in my place as we had much to discuss and to consider with regards to Russel and Dad's current situation. I found my conversation with Blossom very helpful and enlightening.
     By 11.30 am, we were back at Dad's--Chriselle had also reached there by then. Dad then set about telling us about the many involvements of his life with regards to  school, sports, work, church and extra-curricula activities.  While Blossom and Menaka stayed for about half an hour, they soon left as they had work to do at home. We continued until 1.00 pm when we stopped for lunch.
     Lunch was all the delicious party leftovers of Christmas Day. I put out a real smorgasbord of items and everyone helped themselves and took what they wanted--there was biryani, chicken, sorpotel, potato chops, raita and salad to choose from and with our plates filled, we all sat together in the living room and continued to chat. We had the remainder of the Christmas pudding for dessert. In fact, Russel was enjoying the entire interaction so much that he stayed out in the living room until 3.30pm when he had a cup of coffee and then decided to get to his room for a lie-down (as opposed to leaving right after lunch). Dad spoke, Chriselle and I continued listening and interjecting with questions until Dad was finally done. I have now told Chriselle that I will type up all these notes and send them to her in a narrative.  While Dad focussed entirely on the topics mentioned above, he did not talk at all about his home and family life, his relationship with his parents and siblings, his contribution as a husband, father and grandfather and it was really those elements that Chriselle and I were more interested in covering. I told Chriselle that I will continue the conversation with him through the time that I have left here in Bombay and will convey things to her.  
     We had cupcakes and macarons (brought from Melting Morsels by our Fulbrighter guest Michelle) for tea and  then as Chriselle busied herself with packing her case, I got my clean laundry ready to be transported home. I left for my studio at about 6.00 pm and spent the next half hour going over email and other chores. I found the building's children playing downstairs and I invited them up to my apartment to give them the boxes of chocolate that I had bought for them.  Needless to say, they were simply thrilled.
      I left soon after that for church and because I was running late for the Novena, I hopped into a conveniently-passing cab and reached church in time at 6.45. After Mass, I was returning to Dad's place for dinner as I shall be taking my meals in the next few days in his home as Valerie who delivers our daily tiffins has suspended her services until Jan 4. Dad has made arrangements with another woman named Joyce and I shall simply be eating at his place until Valerie resumes her services for both of us.
     Clarrisa, one of Dad's friends, then asked if she could come home with us right after Mass to wish Russel.  Once at Dad's, she sang a couple of carols for Russel (who was, frankly, quite fed up with Christmas by this point and just wanted to get on with it!). She left soon after and we organized dinner--the leftovers were going strong and so we feasted some more as we all had our last dinner with Chriselle before her departure for the States. Her flight was at 1.20 am and she needed to be at the airport at 10.45 pm. We had made plans to meet up with Blossom and Menaka who would accompany us for the ride to the airport and would escort me back to my studio. An Uber would do the trick just fine and I ordered one at 10.00 pm at which point Dad said his final goodbyes to Chriselle after we'd taken a few photographs and he'd given her a few choice pieces of advice as well as his blessings .
     We picked up Blossom and Menaka from their gate at Pali Hill and were at the airport on schedule. Throughout the ride, we laughed heartily at an abundance of jokes that we remembered from past times and also talked about my Aunt Anne, Blossom's mother, whom we remember so fondly at Christmas and whose memories were triggered off by Dad's reminiscences.
     We bade Chriselle goodye at the airport and told the Uber driver to take one picture of us as we realized we had not taken a single picture of the four of us together. He obliged quite sportingly and then we gave Chriselle our final hugs and sent her back to California via Zurich where she had a 7 hour layover.
     Back in the cab, Blossom and Menaka saw me back home and then zipped off to Pali Hill again. I was deeply grateful for their company as it was 11. 30 by the time I reached home and close to midnight when I finally switched the light off and went to bed.
     In the priceless information we procured from Dad who made the time to interact with us and tell us so much about his life, we spent a very productive Boxing Day. It is one that I am sure I will remember for a long time to come. It was tough saying goodbye to Chriselle who seemed to me as if she came and left in the same breath; but I am grateful that she was able to join us in India especially at Christmas. She will remain in our hearts throughout our separation. Thankfully Dad did not get emotional when saying goodbye to her for he is bent on remaining positive about the times ahead.
     Until tomorrow...

   

God Bless Us Everyone! It's Christmas in Bombay!

Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Bombay

God Bless Us Everyone! It's Christmas in Bombay!

     Namaste from Bombay!
     It was unusual to wake up in Dad's flat with Chriselle sharing with me the great double bed that my Dad and Mum had used for years. We were both up by 6.30 am while the rest of the home remained silent. Llew, who was with our friends Susan and John and their family in Connecticut enjoying a typical Italian-American Christmas Eve repast, wanted to Face Time with me and our Connecticut friends--but I had to bow out as I did not want to disturb the rest of the Bandra household and I was still pretty sleepy and intended to laze around a little.

