Hello dear readers,
I am back after a long absence! We are now five months into our sojourn back into India and the saga continues. I have realised that to retain your sanity and enjoy life in new India, you have got to have not just a spoonful but a bagfull of patience. To those who know me as a very calm, collected individual; you should see me now - "a ranting & raving Suneetha". Giri can attest to that.
Remember Murphy's law, well I want to introduce a new one, Indian Law: What can be simple MUST always be complicated.
Keep this simple logic in mind next time you visit India or have the wonderful gift of landing an opportunity to live here. I find myself raving about the simple pleasures of the US. no, I am not talking about luxury or opulence. Having good, clean drinking water all the time, nice, clean roads where you encounter a maniac maybe once in two years, all record keeping/administrative affairs can happen with a phone call and sometimes on the net.
Doesn't seem like much, does it now? Pretty low down on the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. But come to India, you once again have to fight for basic needs. We have been buying water for the last couple of weeks due to the fear that our water supply may have been contaminated. Forget about nice, clean roads, these days I consider myself lucky if I reach my destination in one piece.
Today I braved an auto. (the three wheeled tuk tuks that function as a taxi) Every one of these tuk tuks have a meter but price is set according to how 'green' you look. Which, one look at my face and the bewildered look that I constantly have (despite my best efforts), the price tag goes up by 10-15%. The thing that gets me is the attitude that I am going to fleece you for whatever you are gullible enough to spare. These days I ask Lord Ganesha not riches and wealth, but some large doses of patience, so I don't pull out either my hair or somebody else's hair.. Right now, our driver is our most valued employee!!
I have now realised why Indians don't smile. Between fighting for water and space, if you have to chase away snakes on the one weekend you want to be in peace, who can blame you for carrying a frown on your face all the time!! Because you never know what is around the bend.
So long folks. As people in India like to say, "It is like that only......"
I am back after a long absence! We are now five months into our sojourn back into India and the saga continues. I have realised that to retain your sanity and enjoy life in new India, you have got to have not just a spoonful but a bagfull of patience. To those who know me as a very calm, collected individual; you should see me now - "a ranting & raving Suneetha". Giri can attest to that.
Remember Murphy's law, well I want to introduce a new one, Indian Law: What can be simple MUST always be complicated.
Keep this simple logic in mind next time you visit India or have the wonderful gift of landing an opportunity to live here. I find myself raving about the simple pleasures of the US. no, I am not talking about luxury or opulence. Having good, clean drinking water all the time, nice, clean roads where you encounter a maniac maybe once in two years, all record keeping/administrative affairs can happen with a phone call and sometimes on the net.
Doesn't seem like much, does it now? Pretty low down on the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. But come to India, you once again have to fight for basic needs. We have been buying water for the last couple of weeks due to the fear that our water supply may have been contaminated. Forget about nice, clean roads, these days I consider myself lucky if I reach my destination in one piece.
Today I braved an auto. (the three wheeled tuk tuks that function as a taxi) Every one of these tuk tuks have a meter but price is set according to how 'green' you look. Which, one look at my face and the bewildered look that I constantly have (despite my best efforts), the price tag goes up by 10-15%. The thing that gets me is the attitude that I am going to fleece you for whatever you are gullible enough to spare. These days I ask Lord Ganesha not riches and wealth, but some large doses of patience, so I don't pull out either my hair or somebody else's hair.. Right now, our driver is our most valued employee!!
Some other things that add to the general aggravation: carpenter doesn't show up when promised, LPG gas cylinder delivery boys demand Diwali bakshish (tip), in the rudest way imaginable. As though it is their birthright!! Obviously, they have not heard that you can catch more flies with honey......
In what might appear to be the last straw, last week we had a scare with an unwelcome visitor to our backyard. A little snake, yes that is not a typo, there was indeed a snake (although unconfirmed, appears to have been a viper, a poisonous variety) Now, of course we are all a little more careful. I can bet that chasing snakes is never part of anyone's routine out there.
I have now realised why Indians don't smile. Between fighting for water and space, if you have to chase away snakes on the one weekend you want to be in peace, who can blame you for carrying a frown on your face all the time!! Because you never know what is around the bend.
So long folks. As people in India like to say, "It is like that only......"
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