Busy, busy, busy

It’s been a while since I last posted, but it’s been tough finding time by myself to write. My day starts by going with Samir Mama to his clinic from 8:30 until about 4:30-5, then after a short break to read the Times of India, I go upstairs to spend some time with Ba and Dada. Ba and I often go downstairs to walk around the Thakur Complex area, stopping by to look at the shops or visiting nearby relatives. If it’s raining, always a possibility during monsoon season, we stay inside playing cards or watching TV. Then around 8:30 we go downstairs to get Dada’s dinner, followed by our dinner around 9-9:30. Then by 11 we’re all heading to bed, so the only time I get to myself is about an hour in the afternoon and about an hour in the evening.

Still, everything has been a lot of fun. This past Sunday we went to Santa Cruz, a borough of Mumbai, to do some shopping, getting a Nintendo DS for Aditi as well as some other games, and Mami and I were looking for some punjabis. Shopping for clothing is always quite an experience here, so different from most shops in the US. In the store we sit down at a table and several store clerks begin to bring us punjabis for us to chose from. After selecting 10-12 I started trying them on and showing them for Mama, Mami, and Aditi’s approval or disapproval; Adit just read his Harry Potter book. After about half an hour, I had settled on two Punjabis; then it was Mami’s turn. Mama had a lot of fun asking her to keep on trying different outfits, much to Adit and Aditi’s increasing dismay. Finally she settled on 4 punjabis, which, including my 2, will be delivered to our home tomorrow with alterations done. Plus while Mami was looking at some saris they served us coffee, talk about service!