Simbly Bored

Come on Airtel, do an internet install already. before people forget this blog exists….

My maid, Sumathi, and I use a combination of english, telugu, tamil, and gestures to communicate but mostly the last. But since The Hero understands basic Tamil, he’s able to translate. Some conversations so far:

On the day she comes to negotiate her salary:
“Saar {something about telling her} you boss”

On her first day of work:
“You saar love marriage aa?”
Disappointed when she finds out no.
“{something something in tamil} young” later translated by The Hero as: “You both look so young, I thought you had a love marriage.”

On the second day:
“Morning cooking madam, evening saar aa?”

On the third day, seeing our recliners (will post pictures once we have better internet connectivity):
Me: “Sumathi, sofa rumba big no?”
Her: “Boss relax after office”

And yesterday she tells us:
“Watchman tell you Telugu Iyer”

I can’t wait to learn more Tamil…

Life in the US is something like this…

Wake up early, make/eat breakfast, pack lunch (or something of that sort), sigh at pile of dishes in the sink, drive to work/school, come home, do dishes, cook dinner/next day’s lunch, clean up, sleep. On weekends: get groceries, carry them up myself, do laundry, clean the house, pump my own gas at gas stations, iron clothes, chores, and more chores.

Life in India is something like this…

Wake up early, milk and newspaper at doorstep, make some filter coffee, play an M S SUbbulakshmi CD, put idli to cook, load and start washing machine, maid comes, chops vegetables, hangs up clothes to dry, folds clothes if needed. Meanwhile, shower get dressed and finish puja (did I mention flowers delivered at my doorstep and fresh pressed clothes brought in by istri wallah?), send maid off with breakfast for her son, quickly cook lunch/dinner, pack lunch, head to office by auto or air conditioned company bus, come home, maid comes, does dishes, cleans house, give her some food, eat, watch TV, sleep.

On weekends: do nothing. Well, maybe buy some vegetables. But I can’t think of much to do on weekends now that I don’t have to clean the house myself!

Of course life in India isn’t as idyllic as this description but when it comes to day-to-day comforts, this is the place to be. I can’t invite my parents to come and visit me ten times a year in the US. They’d visit me once for three months or so and the visit would be long enough to grate on everyone’s nerves (not to mention make them feel they’re under house arrest the whole while). There’s not much to think of beyond home and family (and preserving Indian-ness when it’s not too inconvenient). Friends are family in the US. Here, I have both. I can happily avoid extended-family and make good friends.

Of course there are things that bother me about being back in India – lack of basic civic sense, the need to “know someone” to get anything done, inflation, Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the news media, and daily soaps. But for most part, here (and I do count my blessings), I’m part of the demographic that’s privileged enough to be insulated from most of it. Perhaps this is what prevents the middle class from ever being agitated about the way things are, but that’s the topic of another post altogether.

For now, my focus is on getting my furniture delivered, getting a gas connection, finding a music teacher, and inviting my parents over soon.

I don’t miss the non-fat grande hazelnut mistos and the organic salads as much as I thought I would. But I did miss India much more than I realized.