In Downtown Bombay, Still Culling, Clearing and Cleaning at Dad’s and a Cousin Visits

Monday, August 5, 2019

In Downtown Bombay, Still Culling, Clearing and Cleaning at Dad’s and a Cousin Visits

I am getting used to waking up at 6.30 am—either to bird song or the music of the monsoon. While the rest of the household slumbered, I worked on my July newsletter—hard to believe I am actually writing it in the first week of the month.

When the rest woke up, we sat down to a delicious and unusual breakfast was South Indian breakfast organized by Dad from Shiv Sagar—Masala Dosa and Idli Sambhar with coffee—lovely! But I had to wolf it down as there was no time to waste. I had to rush off to take train to meet Kamal at 11.00 am at Yacht Club. I rode the bus, as usual, bought my single first class ticket but was disappointed to find that there was no Bandra local train today as renovation work on the station continues and the place is a holy mess. As I had bought first class ticket, I went into the regular Ladies First—which was actually quite peaceful because by Dadar, I got a seat. I then took the 137 bus to Regal (amazing how quickly I had learned where to wait for buses and what routes they ply in downtown Bombay), and then I walked along Colaba Causeway (still quiet at this early hour) to the Yacht Club.

Kamal arrived in five minutes and we made our way to the mercifully cool Coffee Lounge where I had a fresh lime soda with her. While we were chatting, I saw Nisha da Cunha go by and I ran out to say Hello and then Goodbye to her. Had lovely chat with her as I inquiry after her husband Sylvie who has been doing rather poorly.

After a really good chinwag of about an hour, Kamal took me in her car to the Museum as I wanted to see the Gaitonde exhibition. But what a disappointed ment we had! For, sadly, the museum closed is closed on Mondays! Bummer! OK, we thought as we had some time to kill before my next appointment—let’s go to the Jehangir Art Gallery next door. But what do you know??? That was closed too! Double Bummer!

With no choice, we returned to Kamal’s car and she suggested we get to the Bombay Gym for my 1.00 pm lunch date with Vispi, my former colleague at Jai Hind College and a friend with whom I have stayed in touch. She did not arrive till 1.30 when I called her to find out that her plans had been cancelled at the Asiatic Society due to the rains. So were her classes at Jai Hind College as the rains have played havoc with the city. She could not contact me to inform me…but apologized profusely and said that she owed me a lunch!

     I walked to Churchgate station and went to Burger King to buy a crispy Chicken Burger which was very good as I did need to get a small bite. Once I reached Bandra, I hopped into a rick from Bandra station to Hinduja Hospital to hand over Claim Form B for Russel’s medical insurance and to pick up the daily vital notings chart. That was, unfortunately, not ready and I was called again tomorrow. I took rick back home, then tried to get some shut eye as it had been a somewhat disappointing morning—no such luck! Bunty very talkative and noisy.

Deciding to gain some productivity out of my day, I spent most of the evening cleaning out the files from the area under the dressing table in the bedroom. Most of the stuff was Mum’s hospital records—piles of them in files—all to be disposed of. Bunty was very happy that his crucifix was found as was a South American flute from Peru. I was in the middle of this mammoth task and getting along swimmingly when my cousin Meera texted to tell me that her daughter-in-law Jolene was in town and wanted to meet me. I had been hosted by Jolene and her husband Rolen when I had visited Dubai (where they live) and when only the older girl, Sofia, was around. Now Jolene had a second daughter, Michaela—and I looked forward very much to meeting her.

Meera arrived within the next half hour. I met Sofia and the new baby Michaela and they stayed until we left with them to go for Mass—i.e. Dad and myself. When we retruend from Mass, we had dinner at home: white pumpkin, one cutlet and chicken curry with Sandy’s delicious saffron-flavored china grass for dessert.

            On a day of historic developments in Jammu and Kashmir—the state has been made into a union territory—there is much polarization of political opinion. I sat with Dad to listen to Times Now with Rajdeep Sardesai to get the developing headlines, then took a shower and decided to write a blog post.

            I have no idea where the days fly—but they are certainly very different from the ones I’d had at home in my studio.

