Letter to Andrew

I watched the sun set over miles of ocean, framed by the Mumbai cityscape (skyscrapers and slums)…

I’ve been pretty sick for the past two days, but am feeling better now.

How we got sick (there were three of us) is a pretty ironic story. We were invited to this posh birthday party for some distant relative of Shivani’s, and we had fun dancing and then had dinner (pizza, amongst other things). But --- the three of us that got sick were the ones who didn’t wash our hands after riding the train to get there! It’s interesting, I’ve never had the point driven home so clearly before – about why soap etc is so so vitally important.

Monsoon season has started!!! It was so beautiful, we saw some kids splashing around in the newly formed (but deep) puddles by lamplight. But by the time we got out the rain had subsided a lot, so i’m waiting for another day to get properly soaked.

I’m eating a small box of Indian desserts as I write this – they’re delicious and almost taste like marzipan mixed with cardammon. Other interesting food we’ve had: rose milkshakes, sav pourri (it’s kind of like samosas and nachos combined), Indian burgers (vegetarian and spicy), and this crepe-like meal called a dosa.

We moved today to a different flat – or, as people say here, we “shifted” to a different flat. It’s been interesting to notice all of my reactions. Originally, we were living in this modest middle-class apartment in a quietish part of the city, where you would see the same people everyday on the streets and had to fill up a bucket of cool water and use a ladel-type cup to pour water over yourself. Now we’re in this 5-star hotel-esque 27 story building and have marble floors, AC in every room, and western showers.

TBC………….