Time

TIME 

Your greatest resource is your time. ~Brian Tracy

Time is money. ~Benjamin Franklin

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 Time and 'making good use of it' are often considered together in our Western culture. But, time is a whole different concept here in India.  

There is a new meaning here of IST.  Usually it means Indian Standard Time.  But, many people here, foreigners and locals alike, say it stands for "India Stretchable Time".

In addition, I often hear the phrase "I'll be there in five-ten minutes", repeated rapidly, which usually means "I am aware that you want me there in five-ten minutes, and I am working towards getting there but I'll be there when I get there".  

Waiting is an occupation in India.  There are a huge number of people whose job it is to stand and wait for those who keep them waiting.  Most of them are drivers, but also door openers, security guards, cooks, as well as delivery people and staff in our complex who wait (sometimes up to 15 mins) for the service elevator.  (taken from "A Dead Hand", Paul Theroux).

"Taking time" is an important aspect here of many industries:

• sorting recyclables by hand 
• weaving textiles by hand
• tying knots to create beautiful rugs
• hand-stringing flowers for all the garlands used in weddings, poojas, funerals

I have a lot to learn with regards to IST for special events like weddings...

We went to an Indian Hindu wedding on Sunday (Ambar's cousin's son).  We were told that it would start at 6pm.  This would be just one of the several aspects of the wedding of the bride and groom.   Not surprisingly, we couldn't find the location of the wedding, despite having the address and despite pulling over at least 5 times to ask the whereabouts of the street (including one gentleman who was relieving himself - he turned around to help when the fellows at the corner didn't know).  

We arrived at 6:30, and the bride's father greeted us and took us to a decorated, but empty of people, hall.  

Groom in traditional dress (dhoti) with hat

At 7 or so, an hour after the time we were told, the groom and his family arrived - the father, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents - all except his mother.  Evidently, mothers of grooms do not come for the wedding ceremony!   Pictures were taken, blessings were given.  Typically in Bengali weddings, the groom wears a hat to symbolize the weight and responsibilities that he takes on with marriage.  (pictures below)

The Groom (on the right)

The happy couple after exchanging garlands.
That indicates they have accepted one another.

TWO hours later, at approximately 8pm, the service began in a smaller area where a pandal (temporary structure) had been erected with only about a dozen chairs around.   Obviously not all of the 200 people there would be watching the ceremony!  As the ceremony went on, people milled about, some stopping to watch, some leaving after having eaten dinner, many talking.   I am not sure that the bride's parents watched much of it either.  

We began to understand the process  --- after watching the ceremony for a long time, long past us understanding what they were doing, we went off to eat dinner and then depart, goody bag in hand.   I guess next time i won't push to arrive on time.  

Although sometimes we feel like time is wasted here waiting for the delivery, calling for the nth time to have the gas cylinder delivered, or the chipping paint fixed, there is much to be gained in slowing our the pace of time.   From Mother Teresa:

“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results. In the East -- especially in India -- I find that people are more content to just be, to just sit around under a banyan tree for half a day chatting to each other. We Westerners would probably call that wasting time. But there is value to it. Being with someone, listening without a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love. The success of love is in the loving -- it is not in the result of loving. ” 
― Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa

All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that. ~Baltasar Gracian

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  (Enjoy your relatively inexpensive turkey - a raw roaster turkey here is being sold for $22/lb! And this, for just a regular Butterball.)

A Stroll through Mumbai

There is no better way - in my eyes - to get to know a place than to take a long walk around.  So, I have been riding in with Ambar to work, then walking home (about a 6-7 km walk).  Half of my walk is along the seaside on Marine Drive where there are many apartment buildings constructed in the Art Deco style.  Evidently, Mumbai is second only to Miami, Florida in Art Deco architecture.  Or, so i have heard.

