Bombay
A Day Devoted to Chores and Another Visit to Orthopedist Number One Before An Air-Dash to Delhi.
Namaste from Bombay!
Today could only be described as crazy...and I am glad I have these days only rarely or else I’d be a mental wreck.
Awake at 6.00 am, I began blogging and reading my Twitter feed while fully aware that I had a number of chores to carry out and a doctor to visit before, most likely, taking a flight to Delhi in the late evening.
Undertaking Chores:
With not a moment to spare, I raced though my broon and spreads with coffee and left for Dad’s place to pick up some money that I wished to deposit in my bank. Dad had a number of chores for me to do as he is feeling very poorly indeed. I can tell that his energy levels are very low and I can also tell that the strain of not being able to get used to his dentures added to the worry of how to go forward with Russel’s leg is adding to his share of mental tension and making him feel very weak. I told him that I would pay his electricity bill at Punjabi National Bank when I paid mine. He then told me to go next door to Bank of India and pick up some forms for him. So off I went. But before I got to PNB, I stopped at my own bank, State Bank of India, to deposit my money and found the lines at the counter so long they were snaking almost to the door. Well, I was darned if I was wasting my time in line—so I pushed off and resolved to return later in the afternoon when the crowds would have dissipated.
I walked to PNB and paid the electricity bills in a jiffy—I am annoyed that due to some snafu on the Adani Electricity website, I can no longer make payment online. Anyway, this alternative payment method was quite painless.
Next top, Bandra Gymkhana to pay my annual membership dues. But when I got there, I found out that although I carried the cash with me, they only accept checks! Of course, I did have my check book with me but since I had not deposited the money, I was not sure there was enough in my bank to cover my membership. So I had to leave that chore undone and get back home.
I tried to make up for lost time by preparing for my workshop sessions in Uzbekistan and indeed I worked steadily on this assignment until lunch time when I stopped for chicken curry, cauliflower with peas and paneer sheesh kebabs—all delicious—and keeping me company was Grace and Frankie.
A Disheartening Visit to the Orthopedist:
I also got my papers organized for my visit to the Embassy of Uzbekistan and made sure I had things in order. Then, I took a shower, got dressed and went off to Dad’s again—this time to pick him up for our excursion to Dadar to Orthopedist Number One—this time with blood test reports and new X-rays. I have to say that the visit plunged Dad and me into further gloom. It appears that the fact that the wound is not healing on Russel’s leg and occasionally oozing is an indication that there is an infection at the site of the surgery that needs to be addressed. Because the doctor has not yet seen Russel (and is receiving information solely through us), he is guessing that the surgery will now need to be reopened so that it can be cleaned up, the infection treated and then closed up again. Until the healing of the infection occurs, we cannot go on to the next step in setting the fractured bones—yet another surgery that involves a bone graft.
As you can imagine, both Dad and I were so disheartened by this visit that we were absolutely quiet on our way home in the cab. Dad could barely speak as he is often close to tears and watching him this way makes me feel very low too. I am trying really hard to lift his spirits by thinking and talking positively. But, in the end, we are realizing that Russel’s case is complicated and is made far worse because he has a neuropathic condition that is preventing his body from healing in the way that the bodies of normal people do.
We have decided now to wait until I get back from Uzbekistan before we go forward with the next stage in his treatment. The doctor assured us that there is no great hurry as Russel’s painlessness is not causing discomfort and the infection seems to be acting slowly and benignly. So back home at Dad’s, I sat for just a bit before saying goodbye to him and Russel and racing back to my studio.
Packing for my Trip to Delhi:
I had spent much of the day making and breaking appointments and by the time I had packed a few of my things in my little TUMI backpack for my overnight stay in Delhi, I was simply looking forward to dashing off to the capital, getting my visa and dashing back again. My packing did not take too much time and, on schedule, I left my studio at 10.30pm to call an Uber to take me to Santa Cruz (domestic) airport for my Delhi-bound flight.
We made it in very good time and by midnight, I had my boarding pass and was at the gate ready to be airborne. Surprisingly, the flight was chocobloc even at that unearthly travel hour. I had downloaded a couple of magazines on my I pad (which I carried and on which I am typing this) and with sleep washing insistently over me, I had a bit of a shut eye while waiting to board and then a more restless nap on the flight.
We landed on schedule at 3.00 am, when I raced to the Arrivals lounge and found a driver with a placard carrying my name. I identified him easily and sank into the coolness of his car as he drove me to the Fulbright Office where I had a room reserved for me for the night in the Fulbright Office Guest House. En route, we passed by the silent broad roads and neat streets of a glorious city designed to be a colonial model by the great Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker. I was delighted to see India Gate at Raj Path with the magnificent domes of Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s Palace) at the other end.
Gosh! I had forgotten how glorious a city New Delhi is!
I was shown to the Guest House by the resident security man, given my key and I had only enough energy to climb into my sleeping shorts and huddle under the covers after another thoroughly hectic day in Bombay!
Hopefully, my mission to Delhi will be accomplished sans hassle!
Until tomorrow...
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