Another Interview, More Library Research and a Ramble In Colaba

Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Bombay

Another Interview, More Library Research and a Ramble in Colaba 

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I had an awfully restless night--was it because I did not see the need for the AC as it has turned cooler in Bombay? With the fan and a light sheet, I had felt comfortable going to bed, but I awoke at 2. 30am and then at 3.15am, felt an uneasiness in my tummy, stayed awake to do a bit of reading and then fell asleep again.  As a result, I awoke at 6.30 am--which is way later than my usual wake-time. Still, I managed to blog, catch up on previous blogs, read email and respond to it. However, I could not linger long in bed as I had a day planned in the city.
     By 8.00 am, I hopped out of bed, washed and got ready for a shower after which I dressed and had my breakfast with the aim of leaving the house by 9.15 am for my 9.45am train. I had to buy my monthly railway first class pass today--so it made sense to leave a bit earlier. I made myself a sandwich with chicken cutlets and a croissant and got my breakfast organized--same-same (as they would say in India)--muesli with coffee...and with that I was off.
      My cousin Blossom called from Madras to find out how Russel was doing and I chatted with her while waiting for the bus that rolled around five minutes later. I got my pass (it took merely minutes as there was a very sweet, polite and pretty clerk (wo)manning the counter today) and then I was off on the train where I whipped out my IPad to begin reading Educated by Tara Westover which is a current NY Times bestseller and much recommended by many of my Connecticut Book Clubs.  It turns out that she was raised in a farming Mormon family that does not educate their children by sending them to school. The book is about her attempts to break free and get formal education. Wow! It has started very interestingly and I am looking forward to finishing it up soon.
     At Churchgate, I hopped into the empty shuttle bus and got off at Nariman Point where I sat reading and typing off my notes for half an hour at the library of the NCPA. It is a cool and very pleasant spot but it has the most uncomfortable chairs in the universe and I am plagued by the worst backache--this is aggravated by the fact that my back pack is heavy (I carry my iPad with a keyboard attached to it--which adds to the weight). Every half an hour, I have to stand up, stretch and walk about to get rid of the awful pain I am suffering.

Another Interview...
     At 11.00 am, I began my interview with Farrahnaz Irani who manages International Music at the NCPA. She was a very interesting person to talk to--we discovered some common connections in a couple I know at my parish church of St. Anne's and she got her MBS from Jai Hind College where I began my college teaching career. She told me a whole lot about the NCPA's commitment to Western Music and we chatted a great deal about the changing demographics, both in terms of musicians and audience. She also told me about Jazz Collective--a new jazz group that the NCPA has originated. This made me realize that I ought to spend a great amount of time reading up on jazz in Bombay. She gave me further connections to other jazz musicians whom I shall be interviewing in the months to come. It is networking of this sort that is making my study immensely interesting. She also gave me a few flyers with details about the upcoming Jazz Festival and names of the musicians who will be participating.

More Library Research:
     Back in the library, I worked on the involvement of the Parsi community with the British--which led to their Westernization and their sponsorship of Western cultural activity as well as their devotion to Western classical music.  The book, The Parsis, by Sooni Taraporevala (who is a fellow-Elphinstonian) is very enlightening in that regard.  It is a book of photographs but each section has a good amount of text by the photographer-author who talks about her own family's cultural connections. There is also a very comprehensive Introduction which is providing me with invaluable information.
     I then looked for a book called Taj Mahal Fox Trot, a recent publication by Naresh Fernandes which documents the history of jazz music in Bombay. The library had a really good hard bound coffee table edition--which will be very useful as I delve further into this subject and start interviewing practitioners of this genre. As you can see, as I get deeper into my subject, topics are peeling away like layers of an onion and lending themselves to me with tremendous potential.
     At 1.15 pm, I stopped as I was starving and sat and ate my croissant sandwich with Hutoxi who has very kindly made her office a convenient spot for my lunch. Often times she is eating there too with her husband Jimi. Today, he was out, but I nattered along with her and her colleague. They provided me with directions on how to make my way to Colaba from the library as I wanted a bit of a walkabout today.
   
Exploring Nariman Point:
      I had kept telling myself that I ought to start walking around Nariman Point which is a maze of streets lined by skyscrapers filled with corporate offices...and today I did so by exploring a Food Court attached to the INOX Theater. Lunch time at Nariman Point is busy as white collar workers emerge from their air-conditioned offices seeking sustenance.  The Food Court consisted of about 11 eateries--some familiar (such as Subway and Baskin Robbins) and some newer ones (such as a dosa place, a Has Juice and Milk Shake Place, Indigo Burgers, a Thali place, a Frankie place). I would love to try one of those sometime soon (I remember the mutton frankies--"Mutton-Egg Roll in Naan"--to which my parents used to treat us when we were kids from, Adi's, the one and only place that served them on Colaba Causeway). I indulged in some Bengali sweetmeats to go from Sweet Bengal--it is close to Diwali, after all, and I felt a bit entitled to ease up on my sugar restrictions. I bought myself a Ferroro Rocher milk shake to go from Has and sipping it slowly, I left the place.
     Right besides the Food Court is Jamie Oliver's Pizzeria--how cool is that? Now all I have to do is find company and go and devour one of them. I got a Takeaway Menu and left.  When next I get to the NCPA for a show, I will make sure I get a pizza there as I will have company at that time.
     I strolled through the streets of Nariman Point at leisure--so much has changed in the thirty years since I have been away.  This was a familiar haunt for me as the British Council had its library, its auditorium and its offices here and I was a regular fixture in them. I have no idea where the British Council is now located and ought to find out.
     My rambles took me past Mantralaya where the Mayor of Bombay and the local legislators are located. Then I was passing by the Cooperage which filled me with such sweet nostalgia as my parents used to bring us, as kids, to this place, for horse rides! I can clearly remember riding horses as a child around and around the track which is built around the periphery of the park and which still stands. The park was lush with tropical plantings and shade--it was closed with its gates heavily padlocked, but I am sure it opens once the sun's heat subsides. The Victorian Band Stand which is the centerpiece of the park was spiffy with lovely new coats of fresh glossy white paint. It has had a recent makeover and glows with a lacy trim. There is a playground section that is cordoned off--filled with swings and sliders for the little ones. I am amazed at how well maintained parks are in Bombay today. There is not a sign of neglect in such spots--probably a result of vigilant neighborhood watch committees.

