Jerri was not getting better so we
called the doctor, who ordered tests. Fifteen minutes later,
technicians showed up at the hotel. They drew blood efficiently and
sent it to the lab. The cost of their visit including 4 tests and
delivery of results (in 4 hours) to the doctor: $26. Whoever thinks
that America has the best health care system must be living in an
alternate universe. Jerri is miserable. Max and Emma try to cheer
her up by staying with her and watching 5 straight hours of 'Arrested
Development' on his laptop while I make a solo trip by train to the
Asiatic Society to meet Mr. Dharamsey.
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| Jajo having blood drawn at our hotel (AT) |
I bought a 2nd class train
ticket for 9 rupees (18 cents) but, not being able to tell the
difference between 1st and 2nd class end up
inadvertently in 1st class, worried that I'll be caught
and fined. No one noticed and I arrived at Churchgate Station and
walked to Harniman Circle, asking several times for the building with
“big white steps.”
The Asiatic Society of Bombay is an
1832 building, straight out of central casting.
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| Asiatic Society of Bombay (AT) |
It is huge, dark, musty and filled with
books, floor to ceiling. A delight to the eyes! Mr. Dharamsey came
out to meet me. We sat on the ancient leather couches outside the
reading room and I showed him the work. His comments ranged from the
simple (“This is a market”) to the complex (“These sculptures
on the side of the temple are recent, they reflect the nationalist
movement of the 1940s...”) Among other things, he is a film
historian and was particularly interested in the image of the movie
posters for 'Pagyla Duma' (Crazy World) later telling me that the
film was made in 1944 by one of the major Bollywood companies. He
provided more detailed information on the temples, ethnographic
studies, tribal images, and technology studies in our collection.
Virchand told me of his research on the
1st Indian archaeologist Bhagwanlal Indraji (1839-1888.)
It is a great story of a self-taught “amateur” who travelled
throughout India, conducting significant studies on the area's early
history. We then talked about academia, research, libraries and
museums, openness versus closeness in research, the accessibility of
scholarly work. He tells me of his own struggles as an independent
scholar. This resonates with me, especially given our current
project and the fact that we have no institutional framework to
support us. At least we don't have to worry about language.
Virchand explains that if his writing is not in English, it will have
a limited audience and unlikely to be taken seriously.
I took the train back, this time being
pulled up into the correct class car and had a wonderful conversation
with a young hotel worker. He was eager to practice his English and
we talked politics. He told me that his favorite U.S. President was
Roosevelt. I was astounded at his knowledge of American history. He
explained that all Indian students must learn not only about their
own country, but about the other nations in the world as well. I
told him that it would be unusual for an American his age to know
anything at all about India. And they would probably be shaky on
U.S. history as well. We agree that in 20 years, India and China are
likely to surpass America on many levels.
 |
| Virchand Dharamasy (AT) |
Severe though her nausea was, Jerri's
tests came back negative; she had a severe GI infection and just had
to suffer through it. By the next morning she was feeling better and
was hungry! But Jerri wasn't yet 100% and decided to rest at Max's.
He went off to work on compositions for the soundtrack of a
Bollywood film produced by a friend. I returned to Mr. Dharamasy to
take his photograph. Deciding whether to lug my camera with me is a
daily decision and I had not done so the day before.
 |
| On train (AT) |
I walked from the train through yet
another bustling market to meet Emma at the internet coffee house to
discuss her script. India is challenging her in ways unimagined and
the script is beginning to reflect that reality. It now seems to
focus on the barriers to freedom and independence that we construct
for ourselves. She is really courageous to tackle such a theme.
 |
| Capitalise Commerce (AT) |
Then off to Delhi, where we were
staying with friends who teach at the American Embassy School. And
that's the start of another adventure.
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