South Indian Breakfast on Christmas Morn:
     When everyone awoke, we washed, dressed and decided to have a bit of a special Christmas breakfast: we ordered South Indian delicacies from Shree Sagar South Indian restaurant--sada dosas, masala dosas and idlis that were served with sambhar and chutney. Chriselle was keen to have one South Indian breakfast before she left and this completely fit the bill. The food was delivered to Dad's flat in about half an hour when Russel joined us at the dining table and we all sat down to enjoy breakfast on Christmas morning. It was fun as we talked about the rest of the day. A little later, Roger called from the States and all of us took turns on the phone to wish him and his family members for the holiday.

Christmas Morning Chores:
     After breakfast, I spent about an hour whatsapping friends and family members and sending out and receiving Christmas greetings. We tidied up the living room and got it ready for Dad's guests who  would be arriving for lunch at about 12. 30 pm. I had to nip out to get some fresh flowers for the buffet table from the florist outside Holy Family Hospital.  And although all the food had been ordered and would be delivered, I had to fix a salad. This was easily done as I bought lettuce, beautiful winter red carrots with white centers, yellow peppers, red peppers and cucumbers with limes from the vegetable vendor right outside Dad's gate. I dropped those over and requested his housekeeper to wash them thoroughly.  Then I went off to buy my flowers. As I made my way there, I found that the cobbler, Ramesh, was actually at work. So I asked him how long he would be there and when he said he'd be around till 1.30, I resolved to bring him my little stroller suitcase whose handle had broken on my last trip to Orissa and Calcutta.  
     At the florists', I picked up red carnations and white gladioli to place on the living room table when I got back home. Back in my studio, I put together my knife, potato peeler, lemon reamer and microplane to take to Dad's to make my salad. I also went in for a shower and got dressed and left, once again, for Dad's place. There I arranged the flowers and began work on the salad which I fixed with a lime-honey vinaigrette.

Luncheon Celebrations at Dad's:
     It was not long before the guests began arriving. Jyoti arrived first with a glass vase of white carnations (which I thought would make a good centerpiece on the coffee table). She was followed by Ewell and Nina--old friends of ours (Ewell was once my colleague at Jai Hind College where we had both taught: he taught Accountancy and I taught English), Queenie (Dad and Russel's very close friend) and Michelle, my Fulbrighter friend who had also joined us the previous evening for Midnight Mass and wine and coffee back home. Through the morning, friends had been dropping in to see Russel and to wish him and to drop off goodies such as cake and traditional sweets such as kulkuls, marzipan, milk cream and plum cake. Very few people now make any sweets at home--they are all easily purchased from the large number of Bandra-based companies that make them in bulk and sell them at church fairs, bazaars or in Hill Road shops. People also now deliver sweets in boxes--no one gives trays or platters of sweets as they once used to do. Much has changed over the years and it is always a pleasure to observe the changes in customs and traditions.
     Lunch was a lovely affair with really delicious food. Dad had ordered his standard menu of Mutton Biryani from Merchants (a Bori establishment that is renowned for its biryani), Raita, Lemon-Pepper-Garlic Chicken, Pork Sorpotel, Potato Chops and my Salad. For dessert, we had a traditional English Plum Pudding which Dad had requested one of his friends to bring him from London. I tried to flambe it with cognac but I think it might have lost its alcoholic content and potency as it simply refused to catch flame.  Still, it was a very delicious pudding and we enjoyed it immensely.
     Apart from the usual companionable banter that such parties involve, there was discussion about politics and where the world is headed (Prime Minister Modi and President Trump were very much subjects of debate), community singing as we all belted out carols, the telling of jokes that made us all burst into laughter and the gentle riling of each other. There were pictures taken as Grace was said around the table (I thanked all our guests for coming to celebrate with us, Dad for hosting and the Lord for bringing Chriselle and myself to Bombay to celebrate with Dad as I spared a word and a thought for those members of the family that were not with us including Roger's family and Llew and, above all, I thanked the Lord for his abundant blessings throughout the year). Dad sang one verse of the hymn "He brought us to the banqueting table and His banner over us is Love" and with that the jolly feasting began.
    Our guests were having such a good time that they did not leave till 5.00 pm--this was way later than usual. Queenie had a cup of tea but everyone else was simply too stuffed to eat another morsel. Before they left, I gave each of the ladies a small gift of costume jewelry so that they all took home a little something. Once they trooped out, we all pitched in to clear up although Dad's housekeeper gave us a big hand and hastened things along.

