Interviewing a Renaissance Man and Getting Visa Documentation Ready

Monday, April 15, 2019
Bombay

Interviewing a Renaissance Man and Getting Visa Documentation Ready

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I was barely out of my teens and only just awakening to the cultural revolution that was Bombay in the late 1970s when I became aware of the work of Gieve Patel--poet, playwright, painter, sculptor and physician--yes, physician: a general practitioner with a thriving practice. His play Savaksa that I then saw was staged by Pearl Padamsee and starred Roger Pereira. I had also become familiar with his poetry which was being published in every Bombay periodical of the time. I had heard him read from his writing in the main cultural spaces that I had haunted in those heady days--the British Council, the USIS, the Max Mueller Bhavan. the Alliance Francaise. In a way, the work I am undertaking today on the Fulbright Fellowship is motivated as much by a desire to walk in those youthful footsteps that I left far behind when I emigrated to the US as it is to document the lively cultural history of a city that never slept.
     So when my day began at 6.00 am, I started blogging and checking Twitter and responding to my email when I realized that I could not stay in bed at my laptop as long as I would have liked as I had an 11.00 am appointment with Gieve Patel--a truly Renaissance Man--in Colaba. Hence a quick brekkie of muesli and coffee and a quick shower later, I was out the door and in a bus to the city. A train ride took me to Churchgate from where I jumped into a 137 bus going to Colaba Causeway.
     I feel super excited at the way in which I have mastered the use of the BEST buses--I adore them--with much the same ease with which I use the red buses in London. This one was empty and I literally had to ask the driver as I got in if it was in service! He nodded and took me to Cushrow Bagh, the 19th century colony in which every Parsi wishes he had a flat. My new friend Sam Kerawala lives in the same Parsi colony and it is through him that I have become familiar with this rather glorious little cocoon of Zoroastrian culture that has remained preserved in a cosmopolitan city as if in aspic.
   
Interviewing a Renaissance Man:
     It is hot and very humid in Bombay now--so having to climb three floors to the terrace apartment on such a day was not something I relished. Still, after it seemed as if I had scaled Everest, I was ushered into the mercifully air-conditioned studio of Dr. Gieve Patel whose personality was instantly lovable. For the next hour, we talked about his literary and creative accomplishments. I am still kicking myself that I forgot to tell him that I have taught his Poetry in the course on Indian Writing in English that I once used to teach in the Masters Program in English at the University of Bombay. He was modest to a fault and did not over-intellectualize. His sole response quite often (to one of my more complicated questions) was , "I really don't know". or "I really cannot say" or "I can't really comment on that". On those aspects of his work that he could speak, he enlightened me unreservedly and I left his place--after he had gifted me two of this books that I insisted he inscribe--not only feeling deeply privileged that I'd had the chance to interact with this almost 80 year old artist-doctor but that I knew so much more about his life, his background, his creative impulses and the era against which he had produced his most impressive work.
     Before I left Cushrow Bagh, I stopped off at the apartment of Sam Kerawala to leave him a copy of the 'Agreement to Participate' form for him to sign (as I realize that I need to get the signatures of all the people I have interviewed). This means a bit of backtracking, but I shall take it on. I also left a copy of the same form for Dhun Khandalavala whom I had interviewed last week. Sam and she are friends and he assured me that he would obtain her signature.

Off to the NCPA for More Signatures:
     I was seated at the 137 bus-stop on Colaba Causeway waiting for the same bus going in the opposite direction to take me to the NCPA at Nariman Point when Anupam from the Fulbright office in Delhi called me to talk about my making a quick air-dash to the capital to get my Uzbekistan visa. If I am to leave for Tashkent on Easter Monday, I will need to get my visa from Delhi now--the rest of Holy Week will keep me very busy with family and religious commitments. Hence, we talked about my leaving early on Wednesday morning for Delhi! The Fulbright people told me that they would work on my ticket and get back to me as soon as everything fell into place. Boy! When I woke up this morning, I had no idea I would be going to Delhi so soon! That's how quickly things are now working in my life!
     The bus arrived within five minutes and I jumped in. It dropped me right outside the NCPA from where I made my way to the library. I had a bunch of people to whom I had to give my Agreement forms and, one after the other, I either met them personally and handed them over or left them with their secretaries. Hopefully, I shall be able to collect them at a later date. I have deputed my friend Jimi Bilimoria to pick up all the signed forms for me.

Lunch at McD's:
       I was starving by the time I finished my signature-gathering mission and felt the need for sustenance before I went to my next port of call--the USIEF office at Churchgate. The Food Court at the INOX Theater beckoned, but I spotted McDs and not having had a burger in absolute ages, I decided that was what I would have. And so I sat down, in the blissful coolness of air-conditioning, to eat a Salsa Burger (which was a tad too spicy) and a drink and I was off.
     I decided to walk to the USIEF office as this is all the exercise I am getting these days--my days of going to the gym seem to be left far behind as work and family commitments are consuming me these days!

