Thatha is doing a lot better than I
expected considering the two minor strokes. He isn’t very mobile
and is pretty frail but at least he seems stable and happy. It’s
always great talking to him.
Andhra Pradesh has incredible mangoes;
my mom would resolutely argue the best in the world. Like bananas,
you don’t realize how many kinds of mangoes there are till you find
yourself lost in stall after stall of vendors selling only mangoes in
a market in Rajahmundry. They’re all delicious, available by the
thousands and my grandma is the best mango haggling buyer around. Also I've finally been able to upload pictures so here she is at work.
I’ve taken to a bit of nightly movie
watching. Everyone here usually crashes early, I’m left wide-awake
and my uncle has a huge stockpile of movies. A couple of nights ago
was Elysium. Wasn’t an exceptional film but it was a bit shocking
in how close our world is to the supposedly distant, dystopian future
portrayed. Just today I stepped out for a walk while our train was at
a station en route to Chennai. The platform outside our two-tier AC
car lay nearly vacant with the exception of a couple of police
officers armed with automatic weapons. The officers stood guard between
our car and the chaos next door. The very next car over was a general
compartment already spilling from the brims, with people gathered outside each
door trying to squeeze in for a spot. Wasn’t exactly an
inaccessible satellite paradise for billionaires but just one of many
instances where the stark divide between the wealthy and poor in
India is in plain sight.
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