Late Evening Guests Arrive:
     Our lunch guests barely left when my friend Shahnaz walked in with her daughter Azra and her son Hasan. They were delighted to be able to wish Dad, Russel, Chriselle and me in person and Chriselle was really pleased to be able to see Hasan and Azra again as the last time we had all been together had been in Cuzco in Peru just days before their dad Mukaram had passed away. They had a slice of Christmas cake with us.
     Just as they were leaving, my cousin Blossom walked in with her daughter Menaka. More lovely Christmas wishes were exchanged. Russel's spirits had revived by the end of the day and the sadness and despondency he had been feeling at not being able to attend Midnight Mass or participate more fully in the holiday passed away slowly. As we always do, we sat laughing and joking and remembering happier times when we were all so much younger and when my Mum and her sister Anne were still around to give us really memorable Christmases--that said, Dad made a valiant effort to give us an equally unforgettable Christmas and we all really did have a lovely time. Yes, time passes, things change, loved ones leave us to recall the happy times when we were all together and such holidays also make us miss dreadfully those who are not with us (Llew, for instance, who would be spending the holiday in New Jersey with our friends, Ian and Jenny).
     Chriselle and Menaka decided to go out and get a drink and spend some time together. After Blossom, Menaka and Chriselle trooped out (they would not stay for dinner as they too had a lot of food over at their place), Dad Russel and I thought about dinner. All of us wanted to stay really light--so although we had loads of leftovers, we only nibbled. At about 9.30 pm, after a very full day in the bosom of family, I said goodnight and thanks to Dad for another super Christmas and made my way home to my own studio. I spoke to Llew again before I dropped off to sleep. He would shortly be making his way to New Jersey and he told me that he would call about seven hours later (when I am awaking tomorrow) so that I can FaceTime with our friends Ian and Jenny.
     So there you have it: it was a nice, cozy, comfortable, simple Bombay Christmas together with the best ingredients that make it what it is: loving family members and friends clustering together to express their love and affection for each other. As I grow older and as gifts (all material things in general) lose their appeal for me, I am realizing that there is nothing more precious than family and time--as we are all growing older together, we are also conscious of the rationed time at our disposal on this earth and the desire to pass it well in the happy company of those we most love is simply priceless.
     I fell off to sleep soon after what had been a far more relaxed Christmas than I could remember. Indeed as I wrote in my Christmas essay for The Examiner this year--the Catholic weekly to which I contribute a holiday essay each year--this year I really did take a holiday from the holidays!
     Until tomorrow...    

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

A Christmas Eve's Walking Tour of Colonial Downtown Bombay with American Friends

Monday, December 24, 2018
Bombay

A Christmas Eve's Walking Tour of Colonial Downtown Bombay with American Friends

     Namaste from Bombay!
      I can think of no better thing to do on Christmas Eve than spend it showing friends from America around my beloved city of Bombay! And so, weeks in advance, that was what we had decided to do.   It had all begun when my cousin Blossom from Chennai, a history buff, said that she would be in Bombay at that time and wanted me to take her on a walking tour.  Her daughter Menaka decided to jump on too. Meanwhile, my Fulbright colleagues, based here in Bandra, asked if they could join it. Chriselle would be in Bombay too and so she became a part of the mix.  Finally and unexpectedly, my friend Bonnie from Connecticut reached out to let me know that her daughter Halle would be in Bombay with three of her American friends (as they were here to attend the wedding of an American friend to an Indian guy in Pune). Needless to say, Halle and her friends joined in too. And, if you can believe this, my day began with Blossom and Menaka calling to say that they would not be able to join us as they'd had a very late night and had another party to attend that evening--so there we were, going on this tour minus the ones who had initiated the entire outing! But such is life...
     So I was up at 6.30 am, I managed to do a blog post and then wolfed down a tiny bit of muesli and barely had time for a coffee before I jumped into the shower. Chriselle (who had spent the night at my studio) also woke up early and decided to go back to my Dad's place to take her shower. We decided to meet at the bus stop on Perry Road at 7.45 am--and that was the plan of action.
     At Bandra Station, we met Michelle (a Fulbrighter) and Petra (the friend of one of my Fulbrighter friends, Richard--who was unable to come as he had left for the US for the Holidays) and Petra's boyfriend Mike. We bought First Class Tickets and we took the Bandra local Harbor Line train from Bandra to Victoria Terminus (VT--now called CST).  It took us just 30 minutes on the train to get there and both Chriselle and I were stunned at how clean (indeed spotless) the stations were. We passed by stations on the Harbor Line that I do not usually go through (as I usually take the Western Railway line to Churchgate).
   At VT, I took my friends to the Booking Office where they could appreciate the refurbished interior of the station which looks really amazing with its sculptural work, crest (coat of arms) of the Indian Railways and star-filled ceiling. But we had to hurry off as we had four other American friends waiting for us on the other side of the street at McDonald's (which seemed to be like a good meeting spot). There is only one McDonald's at VT, by the way.

