Saturday October 6, 2018
Bombay
Meeting Principal of Xavier's, Examining South Bombay's Architecture and Dinner at The Fatty Bao
Namaste from Bombay!
Today was wonderfully eventful! Not boring, not routine and not predictable. Enjoyable in every way.
I awoke at 4.00 am today--yes, 4.00 am. I know! It is getting ridiculous how early I am waking, but just think of all the work I am managing to accomplish before 8.00 am! It really takes all the guilt out of goofing off for the rest of the day!
So I attended to email first, and then reviewed the last few corrections that the publisher of my Goa book had carried out before I gave my final approval that it can go to the printers!! Yes! Finally, after two and half years, this book shall see the light of day.
Next, I finalized a new grant proposal I have drafted for a new publishing grant for which I am applying and sent it off with a prayer on my lips. Fingers crossed now!
Next, I corresponded with the organizers of the Hyderabad conference as I am still to find out if there will be a pick-up for me when I arrive at Hyderabad airport at the unearthly hour of 4.30 am--yes, Stupid Me went and made a booking for a 3.00 am flight from Bombay when I had intended to make it for a 3.00 pm flight! Still, we are all allowed an occasional goof-up. They said they were still working on the logistics and would let me know by tomorrow.
Of course, there was a lot of email to respond to as my last newsletter about Russel had solicited a great deal of responses. So many of my friends (who, otherwise, never send me a response to my newsletter) had sent me one this time.
I washed at 7.30am, had a cup of coffee, dressed and left for my Dad's place to do Russel's dressing. He is keeping up his good spirits but reluctant to do the physiotherapy exercises which is a good indication to us that he does feel pain and discomfort when doing them. I then decided to stay on and have breakfast with Dad as I would not be returning to his place for the rest of the day. I had a load of things to do and had dinner plans for the evening.
My breakfast was two scrambled eggs made for me by Dad's housekeeper Satyavati. Dad asked if I could stay longer to help him with some paperwork as his eyesight is too weak and he needs help. But I had a meeting at St. Xavier's College and had to leave. I told him I would return after Mass tomorrow to help him.
Back home, I showered quickly, dressed and left at 9.00 am for my 10.30 am meeting with the new Principal of St. Xavier's College, Dr. Rajendra Shinde, who has just taken over and has made history as the first non-Catholic Principal of the college. It has now become fairly routine for me to jump into the 220 Bus from Perry Cross Road to Bandra Station, then jump into the train from Bandra station to either Marine Lines or Churchgate and then walk to my destination in downtown Bombay.
A word about public transport for the benefit of my friend Prem Kishore (a regular and very faithful reader of my blog): Prem remembers public transport in India as being crowded with so much pushing and shoving. She wonders how I am up to the challenge of using buses and trains. So here is why I use public transport with ease: In the 30 years that I (and Prem) have been expatriates (she, first in Dubai and then in California), India has undergone a massive economic upsurge. The country is so upwardly mobile that middle-class people (such as I was when I lived in India) own their own transport--they have not just one car, but oftentimes two! (This explains the massive rise in traffic which, with the lack of infrastructure, is crippling). They do not drive themselves--they hire drivers on monthly salaries. For those who do not own cars and drivers, there is also a huge increase in the availability of auto rickshaws. People seem too busy to have the time to wait for buses anymore--they simply jump into a rickshaw if they can afford to take one by themselves. For those who do not have very deep pockets but still do not want to wait for a bus or hire a rickshaw by themselves, there are the 'shared rickshaws'--three people get into the back of a rickshaw and share the fare. The fare from Perry Road (where I live) to Bandra Station, if you took a rickshaw by yourself would be Rs. 30. If you shared with two other passengers, each would pay the driver Rs. 10--which is exactly what my bus fare is! So why would you stand and wait for a bus? You would simply get into a rickshaw with two other passengers and scoot off.
