Our Bathroom

Indian bathrooms... they sort of look like ours, but really aren't. Like most homes in India, our bathroom opens up to the bedroom. You'd really be hard pressed to find a home where it's located in a hallway or living room.
So... this is a picture of our bathroom. I quite like it. It's roomy, comes with several attractive features, and since it was built a few years ago it's still very neat & clean. Notice the fan at the top, it blows directly outside. This wouldn't be possible in Montreal because of our winters, but when that thing runs you actually can feel a current of air passing thru... no more burning matches or lighting candles :)

You may have also noticed that there's no tub. Unfortunately, New Delhi, being next to a desert and ridiculously overcrowded has a serious water shortage problem. As a result, tubs are not common.

Since electricity is also scarce, all bathrooms have separate hot water tanks which are turned on only shortly before showering (most homes have back-up generators because power shortages occur on a regular basis).

The city water supply has no pressure, and I suspect is also very unreliable, so most homes simply pump the water (when it's available) into a large reservoir tank on the roof. Seems like a simple solution... except... by mid-afternoon in 40+ degree weather that water becomes unpleasantly hot. I discovered all this last Sunday when taking an afternoon shower....

If you pay close attention to the toilet itself you'll see the bathroom's best feature. There's a small water jet on the back side. That's right... you can wash your bottom without even getting up.

And finally there's the large bucket. A very common bathroom item used for bathing. Yup, you fill it up and using the smaller bucket to pour you wash yourself. Great way to save water!

Lajpat Nagar

This market in New Delhi is the place to go when buying home appliances/electronics and also t-shirts for some reason (not really sure what they have in common). Lakshmi and I, in fact, have been to this one at least 6 times in the first 3 weeks that I've been here... and for those of you who are wondering why 6 TIMES, well you obviously don't know Lakshmi :)

A zoo, is really the best way to describe it. There are people, cars, motorcycles.... everywhere. And just to make the whole experience even more pleasant it was 46 degrees that day. It's so packed that not even the cows feel like wondering thru this part of town (BTW the Hindi translation for cow is actually the word "gaay").

This particular outing was quite successful. We bought an electric kettle, a toaster, and a microwave... and, in this second picture Lakshmi just finished buying me some Hindi books.

There was a third picture that I wanted to post, but unfortunately it came out blurred. In it, Lakshmi was Purell'ing herself because just a moment sooner a fat, sweaty, Indian man had bumped into her and transferred a healthy amount of sweat onto her arm. For some reason she didn't find it as amusing as I did.

The Farm

Sundays are quickly becoming routine. Usually in the morning, before it gets too hot (the high for today is 43 degrees), we head out to the "farm" which for us white people would be the "cottage". Lakshmi's mother (Bharati) has really out done herself and built up the place very nicely. It's a huge plot of land completely landscaped with a big house and fenced in by a stone wall. Lakshmi's dad (Ram) actually designed the entire thing... he's a retired architect. We usually go there just for the morning so that the dogs can get some exercise and because, unlike Delhi, it's very quite and tranquil. Great place to relax.

Rufus really enjoys the pond and Penny has plenty of squirrels to chase. As usual she's always getting into trouble. There's a small section of wall that's low enough for her to jump over, and there happens to be a pile of hay on the other side. Unfortunately, today after jumping over she was blocked from coming back because 2 cows had decided to go snack on the pile of hay. Another nice thing about the farm is that there a large vegetable garden and plenty of fruit trees. We tend to come home with a bag or 2 of fresh produce everytime.

Ohkla

So... today is day 24. I guess I should have started this a little sooner... but better late than never. For those of you who don't already know, Lakshmi and I have decided to move to India and work for her mother's business (Varnali). The factory is located in Ohkla, an industrial area of Delhi. This part of town consists mostly of 3-story buildings, except for areas that have been claimed by squatters. And...since possession is nine tenths of the law, the only way to remove them is with bribes.

This picture is the view from the third floor of Varnali. The image is really small, but inside this mess are several utility poles which the occupants have conveniently tapped into for electricity, and even more fascinating is that I counted at least 4 satellite dishes. BTW... there's an entire village living there... probably more people than Pincourt :)

This is the street view. There are a few shops lining the front, a lot of trash, and a rooster. I'm glad to say that the rooster was also there back in December... must be a pet (of some sort) since this is no farm.

Hope you enjoyed my first post... I've got to go study Hindi for an hour now, and then off to bed. Ciao.

Hello World!

Just created my first blog...