July has many important dates for me. Mita and I decided to get married on July 7. The year was 1977 and that makes the date easy to remember: 07-07-77. We went to see a movie called 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' in Priya (Vasant Vihar, New Delhi). This was well before Priya became a swanky multiplex. After the matinee show we should have just gone our separate ways (home for Mita and hostel for me; college had ended for both of us but I was still holding on to my room while I did my internship at the National Physical Laboratory, measuring the conductivity of polished silicon wafers). However we decided to go to Connaught Place instead, and have tea and snacks in Wenger's. (This was a restaurant over the bakery by the same name. The bakery is still around and popular but the restaurant has closed down.) By the time we decided to pay the bill and walk to Super Bazar to board route 620 it had turned dark and a drizzle had started up. Not the best time to be in CP. The market pretty much shut down at 7:30 pm those days, and the passages were taken up by unpleasant characters pushing drugs, among other goods and services. Somewhere during that walk we made up our minds.
July 6 became another important date for me when Amma died in 1983. I was in Bangalore with Mita. We were expecting our first baby. Vivek knew Ratnakar, the librarian at Raman Research Institute, who knew someone at Indian Airlines, the only domestic airline at that time. A ticket was organized for me to fly to Lucknow the same evening. It is not clear who actually paid for it. I merely paid back Vivek later. Sykes was mobile because he had a small moped. He gave me a ride right across town to the airport and Parvati took an autorickshaw to see me off at the departure lounge. I would never have made it without all of them. The flight took me to Delhi. I spent the night in a plastic bucket chair at the airport and took the connecting flight in the morning to Lucknow. When I reached home Amma had been cremated. It was hot and humid and not the right weather for keeping a corpse at home. Besides my father was not expecting me. He had not told me of the death. Valya had sent me the telegram on her own. I went to the bedroom and cried in her arms near the empty bed.
Agam was born on July 13 the same year. Mita had gorged on chana dal the previous night at Vivek’s house (she had moved in there while I went to Lucknow) and had vomited it all out on the floor. She and I cleaned up the muck using lots of newspapers. Vivek and Lakshmi had just got married themselves and must have been scared to see what they were getting into. Mita started having pains the next morning and I tried locating Dr. Leela Pai using a public phone. She moved around a bit those days between her home, her clinic and several hospitals and there were no mobile phones around. I got lucky the first time itself and she asked us to move to St. Philomena’s Hospital right away. She came in soon after we checked in and Mita was wheeled away. I scootered down to Parvati’s office nearby and she came back with me to provide support again. Agam was born a little after noon. Parvati handled him before Mita or I. She brought the little bundle out to give me a quick preview before he went to the nursery where I would be seeing him through a large glass window for the next few days. He looked very small and wrinkled. Not at all like the babies I had seen before, and not at all like the pretty baby he became later.
July 4 was always an important date for many people especially those associated with the US but it became important for us when Shivam started becoming a part of our lives. Since my ‘GK’ was good enough to include the Independence Day for the US, I never had a problem remembering this date. Normally I find it very hard to remember birthdays and anniversaries. I had known two Shivams before this but they were both boys and in fact I know no other girl by this name. I have to take the next opportunity to find out how she came by this name.
July 5 joined the list of important dates this year. It was important enough by late afternoon when we took delivery of Mita’s new Honda Jazz. This was her first new car since she had been using hand-me-down second-hand cars all along. Also this was pretty close to her desire to own a ‘red Toyota’. She had mentioned that several times in college and later. Red Toyota may not be the same as Blue Honda but it was close. We drove the car to the Sai Aangan in the blistering heat and took the Prasad from the lone priest present. Mita bought and offered a coconut, some flowers and a couple of incense sticks. A little girl was chatting with the priest, no doubt angling for more and more of the Prasad that he was packing in small paper bags for the evening. She came up to Mita and asked for her name. Then she asked Mita about my name. Finally she offered to give us some water from an earthen pitcher in Sai’s recreated kitchen. I guess she just wanted to play with the long-handled metal can used for the purpose. When we came home and parked the new car we took out the old Accent and parked it on the road outside the condominium. There was no place for it inside anymore. As luck would have it the broker Mita had spoken to earlier showed up before sundown, paid in cash and drove the car away. It all happened very fast. I felt something funny inside as I saw the old faithful (-six years and so many memories-) vanish down the road. Later that night we settled down in bed to watch Andy Roddick take on Roger Federer at Wimbledon. That is when Agam called to tell us. Apparently there had been an email from Shivam a little earlier but since I had not checked my mail it really was a surprise from me. And what a happy surprise! I had vowed to go to Tirupati but with all that is happening at home after my father’s hospitalization that will have to wait a bit. I did log on to TTD’s e-services and make a donation next morning.
