November 14, 2016
I am
sometimes reminded what a different world I live in here in India. Today was an
example of that. My neighbor Kamla has a staff of about seven people: one
cleans, one takes care of the four year old when he isn’t in school, two drivers,
one who washes clothes, one who has been with her since he was 10 and lives
with the family and he mostly does kitchen work and one who cleans the
‘utensils’ in the kitchen. An outside person irons for the family.
Jinal is 16
and mostly works in the kitchen and pitches in where needed when the child care
person doesn’t come to work. I think she helps with cleaning the other rooms as
well.
Over the
weekend she was seen going with a boy into his home when no one was home. This
isn’t acceptable apparently so now her mother said she can no longer work for
Kamla because she will use a phone at their house to arrange other meetings
with the boy, maybe even run away. The mother isn’t eager to marry her off yet
because she earns a wage. The father has threatened to kill her if she runs
away. So last night through negotiations Kamla got permission for her to work a
few days more until her live-in guy returns from his village. The mother will accompany Jinal to Kamla’s
house to make sure she doesn’t slip away and the mother will return to pick her
up when her work is completed. Basically the girl’s life has changed overnight
because she was seen talking to a boy. She will be under the watchful eye of
her parents and chances are they will move forward to getting her married
sooner than later. OY!
Follow up:
Jinal told Kamal she wouldn’t run away because various family members showed up
at her house to give her a slap or a kick for going into the boy’s home. It
sounds like nothing happened between the boy and Jinal but the father said he
would kill her for spoiling the family’s reputation. What? Murder is okay but
spoiling the family’s reputation isn’t? Incredible India
Saturday
night Asopalav Bungalow Society, our residence, had a gala affair in the
garden. Karaoke, catered dinner, a form of bingo with cash prizes and a Hindi
movie. To encourage people to show up they were charged 100 rupees ($1.50) per
person and that money was refunded at the party. Apparently it worked to
motivate people to attend. Too funny. Our evenings are delightful now. No more
radiant heat from the day’s blistering sun. No more blistering days. Our temps
range from the low 90’s during the day and the low 60’s at night. It feels a
lot like a Portland
This morning
on our 6:00 a.m. walk we ran into a neighbor we saw for the first time Saturday
night. He was getting out of his car this morning and ‘cordially invited’ us to
a religious ceremony at his home at 9:30 this morning. On my walk with Kamla at
8:00 she said she and Badlani were going and asked me to join them. I decided
to go to have yet another ‘cultural experience’.
We walked
into the home after removing our shoes. In the living room which was devoid for
furniture for the occasion, they had set up an ‘altar’. A tapestry of a famous
temple in Gujarat was hanging on the wall. A
coffee table was decorated with tiny colored pebbles in circles and ornate
designs. Rose petals and marigolds were sprinkled all over the surface. Very
colorful and pretty. Then we were directed to a relative’s house nearby, about
six houses away near the entrance to our society. There they were serving Jain
cuisine. Jain’s are a sect of Hinduism that does not eat anything that grows
underground: garlic, onion, carrot, peanuts, etc. I couldn’t imagine how you
can eat Indian cuisine without garlic and onion. Almost every dish starts with
these ingredients. It was delicious and I was curious as to how they seasoned
it. I had dhal, idly (ground, steamed rice paddies), sambar (a spicy soup) and
a fried bread. All were tasty. There was another dish Kamla told me to try. I
have had a variation on this dish and don’t care for it but tried it anyway. It
is semolina, sugar and ghee (clarified butter). Then we were walking home and
we again invited into the first house. Chairs were set up outside so we found a
shady spot. About ten minutes later, an elderly woman dressed in all white,
carrying a while bag and what looked like
a fly whisk sat down and gave an hour’s talk in Gujarati on being a good
human. Guests and family members surrounded her at her feet and a few of us sat
in chairs. Kamla has to sit in a chair after her back surgery. She wears a wide
brace that is about 12 to 15 inches wide. If I can get on the floor I cannot
sit there for an hour and jeez getting up is a sight to behold. What happened
to my agility? Oh I’m not 35 years old anymore….
We came home
and I started working on dinner. Tonight I am serving salads. We are so tired
of carbs. I think I have mentioned some meals here are all carbs. So we will
have a green salad filled with all kinds of veggies, a bean and corn salad with
red and yellow peppers, hot peppers, purple onions and cilantro, and a beet
salad with walnuts and blue cheese. YUM.
November 15 2016
Our weather
is delightful: humidity 35%,highs in the low 90’s and lows in the low 60’s. It is difficult to stay inside. Narian, our
housekeeper left for his village on Friday after a quick clean here, saying he
would return Monday in time to clean. Nope. Then this morning after he didn’t
show Rahul called to find out he was waiting on the bus in his village. He
would see us tomorrow. Rahul went into hyper drive both Monday and today
washing clothes by hand, sweeping then mopping the floors. and sweeping the
driveway. I tell him it is not his job and it is not required but he just
cannot help himself.
This week is
a big week for us. Ron told his employer last night he would not renew his
contract and today he will tell the university. He will complete his hours in
late January most likely. We may do some traveling in India before heading to Thailand Thailand
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