Who is Mandodari? I can't believe I spent about two full hours scratching my head trying to answer that question! And in case you think I'm stupid and should have known Mandodari was the wife of Ravana or that I should have googled it if I didn't know this, let me tell you it was not that easy and googling it was not how I was going to find out!
Okay, let me make this easier. As the Secretary of the Indian Embassy Spouses' Association (IESA) when my husband and I were posted in Washington DC, I was required to arrange various events, outings, festival celebrations, and also to send out emails to the association members informing them about transport arrangements, time, date, the event venue, the programme and other important details. Occasionally the programme scheduled for a certain month required the members to confirm their presence due to the limited availability of seats, or for the purpose of making transport arrangements.
Our visit to the Mormon Temple that month was one such event. The Mormons are a secretive and mysterious sect, and visits to the Mormon Temple tend to be highly organized affairs in order to keep visitors under control. So it was imperative that we give the temple authorities an exact number. And so I sent out the usual emails to our members asking them to confirm by a certain date, giving them a phone number they could call, and informing them that a confirmation was compulsory.
Sometime after I had sent out the emails, and maybe a few days before the given deadline, I happened to meet a bunch of our members at an Embassy event. I reminded some of them who had not called to say they were coming, that time was running out, the deadline was soon approaching, and that they should not miss this opportunity to visit the Mormon Temple. That's when sweet and kindly Mrs. Arora piped up and said that she was dying to go but did not know the person she was supposed to call to confirm her presence. "Who is Mandodari, Amita? You said that we have to call Mandodari but I have not met her and I don't know who she is."
Well I was as lost as she was. WHO WAS MANDODARI? I have never been much of a people's person, my PR stinks, and I am not the most sociable person around. But Embassy life is pretty close knit, even in large missions like in the US, and I was the Secretary of the association for God's sake! I was the one with the database of members' phone numbers and addresses, I was the one who probably had the most regular interactions with all the members for some IESA related reason or other, and I was the one that any new additions to the Embassy family were instructed to establish contact with immediately on arrival. So I would have known, should have known Mandodari if there was such a person in our association!
But I didn't. So who was this mysterious lady? And had I really put down her name as the person to call if our members wanted to visit the Mormon Temple? It was impossible. I tortured myself all the way home, only just managing to focus on my driving. Pulling into the garage, I made straight for my room, turned on my laptop, opened my sent folder and pulled up the email I had sent out to all our members. I read it carefully, every single word, every if, and, but, and of, searching desperately for the name Mandodari, but came up empty handed. Starting at the top again I adopted a new strategy. This time I looked carefully at every word in the email that began with an M. I was going crazier by the second and losing hope quickly. And then suddenly I saw it and almost shouted "Eureka"! I had found Mrs. Arora's mysterious Mandodari! There she was in bold font and all upper case letters! See if you can spot her in my email!
* Time: 11 am
* Meeting Place: Metro Station Dupont Circle
* RSVP: 3013209556 (MANDATORY)
I hope you will be able to come.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Sincerely,
Amita Bambawale
Secretary, IESA
I looked again at the word and checked the spelling. I had to make sure I had not gone crazy, that what I had written was Mandatory, and that I had got to the bottom of the mystery of Mandodari!
Okay, let me make this easier. As the Secretary of the Indian Embassy Spouses' Association (IESA) when my husband and I were posted in Washington DC, I was required to arrange various events, outings, festival celebrations, and also to send out emails to the association members informing them about transport arrangements, time, date, the event venue, the programme and other important details. Occasionally the programme scheduled for a certain month required the members to confirm their presence due to the limited availability of seats, or for the purpose of making transport arrangements.
Our visit to the Mormon Temple that month was one such event. The Mormons are a secretive and mysterious sect, and visits to the Mormon Temple tend to be highly organized affairs in order to keep visitors under control. So it was imperative that we give the temple authorities an exact number. And so I sent out the usual emails to our members asking them to confirm by a certain date, giving them a phone number they could call, and informing them that a confirmation was compulsory.
Sometime after I had sent out the emails, and maybe a few days before the given deadline, I happened to meet a bunch of our members at an Embassy event. I reminded some of them who had not called to say they were coming, that time was running out, the deadline was soon approaching, and that they should not miss this opportunity to visit the Mormon Temple. That's when sweet and kindly Mrs. Arora piped up and said that she was dying to go but did not know the person she was supposed to call to confirm her presence. "Who is Mandodari, Amita? You said that we have to call Mandodari but I have not met her and I don't know who she is."
Well I was as lost as she was. WHO WAS MANDODARI? I have never been much of a people's person, my PR stinks, and I am not the most sociable person around. But Embassy life is pretty close knit, even in large missions like in the US, and I was the Secretary of the association for God's sake! I was the one with the database of members' phone numbers and addresses, I was the one who probably had the most regular interactions with all the members for some IESA related reason or other, and I was the one that any new additions to the Embassy family were instructed to establish contact with immediately on arrival. So I would have known, should have known Mandodari if there was such a person in our association!
But I didn't. So who was this mysterious lady? And had I really put down her name as the person to call if our members wanted to visit the Mormon Temple? It was impossible. I tortured myself all the way home, only just managing to focus on my driving. Pulling into the garage, I made straight for my room, turned on my laptop, opened my sent folder and pulled up the email I had sent out to all our members. I read it carefully, every single word, every if, and, but, and of, searching desperately for the name Mandodari, but came up empty handed. Starting at the top again I adopted a new strategy. This time I looked carefully at every word in the email that began with an M. I was going crazier by the second and losing hope quickly. And then suddenly I saw it and almost shouted "Eureka"! I had found Mrs. Arora's mysterious Mandodari! There she was in bold font and all upper case letters! See if you can spot her in my email!
Dear Member,
Our event this month is a visit to the Mormon Temple.
* Date: February 28 * Time: 11 am
* Meeting Place: Metro Station Dupont Circle
* RSVP: 3013209556 (MANDATORY)
I hope you will be able to come.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Sincerely,
Amita Bambawale
Secretary, IESA
I looked again at the word and checked the spelling. I had to make sure I had not gone crazy, that what I had written was Mandatory, and that I had got to the bottom of the mystery of Mandodari!
