Twenty- five Seven

Goodbye 2022

December 31, 2022

Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow. My necessaries are embark’d: farewell. Adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave.
Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet

I was reminded of these lines when the Little Po asked his brother who Shakes Pare was. They were reading Romeo & Juliet in their drama class where they were learning how to read with expression. Little Po could be excused for asking who Shakes Pare was because his exposure to literature was limited to his previous obsession with ‘Supa Strikas’ the animated football show on YouTube where Shakes is a major player.But Wow Dinga who had already heard of the Bard since he is older and wiser immediately put things in context and mockingly corrected him with the right name .

More than being amused at this mix up, I was astounded by the fact that the Second Graders were already being exposed to plays that I had read as a teen . ‘Romeo & Juliet’ was our prescribed English text book in Inter Arts ( or Senior High School as it would be known today).

However, these lines remain etched in my memory for one is always saying goodbye to one thing or another in one’s life . And 2022 seems to be a year marked with changes where I said goodbye to many things.

Today I will be saying goodbye to a way of life that I have known for the past three decades because Hubby Dear will be retiring.

From the beginning of this year, Hubby Dear’s retirement has been looming ahead of us and throughout the year, there were frequent discussions at home about what likely scenarios would play out in our lives. On good days we saw good times ahead and on the days we felt low we saw nothing but gloom. After all, shifting gears is never easy.

It was also the year when Prima Donna’s break said goodbye to her 12 year long association with a company that she loved working for. Like her father, she will be looking for new avenues.

We said goodbye to Anna Shetty and her family when they relocated to a new home. Though she still remains close by, it feels strange to look at her now former home across the road and find it empty. The emptiness is further compounded by her infrequent visits home and the boys’ absence that we feel. For ten years their lives were intertwined with ours and now we see them only on a Saturday.

However, there were many reasons to celebrate: like birthdays, a wedding in the family and the addition of another little one. Schools began after a lull of two years and we met cousins from abroad and re-connected with old friends.

Health wise, we all had a brush with Omicron and a terrible scare when Little Po was rushed to the hospital with acute ITP. Those were the worst moments of our life but thankfully we came through.

So it would seem that 2022 was a year like every other year with its ups and downs without any earth shattering changes for the good or the bad . For this I’m grateful yet at times it felt like we were living in a limbo and I’m glad to say goodbye to 2022.

Though 2023 begins with no plans in place , I hope it will be the start of new beginnings at a kinder, gentler pace.

Happy New Year and thanks for visiting.

Ciao
Mid-week Musings : flower power

December 7, 2022

On the mid 1960’s Flower Power meant meant countering war with peace – offering flowers during peace protests . It meant Peace and Freedom . This eventually led to a completely new culture of youth that challenged the old order yet peace still remains in many parts of the world where there are insurgences, uprisings, instances of social unrest and violence almost every day not to mention all out war in modern day Europe .

Yet Flower Power is in full bloom in our garden. Thanks to the member in charge of the garden, ours is one of the few high rise societies in Mumbai that actually has a garden. And everyday as I get into my car , I am assailed by the fragrance of Sweet Clematis. It’s amazing how these tiny almost insignificant looking flowers can set off such a strong and cloying smell! But I’m not grumbling .

Last week the beds were laid with Geraniums, Pentas and Begonia . Pots of petunias some already in bloom will soon overflow in riot of colours.

In another bed there are vibrant hibiscus and blue Hydrangea that nod to all the walkers passing by. And with the lawn lush and green it is indeed a pleasure to sit on the benches and watch the sun go down .

Our weekend brings some cheer as Prima Donna is celebrating a birthday. Growing older is fun but not without its fears of what the new year will bring.

This afternoon Ms Papaya was complaining that someone at school was copying her business idea so now they have to be very careful with their ‘prototype’. I told her that she could secure her position by having a ‘copyright’ or ‘patent’ for her idea so that anyone who wants her idea will have to pay for the copyright. She stared at me and said that they do copywriting in school but does that mean they will get paid to copywrite?

Hope your weekend promises to be happy

Ciao
Monday Musings : recognising a Mumbai winter.

December 5, 2022
You know a Mumbai Winter

Way back in the early 90’s when the Iron Curtain had just lifted, on a warm summer’s day in Warsaw, the chambermaid of the Victoria hotel where we were staying was horrified when she saw me zipping up my baby pink windcheater before stepping out for the day.

Not only were my clothes terribly un-chic, but also terribly inappropriate. All those around me, including the chambermaid, were stripped down to their tank tops and shorts! Except of course the poor soldier on the Square keeping company to the unknown soldier lying in the tomb across .

The chambermaid couldn’t contain herself and asked me where I came from because I seemed so cold and uncomfortable on such a lovely hot day like this .

When I told her that her hot summer day ( 25 ° C that day) in Warsaw was probably the coldest day in Mumbai, from where I came, she rolled her eyes in disbelief.

I realised then, that we in Mumbai are truly blessed when it comes to winter and the cold weather. It’s not really cold to those who’ve experienced cold, but it’s cold enough for us to want to stand in the sun yet we can get by with just a shawl or light denim jacket or a fleece T.

You know it’s winter in Mumbai when
- It’s pitch dark outside when you get up at 6.00 a.m.
- You start an evening walk at 4 pm because it gets dark by 6.
- The smog outside dims the lights of the Queen’s Necklace.
- Hordes of Tibetan sweater sellers take up half the pavement in Nana’s Chowk and other pavements near local stations.
- The grannies in the building sit around together bundled up in assorted shawls.
- When you come home late at night and find the watchman in his trench coat and balaclava rubbing his hands to keep warm.
- Traffic light vendors shove boxes of strawberries under your nose by while you wait for the light to turn green.
- The carrots get redder and peas soft and sweet.
- You put away the remote for the AC and pull out those blankets kept mothballed away
- You prefer wearing silks and long sleeved T’s.
- When friends and family are busy with their friends and family who’ve descended on them from colder climes
- When songs by Jim Reeves play on radio waves
- When cotton wool snow and tinsel and red feature in decorations in shops and hotels
And it’s here !

I saw a young mother taking her children home.
While she like me, was dressed in regular clothes, but her toddler togged out in warm winter woollies–
warm woollens to keep out the cold,
like an Eskimo wrapped in a “furry” hoody.

Yes! Our Mumbai Winter is finally here.
Early and actually cold.
For those living in colder climes it would seem strange to see a populace shiver so because in another part of the world it would be warmer than a warm Spring day.

The air is distinctly chilly
And late at night and early morning
a smoggy fog descends,
enshrouding the city in a mist of sorts
while we cuddle under blankets brought out from lofts.

It is the perfect weather for morning walks Or strolling in the afternoon Drinking cups of tea all day long, Or munching biscuits dipped In hot chocolate.

And the Tibetan sweater sellers are back once again.
On street corners by the station.
They do brisk business as they sit in packs
Unwrapping bundles of coloured sweaters.
Their bronze cheeked faces crinkling
Up in Mumbai’s unfamiliar blazing sun.
They stay here a few days more

Visitors like our capricious Winter season.
And when the kites fill up our sky
The Tibetan sweater sellers bid us good bye
To come again another year
Another Winter season.

Good morning smog !

Ciao,