Exploring the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel:
     I passed by the facade of the CJ Hall (now the National Gallery of Contemporary Art) with the idea of returning to it shortly. Then, I dodged traffic to get across the road to the Regal Cinema from where I made my way to the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. It is a part of Bombay that I adore and I always make it a point to hang out here whenever I visit the city.
     As it turned out, today was a beautiful day--it was sunny and warm but there was no humidity at all. That made it a real pleasure to be outside and I am glad I made the most of the afternoon.
     I went past the old buildings of the area (the Yacht Club of which my friend Firdaus is a Member and whose halls I have often strode, lovely Dhanraj Mahal across the road where I had studied French at the Alliance Francaise de Bombay, many moons ago) and arrived at the Taj. I went through Security and gave myself up to the pleasure of its beautiful cool lobby (where my brother was once the Lobby Manager) and made a beeline for La Patisserie, the bakery at the Taj. My idea was to buy a stock of its splendid Almond Rocks--wonderful dark chocolates that are studded generously with roasted almonds. I have been buying these chocolates for decades and I am always thrilled to find that they are still here. Business was brisk in the confectionary as people were carrying away vast Diwali hampers to gift away! I found what looked like genuine Parisian croissants but I though it would be criminal to pay Rs. 110 for one of them and Rs. 300 for an almost croissant--there is a limit to how much I will pay even when I am on a mission to find the best croissants in the city.
     I bought my chocolates and then thought that since I was in the premises, I would go and say Hello to my friend Ninaz who works at Singapore Airlines on the first floor of the hotel.  However, although she did emerge to say a swift Hiya to me, she was busy with international calls and could not linger. I browsed through Nalanda, the book shop of the Taj (also a regular haunt of mine) and peeped at the beautiful jewelry stores and textile shops--not to mention the international section which has Louis Vuitton and Dior tucked in its very affluent recesses.  I did also enter and take a look at Joy Shoes--this is where I bought a pair of off-white sandals for my wedding and decades later, they are still going strong.  That said, I only wear them rarely!

At the National Gallery of Contemporary Art:
     When the pleasures of the Taj had worn out, I left and walked to the National Gallery of Contemporary Art. I had met a woman, a few weeks ago, who told me she was a docent there.  Not only that, but she had said that even when special exhibitions are on at the museum, the permanent collection stays in place. I thought I would take a look at it again--I had seen it a few years ago. She was completely ill-informed.
     Imagine my disappointment when I was told that the gallery space being limited, the permanent collection is removed to make place for specials.  With the Dhurandhar retrospective done, I had expected that the permanent collection would return. But there was another special on--one by Marcel Oldenbach, a German artist who works with multi-media to create videos that were playing on a continuous loop. I was mighty disappointed and wanted to find out when the permanent collection would return.  The receptionist did not know and sent me off to the office on the first floor to talk to someone there.
     I ended up having a lovely conversation with a man named Shankar, an artist himself, and Assistant Manager of the gallery.  He confirmed that the regular paintings are removed to make way for the specials. When he saw how disappointed I was, he told me that this is probably the only museum in the world that removes its permanent exhibition to make room for visiting artists. Anyway, I hope that before I leave Bombay I will have a chance to see the usual paintings as I am keen to revisit them.

Evening in Bandra:
    Next, I jumped into a bus (another empty one) from right outside the Museum and reached Churchgate station in five minutes.  From there, I took a train to Bandra and got home. But by that point, my back was simply breaking. I had a really hard time with it--thanks to the weight on my back and my rambles...I really did a number on my upper and lower back. I could only just throw myself on my bed and hope for a nap--which offered merciful relief.
     I skipped tea today but made my way to Dad's to see how Russel was doing.  Thankfully, my back felt better after my nap and a few stretching exercises that I did on my bed.  The portable X ray machine had been brought and Russel's X-rays were taken and we will now be seeing the doctor on Friday to get a Heads Up on where we go from this point.
     After visiting with Russel, I left him to go with Dad to Mass. Straight after that, I returned home to finish my tiffin for dinner--a new one will arrive tomorrow--and I sat down to eat it while watching the next episode of The Bodyguard--which has more twists and turns than a Grand Prix final!
     Until tomorrow...