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| Vipin and family with us. |
-Brian Mendonca
Though it was a Sunday with no respite from the rain, the heavy showers did not deter Vipin and his family from Delhi, from visiting us today.
Coming all the way from Mandrem, in Pernem taluka they were beaming at our door at 3 p.m. Vipin looked dapper in his printed shirt on jeans. It exuded his calm exterior and suave look at life. He has retired from school publishing now. He recently published his book on love and money, and seemed to be the epitome of the Hybrid Human.
His family greeted us warmly as they trooped in at the door. The children had grown up. It was 13 years since we had left Delhi. It was almost like vanvas as Anu, Vipin's wife, put it.
It was Anu and Vipin who took me to Lajpat Nagar market, Delhi, to buy clothes for Dwayne before he was born. Somehow Anu knew it would be a boy.
Vipin was my friend and confidante in Delhi. We worked in the same office and I could count on him for his advice. I often travelled home with him in his red maruti. He used to drop me off at GK I, and I used to hop on a bus to Sheikh Sarai II a short distance away, where I lived on my barsaati.
When I presented my latest collection titled Jasmine City: Poems from Delhi to Vipin he leafed through the pages and read the poem 'To my Son of Fourteen Days.' Now Dwayne is 'in the house of fourteen' as they say in Portuguese, i.e. he will be fourteen on his next birthday.
Queenie set the table with food that they would like. Aloo tikis, dal, chana masala, veg. pulao, a salad of sprouts, and khatkhate - a Goan preparation with vegetables. The Goan poee (bread) was also in attendance. For dessert we served the Portuguese favourite, serradura.
The trip was booked by one of the daughters, and it came as a pleasant surprise to family. They touched down at Mopa airport yesterday, and explored Morjim beach. Tomorrow, depending on the weather, they may travel to South Goa.
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Pic taken at our place in Porvorim today. Updated 8/7/24.
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