At 8 am, Marine Drive is fairly quiet because the cars and their honking horns are not in full force yet.  However, it is well-populated with walkers, runners, many meditators (or ones who meditate), romantic young couples, stray dogs as well as some families that have slept on the walkway, or down on the beach.  It's a nice, easy walk because the sidewalks are wide and the pavers are all flat.  But, the real interest, to me, comes when I finish that portion, and walk along the inner roads, passing the shops, the many small shrines set up along the path, the cows eating the grass throw down for them, the people cleaning the sidewalks, various bicyclists loading up their wares to transport around town, the school children in their different uniforms.  So much to see and experience that it is hard to capture with words.

Here are some of the sights along my way home.

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Women quilting on the pavement in front of a home

YES, there are 6 people on this motorcycle - don't try this at home

shirt reads "Mom's BFF Forever"

Our Cotton Candy Sunset






I am sitting out on our balcony, enjoying the breeze and the slightly cooler night air tonight...I can't complain.

Shave and a Haircut...2 bits

I wanted to give you an idea of costs here in Mumbai.  Over the weekend, Ambar did have a shave and a hair cut (and a bit of a head massage) - all for 80 Rupees.  That, with the rupee hovering around $.02.  Yes, that's right; he  was charged $1.60 for his shave, hair cut, and head massage - and in a barber shop, not in a stall on the side of the road.  He was generous with his tip, he gave 25%,  leaving him with $2.00 less in his wallet.!  Supercuts - watch out!

A few other examples of things that are amazing;y inexpensive here -

• Sam's roller bag - canvas restitched on the length of one side - Rs 25 = 50 cents
• Alter my Indian tunic to make it a bit shorter - cut and hem - Rs 20 = 40 cents
• Having shoes polished - by cobbler on side of the street - Rs 10 = 20 cents
• a 15 minute taxi ride - Rs 100 = $2.00, in an autorickshaw - Rs 50 = $1.00
• made-to-order shirt with covered buttons - Rs 600 = $12.00 for labor
• A dozen bananas - Rs 40 = 80 cents
• Our cook, Tina, bought a nice big head of cauliflower and felt she was overcharged at Rs 40 (you can do the math!)
• Two weeks of 2 newspapers (The Times of India and The Economic Times) - Rs 162 = $3.24
• Today's tour of the dhobi ghat (the clothes and linens washing area here in Mumbai) - Rs 100 for  two of us (picture below)

Dhobi Ghat

These prices exist in the city of Mumbai with one of the highest rental markets in the world, where i might pay:

• Rs 525 = $10.50 for a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal
• Rs 31549 = $630 for our electricity bill for August (when we were there for only 2/3 of the month)
• Rs 254,900 = $5098 for an Ekorness leather ecliner (I resisted) for our living room 

The general rule of thumb is that imported items are expensive, labor is cheap.

Another interesting aspect of money and life here is that we pay almost everything in cash.  As one of my acquaintances here said, "when you first arrive, you feel as if you are hemorrhaging cash".  I can certainly relate to that feeling.  We pay our cook and driver in cash.  It is quite common to give cash to your driver to have them go to pay your utilities bills (mobile phone, cable, internet).  

Delivery is quite common here even from the small shops (labour is cheap), so an oft-heard phrase is "Cash on Delivery".  I ordered a printer from a small shop on Lammington Road (a street filled with small technology stores) and they delivered it (probably by bike) to my home.  The delivery person refused the tip that I offered.  

One of the problems i have faced is that some vendors show up announced requesting payment (for bread delivery, newspaper delivery, milk delivery, dry cleaning).  They never carry change, and they never seem to offer to bring back your change, so it is best to have some smaller notes at home to give them the exact amount.  

Another interesting aspect of numbers here is that they break their numbers into Rupees (up to 99,000), then lakhs (100, 000 Rupees) and crore (100 lakhs).  Because of these quantities, they place their commas differently. 

