Conducting a Travel Writing Workshop and Dinner with New Friends

Saturday, February 2, 2019
Bombay

Conducting a Travel Writing Workshop and Dinner with New Friends

     Namaste from Bombay!
     What an interesting day! I have to say that for the first time in a very long time, I actually felt a bit fatigued. But up at 6.30 am for a spot of blogging and brekkie (back to muesli and coffee), I plunged straight into work. I finished reading about two more chapters of my proposed memoir manuscript and then went through my lesson plan for the Travel Workshop I will teach at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies this afternoon. I also contacted Shahnaz to ask if she was interested in some forthcoming NCPA shows and to fix up where we would meet for my appearance tomorrow at the Kala Ghoda Festival. Then I googled the location of the college as I had no idea where it is and when I felt that the only real way to get there was by rick (as the BEST bus sites are useless), I jumped into the shower, dressed and left.

Lunch at NMIMS:
     I was lucky to find a rickshaw driver who actually knew where the place was--about five of them did not. The one that did know was actually so smart that he also knew how to dodge traffic to get  me there.  As a result, I reached far earlier than I had expected. As my class would go from 1-3 pm, I needed to get a bite before it began.  A quick consultation with my friend Celia Rodrigues, who had invited me to be a Guest Lecturer in her class, told me about the canteen on the ground floor where I could find something to eat.
    So a word about this college: Seriously, I was stunned! I have never been to a college campus like this in India which was a cross between a five-star hotel and a spiffy hospital somewhere in the West. It was all glass and concrete and giant skylight.  You climb up a flight of stairs and enter an atrium which reminded me so much of corporate buildings in Manhattan with its artificial trees creating an indoor garden of sorts.  Elevators pods on the outside of the building whisked people up and down. The canteen had to be seen to be believed. My NYU students would eat their hearts out for dining surroundings so swanky. There were a number of 'stations'--pizza, pasta and garlic bread at one; South Indian (idlis, dosas, vadas) at another--you get my drift. I settled down with dahi papri chaat (very good) and a chocolate milkshake (very bad) and awaited Celia's arrival.  Meanwhile, Shahnaz called to ask if she could audit my class as she was keen to see how I would go about it.  The thought of conducting a workshop for 150 students was super-scary to me and I soon realized that there was no way I could actually workshop student writing (as I would have done overseas). I merely gave a lecture in which I gave tips on what a travelogue should contain.
    
Conducting a Travel Writing Workshop:
     I have to say that it was a very good experience indeed. I was introduced by one of the students, then left to my own devices.  In a very modern classroom with every form of technology available  (exactly as it is overseas), I had a free hand with the use of the internet (except that a firewall prevented students from going into entertainment websites--which was fair enough!). I had a very interested audience of highly intelligent students who happened to be freshmen in senior college. There was one girl who was particularly informed and unhesitant to reveal her knowledge--such a joy to have a student work so well with you! Most students were engaged except for the backbenchers who I do believe I set right early into the class.
     Since the class went on for two hours, I did give them a ten-minute break after an hour and then I was back talking about the trials and tribulations of taking a travelogue from a blog to a book.
After the class, a number of students came up to chat with me. I found them friendly, interested, engaged and very vocal--I have to say how pleased I was to be back in the classroom again (it is amazing how much one misses such routine work even when one is on a Sabbatical of sorts).
     After the class, Celia suggested she take me upstairs to meet Uma Narain, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts, a Fulbrighter herself and someone who had intended to bring me to her college to give a Guest Lecture. I am now feeling overwhelmed with the amount of field work that I have to accomplish--so I am hesitant to get into any new commitments--and I told her that I would consider it, but I did not commit. It was a pleasure meeting her, however, as she had her Fulbright stint at NYU and we do know some faculty members there in common.
      Celia, Shahnaz and I sat down in the canteen for a quick coffee (mango lassi for me) before Shahnaz and I left in a rick. I thanked Celia for what had been a far more interesting experience than I had expected.

Saturday Evening Mass with Dad:
    But back home, I actually was a bit fatigued and curled up for a nap as I had a longish evening ahead of me. I had missed Shahnaz's birthday when I was in Goa and thought that I would take her for dinner to Bandra Gym after Mass. She was game and we made plans.
     I then strolled off to Dad's where I spent some time visiting with Russel (who was not in the mood at all today) and then went off with Dad for Saturday evening Mass as he wants me to accompany him on his annual visit to the Sewri Cemetery tomorrow morning. After Mass, I parted company with Dad as I climbed up Pali Hill to meet Shahnaz on the crest. She picked me up and we prepared for what we thought would be a quiet evening's dining together.

Dinner with New Friends:
     However, as soon as we entered the Restaurant at the Gymkhana, Shahnaz recognized someone who brushed by us--it turned out to be a retired former colleague of her's from Air-India. And before you know it, the two of us were being invited by a group of three Parsis to join them at their table--which we did.  They were joined later by another Parsi couple. And so there we were, having dinner with a jolly bunch of people who were very welcoming of us and made us feel fully at home.
     The meal, as always, was outstanding. Since we left them to order, one of the members of our party whose name I caught as Gave (although I might be mistaken!) started us off with cheese toast and chicken chilly--superb.  We went on to eat Chicken Reshmi Kebabs, Prawns Caldine (because how could I ever bring Shahnaz to dinner and not serve her this nectar of the Gods???) and Chicken Vindaloo with pau (which they toast at the gym). And everything was amazing. Not a meal goes by when someone or the other at the table comments on how great the food at the Bandra Gym is and how reasonably it is priced. Throughout the evening, we met a bunch of folks that were known to someone or the other at our table. Truly, it is a small world when you are at Bandra Gymkhana as everyone seems to know everyone else!
     It was after midnight when I got back home after a much more entertaining evening than we had imagined.  In the absolutely baffling process of Indian hospitality, no one went Dutch and the entire meal was hosted by a lovely man named Jehangir. I suppose they simply take turns paying when they go out to eat and at some time or the other, your turn will roll around.
     I'd had another wonderful day! It amazes me how different each day is for me in India. I now need to prepare for my appearance tomorrow at the Kala Ghoda Festival to which I am truly looking forward as it is my first time attending it.  On the way to church, Dad told me that when it had first opened (20 years ago), he and my Mum had actually gone there and attended it! So, you see? In avidly consuming these cultural festivals, I am only following in the footsteps of my wonderful culture-vulture parents! I have also heard so much about this festival through the years (it is the largest in India) that I cannot wait to find out for myself what it is all about. And to be invited to actually participate in a panel discussion is a rare honor. I will be on the same panel as Australian aboriginal writer Anita Heiss and I will be interviewed by Rebecca Lloyd of the UK. It should be interesting.
     Until tomorrow...