A Parish Bible Quiz on a Sunday Morning

Sunday, March 24, 2019
Bombay

A Parish Bible Quiz on a Sunday Morning

     Namaste from Bombay!
     Although most Sundays are fairly relaxed for me, this was anything but as I am still playing catch up!
     I awoke early and blogged and checked Twitter and transcribed one interview before I gobbled down my breakfast of a broon with spreads and coffee and rushed off to the 9.00 am Mass. I met Dad at his gate and the two of us walked together to church. I am finding it exceedingly trying to go through these Masses in Bombay where the sermon, Sunday after Sunday, under this one priest, has become excruciating. Today was no exception. I think I really have to switch churches now and start finding joy in returning to church for Sunday Mass--as going and attending just as a habit is not what my personal worship means to me.
     After Mass, Dad and I picked up a vada pau for Russel and then made our way up to the Parish Hall to be spectators in the Bible Quiz organized for the parish by the Youth--who were completing one year since their formation. As I had been a part of the youth group of this same church, over 30 years ago, I figured I should encourage today's youth group in its efforts.
     I have to say that the turnout was simply pathetic.  There were no more than 20 parishioners who attended--indeed, there were more participants than spectators. The parish was divided into five groups or zones--each group had about four team members. The Quiz Master was a priest-in-the-making whose name is Brother Keith--I understand that he is to be ordained very shortly.
     The questions were of unequal degrees of difficulty. Some were really easy and some were really difficult. They did have a round of questions for the audience and Dad was clever enough to get one answer right--his prize was a bar of chocolate. We sat through about an hour of it during which time chutney sandwiches and a juice box were distributed and the participants took a break. I was pretty bored by it, at this point, and asked Dad if we could leave. I think he too had seen enough by this point to receive the impression that it was not worth staying any longer.
     Back at Dad's, I placed an order for our lunch with the folks at Bandra Gymkhana and left to go home to change out of my church clothes and into something more comfortable. I picked up the lunch order about a half hour later and took it back to Dad's, where he, Russel and I sat down to eat it: hot and sour soup, chicken biryani and raita. It was all very delicious indeed.
     After lunch I went back to my studio for a nap and to transcribe yet another interview. I then stopped for a shower and tea and nuts and then got back to my laptop to transcribe the third interview. With this, I caught up with the current interviews I have done and can now start to work on the backlog based on the 40 interviews I have lost.
     My cousin Blossom called and I had a nice chat with her before I excused myself and left for dinner at Dad's. The IPL cricket matches have begun and Dad is quite glued to his TV now. Russel is also involved but is less enthusiastic. We finished dinner after which I left and came back home to watch another episode of Vera. These are all old episodes that I have watched before with Llew--but I do not remember any of them.
     I went to bed but had a very restless night as a single mosquito kept bothering me incessantly and I simply could not kill it.
     Until tomorrow...