The end result is that the buses are usually empty--at least the ones along the routes I habitually use. I never wait for more than ten minutes for one. Women, the elderly (known as Senior Citizens) and the handicapped can board from the front of the bus. The way I see it, you are sitting in the same amount of traffic whether you are in a bus or a rickshaw--so I prefer to sit in a bus since I do not wish to 'share' a rickshaw with strangers. It is so funny--the rickshaw drivers keep hovering around me, beeping on their horns to attract my attention in a bid to offer their ricks for my use or to urge me to share with two other passengers who also look hopeful that I will jump in. They simply cannot figure out why someone like me (dressed in Western clothing and looking fairly well-off, compared to other bus passengers) would prefer to wait for a bus instead of hopping in with them!
So, if you are not a snob--and God knows I am not one--and if you do not mind that you are riding in a bus with people of very low-income who might shout on their cell phones when they speak (yes, they all own a cell phone, no matter no poor they are!), and who stink a little bit (dealing with BO is my single biggest challenge in Bombay!), then you are absolutely fine in a bus. I have always found a seat, have never been crushed and am often looked upon with great respect by the drivers and conductors because I am actually sharing bus space with the under-privileged and the downtrodden. It is a very humbling experience and I cherish it daily.
As for the trains, well, same thing. Only low-income people use the second class train service. Passengers in the first class are wealthier and less odorous! Male first class compartments are now so numerous (four of them on one train with just one Ladies First Class compartment) that I have always found a seat in the Gents First Class. I often do not travel in the Ladies First Class as it is too empty and too scary to me--one never knows when one will be the only passenger in the compartment and when hoodlums might hop on to rob or molest one! It has been known to happen--which makes me wonder why women put themselves in such a position when there are Gents First Class compartments in which they can travel comfortably and without fear.
So there you have it: I have become a truly Bombay Gal in the way I hop in and out of public transport--exactly as I did when I lived in London or Paris. I have no qualms about rubbing shoulders with the less well-endowed. I consider myself one of them--no better, no worse. This makes my commute quick, cheap and adventurous. I keep my wits about me at all times, hug my backpack close to me (to avoid being pick-pocketed) and dress cooly and modestly with very comfortable low-heeled sandals so that I can hurry along. So far, so good. You can continue to wish me luck!
So after that long digression, here is what the rest of my day was like:
At St. Xavier's College:
I had made plans to meet my friend Nafisa at the entrance of St. Xavier's College at 10. 20 am--she and I had decided to take a Heritage Walk in the neighborhood. I arrived there at exactly 10.20--she had just reached. Together we made our way into the college and to the Principal's Office where I had my meeting at 10.30 am. Nafisa was completely taken by the ambience of the place and charmed by the architecture. Like me, she has an especial fondness for historic buildings and she felt very much in her element as we moved from one quadrangle to the other in the glorious Gothic space.
Prof. Dr. Rajendra Shinde saw me at about 11.00 am. We had a wonderfully productive meeting. I found him to be an approachable and very charming man, a botanist by training. As a Fulbrighter himself (from India to Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York, a few years ago), he was keen to make his college and its facilities available to me and actually asked me if there was anything he could do to facilitate my work. I was besides myself with joy. Unlike the previous Principal who was far from helpful, this man was actually offering to do whatever was in his power to help me accomplish my research goals.
Naturally, I told him I would like office space. He immediately offered me one of the cubicles adjoining the library. He told me to go there and choose any one of them. He would then set it up with a desk, a fan and a few shelves to enable me to make it office-like. I was simply thrilled. In fact, he told me to look for Pearl Pastakia, my supervisor, and take a walk with her to the library to try to find something suitable.
I have no words to describe how delighted I was to be working with this fellow-professional who treated me with such respect and courtesy. He also told me that St. Xavier's has just received a grant of 5 crores of rupees from the Indian government, part of which will be allocated for the development of post-graduate (PG) courses. When I volunteered to help with curriculum design, he immediately invited me to design the PG course in English for the MA Program. I told him it would be my absolute pleasure. And so it came to pass that my services were solicited in creating a whole new MA Program in English at St. Xavier's College, Bombay. I am going to have the best time designing four courses for each semester over a period of four semesters (two years). When I get back from Hyderabad, I shall get to work on this project. I feel very excited indeed.
