This morning over breakfast T and I have been talking about how India changed us, and what memories will linger after the moving-frenzy has calmed down. We shall miss it, but what exactly "it" is, we cannot say right now. This is a good moment however to memorize all those people that made my stay here special, so they will be on record long after my mind is gone:
Dr. Samar Mahendran, my vetenarian, who almost singlehandedly managed to build the CGS Hospital for pets in Gurgaon; an animal-hospital that beats many people-hospitals by far. he wants to become the first certified lab in India and I know he will succeed.....
Mr. Batta the Bagman, who can make any bag one could imagine of and where I bought the most perfect evening-bags ever....
Mr. Suaheleen the Meatman, who would deliver anything but pork as he is a Muslim (and the beef, we think, is actually buff...waterbuffalo)...
Rekha, our masseuse, who kept T's muscles and joints working for the past 6 years and who he will miss dearly....
Manoj and Sunita, who kept my feet and hands in shape over the past years. My nails will never look as good as they did here.....
Anjali the Golfteacher, who is half our size but hits three times further, and who happens to be a great teacher and great fun to be with.....
Zakir, the caddy, who is also a great teacher and a great sport. He wants to become a pro and then teach in Dubai, where his religion will not stop him from reaching the top.....
VJ the tennis teacher, who made me feel like I could win Wimbledon (or at least look like Sharapova)....
Mr. Yahya of Yahya and sons, who sells, cleans and repairs carpets and kelims and who returned our carpets better than new, and sold me a couple of gorgious kelims. He is a look-alike of the actor who played Yinnah in the famous Ghandi movie and a wonderful, gentle and modest man to deal with.....
Mr. Lovely the leatherman, who made some gorgious leather jackets for me and who can copy any picture he sees....
Mr. Malik the Embroidery man of the Famous Calcutta Embroidery Company, whose skillfull family members made gorgious table cloths, duvet covers and guest towels for me....
Mr. Khan of Bombay tailors, who made T's entire new wardrobe and a few very nice things for me, even though he is a man's tailor...
Mr. Ajay the electrician who can repair ANYTHING with a cord....
Mr. Balbir the carpenter who stopped working after he had a stroke (or so we think) but who made these perfect garden chairs for us....
Madhoo and the two Sunils at the embassy, who served coffee and tea and smiles....
Lakshmi, Reena and Jyothy of the embassy, who endlessly helped us with payments, official documents, complaints to the phone company, insurances and what have you...
Our friend at the Italian cafe, whose name I still do not know, but who knew exactly what we wanted and took fantastic care of us whenever we would have a quick lunch there.....
The A-team of the embassy, Fraddy, Triloc, and Nat, who repaired everything around the house again and again and again.....
Sonu the gardener who made my plants blossom again and planted Hollyhocks and sunflowers for me to enjoy....
Gurinder Singh Johal, the handsome and dedicated Sikh boss of Discover Punjab who organises the best tours in Amritsar (and nowadays also around)....
Dr. Lalit Gupta who could not have become anything else but a doctor, and who we could call on (and sometimes did) any time of day and night, which in India one sometimes has to....
Dilip and Ompal, our two faithful guards who kept our house safe and kept all unwanted people out over the last four years...
Surender, our driver, who did not speak much but reacted quickly and managed to steer us through the crazy Indian traffic without accidents for four years. I shall miss his familiar and comforting arm going up in a crowd, for he always spotted us before we spotted him....
And finally my beloved Rosemary, my housekeeper, who quietly took care of everything and who restored my faith in humanity, and whom I shall miss very much....
I will never forget you.
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