Social Networking in India

As I have written on countless posts in this blog, whenever I return to India for a holiday, it is a social whirl-wind, and even when I have met a hundred people, some always get left out. I dine out on almost every alternate evening, and this goes on till I finish my holidays and go back to Saudi Arabia. This year, I have already eaten out more than half a dozen times in Mumbai within 15 days! (I am excluding the 7 days I spent in Ahmedabad and the 4 in Chandigarh). The coming week will see me dining out on Saturday, Sunday, and perhaps even Monday. 

After this, my family and I would be travelling for some days on a much-deserved vacation. 

The last week saw me, and then my family as well, entertaining my Polish travelling friend Anna. I took her to a tour in South Mumbai on the 27th, showing her some of the well-lit governmental buildings near CST, and then we also drove on Marine Drive (on my Honda Activa Scooter), ending up at Tardeo, where we ate at Sardar Pav Bhaji, the iconic pavbhaji restaurant. 

Anna and me outside the Standard Chartered Bank near Hutatma Chowk

The CST Building

The BMC Building

Saifee Hospital from Netaji Subhash Road

Then, after a gap of two days, my family and I took Anna to see a Hindi movie (Baby, 2015, starring Akshay Kumar, Danny Dengzongpa and Anupam Kher, among others) at Metro Adlabs, Dhobi Talao. The movie was not so bad, as it had just one song (with the credits at the end) and an action-packed story with a lot of English dialogues. Anna needed little help for translation, but not much.

The movie got over at about 10 p.m., and from there, we drove to Churchgate, where we had dinner at the Gaylord Restaurant. 

Seated for dinner

While Anna chose "Sabziyon Ka Tohfa" from the starters and ate that as the main course with a single Garlic Naan, the rest of us had Murgh Kali Mirch and Tandoori Pomfret Masala with assorted Indian breads. We finished a hearty and much-enjoyed meal at half-past eleven. After this, we took Anna back to her lodgings at Mumbai Central's International YMCA House, and we went back home by mid-night.

Anna gets busy shooting her hosts.

The next morning saw me go to Pune to meet my aunty Sakina-faiji, who recently lost her son Akhtar, and then my cousin Fatema Moonim, at whose residence, I had lunch, a lot of conversations, and learned a new board game (I cannot remember the name) before tea, after which I took her leave. I went and returned by the non-AC Dadar Pune bus service of the Government of Maharashtra. The journey takes about 3 hours, and considering that it was winter season, travelling by a non-AC bus wasn't really uncomfortable! In the process, I also saved some money, as the AC bus takes almost twice the fare of a non-AC bus.

Now, as I finish writing this, I am in the midst of more engagements! Over the next few days, I am slated to either just meet or to meet and eat/dine with others from within my social circle. Will tell you all about it soon. Until then, Bye!

Visitors at home, and spends to make them comfortable

While it is tempting to talk about the mandatory spending on food that occurs when one has visitors at home, I am going to talk about other forms of expenses that the host(s) must incur to make the stay of visitors to their home more comfortable. This includes, for example, expenses on carrying out repairs to the home: in my case, in anticipation of a visitor's arrival in March, we had to call the plumber to fix the toilet, the painter to paint selected portions of the home which had seen water seepage and disrepair, the electrician to start off those switches/appliances that weren't working perfectly, the carpenter to fix loose handles and doors of the various storage cupboards and almirahs, and the mason to fix loose tiles and marble platforms.


In addition, we had to purchase a new 4-burner stove in place of the old one that had worn out a bit, get all the air-conditioners serviced (we have three of these), get the pest control guys in to clear out the cockroaches, and buy extra provisions to fill the larder.


Now, imagine what would be the fate of a not so well-off host. How could they possibly meet all such expenses? And, if they did not carry out these "urgent" repairs, what would the guest think about them? More important, what would the host think about what the guest would think about their hospitality?


Such questions! This is no doubt a subject matter for debate. The overall discussion must also take into account what effect the extra expenses would have on the monthly budget of a family that depends on a single member's tight salary. Any comments?


In the coming days, we are expecting five guests - or six - to stay for about 5-6 days. I think we have already spent over 3000 rupees getting our home ready to receive them.

Clinic Inauguration (III): The actual event

I reached the clinic premises at about half past nine in the morning. My assistants came around the same time. A maid had come earlier than us and was just finishing up with the sweeping and mopping activities. I invited her to return later on as a guest, then the three of us became busy setting up the place for the "opening ceremony". My parents were to "break the coconut (father) and cut the ribbon (mother). They arrived well in time for the auspicious time of 9.52 a.m. Here are a couple of pictures of them doing the honours:

First, dad breaks a coconut ... then, mom is cutting a red ribbon, thus "opening" the clinic.





This was then followed by the arrival of my teacher and Guru, Dr. N.B.Kumta, an eminent Pediatrician from Malad, a Mumbai suburb. He had been kind enough to help me with the editing of my parenting book a few years ago. As a token of my appreciation for him, I presented him with a copy of the book. Here are a few pictures of him:


Over the rest of the day, several other guests came. It is impossible to show pictures of everyone who came, but friends, relatives, other doctors, other associates, neighbours of my home and my shop, people from the old clinic building at Nagpada, and finally, a few of my internet friends too turned up. Below are some of the pictures of these unforgettable moments. Shown are my mama (maternal uncle), a net friend Hiroo Pardasani with his wife, a net friend Tanishq, with her family, some important doctors, such as Dr. Shrin Shikari and her family, Dr. Rajendra and Sheela Verma and her son, Drs. Joshi and Barsiwala, Drs. Farooqs, some relatives, such as my uncle Idris with his family, and a few others.



As you can see, the event was a success, with over 300 guests gracing the occasion. We served kesar-pista icecream, and the guests enjoyed it. Gifts and bouquets literally rained upon us! It was a colour riot, with tens of large, medium and small bouquets, covering every available surface on the premises. Added to this were the other gifts, both in cash and in kind. There were vases, table-top decorative stuff, items useful to a pediatrician, hospitality stuff like crockery, religious photo-frames and other icons, stationery, chocolates and even something odd like a shirt for me!

I thank all of those who attended my inauguration function and all those whose prayers and blessings were, are, and will be with me and my family. To all others who read this post and my blog, please note that this is a very special event in my professional life, so I request you not to try and mock it or belittle its importance.

Thank you for reading it all.

To view the entire collection of photos, please click here.