Turtles all the way down

This week we're turtle sitting. Pushpa, our cook, traveled to visit her family home in Kolkata for the first time in three years and left me in charge of her pet turtle, Pupu. Pupu, it turns out, is (are?) actually two turtles. I didn't know this detail until Pushpa showed up with Pupu Thursday afternoon on her way to the train station. Our previous conversations had all painted Pupu as a singular masculine subject. Anyhow, around 4 pm she stormed in with a large red bucket, pulled two small turtles out of her bag, motioned for me to remain quiet, then turned and left without taking time to answer basic care-related questions. I guess she was concerned someone in the building would learn about the turtles and get the wrong idea. Who knows how her brain works. Thankfully, she provided all the necessary information later through a series of short WhatsApp voice messages.

To my relief, Pupu requires very little maintenance. I change their water (let's go with they pronouns) daily and feed them a small quantity of basmati rice atop a tupperware lid that serves as both a plate and a makeshift island in their shell-high aqueous environment.  They don't really like to be played with or even observed, so I mostly let them be. I'm glad there are two of them just for the sake of entertainment. Do turtles even get bored? It seems they'd have to in such an under-stimulating environment. It helps my conscience to imagine them playing turtle games when we're not looking.

Pushpa returns for Pupu Wednesday, when she resumes her cooking and cleaning duties, so I only need to keep these turtles alive for three more days. Per her instructions, all they eat is rice and papita (papaya). She left us with plenty of cooked rice and at the moment I'm ripening a papita from the bazaar. With any luck, it will ripen in time for us to feast together in the coming days. There isn't much you can do with aquatic turtles, but I've grown rather fond of the little buggers in our short time together.

Pupu aside, it's been a busy week of shows here in Delhi. I've gone out to see music or dance eight of the past nine evenings, and I'll plan to post some highlights in the coming days. As fun as it's been, I'm looking forward to a little down time this week. Monsoon, for all its romance, is a good time to rest.