Getting A Special Telephone Call and A Visit to the Dentist

Friday, March 16, 2019

Bombay

Getting A Special Telephone Call and A Visit to the Dentist

     Namaste from Bombay!

     Today turned out to be a fairly routine day but for the fact that I had some dentistry work done. 

     Awake at about 6.00am, I kind of took it easy in bed as I caught up with Twitter and then began blogging. I had a longish post to write—as I had a long walk in the city yesterday—but I would do it in installments through the day. When the bread man came, I called for a boon which I ate with leftover mince in my fridge. Yes, I have re-discovered the joy of eating these weird breakfasts—mince with a broon, leftover curry with a broon....

Receiving a Very Special Call: 

     I was pleasantly surprised at about 9.00 am to get a call from Vijaya Mehta whom I had interviewed yesterday at the Bombay Gymkhana.  If you remember I had told you that we got on famously and she complimented me warmly on taking her down Memory Lane as she recounted her past as a performing artist in Bombay. Well, she called especially to tell me that I had much for which to take credit.  

       Following our conversation, she said that she has become resolved to get her autobiography that is in Marathi, translated into English. She is now determined to take a look at her archives that are at the NCPA and bring some order to them. She says that a single conversation with me has so re-energized her that the one thing her son and her husband have been telling her to do for years (and which she had ignored), she is now going to pursue.  She said that she had started the day making so many calls to various people who could help her with the project. They all kept asking her why she had finally woken up from her slumber and she told them that a lady from New York had come across to talk to her about her work and that had sparked off this new enthusiasm to collate her archives. They all told her to call me up and thank me for what I had achieved.  Hence, her call! 

      Needless to say, I was thrilled and very honored and felt humbled to know that while I am getting so much out of the time I am speaking with these folks collecting data, I am also giving them something back in return—if nothing else, at least a chance to review their lives and consider its highs and lows, the milestones that affected their careers and took it in a particular direction. What a unique privilege for me! I am thrilled...

An Appointment with My Dentist:

      After the call, I realized that it was already 10.30 am. I had to rush as I jumped into the shower, got dressed and took a rickshaw to Linking Road where my dentist Sudha Shenoy spent the next hour doing  composite fillings on the creases of my teeth near the gum-line: a result of too hard brushing: Llew would always tell me that I am overdoing it...but old habits die hard. We had a nice chat before and after my work was done. 

     But when I got the bill, I was shocked! She charged Rs. 3,000 for each tooth—a total of eight teeth means Rs. 24,000–Wow..that was more than $300. Yes, I would probably have spent $300 for one tooth in the US, but I was stunned that this would cost so much. Thankfully my dental global insurance will cover the entire amount, so I will not be paying from my pocket. Still...

     Back from the dentist, I stopped at Jay’s shop, my photocopier, to get one thing printed out. I needed to sign a form and then send it to Llew. But I got confused about where my signature was required, so I simply told Jay I would return in the evening, after Mass to get the scanning done. 

      I then strolled to Dad’s to chat with him. He was out—doing his visits of mercy to the sick in our parish. I had a chance to chat with Russel who caught me up with everything happening at home and with his health. Dad joined us in a bit and I sat chatting with him for a long while.  He asked me to join him for lunch but my gum was still Novocained and I told him I could not eat. I would see him again in the evening before Mass.

      Back home, I gave it some time before I had lunch—during that time, I continued writing my blog post. Then I had a short nap and as evening rolled around, I had tea—all the while watching a bunch of videos on You Tube (I am watching Oxford academics talk about popular fiction set in Oxford—there was one clip with the late Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse novels and I am in the middle of one by Colin Bundy on Detective Fiction set in Oxford).  Meanwhile, I am continuing to make appointments for more interviews. 

     In the evening, I stopped off at Dad’s, walked with him to church, attended the Stations of the Cross (in a packed church), and Mass, and then stopped off at Jay’s to get my documents scanned (as I had chatted with Llew who guided me on what I ought to do). Jay was great in getting my work done. 

     A little later, I was back home getting my dinner organized: I had meatball curry, spinach (without the potatoes), mixed vegetables (without the noodles) and quarter of a guava for dessert. I watched Grace and Frankie as The Sinner has become too scary for me to watch it at night just before I get to bed!

     Until tomorrow...