Letter from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, to James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, Mumbai, India, [1965 February 7 or 14] : autograph manuscript signed.

Regretting that she didn't have time to say goodbye or thank them on her recent visit to Bombay, when to Jhab's relief she stayed with them rather than at the Taj; admitting Jhab was right in saying that almost missing the plane home was her fault; describing walking on the beach and assuming Merchant would tell her when it was time to leave; regretting that she "hardly spoke" to Merchant on this trip because he seemd unapproachable-- "I know you were worried and preoccupied, I know that, but all the same I wonder if you know how awful you can be at such times, how glum and morose and forbidding"; describing "huddling togther like orphans" with Ivory, "throwing nervous glances in your direction"; hoping he won't "do that again," but if he does she will try to make the best of it; assuring them that she likes "Shakespeare Wallah" very much, and thinks they only need to "tidy up" some minor points; musing on the film's length, and the length of stories in general-- "Each subject has its own span, which it must neither exceed nor fall short of"; noting the "lovely surprise" of a box of nylons from Ivory's father; asking if they saw "Lola" (probably the film directed by Jacques Demy, 1961) and what they thought of it; telling them she is writing them a check for 500 rupees, which Jhab will convert to a money order and send them-- part of which is meant to reimburse Shashi for her plane ticket, and the rest to be a loan to tide them over until they are "very rich again"; wishing it was Rs. 50,000, or 5,000,000; sending much love, and hoping they will "finish quickly and come quickly to Delhi"; reminding them in a postscript to send Madhur some stills of herself, to write to Pinchoo and send the negatives of the photographs of her and her children.