A Return to Holy Family Hospital with Russel and 'Celebrate Bandra' Opening Ceremony

Saturday, November 17, 2018
Bombay

A Return to Holy Family Hospital with Russel and 'Celebrate Bandra' Opening Ceremony

     Namaste from Bombay!
     Today I awoke at 6.30 am--not that this means anything other than that I fell asleep after midnight and needed the lie-in. I rushed through a blog post, downloaded the weekend edition of The Times on my iPad with the idea of reading it while waiting in the hospital and then raced through my breakfast--the usual, a cup of coffee and a bowl of muesli.
     I then left for Dad's place and reached there at exactly 9.00 am.  We had an appointment with Russel's orthopedic surgeon Dr. Derick D'Lima.  It had been about 6 weeks since Russel's leg had been placed in a cast and as it has started filling with fluid again (which has made its way from his knee down to his shin), his cast had become tight. I was afraid that it would cut off blood circulation to his lower leg and wanted the doctor to take a look at it. He suggested we replace the cast with a new one to ensure that the leg is in good shape, the bones are fusing well and that there are no sores under it. He had also suggested needle aspiration to remove the accumulated fluid.  This would be administered through a small local anesthesia.  Hence, our return to Holy Family Hospital.
    Russel was in good spirits. I could see that he was nervous--going to the hospital is always a challenging prospect for him.  Still, between Dad and myself, we managed to reassure him that he would only be there for a short while. We could not have been more wrong.
     Once again, the ambulance was summoned and Russel (who cannot climb up or down steps) had to be moved in it to the hospital.  The ambulance staff now know Russel and his special needs well and they are unbelievably competent, efficient and cooperative when it comes to his case. Once we arrived at the hospital, his wheeled bed was taken to the Endoscopy Department where we had been instructed to wait.
     The doctor took ages to arrive as he had a load of OPD patients that had to be attended to.  When he did eventually come after he had tried Russel and Dad's patience acutely (although not mine because I seem to be far more patient than most), the procedure was swift.  His assistant, Dr. Parth Patel was hands-on. I was allowed into the procedure area (not a position I like to be in as I am very squeamish and can barely tolerate looking at a syringe!). They reassured me that Russel's leg was doing fine and that his knee was actually in better shape than it had been when they had last brought him in.  They extracted about 350 ml of fluid this time--much less than the 2 liters that had been extracted the last time. The fracture too is healing okay but the orthopedist suggested that we keep the new one on until early January to give the bones ample time to fuse together. They want to ensure that the bones will be strong enough to sustain Russel's body weight.  However, the doctor also said that he should attempt greater mobility  and that walking with the aid of a walker should continue until he felt comfortable about walking with a stick and then a stick should give way to walking independently.  After the first week of Jan, new x-rays will be taken again and if all looks fine, the cast will be removed.  This is the plan going forward...Let us hope it all pans out as expected. Throughout the procedure, we stood--Dad, myself and the ward boy Nilesh. Dad looked really beat and I did insist that he sit down at certain points, and while he did, for the most part, he persisted in staying with me through it all.

