Saturday, July 13, 2019
Bombay
Another Interview with a Paranjoti Chorister and Yesterday (The Beatles Movie)
Namaste from Bombay!
I had a pretty eventful day and a rather late night! But it was a lovely day--a very productive and a very enjoyable one!
Up at 5.30 am, I chatted with Llew for a while and then got on with blogging and checking my Twitter feed. I also finalized movie plans with my new friend Jacqui Tellis. I could not want for Yesterday (the Beatles' movie) to come to Bombay--it had been released about 10 days go in the West. Like every one in the world, I am a Beatles' fan...but also I happen to be a huge fan of Richard Curtis who wrote the screenplay and produced it together with his partner Emma Freud. I can never wait to see the films he makes. Llew and I had the pleasure of having dinner at their place in Greenwich Village when they lived for a year in New York.
I called Dad to find out how he was feeling--he has been assailed by weakness. He told me that he would be going to see the doctor. I asked if I should accompany him...but the dispensary is literally just a few meters from his gate. Besides I had scheduled an interview at the same time Dad wanted to get there. So, it made sense that we carried on with our individual tasks. I would touch base later in the morning with him to find out how the doctor's visit went.
An Interview with a Paranjoti Chorister:
I am patting myself on the back that I was often exhausted through the year getting all my city-based interviews done in the months before the monsoon hit. Had I waited to finish them now, I would have had to tussle with the rains--or maybe stay homebound. Imagine how frustrated I would have been if that had happened! Anyway, now the last few interviews I am trying to do are all Bandra-based--which makes it very easy for me to arrive at the appointed spots.
This morning I had an interview with Fiona who is a chorister with the Paranjoti Choir. She is an old friend of mine...I have known her family for ages. Her sister Sharon (now based in Toronto) is also a dear friend of mine and their mother Selda is a good friend of my Dad (and of my late Mum). It was Fiona's father Lieutenant-General Francis Dias (and brother of the late Cardinal Ivan Dias) who passed away a few months ago: it was the funeral I had attended that was accompanied by full military honors.
Fiona is married to Luis, an entrepreneur businessman who has endowed many charities all over the city and in various parts of India. She now spends her days assisting him in these philanthropic endeavors as she works with many NGOs in her fund-raising efforts. She still manages to find the time, however, to pursue her first love, Singing, and it was wonderful to talk to her about her passion, the manner in which she trained her voice formally with some of the best voice trainers available in Bombay (such as Celia Lobo) and the number of impressive productions, including operatic works, in which she has participated, both as a soloist and in choruses.
While we were in the midst of our conversation, her daughter Mihika joined us. She has just returned to Bombay after 4 years of undergraduate studies in Pennsylvania and is looking to sink her teeth in a job involving fund-raising for the Arts. We had a wonderful morning as Fiona and I caught up and talked about so much that had to do with our past lives and our common ailments--we have both suffered from plantar fasciitis and other leg/foot issues--mine from over-zealous walking and Fiona's from running (she used to run marathons). Before I left, I had the chance to say a brief hullo to Luis.
I called Dad to find out that the doctor had told him that he is facing nothing but depletion of energy that is easily addressed with a shot of Vitamin B Complex and the consumption of plenty of water. Dad said that he was already feeling much better.
When I was done with my interview, I walked to Pali Market to find Solanki Stores as Dad's desk calculator has gone kaput and he told me that he needed a replacement. I was also looking for a birthday card for Russel--his birthday is on Monday but we are celebrating with a luncheon party for him tomorrow. I found a calculator easily enough but I could not find a card anywhere--apparently everyone uses their phones to greet each other on their birthdays and cards have become obsolete. I was advised to go to Cheap Jack on Hill Road for them.
I walked back home to my studio for lunch: vegetable biryani, one potato chop, Subzi Kohlapuri with a fresh mango for dessert. Then I continued reading my book Machines Like Me and took a nap. I awoke to take a shower and then left for Dad's as he needed some clerical and secretarial help getting the medical reimbursement claim ready for Russel's insurance company. We sat down together and went through the letter that Dad has drafted (which I need to type and print out for him to sign) and we put all the supporting documents together--in the form of medical reports, etc.
I then took that whole package and walked off to Jai, my photocopier, to get the entire sheaf photocopied (as originals are to be despatched to the insurance company). From the general store next door, I purchased, paper napkins and toilet paper and a few other essentials that Dad needed--he is much too weak right now to go anywhere himself to do any shopping.
Jai did a great job with the photocopies and with the entire task done, I returned to Dad's place. He gave me instructions for the chores I need to do tomorrow morning--the cake is to be picked up and bars of plum cake are to be purchased also for distribution to a few neighbors. I also need to pick up vegetables for the salad that I will make tomorrow morning.
I then sat down and had a quick bite--some vegetable biryani and fresh papaya for dessert--as I had to head out for my next engagement.
Watching Yesterday and Going Out for Drinks and A Bite:
I took a rick directly to Cheap Jack on Hill Road to buy a card for Russel which I found very quickly and then walked briskly to La Reve, the theater on Hill Road where the movie is showing. Jacqui was supposed to meet me at 8.00 pm and I was there, bang on time.
The movie is entertaining and heartwarming...but it is nothing like the other rom-coms of which Richard Curtis is King and which have made him a household name (Four Weddings and A Funeral, Love Actually, Notting Hill, About Time). The movie has a South Asian angle as the male protagonist, Jack Malik is played by an Indian--Himesh Patel (an established actor who has worked on the British soap opera The Eastenders for years). His parents are played by two of my favorite British actors, Sanjeev Bhaskar (Unforgotten) and Meera Syal (Broadchurch). The female lead is played by Lily James (Downton Abbey), a very talented actress who is thoroughly wasted in this movie. The premise is flawed to begin with (I simply did not buy it) and it made watching the whole film very implausible indeed. The saving grace were the snatches of Beatles' songs that are sprinkled throughout the movie but, frustratingly, none of them is sung in its entirety (probably for copyright reasons). Since the South Asian parents appear off and on (and since this is, after all, a Richard Curtis-Danny Boyle film), I expected them to jump up on stage in the last scene and join their son in singing the Hindi version of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"--Dekho/ Ab Tho/ Kissi Ko Nahin Hai Khabar..." It was what teeny-boppers would call "cute" but seriously, there is nothing much, other than the Beatles themselves, to recommend this film.
It was 10.20 by the time the film ended and Jacqui and I thought of going out for a drink. We walked along Hill Road that was buzzing with Saturday Night Energy until we arrived at Katelyn's Beer Garden perched on the second floor of a building. A lot of people who watched the film seemed to have the same idea. We chose a few small plates (the Salad with heirloom tomatoes, burrata and pesto dressing--delicious--the Deep-fried Calamari with a chilli-mayonnaise dipping sauce--a trifle too spicy for me--and a flat bread with Parma ham, parmesan cheese and fresh basil--also very good indeed). It is amazing how expensive these foods are: the moment you include a few of what they call 'exotic' ingredients such as Parma ham and parmesan cheese, prices sky-rocket. For drinks, I got a Gin and Tonic (grapefruit flavored) while Jacqui got a cocktail. We gabbed about a variety of things pertaining to her family and her connections with members of my family. Before we knew it, it was past midnight and we decided to split. I took a rickshaw home and she followed in the one behind.
Back home, I changed and tried to do some reading, but my eyes were closing and without much ado, I called it a day.
Until tomorrow...
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