Celebrating St. Anne's Feast at Dad's and 'Dear Liar' at Prithvi Theater

Sunday, July 28, 2019
Bombay

Celebrating St. Anne's Feast at Dad's and Dear Liar at Prithvi Theater

     Namaste from Bombay!
      Wow! Today was a most unusual day--but then almost every day in Bombay has been unpredictable. I have rarely had a dull moment!
     I was awake at 6.30 am and felt almost relieved that I did not have to rush off to church--as I went last night for the Saturday evening Mass. Instead, I downloaded the Sunday Times of London and finally finished my audio book (The Silkworm by R.K. Galbraith, aka JK Rowling). I have to say that I did not realize who the killer was till the last revelation and that I have grown to rather like the detecting couple: Cormoran Strike (How like JKR to give her protagonist a name like that!) and his assistant, Robin (Batman and Robin?) I have dowloaded Circe by Madeline Miller, also as an audio book, but with only 6 days left before I have to return it (and the book is in hot demand right now), I doubt I shall actually finish it.
     So not long after my breakfast of chappatis with spreads (getting over quickly), I went off to Dad's place to make sure all was in control. You see, this afternoon was supposed to be a farewell lunch for me at which my cousins would be present at Bandra Gym. But when I realized, last night, that today was St. Anne's Feast, I did not feel comfortable leaving Dad and Russel alone for the feast lunch. So I sent out a text to my cousins asking if they would not mind moving the venue to Dad's place. They all thought it was a great idea but still insisted on splitting the cost. Of course, I would have nothing of it. Back at Dad's, Rohit had done a great job getting all the china and silverware out and setting up the living room, the dining table, etc. I made sure everything was in place and was actually present when the bottles of beer were delivered. I then left and hurried home for a shower and to order the food.
     I did that as soon as I got home. We decided to have a Chinese menu with Chicken Singapore Noodles, Chicken in Honey Ginger Sauce and Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce. There were also fuggias, potato chops and pan rolls that I had picked up yesterday from the church fete and these we would put out on the table too.
      I had just finished showering when my guy Sameer called from Bandra Gym to tell me that my food was ready for pick up. I left my place and was Bandra Gym in five minutes and carrying the food to Dad's, I was there just before 1.00 pm. A few of my cousins had already arrived. I apologized for the delay and then Meera got down to the task of taking drinks orders and furnishing them while I handled the nibbles--putting spicy peanuts and potato chips into bowls. And so the party began. We were about a half hour into it when my cousin Bonnie arrived. Linnet had bought a cake which said 'Happy Feast' on it and so we decided to serve it for dessert.
     Soon, it was time to heat the food and get it organized and I did so with a bit of help from Meera, Dad and Rohit. Since we were a small group of just nine folks, it was very easy and I was not in the slightest bit stressed. The meal was much appreciated and we had the best time. I do not remember laughing so much with all my cousins in such a long time. Russel was also part of the evening in his wheelchair, Dad who was still not quite fighting fit, was mainly relaxing or just walking in to offer his help and so it went on. The afternoon just flew as we chatted nineteen to the dozen and listened to a lot of the conversation that Russel was making. I felt really pleased with myself that I had made the decision to move the party over to Dad's as Russel and he also had a grand time.
     For dessert, we cut the cake Linnet brought and we all put our hands on the knife as it was a Feast Day for Dad, Russel, Meera, Cyril and myself as we all belong to St. Anne's parish. I had purchased little pots of vanilla ice-cream for dessert and so I served that too for dessert--it went really well with what turned out to be a fresh cream-pineapple layer cake. I also took orders for tea and as everyone wanted tea, that was what I ended up making. I keep repeating myself but it really was a fun time!
     My cousin Bonnie also broke the news that her daughter Hailey was getting married on December 30 and she told me that she hoped to see me at the wedding. I was happy to get the news well in advance. I can now plan my next trip to Bombay keeping in mind that I have a big family wedding to attend--probably the last of the family weddings as Hailey is almost the youngest of my cousin's kids. It certainly gives me something to which I can look forward on my next trip to Bombay!
     It was actually 5.00 pm by the time my cousins got up to leave--by which time I was ready to leave myself--for my next appointment. I wheeled Russel back to his room as his attendant Rohit had left for the 4.30 pm evening Mass in Hindi at St. Teresa's Church. That done, I hurried off to meet my friend Maria whom I was meeting at her gate for our date at the theater. Five minutes later, she was picking me up from Dad's gate by rick and we were off.
     Maria happens to be the next-door neighbor of Naseeruddin Shah, the actor, who has lived in the same building for over three decades with his wife, Ratna Pathak-Shah who was my classmate at Elphinstone College. They were in a full-length duet on stage called Dear Liar by Jerome Kitty, based on the long romantic relationship between the playwright George Bernard Shaw and the stage actress Mrs. Patrick (Kitty) Campbell. I had seen them in the same play, thirty years ago, when I used to be a theater critic for the Bombay press. The play was put on again to celebrate the Ruby (40h Anniversary) of Motley, the Theater Company that Naseer and his best drama school buddy Benjamin Gilani, had founded. When I had interviewed Naseer, about three months ago (how time flies!) he had told me about Motley's anniversary but I was not sure that I would still be in Bombay at this time.
     Anyway, Motley is celebrating its fortieth anniversary with a festival of plays at the Prithvi Theater where the career of so many of the stars took off. Nasser became the most successful of the lot but every single one of them breathed life into Bombay's theater world and I was very fortunate to have been there at the very beginning when it all began. For that reason, I was very happy to be present with Maria, forty years later, to see a play that I had seen on stage when it had been originally staged by the same two actors--who, since then, got married and had two children. Based on the interesting, if off-beat relationship between two talented and very feisty characters, the play made superb watching. It was also very realistically portrayed by these veteran actors whose few verbal gaffs on stage only made the production more credible. Maria and I loved it as they played to a full-house in the small Prithvi Theater. I am glad that I finished my year of Fulbright research in Bombay with this play. I am now looking forward to returning home to Southport and starting work on what will become my book.
     Maria and I took a rick back when a delightful evening at the theater ended. She had to hop off soon to meet her cousins for dinner at the Marriott Hotel but I carried on home to Bandra.
     I had dinner chez moi--the remains of the Vietnamese pho (with strange black noodles) that I had carried from Anil and Ninaz's place last night when our evening had ended so suddenly with Anil's illness. I also ate a bit of the Chocolate Vertigo Cake that I bought from the cafeteria at the Prithvi Theater with some of the Belgian Chocolate Ice-cream that I bought yesterday from Huber and Holly.
     While eating, I watched a really fantastic movie called The Next Three Days with Russel Crowe and Elizabeth Banks--a real thriller if ever there was one. Knowing, as you all now do, that I tend to fall asleep in front of the telly, I will tell you that I was wide awake as the adrenalin had pumped right through my system with the excitement of the film that kept me on the edge of my seat. This is compelling watching!  Please watch this movie!!!
     I then had a long chat with Llew with whom I had not spoken for quite a while. We caught up before I realized that it was 1.00 am and fell asleep!
     Until tomorrow...