So 354,000 Rupees is usually written Rs 3,54,000, read as 3 lakhs, fifty-four thousand rupees

And 123,000,000 Rupees is written as Rs 12,30,00,000 - 12 crore, 30 lakhs rupees

This isn't a big problem, but it is a problem in my Excel spreadsheets - it just does not understand these extra commas.  Ah well, perhaps I should just give up on using Excel...

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We had a taste of Americana the other day - Ambar set us up to have Monday Night Football - even though it was the Patriots game from Sunday night, and I had pretzels for the first time in over 2 months!   

Looking forward to the debate tomorrow morning (here).

Travel to Hill Station, Goodbye to Ganesh

LONAVALA - Hill Station

Panoramic Photo by Sam and iPhone "Panorama Free"

Last weekend we travelled to Lonavala and Kandala, Maharashtra for a two-day getaway out of the city.  Lonavala and nearby Kandala are "hill stations" in the Western Ghat of India.  A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby valley or plain.  Lonavala is known for the 2000 year-old Buddhist caves.  Cut into the side of the mountain, this monastic community was believed to be built here in Lonavala because it was close to major trade routes.  Buddhists were associated with early traders -  they relied on the donations of merchants for their food, shelter and medicine needs.  

"The main cave features a large, intricately carved chaitya, or prayer hall, dating back to the 1st century BC. This is among the largest rock-cut chaityas in India, measuring 45 metres (148 ft) long and up to 14 metres (46 ft) high. The hall features sculptures of both males and females, as well as animals such as lions and elephants." (Wikipedia)

MAIN CAVE - CHAITYA

We also did a lot
of trekking up the hillside to see this Lohagad Fort (means "Iron Fort").  It has 4 fortified doors, and parts of the fort also date back 2000 years.  It was used up until the 1800s.










We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the greenery of these hill stations.  Evidently this is the time of year (Monsoon, end of Monsoon) to visit them since everything is very lush and green, and there are various waterfalls around.  It was also great to get out and walk/hike up the hills.  As you might expect, there aren't a lot of big stretches of green space to walk in the city of Mumbai.  

GANPATI VISARJAN - The Immersion of the Ganesh Idols into the Sea

GANPATI VISARJAN

One event that I was sorry to miss was the immersion of the Ganesh idols into the sea/pond/lake that occurred on Saturday, Sept 29, 10 days after the celebration of Ganesh's birthday. (see last blog).  Evidently, this year's festival scored the highest decibel level ever.  From 3pm onwards the traffic is basically at a standstill as "floats" of Ganesh idols and their devotees and accompanying drummers journey to the sea to immerse Ganesh.  

For additional pictures of this event, go to 

5m5.in/2012Oct01Album

Ganesh Chaturthi - Festival to celebrate Ganesh's Birthday

GANESH CHATURTHI

Another festival has begun in Mumbai.  This one is loud and exciting and lasts for 10 days.  It is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Ganesh (the elephant god you see above).  The festival began Tuesday night, Sept 18th with lots of music, drum beats, fireworks.  The city was ablaze with noise and activity.   Wednesday morning, the actual festival begins with even more drum beats and music parading around the city, escorting the numerous Ganesh statues to their temporary temples (pandals) for the next 10 days.  I took a drive with my driver to catch some of the excitement.  We went to the  area where the largest Ganesh in Mumbai is located.  I read that it is visited by 1.5 million people daily! Above and below are some of the pictures that i caught driving around the city.

I wish i could have captured some of the music to play for you.  It was like a caribbean drum sound - very exciting.

The Ganesh are all around the city, many in individual homes and many in temporary structures built just for this occasion (see one of these pandals in bottom picture). Ganesh is worshipped for 10 days, and "on the 11th day, the statue is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, and fanfare to be immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of his devotees. " (Wikipedia -sorry)  

(One problem with this festival is that the Ganesh statues are left in the water, causing pollution in the waters.  Many Ganesh in the past were made with plaster of paris, but now many are being made with papier-mache, more environmentally friendly. Another note: not all areas in India celebrate this festival to this extent. Our state, Maharastra, puts on one of the more elaborate celebrations.)


