A Very Different Saturday--In a Mall with Friends for Window-Shopping and Lunch

Saturday, May 18, 2019
Bombay

A Very Different Saturday--In a Mall with Friends for Window-Shopping and Lunch

     Namaste from Bombay!
     After absolutely weeks of waking up on a Saturday and doing nothing but work, it was such a relief to actually have something fun to do today. I was invited by my friends Celia and Eddie to lunch--and since I had never seen the Phoenix Mall in Kurla (which they told me was, supposedly, the second-largest in Asia), we decided to meet there. That way, I could browse at leisure and when hunger pangs beckoned, we'd have a choice of places to get our fill.
     So I was excited to awake up at 5.00 am and begin attending to computer work--I had received the Schedule from NYU for our 3-day symposium in Buenos Aires which will be 10 days from now. I was excited about the program offerings which include wonderful lectures, great round table discussions and excursions to places associated with art and culture--including tango lessons! Now how cool is that?
     So I made sure I sent the program to Llew who will be joining me in Buenos Aires where the two of us will be arriving four days before the rest of the NYU faculty members get there. This will allow us to do substantial sightseeing (including a side-trip to the Iguazzu Falls) before the two of us go on to Brazil. I am keen to take a look at the impact of Portuguese culture on the music of Brazil and who better to introduce us to this aspect of my research than our friend, a true Carioca herself, in Rio de Janeiro, Rosana, who is a professor of Art and Culture and is native to the city.
     A longish call with Llew followed, after which I also took a look at the Fulbright Feedback form that I have received that I also need to fill up. There was NYU correspondence to look at and with all those things to be done, time really flew. Plus I drafted a blog post and proof read it.
     When that was done, I sat down to look at the accumulation of papers over the past nine months of my stay in Bombay. I will be taking a lot of them with me to South America and shall be handing them over to Llew who will take them back to New York. This will considerably lessen my load--I will, no doubt, still have excess baggage to deal with...but at least it will not be overwhelming. I ended up going through my closet and getting rid of a lot of stuff I did not need and organizing my papers in neat piles. I will actually be carrying a large suitcase with me (not just the small stroller which I usually use). All that work done, I was ready for a rest.
     This took me to about 11.30 am when I went in for a shower before I summoned an Uber driver to take me to Kurla to the mall. Celia was waiting for me when I got there and with Eddie deciding to join us later, we browed through three floors of a gigantic space. I was amazed at the vast number of stores that have taken over urban centers like Bombay. Of course, in addition to H and M, Forever 21, Mango, etc. there are the footwear places such as Clarks (which I love for casual treading). Any amount of electronic places are also flourishing here. Plus, there are wonderful el cheapo Japanese stores that sell everything you might want for a household--I was quite impressed by those. Walking around, as in any mall, can be very tiring despite the presence of escalators, so I was quite happy to spy a place that offered milk shakes called The Thick Shake Company. I had a Ferroro Rocher Milkshake (which is my very favorite one at the Tinseltown chain of restaurants in London) and it was really excellent. Celia and I split it as we still had lunch in the back of our minds. Yummy!
     Eddie joined us, soon enough, and we continued shopping. There was Mac and other cosmetic places like Sephora where we spritzed ourselves wth new perfumes and there was Nature's Basket (a very upscale supermarket) from which I bought Theo Broma's multi-grain bread and a packet of sesame crackers.
     That done, it was time for lunch and since I eat so much rice and curry at home, I was more than happy to have Italian (yes, yet again--it is after all my very favorite cuisine). Jamie's Pizzeria was very conveniently located. I still can't get over the fact that I can find Jamie's in India but not in the US!
     The place was already crowded but we were lucky to get a table. We decided to have both pizza (I chose the Pepperoni Pizza with Bacon thrown in) and two types of pasta: Penne Puttanesca and Penne Pesto with Spinach and Peas. Everything was simply delicious but the pasta was really outstanding. We simply had iced water with our meal. Desserts were not too appealing so we decided to get gelato from a place called Gelato Vino--my Chocolate flavor was okay, I suppose.
     Lunch done, it was time to say goodbye to my lovely friends who had treated me to lunch and allowed me to spend really precious quality time with them. When I have met Celia on two other occasions (during the time I have been here), our visits have been rather hurried. It was Celia who had invited me to teach a writing workshop to her students at the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. It had been a fun afternoon then, but we hadn't had much time to gab.
     I took an Uber back home and had a nap as soon as I reached. When I awoke, I sat down to transcribe at least one interview and I finished the one with Merlin D'Souza. I suppose I simply could not get through an entire Saturday without doing some work! Plus the fact that I'd had a very enjoyable morning made me feel as if I had to get some work done.
     When my transcription was done, I got dressed to spend the evening with Russel as Dad would be leaving for Mass. I decided to make my time with Russel fruitful and while chatting with him and keeping him company, I also managed to clean and wash the cut-glassware that is in Dad's bar. Once a year, I tend to take on this task and this time, I managed to finish it up at a leisurely pace while chatting with Russel. The glassware sparkled by the time I was done with it as I did pour in a glug of white vinegar into the final rinsing water.
     With that very satisfying chore done, I waited till Dad got back home and then set off for my studio. I made myself a cold gin and tonic (it is dreadfully hot in Bombay and a long cold drink is all you think off when you get home) and put together my own dinner: meatball curry with mixed vegetables and Waldorf Salad with a paratha. While eating, I watched 5 Flights Up--a delightful romantic comedy with Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton--and I will say again: anything that Diane Keaton acts in is simply delightful to me. I adore her. The movie was wonderful--light,  well-scripted and beautifully acted with Cynthia Nixon playing a prominent role. It was set in Brooklyn--so, of course, I felt quite homesick for New York by the end of it...but sooner or later, I will be back home again.
     Until tomorrow...