 Walking Tour Begins:
     At McDonald's, after we had met everyone and introductions were made, I started off by giving my tour participants a short introduction to the history of the city of Bombay: Where did it all begin? What is the difference between the names Bombay and Mumbai? How did the Portuguese come into the picture? Why is the British legacy still so visible in Bombay (all sign boards in English, red double decker buses, red post boxes, passion for cricket and afternoon tea)? My charges were: Chriselle. Michelle, Petra, Mike, Halle, Chelsea, Eddie and John-Michael. With a very short (five minute) introduction, we were off and away.
     So here is what we covered:
1. Victoria Train Terminus
2. Bombay Municipal Corporation Building.
3. GPO (General Post Office). We went inside and some of them bought packets of post cards from the antiquated counter assistants.
4. Pigeon Feeder (Kabutar Khanna).
5. The Indian Mint Building.
6. The Original Reserve Bank of India. (I started my working life here at age 20 in the Cash Department and, of course, my Dad was a career banker with the RBI!).
7. The New Reserve Bank of India Building. (I had also worked in this building as an editorial assistant on the bank's house-journal called Without Reserve).
8. The Town Hall where the Asiatic Society of India was founded and still runs (we went inside here and I showed them the public Reading Room where we also got a bit of a sit-down).
9. Horniman Gardens (Horniman was Editor of The Bombay Chronicle).
10. Horniman Circle (A perfect semi-circle of a clutch of buildings, similar to the Crescent in Bath or Park Crescent in London). The Bombay Chronicle was headquartered in one of the buildings which today houses such upscale shops as Hermes and Tommy Hilfiger.
11. St. Thomas' (Anglican) Cathedral. A wonderful opportunity to take in some of the best Victorian mortuary sculpture in the city and get a whiff of Christmas in Bombay  There was a huge decorated tree and a crib at the entrance of the cathedral.
12. Flora Fountain (The statue of Flora, the Greek Goddess of Flowers--has just been refurbished and repainted and it looks great).
13. Walk towards Kala Ghoda past important Raj-era commercial buildings along Mahatma Gandhi Road.
14. Lunch Break. We had the Gujarati and Rajasthani Vegetarian Thalis at Chetana, a restaurant that is renowned for them and everyone wanted to experience what a typical Indian 'thali meal' was like).
15. Past the Esplanade Building to the front gates of the main campus of the University of Bombay to take in the splendor of the Rajabai Clock Tower and the Victorian Gothic details of the Convocation Hall.
26. The Oval Maidan--site of the Eucharistic Congress of the early 1960s.
27. Esplanade Building (formerly the Walton Hotel).
28. The Army and Navy Building.
29. The David Sassoon Library and Reading Room.
30. Elphinstone College.
31. Jehangir Art Gallery.
32. The Prince of Wales Museum.
33. C.J. Hall.

We would ordinarily have walked on to the Gateway of India and seen the Taj Mahal Hotel. But all of the tour participants had been there before (some of them only last evening) and as I was wilting and everyone else looked ready to call it a day, we ended the tour there.
      Oh and I got a big clap--so I was really pleased with the entire enterprise.

Back to Bandra on Public Transport:
     Halle's group, having heard so much about Bandra from the Bandra-based Fulbrighters, decided to accompany us to Bandra as they really wanted to see what this place was all about. Chriselle decided that she would be their guide. I led them to the bus stop opposite the Museum and although we waited for a bus for ten minutes, no bus arrived. I was simply too tired and my lower back had begun aching--so I was actually ready to take a cab. We divided ourselves into groups of three--two groups found cabs immediately while the third had to wait.  As it turned out, a bus did arrive and so the last three jumped into it.  We were all at Churchgate Station, ten minutes later, after which we bought First Class train tickets and traveled together in the General (Unisex) compartment until we arrived at Bandra.  There, I parted company with them and left them in charge of Chriselle. I suggested they take ricks to Hill Road as they were dying for a cup of coffee.  They ended up going to Trench Coffee Shop opposite Elco Arcade and then walking along Hill Road to St. Peter's Church and all the way up to St. Andrew's Church at which point Chriselle said bye to them and left.
     I, for my part, hopped into a 220 bus and got back to my studio where I could not wait to throw myself on my bed because I was well and truly exhausted.  It was 4.00 pm and the thought of a long and leisurely nap was most welcoming...but although my eyes closed instantly, I was up 20 minutes later!!! I continued lying down to ease my lower back, but at 5.00 after Chriselle called to let me know she had reached my Dad's, I also turned my attention to some more gift-wrapping.  I carried those gift over to Dad's and then spent the evening with him, Russel and Chriselle as Dad attended to all sorts of little tasks for Christmas guests tomorrow.
     I had dinner at Dad's--a smorgasbord of all sorts of leftovers that Chriselle had brought from her previous night's dinner--and then it was almost time for us to get dressed and leave for Midnight Mass. In Bombay, the mass is no longer at Midnight.  As they tend to be very crowded, they are held in the open and because they are in the open and a likely nuisance to residents who live in adjoining buildings, they are now held early. Caroling would begin at 9.30, the Mass at 10.00 pm and by 11.30, it would be all over.
 
