Warm spring day in Delhi. Our guest, Isabel, who had arrived the previous day from Brazil, was joined late morning by our mutual friend Elizabeth, fresh off a flight from the States. Hosting friends is something Henry and I enjoy, and when they are in pairs they can entertain each other, which makes it easier all round. In any case, both Isabel and Elizabeth are reasonably seasoned travelers, so we weren’t worried about having to hand-hold them; and since Elizabeth is a good friend, and Isabel, though we hadn’t met her before, is from one of our favorite countries, it was a pleasure having them arrive. It was also a low-key day since they were both recovering from the travel – India really is a long way from the USA!
In the evening Henry and I left them to it at home and went round to our friend John’s house to watch “La Vie en Rose”, whose lead actor had just won the Oscar for her portrayal of Edith Piaf. I’m not a big fan of biopics generally, but it was an interesting film with some great music. John is one of a small group of friends with whom we get together semi-regularly to watch movies – Delhi’s range of movie opportunities in cinema being largely limited to Bollywood blockbusters – but this time there was quite a large group of people (and one pug dog which snored happily through much of the film). Piaf and fondue with Indians, Brits, Americans and Germans – at times, Delhi seems almost cosmopolitan.