Prep for third round of Chemo continues

May 12th 

In the preparation for the third round of Chemo, Bina's beautiful long hair is replaced by even prettier, short hair. Bina is ready for chemo , knowing it will help her body fight the cancer cells. I was worrying about her reaction for the loss of hair ( that she had never cut in her life), but she seems to welcome the new style. She does have incredibly strong will and wisdom to accept what is now.

We wanted to get her Will signed and registered. In the typical Indian fashion, the doctor came home to examine her and gave a certificate that basically declared her of , " sound mind and body". Half an hour later the lawyer ( with his assistant and office help) came with the legal document to formalize the " last will" and power of attorney.  Within four hours, her Will is officially formulated, certified by the doctor and registered by the lawyer without setting a foot outside the living room ..only in India. 

During the morning beach walk, I walked to the park discovered yesterday. Here I found a wall decorated with the Gods of Hindus. As you know we have 33 million of them. 

During another walk, I found s church, a Mosque and several temples of different gods , all within a few hundred  feet.  I often wondered that in spite of being constantly invaded by other cultures and religions, why hindus were never converted into Muslims or Christians or any other religion. Surely, some people did convert but the majority held on to their belief, making India the oldest continuous culture, religion and civilization. I see the reason here, on the wall along the beach and in the low income slum neighborhood in Mumbai.  Because of the culture of worshipping and accepting many forms of Gods and divine, Indians accepted and even welcomed the Aryan Gods, Allah, Buddha, Christ and many other smaller ones. During the invasions, India gave rise to poets and philosophers who sang about the unity of all Gods, hypocrisy of all religions and of love and compassion for all living things. ( Kabir, Rahim, Vivekanand , Gandhi ..are some examples). India not only welcomed the refugees from Persia ( other faith and culture) but made them into their own, making them one of the richest and most socially influential people in India ( TATA's and others). 

With this thought, I need to sleep now and be ready for third round of Chemo. I hope my sister is not as nervous as I am and we will all have strength to accept what is there to come. Good night....