Midnight Mass at 9.30 pm:
     I had invited Michelle Ngirbabul, A Fulbrighter who is from the North Mariana Islands and far away from family and home, to join us for the Midnight Mass--which she did. She happens to be a Roman Catholic and was very pleased to witness a Mass in Bombay. It was said by Fr. Anniceto Pereira, the chief celebrant, while the other two priests, Frs. Colman and Savio con-celebrated. Dad, Chriselle, Michelle and I sat together.  Russel was very sorry that he could not join us as it is impossible for him to climb up and down steps. We enjoyed the mass which contained a really great and very well-thought out sermon by a priest who is now the Rector of the Diocesan Seminary--a really good speaker who spoke a lot of good sense (something that is quite a rarity among Bombay's priests, let me assure you!).
        After Mass, cake and coffee were served to all and it was a good time for Meet and Greet as we ran into so many parishioner friends who came up to wish Dad (looking very dapper indeed in his blazer and tie) and us. As we walked back down towards home, we met more friends and neighbors.  This is what I love about Christmas in India: for one thing, the weather is always so perfect and we walk about in our Christmas finery without the appendages of coat, hat, gloves, boots; and secondly, we live in the kind of neighborhood where everybody knows your name! It is lovely.
     Back home, together with Michelle who joined us, we indulged in a lovely old family tradition that was established many years ago by my late Mum Edith--whom we miss dreadfully at all times but especially at the Holidays--the eating of a slice of plum cake and the downing of a celebratory glass of wine. The cake was the rich plum cake I had bought from Nahoums in Calcutta--which, I really have to tell you is outstanding, and the wine was a gift from a friend, Queenie (who would be joining us for Christmas lunch at Dad's). We opened our gifts to each other while sipping and nibbling and a very jolly time was had by all--including Russel who joined us in the living room and was thrilled by his haul of presents (including two T-shirts--his favorite thing in the world--from Chriselle).
     It was about midnight when Chrissie and I got into a rick wth Michelle to escort her home to her flat near Prof. Almeida Park (named after me...NOT!) and took the same rickshaw back home to Dad's where I had decided to spend Christmas night.
     Russel had gone to bed, Dad was still pottering around doing a few things, and in a very festive-looking home, we all called it a night.
     It had been an exhausting day, but fortunately, I did get my second wind after that fatiguing walking tour. And the fact that Chriselle and I were with Dad and Russel to make their Christmas special...well, it meant everything in the world to us all.
     Until tomorrow...

Sunday, December 23, 2018

All Aboard for Christmas! With Chriselle in Bombay and Dinner With Close Friends!

Sunday, December 23, 2018
Bombay

All Aboard for Christmas! With Chriselle in Bombay and Dinner with Close Friends!

     Namaste from Bombay!
     It does not matter how little one has to do for Christmas--it always seems stressful!
     Up at 4.30 (I know! Ridiculous!), I blogged, read Twitter and then dressed quickly and walked off to Dad's where I had told them I would make breakfast for them before Dad, Chriselle and I set off for Mass.
     I was at Dad's at 7.30 and I began immediately fixing them French Toast--which everyone (except Russel loves). He had his daily fried egg instead. We sat and had breakfast together and then left for the 9.15 am Mass in church. Back home, I gave Russel his vada pau and was just about to read him the weekly notices, when a family friend, Fr. Conrad, who happens to be a Jesuit priest from St. Peter's Church, came over for a visit.
     I excused myself and went back home while Chriselle went to The Bagel Shop to use the internet (as there is none at Dad's). I got home and promptly fell asleep! Blame the crazy early rising for this change in routine! Dad's call woke me up, about a half hour later, to tell me that the priest had left. I consulted with Chriselle as to what we should get for lunch from Bandra Gymkhana--she chose Indian-Chinese and I ordered Vegetable Hakka Noodles, Prawns in Hot Black Pepper Sauce and Vegetables in Garlic Sauce. When Samir from the Gym called me to tell me that my order was ready, I  left home, picked it up and took it over to Dad's. The four of us (Russel, Dad, Chriselle and I) then had lunch together.

It's Christmas!
     Right after lunch, we tackled the putting up of the Christmas Tree--Dad, Chriselle and I--while Russel watched. It was fun to do it together and we finished pretty quickly. When that was done, we left the house to go to Venus Bakery to pick up the forty cakes that cakes buys each year to distribute to his neighbors and various friends. In a rickshaw, the three of us (Dad, Chriselle and I) went but when we arrived at Venus, we found that the type Dad usually buys were over. We were told to wait for half an hour.