A bit about Ganesh, abstracted from 'About.com:Hinduism":

Parvati created Ganesh out of the dirt of her body and gave him the duty of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband, returned he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name 'Ganapati'. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture.

Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga being the other four) 

Actually, the preparations for this event started many weeks ago.  The Ganesh statues are made every year out of clay or papier-mache, the temporary temples are constructed (below) and many poles are erected for hanging lights along the streets and alleys.

Food, Glorious Food

"Food, glorious food,
eat right through the menu..."

Fortunately, unlike Oliver Twist and his fellow orphans who sang that song, we don't have to dream about glorious food - we are having it here in India.  We do have a cook, as is very typical here, and she comes 6 days a week to cook dinner and do some cleaning around the apartment.  (I can tell that i am not going to get much sympathy from you on this point...)  She has been with us for one month. During that time we have eaten exclusively Indian cooking for dinner, and we have loved it!

Tina is incredibly quick, making dal (like a soup made of lentils) and rice in half an hour.  We have had at least 5 different varieties of dal - masoor (red lentils), mung (mung bean), toor (yellow pigeon peas), chana (chickpeas), rajma (kidney beans).   

From Wikipedia: 

"Dal (also spelled Dahl or Daal, or Dhal) is a preparation of pulses (dried lentils, peas or beans).  It has an exceptional nutritional profile. It provides an excellent source of protein for the Indian subcontinent, particularly for those adopting vegetarian diets or diets which do not contain much meat. Dal is typically around 25% protein by weight, giving it a comparable protein content to meats. Dal is also high in carbohydrates whilst being virtually fat free. Dal is also rich in the B vitamins thiamine and folic acid as well as several minerals, notably iron and zinc."

Most every meal for us consists of dal over rice, vegetables and roti (or chapati).  We probably have meats or fish every other meal, if that.  She makes fresh roti for us every meal (the kids love it!). We tear off pieces of the roti and use it to eat the vegetables that are part of the meal - we wrap the piece of roti around a bit of the veggies and pop it in the mouth.   The kids also have requested luchis (or puris) about once a week; these are fried roti that you absolutely must eat hot.  They puff up when they are heated.  Below is a picture of luchis/puris with chana (chickpeas).  Sam (our peanut butter and jelly eater for the first n years of his life) actually requested this meal.  And he loved it - chickpeas and all.  

The kids' favorite meal - puris and chana! 

There are so many different fruits and vegetables here that I don't recall seeing at my local Stop and Shop.  For example, we have had many gourds (squashes), most of which don't look like the zucchini and summer squash that I am used to.  Here is a picture of some of the gourds as well as taro root (arbi) currently sitting in my fridge (bought by Tina, but with my blessing).  

New vegetables in our repertoire 

The  big one is called lau (in Bangoli), dudhi, bottle gourd or calabash.  Evidently, it was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown for use as a water container, not as a food.  If you let it mature and dry out, then it can be used as a bottle, utensil or pipe (like the gourds that we think of as decorative items).    The consistency is like a squash, but it's not as bitter as zucchini.

The little green ones are called tendli.  I can't remember when we ate them - probably in a mix with potatoes or other vegetables - but they must have been good.   Lau and tendli do have a very bitter cousin, called karela or bitter gourd.  It is incredibly ridged, so it would be impossible to peel, but it is supposed to have many health benefits.  We won't find out about that because this was one food that we just didn't like - very bitter; edible, but not enjoyable for us.  

The root on the plate above is actually taro root which I have heard of and seen in the States, but I don't think that I have tried it - there or here.  I will let you know after we see it on our plates.  Emma took a picture of our dinner plate a few nights ago.  It is not our typical meal because we didn't have dal that night - we had prawn pulao (rice dish) instead that night, accompanied by cabbage, roti and a tapioca dish called sabudana khichdi (a Maharastran breakfast delicacy).  

