Did not sleep well, but then overslept, making me all the more grateful that I had cancelled the mooted trip to the mountains with a group of students. They had arrived in Mr Yogi’s office to have their permission form signed (giving them access to a school bus and driver) and had taken the opportunity to invite both of us. But events of the day had caught up with me, and, with some reluctance, I withdrew. I definitely do want to see some of the local area, but I was completely spent by the end of the day; there will be other opportunities. Which meant I had a lie-in, and then to the Bread Box for breakfast. (I fear I shall have to cut down on references to this place – I returned for a late lunch of momos and chips!)
The majority of the day I spent on admin of various kinds, some reading of the Guardian and a new thriller, and on a somewhat curious task that I have been set. The competition in India that the theatre group are involved in has lots of sections, all devoted to various aspects of the performing arts, and SPA are entered in three – the theatre section, (which terms itself “Boulevard of Dreams” or somesuch, a debating competition, and an original song by a choir… which I have been asked to write! For a competition in two weeks. Something heroic, I was told, which was not especially helpful. But reading the rules – and the rules, for each section, are long and onerous – it appears it has to refer to a heroic character from modern literature. Which at least has the virtue of being more precise.
I think SPA does not really have any chance of winning the competition, since they are bound to be up against schools which will have spent more time and money, and it does seem to me that we are sailing pretty close to the wind regarding the rules. But I can give it a go.
I have decided that humour is the only weapon at my disposal (and a pretty weak one, judging by my attempts during my address to the staff.) And so my song – well, poem – will be a riff on James Bond. Whether that is acceptable to the school – and more particularly Anu, the English teacher who asked me to do it – I have no idea. But actually it is not as though they have a lot of choice. But I made a start.
This being a day off from school, the evening was my only appointment – an invitation to dinner at Aparna’s new house, into which she has just moved. Eva, Yogi and I arranged to meet, and walk there together. Eva wanted to buy some lassi to take as a gift, which meant stopping off at the yogurt shop, where she caused her usual delightful chaos. There had been a festival, which involved many ladies dressed in red, and in short time, Eva was the centre of an orgy of photographs, having beads, necklaces, scarves thrust upon her, and being the centre of every picture, and there were many. Not that it came to a natural stop; in the end, I announced that we needed to get to our friend’s, and we managed to extricate her.
The walk was most pleasant. We took a turning off the main street, and in next to no time it was as though we were in the heart of the countryside. And for me at any rate, transported back forty years, to the Nepal we had experienced.
Aparna really has just moved in – today! – and the house was in utter disarray, with bags and things piled up, and just about enough space cleared for us to sit. It is clear, however, that it is going to be lovely – very modern, very new, and with care and thought given to its design. Aparna must have been exhausted, but she was a gracious host.
I introduced them to Quuixx, which may have been a mistake – the overhead fan sent some of the scoring sheets into the air, off the table, and beneath the settee, but they caught on fast enough… and Yogi won, which was a good thing.
And then there was food – momos, fried rice, various sauces. Far too much for me, of course, especially since I had had a plate of momos already that day – but I made a better fist of it than usually.
There were also more bags and stuff out in the yard, so we all lent a hand to shift most of them in, and covered the rest. Which was just as well, for then the rain came, a tremendous downpour, and my first encounter with the blessed stuff here. It provided blessed relief from the wicked heat, and was mercifully short, having stopped by the time we walked home. But the respite was all too short, and even during the walk home, you could feel the heat rise. And so, by the time we returned, I was, as usual, soaked, head to foot.