Touring St. Xavier's College:
Nafisa and I then toured the college. I was feeling very hungry by this time and we headed straight for the canteen which has the most reputed food among South Bombay colleges. I ended up eating a scrumptious plate of dahi batata puri with a chocolate milk shake while Nafisa had sev batata puri and an orangeade. Over our lunch, we chalked out where we would go and what we would do with the rest of the morning.
It was vilely hot. October is sometimes thought to be worse than the month of May in India. The heat combined with humidity makes it a real challenge to stay out in the open. We, therefore, decided to keep our route short. After taking wonderful pictures of St Xaviers' campus quadrangles themselves, we headed to the Chapel which I was seeing for the first time. It had a huge statue of St. Francis Xavier inside and pretty stained glass windows. We also saw the auditorium where exams were in progress.
Next, I made my way to the gorgeous library with its terrific plaster work on the ceiling, its ancient saloon-style half glass swing doors that open each cubicle and its old teak chairs and tables. The library was absolutely filled with students who seemed to be chatting rather than reading quietly. I found that rather odd.
I walked speedily through the various cubicles and found two--one overlooked the quadrangle and became my fist choice--Cubicle 19. One overlooked a garden and became my second choice--Cubicle 9. Let us hope that one of them will work out for me as an office. I will be absolutely elated to have office space in this august century-old library. Seriously--it is privileges like this that I simply cannot sneeze at when I consider how exciting my academic career has been in varied countries around the world.
I decided to email my cubicle choices to the Principal and off we went, Nafisa and myself, on our tour of Bombay.
The Municipal Corporation Building:
Together with what was then known as VT or Victoria Terminus (now known as CST--Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus), the BMC or Bombay Municipal Corporation Building gives the area its distinctive imperialist ambience. The foundation stone for this present building was laid by Viceroy of India Lord Ripon in 1884 to the architectural design of one Frederick William Stevens who used a basic Gothic plan and elaborated upon it with Indian motifs such as lotus flowers. It is a strikingly tall building consisting of a central portion topped with a giant dome and twin spires that flank it, each topped by its own mini-dome. Sadly, the building is not open to tourism as it is still a working office in which the affairs of the entire city of Bombay are conducted by thousands of employees. Outside, the angel sculpted on the facade that overlooks the craziness of the traffic below from which a number of roads radiate is often photographed. There is also a lovely imposing black bronze sculpture of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, one of the most eminent Bombay Parsees of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the first Indian Municipal Commissioner of Bombay in 1884 and, I say this with great pride, an alumnus of my wonderful college, Elphinstone College, from which he graduated in 1864.
Because so many visitors used to stand in the middle of the road and dodge the scary traffic to take pictures, the authorities have thoughtfully constructed a viewing platform--this not only can be mounted to take pictures of this entire area safely, but it also presents visitors with an opportunity to pose against the backdrop of some of India's most recognizable structures. Needless to say, there were a lot of white and Oriental foreigners doing just this.
If I might be permitted to wax nostalgic at this point, I should say that I remember being five years old and plying this area on the top deck of the lovely BEST red buses on which we used to be taken for joy rides by my parents. I am old enough to remember trams plying these roads and riding in them--what a joy they were! I used to adore their bells that rang as they approached every stop and as they left. This is why I never fail to ride trams today in countries around the world--wherever I get a chance (Hong Kong, Vienna, Budapest Lisbon, for instance). I can also clearly remember how few were the cars on the road then--there were gharries or Victorias--horse-drawn carriages and lots of BEST buses and the few people that walked around could cross the broad road without so much as a tremor. I can clearly see those sights in my mind and as I contrast them with the noise, the traffic, the hundreds of people--maybe thousands--today, I am aghast.
We took our lives in our hands and then crossed the road and entered the next building on our agenda, the Victoria Terminus.
Visiting the Victoria Terminus:
I adore this building. I adore it so much that I have a framed portrait of it in my house based on a photograph of it taken in the late 1800s when it was brand new. Also the brain child of Frederick William Stevens, this sprawling Victorian Gothic edifice was built with no detail spared. Both inside and out, it simply stops one in one's tracks.
