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The Furnace at Uchhehra<br />
the front-seat of the SUV, while Maggie, Shalini, Bhavana and I occupied the back,<br />
with plenty of room for another two passengers.<br />
We had started our journey out of the village, on the narrow mud-road, when Panditjee<br />
sprung into action, waving and running alongside the car. Salamat slowed the car<br />
and Sudeep was rolling down the window to speak with him when Panditjee yanked<br />
the door open, and with one sprightly yogic leap, the white-bearded Pandit jumped<br />
onto Sudeep Sen’s lap. For the next ten minutes or so, till Panditjee disembarked the<br />
vehicle, Sudeep’s gaze - intensely concentrated on the road ahead, was an expression<br />
was of priceless stoicism. Only his bone-stiffened body spoke of the discomfiture.<br />
The giddy group at the back could barely control our laughter. Thereafter, much to<br />
Sudeep’s consternation, the mere mention of Panditjee would translate into helpless<br />
giggles.<br />
arshiya at the mobile-store<br />
photo credit: gopika nath<br />
Arshiya, has a shopping fetish. In Khajuraho, we stopped at a chai-shop on our way<br />
from the airport to the temples to feast on the packed-lunch Ambica had sent, when<br />
a mobile store-wala happened to pass by. Before we knew it, Arshiya was busy buying.<br />
It was the usual stuff available at the local kirane ki dukaan in any city and certainly<br />
in Delhi, but she said there was never time to do this kind of shopping in Delhi. And<br />
so, the mobile-store earned well that afternoon.<br />
But wherever we went, Arshiya shopped. Even when you didn’t think there would be<br />
anything to spend money on, she found it. Uchhehra had not been on the itinerary<br />
planned for the residency since Ambica had just recently discovered it herself. She<br />
casually mentioned a factory about 25km away and everyone, except for me, dashed<br />
off and had a great time. Especially Arshiya who bought brass vessels for her home<br />
and to send gifts in, for her to-be-samdhans, at her son’s forthcoming wedding.<br />
Despite my cold turning bronchial, I didn’t take the prescribed medication and the<br />
daily dose of rum and hot water at night wasn’t doing as well as the antibiotics would<br />
have. So I stayed back to loll in the sun. When the group returned, Sapna was keen
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