A Fun Sunday Divided Between Family and Friends.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Bombay

A Fun Sunday Divided Between Family and Friends.

            It is good to wake up on a Sunday morning and have a relaxing lie-in. Not having to rush to church can be actually quite nice. We had bruns for breakfast with guava jam and had a good chat around the table. I think that Dad really enjoys having me home because I offer company—he is lonely although he is also busy. Loneliness can be quite a terrible thing.

            I then set out to clear some more of Dad’s cabinets and drawers in the living room. Making space feels good. The idea is to try and remove things that are lying on surfaces because they collect dust that does not get cleaned because the people we hire as domestic help never clean to our satisfaction. When I had created a few more piles of things that needed disposing of, I left to run some more errands. I needed to buy gifts for the friends in London with whom I will be staying. I also needed to print out some more forms for Dad and I needed to get my umbrella repaired. It is quite difficult to find a really sturdy one that withstands the fury of Bombay’s winy rainstorms. I did find the umbrella repairer and I told him to replace all of the plastic spokes of my Nautica umbrella with metal ones. He told me to pick it up in the evening. It really is amazing how easily one can find people to repair things in Bombay–and for so little money too.  

            I got back home in time to have Sunday lunch with Dad and Russel. They ordered in from a place called Mr. Chow’s and we feasted on Hot and Sour Soup, Chicken Noodles, Chilli Chickens and Wontons. As is customary all over India, Sunday after is characterized by a long and leisurely nap and all life comes to a standstill on Sunday afternoons as people indulge in their siestas. I had a nap too (but then I have a daily 20 minute power nap!)  

            We awoke to say the family rosary, I had a cup of tea with a handful of nuts, sat with Dd for a while to help him fill out the medical Claim forms that have come to use for Russel’s medical reimbursement from his insurance company. I then made a brief visit to my friend Jackie’s place by rick to meet her daughters. And very cute they were too! However, I could not stay too long as I had a talk on the History of Bandra to attend at the Bandra Gymkhana that was being given by Dennis Rodrigues who is the brother of my friend Herman who is also an amateur historian. Herman and his wife, Vinita had invited me to attend it and, being a history buff myself, I was quite happy to do so. My friend Shahnaz was also supposed to join me there with her daughter Aza. But she got caught up in a commitment with her mother and backed out.

            Azra was waiting for me at the entrance of the Gymkhana when I arrived. We bumped into Ajit Rodrigues, one of the trustees of the gym and then into Roger Pereira, another trustee.

We were among the first attendees to arrive and so had a chance to pick up a beverage and biscuits before the talk began. It was interesting indeed to learn about Bandra’s earliest beginnings as a fishing village, its acquisition by the Portuguese as part of their Indian colonial holdings and to get to the post-colonial period when earnest modern building began as part of the five Town Planning Schemes. We also learned about the properties held by the Salcette Society and St. Sebastian’s Society in Bandra.

            I had every intention to return home to have dinner with Dad and Russel…but Shahnaz called to tell us to make our way to Otter’s Club to have dinner at Artisan Restaurant there which I was quite happy to do. So Shahnaz, Azra and I celebrated Azra’s birthday (which was the next day) as well as belatedly celebrated mine (as Shahnaz was on a cruise when I had mine). I was hungry by then and ordered a chocolate milk shake to start with. The rest of the menu was picked by Azra who ordered Lamb Sliders and Prawns with Bacon while we had Chicken Strogonoff. The dessert was probably one of the best I have ever had—Chocolate Hazelnuts Pots. It is a round dark chocolate shell filled with a hazelnut-brownie. A warm caramel sauce is poured over the whole thing until the shell collapses and merges with the brownie beneath. It is fun, it is dramatic and it is very delicious indeed.

            Shahnaz and Azra dropped me home to Dad’s gate from where I walked up the driveway and got home while Dad was watching a late night cricket match.

     Until tomorrow…