Hannah BW

Mumbai: Day 44

Last day! A mix of nervousness and excitement. 7:40 train to Agra--the Punjab Mail. And in a couple days, the 4:10 from there to Amritsar--Amritsar Express. I Google News-ed Amritsar, because someone told me there was some kind of unrest there, but nothing. Instead I came up with this short story from the Atlantic: "Amritsar." By the way, how did I ever get away with coming here before seeing The Darjeeling Limited? I'm making a pledge to watch more movies. Of late I've seen Do The Right Thing and The Departed.

This was a good week. On Thursday I went to lunch at Pizza Hut with Pratidnya. Pizza Hut is her favorite restaurant and the fact that I agreed to go really pleased her. Here, it's actually quasi-upscale, with menus and waiters and air conditioning. We shared a medium "Country Feast" pizza, which involved corn. Even though I've been here for six weeks, I keep forgetting what capsicum means, so I wind up with green peppers even though I don't like them. Before we went to Pizza Hut, we had fresh lime juice at a "juice centre'' across Azad Maidan. It was delicious.

On Friday I went out with Pratidnya again, this time to Badshah, where we had falooda. It was probably the most delicious thing I've had here. There's a big scoop of kulfi in the middle, and then it's covered with an orange milky substance (mango milk? who knows) and pistachios and noodles made of agar. It's like a cross between bubble tea and a milkshake. Then I went to the afternoon session, where all my kids gave me really sweet going away cards, and Kajal brought samosas and we had a party. I almost cried. If I could scan these cards and show them to you, I would, but you will just have to wait. Komal kissed my hand. Krishna gave me a flower. Tirupathi made it clear, somehow, that he thought the Taj Mahal was stupid and that I should not go back to America.

And yesterday was the last hurrah! I stored a suitcase at Marika's place in Chowpatty and we meandered around until dinner at Ming's Palace. It was so good to eat something that did not taste remotely Indian. I ate about ten shu-mai--the first animal protein I've had since getting here. I mean, unless you count milk. Does milk count? Anna? I stocked up on crackers and dried fruit for the train journey. I went home and went to bed. I woke up and ate breakfast. I bought a lock and chain for my backpack on the train. Now maybe I will go see Dark Knight.

Expect scant blogging over the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed.

posted by HBW @ 12:30 AM