Anupa Mehta
October 7
Posted by Johnny Magee on 7th October 2006
It feels like rain this morning.
The rain in India, particularly unseasonal rain, is very different from the rain in Manchester. Warm and copious, it brings to surface the moist fragrance of wet earth. It's a scent that takes away from the heat and dust. Last night, Tom and Lionel came over to my flat for dinner along with an architect who studied philosophy, and a designer from NID. At one point, Tom was talking about the rain in Manchester, about people sipping their chai lattes in cramped cafes...
Manchester: Cold rain ... the memory of warm rain
Ahmedabad: Warm rain ... the remembrance of cold rain
Indian soil, Indian colours... India anew. Through foreign eyes. Heat, dust, cows, cow dung, dogs, children, squalor : fan-tas-tic is a good description for Ahmedabad, referred to as the Manchester of the East.
October 6
Posted by Johnny Magee on 7th October 2006
Lionel: "The rickshaws are crazzzzy...like dodgem cars....The house is luvely...Shambu's a great cook....can you teach Shambu to make some of your masala chai?"
Me: "Shall we go visit a design studio that facilitates projects for artist-designers this Sunday?"
Tom: "Uh oh...we are going to watch a cricket match."
Lionel: "Yes. We are."
October 5:
Posted by Johnny Magee on 7th October 2006
Lionel: "It's chaotic. Everywhere."
Me: (silently) "It gets better."
October 2
Posted by Johnny Magee on 7th October 2006
Tom: "It's fantastic...."Me: (silently) .... "Yes...well... heat and dust is known to have this effect on Englishmen. Only E M Forster could have romanticized it so..."