Dad's First Starbucks!
     To kill time, we decided to go next door to Starbucks where Chriselle treated us and where Dad had his very first Starbucks coffee--an occasion that was photo-worthy! And now that he has been "corrupted", as my friend Barbara in London says, let us hope Chriselle will not be responsible for a guilty habit! Thankfully, he was not that impressed! As I wanted to avoid caffeine, I had something called Big Red Hat (only available at Christmas, I was told) and so I ordered it.  It turned out to be the most delectable chocolate milk shake with the red hat being a swig of raspberry syrup on the top of a swirl of whipped cream. Lovely!
     Half an hour later, the cakes were bought and picked up. I bought about 10 boxes of Ferrero Rocher chocolates to give to the many little children in my building with whom I am very friendly.  They come up to me each evening and call out to me and then chat with me and I really love and enjoy their presence and thought that Christmas would be a fabulous time to give them all some chocolates! I also picked up a vegetarian Rich Fruit Cake to gift to my next-door neighbors who happen to be strict Jains. Dad's forty cakes were loaded into the rickshaw and taken home. I jumped off at my place and spent the next hour wrapping gifts for a few folks. Much as I said it is stressful, it also felt good to do something that was Christmassy as I seem to have taken a holiday from The Holidays!

An Evening with Friends:
     I carried all my gifts in a big bag and took them over to Dad's to be placed under the tree. It was about 7.00pm when I got there and we left soon after in a rickshaw as Chriselle and I were invited for drinks and dinner to our friends Anil and Ninaz's place. I had taken Anil rum balls and a cake--honey, almond and fig Cake--from Fleury's in Calcutta which Anil knows well as he grew up in Calcutta! Their home looked lovely and festive with Ninaz's potted Christmas tree beautifully strung with lights on her terrace and a few subtle decorations themed around reindeer strategically placed around their home--so lovely! We started off with drinks--Anil always makes me a great G and T--while the rest had red wine. They had a nice tray of nibbles (guac and sour cream dip with crackers and cashnewnuts) and we sat chatting about everything as the evening passed under the light of an apricot moon.
     For dinner, we adjourned to House of Mandarin on Hill Road where, because Chriselle loves prawns, we ordered Singapore Noodles, Chicken in Black Bean Sauce and Prawns. We also had Pepper Prawns as a starter.  For dessert we went next-door to Naturals and had ice-cream--tender coconut for Anil and Ninaz, choconut for Chriselle and mango for me. What a lovely evening we had with dear friends whose company we all adore!
     Anil had actually driven his car yesterday and so they dropped Chriselle and me over at my place so that she could spend the night with me. We reached home a little after 11.00 pm and after brushing our teeth, fell fast asleep after feeling a tad bit tired. Christmas has a way of doing that to you!
     Until tomorrow...
         

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Return to Bombay from Calcutta and Hunkering Down for Christmas

