Farewells

Spread over a few days, the chance to say goodbye to various people; having been here for over two months, we have naturally established a number of friendships.  And with at least the possibility of returning to Lucknow, this would allow us to consolidate those relationships.

The first such occasion was us hosting a small party of our university friends: Kaveri, Rohit, Mohit, Vikash and Kuber, in our apartment.  Which was most pleasant.  We had had some idea of taking everyone out for something to eat, but actually the most sensible option was to order some pizzas to be delivered, which was followed by some ice cream that Kaveri brought with her.

The conversation was intelligent and enjoyable, deconstructing the production, and CMS in general, with, potential for some further involvement with the university.  Which may or may not actually occur, of course; all too often other difficulties and sheer inertia can get in the way, even though, as we assured them, money was by no means an issue.

The following night we first met Mohit to attend a production in Lucknow’s theatre.  It turned out to be excruciatingly bad, but I am, from a professional viewpoint, as interested in such things as in the merely ordinary (something exceptionally good is another matter, of course.)  Val and I had been concerned that it might make us late for a party to which we had been invited, but although the play dragged and did go on – both of us fell asleep at different points – there was at least no interval, and we could duck out immediately the curtain call was done.  I suspect there was more discussion to come.

We had been invited to the 50^th birthday party of a friend of Medha’s, held in the hugely luxurious party palace managed by Medha’s husband, Yash.  Although we knew no-one there except Medha, we had a good time, our major concern being how late we were keeping Himanshu, our driver.  There was as much food as we could possibly manage, and then some – momos, kebabs, soup, chicken legs, battered prawns…  Plus, though Val was previously dismissive of there being any alcohol at all, there was as much booze as anyone could possibly manage (though they did run out of beer, and then alcopops.)  I could have moved on to tequila shots, champagne, gin gimlets, but had no problem resisting the temptation.  But we danced a good deal, and it was most interesting to see the moneyed Indian classes at play.  And it was good to be able to say goodbye to Medha, whom we like a lot.  She is heavily pregnant, due to pop on the same day as our Lucy.  But sometime after midnight, we made our excuses, and were happy to be on our way home.

The following evening was spent with Saba, her husband Fehemi, and Shraddha, our neighbour, at a very nice restaurant, which served a mixture of Japanese and Indian food – we had some of both.  Saba has described herself as my genie, and Shraddha my Fairy Godmother, so it was particularly appropriate to spend time with them together.  The conversation was pleasant enough – this has mostly been my relationship with Saba throughout – but actually the most interesting potential development was that Shraddha has a friend who works for an international school in Macao.  Which would be remarkable, I am sure, but I  have learnt not to get too excited too early about such things.

The final farewell was the one I was looking forward to most: saying goodbye to the cast.  Appropriately, it took place in the same room where it had all begun, when I had met them first – the examination hall at GN2.  Val had put together a reel of that day, which we sent to them all, and it was most interesting to see them again, and remember what it had been like to first encounter them.

They arrived in dribs and drabs, which gave them a chance to jump around excitedly; they were as excited to see each other as they were to see me.  Eventually, when they had all arrived, I was finally able to get them into a circle.  I spoke for a while in general terms, managed to find a positive few sentences for each one of them in turn, sang “The flowers…” and played, of course, zzb, all the way to the end, with prizes for the two winners.  And then it was time to go… which took quite a while.

And that, as they say, is that.  It has been quite a trip , but a successful one.  Too long?  Possibly, but that too has its plus side.  Will it lead to anything else?  Again, possibly.  That depends on the people here.  I am up for something else, just so long as it is a new challenge, and not just a repeat.  We shall see.