More Christmas
Most babies find Santa terrifying. White hair and beard, funny hat, over-friendly: what’s a baby to do? Most burst into tears and howl to be rescued. Not little Angel. Nirmala’s baby girl found our Santa utterly charming. And he found HER enchanting. Merry Christmas!
Christmas, Latika Style
It was the usual celebration at Latika this year, except that, also as usual, the turnout was twice as large as we expected. But we had it covered for once. Last year, we planned for 100 (our usual attendance in December is 50) and 150 came. So this year, we decided we would finally beat […]
A Death on the Road
This is not the man I am going to tell you about, but he might as well be, for he represents Everyman for me here in India. I use his photo frequently in slide shows and reports and though I don’t know him, I have looked at his face so often, I feel as if […]
Another Christmas Elf
Moy Moy loves Christmas too. She’s disappointed that neither Anand nor Cathleen will be coming this year (as are we all! This will be the first time ever that both of them are missing Christmas at home), but she approves of their desire to save money and to consume less of the Earth’s resources. However, […]
Christmas
I love Christmas, especially in India where it is still possible to approach it with simplicity and stillness. We do a lot of baking and invite close friends over for meals. We play carols all day long, beginning from December 1st, and we have a fire in the fireplace most evenings and long leisurely […]
Reflections on Mumbai, Terror and Living in Fear
“It is by little and by little that we are saved.” That’s a line from Dorothy Day, my personal hero and our family saint. She believed in doing the work of God through one person at a time, yet never lost sight of the larger systemmic issues which needed to change. Like us, she lived […]
More on The Princess
Weddings are all about relationships. and since Indian weddings are so L-O-N-G, there is always plenty of time to observe and document: who’s talking to whom, who’s planning what. So we had husbands and wives speculating . . . Amaji advising . . . Uncles conferring . . . Aunts deciding . . . Friends […]
The Princess Bride
I knew that Nileshwari would be an exquisite bride and that her wedding would an unforgettable experience. I traveled all the way to Lucknow – in the midst of unbelievable work pressure and complicated family issues – because of my affection for this lovely young woman and, truth be told, out of a sense of […]
In Pursuit of Knowledge
Here’s an intrepid scholar: age 87, off to his Hindi class in an auto rickshaw. Dad is incredible! He goes two mornings a week and spends many more hours in the afternoons doing his homework. He SAYS it goes right through his head like water through a sieve, but I see some progress. . . […]
Mail From Home
Dad was once a champion letter writer. He could churn them out by the dozen, and he never forgot a birthday or an anniversary. When we were in college, he would often send us little notes, with a five dollar bill slipped inside and instructions to “go out and have an ice cream cone”. Now […]