Saturday, December 22, 2018
Calcutta-Bombay

Return to Bombay from Calcutta and Hunkering Down for Christmas
 
     Namaste from Bombay!
     Christmas got under way while I was traveling in Orissa and Calcutta! One has no choice but to fall in line with the festivity.
     I was up at 6.30 am in my hotel. The shower in my hotel was much too skinny and much too tepid and I was reaching Bombay soon enough anyway--soI decided to shower when I got back home. I got dressed, packed in my last-minute stuff and went down to the dining room in the Fairlawns Hotel for breakfast. I was looking forward to dosas but today they had another Indian item on the menu: chole puri. I decided it was going to be another (almost) Full English breakfast (because who knows when I will have the chance to have such a breakfast again?!). I took my seat in the dining room and had a Spanish-Indian woman from Barcelona for company. She was at my table for about 20 minutes and then had to leave. I ordered my chicken, mushroom and cheese omelette and seemed to wait for it forever. Meanwhile, my friends Robyn and Keith came downstairs for breakfast and joined me at my table as my breakfast finally arrived and I helped myself to hash browns, baked beans, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and chicken sausage. I call it an Almost-Full English Breakfast because there was no bacon! I literally wolfed it down as I had a flight at 11.00 am and did not want to be late.
     Check-out followed in a swift ten minutes. I paid up, had my case brought down from my room and called Uber. Ten minutes later, I was in a cab and driving to the airport at Dum Dum which is now called the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport--a full hour away. En route, I passed by Calcutta's landmarks--the huge Maidan (which is like Central Park in New York--the lungs of the city) with its monument to David Octerlony, the spectacular imposing Victoria Memorial (I was so thrilled to catch a really substantial glimpse of it), the newer five-star hotel buildings that are still in construction. The airport is grand and very enticing with so many shops in which to pass time. I did not linger, however, as I had given myself barely 90 minutes to go through all formalities and be ready to board.
      While in the Security line, I entered into conversation with another lady--just a few friendly words--and then we were airborne.  I used my three-hours of flight time to catch up with my blog posts. Because I had eaten such a huge breakfast, I skipped lunch and, in no time at all, we seemed to be landing in Bombay. At the conveyor belt when retrieving our baggage, the lady and I began to chat again and next thing I knew, she was offering me a ride home.
     And it was on the ride that we discovered we have so many things in common: she too is from the States (Bay Area, Northern California); she too is in India for a year (to give her daughters, 7 and 10, a different global cultural experience: they are in an international school); her husband too has remained in the States while she and the girls get their India Fix; she too is a teacher (she teaches Design and Computers at an international school in the Bandra-Kurla Complex); she too grew up in Bandra (went to Learner's Academy and NM for Junior College before leaving for her undergrad studies in the US twenty years ago); she too has parents in Bandra; she too lives on Perry Cross Road--in her parents apartment! The coincidences were simply too plentiful for words! We both felt as if we were fated to meet. Her name is Radhika and she has chosen to live with her parents for this year--only a block away from my parents! Naturally, we exchanged contact information and shall be in touch.
     Once at my building, I entered my studio, grateful to have a haven into which I could sink. Chriselle was out having lunch with my niece Menaka who has also arrived in Bombay for Christmas. I called Dad and told him I had arrived.  Next I began unpacking and separating those clothes items that needed laundering. Because it was 3.00 pm and I was suddenly hungry, I ate my chicken sizzler leftovers which I had carried carefully back with me (as I did have a fridge in my hotel room). Having eaten, I felt the need for a nap--but although I tried to get to sleep, I was just too keyed up. Besides, having given my bed linen for laundering in my absence I needed to get it all back and to remake my bed before I felt as if I could actually sleep on it! I had a phone chat with Chriselle and a little later, I left for Dad's place with my laundry in tow.
     Chriselle and I had a nice reunion and were happy to be together again and to catch up. Dad, Russel, Chriselle and I sat chatting in the living room for a while.  After about an hour, I picked up the things I asked Chriselle to bring me (mixed unsalted nuts, unsalted pistachio nuts, Fantastic household cleaner, Olay Regenerist Face Wash, salmon cream cheese, Toblerone from Zurich airport). I brought my laundered bed linen back home as well as some gift-wrapping material. Chriselle accompanied me. She helped me make my bed and sort through my things as she surveyed my studio.
     We did not linger long as I needed to buy some more gift-wrap material from Cheap Jack as well as some trays for Dad's distribution of Christmas cake. Chriselle also wanted to stop at my Mum's gravesite at St. Andrew's Graveyard and we did that. As we walked along busy Hill Road (getting busier by the minute as Christmas approaches), we caught up on things. She is still a bit jet lagged and needs to get her energy levels up. However, we got what we needed from Cheap Jack.  Next, we walked to the jewelry stores opposite Elco Arcade as Dad wanted me to buy some costume jewelry as gifts for Chriselle and for Russel's physiotherapist. I wanted Chriselle to choose the items herself--so that she could get exactly what she wanted. And she did!
     Armed with all those goodies, we were fortunate enough to find a rick that took us back to Dad's where we then all sat down to have dinner. Again, I stayed for about an hour and then left them to get back home. I began packing gifts that Dad had handed me to be packed and then, of course, since I had used the last of Chriselle's sellotape, I ran out while I still had a few more gifts to pack!
     I caught up with my email, had a shower and sank into bed.
     Until tomorrow...    

Anglo-Indian Studies Conference at the University of Calcutta, Indian Coffee House and Dinner at Floriana

Anglo-Indian Studies Conference at the University of Calcutta, Indian Coffee House and Dinner at Floriana

Friday, December 21, 2018
Calcutta

Namaste from Calcutta!
Finally. D-Day had dawned and I awoke at 6.30 am to get ready for my conference. I started the day by running through my paper and familiarizing myself again with my material in my room at the Fairlawns Hotel. Then, I got my clothes ready and showered before packing the things I needed (including my flash drive for my PowerPoint presentation) before I went downstairs for breakfast.

Breakfast at the Fairlawn Hotel:
     Breakfast at the Fairlawn was fit for a king. Indeed they serve a Full English Breakfast—or almost-full because there is no bacon. I got there to find that my friends Robyn and Keith were already seated. I joined them at their table where it was with the greatest delight that I realized I could order eggs any way I pleased. They would be cooked to order. I chose a Cheese and Mushroom Omlette and then moved to the center island where a variety of items were laid out for my serving pleasure in huge domed dishes. I got hash browns, grilled tomato and mushrooms, chicken sausages, and hot buttered toast. At my table there were preserves and honey—all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I had coffee also served at the table. Fruit was at another end (but I had no room for any). Suffice it to say that I would not be thinking about food until tea-rime!
     
