Monday, February 14, 2005

Mumbai Day Six: The Grand Fair

I get up way too early once again and head to the gym. I stay here for almost two hours, because it needs to be done. Fatness is a slow creep when you travel. It will sneak up on you. There is so much going on (even when it involves just sitting: cars, planes, fairs) that you always have a good excuse not to work out. After kicking my own butt, I did some e-mail, showered, and ate a late breakfast. Then it was time to get set up for the fair down in the basement ballroom. Came back upstairs and got pretty. I even put my suit on. Why not? No oven-hot cabs to take, just the downwards elevator.


My pre-fair spread

The fair itself was a non-stop blur of babbling. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind at these things. I hear and say so many similar (yet not quite the same) things that I lose track of what I have and have not said, and to whom. Things that happened at the fairs in Pune and Ahmedabad will seem like they just happened 5 minutes ago. That's why if anything important happens, I really, really have to write it down. Sometimes this doesn't help. I'll look at my notes later and think, "What the beejeezus was that about?" Despite this, I did a good job on the presentation and collected one more app from an aspiring film director. I also managed to get rid of all my materials that I shipped over (just saving a few for Chennai). This is a plus. I can't take extra crap with me, but I feel horrible trashing it. Best to hand it all out, even if it ends up lining bird cages.


All the reps, organizers, and helpers

After the fair we dress down and Husain takes us all out to a celebratory dinner. We finally get to indulge ourselves. We also let loose on Husain about what we felt could have been better about the tour. He was a good sport about it (he did ask for us to be candid). Many of the problems were beyond his control. Overall it was a worthwile experience.

Pictures to come.

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