Picking up Fulbright SWAG from the USIEF Office:
     Ryan from the USIEF office was waiting for me and had a packet ready to hand over following his own trip to Delhi last week. He brought me another copy of the Cochin Fulbright Conference program brochure as the pages of my copy were falling apart. He also brought me SWAG (Stuff We All Get), very kindly handed over to him by Adam who had promised me sone: A Fulbright pen, a Fulbright key-ring and a Fulbright pin! I was absurdly pleased with my haul as I bid Ryan goodbye and walked the few meters to Churchgate station to get my train and bus home.

Preparing for Trips to Come...
     I was so looking forward to a nice nap when I got home and indeed I curled up and had one before you could say Jack Robinson. But then the calls from Delhi started to come at me. They were suggesting that I leave for Delhi tomorrow (Tuesday) evening (not Wednesday morning). They would be putting me up in the Fulbright Guest House for Tuesday night so that I could get to the Uzbekistan Embassy at 9.00 am on Wednesday to apply for and get my visa. That way, I would have the entire day to get the document. It seemed to make sense and so I looked at my calendar and found that I had a lot of appointments that I had made for Wednesday which needed to be reshuffled. I sat on my pone after that and, one after the other, began to make my calls. I also called Dad to tell him that I had too much to do and would not be able to see him and Russel this evening or join him for Mass. He fully understood when I told him that I had to leave suddenly for Delhi tomorrow night.
     I had to bring forward a doctor's appointment for Russel--and hopefully, we might still be able to see the doctor tomorrow before I get my flight! Fingers Crossed! I was sorry to have to reschedule an interview that it had taken me ages to pin down! But what do you do? This was clearly a priority and I had to step up!
     Next, I sat down to put all my papers together for my trip to Delhi. I had to ensure I had passport pictures ready and had printed out the form (written entirely in Cyrillic--Russian) for the Embassy. Luckily, they have already filled it out for me in the US Embassy at Uzbekistan--all I have to do take a signed print out to the Embassy in Delhi.  
     Still wanting to stay abreast of the interviews I am currently carrying out, I sat and transcribed my interview with Gieve Patel while it was still fresh in my mind. It took me a little over an hour but I was very happy to have proofread it and saved it in my Google Drive before I could turn my attention to looking at interviews scheduled for later this week.
     That done, I sat down to apply for my visa to Brazil where I will be traveling at the end of next month. Llew had already applied for his and had received it online--he guided me through filling out an application myself as he was keen that I do not put it off too long. And so I sat doing that chore which took me over an hour by the time I uploaded my passport and photograph, etc. according to their specifications. However, when it was all done and I got a confirmation from them telling me that my application was complete, my joy knew no bounds! Let us hope that my pictures pass muster with them. Yes, doing things online takes the leg work out of everything but it also means that one goes through a lot of stress trying to figure out the right way to do something when there is no guidance whatsoever.
    I also decided that since I was going to Delhi, I would try to hook up with members of Ibrahim Alkazi's family who are settled there. He is a gigantic influence on contemporary English theater in Bombay but because he is now past ninety and bed-ridden and can no longer meet visitors, I have scheduled to talk to his daughter, Amal, who is an artist and who will meet me just before the opening of her solo exhibition in the capital.
     By the time I was ready for dinner and bed, I knew that I would be leaving Bombay tomorrow (Tuesday) night for Delhi. The Fulbright folks have decided that it makes sense to fly me up so that I spend the night in Delhi at the Fulbright Guest House. This will allow me to get to the Uzbekistan Embassy as soon as it opens on Wednesday morning for my visa which, hopefully, will be done and my passport returned to me by the end of the day. I will take an 8.00 pm flight back to Bombay to arrive on Wednesday night. I think this is a far better way to go--I will have a good night's sleep in Delhi and Bombay and will avoid having to take a red eye flight. Only once I get my visa can they go ahead and purchase my round-trip ticket to Tashkent and back. Phew!
     It was dinner time when I finished with all this work--I had been working steadily from 4.30 till 9.00 pm on my laptop by the time I was done. I dived into my dinner--the last of my leftovers from my previous meal (as a new delivery had been left at my door today) as I tucked into kheema matter, cabbage and the leftover roast chicken in mushroom sauce from my meal at the Yacht Club.
     While munching, I finished watching the last episode of Season Two of The Sinner and I have to say that it has been compelling. I am sorry that it is over, but now I can turn to Traitors and other glorious entertainment on Netflix.
     I went to bed when I was nodding off, long after midnight.
     Until tomorrow...