A Leisurely Boxing Day in the Bosom of Family in Bandra

Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Bombay

A Leisurely Boxing Day in the Bosom of Family in Bandra

     Namaste from Bombay!
     Boxing Day is all about lolopping around and savoring time off from regular routine after all the excesses of Christmas Day! When I was a little girl, it was a day spent playing with the new toys Santa had brought me or figuring out how to use a new gift--one that sticks in my mind was a sewing set that got me started on embroidering a set of napkins--which I have yet to finish!
     That said, this time round, for me it was about waking up again in my own studio and foraging around in the fridge for a suitable breakfast as my trip to Orissa and Calcutta had meant that I had cleaned it out.  I had no almond milk, no yogurt and no apples--so I could not have my muesli.  Luckily, I did have a loaf of bread and toasting it and spreading it with peanut butter and Nutella and brewing myself some lovely coffee, I was able to conjure up a very good breakfast indeed during which I returned to watching The Two Fat Ladies on one of the Channel Islands of Jersey. I got a call from Chriselle telling me that she had fixed cheese omelettes for Dad and Russel and had adjourned to The Bagel Shop to catch up with some work. The two of us had allocated the day to speaking to Dad to find out about his life story. There were many gaps in our knowledge that we wanted to fill and we hoped that Dad would be able to answer our questions.  Dad had a couple of errands to run and so he told us that he would be ready to begin by 11.00 am.
      I called my cousin Blossom and her daughter Menaka and they made plans to come across to my studio to see it. By 10.40, I picked them up from the corner of my lane and they spent the next 45 minutes in my place as we had much to discuss and to consider with regards to Russel and Dad's current situation. I found my conversation with Blossom very helpful and enlightening.
     By 11.30 am, we were back at Dad's--Chriselle had also reached there by then. Dad then set about telling us about the many involvements of his life with regards to  school, sports, work, church and extra-curricula activities.  While Blossom and Menaka stayed for about half an hour, they soon left as they had work to do at home. We continued until 1.00 pm when we stopped for lunch.
     Lunch was all the delicious party leftovers of Christmas Day. I put out a real smorgasbord of items and everyone helped themselves and took what they wanted--there was biryani, chicken, sorpotel, potato chops, raita and salad to choose from and with our plates filled, we all sat together in the living room and continued to chat. We had the remainder of the Christmas pudding for dessert. In fact, Russel was enjoying the entire interaction so much that he stayed out in the living room until 3.30pm when he had a cup of coffee and then decided to get to his room for a lie-down (as opposed to leaving right after lunch). Dad spoke, Chriselle and I continued listening and interjecting with questions until Dad was finally done. I have now told Chriselle that I will type up all these notes and send them to her in a narrative.  While Dad focussed entirely on the topics mentioned above, he did not talk at all about his home and family life, his relationship with his parents and siblings, his contribution as a husband, father and grandfather and it was really those elements that Chriselle and I were more interested in covering. I told Chriselle that I will continue the conversation with him through the time that I have left here in Bombay and will convey things to her.  
     We had cupcakes and macarons (brought from Melting Morsels by our Fulbrighter guest Michelle) for tea and  then as Chriselle busied herself with packing her case, I got my clean laundry ready to be transported home. I left for my studio at about 6.00 pm and spent the next half hour going over email and other chores. I found the building's children playing downstairs and I invited them up to my apartment to give them the boxes of chocolate that I had bought for them.  Needless to say, they were simply thrilled.
      I left soon after that for church and because I was running late for the Novena, I hopped into a conveniently-passing cab and reached church in time at 6.45. After Mass, I was returning to Dad's place for dinner as I shall be taking my meals in the next few days in his home as Valerie who delivers our daily tiffins has suspended her services until Jan 4. Dad has made arrangements with another woman named Joyce and I shall simply be eating at his place until Valerie resumes her services for both of us.
     Clarrisa, one of Dad's friends, then asked if she could come home with us right after Mass to wish Russel.  Once at Dad's, she sang a couple of carols for Russel (who was, frankly, quite fed up with Christmas by this point and just wanted to get on with it!). She left soon after and we organized dinner--the leftovers were going strong and so we feasted some more as we all had our last dinner with Chriselle before her departure for the States. Her flight was at 1.20 am and she needed to be at the airport at 10.45 pm. We had made plans to meet up with Blossom and Menaka who would accompany us for the ride to the airport and would escort me back to my studio. An Uber would do the trick just fine and I ordered one at 10.00 pm at which point Dad said his final goodbyes to Chriselle after we'd taken a few photographs and he'd given her a few choice pieces of advice as well as his blessings .
     We picked up Blossom and Menaka from their gate at Pali Hill and were at the airport on schedule. Throughout the ride, we laughed heartily at an abundance of jokes that we remembered from past times and also talked about my Aunt Anne, Blossom's mother, whom we remember so fondly at Christmas and whose memories were triggered off by Dad's reminiscences.
     We bade Chriselle goodye at the airport and told the Uber driver to take one picture of us as we realized we had not taken a single picture of the four of us together. He obliged quite sportingly and then we gave Chriselle our final hugs and sent her back to California via Zurich where she had a 7 hour layover.
     Back in the cab, Blossom and Menaka saw me back home and then zipped off to Pali Hill again. I was deeply grateful for their company as it was 11. 30 by the time I reached home and close to midnight when I finally switched the light off and went to bed.
     In the priceless information we procured from Dad who made the time to interact with us and tell us so much about his life, we spent a very productive Boxing Day. It is one that I am sure I will remember for a long time to come. It was tough saying goodbye to Chriselle who seemed to me as if she came and left in the same breath; but I am grateful that she was able to join us in India especially at Christmas. She will remain in our hearts throughout our separation. Thankfully Dad did not get emotional when saying goodbye to her for he is bent on remaining positive about the times ahead.
     Until tomorrow...