Editing a Manuscript and Meeting a Former Journalist Colleague

Monday, May 6, 2019
Bombay

Editing a Manuscript and Meeting a Former Journalist Colleague

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I am happier about waking up later these days--the extra sleep is certainly doing me good, health-wise. I did not waste too much time as I had much to do. Brekkie of a pain au chordate (bought yesterday from Candies) and two slices of multi-grain toast with peanut butter and Nuttela with coffee got me off to a good start as I continued watching Hinterland.
     I then got down to editing the manuscript of my memoir when I got a call from Dad. He wondered if I could accompany him to our family doctor, Dr. Abbas, to give him an update on Russel's condition. We have been following his prescribed medication for two weeks now and there is a marked reduction in the swelling on Russel's foot. The wound, however, waxes and wanes. The scab forms, then falls off leaving a raw crater beneath. Now that the doctor has returned from his short vacation, it was time to see him again.
     So I dropped everything I had planned to do this morning and went off to Dad's and together, after I'd taken pictures of Russel's leg, we went to the doctor.  Luckily there wasn't a long wait to see him. The doc confirmed what we could see ourselves--that the swelling had reduced considerably. He told us to continue the medication for another week and then to see him again. He also told us that such wounds take a very long time to heal but that Russel was doing fine. He advised us to clean very gently around the wound to try to ensure that the scab will stay in place. We also discussed with the doctor, the advisability of going in for the bone-grafting surgery later in the month. He advised us to find out what would be the worst case scenario for Russel if, God forbid, the surgery is not a success. What then? As we all know, going in for surgery is always a dicey business and one can emerge from it even worse off than one was before it. If the orthopedists have given us an 80% chance of success, what, the doctor asks, will happen if it does not succeed? Where will Russel be then? He told us to ask this question when we take Russel in to see the orthopedist by ambulance. It sounded to Dad and me like very sound advice and so when we got back home for lunch, we resolved to do so.
     Lunch was a smorgasbord of leftovers from the past couple of days which I ate with some Alphonso mango for dessert. I did not linger too long after, but returned to my studio to continue with the work I had left off doing. Once that was done, I took a short nap, had a shower and left for my meeting with an old friend.

Meeting a Former Colleague:
     When I was a rookie freelance journalist in Bombay in the mid-1980s, Shanta Gokhale had been an associate editor at Femina and later at the Times of India. I had worked to several commissions that she had assigned me, in those days and we always got on famously. She has, in the years that I have been away, evolved into a highly respected theater critic who writes mainly on Marathi theater but has also done a great number of reviews of English plays in Bombay. I thought it would be fun to catch up with her. I met her at her home near Shivaji Park to which I took an Uber. It is really the only way to travel, I am afraid, in this wretched weather. I am ever so grateful for air conditioning in my studio and in these Ubers when I travel. Thankfully, I have finished most of my interviews now and if I travel it will be only to continue with my reading in the library at the NCPA--thankfully air-conditioned too.
     Shanta and I had a lovely chat about old times, her work in theater journalism, the books she has written, etc. It was terrific to see her again, after absolutely ages. When I was done, I hailed another Uber and was home by 7.15 pm. I decided to have a very early dinner of chicken lasooni kebabs, the curry from my paneer makhanwala and some salad with a chapati, a bit of mango and, after ages, some chocolate ice-cream. I then sat up and transcribed my conversation with Shanta with the idea of remembering what we had chatted about.
     I fell asleep not long after as I felt quite worn out by the end of the day.
     Until tomorrow...