Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Bombay
Another Soggy Day Ends Over Dinner with Young Friends
Namaste from Bombay!
Still dealing with erratic sleep patterns, I fell asleep at 1.00 pm and awoke at 3.30 am and then was wide awake until about 6.00 am. After that, I felt drowsy and succumbed to a nap and then awoke only at 7.30 am when my Dad called me. Turned out he was telling me that he was going to the dispensary from where he picks up free medication for himself and my brother Russel for three months at a time--one of the perks of their service in the Reserve Bank of India. I urged him not to set out as it had rained right through the night--for 36 hours at least non-stop--and I was really afraid of the condition of the roads. For once, he actually listened to my words of caution and called the dispensary, only to find out that the entire Santa Cruz area was water-logged with waist-deep water, that no rickshaws were plying in the area and that the doctor was not likely to come in. The compounder suggested he stay home--glad he listened to him, at least.
And so the deluge continues. It is stupendous with the fury of the Monsoon Gods crashing down on the city of Bombay with such ferocity as to leave me awed. I am in Bombay in the month of July after at least 25 years and I had forgotten how sodden it can get. This is truly wondrous volume! As I do not get cable stations on my TV (just Netflix and You Tube), I got to know from the internet that school, colleges and government offices have been declared closed today as the municipality is trying to keep traffic off the streets at a time when local transportation services such as buses and trains had ground to a halt. So it is a forced holiday for everyone and with the rain hardly stopping at all (there are brief 10-minute lulls and then the downpours resume), I was unable to go out and pay my electricity bill.
I finally got roused and had my breakfast--two slices of toasted raisin-walnut loaf with spreads and coffee--and then I sat down and continued watching Fair Game with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts which was very interesting indeed. Based on a true story, it was about the manner in which the CIA played one of their own operatives in an attempt to cover their own tracks over a botched-up episode in Iraq. Expertly acted, it had me enthralled. In fact, given the soggy weather, I kept myself occupied reading The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (pseudonym of JK. Rowling of Harry Potter fame) and watching TV. It is good that I have these interests or else I would find myself twiddling my thumbs. I have to say that after months of working at break neck pace, now that the bulk of my work is finished, I really find myself at an unaccustomed loose end and am not sure how exactly I should fill my hours. I hate to sit around doing nothing and since one cannot venture out in this weather, I have to find ways to keep myself amused while indoors.
After a while, I got up to tackle another bit of packing--I will do a little bit every day for the next month so that I am not overwhelmed at the end. This morning, I tackled the books and papers that I have accumulated--the books were mainly gifted to me. I looked to see how many of them I can re-gift (and I say this unashamedly because I simply do not have the weight or suitcase allowance to take them back to the US with me) as I know that so many of my friends are big readers and would be happy to have them. So I separated my books into piles: those that will go home to Connecticut with me, those that I will leave at Dad's place, those that I will donate to the library at the Bandra Gymkhana and those that I will gift to various friends. I then packed them into piles and put the names of the folks to whom they will go.
Next, I tackled a few files and I sifted through the papers to decide which ones I would discard and which ones I need to retain as they are part of my Fulbright research work here and need to be used as pictures in any future books I intend to write. I have to say that I probably worked for no more than an hour and a half but my back was breaking at the end of it. More reason than ever to take the load in small chunks.
I stopped for lunch: meatball curry (yes, again as I get my tiffin delivery only on Mondays now and that's the day Valerie sends meatballs!), curried peas, carrots, coconut chutney and one chapati and while eating, I watched Come Dine With Me.
I then continued reading my novel on my Ipad and then fell asleep and took a short nap.When I awoke, I checked with the two young friends whom I was supposed to take to dinner tonight (Brett and Azra) as to whether they would still be able to make it. They could...which was great. We did not need to reschedule.
Then, I hopped into the bath for a shower and called my cousin Linnet to find out if she would be at home--she was. I then walked along the lanes of Bandra to her place at about 5.00 pm and reached there at 5.30. The deluge had temporarily abated and it was refreshingly cool to breathe in the salt tang of the sea air after so thorough a washing of the city The air was clear and pure and delicious--it felt to me very much like Hawaii did after its frequent daily short showers.
