Bombay
Working...and Accompanying Dad to his Ophthalmologist
Namaste from Bombay!
I am fully cherishing this little studio of my own for it gives me a space to work for hours on end undisturbed. And that's mostly what I did today. Awake at 6.30, I blogged, caught up with Twitter and The Times of London (only finding time for headlines now) and managed to catch the broon man whose bicycle bell announces his presence. I actually tell him from my first floor balcony to come upstairs! How Indian I am getting! Joining my neighbors at snarling from their balconies to everyone about anything seems to be a habit I am picking up--but that's only because this infernal bread man claims he does not remember to come to my door!
Breakfast was two broons sliced and slathered with peanut butter, Nutella, orange-giner marmalade and salmon cream cheese with coffee as I watched Couples Come Dine With Me. Then, without any further ado, I began drafting my January newsletter to be sent out tomorrow. I was almost done when I got down to work and continued manuscript reading. I went through a few chapters before I had to take a break to go over to Dad's place to pick him up for his appointment with his ophthalmologist, Dr. Bhorse.
I have never found the CEDS (Center for Eye Diagnostics and Surgery) on Hill Road so empty. Compared to the chaos of a couple of months ago when it was packed solid and the entire staff appeared deeply frazzled, this was peace and quiet itself. Everything went like clockwork. Dad's eyes were examined, then dilated, then examined again. He had a visit with the two opthalmologists--both renowned specialists--Dr. Ryan D'Souza and Bhorse--and had the most heartening pronouncement. His eyesight has not deteriorated much in two months. His macular degeneration is staying steady and is unlikely to get worse. Surgery is not recommended (phew!) as it is likely to do more harm than good at his age, he needs to continue with the tablets he is taking to keep deterioration at bay. In other words, this was probably the best prognosis we could possibly receive and I could feel Dad's relief and lifting of spirits as soon as it was pronounced. After having heard last month that the deterioration in his right eye had been great, it was good to know that there was no further deterioration in two months and that it is likely to remain steady for a long while. We chatted a bit with the doctors (who actually had the time to do so) who told us that it is examination time in Bombay--which accounts for the lack of crowds in their clinic! Only goes to show how seriously parents take exams in India!
Back at his home, I joined Dad and Russel for one of Valerie's lunches: fried fish, spinach and dal curry and cauliflower with potatoes with mash melon for dessert. Lovely! A little later, I left and returned home to continue working. I managed one more chapter before I took a short nap and got back to work again. I had a call from my cousin Linnet about organizing a get-together of our entire clan of cousins since our cousin Betty is down from Canada. She wondered if I could get us space at the Bandra Gymkhana for such a get-together--which I am happy to do once I have a head count.
I then began working on transcribing the interview I did with Sabira Merchant but was interrupted by a call from my cousin Blossom in Madras. I congratulated her on the wedding of her son Sudarshan in Delhi a few days ago. It was a very small and very quiet affair with about fifteen people in total at the wedding. Blossom and her daughter Menaka were the only two family members present on Sudarshan's side at the nuptials in the Presbyterian church where his bride, Chawii, who is from Mizoram, worships, and at the small dinner reception for family members only that followed. She also shared some mobile phone pictures with me as the official ones will come later.
I only managed to gulp down a quick cup of tea with a slice of cake (as I was feeling peckish) before I left home to join Dad for Mass.
Since it was First Friday, the church was very crowded indeed. It amazes me how much people in India still respect old traditions of this kind--in the US, there is no higher church attendance on First Fridays. After Mass, I visited outside the church for a few minutes with my friend Sharon from Canada who told me that she will remain in Bombay until her father's Month's Mind Mass. I told her that I will give her family the space they are craving at this moment and will see her for a private visit in a couple of weeks.
I then nipped off to the photocopier's to get my lesson plan for tomorrow printed out. I will be teaching a two-hour long workshop on Travel Writing at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies at the request of my friend Prof. Celia Rodrigues who usually teaches the class. My workshop will include excerpts from my own blogs and my account of how writing goes from a blog to a book. Let's us hope it will go well. Fingers crossed!
I returned to Dad's to have dinner (a repeat of the afternoon's meal) and to pick up some bank statements from him. Back home, I had a quick shower (would you believe I could barely find the time for a shower today!?), then sat down to finish drafting my January newsletter (which I had started in the morning). I switched my light off at 10.30pm at the end of another terrific day of work-related activity.
Until tomorrow...
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