For this poetry session Joe initiated the Zoom session from Arlington, MA, proof that Zoom no distinction makes of geography, so long as the clients are connected to the Internet.
Devika remarked that KumKum looked very relaxed – it makes such a huge difference not having to run a household.
J&K used to go to USA to visit the children and grandchildren every summer, but they were last there in 2019 – 2020 was entirely lost to Covid-19. Devika’s niece left Shanghai at that time and came to India because the disease was raging in China at the time.
Arun drinking tea from a rooster mug
The mug is from the Oxford Natural History Museum. Devika buys a mug from shops when she goes on foreign visits and showed a tea mug she got from Kenya:
Devika shows her mug from Kenya
She has one from a museum in Cape Town and one from thee museum of Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona. His work is very colourful, perhaps could be labeled gaudy …
We were expecting to hear from Thommo and Geetha who are singing two Dylan songs; Thommo sent in the songs recorded ahead of time so as as to avoid glitches on the Internet during the Zoom. Geetha is sporting a short haircut that Devika liked. Arundhaty said KumKum looks quite chilled out and younger. Lots of pampering goes on in Arlington at Rachel’s home – even washing clothes in the machine and folding is taken care of! The children who work from home require quiet. J&K who are accustomed to being noisy (Bongs are like that, said Arundhaty) have to compose themselves.
KumKum mentioned enjoying food from a Punjabi restaurant in Arlington and her mind wandered to the food from Fusion Bay restaurant in Fort Kochi. Regularly ordering from them helps to keep their workers employed – it’s a good variety of Kerala food they serve. The young men are gradates from a food institute in Kerala and now they are all married but continue to make their tasty dishes which they sell at moderate prices.
The novel next month, Joyce Carey's The Horse's Mouth, will be read on July 30. Arundhaty has started reading it. She likes it quite a bit and Devika said Gulley Jimson, the artist, is a real bindaas character. The movie is there on YouTube – Alec Guinness stars in the role of Gulley Jimson. He is an actor who could take on any character, tragic or comic, and do the part as if he was made for it, said KumKum. The novel itself has a link from which you can download it free. Register for a free account on archive.org and go to
https://archive.org/details/horsesmouth00cary/page/n9/mode/2up
to read The Horse's Mouth online. .
Hydrangeas in Rachel's garden
The hydrangeas in Rachel’s garden are in good condition – they do not seem to do as well in Kochi said Devika and Arundhaty agreed they need the cooler weather of our hill stations such as Kodaikanal and Coonoor. In Kochi the colours look a bit faded.