I recall asking a friend of mine who had just returned from the UK, when I was about 13 years old, what London was like. His response? "You want to know what London is like? Go and stand outside VT and take in the scene: the grand old buildings, the red double-deckers, hundreds of people hurrying by to their offices--that is London right here in Bombay". Many years later, when I visited London for the first time, I discovered that he was not wrong.
There are gargoyles all around the facade that carry rain water from the roof to the base, there is a huge plinth on which the sculpture of Victoria, once Empress of India, stood--it has been removed and relegated to a Sculpture Graveyard. Built in 1878, the building wears its age with grace and style. Recent attempts to refurbish it have worked, but on-going maintenance seems to be sparce.
The station once had 'Retiring Rooms' where passengers could spend a night or two seeing Bombay, the glittering colonial show-piece city en route to other parts of India. I wonder whether passengers can still stay in these lodgings that were once beautifully run by the Railways exactly as the Retiring Rooms at Victoria Station in London were run. I have actually stayed in what is known as the Victoria Hotel which is the result of a brilliant conversion of the Retiring Rooms of that station into a very lovey modern hotel in London.
Nafisa and I made our way into the Ticket Vestibule and were bowled over by its gorgeous design. The Gothic fan vaulting is decorated with gold painted stars. There used to be Victorian stained glass in the half-moons that top the stone walls--it is obvious that those have broken because very new stained glass panels have taken their place--the design of the replacement does not look Victorian at all. It looks too new and too modern.
Further inside, past the Ticket Vestibule, you enter the main foyer where passengers wait until they make their way towards the platform where their trains are standing. This area is punctuated by wrought iron poles that are topped by ornate filigree-type decoration that is lacy and eye-catching. This area reminded me very much of Paddington or St. Pancras Station in London or the Gare du Nord in Paris. There was a bustling energy to the place that is a result of too many people in the city using the station. I kept thinking about the terrible tragedy of November 26, 2008, when so many scores of people had been shot by senseless terrorists in this very station when they were doing nothing more harmful that commuting.
On to the General Post Office:
Right outside the huge train terminal, to the left, is another grand building. This is the General Post Office of India (also know as the GPO). It was built in Indo-Saracenic style under the design of the British architect John Begg in 1904. Begg was influenced by one of India's greatest Mogul monuments--the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur. He derived the main feature--the huge black basalt dome from this structure. It was completed in 1913. On a white marble plaque to the right of the main entrance is a commemorative monument to the fallen employees of the Great War--among whom, I have no doubt, were many Anglo-Indians. They ran British institutions in India such as the Railways, the Post and Telegraphs, Customs and Excise, etc.
Nafisa and I entered the grand building. For both of us, it was the very first time in our lives that we were doing so. The main hall is round for it stands right beneath the imposing dome. The counters are still run, as they were in colonial days, behind grills from where stamps and other postal paraphernalia is dispensed. We walked around in such reverence for these old monuments that people began to stare at us. They probably wondered what we found so fascinating.
When we'd had our fill of pictures, we left and emerged on what is known as Kabutar Khana.
The Pigeon Fountain:
Kabutar Khana was erected in 1923--it then consisted of a fountain though which water flowed and an area in which birds--mainly pigeons--were fed. Hence Kabutar (Pigeons) Khana (Dining Area). People do not look upon pigeons today with the same affection as they did a century ago. Their droppings are considered lethal to old buildings as they contain lime which is acidic and which corrodes their stone foundations. Hence, in London, it is now against the law to feed pigeons. Someone once described them to me as "rodents of the sky" and I have never been able to wipe that image from my mind. They are considered flying vermin and in an attempt to discourage them, grills, nets and spikes are being attached to buildings in the West.
In Bombay, on the other hand, no such restrictions stop people from throwing bushels of grain at the birds. I was thinking as I watched them that so many human beings would be grateful for all that grain. It might make the difference to them between life and death. In the same area, there is a sculpture of a man atop a ladder lighting the old gas lamps that once illuminated the city--before the advent of electricity, these lamp lighters went from street to street lighting gas lamps.
