At Breakneck Pace Again! Another Transcription! Another Interview

Monday, November 12, 2018
Bombay

At Breakneck Pace Again! Another Transcription! Another Interview

     Namaste from Bombay!
      Today I had one of the busiest days that I can remember! In fact, the pace of my work has picked up so enormously that I barely have any time to read any more. It's just one task on my To-Do List after the other that needs to be ticked off.
     I woke up early--at 5.00 am. Although I tried hard to get back to sleep, it simply eluded me.  Which was fine...as I had too much to do.  I had received an email from the Principal of St. Xavier's College that needed attention--I took care of it first thing. I blogged, I continued working on the Syllabi of the three courses for which I have said I will provide a curriculum design and then before I knew it, I had to get out of bed, wash, dress and gulp down a cup of tea as I was expecting a call from my Dad at any time around 7.30 am.

A Visit to Mum's Grave:
     Promptly at  7.30 Dad called to say that he was setting off from his home.  Five minutes later, I met him at the end of my lane and together we walked down the road to get to the graveyard at St. Andrew's Church as today happened to be my late Mum's birthday. She would have been 87 years old. Dad has the custom of going to her grave on her birthday to pay his respects and I told him I would love to accompany him.  So off we went.  A ten minute leisurely stroll later, we were buying garlands to put on the grave and then we were saying a prayer for my Mum who is still deeply and sorely missed just as much as she was on the day she passed away.  It is true that the pain grows duller but the longing to have the person in your midst just never eases up.

Getting Back to my Work Routine:
     Determined to get back to routine now that the long Diwali weekend has ended, I did not indulge in the puri bhaji that Dad picked up for him and Russel. Instead, I got back home and ate my birschersmuesli, then dressed for the gym and spent the next hour working out, as usual.  It felt good to get back into my routine of physical exercise again.
     I went directly from the gym to the photocopy place, ten minutes' walk away, as I had to print out the letter that I had typed yesterday on my computer for Dad. With an original printout and a copy in my possession, I went to Dad's so that he could sign and send it forth. I also helped him prepare checks for three utility companies. His eyesight makes it very hard for him to attend to these tasks with the ease with which he had once done.
     I helped Russel with his walker and he made his way to the living room where he then sat down and spent an hour as his physiotherapist was not going to be able to make it today.  It is heartening to see that Russel is no longer bed-ridden: with the walker, he now has mobility. Indeed, he has learned now to use the walker far faster than any of us had expected.  He knows how to manipulate it around, how to make turns, etc. Hopefully, he will now be able to move around the house whenever he chooses.
     I left Dad's and returned home to get started with my work. I still had email to attend to and a couple of letters that I had to draft for my own work. When that was done, I sat down to transcribe the interview I had done with Farokh Mehta. It took much longer than I expected--indeed each transcription takes me no less than two hours.

Lunch and a Nap:
     I stopped for lunch at 1.30 as I was simply starving and enjoyed my new tiffin: a potato chop, chicken curry and a mixed vegetable dish. I finished off with a really ripe and sweet guava--one of the best I've had so far as most of the ones I have bought have been only very average in taste and texture.  While eating, I washed The Great British Menu--it is a reality cooking show set in Britain that I am really enjoying immensely.
     Then, I returned to my transcription and finished it.  My back was aching and I needed a lie-down--so I took a 20 minutes power nap. When I awoke, I checked email again, then stripped my nails of old nail-polish. Next, I went in for a shower and shampoo and spent the next half hour on basic grooming tasks--a manicure, a pedicure. Time marched ahead as I got ready for my next appointment.

An Interview with Annabelle:
     By 5.00 pm, I was at the Bandra Gymkhana where I had an appointment to interview Annabelle Ferro, a very old friend of mine who also happens to have done great shakes in the entertainment industry in Bandra. She is a one-woman powerhouse of talent and through the years has done playwriting, direction, production--you name it. She gave me loads of information of all sorts as she went back over her life and the many twists and turns it took on her road to showbiz visibility and the hurdles she had to cross as she attempted to establish herself in a very competitive industry.
     The Bandra Gym was the perfect setting in which to have our chat over a Club Sandwich that she ordered and fresh lime sodas for the two of us. We thoroughly enjoyed gabbing together and have made plans to do some cultural shows together including the events of Celebrate Bandra--a festival that celebrates the lovely suburb of Bandra, once a year in November.  I have signed up for the Opening ceremony, a musical extravaganza called 'Sing, India, Sing' and a number of heritage walking tours that will take me through the quaint Portuguese villages of this suburb, the glorious historic churches that date from the 1500s and the forts whose remnants are still to be seen on the Arabian Sea's waterfront. I am so excited to be a part of this cultural energy and, as I told Annabelle, I feel like a sponge that is absorbing all of the wonder that is around me in this 'happening' city.

A Visit With Russel and Dinner with Shahnaz:
     Unfortunately, my interview with Annabelle got over too late and I would be late for the 7.00 pm Mass--so I decided to go over to see Russel instead and spend about a half hour with him. Dad had already left for church but Russel and I had a nice visit. He told me how exciting the previous day's match had been--India won by just one run! He has turned to cricket with a vengeance and keeps himself occupied with the telly most days--much to my relief.
     Shahnaz then picked me up from Dad's gate at 7.45 and drove me to the Otter's Club where we made plans to have dinner together at the Continental restaurant. We started off with a beer each and then ordered a starter of Beer battered Prawns in Tartare Sauce (awesome!). I wanted to eat light as I have piled on a few pounds in the past few days--it was going to be just a salad and a split main for me between the two of us.  We ordered a Caramelized Orange and Walnut Salad which was probably one of the best salads I have ever eaten and Salmon with Honey Mustard Sauce, Mashed potato and Grilled Vegetables--everything was scrumptious. Tomorrow, Shahnaz and I will meet again when we will see Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, live from the Globe Theater, London, on HD at the National Center for the Performing Arts.
     Phew! What a day! I had begged off dinner as I had wanted to get to my studio to chill, but I am glad I let Shahnaz talk me into going out for dinner with her.
     Once I got to my studio, all I wanted to do was undress, wash, brush and floss my teeth and get to bed.
     Until tomorrow...