Varkala, Kerala India is a place of stunning contradictions with surfers, sunbathers & sacred Papanasam Beach. It's where I met Willie who gifted me with her copy of Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.
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Papanasam Beach, Varkala, Kerala India & Willie ...
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Later the same day, Willie came to Akshay house in tears and found me. She told me how she'd hoped the trip to India with her granddaughter would help the relationship. And we had a marathon chat. Over time the tears turned to laughter. Maybe that was just what she needed.
On her last morning in Varkala, Willie arrived for breakfast with a wonderful henna tattoo of a chameleon and a copy of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children which she gave me .
Willie and I kept in touch. And over the next few years, it was fascinating to see all the exciting things that she did. At 86, she bought a VW camper and adopted a small rescue dog named Monty. The pair went on adventures -north to Alaska, south to Portland. Willie became my role model. I wanted to be her when I grew up. Her gift of Midnight's Children was the kernel that germinated into a presentation, A Literary Journey through India, and as a result inspired the idea for the podcast, Bollywood and Books.