I had a lovely evening with my cousin Ruby and her daughter Linnet. I took Linnet a pair of Franco Sarto shoes that I did not want to take back with me to the US and since they fit her perfectly and are practically new (I have only worn them a couple of times), she was delighted to have them. I also left her a ton of bottles of essences and food colors that Dad found in Mum's kitchen cupboards. As Linnet does a lot of baking, I thought she might be able to use them. She was very happy to take them off me and I told her to feel free to toss them if they are all past the expiry dates. I had a refreshing glass of lemon barley water at their place and then I left at about 6.30 pm.
But when I got a rickshaw, it started raining again. I called Dad to find out how he and Russel were doing and he told me that they were busy watching the India versus Bangladesh World Cup cricket match and that he would not be going to church today. So, I too decided to just go home and prepare for my dinner appointment at 8.00 pm.
Once home, I got two gifts ready for Brett and Azra (a computer travel bag for Brett; a diary and a book for Azra). Then I set out to meet them at the gate of the Bandra Gymkhana. Azra got there first and Brett followed shortly and we made our way up to the restaurant. There was almost no one there as the rain had kept everyone away. Also, there was a big Sunday meeting at the Gym and there is a big change of guard there now as the current committee has been booted out and a new committee will take its place in September Everyone seems pretty subdued at the Gym now following the first extraordinary General Body Meeting called in the Club's long history.
It was a great joy to see Brett again after so many years. He is Llew's godson. His mother Debbie is based in Goa where I met and had lunch with her when I was there in February. Azra is the daughter of my friend Shahnaz who is currently on a Mediterranean cruise. She has just graduated with a diploma in the Humanities from Ashoka University in Delhi and this dinner was a celebration of her achievements. I realized, after being in the company of these lovely folks, how much I have missed the company of young people this past year, my students, the classroom and my teaching activity. More reason than ever why I am eager to get back to my regular life again.
It turns out that the Gym was running a special Sizzlers festival and since I love sizzlers, I was thrilled. I chose the Beef Steak as did Azra while Brett went for the Lime-Chilli Fish. He also had a beer while Azra had a mocktail called a Summer Cooler and I had a Tom Collins. The food was great and for dessert we chose the chocolate mousse and the chocolate brownie with chocolate ice-cream.
Best of all, I got to know what my young friends have been doing with their lives in recent years. They are both in their early 20s and they got on well with each other and talked about their various pursuits. Brett works as Assistant Director with the French School in Bombay and Azra, fresh from her graduation, is now looking for options: she is also an independent artist and is wondering if she should continue working independently through websites or if she should look for training opportunities in Japan where animation is the big technological break-through venture. I was simply fascinated by their intelligence, enterprise and ambitions.
We got up to leave at about 10.20 pm when I walked with Azra until she found a rickshaw (Brett came on his bike). She dropped me to my building and carried on to her place. At my gate, I ran into my lovely landlord, Sameer, with whom I then had a long chat. He is the nicest man and I told him how sorry I was to be leaving as I have been really happy in this building and in this studio. He told me that the feeling was mutual--that he just told his uncle (who lives above me) how sorry he is that I am going as I have been such a worry-free, pain-free, tenant who was exemplary in every day and did not trouble him at all. He told me that the tenant who was there before me was such a hassle that he wondered whether it was even worth renting out my place.
I also told him that there was every reason for me to believe that I would be back in Bombay again to stay for another year and that I wondered if I could have the studio again, He said that he would rent to me anytime, without any hesitation, and that he would be more than happy to see how he could accommodate my request. We decided to stay in touch via whatsapp through the year that I will be teaching in New York.
So after what I thought was a very unexpected, impromptu meeting (I had hoped to meet with him formally before I left), we parted. I am so blessed that I had such a good landlord and such a great relationship with him and I look forward to having him as a landlord again in the years to come--who know what lies ahead for me?
On that happy note, I returned to my studio and got ready for bed and I slept almost immediately.
Until tomorrow...
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