DINNER PLATE - Prawn Pulao, Cabbage and Sabudana Khichdi

Some of the fruits we have been enjoying - apples, bananas, pineapple, pomegranates (they are cheap here), and, a new one for me, the custard apple.  It breaks open when ripe to a soft center of black seeds coated in white "pulp".  You spoon out the white custard-y meat, eat it off of the seeds,  and then discard the seeds.   To give you an idea, here it is:

Custard Apple - opened

Tina is here, and we are going to have the taro root tonight, along with dal, rice and roti.  

ENJOY YOUR DINNER!  We are!

Why I don't plan to drive here

Tuesday Morning in India.

A rainy morning after a rainy night, but really, the rains haven't been bad.  More like Florida rains - it's nice for most of the day, then a sudden downpour comes.

The roads are relatively clear right now at 8am because rush hour doesn't start until about 9-9:30.  The shopping mall just down the road from me doesn't open until 11:30.  That's a bit later than most stores (10 am is standard), but the work day is definitely shifted to a later hour. Dinner is normally eaten between 9-10pm.  (We are happy to eat our dinner around 6:30-7:30 because then we have it fresh from our cook Tina.  Tonight, it will be hot luchi (puri) with chana (chickpeas).  Luchi is a flat bread like a tortilla (chapati or roti) that is fried, and then it puffs up.  You have to eat them straight from the stove top!)

Driving in the city is an art, and not one I plan to learn.  Very rarely can you see the line markings, but that is mostly irrelevant because even if there are 3 lanes, there are almost always 1-2 more vehicles on that same spanse.  And by vehicles I mean the following: private cars (mostly driven by drivers), taxis, public buses which appear very wide, trucks, motorcycles, scooters, occasional bullock carts, occasional brave bicyclists - often transporting cylinders for the gas stovetops, as well as auto-rickshaws.

 Auto rickshaws are the standard, very cheap way to get around in the northern half of Mumbai.  They are 3-wheeled, open-air vehicles with a cover over the top, around the back and a tarp kind of curtain on the passengers' sides.  The driver is positioned right in the middle of the front, and you can fit two people easily in the back, but quite often you will see four people wedged in, sometimes five.  In the areas where they are permitted, they comprise about one-fourth, up to one-half of the total vehicles.  Some trips can cost as little as 60 cents, and that's for 3-4 people being transported!  Their engines make a buzzing noise, almost like an amplified locust sound.  Hannah had a great time traveling around in them with friends on Friday after school, going from shop to shop to dinner (shwarmas).  She was astounded by how cheap and plentiful they were.

Of course the motorcycles whip through this maze with what looks like great ease - even with a family of four on board.  (It seems they all have great balance; the woman on back is often riding side-saddle in a sari.)  Add in to the mix the pedestrians walking across the road at any given time.  It's no easier to cross the road at an intersection due to the volume of "vehicles" trying to turn in addition to those cars that are ignoring the traffic signals.

Please know that i write all of this (the waiting, the complications, the traffic) with a smile on my face because it is all part of the amazing experience here in India.  And, of course, as a westerner we are only privy to some of it!

I am attaching a little video to capture the sounds and sights of the roads here.  This video is a somewhat mild one since we are in the northern, less populated half of Mumbai.  What's amazing is that you see or hear very few collisions.

(Well, i wanted to add a video, but I couldn't seem to make it work.  I will try another day.)

One thing you do hear is horns - and often.  Horns are just part of driving here.  In fact, many of the trucks have "Horn OK Please" written on the back.

Luckily, I am saved the danger of hitting a pedestrian, scraping against a car so close you worry about your side mirrors, or doing a three-point turn in the midst of jammed traffic because we have Ranjit, our driver.  He glides us through the busy streets with patience - especially considering he has to answer all of my questions along the way...