Another Vacation Day at Home in Bandra

Thursday, December 27, 2018
Bombay

Another Vacation Day at Home in Bandra

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I awoke at 4.30 am today and simply could not fall back to sleep again. I decided I might as well get on with blogging and reading my Twitter feed. The temperature had fallen during the night and I was actually cold. It was time to bring out my PJs for Bombay is finally beginning to feel like winter. I checked the temperature on my phone and it was 68 degrees! I had a pair of leggings--so I climbed into those, but I realized that I need a couple of sweatshirts. I shall borrow Russel's when I get to Dad's.
        I then had one long call with Llew as we had so much to talk about. He told me that he has pulled his back and is having a very hard time with the pain. Time flew as we chatted for more than an hour. It was not long before I got out of bed to wash, dress and have my breakfast (muesli and coffee as I replenished my yogurt and almond milk supplies and took one apple from Dad's!). I am back to watching House Hunters International again--this time in Amsterdam! There are a few new episodes that I have not yet seen.
     Meanwhile, Chriselle whatsapped me to let me know that she had arrived in Zurich. As she had a 7 hour layover there, she and I chatted on the phone for a long time in an attempt to help her pass time. I made my To-Do List for the day and realized that I had to call the man from St. Peter's Church (Russel D'Souza) who was going to direct me to the place from which I could pick up a potty chair for Russel who now has enough mobility to graduate to one. I was given a number and told to contact a lady who lived around the corner from my place, right opposite the Bandra Gymkhana.
     By this time (about 10.30 am), I began to feel really sleepy--blame the crazy hour at which I awoke--and decided to take a nap. I slept for 20 minutes and then because I felt I needed to sleep some more, I closed my eyes again and woke up another twenty minutes later--I find it quite amusing that my naps take place in strict installments of 20 minutes each!
     Awake again, I also spent time chatting over important issues with my cousin Blossom who is supporting me in some difficult family decisions that have to be made. She and her daughter Menaka were leaving for Chennai later in the day. I will see them again in two weeks' time when I fly down to Chennai for the Anglo-Indian Reunion Conference. With those calls, most of my morning disappeared attending to personal and family affairs. It was time to get back to work.

Finally, Getting Work Done:
      I had three important items on my agenda for today:
1. Get Prepared for my appearance on a panel on 'The Art of Reading' at the Think Literature By The Bay Festival at the Radio Club tomorrow.
2. Draft an abstract for a conference in Goa on 'Cultures, Language, Literatures' at the end of January.
3. Write to my publisher in Goa about a Book Launch of our Goa Book at the same conference.

     One after the other I tackled the second two items.  Then it was about 12. 30, and I had to cut short a call with Chriselle from Zurich airport and leave for lunch at Dad's. I was at his place in ten minutes. The cricket test match between India and Australia is going on and India had declared for 475 runs with Pujara having scored a century--so everyone at home was jubilant.
     Lunch was more Christmas leftovers (almost gone now!) and lots of relaxed chatter with Dad and Russel. Russel was missing Chriselle but I told him to focus on the fact that she was happy in LA and that he should be happy for her. He seemed less distraught than I thought he would be.
     Right after lunch, when he went off for a nap, I got back home and worked on the first item on my agenda.  I am not exactly sure what the nature of my assignment tomorrow will be; but I put down a few points that dealt with The Pleasures and Significance of Reading, What Makes a Bibliophile, Examining Literary Tastes and Types of Readers. I also got prepared to talk about my favorite authors (Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, Anthony Horowitz, Anita Desai) and my favorite books (Atonement, Brideshead Revisited, Life in Squares, Nectar in a Sieve, Clear Light of Day, etc.) as I anticipate questions of that nature.
     When I was done, it was about 5.00 pm and I was ready for a pot of tea which I enjoyed with a slice of cake and Doc Martin on the telly. I also made a call to the lady from whom I had to pick up the potty. Upon dressing, I went directly to her house, picked it up (she was so sweet--one Philomena Athaide and insisted I have a slice of Christmas cake which I gently declined), put it in a rickshaw and took it to my Dad's place. He was very happy to have it (as it was brand new), but suggested we start using it only after Russel's cast is removed as that will make it easier for him to move around. I thought that made a lot of good sense.
     I then visited with Russel and Dad for a bit. We were surprised with a visit from our friends Jon Ken and his wife Sonam who brought them a box of stuffed dates from the Middle East and freshly made chicken momos which are really tasty. This would supplement our dinner! They left when it was time for us to go to Mass together. Joe Cordo gave us a ride home but I hopped off at the pharmacist to buy some Crocin as I have developed a cold due to the sudden drop in temperature. It is now in the upper 60s in Bombay--quite suddenly.
     Then Dad and I walked to his place and I stayed for dinner (lovely momos with a hot chilli sauce and the last of the lemon-garlic-pepper chicken and the ground beef that my friend Shahnaz had delivered!). Not long after dinner, I said goodbye to Dad and Russel and returned to my studio where I caught up with email before going to bed at 10.30 pm.
     Until tomorrow...