Saturday, July 27, 2019
Bombay
Focus on Moving, St. Anne's Novena Ends and (Eventful) Dinner with Friends
Namaste from Bombay!
The weekend is here again and I am swamped with ever so much going on. The focus is still on packing and moving. But I did have a morning's appointment at Dad's.
Waking up by 6.30, I blogged, continued listening to my audio book (which is very lengthy--The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling) and had my breakfast--chappatis (that have accumulated in my fridge and freezer that I am trying hard to finish) with the last of my peanut butter and Nutella (just a few tiny smidges left). Then, I sat down to do some research on my computer with regards to a certain local school about which I need to find out more.
The rain was continuous and, at times, heavy. I wondered whether or not my morning's appointment at Dad's would occur. I was meeting another technician who was coming to survey Dad's flat and find out how and where the CCTV cameras that I am interested in installing can be placed. He texted me to say that he was running late but that he would definitely be there. I, in turn, relayed the message to Dad but about an hour later, I was at Dad's and about 45 minutes after that, he arrived. It appears he was stuck in the rain in Sion which had become water-logged. He was on a two-wheeler--so was not making much headway in the rain. In the end, he abandoned his vehicle, got into a rick and arrived at Dad's. By that time, my cousin Meera had come over to Dad's to drop off some sorportel that she had made and to pay her electricity bill in the building next door. It was good to visit briefly with her before the technician arrived. He surveyed the place and told us that he would get back to us in a day or two. I did not stay long after that as I had already spent almost two hours at Dad's place waiting for him.
Back home, I continued my packing and put together a whole bag full of things to take to Dad's place and to leave there. I am making good headway as I isolate things I need to give away to people. I shall leave a lot of my cotton clothes at Dad's place so that I will not need to carry too many things when I return to Bombay at the end of December. I shall pack away my kitchen things only on July 30 as I need those things until the very last minute. Wow! Parting is such sweet sorrow.
By Saturday morning, my accommodation arrangements in London were also finalized. That brought me much relief. I shall now go ahead and have the Fulbright folks in Delhi carry on with the booking of my ticket.
I stopped at lunch time to eat what will be my very last meal from Valerie. There was chicken mince, paneer with peas, potatoes with spinach and one chapati. My fruit man arrived at my door and was surprised when I told him that I did not want to buy anything. He asked why not and I told him that I was leaving and so wanted to empty my fridge. He asked where I was going and when I told him I was going back to America after a year, he was shocked, happy and sad--all at the same time. He wished me well, gave me his blessings and said his goodbye. I had a lump in my throat as I thanked him for his services to me and the real convenience of having fruit brought to my very door by a very nice man. I suppose I shall see him at Dad's place during my last week there.
After lunch, I continued to make plans on my computer with friends that I intend to see in London. Alas, some folks will not be available...but I have a few new places that I want to see on my agenda and I am looking forward, above all, to meeting my American friends Bonnie and Art, both in London and in Oxford where I shall now be staying for an extra day and night. I hope to be able to take a bus into the Cotswolds while I am Oxford-based.
In the evening, I had a pot of tea with a biscuit and then jumped into the shower. I got dressed for Mass--evening Mass--as I thought I would accompany Dad who still looks rather fragile. I carried all the things I wanted to drop off to him and I set out. I visited with Russel for an hour as Dad got ready, He showered and dressed but then I took one look at him and I told him not to come with me as he looked really very weak and he sounded so worn out too. Fortunately he took my advice although Russel was very annoyed that I had made Dad change his plans.
I was at church soon after for the 6.45 (last) novena followed by Mass at 7.00 pm. Mass was said by Fr. Ruben Tellis who was easily the best preacher of the week. A wonderful speaker, his homily was meaningful and inspirational and I kept wishing we had a priest of such dynamism and with such a fantastic ability to express truly moving spiritual concepts with such elan. Alas! Not every priest is a good speaker and I guess we must be grateful that there are still vocations--given the insistent seductions of the modern world.
I met a few friends outside church after Mass but I did not linger long as I had to hurry off to the Fete which is held once a year to celebrate the feast. Local communities get together to put up stalls that sell food made by the parishioners: things like potato chops, pan rolls, puran polis, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken mayonnaise rolls, cutlets, brownies, sliced cake, etc. Dad and Russel had told me to buy fuggias (an East Indian speciality which looks like small round fried balls of dough--they eat them with curry), potato chops and pan rolls. Most items were swiped before you could say "Good Saint Anne!" In fact, people had already placed their orders before going in for Mass! Their large white plastic bags awaited pick-up as soon as Mass was over. As for us, lesser mortals, we had to wave our rupee notes like we were bidding for the hottest antiques at Sotheby's or Christie's as we attempted to catch the attention of the poor hapless salespeople who looked shell-shocked themselves by the aggressive demand! It was hilarious!
I managed to get pan rolls and potato chops and fuggias and then hurried off to drop them at Dad's. Meanwhile, I had a dinner appointment too--so it was a frenzied evening for me. My friends Anil and Ninaz had invited me for a very casual dinner at their place. However, I wanted to get back home as I needed to pick up a bottle of Gordon's gin that I had purchased at duty free in China and which I wanted to gift them as it was still in its sealed duty free packaging! I had already kept it ready in a gift bag. I have to say that I had equipped myself with three bottles of gin for my year in Bombay. But, in the end, I managed to consume just one! I will leave the third one in Dad's bar! Luckily, I found a rick right down the road, asked the driver to detour to my studio so that I could pick up the gin and then I got back in the same rick and reached their place in about ten minutes.
Dinner was moving steadily along with drinks and nibbles when Ninaz noticed that Anil was looking kind of peaky. He kept insisting he was okay but, after a while, it became evident that he was shivering. Next thing we knew, he was running into the bathroom and then retching. Okay, that brought a swift and sudden end to our evening! By that time, we had ordered Vietnamese pho which was expected to be delivered anytime. Anil went directly to bed as he was suddenly weakened and felt awful. When the food was delivered, Ninaz and I barely touched it as neither of us could eat at all. I kept hoping it was a temporary bout of nausea Anil was having but then he said he was feeling feverish and took a Crocin. Wow! It was going to be something a bit more serious. We just about tasted our food when we decided to pack it up. It was about 11.00 pm by then and normally Anil and Ninaz drop me back. Since they could not do so, I needed to leave quickly as I would be alone. So I packed up my pho, hastily said my goodbyes and left.
I found a rick downstairs in just a few minutes and was home in the next five minutes. Needless to say, the scare we received at the end of the evening made me do nothing more than wash and brush and floss my teeth and go straight to bed after another crazy day!
Until tomorrow...
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