More Work and a Visit to the Police Station

Friday, May 10, 2019
Bombay

More Work and a Visit to the Police Station

     Namaste from Bombay!
     And yet another day flew past! Awaking at 6.30, I blogged and had my breakfast--muesli with coffee.  There is a new bread man (who has replaced the old fellow) This chap does not ring his bicycle bell (as the old guy did)--so I am not alerted to his presence when he enters the building's compound. So it seems as if I might have to bid goodbye to my broons--oh well, I enjoyed them while they were available.

Taking an Online Exam:
     That done, I reviewed the work I needed to accomplish for the day. First off, I needed to take an online exam that is carried out by the Internal Review Board of NYU that permits me to do field research with human subjects. Since I had clearance to undertake this research for a year and my year is almost up, I needed to submit a request for renewal of that clearance. As the US Federal regulations have changed, I needed to reacquaint myself with the new laws, study them well and then take the online exam before my approval to carry out such field research was renewed. So studying the new law and then taking the exam took the entire morning...but by the end of it, I passed! I emailed NYU to let them know that and expect to have my renewal come through soon.
     I took a break for a shower and then returned to my laptop to continue final edits on the manuscript of my memoir. I have edited the blurb and bio note and sent it out to my agent who told me that it is now good to go. I have told her to wait until Monday when I will send her a final manuscript with some portions deleted...and she is fine with that. So, during the weekend, I will read the last ten chapters of my manuscript and send it off to her by late Sunday. Hopefully, by Monday, my manuscript, picture, blurb and bio line can go off to the Indian publishers.

Getting Rohit Registered at the Bandra Police Station:
      At 4.00 pm, I went to Dad's place and picked up a form and some documents from Rohit, his Man Friday. I went with them to Jay, my photocopier, to have them photocopied. When this was done, I took Rohit by rickshaw to the Bandra Police Station to have him finger printed and placed in the police registers. This is a safeguard that the Bombay police offer in order to keep track of domestic hirees--as there has been so much crime associated with these chaps who come from places like Jharkhand and Chattisgarh to work as domestics in Bombay. The inspector at the Police Station, Yadav, is such a nice chap. He told me that just Rohit's Adhar (national ID card) would not do--he would need to produce an official document from his home in Chattisgarh such as his election card, his ration card and his or his parents' electricity bill.  Rohit has told me that he will be able to provide these within the next week. The Inspector told me to return with these documents to finish off the registration process.
    I dropped Rohit off at Dad's and got back to my home where I had a quick cup of tea before doing a phone interview with a journalist called Siddharth Bhatia who has written a book called India Psychedelic about the 1960s and 1970s in India when the pop and rock scene was at its most active. I realized only after we finished the interview (as his name sounded quite familiar to me), that I actually knew him quite well during my freelance journalist days in Bombay. He gave me a lot of information and directed me to his book (which is easily available online in the US). It was a short interview that I will transcribe it tomorrow.
     That done, I went off to Dad's where I spent a half hour with Russel before Dad and I left for Mass.  After it was done, Dad returned to the last of the IPL cricket matches while I got home, had soup with cheese and crackers and the last of my Goa Sausage Pullao for dinner with fresh Alphonso mango (really good!) for dessert.
     I watched one more episode of Morse (Masonic Murders) before I fell asleep.
     Until tomorrow...