Happy 2019--First Day of the Year in Bombay, India

Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Bombay

Happy 2019--First Day of the Year in Bombay, India

     Namaste and A Blessed New Year to you from Bombay as a New Day Dawns!
     I awoke at about 6.00 am at Dad's and after checking my Twitter feed, decided to go back home to my place by 6.45 am as I had not carried my Synthroid pills with me. So, that set me thinking...I wondered what people were popping into their mouths first thing as a new year dawned.  For many it would probably be a hangover pill or Alka-Seltzer. For me it is a Livothyroxine pill--because I have no thyroid and must take artificial (synthetic) hormones to keep my body working. It reminded me of the fact that this year will be ten years, cancer-free, for me--and my gratitude went out to those unknown medical scientists who make it possible for me to live each day without a thyroid. I have to take one pill a day--it is life-saving. Should I stop, I will die. It is as simple as that! They must be taken a half hour before breakfast. Hence, my need to go back home. I told Dad I would return at about 11.30 for his New Year luncheon get-together.
      Back home, I had birschermuesli (Oh, I missed you so much, dear friend!)--but now as it is too cold to have it straight out of the fridge, I warm it up and have it like porridge--with coffee while watching The Two Fat Ladies (first show of the year!) this time at Lincoln's Inn cooking for barristers not far from where I lived in London. And then, right after, I rolled off and went back to sleep--I was feeling so drowsy, for some odd reason.

New Year's Day Luncheon at Dad's:
     When I awoke, it was about 11.100 am and time to get going back to Dad's. He asked me to make the salad for his lunch guests and so I stopped at the vegetable vendor and picked up lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, red, yellow and green peppers and limes for the lime-honey-mustard vinaigrette. At Dad's, I discovered that I had forgotten to carry my chef's knife, lemon reamer, microplane grater and whisk--so back home I went to get them! I simply must have the right tools for the job, compulsive me!
     The salad was ready in two ticks and with Dad's housekeeper Satyavati giving me a much-needed hand, we got ourselves organized. The first guest, Brother Conrad, a Jesuit brother from St. Peter's Church, arrived promptly at 12.15. Other guests were my Fulbrighter colleague and friend Michelle who is a Polynesian from the North Mariana Islands and who has no family here in Bombay, my former student Soniya (I had taught her English Lit. at Jai Hind College, 35 years ago and we have remained friends right through), family friends Anil and Ninaz. It was a very cozy group and with everyone settled down with drinks and munchies (chips, Doritos, masala peanuts, duck pate with crackers), we nibbled easily until lunch was served. Dad had ordered all the food and everything was superb: Mutton Biryani with Raita, Roasted Stuffed Chickens (they were awesome!), Potato Chops (also grand!) and my Salad which turned out to be a huge and very colorful platter. For dessert, as we had so many seasonal goodies in the house, we served almond-stuffed dates (such a healthy dessert) and what we all jokingly called 'Diabetes On a Tray!'--a whole platter filled with marzipan, milk cream, chocolate fudge, jujubes, coconut toffee, walnut toffee, guava cheese--all the goodies of the Catholic Christmas Plate! It is for very good reason that no one is making these things anymore. Diabetes has put the kibosh in anyone's desire to down these!
     We had a really jolly time as our guests reminisced about the wonderful parties my Mum and Dad used to throw, the grand birthday parties that Roger used to have each year at my parents' place for all his Air-India friends and how superbly my Mum would preside over them all with her astounding cooking and my Dad with his unfailing hospitality! My parents' garden flat lends itself well to such parties and Anil remembered how Roger used to place a bench against the balcony so that folks could walk out directly from the living room on to the garden outside.  Needless to say, we also remembered my Mum's gorgeous garden--for she was so green-fingered.  Soniya remembers the incredibly good fresh coffee that my Mum used to brew for her each time she visited. Yes, Mum (and all other missing members of our family) were very much in our thoughts as we stood around the table saying Grace and thanking God for his bounty and his blessings as one year drifted into the next. I felt blessed and privileged to be with Dad and Russel (who was very much in his elements) on the first day of the new Year.
     During lunch, when I checked my email, I had a lovely New Year's present: another literary agent had requested me to send my entire manuscript of my new proposed book, my memoir, for evaluation. I was thrilled. The old year had ended with one such request (on the last day of the year) and the new Year was beginning with one as well. I am praying very hard now that something concrete will come out of this initial interest in my work.
     After our guests left, I worked with Satyavati to clear and put away things--she did most of the washing and all the heavy-duty work (and was remembered and thanked in our Thank-You prayer), I left and went home. I really still felt the need for a nap as my late-night was doing a number on me and I was constantly yawning!

Evening with Dinner and Movie (Roma) at Shahnaz's:
         So, of course, I got back home and fell asleep. When I awoke, I had a shower and got ready to spend the evening with my friend Shahnaz in her Pali Hill apartment.  Her daughter Azra was returning to university in Delhi tomorrow morning and I wanted to spend some time with her before she left.
     I also wanted to start the new year correctly--so instead of taking a rick, I simply went for a long walk that would end at Shahnaz's home. Over beautiful Pali Hill I went, taking in the lights and color of the festive season. And at Shahnaz's place, I tucked into kebabs made by her cook and sat with a glass of beer as we switched on Netflix to watch our first film of the year.  Llew had recommended Roma, a film in Spanish (with English sub-titles) by Alejandro Cuaron that has gained a great deal of attention at the Venice and Cannes Film Festivals and had won three Golden Globe Awards. And so that was what we watched. Azra gave up in about 15 minutes--it was clearly not her cup of tea. The film, shot entirely in Black and White and entirely on location in, I think, Mexico City, is set at the end of the 1960s and gets into the early 70s. It brought out the inequality of race relations beautifully--descendants of the colonial Spaniards that had become imperial masters in Mexico, versus the native Mexican population that worked as their domestic help. Each class of people sharing that city's space have their own problems: the wealthy deal with spousal infidelity, the poor deal with unwanted pregnancies. There is really nothing very different in this film from most social consciousness-raising cinema.  It was also incredibly slow; but both Shahnaz and I were keen to find out how things would eventually end.  However, by 9.30, we decided to stop. She had prepared pani puri for me, but I declined as my tummy can no longer handle the combination of spices that it takes to make the pani. Instead I had Daal-chawal Palida--a typical Bohri dish that involves rice, dal with drumsticks and paneer palak on the side. It made a good simple vegetarian dinner after our hearty lunch. I hope this means that the days of careless eating are over and that we will all focus on more healthy fare as the year goes on.
     I was at the corner of the street waiting for a rickshaw at 10.00 pm and home about 15 minutes later. Needless to say, I had a quick look at my texted messages and went off to bed.
     The first day of the year had not been half bad. One can only hope that the rest of them will be as good.
     Until tomorrow...