Letter from Ismail Merchant, Delhi, India, to James Ivory, Dinuba, California, 1964 January 3 : typescript signed.

Saying he is leaving for Bombay today, and admitting he is sorry to be leaving Ruth and Jhab because he is so fond of them; describing how they all sit in front of the fire at night and hatch "future plans for MIP"; looking forward to working on the actors film ["Shakespeare Wallah"]; describing their New Year's Eve, which didn't go to plan (they were supposed to attend a party at Romesh Thapar's) as Ruth lost her voice and they all were in bed by 9:30; saying the next morning the published script of "The Householder" was released and could be seen in all the "leading bookstores" in Delhi; observing that "everyone is anxious to see the film"; describing dinner with Dutt of the Indian Finance Ministry the previous night at the Jhabvalas', where they all tried to avoid the subject of the ongoing "Householder" mess, and the results of their meeting the next day; believing they will be able to get two negatives struck, and Columbia will make about six prints for Indian distribution; asking Ivory to pressure Herbert Golden at Columbia in New York to assent; assuring Ivory that "The Householder" passed through Indian censorship without cuts, which Ivory was concerned about; telling Ivory he presented a copy of the "Householder" screenplay to Gardner Stanbridge at the British High Commission in Delhi, who have "a splendid wardrobe of 15 and 16th century costume and also 17 and 18th. They want to sell off the entire lot"; thinking they could make good use of them and can get all the costumes for 400 or 500 rupees; telling Ivory about some fabric from Rajasthan and a papier-mâché tablet he has bought; entreating Ivory to come to India as soon as possible, as Ruth cannot really work on the script without him; asking if Charlotte had her baby and asking after Ivory's father; enumerating the holiday cables and cards he sent to Columbia, Royal, Lillian Ross, and others; signing off that "I miss you terrible [sic] and come soon."