It Takes A Village! Another Funeral and a Busy Day

Thursday, May 9, 2019
Bombay

It Takes A Village! Another Funeral and a Busy Day

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I had an unusual day that started early with a funeral--yes, yet another. It has been such a long time since I have attended so many funerals. This one was for a close friend of Russel, a good family friend and a wonderful priest--Fr. Prax Pereira, 97 years old and 66 years in the Ministry of the Lord. For the past decade, he has been wheelchair-bound and indoor-bound. Russel was one of his faithful daily visitors--the two of them got along like a house on fire--until Russel became disabled himself. The viewing of his body was at 8.00 am at our parish church of St. Anne's at Pali Hill and the funeral Mass was at 9.00 am followed by the funeral at the Cemetery at St. Andrew's Church.

Off to Fr. Prax's Funeral:
     Accordingly, I awoke and quickly had my breakfast of two slices of multi-grain bread with peanut butter and marmalade with coffee and then I dressed and was off. I met Dad at his place and together we went to the church for the viewing. Every parish priest that has hosted Fr. Prax over the 20 years of his retired 'stay' at St. Anne's Church was present. Russel would have loved to have seen all of them and to have socialized with them--had he been present. He took Fr Prax's death very badly, by the way, and had a bad tummy--a psychosomatic manifestation of his grief. Hence, Dad told me that he would only stay for the viewing and Mass and would not be going to the cemetery as he wanted to go to Dr. Abbas, our family GP, to get some medication for Russel.
     The church was already packed by the time we got there, but both of us managed to find seats as people squeezed in the pews to accommodate us. As might be expected, it was a very solemn service--two bishops said the Mass, among four other priests at the altar. Cardinal Oswald Gracias was in Bangalore--and so he missed the funeral--but he sent his message of condolence that was read out in church. There were about a hundred priests at least seated on the pews at the side of the church.
     All went off well with the choir singing two of Fr. Prax's compositions--at Offertory and at Communion. One of them, "Accept Almighty Father, These Gifts of Bread and Wine..." I have been singing since I was a little girl in Bombay. Who knew it was a Fr. Prax composition? In fact, I had no idea that he was so musically inclined and that a good part of his ministry was music-oriented. It is sad that we really sometimes get to know a person only when we listen to the eulogies made in their honor.
      The one by a priest called Fr. Basil Monteiro was most touching. He said that Fr Prax had been like a father to him when they were posted in Chandigarh in the Simla Archdiocese. When struck with paralysis and given up as permanently disabled, it was Fr. Prax who had taught him how to pray (not say) the Rosary and heightened his faith in Our Lady. Daily he would come to Basil's bedside and say the entire mass and give him communion--for a whole year. A year later, Fr. Basil was on his feet again. He expressed his undying love and gratitude to Fr. Prax. I found the entire account deeply moving. I suppose when one has done any job for 66 long years, one makes meaningful contribution to it. Fr. Prax will be remembered by many.

Back to my Laptop:
     Right after the funeral, Dad went to his flat and I went on to my studio where I immediately had a shower. I then got down to work. I called Dad a bit later to find out what the doctor had said--he has given Russel a course of tablets for the next few days. Hopefully, Dad will be able to cope with Russel's illness. Thankfully, Rohit is also lending a much-needed hand.
     I, for my part, finished transcribing the telephone chat with Benjamin Gilani and sent it to him for his approval. I also made a few more calls in the hope of setting up a few more chats. I also communicated with my agent, Mita, and drafted the blurb for my book and my bio note. She has asked for them and for my picture so that it can be circulated among the leading Indian publishers. I still had to sign the revised contract which I shall scan and get done this evening.
     I stopped for lunch (more fridge leftovers) and watched Morse (The Secret of Bay 9). I also began reading my new novel Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner which has started well. A short 20 minute nap later, I was ready to tackle more work--mainly to do with the revised Internal Review Board exam of NYU that I have to retake now that my year-long review clearance is coming to a close. This involved some more email correspondence with folks in New York.

An Evening at Dad's:
     Although we would not be going to Mass this evening, I did want to spend some time with Dad and Russel. And so I had a quick cup of tea with nuts, went off to Jay, got my stuff photocopied, signed, scanned and sent off my contract to my agent--that is one huge objective ticked-off for my year. Thank You Jesus! Please keep your fingers crossed that I might find a really good publisher now that my manuscript is in the hands of India's leading literary agent.
     At Dad's, I spent the rest of the evening. Both he and Russel were in a bad mood as Rohit had gone away, presumably for an hour at 3.00 pm and was supposed to return at 4.00 pm and only showed up after 6.30 without so much as a word of apology. Both Dad and Russel were absolutely fuming. When he came in at 6.40 pm, Dad put him through the wringer--not that it makes any difference to these folks who have zero work ethic and know that we are at their mercy.
     I stayed at Dad's till about 7.45 pm when they got ready for they dinner at which point, I got home and organized mine. I continued watching Traitors on Netflix, a recommendation from an NYU colleague. Then I continued reading some of my novel and went to bed.
     Until tomorrow...