Alyque Padamsee Passes Away:
     It was while I was waiting that Shahnaz sent me a text to inform me that Alyque Padamsee, the doyen of English theater in Bombay, had passed away. She was aware that I had spoken to him on the phone last week and to his secretary Anne yesterday.  We had scheduled my interview with him next week. Well, to be perfectly frank, Dolly Thakore had informed me that he was "on his way out" and that he would not last too long. I was, therefore, not surprised to receive the news within an hour of its breaking.
     What a sad loss for the city of Bombay and for the world of Western Performing Arts! I recalled the other occasions when, as a rookie reporter in Bombay, I had met him and interviewed him and the many spectacular theatrical productions he had directed that I had the privilege of reviewing--Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Man of La Mancha, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, All My Sons, Kabaret--the list goes on and on. I can say that my introduction to quality drama and musicals occurred long before I left India for the UK! It happened while I was a proud Bombayite and when people like Alyque produced shows that were touted with the words, "As good as London, Better than New York!" And indeed this was no exaggeration--they were!
     My phone kept pinging non-stop after this message reached me as friends kept sending me the news together with links to various media, etc.  They knew that I was working on English Theater in Bombay and they knew that this piece of news would be deeply relevant to me. What a pity, they kept saying, that this was one interviewee that got away. Known as God in the Advertising Industry where Alyque made Lintas one of the best agencies of its kind in India, all I could think of was "God's in his heaven..." Bombay has lost a giant among men. May his soul rest in peace!
     Russel was discharged by 2.00 pm and we were back home in an ambulance. I might have made at least five trips back and forth from the Endoscopy Department to the Cashier downstairs to pay for the many services the hospital had provided--the two trips for the ambulance and all the surgical apparatus needed to carry out the change of cast.  Still, it was all worth while. Russel is on the road to recovery and the doctors at Holy Family, especially Dr. Parth Patel,  continue to treat him and us with the utmost compassion, understanding and sympathy.  It is indeed a pleasure to work with such competent personnel.  As I have said before, but for the awful nurses in this hospital, it is an amazing place.
   
Lunch and A Long Chinwag with Dad:
         Once we saw Russel home, Dad suggested I have lunch with him. Although I had my own lunch at home, I decided to offer him company. Russel was thrilled to be back home and to eat his lunch in his home while Dad and I sat and tucked into ours. All the while, we chatted. It is clear that Dad loves to talk--and that he misses a companion with whom he can do the talking. We spoke a great deal about Indian politics, the state of both nations (India and US), etc. and I caught him up about my work and the many interesting people I have been meeting. He felt so sorry to  know that Alyque was no more because he realized how invaluable his input could have been to my research. Still, he has left behind reams of memories, it seems, and those, I am sure can be accessed by scholars such as myself. After about two hours of such chatter, I decided I would get back home.

Off to the 'Celebrate Bandra' Opening Ceremony: 
     I was able to snatch a short nap in the afternoon before I sat and put down on paper, in a more organized fashion, the dates of the many 'Celebrate Bandra' free events that I am going to attend in the next week. Then, I had a pot of tea with biscuits, showered, got dressed and walked to the Yacht Restaurant where my friend Marisa was meeting me. We were off to see the Opening Ceremony of the 'Celebrate Bandra' Festival that is held each year with much pomp and well...ceremony! Marisa brought her friend Rita Roychowdhury along and the three of us hopped into a passing rickshaw and made our away to the Bandra Fort Amphitheater. There under the lovely canopy created by swaying coconut palms, we sat down to enjoy the show--all events are free and merely require registration.
    The Chief Guest was the actor and Bandra resident Naseeruddin Shah (of whom I seem to be seeing a little too much!). He lit a ceremonial lamp while surrounded by all the members of the Celebrate Bandra Committee. And then the show began and it was fabulous.  There was the Bombay Navy Simphonia Band that played standard classics such as the National Anthem to start things off, followed by Vande Mataram, Sare Jahan Se Achha (composed by the Urdu poet Mohamed Iqbal in 1904 when British India was looking at the removal of imperialism) as well as Mozart's 'Eine Klein, Nachtmusik' and foot-tapping pieces such as 'Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White'. It was such a fabulous way to open the event.
     This was followed by spectacular contemporary style Khatak dancing, an a cappella group called Afflatunes, the choral songs of the North Western Bandra Zone that won the Zonals contest (they sang a beautiful choral rendition of a medley of Queen and Freddie Mercury hits) and probably the weakest part of the show that ended it--a folk singing duo who called themselves Clayton and Aria.
     It was 10.00 pm exactly when the sound system was switched off (in keeping with Bombay regulations) and we trooped out into a really beautiful night at the Bandstand where the light shed by the lovely Taj Residence Hotel provided illumination as we walked into a rickshaw.
   I was starving by the time I reached home at 10.30pm, served myself some dinner to eat while watching Dead Wind and went to bed at 11.15 pm.
     Tomorrow, I shall be attending Alqyue's funeral tomorrow at the Worli Crematorium where my friend Kamal will be meeting me.
     Until tomorrow...