A Not So Productive Sunday ends with Lovely Concert and Delightful Dinner

Sunday, April 14, 2019
Bombay

A Not So Productive Sunday ends with Lovely Concert and Delightful Dinner

     Namaste from Bombay!
     If I had any hopes of getting any work done today, I was sadly disappointed. However, I did what one is supposed to do on a Sunday--get a bit of leisure and enjoyment from it!

An Unusual Brekkie:
     So I was up early today--at 5.00 am and after blogging and checking my Twitter feed, I got down to transcribing. I stopped for Breakfast--a most unusual one based on goodies that my Dad gave me yesterday that was part of the food offerings he has been receiving from visitors: I had a Punjabi Samosa (brought by a family friend, Bina), a delicious Goa-sausage filled stuffed pau that was then gently battered and shallow-fried (a most unusual concoction from my friend Sharon's Mum, Selda) and jalebis (also bought by Bina). What a fabulous way to start a Sunday, right?

Attending Mass and After...
     Then, because I did manage to find assurance that Michelle Lawrence who had appointed me to do the Second Reading at evening Mass would find a substitute, I had to go for the 9.15 Mass today--it being Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. I dressed and left for Mass--quite happy that I managed to finish one really long transcription based on a very long interview I had done). After Mass, I spent quite a while outside the church chatting with my cousin Brian into whom I ran after a very long time. He filled me in on what has been going on with him and we parted after exchanging telephone numbers. It will be fun to meet for dinner at the Bandra Gym sometime.
     I then stopped off at Dad's to leave Russel his vada and in doing so, ended up spending quite a long time there.  Fortunately, I had eaten my breakfast before leaving for Mass or I'd have been starving.
     Back home, I started preparation for the Travel Writing Workshop I will be teaching in Uzbekistan--if, fingers crossed, I manage to get the visa to get there on schedule! That took me about an hour. I had actually done this preparation when I had conducted the same workshop at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, about two months ago...but I had not saved it anywhere and I lost the Documents when I had my awful computer debacle. So, here I am, having to undertake the prep for that workshop (two sessions of 90 minutes each) all over again.

Lunch-time Chatter:
     I stopped to place an order for our lunch at Bandra Gym: it would be Chinese Pad Thai Noodles, Rawas Fish with Chilli and Basil and Garlic Pepper Vegetables. I then continued to prepare my lessons when Samir from the gym called to tell me it was ready. I went there, picked up the food and went straight to Dad's. Poor fellow! He is having really a hard time putting in his dentures. He simply does to know how to do it and they are either too loose and keep falling off or causing him sudden twinges of pain. I had no idea how complicated they are be.
     Lunch done, I sat chatting with Dad for a long time. He is not keeping too well and his energy levels are very low. As he says, he is more mentally disturbed than anything else with the complicated prognosis we have received over Russel's situation and he is probably wondering how and where he can find the inner resources to take on all these challenges. This from a man who is usually so stoic and so upbeat that he is always telling us that we must face the challenges that life throws at us bravely and prayerfully.

Off to a Kiddies' Concert at the NCPA:
     I went back home after my lunch and chat with Dad and thought I would take a quick nap before I had to leave the house for my ride into the city. My friend Kamal had offered me a ticket to the concert given by the students of the NCPA's Music Academy at the Tata Theater. As I have been interviewing a few of the adults who are associated with this 'school' as administrators or teachers, Kamal thought I would like to find out what it is that these kids are actually learning in this school (the first one of its kind in India) and how they fare as musicians as a result of their training.
     I took a shower and got dressed, took a bus to Bandra Station, got a slow train to Churchgate, found a cab right outside the station to get me to Nariman Point and was at the appointed spot at the Tata Theater right on time to meet Kamal. There were a few faces with which I have become familiar (Jimi and Hutoxi Billimoria, Xeres Unvala, Dolly Thakore, my former colleague at Jai Hind College, Vispi Balaporia) and after meeting some of Kamal's friends, we settled down in our seats to enjoy the concert.
     In a word, it was brilliant! Given the age of the kids and the number of years each of them has been studying, it was astounding with what virtuosity that are playing their chosen instruments. There were solos on the piano, trumpet, clarinet, flute, cello and double bass--all the soloists were accompanied by a few members of the Symphony Orchestra of India--I recognized another person I had interviewed, Francis Mendes--under the conducting baton of Marat Bissangaliev (whom I have also interviewed). His sister, Aida, who is the resident Piano teacher, was resplendent at the end, in a beautiful salwar khameez outfit. I really did have such a good time listening to these kids who played a range of thrilling music with some very familiar pieces such as 'Mexican Hat Dance' and 'The Entertainer' as well as far more classical work by Grieg and Johan Christian Bach (Johan Sebastian Bach's son). Really really wonderful! Hats off to the kids (for the undoubted hours of practice it must take them to play like this) and to their teachers (all of whom as Kazakhs) for their dedication and insistence on perfection.

Dinner at the Yacht Club:
     Kamal, who is a member there, suggested that we adjourn for an early dinner at the Yacht Club and we did. It was a nice ride to the Gateway of India (which is simply bursting with people on a warm Sunday evening in April with most schools out now) and I admired her negotiating skills as she drove her vehicle through the haphazard traffic and scary humans hordes until we entered the club and the valet took over her car.
     Dinner was upstairs in the dining room where we started off with drinks (vodka and tonic for her, a G and T for me--and believe me, nothing is more refreshing on a warm summer's evening in Bombay than this elixir!). And then we ordered: a steak for Kamal, roasted chicken with mushroom sauce for me, both served with mashed potato and grilled veg.  Lovely, lovely, lovely. We enjoyed our wonderful heart to heart and I was grateful for Kamal's empathetic ear as I told her all about Russel's prognosis and the strains that lie ahead for him and the family members who will be caring for him. Dessert was a Bread and Butter Pudding that I thought would be more in the English style with the warm creaminess of a semi-set custard--but it was actually simply Bread Pudding--set far too much for my liking.
     Kamal dropped me off to Churchgate Station from where I took a train back to Bandra seated in the general compartment which was practically empty but had enough people in it to make me feel secure--I never travel in a compartment if there is only one person in it.
     Back home, I had to wait for quite a while to get the bus (they are probably few and far between on a Sunday) and sat to watch The Sinner--but I found myself dozing through most of it as I simply could not keep my eyes open. A few texts exchanged with Llew saw me through the end of the day as I nodded off to sleep.
     Until tomorrow...