Bombay In Winter

It is winter in Bombay. At 10 degrees Centigrade (50 Farenheit) we're freezing. Friends in Europe and the U.S. please don't laugh, but here we are shivering, my knees are giving way, my ankle is stiff, and I am actually enjoying sitting in the sun on the back balcony - something I avoid doing like the plague at any other time. It's so cold in the evenings on the front balcony facing the sea, (windy too) that we have taken to sitting indoors with our drinks. The up side of this is that we now listen to a lot of music, which is something we hadn't done as a family for ages.

The bout of malaria has meanwhile dampened my interest in booze so I've standardized on my own rather eccentric variation of Bloody Mary without the vodka, inspired by my cousin Shiv. It's made with home made tomato juice to which I add Worcestershire sauce, a dash of Jal Jeera, more than a dash of Tabasco sauce, half a lime and soda, topped with ice. I could drink any amount of it but I suspect many people would want to spit it out.

Have also lost a couple of kilos on account of the illness and am trying desperately to maintain my current weight. Wish me luck.