Sunday, 2/14/16 - Valentine's Day with the family

We woke up at around 7 a.m. after a very restful sleep. We went to take showers, but we couldn't get the hot water to work. Sunita tried as well, with no success. So she kindly boiled some water for us and we took bucket showers. She brought us tea and cookies in our room.

The bucket shower was a slow process, so we were a bit late going down to breakfast (9:40). Mukul had arrived home and presented us with roses for Valentine's Day. What a sweetie! When Sunita told him that the hot water had not been working, he went up to our bathroom to check on the situation. Of course it worked perfectly for him, and he thought we were all crazy!

For breakfast, we had corn flakes, toast, bananas, and guava juice. We gave Sara a girly pink VW bug. We went up to Sukumar and Sonam's room, where Sukumar showed us his and Sonam's lovely wedding album. They had gotten married soon after our 2009 visit, and we had been invited to the wedding. We would have loved to have attended, but we were unable to return to India so soon due to work commitments. It was nice to get to see the beautiful photos of the happy couple and their family and friends.

Next, we sat in the drawing room and Mukul regaled us with stories of his adventures with some of his high profile clients (actors, singers, businessmen, and dignitaries). We will never understand how regular folks like ourselves were lucky enough to have him as a guide back in 2007, but we are so lucky that we did. He is such a dear friend and it is a joy to spend time with him and his family.

We had a lovely lunch consisting of mattar paneer, dahl, chapthi, red carrot, cauliflower curry, and rice. While we were eating, Sara created a diversion by pulling the toaster out of the cabinet by the cord and then running to the marble staircase. The baby gate wasn't closed, so she had full access. I grabbed her and she seemed disillusioned that I was enforcing ruless too. This is why Mukul lovingly nicknamed her "the little outlaw."

We took a short rest in our room, and then sat in the front room and enjoyed tea with the family. Mukul's brother had come over. There are mattresses on the floor as a soft playspace for Sara. She would approach her great uncle and he would tip her over onto the soft floor. She would get right back up and the process would repeat. He wants her to become resilient, and it was funny to watch him keep tipping her over with a totally deadpan look on his face.

Mukul is interested in visiting Ecuador with us, so we showed him photos from our most recent trip. Sara was patient at first, but soon wanted attention from her Dadoo (her pet name for Mukul). The four of us went outside to enjoy Mukul's gardens and fish ponds. Sara helped Dadoo to water the plants.

The property is like an oasis in the city of Agra. Mukul is a very talented gardener, and we marveled at his plants and flowers, including dahlias with blooms as big as my fist. Mukul is also an avid bird enthusiast. He feeds the birds each morning, and many different species visit the property. This afternoon alone, we saw around 10 different species of birds while sitting outside in the yard (purple sunbird, Asian pied starling, common myna, brown-headed barbet, yellow-footed green pigeon, and rose-ringed parakeet). As the sun set, it seemed like they were gathering like in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" (which, incidentally, Mukul has never seen).

We went back into the front room. Sunita gave us Valentine' gifts: amethyst earrings and jasmine essential oil. It was so sweet of her!

Sara called us in to the dining room to eat dinner. She patted the chair and then grabbed my pant leg and pulled me in. For dinner, we enjoyed toasted cheese and spiced potato sandwiches, as well as spicy noodles. We had a nice conversation with Mukul, during which he told us he was blessed by Mother Theresa. She held both his hands and kissed him on the head. Why doesn't this surprise us? It merely solidifies our belief that he is the most interesting man in the world!

It had been a lovely, low-key day. It had been nice to get to spend the entire day with the family. Tomorrow, Sonam and Sukumar would be back to work at the hospital (they are both physical therapists), and Sara would spend the day with Sonam's parents.

We went to the room at 9:20. The Taj Gateway Hotel right next door (formerly the Taj View Hotel, a fitting name since its construction blocked Mukul's roof deck view of the Taj Mahal), was hosting a wedding. The music was quite loud, but our earplugs were effective. The music stopped at around midnight.
Valentine's Day roses from Mukul

Valentine's Day roses from Mukul

Spending time with Sara

Spending time with Sara

Sara helps Dadoo water his plants

Sara helps Dadoo water his plants

Sunita and Sara

Sunita and Sara

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