By this point in our walk, we were exhausted as the heat was draining. It was time to hail a cab and get to the next port of call--the NCPA (National Center for the Performing Arts) where we wished to buy tickets to see the HD Live screening of Verdi's Aida from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on October 23. Both Nafisa and Shahnaz want to go with me and I am delighted to have them for company. I am thrilled to be introducing my friends to Opera for which I hope they will develop an abiding interest.
Off to the NCPA:
With the heat beating down on us, we were relieved to enter the cool interiors of a cab that whisked us off to the NCPA at the southernmost tip of South Bombay. We found the Box Office and were soon selecting our tickets for Verdi's Aida. Coincidentally, Llew saw it yesterday at the auditorium of the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University and he could not stop raving about it. He said that it was long--4 hours--but Anna Netrebko who sings the lead soprano role of Aida is stunning. We bought tickets for Rs. 500 each for Nafisa, Shahnaz and myself. At Rs. 500, it is a steal (less than 7 dollars). In the US, I pay no less than $25 for such tickets.
It was time for us to part as Nafisa needed to be home by 2.00 pm. I showed her the bus stop outside the NCPA and within ten minutes, along came the 137 bus that took us to Churchgate Station where I alighted. She carried on to Flora Fountain from where she would take any number of buses to Byculla where she lives.
I got a slow train and got off at Bandra from where I jumped into an empty 220 bus. They start at Bandra Station so you always get an empty bus at this point. I could not be luckier. Again, the bus had about 7 passengers boarding it when it arrived, but it waited for about ten minutes to fill up. I reached home and had a cold glass of water as that is all one needs on a sweltering day.
I also finished my packing for Hyderabad and drafted my blog posts.
Off to Run an Errand:
I had something to send off to Llew in New York and when I became aware of the fact that my friend Jon Ken who flies with Air-India would be operating a flight tonight, I asked if he would carry my documents. He said he would if I could drop them off at his place. At 5.00 pm, I walked the fifteen minute trek to his place and dropped them off with his son. I then got home and took a short nap before I got ready again for my dinner date with friends.
Off for Dinner to The Fatty Bao:
My friends Anil and Ninaz invited me to their home for drinks before we went for dinner. I therefore walked another fifteen minutes to their lovely apartment. I feel so blessed that most of my friends live at a short walking distance from my studio. Apart from going into the city, I do not need to use any transport at all. My feet take me everywhere. And since I am not overdoing the walking, there are no signs of fatigue so far.
Ninaz had not come back from visiting her relatives--so Anil offered me a delicious cold gin and tonic when I reached there--such a refreshing drink on that muggy day. About an hour later, Ninaz joined us and without losing any time, we went by car just a five minute drive away to The Fatty Bao, an Asian restaurant around the corner from their home. I am amazed to discover that if one is even ten minutes late for a dinner reservation, the table is given away. We called to let them know we were running fifteen minutes late.
The place was small, but very tastefully decorated and designed. It felt like a place in Thailand with signs on the walls reading 'Phuket' and 'Chang-Mai'. The restaurant, however, was not strictly Thai. It was a fusion of all sorts of oriental flavors. I left the ordering to them as they said that everything was great. Finally, we ended up having iced water (as we'd had drinks at home) with green mango and papaya salad for a starter with pork-filled bao (soft buns). For mains, we chose the chicken and basil curry over steamed rice and shu-mai of bean paste with pomegranate--such unusual flavors perfectly well blended together. And dessert was a complex concoction of cinnamon ice-cream with a coffee flavored mousse. All quite wonderful indeed. I have to say that I am floored by the quality and variety of the food that is available in Bombay. Anil was telling me that Bandra has been voted as being among the fifty best suburbs the world! Fancy that! Ratings, apparently, are based on votes by the editors of the various Time Out magazines world-wide I am not surprised. If you asses the number of eateries in this city and the kind of food they serve, you would be simply blown away. For the foodie, Bandra is Paradise and I am looking forward to many more forays into its culinary offerings.
We took a rickshaw back home as Anil and Ninaz had sent their driver home. They dropped me off to my place and I simply washed and brushed and flossed my teeth, changed for bed and called it a night.
See? I told you I had an incredible day!
Until tomorrow...
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