The Joys of Being in Bombay Again for Easter!

Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019
Bombay

The Joys of Being in Bombay Again for Easter!

     Namaste from Bombay! And Happy Easter All!
     Easter Sunday dawned warm and bright here in Bombay--where every day in warm and bright! Maybe a bit too warm and a bit too bright! My friends in the UK has been sending me messages to tell me how delighted they are to have a warm and sunny Easter--because such weather is such a rarity in the Western hemisphere.
      I, who spend most of my day, with my TV now turned on to global live webcams (I have discovered a Rollig=ng Cam website on You Tube that takes me to Venice, Italy, and is accompanied by lovely classical music) now find myself transported to various parts of the world that I love--Oxford is now not the only site on which I am focussed. I love the Venetian vignettes and as I type and focus on my work, it is good to have classical music playing softly in the background as images of gondolas, vaporettos, sunlight bouncing of the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge, tourists swarming the main piazza in front of San Marco and lesser-known corners of canals with their bow bridges keep me enthralled throughout the day. What a wonderful way to lose myself in places I have known and loved!

Easter Luncheon at Dad's:
     I had my breakfast of muesli and coffee and blogged for the day. Then I got ready to go to Dad's to help him set up for his Easter luncheon with a few friends.   Over the past few years, after Roger left for the States and after Dad and Russel were left to celebrate the holidays alone together, Dad came up with the idea of inviting to his home those folks who are bereaved from having lost a loved one during the year. This year, the only person who could accept his invitation was Selda, a neighbor and dear fiend and the mother of my good friend who is now in Toronto, Sharon. Two regulars who come to Dad's place for every holiday, Jyoti (Roger's former neighbor) and Queenie, Dad's close friend, were also present. And, on impulse, at the last minute, Dad had invited a lovely couple, Felcy and Jerry Rodrigues, who also have three children scattered from Australia to Dubai. As they would be alone, Dad asked them to join us. My friend Shahnaz, whom I had invited, called to tell me that she was unable to come as her mother had suddenly taken even more ill than usual in the hospital and she had to rush there. So we were a jolly lot of about eight people plus Rohit (Dad's Man Friday) to partake of the main Ester meal.
     I got to work, first of all, picking up fresh vegetables from the vendor outside my Dad's gate. Rohit gave me a hand in washing the veg well and then in cutting them and getting them ready for a salad. He also got out all the dishes we needed to serve our various items: I made the Goa Sausages yesterday and finished off my Salad with the dressing today. Dad had ordered Chicken Biryani (from Merchant's), Lemon-Garlic-Pepper Chicken (from Khane-Khas), Pork Sorportel and Potato Chops (from his caterer Ephraim) and Selda came in with a large Fish Pasta Casserole (which was hot and fresh out of the oven and very delicious indeed). With bread, fuggias (sent by one of Dad's East Idian lady friends from the parish) and raita, there was a lot of great food on the table. For dessert, Dad had ordered Dark Chocolate Ice-cream cones that were very good indeed. Such a bountiful table and so many delicious foods to eat made us aware once more of the abundant blessings of the Risen Christ in our lives--an awareness that was reiterated as Dad said Grace before we began eating. It was wonderful.    
     Rohit was a great help to me as I organized drinks for various people and coordinated the serving of the food with Dad supervising as he knows much more about the running of his home than I do. Still, we managed very well and everything went well with Russel enjoying the camaraderie of so many folks and the sense of being included in Easter festivity even if he is homebound and unable to go to church services.
     By the time people left, it was about 2.30 pm and I joined Rohit in trying to get everything organized for clear-up and clean-up.  Once again, Rohit did a sterling job and I was very grateful for his help. When all the food was placed in Tupperware containers and the wash-up was done by Rohit, Russel went in for a nap and Dad and I sat chatting for a bit. Then, because we had forgotten to send our guests home with doggie-bags, I stopped off at Selda's place and Jerry and Felcy's place to leave them containers of biryani. Dad and Russel will have a lot of leftovers for the next couple of days and will not need to get their usual meal delivery service.
     Back home, I took a quick nap and then sat down and finished transcribing my interview with Naseeruddin Shah--it was such an extensive interview that it went into 10 transcribed pages. I then emailed it to him for his approval.
     I then took a shower and made my way back to Dad's place again and spent the evening with him and Russel before we all sat down to have dinner--I had the chicken (as I had not tasted it in the afternoon) and some salad with fresh Alphonso mangoes for dessert--given to me by Felcy and Jerry.
     I spent the evening chatting on the phone with Llew and sending out messages to a number of friends. I watched a bit of Hinterland before falling asleep in front of the screen.
     It had been a nice Easter--yes, I missed my ow family members in the US very much...but I am grateful for this opportunity to spend Easter, after so many decades away from India, with my Bombay family. It was grand to join in the spirit of new life and renewal that the day brings. I remembered what my friend, the Anglican Bishop Michael Colclough, had once told me: That the Resurrection is the very basis of Christianity and that I should never lose my belief in its miraculous occurrence. I felt that sense of happy renewal as I received emailed and text messages from so many different parts of the world on this glorious day.
     Happy Easter to you all! I hope you had just as exciting a day wherever you might have been!
     Until tomorrow...