Off to the University of Calcutta for the Conference:
  Robyn and I had made plans to meet again in the lobby at 10.00am so that we could take an Uber to the University of Calcutta where the Conference was going to be held. It was not long before Brent Otto, another good friend of mine and an Anglo-Indian scholar who is doing his Ph.D. at Berkeley (and who also happens to be a newly-ordained Jesuit priest), also joined us in the lobby.  We set off together in the same car and arrived at College Street where the university buildings are located. 
     There was a welcoming team at the gate to lead us to our venue—in Hardinge Building in what is called Ritwik Hall. Some delegates had already arrived there when we joined the group. All introductions were made as the Conference began.
     For the rest of the day, I was completely absorbed by the fascinating research work that was showcased and the vast number of presentations that I found riveting. Younger scholars, just making their way into the profession, and well-seasoned and well-published ones, sat side by side as we discussed and debated the various ideas that came out of the seminar. We stopped for morning coffee and for a packed lunch (I was still so stuffed!) of toasted chicken sandwiches with French fries and then for afternoon tea as the presentations and discussions continued. Indeed, it was a very lively bunch of academics who displayed their passion for their subject as well as helped me understand just how rapidly and widely the field of Anglo-Indian Studies is growing. My paper entitled, “Migrant Birds of Passage: Anglo-Indian Female Labor Migrants in Imperial Britain” was a direct result of the research I had carried out at the British Library during the Fall of 2016 on the Global Research Initiatives Fellowship that NYU has bestowed upon me. It was very well received indeed and so many people told me that my argument was compelling and convincing. I was also thrilled to discover that so many young scholars are familiar with my book on Britain’s Anglo-Indians but lamented that they simply could not afford to buy it. We are now looking forward to hooking up again in the second week of January in Chennai during the International Anglo-Indian Reunion when I shall be presenting yet another paper. I made many new contacts and hope to stay in touch with these Indian academics.

Evening Coffee at Indian Coffee House:
     Brent told me that Indian Coffee House, one of the oldest and most iconic coffee houses in Calcutta, was just a block away and had suggested that if I had not been there (I had not), I should make it a point to go. Accordingly, after the conference, a few of us walked past the many bookstalls that line congested College Street, past Presidency College, the oldest University institution in India, and arrived at the place. I was amazed. It was located on the first floor of another pretty dilapidated building—basically, every old building in Calcutta is decrepit. Inside, the coffee house consists of a vast open hall that reminded me a lot of some of the huge Chinese restaurants I have seen in Hong Kong, punctuated by tables that seated four. Every table was taken. Smoking is freely permitted inside and the place was hazy with smoke as Marxist-looking types—including every second woman— smoked cheroots!
We were fortunate to find seats at the corner table and proceeded to order. The menu is pretty limited but we all had coffee and hot onion pakoras as well as Vegetable Cutlets (that Keith ordered which were basically sweet because they were made with grated beetroot!). I took many photographs because I became so taken by this space. I bet it was inspired by the Russian Marxist coffee houses (for Calcutta has always been a Marxist capital with strong leftist leanings). Indeed many a revolution has brewed in these precincts and I was just thrilled that Brent suggested I come to this place. We did not linger long as we did have a dinner date to keep at 7.00 pm at another restaurant on Russel Street called Floriana. As it turned out only five of us were going for dinner and we hoped to get an Uber.
     Before we left the building, however, we popped into the bookstore next door called Chukerverty Chatterjee which, I was told, was the oldest bookshop in the city. The Bengali spelling of the establishment had been obviously Anglecized also.
     But when a tram came along, Brent rushed us into it—Debojoy, him and myself! In fact, this is the second time I am riding a Calcutta tram with Brent. About four years ago, when I was last in Calcutta, we had taken a tram together too. The trams are the most antiquated form of transport in Calcutta. To their advantage, they are cheap (Rs. 5 per ride, no matter how long) but to their disadvantage, they are slow. Through the traffic-ridden streets of Calcutta, they somehow managed to chug their way. We had boarded the wrong one and ended up getting off at the Esplanade where our tram terminated.
    From there, we followed where Brent led us for about half an hour past New Market.  I nipped in one more time to buy another bottle of kasaudi for my cousin, which gave Brent a chance to buy some aam saat—dried mango pulp. Calcutta is also well known for this delicacy.

Dinner at Floriana:
     Back on the main road, we finally arrived at Floriana where Keith and Robyn had already reached. By that point, we all needed a drink badly! It had been a successful day and we were ready to celebrate. I had a gin and tonic, Brent had Old Monk rum with Coke (as did Robyn) and Keith had Kingfisher beer.       
Our dinner was fabulous and completely made up for the disaster of last night at Kewpie’s. All of us ordered different things and we were happy to share and taste a morsel from each other’s dish: Chicken Tetrazini, Supreme Chicken Sizzler (me), Malai Kofta, Vegetable Hakka Noodles, Murgh Makhani with kabuli naan (which was the most amazing naan I have eaten). Each dish was better than the other. And despite having alcoholic drinks and a variety of very filling food, with tip, none of us paid more than Rs. 600! You can just imagine how badly we had been overcharged the previous evening at Kewpie’s.
We were able to walk back to our hotel very easily from Park Street using the back roads with which Robyn and Keith are familiar. I had been eating so much all day that I felt ready to throw myself on the bed and go to sleep immediately, but I did find the motivation to first brush and floss my teeth and then call it a night.
Until tomorrow...