            Until tomorrow…

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…     

Having a Good Clear-Out As The Rain Drums On and Meeting New Friends

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Bombay

Having a Good Clear-Out As The Rain Drums On

            I still have to get accustomed to the novelty of waking up in the room and on the bed where I had spent a good part of my early years. Funnily enough, when I am here, I tend to sleep all the way up to 7.00 and that was what happened today. Dad and Russel begin their day by saying their morning prayers on their beds—so I leave my room and join them once I hear that the prayers have begun. While waiting for breakfast, I did a quick blog summary of yesterday as somehow I do not have any time that I can call my own. For breakfast, I had a chapatti with my friend Marianel’s mango jam and coffee. That done, I set out to do something I had been waiting to do for a while. Luckily, Dad has no objection—indeed he has been urging me to help him. Have a good clear-out, I mean. Russel, on the other hand, is not as co-operative and he tends to feel pretty agitated when things are leaving the house—especially things that he considers his!

            So I began by clearing out a lot of books that I had carried with me over the years to India to read on the flight and when I am in Bombay. Mostly paperbacks, they had accumulated over the years, and having kept them for so long, I figured the time had come to pass them on. They were in a cabinet in the spare bedroom. My friend Nafisa has told me repeatedly that if I am getting rid of any books, she would love to read them and then pass them on to the local convent. I ended up finding books that had sentimental value—my mother’s accounts books, my grandmother’s address books, my maternal Uncle Henry’s books, the books I received as prizes for English when I was in the third and fourth grades. Needless to say, I held on to those but I did get rid of a lot of books that had no more meaning or value for me. That done, I got into the shelf in the cupboard that Dad usually clears for me so that I can have at least one shelf on which to keep my things. I had been stockpiling things in there and felt that the time had come to take a look and see what I had retained. Bringing some order to the chaos was very satisfying. We ended up with many bags of things that were useless clutter that needed disposing.

            At lunch time, we enjoyed one of Valerie’s meals—of chicken curry, beans, a mince-filled pattie. All that clearing and dusting made me feel sleepy. I had a short nap and then went into the living room to begin clearing off really old books in the living room cabinet.

I feel handicapped without the internet or wifi at home and so I have to make this daily pilgrimage to Jay at the cyber cafe so that I can get things printed out. Dad wanted a KYC form filed out but then so many other things took priority that we had to set it aside. I looked for coach fare from London to Oxford and back and did not find any of the great deals of the years gone by. I ended up paying 7 pounds each way—well, in the end, not too bad a deal.

       That was when the heavy incessant rain began. It poured and poured with brief spells of dryness. My friend Jeevan called to say that he was swinging through Bandra with his wife Liz and daughter Akanksha and he wondered if I had the time to meet her over a cuppa. As she is a Professor of English at the University of Brighton, I was very glad to get to know her. And so, when there was a lull in the rain, I got a rick and sped off to the Café Coffee Day near Carmel Convent where they were due to arrive at 5.30 pm.

     Sadly, this happened to be the very day after the entrepreneur V.G. Siddharth who had started the Indian chain of coffee shops, Café Coffee Day, was found drowned after having committed suicide. He was apparently being hounded by the tax division and had found it hard to keep up with his debts. I had only been to this place once before, but suddenly, it seemed good to go to a place that was not a Starbucks!

            Akanksha arrived very shortly and we ended up having a lovely conversation over a Belgian Cold Chocolate for me and a masala chai for her. We found out that we knew quite a few people in common in the Western Performing Arts field that I have discovered in Bombay. She was a flautist and used to play with the Bombay Chamber Orchestra. Our meeting, however, was brief, as her parents arrived about an hour later to pick her up—I was sorry not to have the time to spend with them too. I hopped into a rick and was home in time to go to the 7.00 pm Mass with Dad. I did have my dinner with Dad and Russel but I had to rush through it as I had evening plans with my new friend Jackie to go for coffee and dessert. In the end, because I was running very late, she came over to Dad’s place and picked me up.

     We ended up going to Chocolateria San Churros which is a very snazzy desserts place on Waterfield Road. They do have chocolate and churros and chocolate fondue, but since I’d just eaten dinner, all I could manage was one of their sundaes and it was very good indeed. It is very nice to know that there are so many places in Bandra which specialize in different types of foods—a place for salads, another for crepes, a third for churros, a fourth for South Indian breakfasts…it is a foodie’s paradise. Jackie and I enjoyed our overloaded sundaes and the interesting chinwag and she ended up inviting me to come to her place to meet her kids. I was keen to do so as she seems to have two lovely girls—she is a single parent.          

            But alas…all good sundaes must come to an end…and I was starting to feel a wee bit winded when we took a few pictures and decided to leave. We parted company in two different ricks so that it was close to midnight when I reached home.

     Until tomorrow…