The day's surprise

Every day in Delhi has little surprises, some welcome, some bizzare some quite unexpected. Incredible India has a lot in store and today my surprise was a cook who came knocking on my door and who has offered to cook for the family. He arrived on his bike.He has an unpronouncable name beginning with P so for the sake of this blog he will henceforth be known as Parmesan. He is a slim jim, I hope not because of his cooking but more the distances he travels to the various families he cooks for and he sports a slick little moustache, one protruding tooth and what must have been a harelip scar under his moustache. He is off cooking chili chicken which means I can stop setting the kitchen on fire and dedicate more time to this blog. He called me up to ask for something and jabbered away in perfect hindi.With some guess work I handed him vinegar, flour, cornflour and chillies and I am hoping for the best. Dinner will be reviewed in next blog.

This past week

We hosted our first dinner party
We spotted our first snake in the garden
We travelled into old Delhi looking for a restaurant. The guide book said "half the fun is getting there". We entered one of the streets around the big mosque in the car looking for the restaurant. The congestion was overwhelming, at times frightening and stifling. We could not move forward or back and we felt trapped in the narrow streets there. Not a pleasant feeling. We resolved to go back and walk the streets.
We unwittingly set the oven on fire, as a manual left in the lower drawer caught fire
We tried the local meat, not to be repeated
We finally have the swimming pool chemicals under control

A different kind of writing

I know that its a cheap laugh looking at texts written in the English language when it is not the language of the land and India is full of that as the refrigerator manual shows, errors on bill boards and menus and some of the language used in newspapers. "Private Eye" the english satirical magazine would find abundant material here. Today however I want to tell you about another form of writing, one that I have learnt is sadly dying out. India is full of people who are always striving to better themselves and help their families, families that are often far away, left behind in the more rural areas with grandparents while the parents struggle to earn a decent salary in the cities. Post offices, but also other venues in India were where these people could find letter writers, men mostly, who had learnt to read and write and who were able to offer their services to others less fortunate. For a few rupees these men would compose letters to loved ones, fill in official applications or send postal orders for the hard-earned rupees.
They were often the only form of contact for these families and they were entrusted with facts and money as a matter of course. These men were granted a licence to operate and for the first time the Postal Services have decided that at the end of this year these licences will no longer be renewed. The grounds - technology has fast replaced them with mobile phones and internet connections and they have become a victim of India's rapid progress.So letter writers who have been found day in and day out for decades in specific locations, who developed friendships and loyalties with their many customers will no longer have a licence to operate.
The passing of another age old tradition and service. The saving grace of this one is that undoubtedly more children these days attend school and learn to read and write aspiring to a better life than that of their parents before them.

Refrigeration in India

I am now the proud owner of a new fridge freezer. In a country where the sweltering heat sucks up your mental strength and your physical energy it is no surprise that perishables are the biggest losers. Bananas melt, yes melt inside, and that is the end of them, carrots grow furry and potatoes sprout eyes galore. So we were delighted when the new fridge came as it means less shopping and more refrigeration space for everything from butter to flour to jams assuming there are no major power cuts.
The best bit about this one was reading the manual that came with it. I have taken a picture of one of my favourite pages but I am going to reproduce the best bits for all those of you who are a little short sighted verbatim.

“Danger You will be killed or seriously injured if you do not follow instructions!”

When using the refrigerator
Do not place the heavy object or the dangerous object (container with liquid) on the refrigerator. It may be dropped to cause injury, fire or electric shock when opening or closing the door.

When using the refrigerator
Do not install the refrigerator in the wet place or the place which water or rain splashes.

Do not place the lit candle within the refrigerator to deodorize.

Do not store the medicine or the academic materials at the refrigerator.
When the material with the strict temperature control is stored, it may be deteriorated or it may make an unexpected reaction to cause any risk.

Do not touch food or containers in the freezer with wet hands.
It may cause frostbite.

And lastly …..

Use the Submerged refrigerator after checking it
It may cause electric shock or fire !!!!

Amritsar the Golden Temple

George and the girls visited Amritsar a few days ago and they came back with stories of beauty, simplicity, and humanity. This is a place of both stupendous beauty and sublime peacefulness. Originally a small lake in the midst of a quiet forest, the site has been a meditation retreat for wandering mendicants and sages since deep antiquity. The Buddha is known to have spent time at this place in contemplation.Two thousand years after Buddha's time, another philosopher-saint came to live and meditate there. This was Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the founder of the Sikh religion. After he passed away, his disciples continued to frequent the site; over the centuries it became the primary sacred shrine of the Sikhs.

Amritsar means "the pool of ambrosial nectar." You can see why it was so named.

They enjoyed walking around the temple at dusk and then partaking in the communal dinner offered to thousands of pilgrims every day. I watched a video of the feeding and washing operation and it all ran like clockwork. It was almost musical as the bowls clanked their way through a human chain to bins and sinks to be properly washed in time for the next sitting of thousands more who will enter the temple and have dahl and rice. Shame they can't roll out this slick operation to some other aspects of Indian life. They slept on the cool marble surrounding the temple and were protected by a tall and handsome Sikh guard with a weapon to fit his stature. The temple never sleeps, never stops, and they were woken by gentle chanting at dawn.

Another ending

This is the end of another year for me. Twenty one again, somewhat older and perhaps wiser but not always wanting to behave wisely and responsibly !The year has sped by and somehow my birthday is often celebrated in strange and wonderful places and this year was no exception. Eight years ago we celebrated with the wonderful men of the John Mason moving Company who moved us from Liverpool to Geneva. We popped open a bottle of champagne and celebrated on an upturned packing crate. Last year we were out swimming with whale sharks in Mexico and this year we celebrated with all the family and the girls from Cambridge in the new house in India and this is how my birthday present arrived.It received Tara's sniffed approval shortly after.

Stories endings or new beginnings

Just for those keen followers of this blog you might be interested to hear the ending of some of the stories. The new mattress arrived by bike and joy of joy it fitted perfectly. Firm and nicely trimmed it seemed to do the job, till today when I discovered that the colour, dark blue, is not colour fast and comes out onto the sheets !

However good news on the fan - it is now firmly up against the ceiling and the aluminium foil has been removed - and replaced with sellotape !