Catching Up on Work at Home and Reconnecting with Cousins at Reuben's 40th Birthday Party

Friday, October 26, 2018
Bombay

Catching Up on Work at Home and Reconnecting with Cousins at Reuben's 40th Birthday Party

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I had another lovely day--a combination of work and leisure that felt fully satisfying.
     Waking at 5.30 am, I blogged, checked and responded to email, caught up with Twitter, downloaded The Times of London.  I actually decided to switch my routine a bit and get started with work before going to the gym as I had two interviews I needed to transcribe. They were playing on my mind--I need to stay above water in terms of keeping track of interviews or else I might start to feel overwhelmed.
     So I actually made myself a nice bowl of muesli and brewed a cup of coffee and sat down to eat my breakfast while watching Monty Python's Flying Circus--I read an article in The Times magazine section last week about Eric Idle who is still living well in Los Angeles off royalties garnered through the writing and acting in this series.  I figured it was time I watched it--on Netflix.  It is silly in the extreme but it features people who went on to become comedic stars--John Cleese, for instance. I guess I will get used to the strange sense of British humor exhibited in it as time goes by.
     Then I set to work. I finished transcribing my interview with Xerxes and when I was done, it seemed as if I had earned my break.  I jumped into my gym clothes and spent the next hour--from 10.00 until morning closing time (at 11.00)--at the gym where I also caught up with The Times.
     Back home, I showered and then sat down to work on my second interview with Roger Pereira. I had to stop in-between to eat lunch--my new tiffin had been delivered but I had leftovers to finish. I did not think that I would be eating out as much as I am doing--which explains why I am not able to finish up all the food delivered to me even with two days between each tiffin delivery. Lunch gave me the chance to watch some more TV--I am trying out The Great British Menu. It is OK--not quite something I can relate to as the dishes are far too complex for my liking.
     Lunch done, I finished transcribing the rather extensive and very helpful and informational interview with Roger. It was 3.30 pm and I thought it would be good to take in my 20 minute power nap as I have a late night coming up.  Imagine my shock when I woke at 5.00 pm! This is probably the longest I have slept in the afternoon so far. It was the perfect time for tea with biscuits.
     Then, I got dressed for Reuben's birthday party to which I planned to go right after 7.00 pm Mass. I spent about an hour with Dad and Russel during which time our friend Romanee dropped in for a visit. It was good to see her again but we could not stay long with her. We left her to chat some more with Russel as Dad and I left for Mass.
     Right after Mass, I left Dad to climb up Pali Hill to get to my cousin Meera's house for her son Reuben's birthday party. En route, I stopped at a fruit stall and bought myself apples, a papaya and three oranges--I love the Indian oranges that look more like tangerines.  Let us hope they will be sweet.
     Since I felt as if I were too early for the party, I stopped at Candies, to see if they had any good chocolate cake as I am craving some. Well, they had something called Chocolate Roll--which is a Swiss roll that looked potentially good. I also bought a slice of Pineapple Upside Down Cake and a croissant for my breakfast tomorrow. I decided to buy just one of everything because I have no idea how good or bad these items will be.

At Reuben's Birthday Party:
     It turned out to be Reuben's 40th birthday! I had no idea. He had especially come down from Dubai where he works with his wife Tabitha to celebrate his birthday with all his cousins--many of whom were in attendance.  I was the first to arrive, but pretty soon the crowd poured in. We were as many as 25 at least in the living room which made for  a really hilarious evening with so much laughter.  The youngest cousin Merril has two small kids and they provided amusement, entertainment and laughter for us all.
     Meera started us off with starters that were mainly ordered. I was very grateful for the tall and frosted shandy I was presented and the delicious eats: meat samosas, wafers, chicken lollipops. It is so easy to overeat at this stage as the appetizers keep circulating non-stop. But since I was sitting near my weight-conscious cousin Linnet, I kept my snacking at bay too.
     Dinner was Mutton Biryani from Merchant's (delicious), sorpotel and tongue made by Meera (both superb)--the former served with traditional Indian sannas (also catered), and salads (cucumber and raita). For dessert, I had the best 'woran' I have ever tasted--this is a traditional Manglorean sweet with the consistency of payasam. It is made with jaggery, dal, rice and sago--a really weird concoction that tastes heavenly. There was also cake--of course!--that Reuben cut as we sang 'Happy Birthday' to him. The cake was...guess what? Why, my favorite. Chocolate Cake--exactly what I was craving! It was from Theo Broma, an upscale Bandra patisserie. And it was divine. This was chocolate cake at its best--moist, chocolatey and delicious. I would have liked more truffle in the topping which was, in fact, a stiff chocolate layer...but it was great. I am sure that Chocolate Truffle Cake is easily available at other bakeries, should I crave some more again.
   As always, it is on occasions like this that I realize how much I miss my extended family in Bombay. There was a time when our family parties with my cousins would be about sharing recipes, recommending local restaurants and exchanging news about extended family members who were overseas.  This time it was like a Geriatrics Anonymous meeting with all of us talking about varied aches and pains and arthritis exercises!
     My cousin's kids have all grown up and they have kids now--so the second and third and fourth generations gather together at family parties like these and have a whale of a time. I was so grateful to be part of this energy.  Sadly, since Russel is house bound, Dad did not come--and although he was invited, he sent his apologies and asked to be excused.
     My cousin Ruby and her daughter Linnet who was present with her kids Jason and Natasha dropped me home by rickshaw at exactly midnight.  It was a very late return home for me so all I did was brush and floss my teeth and get straight into bed. Hopefully, I will have a later rising tomorrow-but with my body clock being as accurate as it is, I rather doubt that.
     Until tomorrow...