Occupied Bombay

.1. I’ve decided to redecorate my room and give it more of a Bombay-While-Occupied-By-Britain feel. The Colonialist /Oppressor feel will be brought about by many multi coloured items, all lined with gold (naturally), a lot of large green plants sitting comfortably in brass or copper pots all of which will be intricately worked (naturally), chairs made of wire and one or two easy-to-sink-in-to reading chairs, the fabric covers of which will take me some time to figure out. I have to also get around to finally purchasing some artwork for my room.

Last I thought about this, I quite nearly purchased one very modern piece titled Hollywood Is Burning and am now thankful I didn’t. God only knows where that would have ended up with the new Occupied Bombay room.

I’ll post photos once the work’s complete, in about 42 years.

.2. Although I’ve previously discussed my baba, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned his personality to any of you. If I take after anyone in the family, it is most definitely him…

We broke fast together a few evenings ago and were being served by a very beautiful young woman. In the middle of our conversation, my father stopped, called her over and told her that: “[you] are a very beautiful woman”.

Jeesus, dad.

He does this all the time and women love him for it. If ever there was a definitive player, it’s my father. It’s astonishing to watch women fall at his feet; they adore him, as I sit back and roll my eyes (occasionally wanting to block out many of the images). Very charismatic this man; my dorkiness gene comes from mama, the kindest woman to grace this earth.

I’ll write more about baba soon, I promise.

.3. A list of five weird things I do:

(a) I am constantly sharpening pencils in class. It’s a lot of fun and I hate using a round tip to write.
(b) Count. I count everything I see. If there’s more than one, I’ll count them. It’s a game I play with myself when no one else will pay attention to me everyone’s busy.
(c) I write things with my finger while speaking. It’s a strange twitch habit, where I’ll be speaking and I’ll choose a random word and calligraphize it while speaking. T often times says: “Stop it. You’re doing it again with your finger.” I only do this when I’m most comfortable and relaxed; it’ll never happen in a meeting or while I’m lecturing…
(d) I organize everything. D calls me the “folding gnome”. There’s a scene in Elektra II where she organizes food and bananas and stuff; that’s me. That scene warmed my heart.
(e) As soon as I see someone wearing a nametag, I run over and call them by their name. With the utmost familiarity, I ask them about “mom & dad”. This often times confuses people but always makes me smile.