Still Catching Up....

Thursday, January 3, 2019
Bombay


Still Catching Up....
 
     Namaste from Bombay!
     Not much to report today. I was awake at 6.30 (Yesss!!!--have forgotten what it feels like to sleep past 6.00 am! What is wrong with me??!!) and I got on with blogging, reading my Twitter Feed and Whatsapp messages.  Excitement is mounting as the count down for our humongous Elphinstonian Reunion begins--what the Organizing Committee has pulled off is little short of EPIC! The number who have registered is now 365 with about 20 ex-professors attending--so many from other parts of the world! It goes from 7.30 to 11.00 pm--but I honestly don't think it will end then. Should be amazing!
     And yet another thing of which I am proud? I went to the gym today! Yes, got in a good hour-long workout. Have also tweaked my diet--no fried or oily food for me anymore. Goodbye to all those potato shops, cutlets, pan rolls, etc. which I have 'dabbaoed' for four months! No wonder I cannot shake those 4-5 stubborn pounds!
     Back home for a shower, I returned to my laptop, finished drafting and send out my December 2018 newsletter. This meant getting immediate responses--from Vancouver, Canada, Washington DC, New York City, Fairfield CT...and of course, then I had to respond to those responses ...so time passed.
     Eventually, I did get down to transcribing my interview with Jonathan and was right in the thick of it when Dad called to ask what time I would be at his for lunch. I had no intention of going there for lunch today as his regular meal delivery service has resumed by Valerie and although I do not get mine on Thursdays, I was ready to stroll up to Candies to pick up a while host of salads.  But Dad would not hear of it.  He insisted I join them and told me that another whole stuffed roasted chicken was there at his place waiting to be jointed (by me) and enjoyed and I had to get there!
     So, of course, who was I to refuse a stuffed roasted chicken??? I got there and jointed the bird but since Valerie's meal was waiting to be devoured, we decided to have the chicken for dinner. We tucked into chicken curry, spinach with potatoes and leftover salad plus cutlets (which I refused). Russel is joining us at table for all our meals now and he brings a lively presence to everything.
     After lunch, Dad and I got down to work.  With his eyesight being so weak, he needed my help in reading a lot of medical literature to him and to help him fill up a Validation Form for Activation of a new medical insurance scheme  in which he wishes to enroll as it is open to all RBI pensioners.  We accomplished this feat together.  Next, he needed help trying to figure out new insurance forms that have to be filled in and sent off as a new year dawns.  Thirdly, he needed some help with bank pass book entries--Dad does not do online banking, sadly. Patiently and systematically, I went through all these tasks with him and finally left his place at 3.30 pm. with a lot of important paper work done.
     Back to my laptop, I finished transcribing the interview with Jonathan and proof read it. I was then delighted to find an email inviting me to participate in the Kala Ghoda Festival on Sunday, February 3 at 4.00 pm. I am going to be featured on a panel on 'Immigration and Displacement' with regards to my book on Britain's Anglo-Indians: The Invisibility of Assimilation together with Niloufer Bharucha (who used to be my colleague at the University of Bombay's English Department, many years ago) and Australian aboriginal writer Anita Heiss. As the Kala Rhoda Cultural Festival is one of the biggest in Bombay, I am really looking forward to it and to the prospect of making many connections.
     By 5.00pm I had a pot of tea and continued to watch Death in Holy Orders and by 6.00pm, I left for Dad's place to spend the evening with Russel and to accompany Dad to Mass at 7.00 pm. I was back home at Dad's place for dinner--oooh, that chicken was sooooo good! and then I got back home, tried to watch some more of the P.D. James' mystery, but my eyes were simply closing and I went straight to sleep.
       Didn't think I would fall asleep easily as my noisy neighbor, Ms ShrillThroat is back in business at her mother's....but, in fact, I did!
     Until tomorrow...